The Cryptian 2019-2020

The Cryptian

2019-2020 A Year in the Life of the School

Headmaster’s Welcome It has, without doubt, been a most demanding year for everyone - both for those connected to our school and for everyone across our wider nation. The story of the last academic year is of course, a story of two halves: the normality of the period before March, and then for us all, the story of the months of school closure and Societal lockdown.

I would like to start by paying enormous tribute to everyone at the School for their work, effort and commitment, across the course of the whole of the last academic year, but in particular during the period after schools were closed nationally; work, which ensured that our Crypt students continued to learn and be looked after throughout the period after March. Remote learning proved both possible and effective and it is a credit to both teachers and our students that, despite the challenges posed by remote teaching and learning, Crypt students continued to learn and make progress with their academic studies whilst at home. As importantly, they continued to be looked after by the School’s committed pastoral team.

During the period after March, many of our students contributed in many and varied ways to their communities - supporting charity, helping their neighbours, and families too - whilst all of our students and staff showed great resilience in managing their school lives, when faced with having to be at home and look after their families too. Crypt families contributed generously to our Local Charity appeal, which raised nearly £7,000, benefiting five local charities who were all delighted to each receive a cheque to help with their much needed work during the challenges of the lockdown period. A charity run from Gloucester to Istanbul and back - some 4600 km- raised thousands of pounds for the charity Papyrus, and which was run in memory of OC Ben Brown. Papyrus works to help support young people facing the challenges of mental health.

In June, the School was delighted to have welcomed back Year 10 and 12 for some teaching and support and across the whole of the lockdown period remained open to the children of key workers. A huge amount of work was undertaken in preparing the School for that partial reopening in June, and for the full reopening of the School in September. The School is now fully open once more, and given the continuation of our students’ education over the lockdown period, we can say that the School continued with its historic commitment to the education and care of our young people over the course of the 2019-20 academic year.

I have always been immensely proud to be Headmaster of this our school, and never more so than today. We can look back with a sense of great pride in what the School - it’s staff and students - achieved over the course of the last academic year and in particular over the period of school closure. GCSE and A Level results were outstanding, reflecting the hard work of students and staff; the cancellation of exams should not in any way, take away from the tremendous achievements of our young people in Years 11 and 13. In continuing the education and learning of our young people across the course of the whole academic year, we know that we all truly have a school to cherish.

I was delighted too that aspects of wider school life were able to continue after March: the musical life of the School continued to flourish, Founders’ Day went ahead, albeit virtually and we welcomed our new Year 7 pupils into school in July for their induction days.

I would also like to thank our Crypt families for their wonderful support of the School over the last year, of the Crypt School Parent Teacher Association and of the OC Club too. The School is fortunate indeed in its wider community, whose support of the School, helps enable it to flourish.

Our School Motto, ‘Floreat Schola Cryptiensis’ has in no way been diminished during this most extraordinary of years: the School, its staff and its student body have continued to flourish in so many ways this year and I have every confidence that will continue to be the case in the years that lie ahead.

Nicholas Dyer, Headmaster 1 School Life

The Real Schools Guide 2020 The Crypt School is the best state-funded secondary school in Gloucestershire, according to a comprehensive new guide. The Real Schools Guide 2020 takes into account 51 different data points - including not just GCSE results and Attainment 8 scores but also factors like Progress 8, pupil-teacher ratios and absence rates.

Nicholas Dyer, Headmaster at The Crypt School in Podsmead, Gloucester, said his teachers strive to instil an intrinsic desire for pupils to think for themselves. We asked Mr Dyer what set his school apart, he said: “A long and distinguished history which enables all pupils to feel a strong sense of pride and belonging to the school. A curriculum which focuses around the acquisition of knowledge and the critical application of that knowledge in different and challenging contexts which enables all pupils to think critically and for themselves. A strong focus on pupil care and wellbeing and a strong sense of being part of an inclusive community which stretches all the way back to 1539.”

Presently, there are 1,031 pupils enrolled in the school overall with 296 at the sixth form.The Gloucester school, located on Podsmead Road, came out as 44th on the Real Schools Guide national league table. As mentioned

by Mr Dyer, Crypt School has a rich history, spanning back to 1539 when King Henry VIII was reigning – only two years after the execution of Anne Boleyn. Although, it wasn’t until 2018 that girls were allowed to attend the lower school, making it co-ed (co-educational).

Mr Dyer said: “We have had fantastic response from local families who welcome the choice of a co-ed selective grammar school in Gloucester – now approaching our third year of going co-ed we have over 130 girls in the main school and about 90 in the sixth form. Most [of our pupils] go to university locally and further afield to study for a degree; others move to higher level apprenticeships with local and national employers,” he added.

The Guide, now in its eighth year, has been praised by ministers and education experts alike. Former schools minister David Laws called it 'public-service journalism in the best tradition'.

Gloucestershire Live, 24th July 2020

GCSE & A Level Results 2020 GCSE I am very pleased to announce a strong and credible set of GCSE results that reflect the hard work of both students and staff alike. 60% of grades were either 9,8 or 7, with 14% at the top grade 9. 82% of grades were 9-6 and 99.7 at grades 9-4. The students can feel rightly proud that their commitment to their studies over nearly two years have been rewarded today through these results; results which are broadly in line with those achieved by previous Crypt GCSE students. We now look forward to our Year 11 students, together with students from many other schools and colleges in the area, joining The Crypt’s outstanding Sixth Form to begin their A Levels with us in September.

A Level Our Year 13 students, whose opportunity to sit their A Level exams in May was abruptly, if understandably cancelled due to Covid-19, should be rightly proud today that their tremendous work and effort, over almost two years of study, has been recognised with a very strong set of A Level results. 67% of the grades awarded were the top A*-B grades, with 90% of grades at the A*-C level. The students should be very proud of their achievements and can now look forward to progressing onto their chosen destinations to start the next phase of their lives. Teachers and other staff at The Crypt School, worked tremendously hard to help support the students over their two years of Advanced Level study, as well as through the difficult period following the closure of all schools on the 20th of March 2020.

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Lockdown Diaries On Wednesday 18th March 2020, the UK Government announced that “after schools shut their gates from Friday afternoon, they will remain closed for most pupils – for the vast majority of pupils- until further notice” to help stop the spread of Coronavirus. This meant that all pupils would be educated remotely for the forthcoming months with a small portion of pupils from key worker families remaining in school.

An unprecedented time like no other in student’s lifetime with some Crypt students recording their thoughts in lockdown diary entries. A memorable reminder of how 2020 turned out to be a year that no-one would ever forget. Take a look…

Though I would like to share my stories about lockdown, it has been rather uneventful for me! It is sad to have lost time with schoolmates and family outside of the household because days of eventually going to university and splitting further away from them are approaching. It is lucky we are in a time where there are so many ways to message and contact people. It is also lucky we have the internet to keep us entertained during the copious amounts of our newfound free time. The only other thing that I would say about lockdown is the difficulty in keeping up with school, since I find my normal pace of working much slower than what we are pushed to in lessons with our teachers, but the workload is manageable. ~~~ With Covid-19 comes the protective measure of implementing a lockdown not just to protect the general public but the health care service we take for granted. It’s not easy at all doing everything from home. During the lessons it's hard to maintain focus, effort and determination as there are so many distractions which are easy to access. I live in a house with 2 younger siblings so the only private space I have for school work is my room. It's difficult to study when I have my ps4 close to as well as my phone and other inanimate objects which pose as distractions. It wasn't so bad in the first few weeks as I still had the drive and determination as I was exercising sleeping properly and eating well. That's all changed now due to the lockdown and ive noticed my effort slip slightly since the start. It's not unusual however I've always struggled maintaining focus and effort while at home I think alot of us do.

If it weren't for my dog I think I would have gone insane by now being cooped up at home not being able to do the things that I take for granted. He's comforting in a way because he's something constant and something which makes my day less miserable. As contact with friends is quite minimum people check in but it's mostly online over video games. I find it strange as well everything being online. I don't really like it as certain activities and actions have less of an impact. I also underestimated how much I enjoyed my usual life. How much I've taken it for granted in a way so it's made me more grateful for what I have and the opportunities available to me. Thanks for reading. ~~~ I think the most interesting thing about lockdown has been how the vast majority of people, despite this being the biggest change to our daily lives we may ever encounter, have adapted to conditions quickly without complaint as if such an outbreak was expected. Sometimes you just look back and see how much we are missing that was the norm just a matter of weeks ago. For this reason, I think that if you’re finding it difficult, try to recognise how far we’ve come already and use that as a way to look ahead and see that this isn’t going to go on forever.

One thing that I have found that helps is looking back at sporting highlights over the past few years on YouTube and that helps me look forward to the times when they return. Simply going for a walk can help you comprehend the tragic statistics that are revealed every day and clear the mind of the sheer volume of information that we receive.

Even though I have a lot of free time and it is tempting to go on social media, I try not to do so too often as I think that lockdown is a personal challenge and we each have our own ways of getting through it. Obviously social media is a great way to contact each other and see what we’re doing but sometimes I find this to be 3 School Life

counterproductive. When you see what others are doing differently during this time, it can be quite belittling when you haven’t done as much! I personally would just do whatever you feel the need to do in this unique time and don’t feel under pressure by what those who like going the extra mile are doing. At the very least, when you are staying at home doing nothing you are positively impacting the vital services and key workers that are keeping the country going. If you think you should be doing something like learning a new skill or doing exercise (I don’t put anyone off doing those activities by any means), it’s not as if these circumstances come with the necessity to exert yourself.

In terms of looking ahead, I see no point in trying to decipher when normality will return as this can only lead to disappointment. Whilst we are entitled to feel frustrated at those making the decisions, I find that it’s better to have empathy for them and appreciate the unprecedented pressure on those decisions and the repercussions if they are too risky and then incorrect.

These have been my main thoughts regarding the first month or so of lockdown and I hope others have vaguely the same attitude. ~~~ I’ve always found silence hard especially as I have such an active mind. Silence acts as a breeding ground for my thoughts to create worry and anxiety. During this lockdown, silence has become more abundant with less traffic and plane noises than usually linger in the background so we are never truly in silence. Instead it’s filled with the birds chirping and the distant sound of neighbours chatting for the first time at the end of their dive ways. That’s the funny thing about this lockdown, although we are isolated, it has given the opportunity for neighbours to talk, for people to reach out to old friends and for people to connect. Personally it’s given me the time to speak to people that are in my thoughts but I won’t always give them that phone call they deserve. It has given me the time to speak to my great grandmother and listen to her recite her memories of the war or the shock she felt when Diana, Princess of Wales died (she’s quite a royalist). The silence has given me the opportunity to reconnect with loved ones and share our memories and experiences. I can’t help but think if lockdown never happened, would I be having weekly calls to my relatives or would I still be wrapped up in my busy routine only to keep them in my thoughts again?

Lockdown has also given me the time to work on my future goals and ambitions. To fill my time over Easter, I have completed an online Open University course on some research that has shown me the wider perspective into the experience needed to obtain my future career ambition. Alongside this, lessons from home have been a challenge but also a great relief by offering much needed structure and routine to my day and not allowing me to forget what day it is (which I often do). Although learning content in great detail by myself has been difficult at times, I can only be grateful as this has allowed me to gain the discipline that I imagine I will need when studying at university.

Having anxiety through this time has been tough. The fear of the unknown is what’s worse for me. I feel it’s starting to come to that time when people will know someone who has tested positive for the virus. Personally, my great-aunt, uncle and even my cousin who is only 5 have all tested positive. Thankfully they are all doing well and recovering but the anxiety that surrounded that situation has been my greatest challenge. However, it was not faced alone. I have to remind myself that at this time especially everyone has anxiety. The emotion that I feel daily and struggle with is being felt by billions of people world wide. Anxiety is often seen in a negative light but on this occasion, it’s the thing that pulls us together and keeps us close during this pandemic. It’s allowing us to communicate with one another by sharing our worries and concerns.

From this experience I have learned not to fear the silence but to encourage it. To listen to the birds in the morning, talk to my neighbours and reach out to family members. Although this is such an uncertain time, one day this will become a memory. We will go back to school, our parents will go back to work and we can look forward to the holidays we have missed. The silence has allowed me to be present in the moment and take things day by day as not everyday is easy but I know that they will get better. For now I will sit in the sun in my garden and enjoy the silence knowing that everyone’s feeling some kind of anxiety at this time and I am not alone.

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~~~ It’s now week six of lockdown. I’m starting to really miss getting up and going to school everyday and talking to my friends and chatting whilst we do our homework in our free periods. It’s strange to not be sat reading powerpoints and listening to teachers explain things or hear my form tutor reading out all of the notices. Outside of schoolwork, it’s weird to not be able to go shopping or eat at restaurants or go and visit my friends and family.

On the other hand, I’m beginning to appreciate the calm and relaxed atmosphere I’m doing my work in and I like the independence of taking control of my learning and scheduling my time effectively.

I can’t wait for everything to start opening up again, but I know that might be a while away from where we are at the moment, so until then I’m trying to stay positive by limiting my exposure to the news, keeping in touch with my friends and using books as escapism. It’s also helpful to give yourself things to look forward to for when this is over and remembering that it’s OK to feel worried and disappointed and nervous because things can only get better after the lockdown. ~~~ So far my lockdown has been up and downs. What I learnt from this period is self-discipline and self-hygiene.

During the last two weeks of school I learnt that it was quite hard to stay focused on the lessons. This then meant I mentally added more effort to stay focused and concentrated. When I did, it meant that my work would be better. Also I learnt to be more organised and efficient by finishing my work effectively and trying my best to move on to other class works. However sometimes I don’t “feel” like doing work ,so my work is not to its potential. This made me realise how important school is and how school somehow keeps me going and keeps me trying hard. Staying in lockdown, meant that I could not see friends and that makes the day quite boring .Despite the Lockdown, I still stay in contact which occupies me. I go running everyday to give me fresh air and I try run at least 5K. This is a new skill which I’ve been trying to develop. Running also brightens me up and gets me ready for the day. So that is a key aspect why I’m still sane. My personal hygiene has improved which is good as it helps me practise how to stay clean and safe - Chongyang Lu ~~~ There have been many ups and downs throughout this whole period of time. Getting to spend more time with family is one of those experiences that comes with good and bad. I’ve noticed that It brings everyone closer together and with talking to friends we have to learn to communicate in different ways like calling on the phone.

I have found it quite a challenge settling into the new way of life but having a 2 week holiday and a break from schoolwork has really helped and I am starting to build a routine. Doing daily exercise, playing badminton with my dad in the garden, and playing my guitar and just a few activities I’ve been enjoying. Trying to keep myself busy has helped so I don’t feel lonely or bored - Ruth Le Maistre ~~~ I have been on lots of walks with my family (and dogs) on Robinswood Hill and Haresfield. It feels nice to leave the house and get some fresh air on sunny (or rainy) days - even when we can’t go with other friends or family.

Thankfully, we have a garden so I’ve managed to sit outside and read or chill out on sunny days. I started lockdown thinking it would be amazing - I can have lye-ins, chill out, get my work done at my own pace and be with my family more - but after a while it’s starting to get boring. Luckily I can face time or message friends and so I don’t feel lonely. Although lockdown has made me more relaxed, I missed the Austria Ski Trip which made me quite upset - especially since my friends were going with me. I hope I can go and see my friends and family soon and that my family can still go on holiday in August - Layla Sonmezer ~~~ During the few weeks I’ve spent in isolation it has been pretty boring. In the first few days I thought that working from home would be fun but now it just seems like a real repetitive routine. It has been pretty hard trying to keep entertained without any real physical interaction with friends. So far I think that remote learning has gone pretty well and it’s easy to keep up ;however, it hard to complete when some of links and work doesn’t load . If it wasn’t for this isolation I would have been enjoying my holidays in Canada right now but I am copping pretty well - Emmanuel Ogbeide 5 School Life

Art Examples of KS3 Artwork 2019-2020

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Drama We staged a fantastic production of Grease at the school. I would like to thank all parents and friends who attended to witness how talented our young people are! I would like to say a special thank you to: Emma Ward, Malcolm Hannaford, Sue Evans and Ben McKenzie. Without whom the show would not have been half as successful! I would also like to thank my wonderful cast and crew – the performances were superb and I couldn’t be more proud!

Take a look at some of our other highlights in the department throughout the year…

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English Cheltenham Literature Festival

On October 9th, the English Department took 14 of our Year 11 students to The Cheltenham Festival of Literature to take part in a workshop about satire and fake news. This was led by John Simpson, Crime reporter for The Times. The boys were presented with 12 articles from a variety of sources, and they had to decide which were true, which were fake, and which were just satire. There were lively discussions about sources, statistics and structure. At the end of the session, Mr Simpson complimented the “purple crew” for their lively and intelligent participation. That night, he featured a picture in his Twitter feed, saying he is delighted to see “the next generation so switched on and engaged.”

Balliol College, Oxford

In January, 15 students travelled to Balliol College, Oxford with Mrs Warner from our English Department, to take part in an aspirational day for talented English students. The programme for the day was as follows: The students involved made us proud. They asked great questions made apposite and perceptive contributions to discussions, and were imaginative and creative during the English workshop. They seemed to really appreciate the tour and loved eating in what looked like Hogwarts!

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Poem of the Month Poem of the Month continued this year with some excellent entries across all year groups. Take a look at a selection of our winners…

MEDICAL MIRACLE It’s rich and strong if you don’t dilute, But adding water makes it better suit.

This way, it will go further, Suiting sister, parent and brother.

Just one sip will mend your rib, Your back, your leg, your head, your tib.

This miraculous medicine, smooth and sweet, Can almost be considered a treat.

Any broken bone it will mend, And the splitting pain, away it will send.

A reasonable price is all we ask, Because you know it’s up to the task.

Play rough games as much as you like.

Ride your scooter, bike or trike.

Go hard and fast, risk getting hurt, Because this magic solution will keep you alert.

It’ll pull together the broken bone, Restore to your skin, smoothness and tone.

There isn’t an injury it can’t cure, This medical miracle, clean and pure.

ANONYMOUS 10 School Life

ANDROMEDA

by Matthias Kelay

Beyond the vast reach of our galaxy Lies a dormant threat, Drifting towards us iridescently, Where solar systems will be met.

The elaborate beauty may glisten in our eyes, But will ultimately consume us for our demise.

Spiralling effortlessly through the void, Commanding weapons to be deployed.

For this is the reflection of our race, Where all life ends in endless space.

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Climate Change

by Harry Cruse

Planet heating, Ice caps melting, Government meetings – Are they really helping?

A change in weather: Tornadoes, flooding and more.

Now, a global endeavour To help areas which are poor.

Global efforts to reduce waste And clean up plastic daily; Making changes in haste, But are they in time to save me?

Our efforts started too late And we are all to blame.

Some are filled with hate And others feel the shame.

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KINDNESS When you get to heaven, Will there be enough evidence to get you in?

Will the good things you have done, Outweigh the meanness and the sin?

Did you pick up an old lady’s bag, Or comfort someone who was down?

Did you pop a pound coin in the box, Or smile at someone’s frown?

When another hurt you, Did you rise above?

Did you spread gossip and hurt, Or generosity and love?

When your friend’s spouse left, Did you comfort or cause the breakup?

Did your words knock people over Or did they build them up?

When you get to heaven, Will there be enough evidence to get you in?

Will the good things you have done Outweigh the meanness and the sin?

ANONYMOUS

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Plastic by Thomas Boobyer Plastic or the ocean, It’s either/or.

We can’t add any more To the sea, So large, So grey.

It’s dying anyway.

Fish are poisoned, Turtles are gagged, While all our shopping is bagged.

We care nothing For the waters which surround us.

But in this battle, Plastic wins every time, And we are reluctant to spend a dime On saving our world’s oceans.

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Lest We Forget by Dan Roddis

The poppies grow And so do their regrets; Wondering where their friends will go, So we had better not forget.

Throwing their bodies on the line For future generations .

Every country throwing down a mine Lest we forget.

In a moment of need.

He’d better not fret, The whole country surrounding him, Lest we forget.

A son ,husband ,grandfather, dad Leaving their loved ones behind, Their departure making everyone sad.

Lest we forget 15 School Life

And still the poppies grow Along with their regrets,

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Geography Geography fieldwork took a new direction this academic year with two new trips introduced for the neandrewudents. In order to support their preparation of the Independent Investigation later in the year and to deepen their understanding of the Coasts and Places topics, students visited Northleach in the Cotswolds and Swanage on the Jurassic Coast in Dorset.

The town of Northleach proved to be the ideal setting for the students to plan their own mini-investigations and to experiment with some new fieldwork techniques such as dwell observations, soundscapes and mobilephone coverage surveys. At the same time, the opportunity to view the human characteristics and physical setting of Northleach enabled students to visualise the features that make the town a unique and distinctive place.

In November, despite the cold and shorter days, students travelled to Dorset for an overnight stay in the YHA Hostel in Swanage. Prior to sunset, Chesil Beach near Portland provided the location for the collection of pebble data whilst admiring the sheer power of the destructive waves crashing on to the lower beach. After warming up over a tasty evening meal, students were able to use the data collected earlier to test hypotheses related to the impact of longshore drift on Chesil Beach whilst also practising some statistical techniques.

The following morning revealed the fabulous setting of the Youth Hostel with a stunning view across Swanage Bay and, after a short walk, a clear view of ‘Old Harry’ coastal stack.

Students were then able to investigate the evidence of coastal erosion along the coastline along with the impact of management techniques on the sea front. By this point the November weather was beginning to take its toll but lunch in Harry Ramsden’s Fish and Chip Café soon lifted spirits. However, the weather took a turn for the worse and the rain started to fall. Despite some reservations, the final stop was to Lulworth Cove – another iconic geographical landscape. With waterproofs on, students walked / ran through the torrential rain to see both Lulworth Cove and Stair Hole which allowed them to see the stages in the formation of the Cove.

Unsurprisingly, drying out and sleeping were the principle activities on the coach back to school.

Year 12’s final trip of the year was to Birmingham City Centre in order to explore the redevelopment and rebranding that has taken place in the city centre over the past 20 years. The route followed in previous years took in Gas Street Basin, Brindley Place, Birmingham Library, Grand Central and then The Bull Ring Shopping Centre. A high number of visitors to the city centre made this the ideal location for students to practise their interviewing techniques with all students completing questionnaires with members of the public. This data was collected digitally using the Survey-123 app on mobile phones and then analysed using Excel spreadsheets – not a pen or clipboard in sight!

Although planned, the GCSE trips to Gloucester City Centre and the Forest of Dean unfortunately had to be postponed due to the outbreak of coronavirus. Even so, one brave student ventured out to Blackpool Brook at Wenchford to practise the fieldwork techniques with his father. At the time of writing, we await further guidance as to whether these trips can take place in year 11 – the students are certainly keen to be out of school for a day.

Finally, immense thanks must be given to all the geography teachers who have supported students in the field along with the invaluable support of the Professional support staff working tirelessly behind the scenes to ensure that these trips are able to go head each year.

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Modern Foreign Languages Linguist of the Month Throughout the year pupils have been awarded “Linguist of the month” status for their excellent effort in language lessons, including the amazing efforts of pupils whilst learning online!

Year 7 ➢ 7B Jolie Roberts, Horia Mihoc, George Thomas, Emily Anwyll, Martha Campbell, Roman Mills, Hugh Coen ➢ 7H Valentino Bassai, Isla Stokes, Gabrielle House, Sultan Hussain, Oluwatise Ajayi, Aliyah Jariwalla, Degan Lee, Liam Herridge ➢ 7M Tianna Klaric, Hannah Palmer, Nia Roodway, Liam Page ➢ 7W Nolan Fasasi, Matilda Swell, James Armino, Manasik Haggar 7W ➢ 7R Benjamin Jackson Year 8 ➢ 8B Taylor Kirk, Harry Thomas ➢ 8H Harry McCoy, Imogen Wyatt-McQuire, Poppy Brenton, Hayden Hodgson, Naomie Peet, Alfred Urmege, Elle Griffiths, Finlay Brunsdon, Maddie Crellin, Manu Thomas, Gayana Parameswaren ➢ 8M Paripsa Rai, Maddison Lee, Oliver Smith, Sachi Regazzoni Wood ➢ 8W Divine Kiyindou, Iason Vazouras Dilkes, Emmanuel Ogbeide, Daniel Sanchez Mosqueda, Kiara Dixon, Toby Sanders, Abigail Millward, Michalina Sipa ➢ 8R Sean Preston, William Thompson, Prem Magdum, Chongyang Lu, Olivia Perkins, Edy Cartita Year 9 ➢ 9B Ben Webb, Harry Singh, Joshua Smart, William Fortey, Ben Newcombe, Noah Freckleton, Matthieu Rogers, Sebastian Pascoe, Ed Ball, Aldo Benny ➢ 9H Allen Li, Jacob Pankowski, Robin Grant, Olamide Odukunle, Finlay Crellin, Jamie Watts ➢ 9M Sam Powell, Theo van den Bergh, Johan Jobi, Tobey Reece, Theo Parker ➢ 9W Luke Cartwright, Christopher Gaulton, Mroan Haggar, Noah Cardew ➢ 9R Edvwin Joseph Sibi, Thomas Boobyer, Matty Miller, William Joslyn Year 10 ➢ 10R Shalom Varghese, Arthur Rudkin-McLaren, Jason He, Dominic Philip ➢ 10W Harry Brammer , Benjamin Weygang, Alexander Beer, Zac Downer ➢ 10M Cameron Frederick, Louis Powels, Joshua Hall, Alex Ochiagha-Egbon, Joshua Peters ➢ 10B Rostom McNiven, Jack Zheng, Caedmon Raycollins, Hugo Adams, James Matthews ➢ 10H Newby Lilley, Fahim Fadra, Aidan Tusk, Adwit Mukherji Year 11 ➢ 11W Kiran Kumar, Yasin Khan, Felix Venus ➢ 11B Frank Mcann, Stan Wildin, Jack Clark, Joseph O'Flaherty ➢ 11R Noah Hollywood, Akinromoluwa Akinsola ➢ 11H Harvind Sandhu ➢ 11M Jacob Lloyd Sixth Form Edward Leech, Ailsa Hall, Olivia Williams, Blane Aitchinson, Caitlin Klews, Alice Groom, Cameron McKay, Adam Greaves

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Cologne Christmas Market Trip On the evening of Thursday 28 November 2019 a group of Year 9, 10 and 11 pupils departed for a fun packed weekend to experience the Christmas Markets in Cologne, Germany. Highlights of the trip included visiting the famous Cologne Weihnachtsmarkt, eating delicious icecream (even in December!), a boat cruise on the Rhine, whilst singing songs with Saint Nicholas and enjoying the water slides at Aqualand.

Pupils also enjoyed a visit to Cologne Cathedral and a traditional German Brauhaus.

“The whole trip was amazing! We got to explore the town, eat traditional foods and visit a water park. The waterpark was definitely the best part. We all had so much fun and would definitely do it again. Es war sehr super!” Ben N, Year 9 “I enjoyed going to the Christmas Market and seeing the Cathedral. I also enjoyed going to the water park as the water slides were very fun and interesting” Josh P, Year 10 “ I enjoyed seeing the diversity between each market stall as they all sold something different and interesting” Ben L, Year 10 “ I enjoyed going to the market and trying all the new foods” Josh H, Year 10

Paris Trip by Joe Tallamy Last year, from the 17th to the 20th of October, the Crypt School MFL department ran a school trip to Paris for students studying French in years ten to thirteen. The aim of this trip was to not only become more comfortable speaking french to native french speakers, but also to get a better understanding of the rich french culture which is prevalent in the city. Over the four day trip, we visited parks, museums, art galleries and the famous Stade de France which, despite not being a sports fan myself, I still found very interesting and exciting. We also had the opportunity to visit very famous parisien landmarks, such as the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe, the Louvre, and Cleopatra’s Needle. We were also allowed a lot of free will on this trip, as there were parts where we were allowed to split from the group and go shopping, get something to eat or just relax somewhere. We could do this most notably on the Champs Élysées, where had about an hour to shop and explore the area – one of my favourite parts of the trip.

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Another enjoyable part of the trip was when we visited the Cité des sciences et de l’industrie, one of the biggest science museums in Europe. It was very educational and interesting to see all of the exhibits and, while some of us planned on going to the planetarium for a different reason, we ended up watching a cartoon about a polar bear and a penguin going to space by mistake, although it was still beneficial as it was at least in french!

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the trip to Paris as it was both educational and entertaining, and my thanks go to Miss Swain and Mrs Joynson for making it happen!

En Français L’année dernière, du 17 au 20 octobre, la Crypt School département MFL ont organisé un voyage de lycée au Paris, pour les étudiants en français de 10 à 13 ans. L’objectif de la voyage n’était pas pour ne devenir que plus comfortable quand parler aux francophones natifs, mais pour aussi obtenir un plus bon compréhension de le rich culture française. Au cours du voyage de quatre jours, nous avons visité les parcs, les musées, les galléries d’art, et le célèbre stade de france, qui, malgré le fait que je ne suis pas un fan de sport, j’ai trouvé ça très intéressant et passionnant. Aussi, nous avons eu l’opportunité pour visiter les Repères parisien très célèbre, par exemple, la Tour Eiffel, l’Arc de Triomphe, le Louvre, et aiguille de Cléopâtre. Nous étions aussi permis beaucoup de libre arbitre en ce voyage, car il y avait temps quand nous étions permis se séparer et faire du shopping, obtenir un chose pour manger ou pour relaxer quelque part. Nous pourrions faire ça notamment sur la Champs Élysées ou nous avons eu environ en heure pour faire du shopping et explorer l’endroit - ma partie préférée du voyage.

Une autre partie agréable du voyage est quand nous avons visité le Cité des sciences et de l’industrie, un des plus grands musées des sciences en Europe. C’était très éducatif et intéressant pour voir tout les expositions et, bien que des certaines de nous avons voulu aller aux planétarium pour un raison différente, il est arrivé que nous avons regardé un film sur un ors polaire et un penguine vont à l’espace par erreur, mais c’était toujours bénéficie car c’était au moins en français. En général, j’ai vraiment apprécié le voyage , car c’était éducatif et divertissant, et mes remerciements vont à Mlle Swain et Mme Joynson pour y arriver!

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German Letter Exchange 8H worked hard, putting their German knowledge to the test by writing to a German school in Köln, Germany and putting together a box of “British goodies”. They were very excited to receive their first return box of “goodies” and reply letters from their exchange partners.

“I loved hearing about what life in their schools is like and it was fun trying German style sweets and treats. And I do hope we can see them all properly and get to know the students there better!” Manu

“It was really fun to write to people in another country and send them gifts from the UK, hopefully we can go on a German trip to see them!” Gayana Luckily, we managed to get one more set of letters and Easter eggs sent before lockdown.

Although we didn’t receive the replies, it looks like our letters were gratefully received.

“The students have answered the letters and really appreciated the diversion. I think receiving the letters was one of the highlights of the last weeks. Thank you!”

Marie, English Teacher from Genoveva Gymnasium

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Berlin Wall Work Years 7-9 came up with German words to describe the Berlin wall as well as creating their dream version of the wall.

Year 7 French Cooking Year 7 French have been cooking their own French recipes at home as part of their online learning on the topic of food since Easter during lockdown. We are so impressed with their efforts!

Alex James 7B

Bailey Mansion 7B

Callum Davies 7B

Emily Anwyll

George Thomas 7B

Elinor Febrery 7B

Horia Mihoc 7B

Jay Tapper 7B

Reuben Simmonds 7B

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Roman Mills 7B

Saad Adewunmi 7B

Degan Hill 7H

Gabrielle House 7H

Isla Stokes 7H

Liam Herridge 7H

Matthew Wood 7H

Michael Newman 7H

Spencer Lewis 7H

Vikki Simonidou 7H

Aliyah Jariwalla – 7H

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Music This year has been an extremely unique year for the music department, as for everyone. However along with the difficulties we faced we can also look back at a year of amazing achievements and overcoming barriers.

At the beginning of the year we had speech day where our chamber orchestra provided a high quality accompaniment along with some outstanding soloists. The Autumn concert showcased some new ensembles including our Junior Orchestra led by our new Teacher of Music: Mrs Hughes, Jazz Band led by Marcus Kong and Musician in Residence: Mr Maidment and the Ukulele Choir led by our new Guitar Teacher: Anthony Bunting, along with our hard working solo performers.

Following the Autumn concert we were able to get together with the drama department to supply a pit band for the School production of “Grease.” The band was made up of some excellent student musicians who not only played wonderfully but really looked the part due to the unique positioning of the band – on the stage!

Mr Whittaker was the musical director and pianist, but we were also impressed by Marcus Kong (Y13) who played a major role in the show on top of performing in the band and doing lots of organisation work behind the scenes!

On the subject of the great achievements of our students, the Christmas Carol service not only showcased the amazing performance abilities of our choirs and introduced our new Saxophone Quartet. We were also honoured to have the Orchestra (conducted by David Crowe) play Year 12 student composer: James Gabb’s original piece “Yuletide Waltz” – a fantastic end to the calendar year!

In the new year (with many thanks to Mr Whittaker for enabling such an opportunity) the school choir were given the privilege of singing the Evensong in Gloucester Cathedral, alongside the Cathedral Scholars and under the direction of Adrian Partington!

I’m sure this is an experience that the students will benefit from and remember for the rest of their lives. We were commended on the quality of our singing, our ability to learn challenging music and our blend.

Within School we have had a lot of success with outstanding Cocurricular activities. As mentioned before the School Choir along with Chamber Choir and A Capella Choir have had some great times this year (led by Mr Whittaker, Mrs Fullerton and the Sixth Form Students respectively), we have also had the introduction of a Guitar and Ukulele ensemble led by our Guitar Teacher: Anthony Bunting) and a Saxophone Quartet (led by our new Woodwind Teacher: Karen Sykes), the Junior Orchestra led by our new Teacher of Music,Mrs Hughes and the Jazz Quartet led by Musician in Residence Mr Maidment and Sixth Form Student Marcus Kong. Brass ensemble has also been very strong this year lead by Brass Teacher Mrs Morris and Sixth Form Student Daniel Crowe.

We have also had the introduction of Music Technology workshop for Year 12 Enrichment led by Musician in Residence Mr Maidment. This gave students an insight into 24 School Life

the use of technology in music and how a Studio works –very valuable information for musicians of the 21st Century!

You would think after the School shut down for the Lockdown the music would not be able to continue, but the dedication of our students has been inspiring through such difficult times. We have had amazing solo recordings, a highly successful virtual House Music competition, virtual Founders Day (https://youtu.be/zd8crldIOYs) and virtual Summer Concert https://youtu.be/ufs877ZGRnA). The Choir has been hard at work recording their parts for their virtual performance of “Jerusalem” and there are to be virtual performances from the Jazz Quartet -put together by Mr Maidment- and Brass Group -put together by Mr Hannaford- premiered in the Summer Concert! Overall, despite the huge barriers faced, the music department has really come a long way this year with some amazing opportunities given to the students and amazing passion, dedication and musicality shown by our musicians. Our musicians have strengthened whilst growing in skills and confidence. We have an amazing year of music making ahead of us!

As Musician in Residence for the year (2019-2020) I have gained some very valuable experiences which I imagine will contribute greatly to the career in music I am pursuing. I started the year feeling quite nervous, having never been to the school. Yet excited about the opportunities that lay ahead for me. As soon as the year commenced I began working both in the classroom in each year group, as well as working with and leading cocurricular groups. I have particularly enjoyed working with GCSE and AS/ A level students on their coursework, giving them guidance -being a recent A level student myself I was able to give feedback from another perspective to the students on top of their marking.

Another highlight for me was working with the Jazz Band. My specialism being in Jazz I have felt it very beneficial to share what I have been learning at Junior Conservatoire with the students. Not only did this hopefully help them, but it has certainly helped me solidify my understanding and knowledge through teaching and mentoring.

Which has been very valuable to me and an experience I could never have had without this amazing opportunity. As well as running the Jazz Band in person I have also been able to continue after lockdown with “The Virtual Jazz Quartet”. The students put what they have learnt from Jazz Band over the year and put it into a recording of Tenor Madness by Sonny Rollins. I then edited the video and audio which was a very challenging task but very rewarding, especially the video side of the process as it was something I had never done before. Alongside working with the students I was studying hard myself for my audition to The Royal Birmingham Conservatoire in February. Working with the students on their performances and compositions has really allowed me to bring my own studies into practise, which, along with help and feedback from the wonderful music staff at the school greatly contributed to my successful audition.

Overall the experience I have gained from being Musician in Residence this year has been highly insightful into the world of music education and given me a totally unique experience for someone of my age. This has prepared me to no end for the rest of my musical journey, the next stage starting in September at Birmingham Conservatoire! I hope to return to the School as much as possible in the future to share my experiences with students who have similar ambitions to my own! With many thanks to the staff and students of The Crypt School for giving me this amazing and unique opportunity and for supporting me throughout the year.

Matthew Maidment, Musician in Residence 25 School Life

Reflection on my first year at The Crypt School – Rebecca Hughes, Music Department I joined the teaching staff as a 0.5 Music teacher in the Music department in September 2019. I had already been initiated into the high quality performance standards of the department by joining in the choir with the Founders day service at Gloucester Cathedral at the end of the Summer holiday, so understandably, I was nervous!

It wasn’t long before I was preparing for the Autumn concert and immersing myself in the scheme of work with the students. I set up a lower school orchestra, as an opportunity for beginners to Grade 3 players to experience the thrill of ensemble playing. They performed successfully in our Autumn concert.

Julian encourages all staff to take part in the various ensembles running in the music department, therefore I am also a member of our main choir. Starting the day on a Thursday singing from 8.15am for 30 minutes has been a beautiful sedation. Students arrive with enthusiasm and drive and the sound created by the 4 part choir has been such a delight to be a part of. I truly feel this has aided my own mental health as a member of staff, and I highly recommend more staff and students join.

In the November I was also treated to a professional development day out in Oldham. I was able to have one day training with ‘Musical futures’ team, who provide resources and approaches to ‘Just play’ pieces in the classroom using a variety of instruments in a ‘band style’ of teaching. I was challenged to play the ukulele and guitar all day, where my usual instrument in piano, clarinet or voice! This approach encourages students to try all instruments in the classroom and become competent at least at beginners level in three instruments. It was a very enjoyable day out, and I was then able to apply my knowledge immediately in the classroom, in keeping with the scheme of work.

As is the nature of such a lively music department, we were then preparing for the Christmas concert with gusto! I prepared a couple of songs for a small group of lower school singers to trial a new young voices group.

This proved to be a success, and the Christmas concert at St Barnabas church was beautiful – I even invited my Mother who was stunned at the quality and standard of musicianship at The Crypt.

The ‘Young voices’ then became a ‘thing’! we were established and ready to start preparing more songs for audiences. Rehearsals took off and we started on pieces such as ‘The Seal Lullaby (Eric Whitacre), All things bright and beautiful(Cecil F Alexander version), You Raise me up (B Graham and R Lowland), City of Stars from Lala land and Shackles (by Mary Mary). I contacted our feeder schools and some local community organisations to see if they wanted to have a little concert courtesy of our new Young voices group – the response was immense! We were all set to visit The Heron primary school and Westbourne care home on 5 th March, for the first of our mini concerts…but then Covid 19 struck. Unfortunately, our ‘Young voices’ has had to take a break, and we have had to postpone our outings. However, when it’s safe to do so – we will be back, and I look forward to the new and inspired suggestions from the students for our fresh itinerary.

One of my personal highlights of the year was being invited to sing with the cathedral choir at Gloucester cathedral on 12th February. As a 47 year old music teacher – this is something I have never done. Singing ‘O Radiant Dawn’ by James Macmillan was a truly rapturous moment, and I was so very proud of the sound that our choir made alongside the regular cathedral choir. Thank you for organising this event Julian.

My first year 'within’ school was sadly cut short and I have been remote teaching since March when the coronavirus arrived. However, my first year at the Crypt has been a busy, enjoyable musical journey. Thankyou for making me welcome as a member of staff at The Crypt. I look forward to lots more music making and enthusiasm from the wonderful pupils and staff at The Crypt from September.

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PE & Sports Special sporting moments Despite school sport being cut short, Crypt sport has still made so many incredible memories and achieved so much. There has been vast participation across all year groups in a wide range of sports and many sporting success stories. As we reflect on a short yet successful year we have put together our sporting highlights.

Girls Netball Y7/8 Netball club has been a real success so far this year. Across two-year groups, we now have 4 coaches and 6 teams. The girls have committed themselves to training and up to ž of all female students have attended a practice this year.

The Y7 netball team have gone from strength to strength this year, having a difficult start but going on to make serious progress. The Y7 girls have been very committed to netball club and on a weekly basis, we have 3 teams training. This is a great effort and something they should be proud of. All students that attend training are extremely committed and their hard work is clearly paying off. Our last fixtures against KLB, the A team took a 30-1 win, whilst the B team managed a 4-3 win. In other fixtures this term, the A’s managed a 9-2 win against a strong St Peters side and a 16-5 again HP. Both the Year 8 A and B teams are unbeaten by students in the same year group this year, playing against some tough opposition with resilience and great effort. With 2 girls in the Satellite netball program, netball is improving. Unfortunately, some big tournaments for the Y8 girls were cancelled, but we look forward to coming back together and strive to maintain the same commitment, resilience and winning streak.

Rugby This year impressively we have seen more than 360 pupils represent the school. One of our highlights of the year was the Year 10 rugby team in the NatWest Vase.

The Year 10 rugby team have had an extremley successful season and reached the quarter final of the NatWest Vase competition. Following the cup run before Christmas then played Lord William School from Oxfordshire in the last 16 at the beginning if this term. In horrendous conditions the team defended superbly and Jacob Balkwill took his chance excellently to crash over towards half time to take a 10-3 lead. The conditions and pitch deteriated quickly as rain continued to fall and it became almost impossible to tell the teams apart in the mud. However Crypt continued to to control the game and despite a poor decision on the final whistle to allow Lord William to score they won 13-10 to progress to the last eight of the national competition.

The quarter final draw could have been a lot kinder as the team were the last out of the hat and was drawn against St Lawrence school in Ramsgate, Kent. In a short space of time we were able to create a mini trip for the squad to Kent, as a reward for their efforts and ensuring the squad were as best prepareed for the quarter final game. After a leisurely stay in and around Canterbury and Margate the squad made their way to St Lawrence School. As we stepped off the mini buses and made our way up a hill to the changing rooms and pitch it was very evident that it would be a vital toss to win, with a howlling gale wind blowing stright down the pitch.

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Unfortunately the toss did not go our way and we kick off with the strong wind behind us. After a fran tic start, both teams settled and after a number of good turnovers from Jacob Price and Alex O-Egbon Crypt were rewarded with a number of penalties to pin St Lawrence into the corner. A good line out then saw Cam Blaxill drive over from close range. Crypt continued to keep St Lawrence in their own half and were rewarded with another penalty which Tom Baldwin slotted to make it a 10-0 after twenty minutes.

From this point forward the table turns and St Lawrence continued to dominate play, playing the conditions well and retaining possession playing into the wind. Their efforts were reward as their winger scored in the far corner. Two great covering tackles from Will Robinson stopped St Lawrence scoring their scond try of the game and at half time it was 10-5 to Crypt.

At the break the boys knew the scale of the task in front of them, playing up the slope into a gale force wind was not going to be easy but their defensive efforts kept St Lawrence at bay. However a number of penalties went against them and the St Lawrence scrum half who was man of the match took full advantage creating and scoring two tries. Although the score board was not going their way, Crypt continued to play but the conditions did not give them an easy exit from their own half. Despite a valiant effort, the team were camped on the St Lawrence line in the last play of the game but their defence stood strong, finishing the game 20-10 to St Lawrence.

Although the result did not go the boys way, we could not be prouder of the effort the whole sqaud made. To reach the last 8 of a national competiton speaks for itself. Being two games away from a final at Twickenham is a tough result to accept but we are confident the team will be even stronger going into senior rugby next year, well done!

Y7 Rugby The year 7 rugby squad continued to develop as a group and challenge one another on a weekly basis regardless of what team (A, B or C) they represent the school. We cannot fault the student’s efforts and attitude to their rugby which has been reflected in a number of great results. The B and C teams have had some very tough fixtures against more experienced opposition; however they continue to learn and develop. The real highlight of their year was the Churchdown 10s tournament. They did not concede a try in the group phase and narrowly lost to KLB in the final. We look forward to seeing what they can achieve in the future.

Year 9 Highlight- The B team finished the season unbeaten and the A team only narrowly lost to St Peters in their only defeat of the term.

Girls Rugby A day the girls made history, our first rugby fixture for our combined Y7/8 team took place on 11th February. This was organised by Gloucester Rugby. A select number of students have been training with Bianca from Gloucester- Hartpury during games, proving itself to be a great eye opener into the physical world of rugby for the girls. With that said, the girls had trained in all-weather imaginable and have really enjoyed this experience. Crypt student, Ellie Haigh, was named as a player of the tournament. A great experience that the girls were thankful for.

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Girls Football The combined year 7 and 8 Crypt girls’ football team competed in the final stages of the ESFA national competition. They faced a well organised Priory school who had previously won the competition. The game was competitive with both teams battling, demonstrating fantastic work ethic and determination. The Crypt girls gave it 100% and should be extremely proud of their performance. Their physicality, perseverance and dedication are clear to see and each year they continue to develop and improve. The final score ended 4-2 to Priory, however the girls made history that day. They made it to the final 16 nationally and continue to impress.

Road to Wembley After winning the area competition at Reading the Crypt girls headed to Swindon representing Cheltenham FC for the Regional round of the Road to Wembley tournament. At the end of the tournament there would be a winner of the ‘south’ who would then go on to play the winners of the ‘north’ at Wembley.

The girls were strong throughout the tournament and won all their matches beating Plymouth Argyle 2-0, Wycombe 20 and Leyton Orient 5-1. It was then into the final where the girls had to play second place Plymouth Argyle. The final was a brilliant display of football showcasing a lot of talent from both sides. Plymouth Argyle were up 1-0 but Bea Norwood scored an outstanding goal in the final 2 minutes to make it 1-1. It was then through to extra time, Safia Neocleous tested the goalkeeper but was unfortunate not to score. 1 minute of extra time left and Plymouth Argyle looked like they were about to score but it was goalkeeper Bridget Blackstone who pulled off the save of the tournament!

It was penalties to determine who would get the opportunity to play at Wembley. Unfortunately, the Crypt girls lost 2-1 on penalties. It seems the cruelest of ways to go out despite being unbeaten all tournament.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t our time but to make it so far in a national competition is an incredible achievement.

Yet again the girls have done themselves and the school incredibly proud, they played with desire, commitment and dedication. Their physicality, teamwork, leadership and communication were brilliant, and we are so proud of this team. They have listened, developed and played outstandingly throughout each round of the competition. They are an amazing group of girls who show nothing but energy, determination, dedication and demonstrate a passion for football. They have created a legacy for future Crypt girls’, and they should all be extremely proud.

We are excited for the Crypt girls’ footballs future and I have no doubt that we will carry on achieving and improving year on year. This is only the start of their journey and they have built the foundations for the upcoming years.

A special thank you to Chris Gooch who worked extremely hard with the girls, and to all the girls who attended lunch time training, classroom sessions and after school training.

Well done to: Eva Flitney, Bridget Blackstone, Thea Gooch, Ellie Haigh, Martha Campbell, Emily Anwyll, Saf Neocleous and Bea Norwood

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Table Tennis After comfortably winning the district competition both the U13 AND U16 table tennis sides progressed to the county finals at the YMCA in Cheltenham. Both teams played some superb table tennis beating Dene Magna and Balcarras but both came up against a strong Marling side who had a number of outstanding individuals who edged the final games, meaning both teams finished second in the county and unfortunately missing out on the regional finals.

Regional Tennis Following the success of the Year 9/10 team in the summer term, the team progressed to the regional knockout stages of the schools LTA tournament. The finals were held at Exeter University and the regional final reflected an outstanding level of tennis with a number of players having national rankings. Although competitive the team lost a tough semi final to Millfield to progress to third place play off against Bournemouth Grammar. The match could not have been closer and was all square after the single and doubles games which then took the tie to a shoot-out. Bertie Clarke and Theo Crompton then won the shoot out tie break, allowing the team to finish third in the South West!

Basketball An exciting term of basketball provided students with a great deal of opportunity to get playing and represent the school. The Y8 girls competed a year early in the U14 County tournament and took the win against Wynstones.

Exceptional performances from all involved. The Y7 students are currently involved in the nationwide Junior NBA program. We represent the Cleveland Cavaliers and compete against local schools with the goals of progressing onto regional rounds. This program aims to provide boys and girls with the opportunity to play full court basketball and access new equipment.

So far we have 1 win and 2 narrow losses under our belts. With additional training, I have no doubt we will see the boys and girls improve. The U16 boys also played in the county tournament. The boys played some exceptional basketball and just fell short of qualifying onto the next round loosing to St Peter 10-16, but beating other strong competition. Again, some stand out performances and excellent teamwork from this committed group of students.

Dance Our Y7 and 8 Dance team have made Crypt history, entering a squad for the first time into the Gloucester schools dance show. An impressive performance created by two Gloucester University students wowed the audience and set a very high standard for next year.

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Individual success

Archie Travis (Year 8) Archie is a talented showjumper and regularly competes all over the country at national events.

B Mwaisoloka & G Wallin (Year 12) Well done to Blessing & George who represented Gloucester U17 Academy against the Boys Club, Wales.

Tobey Reece (Year 9) Tobey won gold at the county archery tournament

Bea Norwood & Eva Flitney (Year 8) Well done to Bea & Eva who helped Gloucestershire U14s reach the quarter finals of the ESFA County Cup.

E Norwood, B Harrington and H Bell (Y11)

Ed Leech (Year 12) Sam Powell (Year 9, pictured) and Elle.

Huge well done to Elliott Norwood, Ben Harrington and Henry Bell who all represented Gloucestershire U16s this term as part of the Gloucester Rugby academy pathway.

All represented Gloucestershire at the South West cross-country championships in Bournemouth. All three students did remarkably well to reach the regional competition with Ed Leech finishing 16th in the South West!

Eva Flitney, is currently involved in Bristol Cities Regional U14 Talent Centre. Eva is part of an elite football programme which aims to get youth players all the way through to the ladies1st team, who currently play in the Women's Super League. For Eva to be selected for our U14s team is an excellent achievement as there is fierce competition for every position filled.

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Elle Griffiths attended a prestigious Summer scholarship for athletics. During her time at Wellington College, Elle gained extra experience and knowledge from top level coaches and nutritionists. Elle recently competed for Gloucester U13’s in a regional competition where she placed 7th in cross country.

Aiden Horsley and his gymnastics partner Cora Grey competed at the Gymnastique Magique in Disneyland Paris on 12 October 2019, representing Chequers Gymnastics. They performed an amazing routine and came away with a Gold medal. They were also part of the chequers display team that also took gold in the competition.

Tianna Klaric is currently in the Taekwondo GB team and would have been competing in the world championships in September if it wasn’t for corona virus. As a school we are very proud of her achievements and hope Taekwondo along with many other sports can start again soon.

Virtual Sports Awards Our first ever virtual Sports Awards video premiered on 9th July via the school YouTube account! Well done to the award winners - a great (short) reflection of another year of school sport.

Take a look at the video here: https://youtu.be/RUGopn3M7xE

Maths & Sciences Chemistry RSC Analytical Chemistry Challenge On Wednesday 26th February, three VI form students (Daniel Roderick, Adam Greaves, Marcia Shore) attended the RSC Analytical Chemistry Challenge at the University of Bristol. This was an all-day chemistry challenge, pitting them against students from across the South-West in a series of timed practical activities. The students had been preparing every Monday lunchtime for a term and were armed with a range of practical skills which stretched them beyond their learning in lessons. During the day, they had to demonstrate their excellent team-work abilities in a high-pressure environment, as well as the skills they had learnt along the way. Although they were unlucky not to place, all three students were excellent representatives of the school and we look forward to returning next year! The students were also treated to a lecture-demonstration by Dr Johnny Furze entitled “A Pollutant’s Tale”, which featured a number of exciting chemistry demonstrations that the team will no doubt carry with them into the rest of their studies.

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RSC Chemistry Top of the Bench Competition In November 2019 twelve students were selected to take part the RSC Chemistry Top of the Bench competition. Three teams of students (each consisting of two year 9 students, one year 10 and one year 11 student) worked each week to build their confidence and abilities within chemistry. In January a decision had to be made to select one of the groups to enter the competition; as each team had worked hard to perform at their best this was a very difficult decision.

The chosen team went on to compete in the first heat of the competition at the University of Bristol on Wednesday 22nd January 2020. The students were up against strong competition from many Public-school entries and other Grammar schools. The teams were asked to perform two, previously unknown, investigations and were assessed throughout their tasks. This assessment was carried out by Postgraduates who had previously studied at the University and were now carrying out Doctorates. The students found the tasks challenging but rose to the occasion showing real determination and resilience.

The first task was to produce an Iodine clock, a demanding task which calls for precision and accuracy. The second challenge included other investigation skill tests and a written test, where they could work collaboratively. In the afternoon, students were treated to a wonderful lecture by a Doctor from the University who entertained them with many exciting demonstrations; these included fast cooling of gases, the use of liquid nitrogen and many more.

Although our students did not progress through to the finals this year they performed very well as a team and completed all tasks with true professionalism and commitment. The experience of working a such a professional environment was well worth the effort they had put into the preparation for this competition.

Education in Action Sixth form chemistry students attended the University of Warwick in November for lectures on cancer treatment, poisons, how to survive the apocalypse and much more!

Physics Particle Physics Talk In March, Old Cryptian Dr Wilkins came in to school to speak to students from Y10, 11 and 12 about his studies after leaving The Crypt and particularly his work at CERN. He gave an overview of his career path so far and helped students to see how they can use the science they are currently learning to progress on to university and beyond. Dr Wilkins talked about his PhD in High Energy Particle Physics and his work on the ATLAS detector at CERN, as well as giving us an overview of the standard model of particle physics. Students were able to ask questions and get some tips for their own future plans.

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Engineering Raytheon Quadcopter Challenge Engineering enrichment kicked off in September with the launch of the Raytheon Quadcopter Challenge. Two teams of enthusiastic Year 9 students opened their boxes of quadcopter parts and got started with assembly, with the support of a mentor from Raytheon. Once built, the students learned to fly the two quadcopters (much trickier than anticipated!) and fine tuned their designs.

The regional competition took place in November and the judges were very impressed by the teams’ engineering and verbal presentations.

Marine Engineering Workshops In November, our Year 7 students had the opportunity to take part in a Marine Engineering workshop, organised by the Marine Society and Sea Cadets. The students learned about the physics of floating and sinking, before designing and building their own boats using very limited resources.

The boats were tested by measuring the number of marbles they could support before sinking – the winning boat held 228 marbles!

Recently we got the opportunity to design and create a boat with Jenny from Sea-Cadets. Firstly, Jenny taught us a bit about Marine Engineering and what it was like to work at Sea-Cadets. Marine Engineering proved to be a very interesting topic to learn about. We found out that to find a density of an object you divide it by the mass then the volume, it was surprising to see how simple this was to do. Afterwards, we designed the boats that we would create and test, using only card, tin foil and sellotape. They were tested by placing them into a tub of water and seeing how many marbles could go in the boat before it sunk. We managed to reach two hundred marbles and the highest that a pair got was two hundred and twenty-five. Overall, we had lots of fun and learnt lots.

Kate McCurrich & Joselyn Thomas The marine engineering lesson was great fun, challenging and interesting.

We learnt about Newton’s third law, the Archimedes’s principle, water displacement and much much more. We made mini boats out of card, tinfoil and sellotape. Eventually with some hard work and good ideas we turned our materials into mini boats. (Which could carry 10 times their weight!) Overall it was an amazing lesson!

Tom Pritchett

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Flying Start Challenge November also saw the launch of the Flying Start Challenge for two teams of Year 8 students, mentored by engineers from Safran. On the launch day, the students learned about the physics of flight and tested paper aeroplanes. They were given the project brief and began designing and building their gliders. Building and testing continued until the regional finals in February where the team competed against other local schools to fly their glider and give presentations about the project and their design.

GirlsGetSET The GirlsGetSET programme kicked off in November with a Year 12 STEM careers event. The girls enjoyed workshops on presentation skills and CV writing, took part in mock interviews and developed their teamwork with a mock assessment panel. They also heard from a variety of women and men working in STEM roles at GE Aviation. The Year 8 girls were next to attend their first event day in January. They worked in mixed teams from a range of local schools on a variety of activities with a computer science theme, supported by volunteer engineers from GE Aviation, including former pupil Jess who is currently in the first year of her apprenticeship. The second Year 8 event day in early March was based on the theme of space and the students were tasked with taking part in a project to design, build, and test a bottle rocket built using card, paper and other items. The students allocated their own team roles at the start and pitched their design to judges who decided if they could have the funding to begin building their rocket. At the end of the day they tested and presented their rocket to the rest of the students explaining their design choices. The Year 7 girls also attended their first event day in January with an action filled day of practical mathematics revolved around the round model of Joan Clarke. The girls were inspired by the use of mathematical skills in a practical environment whilst learning new communications methods.

Tomorrow’s Engineers Lego Robotics Challenge Ten Year 8 students started work on the Tomorrow’s Engineers Lego Robotics Challenge in November. The competition brief was very challenging with two robots to be designed and built to compete in both the speed and control challenge and the robot mat challenge. The mat challenge was especially complex; the robot must be programmed to complete a series of tasks, including moving objects around the mat, following a coloured line and travelling up a steep ramp. The team also prepared two presentations, one on the theme of the environment, one to present their project and robots. On the day of the regional finals at Renishaw, the team competed against other local schools in a series of challenges, including the teamwork challenge which involved working as a team to set up a production line to make 10 LED torches. They also delivered their presentations to a panel of engineers, had the opportunity to ask careers related questions and competed their robot against those from other schools. The project was a 35 School Life

steep learning curve; the teams had to learn how to use the programming software and they used a lot of testing and trial and error to perfect the performance of their robots. They won the ‘Robot Mat Challenge’ trophy and came second overall in the Regional Finals, narrowly missing out on a place at the National Finals.

F1 in Schools This year, a completely new team of Year 12 students formed to compete in the F1 in Schools competition.

They decided on a new team name, Mercury, and got started on their project in September. The team worked together to allocate roles and began the challenging process of seeking funding, marketing their brand and designing, building and testing their car. They also produced written portfolios and planned verbal presentations for the judges. At the South West Regional Final in February, the team were presented with the ‘Best Portfolio’ award, great work for a new team that only formed this year.

Unfortunately, many of our enrichment plans for the rest of the year were put on hold when schools closed in March, but we hope to get back to providing these opportunities as soon as possible.

F1 Update from Team Member Pralisha Shrestha F1 in Schools is an annual competition in which a group of students are tasked with funding the creation of, and physically making a small car, propelled by CO2 canisters. This year, our team of six, consisting of members Hayden Bradley, Benjamin Bee, Jacob Holt, Max Charles, Alex Kirkpatrick de la Fuente and Pralisha Shrestha, entered the development class, securing sponsorships from Renishaw, London Camera Exchange and Severn Signs to fund the project.

From late September until competition day, on February 26th, we worked during the during the enrichment hour on Wednesdays, and put in our own time during frees, lunches and outside of school to produce a car, two portfolios and a pit display.

Like all experiences in life there is a learning curve and the F1 in school’s competition was no different. There was always a constant pressure to improve on the previous competitors as we knew the competition was only going to get better. We used our weekly meetings to consolidate our progress and decide where to go next as a team. We faced many challenges, such as the plethora of issues concerning the 3D printer and milling machine. Despite these, we ploughed on, raising £50 to go towards a new printer core at our Christmas cake sale. Our car achieved 3rd place among the development cars and finished 5th overall in the drag races. We also won best portfolio.

F1 in schools has been a great experience and all of us are looking forward to entering professional class next year, if the COVID-19 outbreak doesn’t cause the cancellation of the event.

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Religious Education and Philosophy & Ethics In November, we were very pleased to welcome Professor Greg Atkins into school to talk to students about Humanist worldviews. Lots of discussion about religion and science has been taking place!

In January, all year 11 students visited St Barnabas Church to develop their understanding and knowledge of the beliefs and practices of Christianity.

The students enjoyed a session focused upon the Trinity and the significance of the Resurrection, amongst other topics. Many thanks to Revd Sarah Todd for hosting the session, presenting to our students, and for tackling their wide range of challenging questions!

Mrs Reynolds’ Retirement After many years at The Crypt School, Karen Reynolds took a well-earned retirement at the end of the 20192020 academic year. Karen first joined the school as a teacher in charge of Citizenship, and then later led the Religious Studies and Philosophy and Ethics departments for many years, being a wonderful advocate for the subject. Under her tuition and leadership, the department flourished, with students hugely enjoying the subject and also achieving excellent exam results. In the last few years, Karen had been the school’s Training Manager, working alongside GITEP and the University of Bristol to mentor and guide trainee teachers at the outset of their career; they certainly got to learn from the best! During her time at Crypt, Karen organised a wide range of successful events, including multiple career’s fairs, multi-faith days, and led trips abroad to Poland and to Rome, to enrich the educational experience of our students. She leaves a huge legacy at the school, and we will miss her very much!

Sixth Form We had a fantastic start to the new term In September 2019, following our best ever results in the summer, which again had us as the number 1 selective Sixth Form in Gloucestershire for Value added at A Level. These results reflected the hard work that the students put in over their two years of study. Many of them secured places at University, and it was great to see the vast majority of students achieve their first choice university, including 5 students who gained places at Oxford and Cambridge. We also had some amazing Apprenticeship's secured with both local and global companies. A massive well done to all of Year 13 2018-19 and good luck to them all in the future. A big thank you to all of the teachers and support staff who helped them to achieve this success.

We then welcomed a new cohort of Year 13 students into the Sixth Form as they embark on their final year of study at the Crypt. We were proud that so many students from Year 12 have continued into Year 13 and were delighted that Mr Bevan has joined the Sixth Form team as Head of Year 13 to support Mr Biggs and the students this year. The key message that we passed onto Year 13 is that the success from last year was driven by the students' hard work, determination and drive.

We also welcomed a new cohort of Year 12 students who have made an excellent start to the year. Many A Level teachers and tutors remarked on how well they have adapted to life in the Sixth Form. We also welcomed Miss Swain to the Sixth Form team this year as Head of Year 12. Miss Swain will work with Mr Biggs and the Sixth Form tutors to support Year 12 in their first year of A Levels. We asked teachers to provide feedback to Miss Swain about how the Year 12s have settled, one teacher said "I've been really impressed, both by the new students in my form but also my Year 12 set. They have been bubbly and enthusiastic, smartly dressed and very polite. Long may it last!" Another A-level teacher remarked "l see a huge amount of potential in them and 37 School Life

know they are going to be a pleasure to be around this year!" Finally, one of our Sixth Form tutors said "My new tutor group have been fantastic. I feel really lucky to have such a great group who have seamlessly joined the Year 13’. I see great times ahead."

Year 13 had a Mock Interview day on Friday 25th October. This is a great opportunity for each student to have a one to one practise interview with a local businessperson in school. These interviews provide students with the preparation they need for either University or Apprenticeships interviews that many of them will face in the weeks and months ahead. Year 13 then had their first set of internal mock exams after half term beginning the week 11th November.

Year 12 have been actively and enthusiastically participating in school life and especially enrichment sessions on a Wednesday afternoon, which range from Rugby, Netball, EPQ, First Aid to Future Learn courses to name but a few. Year 12 were also introduced to our work experience programme in Terms 1 and 2, and were encouraged to begin to explore finding a suitable placement for the week beginning the 29th June , 2020. This is the second year that we planned to run a work experience week following the success and feedback from students and employers last year.

Year 12 have been busy completing their prefect applications before Christmas, and were interviewed by the current student executive group to assess their suitability as part of the process. We have also had a great talk from the Fire Service on Fire Safety. Well done to all the students including the many sixth formers in Grease. A fantastic show, with lots of hard work both on the stage and from the back stage crew.

We held another extremely busy and vibrant Sixth Form Open Evening, and I would like to pass on a thank you to all the students that helped at the event at the start of November. A really busy evening and great to see so many Year 11 and new students considering joining us in September next year. The deadline for applications was at the end of January and we received record numbers from both Crypt boys and new students wanting to join the school in Year 12; a clear sign of the growing popular and reputation the Sixth has in the local area The new Year 12 Prefect team started their duties in January and have been a great help around the school as role models and mentors to the younger students. We then opened applications to students in Year 12 to apply for a place in the Student Executive team as well as Head Boy and Head Girl for 2020-2021. Applications were due on Tuesday February 25th and the interviews and presentations to join this prestigious team will take place throughout Term 4. Good luck to all those that apply.

We also had a fantastic careers fair in the school that was attended by both Year 12s and 13s. Hopefully students used this opportunity to speak with Universities and future employers.

Year 12 completed internal mock exams in January and Year 13 had their second set of mocks in the second week back after half term. For Year 13 especially these exams are crucial in the preparation for the summer and I hope lots of revision will take place over half term for these. To support student well-being, we continue to have sessions running during tutor time and have also offered a Mindfulness course to students on a Thursday lunch and also a drop in session on a Monday lunch to support students.

As time was progressing and students and teachers were starting to put plans in place to support Year 13 in the build up to the exams we sadly had the school closure at the end of March. This meant online lessons for Year 12 and 13 and then in what must be one of the first times in our history- Year 13 students were unable to sit their final exams in the summer and instead students will be awarded ‘centre assessed grades’ in August 2020.

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Students have been unable to say goodbye to each other and their teachers at the annual ‘Year 13 Leavers Meal’. We hope that we will be able to move this event to December and hope that students will be able to return to school from the many varied destinations that they will embark on in September.

Many of the usual summer term events including sports fixtures, work experience, summer school, career talks and UCAS preparation days therefore had to be cancelled. But, on a positive when the lock down was eased we were fortunate to have Year 12 back in school for one week per student before the end of term. We managed to have an important UCAS and Post 18 session to support students and completed the students executive applications announcing Matvei Sinden as our new Head Boy and Nadine Baird as our new Head Girl.

A huge well done to Year 12 students and teachers on how they coped and carried on so successfully with lessons online. Year 12 still completed their end of year exams in a virtual exam week, and we feel confident that they will start Year 13 in a solid position to complete their A Levels next year. Fingers crossed that the Sixth Form will be back to a ‘new normal’ in September and we look forward to the usual and new challenges of 2020-2021.

Robert Biggs, Director of Post 16 Education and Personal Development

Student Executive Team The Student Executive this year has been impacted, as most things have, by the coronavirus pandemic. However, this has not defined their time as representatives of the student body.

The Executive team, lead this year by Head Girl Amy Johnson and Head Boy Jamie Evans, have continued to serve as role models to students and participate in school events. These have included helping the organisation and running of Founders Day, open evenings and most recently, the impromptu early departure of the year 13 leavers from the school. At the time schools closed earlier this year, the Student Executive were able to offer some final help to ensure the smooth transition of school and sixth form students as they navigated a sudden and unexpected end to their school careers.

The legacy of the Student Executive will extend beyond their shortened time at Crypt with the changes they have set in place. These come in the form of recommendations which have been formally submitted to the Senior Leadership team after the Student Executive assessed and debated various school policies. These are centred around strengthening the school’s support and awareness of mental health and anxiety reduction which the school has made brilliant improvements on over the past few years. The Student Executive hope that their suggestions can further this development for the betterment of student’s wellbeing and learning.

The team will miss being able to spearhead the student body but welcome the newly appointed student executive and the new Head Boy and Head Girl, Matvei Sinden and Nadine Baird, who face the challenge of filling the roles in the coming year of uncertainty. Good luck!

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Congratulations to our new Student Executive Team for 2020-2021 Head Girl - Nadine Baird Head Boy - Matvei Sinden Blane Aitchison Daisy Allwood Alex Borley Liberty Brignall Clemency Byrne Taku Dhewa Cyril Lukose Lily Mountford Tom Pritchard Daniel Roderick Jack Sparey Olivia Williams

Oxbridge Update from Miss O’Neill, Oxbridge Coordinator Growing Gravitas Day at Hatton Court In September, Y13 students applying to either Oxford, Cambridge, or other competitive courses visited Hatton Court to be put through their paces with a practice interview day. Students made final amendments to their personal statements, answered challenging questions about their aspirations for the future, and trialled some of the aptitude tests that they would have to sit as part of the application process. Many thanks to Mr James and Mr Dyer for their input and assistance on this day. In addition, thanks to Joe Organ, of Brasenose College, Oxford who visited for an interview workshop with students, engaging them with different types of question and all of the possible methods and ideas for answering them.

Open Day Visit to Lady Margaret Hall Some students from Years 10 and above also visited our link college, Lady Margaret Hall, in September for the Open Day. Students listened to a presentation from Marrium Khan, Senior Outreach Officer regarding the applications process and the experience of being an Oxford student, and to the Principal who discussed the history and ethos of the college. Afterwards, they had a tour of the college, including the student accommodation, and enjoyed lunch in the dining hall. We then walked into town from the college, and students explored the city a little more, on a beautifully sunny day.

Careers This year has of course been badly disrupted by the necessity to close school but we none less managed to support our students in their learning and career decisions. The year opened with around 60 students from Years 11-13 attending an Apprenticeship Show at Cheltenham Racecourse.

This was chance to learn about opportunities and meet employers. Of course our showcase Careers Fair in January was again a resounding success attended by over 50 organisations representing higher education and a range of industrial sectors. This remains a whole school effort of which we can be proud and our students continue to earn praise from visitors for their behaviour and engagement. As an indication of this , our students were among only a handful of schools nationally, to be invited to sign up during lockdown to an innovative online UCAS Higher Education Conference.

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Careers programmes of learning continued for all our year groups as part of PSHE supported by access to a range of online resources. This includes Unifrog, a careers and higher education programme which is now accessible to all students across the school with individualised passwords. As well as a comprehensive research tool, Unifrog is a resource to record student activities in their career journey while at school to assist applications at a later date. Parents may also access the programme from home if they wish to experience Unifrog as a student. Our online careers support was further developed by the school website redesign and a dedicated twitter account.

Personalised support continued with access to careers interviews for any student at or close to major decisions with learning or careers. Despite the pandemic closure of school all sixth formers who requested interviews were seen and around 70% of Year 11 has been seen by school closure in March. Contact has been maintained with students throughout closure and the experience will inform new ways of working next year - in particular as a means to engage parents/carers in the guidance process.

Our sixth form leavers left us abruptly to an uncertain world, particularly those seeking employment opportunities. However, despite a slowing of the recruitment process, several have already already secured offers to start apprenticeships in the autumn or sooner with notable employers - among them Saint James Place Wealth Management, GE Aviation, EDF , and Chartered Accountants Crowe LLP. To support our apprenticeship seekers I have regularly published a vacancy bulletin which includes links to several other useful resources and maintained contact by phone during lockdown. A shortcut to apprenticeship opportunities is now available on the student page of intranet.

Of course we were disappointed not to be able to offer our Year 12 students a programme of Career Insight talks planned for the summer terms and even more so, a week of work experience as employers understandably withdrew support. We were very keen to build upon the success of these events last year as they proved to be so inspiring to our students. I would be very pleased to hear from anyone able to support us next year with these or similar interventions as there is no substitute to hearing it from professionals.

In January, we were visited by an external careers consultant to assess our progress against a national set of benchmarks for careers provision. This also took into account stakeholder views. Although we wish to improve in all areas of careers provision, it is clear we have an excellent platform to build from. We welcome involvement from all our partners whether directly or simply to pass on feedback.

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School Events Speech Day – September 2019

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Remembrance Service November 2019 On the 11th of November, the School held its annual Remembrance Service in the School Hall: this service commemorates the 138 Old Cryptians who gave their lives in the two world wars of the twentieth century. This year, we were delighted to be able to welcome Imam Hassan to lead our service. The assembled school listened to his talk which focussed on our shared British values and history which helps unite our communities together, and which reflected the involvement and sacrifice in the wars of the twentieth century of men and women from across our Commonwealth of nations. That sense of our shared history, and a shared belonging to this country and its values, was a powerful reminder of our common heritage and shared future in a time of political division.

This year’s Remembrance Service was sublime. Our 70 strong choir performed three pieces “Panis Angelicus” by Cesar Franck, The Lord bless you and keep you by John Rutter and “For the fallen” by Douglas Guest, demonstrating exceptional blend, musicality and expression. They were a credit to the school and it was wonderful to see so many new students, from year 7 and the sixth form joining our already established singers. Rowan Clayton from Year 11 played a beautiful “Last post” and “Reveille” and Daniel Crowe, from year 12 led our brass group in a performance of Elgar’s “Nimrod”. It is always wonderful to hear Crypt musicians perform so brilliantly to support our whole school services.

Art at Quattro Design It was great to see Crypt student's wonderful art work displayed at Quattro Design Architects office at Gloucester Quays in late 2019. The work for this exhibition is drawn from both GCSE and A Level folders from 2019 where 60% of our students achieved A*-A at A Level and grades 7-9 at GCSE. It constitutes a small sample of the creativity that takes place on a daily basis within our classrooms.

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School Library Update New for September 2019, Mrs Attwood wasn’t sure how popular the giant beanbags would be for the balcony area would be…but within a few days, it became a quiet space for students to read in. The balcony area is now an electronics free zone with the main library being used predominantly for studying.

In collaboration with the library, Mr Hill from our English department launched the Accelerated Reader scheme to Year 7 and 8 in September. Encouraging our children to read every day will give them both enjoyment and help boost their literacy skills.

To celebrate the launch of Accelerated Reader, in November we hosted a creative writing workshop with award winning author Christopher Edge with Year 7 and 8 students.

They had the chance to ask questions, participated in group activities including code breaking as well as Christopher signing copies of his books and chatting with students.

It was a fantastic opportunity for them and from the feedback Mrs Attwood received, they absolutely loved it!

An idea originally put forward by some of our Student Librarians, we held our first ever Library Cake Sale to raise some funds for the library. It was a huge success and proved extremely popular – we shouldn’t have underestimated the power of cake! We raised a fantastic £130 with all cakes provided by students and staff and were very grateful for everyone’s generosity.

Clubs & Societies at The Crypt Duke of Edinburgh Award The 2019-20 Crypt DofE programme was launched in October to Y9s for the Bronze Award, Y10s for the Silver Award and to Y11s and Y12s for the Gold Award. For the first time we offered walking and canoeing expeditions at Silver and Gold levels.

67 students signed up for Bronze, 30 for Silver with a 50/50 split to do both waking and canoeing expeditions and 6 for a Gold canoe expedition so DofE Lunchtime Clubs and Enrichment sessions started in earnest after the October school holiday. Eight members of staff volunteered to assist with this and admin staff have provided essential support throughout the year. They sorted themselves into 17 teams of between 5 and 8 participants, came up with some ridiculous team names and logged on to eDofE to submit their activity ideas to their DofE Leaders.

Throughout terms 2 and 3, the participants got started on their Physical, Skills and Volunteering sections by doing an hour or more a week in their own free time. Activities included lots of rugby, football, basketball, swimming, clay pigeon shooting, learning to cook, being a young leader at Beavers or Cubs, taking referee courses, helping in local libraries, churches and charity shops and many others. Some of the more unusual ones included building an aviary, learning to juggle and rebuilding a computer.

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Virtually everyone attended a one-day St John’s First Aid course in January or February, including several members of staff. All the Y9s were attending lunchtime clubs with Liz from our activity provider, Live Life Adventure, to make sure they could pack their rucksacks correctly, plan satisfying easy cook menus, look after their own health and safety as well as navigate using map and compass skills. The Y10s were learning about the new requirements for hillwalking and canoeing with their experienced team leaders and the Y12s were busy planning fundraising to boost their coffers.

And then lockdown happened! Our Y9s were about to get their first experience of camping at school overnight on a Friday/Saturday in late March, the Y10s were about to head out to the hills around Miserden the same weekend and the Y10 & Y12 canoers were due to take to the waters of the River Avon near Tewkesbury for their first sessions in Canadian canoes during the Easter holidays. Expeditions were postponed indefinitely, school closed and DofE went online to Google Classrooms. So, for the participants, it was time to rethink and adjust to doing DofE from home. Most of them were able to continue their skills and physical activities from home, some chose new ones, and many finished the required time that way. Volunteering proved harder to adjust but, after the DofE organisation issued guidelines, many of the participants found new ways to volunteer – teaching siblings a new skill, looking after elderly neighbours gardens, sewing and distributing face masks and scrubs to name but a few.

For me,as DofE Manager, it was a busy time trying to second guess government decisions and timescales and several expedition plans were made and scrapped over the next few months. Eventually daylight was seen at the end of the tunnel and plans were made to complete the expeditions. Emails were sent out to parents about new dates and luckily all bar one participant were able to make the new expeditions in the summer holidays.

At the time of writing this article the Silver and Gold canoers are due to paddle their way along most of the River Wye over two four-day trips in July and August; the Silver walkers are heading up the Malvern Hills and around the Forest of Dean over two weekends in August and the Bronze walkers are about to find out they are heading over to the Cotswolds for two weekends in September and October. We hope they have fun and enjoy warm sunny weather, but we know they have been trained sufficiently well to cope with rain and cold weather if this wonderful summer does not continue! All that will remain for them to do in the Autumn will be to submit evidence and assessors reports on eDofE for their Physical, Skills and Volunteering sections to complete their awards.

But what has happened to last year’s cohort? Well, we were really excited to have our very first Gold Awards approved during the early lockdown period!

Three from our 2017 cohort, Tom, Joe and Jacob and one from our 2018 cohort, Kyle. These four young men will eventually get to go to Buckingham Palace for their awards and we will recognise their achievements at Speech Day once we have fully come out of lockdown. They put a lot of hard work into completing their Awards, in particular Kyle who has managed to finish his whilst still being at school! On top of that we are pleased to say that since I took over as DofE Manager numbers of Bronze Awards completed per cohort has risen steadily (19 in 2017, 35 in 2018, 37 in 2019, 52 in 2020) along with 5 Silver awards in 2020 and the 4 Gold awards already mentioned. Many more are very close to completion with only one or two sections to sign-off, so we are hoping to be busy in September presenting the final certificates before we start all over again recruiting from our first co-ed cohort of Y9s as well as Y10s, 11s and Y12s. There was a lot of interest from potential new Y12s at the VI Form Open Evening so fingers crossed we have a number of Gold teams next year!

Many thanks as ever to all the staff that support DofE within school - from the Headmaster as DofE Licence holder; to the teachers and support staff who work as DofE Leaders and assessors; to those that help with the admin, act as emergency contacts or even just promote the award to the students - their help is hugely appreciated and advertised on their doors with DofE signs! DofE at The Crypt School could not operate so successfully without this amazing team!

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Individual Student Achievements Jamie Evans, one of our very talented A Level Drama students starred as the main role in CODS production of 'Our House' last week. Some A Level students went to support him and loved it!

Congratulations Jamie! We are very proud!

On Sat 7th Sep 19, Poppy Brenton who is part of Year 8, was invited to step up into the adult world of Obstacle Course Racing(OCR) and take on two laps (10km) of the race known as Nuclear Blast. Nuclear Races is one of the leading OCR race companies in the UK and is hosting in Oct 19 the 2019 World Championships. The course is a tough 5km loop with over thirty obstacles interspersed with cold thick mud and water, enough to drain your strength, stamina and body heat. The aim is to complete as many laps within a two hour window, if you cross the transition line before the two hour mark you are allowed to start your next lap.

Poppy completed lap 1 in 1:19 and cheered as that meant she could achieve her aim and start her 2nd lap.

Much to her surprise she completed the second nine mins faster in 1:08 and crossed the finish line with a total time of 2:27 for the 10km challenge. Throughout the challenge Poppy never complained, she showed great resilience and mental stamina around the course, constantly smiling and never giving up. By 3/4 of the way through the second lap the cold water was really getting to her, yet when asked if she wanted to stop, she declined and fought through the end.

Poppy achieved a great result, especially as she is not thirteen until Apr 20 she was placed as follows: Overall: 609th out of 1772 Female: 109th out of 662 13-17 Age Cat: 8th out of 30 Poppy travels to Zeus race on Sat 26 Oct 19 with the aim to qualify for the 2020 UK OCR Champs (19-20 Sep 20) & the World OCR Championships (Oct 20) to compete for Team in the 13-14 Age Cat (UK) & 13-17 Age Cat (World).

Congratulations to Finnley Whitehead and his dad who came 2nd in the country at Southampton National Hasler Finals!

Many congratulations to Ben Hannaford-Waddington seen here right with the trophy for Forest of Dean Brass won recently at the GBBA contest where they won best percussion for the day, there were 10 brass bands. Forest of Dean Brass also won their section and the other brand Ben played in (Lydney Training Band) also won their section. Ben has also been accepted onto the National Youth Orchestra inspire day next year.

Lily Mountford also played in Lydney Training Band.

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Tom McLaren – Year 12 - is a top esports player, he plays the game “Brawl Stars”. In the summer he represented the UK and got to the final of the Nations World Cup losing in the final to Spain.

He recently played in the Brawl Stars World Championships, playing for the team Nova Esports, progressing through regional qualifiers to the European Final and then the World Finals.

The regional and European finals were played on line, however the World Final was staged as a live competition in Busan in South Korea from 15-17 November when 8 qualifying teams will play for a prize pool of $250,000. Tom and his two team mates flew to Busan to participate in the World Finals. They had a fantastic week: all the players were treated very well and it was a big event in the city played in front of a live audience.

They won! Tom’s team played extremely well winning the quarter finals 3-0 the semis 3-1 and the final 3-0 and we were able to watch the whole event live on YouTube.

This is a link to the trophy presentation that gives you an idea of the size of the event https://twitter.com/Brawl_esports/status/1195686541084917760

Many congratulations to Joe Brown, who represented South England in the National Supadance League Finals.

The finals started on Friday and ended Sunday evening. Joe and his partner Izzy performed in team matches but also won as a couple in Latin Dances and reached the finals in ballroom.

It was a great achievement because the standard was very high and many couples were fighting for places in the finals.

Lots of our individual student sporting successes are celebrated in the PE/Sport section of The Cryptian

Charity One of the greatest strengths of The Crypt School is its powerful sense of community, in which each individual pupil and member of staff shares the same set of values and aspirations, whilst also being immensely proud of the wonderful diversity of our school body.

That sense of community is so often expressed in the pupils’ commitment to charity.

Below are just some of our charity highlights from this academic year…

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Children in Need Day - the pupils raised £1237!

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Organised by Mrs Wales, the non uniform day and Christmas Fair raised over £2300, and a van full of food was donated to the Hamper Scamper (picture, right). Thank you so much to all those that sent food in. A total of 1,757 food hampers and around 2,000 gifts were delivered to vulnerable induvials and families struggling at Christmas.

“…I cannot thank you enough, we will use everything. My cupboard was empty except for a tin of kidney beasn and gravy, you don’t know much this is going to help. My boy is really excited to have cereal and milk and the treats are amazing, it is all amazing. I wasn’t expecting that! You really have saved our Christmas, so much love and thanks” Anon Client •

Coordinated by Mr Croft, the School was able to deliver a record number of Christmas shoe boxes to the annual Shoe Box appeal this year – 110! A message from T4U to whom we donated the Christmas boxes: “I am writing to you on behalf of T4U to shared with you the good news of the outcomes of the 2019 shoe box campaign. Nationwide we gathered in 63,778 boxes, an increase of 12,500 on the previous year. THE BOXES WENT TO Romania, Belarus, Bosnia, Moldova and a contained with 5000 boxes went to Uganda.

I would like to say a big thank you for your support in enabling us to achieve such a wonderful results and helping to create many smiles and joyful hearts in children and families in these places. It is only through folks such as yourselves that the shoe box project is so successful.”

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Many thanks to all those who sent in cakes for the Joey Pouches cakes sale. We raised £300.16 which will allow us to post our Joey pouches and donated a significant chunk to the WWF’s Australian Wildlife and Nature Recovery Fund. Thank you also to those who donated fabric for the pouches and those wonderful parents who have been busily sewing them!

Ruth Le Maistre donated 20” of hair to The Little Princess Trust, so that it can be used to make real hair wigs for children who have lost their hair due to cancer.

Ruth raised £260.51 for the charity!

Congratulations to Harry McCoy who raised nearly £600 for our Local Charity Appeal during the Coronavirus pandemic by shaving off his hair!

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Harry Atkinson (former student and current staff member) has been raising money for Alzheimer's research in memory of his Nan Grace who sadly passed away due to Covid-19, by carrying out a remarkable running challenge across Gloucestershire by running to 20 different rugby clubs in 4-5 weeks covering around 350 kilometres (217 miles ).

To date, he has raised a fantastic £2,405. If you would like to donate here is the link to do so: https://www.gofundme.com/f/harry039s-campaign-for-alzheimer

Local Charity Appeal – Coronavirus Pandemic Like many, The Crypt School during the early stages of the pandemic, began to look at ways we could help the wider community. We had already donated goggles and gloves to local Doctors Surgeries and investigated the possibility of using our 3D printer and laser cutter to produce protective eyewear. A number of our students are volunteering, whilst others are raising money for charity. With that sense of community in mind, and knowing of the financial difficulties which many of our local charities are experiencing at that time, we thought we would, as a school community, like to be able to offer some assistance. We invited our Crypt families, where they were able, to contribute as much as they feel they could to our Local Charity Fundraising Appeal from 20th April – 22nd May 2020. The School matched funding whatever amount our Crypt families raise up to £10,000. In June 2020, The Crypt School was delighted to present four cheques of £1300 each to local charities from Local Charity Appeal. Recipients were County community project, MS Therapy Gloucester, James Hopkins Trust & Family Haven (seen in photo above).

Ben Brown – Istanbul Challenge In May 2020, it was with great sadness that we found out about the loss of former student and Old Cryptian Ben Brown. Ben left the school about 6 years ago to go to Welbeck College and then on into the Army.

Sadly, Ben took his own life two weeks ago. He had hidden his struggle with mental illness from everyone and it came as a great shock to all his family and friends. He was always an outgoing person and had a likeable cheekiness in his approach to life, so it is hard to believe that he has passed.

Following this tragic loss, Ben’s family and friends joined together to honour his life and raise awareness about the issues of the issues surrounding mental health, neuro-diversity and the prevention of young suicide. Ben was a big part of Typhoon Squadron in the Army and one exercise he was extremely fond of and could not wait to see come to fruition was ‘Trans-Europe’, a summer long exercise covering the majority of Europe in four stages. Starting in Loughborough, the Squadron planned to travel all the way to Istanbul and back again; however, due to the Coronavirus pandemic the exercise could not go ahead. Typhoon Squadron have now decided the best way to honour Ben is to complete the journey he had originally planned and have set up a team challenge to run the 4600 miles to Istanbul and back.

As a school, led by the PE department we also attempted to complete the challenge in memory of Ben but to also do our bit to raise awareness of this ever-important cause. Amazingly, to do date £31, 675 has been raised for Papyrus, who are the national charity for the prevention of young suicide. To donate, please visit Ben’s Just Giving page here: https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/loughborough2istanbul?utm_id=2&utm_term=Jra5Je97b 53 School Life

Staff Spotlight We said a very warm welcome to the following members of staff in 2019/2020: Harry Atkinson – PE Apprentice Gemma Brittan – Teacher of Chemistry Henry Bowen – Teacher of Science Marina Davis – Teacher of Maths Hannah Carter – p/t Teacher of Maths Sam Hill – Teacher of English (2nd in Dept – maternity cover) Rebecca Hughes – p/t Teacher of Music Elizabeth Lapham – Teacher of Design Technology Amy Leask – Teacher of Girls’ PE & Games Rachel Lintott – p/t Teacher of Maths Matthew Maidment – Musician in Residence Katrina Plummer – Head of Psychology & Sociology Natasha Prout – Teacher of Business Studies Kate Stobo – p/t Teacher of Science Zoe Wager – Teacher of English & Drama Helen Watkins – p/t Teacher of Science Sophia Weygang – Dramatist in Residence Kate Williams – Director of Maths Kevin Wise – Teacher of Computer Science We said a very fond farewell to the following staff: Andy Somerton sadly left the school at the end of December 2019. He joined the School firstly as a cover supervisor, but when we had a much sought-after PE teacher job available, he was our first choice. Since then, Andy has excelled in every aspect of his work in school – as a committed, knowledgeable and demanding teacher of PE and games; as a teacher of academic Sports Science at GCSE and at A Level; as a supportive, caring form tutor and as an outstanding head of year. Andy’s commitment to his work and to the School has been tremendous – whether that is in the highest standards he sets for himself and for his pupils and students; in his commitment to his work as head of year; in the time he spends supporting teams and in his leadership and participation in numerous school trips and visits. We are all tremendously sorry that he is both leaving The Crypt and indeed teaching; however, we both thank him for his work at The Crypt and offer him our very best wishes for his future and know, that he will keep in touch with the School.

Following many years of dedicated and exceptional service to the School, Hazel Baldwin is to retire from her post as Estates and Payroll Manager, as of the end of August 2020. Hazel has been absolutely central to the developments in the school estate over the past ten or so years, and which have radically improved both our working environment and significantly increased the footprint of the School estate. She has overseen projects that have totalled over £10m during the last decade and which include: the upgrading of the School drive and carpark; the building of the food room; the creation of the gym and drama studio; the construction of the E Block and the S block, alongside of the sports hall refurbishment; the building of our stunning sports pavilion and sports courts; the installation of security fencing and biometric entry; environmental measures, such as the installation of solar panels on the school hall roof; the reconfiguration of reception, as well as the upgrading of various other parts of the school, such as a number of science labs, the sixth form area, teaching rooms and toilets. It is a record anyone should be proud of and Hazel leaves a lasting legacy to both this, and all future generations of Cryptians. Her last project, this summer, will see her oversee the redevelopment of the DART area of the School. She will be sorely missed by all of us; however, we wish her a long and happy, as well as a well-deserved retirement!

Freddie Burrage joined the geography department in January 2019 in order to cover Jess Barnett’s maternity leave. His calm, organised approach to lessons meant he rapidly settled into school life. Students have enjoyed Freddie’s expert geographical knowledge and interesting resources that he has created and used with them 54 School Life

over the course of the year. Equally important to the geography department is for staff to be actively involved in fieldwork and, once again Freddie did not disappoint joining students in Gloucester, Forest of Dean, Swanage and Birmingham. On Miss Barnett’s return in January 2020, Freddie did not leave us but changed location to cover Mrs Attwood’s maternity cover in the library. Students quickly adjusted to their geography teacher now being the librarian. However, the strong relationship Freddie had established with his year 11 tutor group meant that he remained their tutor until the school closure in March 2020 providing stability to these young people as they navigated the hurdles of year 11. Freddie leaves us in July 2020 and moves onto Balcarras School.

James Hargreaves gained a new post – Head of Science – at a school near Manchester, where James originates from. We will all be very sorry indeed to see James leave the School: he has been such an outstanding teacher, head of biology, form tutor and this year, senior Year 11 tutor. James joined The Crypt as an NQT and quickly impressed everyone with his attention to detail, command of his subject and ability to quickly establish a strong rapport with his students. James always exhibits a calm and friendly manner which has endeared him to everyone. James is an outstanding colleague who I know will go on to excel in his future career. We wish him well for his future and our very best wishes.

Congratulations to Jane Joynson on obtaining an new role - that of Head of MFL at Westonbirt School. We shall be very sorry indeed to see Jane leave, but she moves to a wonderful new school and we hope that she will take with her many found and cherished memories of her time here at Crypt. As many of you know, Jane has worked at the Crypt for a number of years, as an MFL teacher, as our Head of MFL, as our EPQ coordinator, as a valued tutor, colleague and friend. We wish her the very best in her new role which will commence in September 2020.

Following many years of outstanding and dedicated service to the School and teaching profession, Karen Reynolds has decided to retire at the end of this academic year. As we all know, Karen has been a magnificent classroom teacher, inspiring through her teaching, a love of learning and of RS and philosophy and ethics in particular in her pupils. More recently, Karen has helped support a new generation of teachers through her work as our training manager: they have been a most fortunate group of people indeed. As a form tutor, Karen has supported countless numbers of senior students through the highs and lows of their school careers. To each of her many roles at Crypt (head of department, careers and PSHE leader, training manager and tutor), Karen has brought compassion, energy, leadership and integrity; but perhaps above all, an overriding sense of duty to ensure the very best outcomes for those in her care. Karen will be sorely missed by all!

Sam Hill has decided to move abroad for a period of time to teach and has secured a wonderful new job in Dubai. Sam has long wanted to work abroad for a period of time and we both thank him for the tremendous impact he has had on the School and its pupils in the short time he has been with us and wish him all the very best for the future. We strongly hope that we will see Sam back teaching at The Crypt in the not too distant future.

Zoe Wager has decided to leave The Crypt for a new role at a local school. Zoe has taught both English and drama at the School since September and she will be sorely missed by all, especially her pupils and tutees as well as colleagues within the two departments in which she teaches. Zoe has emerged as an outstanding teacher and tutor this year and we wish her well for the future.

The following members of staff went on maternity leave: Hannah Attwood (Librarian) Anne-Marie McCormick (Teacher of Maths) Sarah John (Teacher of Physics) We will welcome the following staff in September 2020: Annie Hall – Teacher of Physics Ben Pennington – Teacher of Modern Foreign Languages Joe Nicholson – Teacher of English Laurie Wordingham – Teacher of Religious Studies Beth Copeland-Jordon- Teacher of English and Drama 55 School Life

Founded 1901

President – Adam Ashby (1973-78)

Editor Duncan Miller (1970-77)

Website http://www.oldcryptians.org/

The School and the Club share in the joint publication of the magazine that was born in 1907.

Our primary purpose remains the collection of news and information about the School and Old Cryptians. We aim to collect articles and reminiscences, whether serious, satirical or humorous across the widest age range possible. Photographs are ever welcome.

The Editorial Board will be responsible for the style and content of the annual publication, the management of its production and the budget. We shall consider all articles that are submitted. In turn the editors will retain the authority to make a selection of the articles to be published and of their precise length and use of language.

The Cryptian 2021 All contributions for the next edition must be sent (by email attachment if possible) by the middle of July 2021 to: Duncan Miller 2, Tweenhills Cottage Gloucester Road Hartpury Gloucester GL19 3BG Email: duncan.a.miller@gmail.com

Each issue is free to members.

Non-members may purchase the magazine for ÂŁ5.00 per copy.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS Part 1 ...................................................................................................................................................................... 3 PRESIDENTIAL REFLECTIONS ............................................................................................................... 3 THE OLD CRYPTIANS’ CENTENARY BURSARY FUND 2001 ...................................................... 6 A Plea from the President ......................................................................................................................... 7 Your incoming President .......................................................................................................................... 9 Part 2. The OCC Year 2019-20 .................................................................................................................11 FOUNDERS’ DAY JUNE 2020 .................................................................................................................11 Congratulations to OCRFC for 2019/2020 ......................................................................................11 Correspondence .........................................................................................................................................13 Part 3. Articles.................................................................................................................................................21 Eighty years on. Some reflections on the Crypt School and Old Cryptians from 1939 to 1940.................................................................................................................................................................21 At Lord’s …. I once met …. Sir Alec Bedser......................................................................................25 Eighty years on. Some reflections on the times of Old Cryptians from 1940 to 1941. 26 Outside-edge : Schoolboy Reminiscences of ‘the Waggies’ ......................................................32 Memories from Paul James ....................................................................................................................33 150 Years of Gloucestershire CCC 1870-2020 ...............................................................................35 The Rev. David Miles Board (1948-55) ............................................................................................36 Part 4. Obituaries ...........................................................................................................................................39

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PART 1 PRESIDENTIAL REFLECTIONS

A few thoughts and recollections midway through an almost unprecedented (in modern times) 2 year presidential term!

Vice-President Knibbs, incoming President Ashby, outgoing President Smith and former President Hannaford

The school has officially opened the very fine new pavilion - we will all have differing memories of the old wooden structure but I am sure none of us will be disappointed with its replacement. The weather was fairly kind for the opening ceremony which was well attended by OCCs from near and far, tempted by a very good lunch no doubt. We now have an excellent opportunity for sponsorship of a multisport electronic scoreboard, so please get in touch if this is something of interest.

The Bursary Fund has benefitted greatly by a recent legacy from John Crowe who passed away earlier this year - the Fund is getting very close to self sufficiency meaning that we can continue to distribute £2,500 annually to current students to help them pursue sporting, artistic or academic goals. Recognition of this year’s recipients at Prize-giving was very well received. Our very own Jason Smith being the guest of honour for the evening and presenting prizes.

One of the goals for the OCC is to tighten the links with the existing pupils of the school and to offer representation at school careers events. Pupils are making very important decisions and having a pool of experience is a valuable resource for them. Please get in touch if you are willing to get involved. I attended a Business Breakfast at the school where around 120 Y10s questioned a mix of local business representatives about their roles and career decisions - a very enlightening time for me and hopefully piqued some interest with the pupils. I have also attended career days representing EDF in par and the Old Cryptians in the main to raise the visibility of the club and generate interest amongst the higher year groups so that the club is in their thoughts as they approach the next chapters in their lives.

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The school Remembrance Day service was very moving and well attended by OCs; the school choir sang and the orchestra played beautifully and the honoured guest Imam Hassan reflected well on the follies of war. Unfortunately changes to the way that the British Legion organise the Cenotaph Parade in London meant that for the first time in many years, the school was not represented at the march. The Club is looking for a serving or ex- service person to lead the organisation for next year - please do get in touch.

Once again a merry band of OCs and the headmaster congregated on London in November to attend the London OCs annual general meeting and dinner. As is now customary, the evening was held in the Cheshire Cheese on Fleet Street. Much reminiscing accompanied a substantial meal during which toasts were made to the founders and absent friends and the school song was sung proudly.

The School Carol Service held at St. Barnabas church showcased the incredible level and variety of musical talent that the school possesses; from full orchestra and choir, to choral solo, chamber choir, saxophone quartet, brass group, a capella choir and the Y7/8 vocal group. The evening culminated with the orchestra playing an original piece composed by James Gabb (Y12). Mike Nuth represented the OCC by reading from Matthew 2.

Plans were well in place for the AGM and dinner which was once again to be held in St. Mary de Crypt - invitations had gone out, caterers engaged (eventually, the original caterer remembering a double-booking rather late in the day, which ratchetted up the stress levels somewhat), the school a capella choir in rehearsal, tickets selling well and our esteemed speaker for the evening - Rob Holliday - was finalising his words. And then Covid-19.

Steve Mace and I met frequently in the run up to March, initially thinking that there may be a decline in sales, but we would still be going ahead. That picture changed rapidly as the enormity and awfulness of the situation became apparent and in the first week of March we decided to cancel the dinner and AGM. 3 weeks later and the whole country was in lockdown. We will never know the full impact of the virus on our fellow Old Cryptians

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Cryptians and our thoughts and prayers go out to anyone who has been impacted by the illness and the consequences of the global action to stem the pandemic.

The committee remained active, not least so that we could work out what to do! It was decided that there would be no AGM in 2020 and the next will hopefully be in March 2021. We managed various bits of constitutional business by email before deciding that a Skype-enabled committee meeting was going to be both possible and necessary. So, in May we held the first (and certainly not the last) Old Cryptians’ Club committee meeting with all members safely at home.

My personal experience of the pandemic has been mostly positive - I have remained in work although that work has moved from EDF’s Barnwood offices to my home office, my wife has also remained working as adult social care needs continue and my teenage children have been relatively diligent with home school work.

Both Crypt and Ribston have managed the remote schooling well and, in my experience, ensured that Y12 and Y9 have had plenty to keep them independently occupied. As a family we have obviously spent a lot of time together and we made sure that we took advantage of the fine weather by getting out for an hour’s walk almost every day.

My ancient father has been well looked after in Guild House by GCT who have managed to keep the virus out of the care home, although this has meant we haven’t seen him for 4 months with Skype being our only (slightly confusing) contact. My older brother, resident in northern Italy, rather rashly broke his leg on the second day of Italy’s relaxation of their lockdown and spent some time in hospital before being medi-vacced back to Cheltenham to recuperate. My younger brother is a teacher and has spent a lot of time delivering lessons over MS Teams to the lucky pupils of Kings High in Warwick.

Unfortunately during lockdown we learned of the untimely passing of former pupil Ben Brown. Ben was in his final year at Loughborough and was a member of Typhoon Squadron on the Defence Technical Undergraduate Scheme, whose planned summer exercise through Europe to Istanbul and back was cancelled because of Covid-19. Ben’s fellow students were determined to remember him and raise money by staging a virtual challenge instead, originally planning for his squadron to raise £1 per virtual mile for the exercise with a target of £4,600. This target was well and truly exceeded as friends, relatives and colleagues of Ben got involved. Ash Bawden, head of sports at Crypt, set up a virtual team to participate, including your president, who walked and ran in Ben’s memory and powered the Crypt Runners home in 3rd place. In total over £30,000 (with Gift Aid to be added) has been raised for Papyrus which does important work in suicide prevention for young people.

As the country opens up again and we look forward to the new school year, the school, the Club and Committee will return with a fresh impetus - I anticipate more remote committee meetings, pupils will return to a very different experience and this issue of the Cryptian magazine will be digital only. We will plan for a dinner and AGM in March 2021, the London dinner in November is unlikely to be held and we will hear how Prize Giving and all the other important events of the school year will be marked.

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A reminder that we are moving to Direct Debit for membership fees collected through the GoCardless service - details on the website https://oldcryptians.org/membership/direct-debit/ Please also sign up to the LinkedIn group https://www.linkedin.com/groups/7410920/ As always, please encourage friends/colleagues who were at the school to join, or at least sign up to the LinkedIn group - the more members and interested parties we have the better we will be able to support the school and former pupils.

THE OLD CRYPTIANS’ CENTENARY BURSARY FUND 2001 DONORS AND FINANCES All donations to the Bursary fund are appreciated.

Bursary bank details are set out below.

Account name. OC Bursary fund Sort code. 40-52-40 Account No. 00010216

The closing balance of the Bursary accounts as of Dec 31 2019 was £65,526. Receipts from donations and Interest were £3,861. Expenditure largely from Bursary payments of £2,500 were £2,560 leaving an annual surplus for the period of £1301. During the current year (2020) an additional source of income will be from the Tax reclaimed under Gift Aid. STRATEGY FOR 2020 Much disruption due to the COVID-19 virus continues to be caused in Social and Economic sectors with Health and Employment restrictions. Many Charitable organisations have been affected including the OCC Bursary. Despite school being closed during the general lockdown, a similar policy to previous years has been maintained in providing Bursary awards to deserving students in their respective fields whether Sports, Arts Drama and Music, Academia and Technology/Engineering. Due to the current situation, Travel has been excluded.

All donations to the Bursary fund are appreciated as the aim continues to be self sufficient by matching the level of expenditure with the necessary income to maintain the current awards to students. Banking details are as follows: Account name OC Bursary Fund. Sort Code 40-52-40. Account No 00010216 BURSARY AWARDS 2020 The Trustees were pleased to award 8 Bursaries this year. No ceremony was possible at school and the following recipients received their Bursaries through the post in June.

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Sixth form Academic- Gabby Koyder, Pralisha Shrestha Arts, Music, Drama- Lachlan Mackenzie, Alice Groom, Ben McKenzie Sports- Eva Flitney, Caleb Aldridge Technology/Engineering- Oliver King THE 1539 SOCIETY The 1539 Society honours alumni and friends of the Crypt School who since inauguration in 2001 have been Benefactors of the Bursary Fund. Membership is acknowledged with the presentation of a special lapel badge and signed Certificate.

Currently there are 90 individual donors enrolled. Present Trustees are Richard Browning (Chairman), Clive Thomas (Treasurer), Mike Beard and Richard Briggs. Full details of the OCC Bursary Fund can be found on the club website www.oldcryptians.org.

Clive Thomas address is 16 Quat Goose Lane, Swindon Village, Cheltenham GL51 9RX .

Tel No 01242 216885 . clive@clive-thomas.co.uk

EXTENDED SUPPORT Further support can be provided by means of a Gift through a Will. The Bursary as a Charity pays no tax on gifts and furthermore estates may benefit by reducing the amount liable for Inheritance Tax. For this it is recommended seeking the assistance of a Solicitor to amend an existing Will by simply adding a codicil 1. I give ….Pounds (£) to The Old Cryptians Club Centenary Bursary Fund ( Registered Charity No (1094627)

Richard Browning (1952-59) Chairman of the Trustees

A Plea from the President One of the benefits of holding the position of President of the OCC is the opportunity to direct the purpose of the Club. In our Constitution it states that The objects of the Club are: A. the encouragement of social intercourse between former pupils and keeping them in touch with the School B. the publication and circulation of all news of interest about present and former pupils through “The Cryptian”, the Web Site and other means of communication C. the promotion of the interests of the School, its institutions and any of its members

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In line with all of the above, the Club has a desire to become more “useful� to its members - it is all very well sharing news as we receive it or holding social events, but it would be even better if we could serve our members.

Opportunity comes in many forms and quite often when we least expect it. The past 6 months have been more different than any of us could have expected and will have impacted many of us in many different ways.

I would like to drive the Club towards meeting the challenge of helping all our members, and those yet to become members, in any way that we can. We have a membership with a wide variety of skills and experience and with access to many and varied resources.

We have company owners and directors, plumbers and carpenters, politicians and civil servants, teachers and scholars, retirees and apprentices, doctors and nurses, artists and technologists - in short, a broad picture of life and skills.

What if we could harness those resources for the good of the membership and the school? Provide real life experiences and advice to the careers system, advertise our services to other members, highlight vacancies in our workplace, influence local policy decisions - I am sure there are other ways we as members can deliver value to support the Objects of the Club.

We have a presence on LinkedIn and on Facebook where news is shared but I would like to see more traffic there, maybe requests or offers for assistance, job vacancies, careers advice or anything else that helps to meet the Objects of the Club.

If you have any thoughts about how we can achieve this, please let me know by email to president@oldcryptians.org or using the LinkedIn group or Facebook page.

To kick things off, the Club would like to refresh the existing website and take more advantage of relevant social media channels - if you think you can help, please get in touch.

Adam Ashby (1973-78) President, OCC

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Your incoming President Life has changed for everyone. As a TV reporter I’m used to telling stories about other people but coronavirus was a story that was affecting me too and there was a huge appetite for stories. For the first couple of months we reported on very little else. It was all consuming and people turned to the news for information and updates so we had to carry on as best we could in very different circumstances.

As the Gloucestershire reporter I’m normally based at BBC Radio Gloucestershire with my cameraman, Mark Leach.

We would travel to shoots together and then head back to the office to edit together.

But not anymore.

Restrictions put in place meant that we couldn’t be in the office so I started working from home in midMarch. I set up an edit station on my dining table and haven’t worked in the office since. I set up a studio in my basement which I used a couple of times in the early days when we couldn’t get out to film. We were always used to working remotely so it hasn’t been too different except that I’m home a lot earlier than I used to be!

Instead of travelling together, Mark and I now meet on location. Social distancing meant, initially, that we had to do interviews outside, two metres apart and use boom poles with microphones on. This became a familiar sight on TV news bulletins. Today we are able to film inside if its safe.

But before and after every shoot we disinfect the kit with sanitiser. Mark then hands me the camera card with all the footage on it and I head home to edit. In the first couple of weeks we’d also do a lot of interviews over Skype or Zoom. I’d often ask interviewees if there was someone in the house that could film some shots of them on a phone and send me the footage. When we couldn’t get out to film we had to get creative and many of my early pieces had footage shot on a phone. It was a new way of working to make sure that we could carry on and report the news. One of the advantages of lockdown was that 99% of the time people I wanted to interview were always at home and so we often got interviews much easier than when people were out and about.

But while we got our heads around the new way of working quite quickly (and not much has changed - I’m still editing at home) we had to make sure that we were still telling the stories. We had ideas coming out of our ears and the challenge was choosing which to do. Initially many of the stories I did were about how people and organisations had been Old Cryptians

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affected by lockdown, how support charities were changing their operation to help clients when you can’t see them face to face, how the NHS was coping etc. But the most powerful stories were the human ones. I’ve interviewed families who have lost loved ones to covid, but one of the most positive responses I had was when I interviewed two men who had survived. The audience really appreciated the positive side of what was a very dark story to tell.

Six months on we look to the future and what the new normal will be for us all. We’re still all mainly working from home with just the minimum number of staff in the office to get the programme on air. I don’t think I’ll ever do the morning rush hour anymore when I’ve got the ability to start at home. But I do miss colleagues - human interaction is important and at some point, when we’re allowed, I’ll head back to the office to edit. But its been an incredible experience to report on a global story where everyone is affected and has a story to tell. My only regret? I didn’t buy shares in Zoom!

Steve Knibbs (1981-89) Vice President OCC

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PART 2. THE OCC YEAR 2019-20 FOUNDERS’ DAY JUNE 2020 Events this year forced the School to hold a 'Virtual' Founders' Day, which can be viewed on YouTube via this link. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zd8crldIOYs

Congratulations to OCRFC for 2019/2020

The 1st XV were unbeaten in both the league – Wadsworth 6X Gloucestershire 1 and the Cup – when the season was abruptly suspended in March due Covid-19.

Not only that but the squad had a +440 points difference and the XV were 21 points ahead of the second placed team.

Sadly, the team missed possibly an historic opportunity to play at Twickenham in the Junior Vase Cup – they were one victory away from reaching the final - again because of the rude interruption of Covid-19.

However, warmest congratulations to the 1st XV on winning promotion to the Gloucester Premier League for 2020/21 and all best wishes to the squad when rugby gets underway again.

The 3rd XV were also in top spot in Gloucester and District 3 and the club recently fielded a 4th XV. Congratulations are due, too, to Gill Howell who in the new season will embark upon her 40th year in the laundering of the club shirts. Gill and her late husband Derek, who was fixture secretary of the Club for 35 years, have been wonderful servants and stalwarts of the OCRFC.

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Well done to all of those wearing the distinctive club colours, your coaches and other back-up staff.

Your success brings great joy to a former school and OCRFC player – some 60+ years ago!

Howard Allen (1947-1955) Past President OCC and a former editor of the Cryptian.

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Correspondence From Geoff Shellswell (1963-69) I was wondering whether the School, or the Old Cryptians Society has such a thing as a museum of School-related objects? I ask because I have a set of cufflinks that I would like to donate.

These were passed to me by my father, Gordon Shellswell, who was at the School from about 1932 to 1938 - this would have been in the Greyfriars/Friars Orchard time. I believe a number of the Shellswell family were educated at The Crypt before then. Dad went on to join the Gloucestershiire Police rising to the rank of Superintendent in Gloucester before he retired. I myself was at the School from 1963-1969, when Stanley Ward was Headmaster, and I was Head Boy in 1968-69. Inspired by my teachers John Earnshaw and Paul Carter, I followed a career in Biology, initially studying at Cambridge, followed by a PhD in Developmental Biology in London. After working on Post-Doctoral Fellowships in Bristol and Southampton, my wife and I moved to west Wales in 1987 and from then until my retirement in 2017 I worked for a local company producing immunotherapeutic products (anti venoms and other products for acute toxic events).

But enough about me!

I see the cufflinks were from Mann's Jewellers in Gloucester. I am not sure whether they still have a shop there, although I believe the company still exists, with a head office in Stroud. They show signs of wear, perhaps not surprising after all these years. I can't see any hallmarks and it looks to me as if the links were simply gold plated. There is also a small stain on the mount in the box, but that might come away with careful cleaning.

If you know of anywhere that such items could be displayed, I would be very happy to send them.

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I also have some photographs of Dad with his form (IVA) in 1935 and also in the cricket team in 1936. I may also have some others of my own time there. I would be happy to email pictures of these if you think they might be interesting in your archive.

Form IVA in 1935. My Dad (not wearing a tie I notice!) is sitting to the left of the Master. On my copy, someone has put a small cross on his chest.

The Cricket XI, 1936, has some names to help identify the rather serious looking teammates. Top row, L-R, are V. Townsend, G. Shellswell, G. Savage, G.H. Blundell, S.S. Clarkson, H.S. Thompson and M.G. Smith. Seated, L-R, are R.F.C. Jackson, A.H. Deavin, C.G. Whiting (Captain), L. A.C. Lane and N.T. Jones. On the back is the studio's name, H-K Fox, 7 King's Square, Gloucester, and the printed statement that "This photograph can be suitably framed from 3/6" - doesn't look like my Dad did that! I remember Dad saying that he was the youngest member of the Cricket XI - he would have been 15 in 1936.

From Kenneth Creese (1943-49) (writing to Sue Wales) What a thrill to be able to attend a Founder's Day Service from across the pond. The first I have had the pleasure of experiencing since I left school in 1949.

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Please express the thanks, on behalf of many of we Old Cryptians ( old being the operative word as far as I am concerned), to all who must have done a lot of hard work to make this virtual Founder's Day a reality. Nice to see so many talented young people now attending the school.

Thank you again Kenneth Roland Creese (1943-1949) Vivat Cryptiensis

Mark Cordory (1973-80) was awarded a BA (Hons) in Theatre Design and Technology

by Nottingham University. He is a designer and props maker for TV, Film, Stage and LARP with over 30 years in the industry. His work can be seen across the arts, from Iron Maiden to Dr. Who, from Torchwood to Fireman Sam, as a puppet maker, costume maker, prop maker, set designer and illustrator. He writes: It's all gone a little crazy here...

Back in March I was notified of a meme using an old photograph of me in one of my costumes doing the rounds on Facebook.

At the time I thought "Hah, well at least they left the small website address watermark in the centre of the image so I guess I'll let it go".

However, it quickly became apparent that the meme had taken on a life of its own in the face of the current COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting panic buying, (I mean, why toilet roll? It may be a seriously nasty virus but at least it doesn't give you diarrhoea?!?)

Within hours I was getting notifications from friends on Facebook who'd seen the meme on various groups and elsewhere on the internet, within a couple of days it was clear that this had gone completely viral and all I could do was sit back and try to enjoy the ride .

Then I started to get notifications that it had been translated into other languages...

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...and...

And apparently there are more translations of it, all saying the same basic thing with slight variations. So I decided to try to find out where the original image had come from, and I eventually traced it back to, what I believe is, 'Patient Zero' on Pintrest where I'd posted it maybe 5 years ago before I'd started the SALVAGED Ware branding and was just experimenting with watermarking.

You can see they've lower watermarks but left out of some sort of respect, Photoshop I don't know, and thankfully everyone using the same source watermark.

cropped the original the centre one, whether or maybe out of a lack of but at least it's still there else who is presumably image has also kept the

This has truly all gone a bit mad, it appears to be the meme of the moment and I'm getting regular notifications by the hour of it being shared across the internet, but then again I guess the whole world has gone a little crazy right now?

Well, things took another very strange turn in the story in August when David Wolfe the controversial raw food advocate tweeted to his 100k followers that this was “meme of the year� and off I went again!

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So here I am; a viral meme for our strange times. I have to admit that, whenever I'd considered the post apocalyptic world and the potential collapse of society, I didn't factor in becoming the poster 'boy' for a global pandemic and the resulting panicbuying, but hey; if this is the ride then I guess I'd rather reach the finish line sliding on my knees and doing air guitar - strange days indeed.

So if you want a tee shirt inspired by this meme then you can pick one up at my TeePublic store at http://tee.pub/lic/aJR3e2hZjIQ ...well, I figured why not eh?

Mark ('That Guy Off The Internet') Cordory

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William “Bill� Blair (1973-81) Bill has been involved in the music business all his life. Take a look at his YouTube account for a potted history of Gloucester and Bristol bands from the 80s/90s/00s with which Bill has been involved. He writes: Here's something of an oddity. I wrote this in the summer of 1977 (I was just 14 years old) complete with Roger-Dean style logo (the result of an art class project to design a record cover). Having designed the logo, I decided to pull together some musical ideas I'd had to form some kind of concept album to go with the title (pretentious or what? You have to remember this was the 70s).

For some reason, I never actually got round to recording it at the time. I revisited a few times over the years and, in the 1980s, made a whole load of notes all over the manuscript in readiness for a planned recording using my four-track portastudio but, once again, didn't get round to it.

With the COVID lockdown and furlough of 2020, I was tidying through and found the score in a pile of old manuscripts, played through sections of it, and thought it sounded quite good - so I thought I'd have a go at recording it. So here it is.

I'm quite taken with how advanced this was, especially given my earlier recordings on here (1973, 1975, just 4 and 2 years earlier). Having said that, the *ideas* in the later recordings are technically and harmonically more advanced, just not as well executed or recorded as the facilities of 2020 have afforded me in resurrecting this teenage gem.

And, harmonically, the ideas in this are not really that advanced - they don't stray much from simple majors and minors and their 7ths.

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Yes, there are imperfections - but it's still nicer than I could have done in 1977 with a portable tape deck, piano and a swanee whistle :-) Keyboards used: Casio Privia PX-S100 (piano), Nord Stage 73 (Hammond, Rhodes), Novation KS4 (synth), Yamaha MOXF6 (guitar), Roland JV-2050/XV-5050 (orchestra), Artifake Redtron VST (Mellotron), Elektrostudio ESLine VST (Solina).

There are more notes on the YouTube description if you really want to know more.

Richard Cooke seeking information regarding his grandfather.

I believe that my grandfather Francis Ewart Cooke, born in 1889, was a pupil at the Crypt School - I don't know when he was at the school but his date of birth was 21 June 1889.

I should be grateful if you would please tell me whether the Crypt School would have any records of pupils going that far back in time and whether I could enquire about my grandfather.

I’m going to go out on a limb and suggest that we have no surviving members from that era, however, we may have descendants who can shed some light on pupils from 1900s.

There is every possibility that Francis Ewart Cooke was an early member of the Old Cryptonians (as the Club was then known).

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The President writes We have been sent a low resolution reproduction of a photo that is described as “Old Cryptians, Cambridge”. I can’t make out any of the names, nor can I see a date - but I’d take a stab at 1940s. If anyone can shed light on the fine young men in the photo I can report back and possibly have an update for the next issue.

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PART 3. ARTICLES Eighty years on. Some reflections on the Crypt School and Old Cryptians from 1939 to 1940.

Eighty years ago on September 3rd 1939, as a result of the invasion of Poland by German troops, the British government and France declared war. As a result Old Cryptians of a variety of ages were faced with a number of major decisions which reflected their personal circumstances. I have included those examples I have found which demonstrate the challenges that confronted them. Staff and pupils who returned for the Autumn Term would also have to adapt to the huge changes that would take place at home, at school and the City of Gloucester.

The vast majority of boys, even in the selective grammar schools left school by the age of sixteen and went into local trades and trained to enter the professions. Some pupils who anticipated the outbreak of war took the opportunity to volunteer for training whilst still working so they could enter their chosen Armed Service. Conscription was immediately introduced for those men between 18 and 41. They were allocated according to need and the majority joined the army. Dreams and plans were put on hold as the nation prepared to confront the crisis that loomed. Most Sixth Formers who obtained places at university did not take up their places whilst those passed fit left their courses and enlisted. Outstanding students such as Head Prefect Peter Bayley (19311940) and his close friend Tom Stock (1932-1940) obtained places at Oxford but were called up and served in India. Bayley would become Principal of Collingwood College, Durham and later Professor of English at St Andrew's University. Derek Brewer (19351941) and Harold Meadows (1935-1941) joined the Army and would serve in Italy and later took up places at Oxford. Brewer became a Professor of English and later was Master of Emmanuel College, Cambridge from 1977 to 1990. Meadows gained his Oxford Blue in 1948 and became a popular headmaster. Some talented science students remained at university to pursue projects which were deemed to be essential to the war effort. Joe Wiltshire (1930-38) gained a Double First at Cambridge and was involved in research on radar systems for the Admiralty. Kenneth Benfield (1931-37) a graduate in Engineering Science worked on the jet engine project with Sir Frank Whittle based at Brockworth. A few such as Ronnie Gulliford (1931-38) took the difficult decision and became a conscientious objector. Most joined the non-combatant corps which performed a variety of support duties.

Two of the most outstanding ever Crypt all-rounders and Cambridge graduates had their careers in education cut short as did 20,000 other classroom teachers. The popular modern languages teacher, R. C. Easterbrook “Ronnie� (1937-39) and (1945-1962) served as a Major in the Intelligence Service. Norman Browning (1918-1926) was Head Prefect, joined the RAF and became a squadron-leader. Grahame Parker (1921-1932) was a double blue and played cricket for Gloucestershire and rugby for England. The loss of so many young teachers placed great pressure on headmasters across the country. Recently retired teachers returned to the classroom whilst many continued on for the duration. Many doctors such as John George (1913-1920) volunteered. Dr George became a Lt-Colonel and in 1958 was appointed a Physician to the Queen. The lives of the following notable Cryptians who left by sixteen followed illustrate some other paths. Harold Collison (1923-26) pursued a career in the National Unions of Old Cryptians

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Agricultural Workers and was active in the vital function of effectively producing as much food for the nation as possible. He became General Secretary of the TUC and Chairman in 1964 and was created Lord Collison. Ken Hyett (1926-1931) left the family plumbing business and joined the RAF. He later became Mayor of Gloucester and was Chairman of Governors in the challenging times in the 1970's. Gordon Hudson (192129) joined like many as a junior aged eight. His prowess on the sports field led to him becoming a PE Instructor in the RAF. Gordon played in a number of war-time internationals and later became Chairman of Gloucester RFC. Many sporting careers were curtailed and many members of the Old Cryptians' Club joined up and eight members paid the ultimate sacrifice.

The Crypt School was still situated at Friars' Orchard behind the ancestral Schoolroom and St Mary de Crypt in Southgate Street and stretched back to Brunswick Road. It was described as a “quiet oasis of calm in the centre of the hustle and bustle of the City” with all the attractive amenities and distractions for the pupils aged seven to eighteen.

Radical reorganisation of education in Gloucester was under discussion in the 1930's. A new Technical College was badly needed for both sexes and finally in 1938 the workmen arrived at Friars' Orchard and the peace was shattered. The glorious mature trees which encircled the playing field were felled and building commenced whilst the teaching continued in the main building as the concrete mixers seemed to revolve on relentlessly. The physical disruption on the site in 1939 and the psychological impact must have been enormous. There was no great enthusiasm as the Foundation Stone for the new Crypt School was laid at Podsmead in July 1939 but any optimism was dashed three months later.

Gloucester was declared a Reception Area and many people were forced to move from sensitive Southern coastal areas whilst workers were encouraged to move, many with their families, to vital war-time factories.

Gloucester Aircraft Company expanded rapidly and produced Hawker Hurricanes at Brockworth. The Wagon Works produced tanks whilst Fielding and Platt and other factories were adapted to the requirements of the struggle ahead. The fear of bombing raids in the larger cities led to more movement. Pupils and Staff from the King Norton Grammar School, Birmingham were transferred to Denmark Road High School and the Crypt School and were billeted locally. Women filled the large number of administrative tasks in offices and on the shop-floor created by the call-up of the men. The School was now over 400 pupils and there was overcrowding at Friars' Orchard. Some classes were held in various buildings across the City whilst others used temporary wooden classrooms. Gas-masks were issued and air-wardens' trenches were dug and air-raid shelters were installed in the grounds. Windows were protected with sticky tape and blackouts were enforced. Senior pupils carried out fire-watching duties in the City which included the roof of the Cathedral. The Bauchwitz brothers, all under sixteen, Fritz (1940-43) and his brothers Hans (1940-44) and Klaus (1940-47) were offspring of a German Jewish family and refugees from Nazi Germany. Despite their tribulations Fritz and Klaus were awarded scholarships to Oxbridge. D. G. Williams (1920-1951), a brilliant Classical Scholar at Oxford, was Headmaster in these turbulent times. His tenure in the 1920's and 1930's was often referred as a “ Golden Era” by that generation who went off to war in 1939. During this period the Crypt School obtained 55 Exhibitions and Scholarships at Oxbridge colleges. The Headmaster provided the words to the School Song with the refrain: “Vivat Schola Cryptiensis- Vivat in Perpetuum”which Old Cryptians

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was sung at the end of the Summer Term in 1939 with gusto at the Quartercentenary celebrations of the Foundation of the School in 1539.

There were a number of significant changes in this period. In 1922 he introduced rugby at the expense of soccer. He gave great support to the highly regarded Bill Keeble (1924-1950), Head of PE and Drill Instructor for the Cadet Force. Percy Ball, a pupil from 1911 to 1917 was awarded a Scholarship to Cambridge and returned to join the Staff from 1924 to 1944. He was master in charge of cricket and rugby and sport in general reached new heights. He also supported the Old Cryptians Rugby Club formed in 1928 as did A. C. Paget (1930-1968) who was Captain in 1931. A controversial decision was made in 1927 to disband the Cadet Force run by another committed member of Staff, Ernest Maude (1921-1957). However, it reflected the anti-militaristic mood of many after the trauma of the Great War and growing support for disarmament. The School Scout Troop was formed and enthusiastically run by H. N. Siggee (1925-1956) which was very popular and numbers grew to 100 boys. The emphasis on scouting, PE and sports became a central philosophy of the school. On the outbreak of war the Headmaster was persuaded that the School should form an Air-Training Corps (ATC), which became operational early in 1940. W. N.Morgan-Brown “Moggie”(19291949)was its dynamic leader and was ably supported by A. L. C. Smith “Elsie” (1930— 1971) and Maude. It was composed of present pupils and local former pupils who were in work but were still under eighteen. It quickly became very successful and by 1942 there were nearly 200 young men whose main aim was to join the RAF and the majority of Cryptians would join Bomber Command. The School was very fortunate to have D. G. Williams at the helm. He was supported by Second Master and Head of Mathematics, J. K. Fletcher “Dan” (1916-1947) and J. T. Whitely “Josh” (1921-1962), Head of Modern Languages. As can be seen by the length of service and involvement of just some of his staff he built up a loyal, dedicated team which saw the School through these extraordinary times from 1939 to 1945.

By January 1940 a comprehensive rationing system was introduced and ration books were issued. It was clear from the First World War that the German submarine menace would threaten vital imports. Initially Petrol, bacon, butter and sugar were rationed and later meat, milk, eggs and cooking fat. Paper was rationed for publishers but the much slimmer School magazine was still published throughout the war years and sent to servicemen abroad. There had been a long tradition of Cryptians running butchers, fishmongers, grocery and fruit and vegetable shops. They were in the daily front line of the increased pressure to provide foodstuffs for families. Vernon Charley (1917-1923) completed his research on Vitamin C which proved invaluable as blackcurrants, hedgerow hips and haws were used in a syrup which was given to babies throughout the war.

The fear of invasion had been growing for some time and pressure increased to involve the general population especially those men who were in “reserved occupations” or considered too old for active service. Lt- Colonel John Atkinson DSO, OBE, who had commanded a battalion in the Great War lobbied hard for for the formation of local defence volunteers. Eventually on May14th the Home Guard was formed. It immediately became very popular. From the start many older Cryptians served Gloucester and the County in a range of roles, particularly as councillors and religious leaders. Trevor Wellington (1892-99) was elected Mayor in the critical years from 1936 to 1942. Another Old Cryptian, Colonel Collett was City High Sheriff. Harold CostleyWhite (1886-1888), Headmaster of Westminster School (1919-1937) was Dean of Old Cryptians

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Gloucester during the war years as well as President of the OCC from 1939 to 1953.

Frank Watts MBE (1906-1937) on his retirement continued with his lifetime work with the Red Cross and was Assistant County Director. Harold Moffatt was appointed Chief Warden for the City and later Chief Fire Officer. He also commanded a platoon of the Home Guard. Jack Ackland (1910-16) became Deputy Chief Warden of the Civil Defence team. Many joined the Special Constabulary and J. Newth (1889-1892) supervised the County Specials during the war.

On May 10th 1940 the so called phoney war was shattered when the Germans unleashed their blitzkrieg and invaded neutral Holland, Belgium and France. Frank Sleeman (1927-1932) volunteered and joined the Gloucestershire Hussars with other Cryptians.

He was the first of 78 Old Cryptians to die in the conflict, he was killed in action on May 20th aged 24 on the steady retreat towards Dunkirk. Lieutenants Roy Cresswell and Laurie Stewart as well as Arthur Brinsford and Geoffrey Sewell were captured whist holding the perimeter and became prisoners of war. At this time the RAF were doing their best to to support the desperate ground troops. Flying Officer Michael Young (1931-37) and Pilot Officer Richard Haine (1928-1931) were awarded DFC's for their actions and Haine became a Group Captain. John Lawrence (1932-38) joined the RAF Volunteer Reserve on leaving school and entered Coastal Command whilst RS “Bomber�

George (1932-39) became a spitfire pilot. John would after a distinguished career became an Air Vice Marshall and was awarded the CBE in 1967. The Royal Navy and Coastal Command were the most active on the declaration of war. The main threats were the surface raiders and the growing menace of the U-Boats which threatened the import of essential food, petrol and war materials. R. D. East (1968-1977) Head of Mathematics was a young officer on the badly damaged HMS Exeter which took part in the famous Battle of the River Plate, off Uruguay which led to the sinking of the Graf Spee on December13th 1939. John Gale (1935-1939) joined the local Sea Scouts and then the Royal Navy aged fifteen. He served on the flagship HMS Prince of Wales during the dramatic hunt for the Bismark which was sunk in 1941. Norman Murphy (19281932) also joined aged fifteen and served on HMS Gloucester from 1939 and sailed for Ceylon to support the convoys in this area. Robert Clarkson (1932-39) and John Allen (1937-1940) had distinguished careers in the Royal Navy. Bill Bray (1926-1932), William Parnell (1931-36) as well as his brother Hugh Parnell DFC, Sam Bridges (193238), Lt. Ivor Sims DFM and Ron Tiley (1933-36) joined Coastal Command.

With the fall of France, Britain and her Imperial allies found themselves on their own and the Battle of Britain would soon commence in the Summer of 1940. This involved the defence against large scale day time attacks from the recently acquired airfields in France from July 10th to October. The initial targets were coastal shipping convoys and ports with later effective attacks on airfields. Fortunately for Fighter Command but not for London civilians, the Luftwaffe changed their strategy and the London blitz started in September.

The year 1939 to 1940 was one of the most remarkable in the history of these Isles. The Staff, pupils of the Crypt School, the City of Gloucester had seen huge changes. Cryptians were in training and serving around the globe whilst the City would experience much more difficult times in the future war years.

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More details can be found in : “A History of the Crypt School 1539-2018” by Charlie Hannaford.

“The Lost Generations” by Simon Birch, Sarah Birch and Ray Pocock.

Please contact me if you find any errors or have more information that is not in the above history. charliehannaford8@gmail. com

Charlie Hannaford (1956-64)

At Lord’s …. I once met …. Sir Alec Bedser For more than 60 years I have treasured my many visits to Lord’s. In 2021 I shall celebrate 50 years of my membership of the MCC. However, there is one experience that I shall ever recall. In May 2002 SRI Lanka were amassing a huge score via a wonderful partnership between Atapattu and Jayawardene.

I was in the Long Room that on this occasion was sparsely populated and I saw Sir Alec Bedser standing alone.

Initially, Sir Alec had been for me a schoolboy hero – I saw him bowling in the late 1940s in the Cheltenham Festival and in 1949 in the Test against New Zealand at The Oval. I stood back and wondered whether to approach him.

I took courage and exchanged greetings with him. He was not given to long perorations but at once he put me at my ease.

I invited his analysis of the state of the game. After a pause Sir Alec said ‘wicket’s too good’ and ‘the bowling is not much cop.’

I mentioned that I grew up in Gloucester and was naturally an admirer of Walter Hammond. I asked Sir Alec his opinion of the great man. He paused and then in a tone of admiration he said, ‘wonderful cricketer … but a funny man.’ The expression on his face seemed to indicate that he meant Hammond was a man of moods.

Lord Birkett of Ulverston, the distinguished advocate and esteemed after dinner speaker, once said ‘there is none so good as cricket talk.’ My cherished experience in the company of one of England’s greatest cricketers provided me with ample proof of the relevance of Lord Birkett’s words.

Howard Allen (1947-1955)

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Here is the second of the series written by Charlie remembering the Second World War, following on from the one above - Ed. Eighty years on. Some reflections on the times of Old Cryptians from 1940 to 1941.

War in Europe began on September 1st 1939, when German forces swept into Western Poland, and despite defiant and heroic resistance, swiftly besieged Warsaw, which was bombed mercilessly. Great Britain and France had guaranteed the independence of Poland in an attempt to curtail German expansion. They declared war on Germany, but were without the means to come to their assistance. On September 17th the USSR invaded Eastern Poland, on the pretence that they came as liberators. In fact, Hitler and Stalin, long-time ideological enemies, had signed a non-aggression pact, much to the amazement of the world. A secret protocol led to the partition of Poland and the occupation of the Baltic states by the Russians. The Polish forces were overwhelmed and by the end of the month Warsaw had surrendered, and over 500,000 prisoners-ofwar were herded into camps to be processed. Behind the military came the ruthless secret police who immediately went to work. The Germans and the SS waged a race war and the Russians and the NKVD embarked on a class war in their annexed territories.

The methods were similar. The identification of the leading influential citizens was followed by evictions, purges, deportation and widespread killings. By 1940, in the west, the Jews had been moved into ghettoes and many Poles became forced labourers in Germany. In the east, all prisoners went into labour camps in the USSR, and 20,000 officers were murdered in a series of killings. Their families were deported in cattle trucks to beyond the Urals, where they suffered on collective farms and labour camps.

Poland had ceased to exist and a horrendous totalitarian dark age descended on the Polish people.

On May 10th 1940, the ‘phoney war’ was shattered when the Germans unleashed their blitzkrieg upon neutral Holland and Belgium and then France. On the same day Winston Churchill formed a Coalition Government. This was as a result of the highly criticised defeat by German forces in Norway, and the lack of support for the Tory Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain. Frank Sleeman (1927-32), had volunteered and joined the 5th Gloucestershire Battalion with other Old Cryptians. He was killed on the fighting retreat to Dunkirk on May 20th. He was the first of 78 Old Boys to die in the conflict. His fellow Cryptians, Lieutenants Roy Cresswell and Laurie Stewart, as well as Arthur Brinsford and Geoffrey Sewell, defended the perimeter of the town from May 25th to June 5th.

Things looked bleak indeed, but Churchill defied the appeasers who were still searching for peace talks. However, 330,000 British and French troops were evacuated off the beaches, and crossed the Channel in a brilliant, but humiliating operation. The above Old Cryptians and 34,000 other British troops were captured. This was followed by the triumphal entry into Paris, and the final surrender of France on June 22nd. The terms of the Armistice with the new Vichy Government, led by Marshal Petain, were punishing.

The Germans occupied north-west France and exploited the economy. Reparations were severe and the Nazis requisitioned 50% of the food produced by France and their living standards were slashed. Over 1.5 million prisoners-of-war worked in Germany, mainly as farm labourers or in the factories. In July, Churchill, uncertain of the intentions of the French fleet in Algiers and the designs of Hitler, made the painful decision to order the Royal Navy to open fire on them at Oran. Vichy France kept their Old Cryptians

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colonies and governed the south and central France, but the French people suffered greatly for the next five years.

From June, the UK and her Commonwealth and Imperial allies faced the Nazi tyranny alone for one whole year. Churchill embarked on a relentless campaign to seek aid and draw the USA into the war.

Since the First World War the USA had a strong tradition of isolationism. President Franklin Roosevelt was impressed by the ruthless action of the Royal Navy, and sympathetic to the regular appeals from Churchill, but was restrained by Congress, which had passed the Neutrality Acts in the 1930’s, as well as his desire to be re-elected.

Since the outbreak of war, British industry and the workforce had responded to the great challenges. The aircraft factory at Brockworth constructed Hawker Hurricane fighters. Rotol, later Dowty Rotol, based at Staverton, produced the propellers for Hurricanes and Spitfires and both sites expanded rapidly. Many other factories were converted to the war effort. The Wagon Works were involved in tank production, whilst Fielding and Platt produced a wide range of engineering parts. Many new workers and their families moved to the area and women replaced the men who had joined the armed services. Working hours increased, often from 6.30 am to 6.30 pm for six days a week, and within a year the number of aircraft and tanks had tripled. Gloucester was a busy, bustling transport hub based around the two central railway stations, as well as the docks and the canal basin. Gloucester linked the coal and steel supplies from South Wales to the industrial centres of the Midlands and London. The increase in the population put even more pressure on Local Government. The City was fortunate that Trevor Wellington (1892-99) had been Mayor since 1936 and guided the citizens through this critical period. This was a time when the spiritual desires of the community needed to be supported and a leading light in this process was the Dean of Gloucester, Harold Costly-White (1886-1888). The Crypt School at Friars’ Orchard, situated behind St Mary de Crypt in Southgate Street, like many local schools, was overcrowded. The facilities at the Crypt School were clearly inadequate and plans for the move to Podsmead were in the hands of the outstanding leadership of Headmaster, D.G.Williams (1920-1950). As younger teachers entered the armed forces, he was fortunate in having experienced schoolmasters to help him educate young Cryptians in these extraordinary times.

Having failed to get the British government to enter into negotiations, Hitler decided to use the threat of invasion to persuade them to the peace table. Hermann Goring and the Luftwaffe was confident that it could defeat the RAF and control the airspace over the Channel, which was needed before the invasion, ‘Operation Sealion’, planned for September, could take place. Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh Dowding had created a brilliant co-ordinated early warning system. This involved the radar stations on the coast and 30,000 members of the Observer Corps, who passed on details of the enemy formations to headquarters. This meant that fighter squadrons were quickly deployed to confront the approaching enemy, with the aim of surprising them from a higher altitude and preferably out of the sun. The Battle of Britain took place over the sunny skies of southern England from July to October 1940. The first phase targeted the convoys, ports and critical radar stations along the coast. From August 13th there was a change in strategy and intensity. For five days large waves of bombers, often over 100, supported by double their number of the outstanding Messerschmitt 109’s fighters, attacked the airfields and aircraft factories. The Spitfires engaged the Me-109’s in dogfights at 30,000 feet, and vapour trails were abundant, whilst the Hurricanes tackled the bombers below.

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The Luftwaffe had three times more planes but the RAF had clear home advantages.

Being close to their home bases, the British fighters could land, refuel, rearm and re-join the conflict often three to four times a day. The German fighters only had ten minutes of fuel to participate in dogfights before they had to return home back across the Channel.

The losses on both sides for the next three weeks were very heavy. However, the British fighter planes were being produced, replaced and repaired far more quickly than the Germans. There was also a growing shortage of experienced pilots on both sides. At the height of the crisis the training time in Britain was reduced to one month, and the average life expectancy was four weeks.

From August 24th, a series of small, daring bomber raids on Berlin took place. They caused little damage but they had a great psychological impact on incredulous Berliners and on Hitler. From September 7th there was another change of strategy which would prove decisive. Despite evidence that the last few weeks had stretched Fighter Command to its limits, Goering had been goaded into retaliation, and decided to direct attacks towards London. This gave Dowding time to prepare for the next offensive.

Goering was convinced that the RAF was at breaking point and that the Luftwaffe would defeat them in their defence of London. However, German intelligence was very poor and they grossly underestimated the ability of the RAF to replace their losses.

September 15th saw the largest day-light bombing raid and the climax of the Battle of Britain. After a diversionary first wave, a massive second wave of 120 bombers, supported by over 200 fighters headed for London. They were completely surprised by large numbers of Spitfires and Hurricanes, many coming from the Midlands and East Anglia. The ensuing battle was witnessed by Churchill at Uxbridge the HQ of Fighter Command. When he asked how many reserves there were, he was informed that there were none as all squadrons were in action. Half of the bombers were destroyed and the rest struggled home after their fighters were forced to turn back. These, added to the 1,750 planes lost during the campaign, as well as the 3,000 pilots and crew killed or captured, meant that their losses were unstainable. The RAF had destroyed twice as many German planes in the conflict since July. Hitler postponed the invasion plans and his attention was now fully focused on the subjugation of the USSR. September 15th was designated Battle of Britain Day, and this year we commemorated 80 years since the heroic efforts of the young pilots of Fighter Command. Nearly 3,000 pilots were involved and 900 planes were destroyed with the loss of 550 young men. Michael Young DFC (1931-37), Richard Haine DFC (1928-31) and RS ‘Bomber’ George (1932-39) and Staff (1950-56) were active at this time. Churchill had declared, “Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.” Victory convinced Roosevelt that Great Britain would survive, as long as the USA provided the necessary supplies.

However, he would have to win the next Presidential Election in November against an isolationist candidate for his plans to come to fruition.

The Luftwaffe changed their strategy and started to bomb London, large cities and docks at night, thus reducing their losses and with the further aim of intimidating the civilians, and forcing the British government to sue for peace. The Blitz lasted from September 1940 until May 1941 and London was bombed every night for two months. The city of Bristol, the docks and Filton aircraft factory were heavily bombed in the autumn. On Sunday November 24th, a large raid dropped 12,000 incendiary bombs which destroyed the medieval city centre. This was followed by the devasting raid on Coventry. On January 2nd 1941, the first bombs fell on Gloucester, when a bomber jettisoned its load

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on its return home. Old Cryptian John Cook, aged eighteen, was killed when his father’s garage was hit in Montpellier and ten others perished.

On May 10th 1941, there was a huge raid on London aimed at the docks and explosive bombs destroyed the gas and water mains. Falconer Birks (1895-1900) was Chief Engineer of the Gas, Light and Coke Company throughout the war, and was awarded the CBE for keeping London supplied with gas during the Blitz. The emergency services across the country had responded brilliantly to the many demands during this incredible year. Over two million young and older men were active in Civil defence and nearly two million joined the Home Guard. Many Old Cryptians were involved in these activities.

London and the large cities survived the Blitz, which had tested the resilience and morale of the public. Across the country it is estimated that over 40,000 civilians were killed, more than 125,000 injured and two million houses were bombed. After the fall of France, Bomber Command carried out strategic day-time raids on coastal ports, docks and invasion-barges. Later they concentrated on industrial targets in North Germany and the Ruhr. However, their bombers such as the Wellingtons only had two engines, which reduced their bomb loads and the range of their targets. Their navigation aids were limited and the effectiveness of these raids proved less than expectations and propaganda suggested. The losses were heavy and as a result the missions were switched to night-time bombing. However, what was never in doubt were the high number of young enthusiastic volunteers, despite the high casualty rate. The exploits of Fighter Command and the effects of the long-lasting Blitz proved to be an excellent recruiting sergeant.

An Air Training Corps (ATC), formed in 1940 at the Crypt School was very popular, and by the end of 1941 there were 200 young men whose main aim was to join the RAF. The high level of technical training required meant that a high percentage of grammar school boys were accepted, mainly in Bomber and Coastal command. Most of them joined those from across the Commonwealth and Empire and underwent training in the UK and abroad for up to two years. Squadron Leader Rex Walwin was a Chief Flying Instructor throughout the war and was awarded the Air Force Cross. Pilot Officer George Smith (1926-31), like many others, joined the RAF Volunteer Reserve. He played for the OCRFC, was mobilised in 1939, trained in Rhodesia and died in February 1941 after a bombing raid from North Africa. The following were all killed in flying accidents which were all too common. It is estimated that 5,000 were killed in accidents. Lawrence Lloyd (1932-36) and Reginald Gillman (1922-28), both volunteered and trained in Canada but were killed in 1941. Henry Cook who left school in 1938 and Flight Sergeant Jack Coleman (1922-28) died in the UK. The powerful Royal Navy, which had the biggest fleet in the world, and the RAF ensured that our coastal waters were protected from invasion as well as enforcing a blockade of imports to Germany. The Navy also patrolled the world’s trading routes and in particular supported the convoy system, which supplied the vital food and oil. They also transported the armed forces and armaments to the theatres of war. The fall of France led to the construction of U-Boat bases in Brittany, and despite having only 25 active submarines in the Atlantic, they were now more effective. The Royal Navy was overstretched and there were not enough escort warships or experienced captains available. After the fear of invasion had diminished, Coastal Command was directed to protect the convoys in the western approaches of the Atlantic. Bill Bray (1926-1932), William Parnell (1931-36) as well as his brother Hugh Parnell DFC, Sam Bridges (193238), Ivor Sims DFM, Ron Tiley (1936-36) and John Lawrence (1932-38), later Air-Vice Old Cryptians

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Marshall CB, CBE, OBE, AFC, all served in Coastal Command. The U-Boats moved into safer waters, beyond the limited range of their planes. By 1940 German intelligence had penetrated the cipher codes controlling the trans-Atlantic convoys. The U-Boats now hunted in wolf-packs and were very successful. In the winter of 1940 and 1941 over 30% of the ships in a convoy were sunk. The losses increased from 400,000 tons to 700,000 tons in the spring and more ships were being sunk than being built. However, the allies cracked the German naval codes, which improved the situation, but it would take some time before improvements in technology and convoy system would alleviate the threat. The level of food imports was 60 % of pre-war levels and on the Home Front, food rationing was introduced in 1940. Despite this, in Gloucester, “The Citizen� reported that many staple foods were unavailable, prices were increasing and queues were getting longer.

Initially, it was thought that battleships and heavy cruisers would be the main problem, but this would prove not to be the case as submarines and aircraft carriers became increasingly influential. John Gale (1935-39) joined the Royal Navy aged fifteen, and was serving on the flagship HMS Prince of Wales in May 1941, when the German battleship Bismark entered the North Atlantic to attack the convoys. He saw HMS Hood blown up by a direct hit on its ammunition hold from the Bismark. It sunk in three minutes with the loss of 1,418 lives and only three sailors survived. The pride of the German navy, whilst trying to return to Brest, was damaged by torpedoes from Swordfish bi-planes launched from the carrier HMS Ark Royal and was eventually sunk.

This was a much-needed morale boost for the nation in these desperate days.

The main priority after Dunkirk was the recruitment, training and re-equipping of the armed forces for the defence against invasion. However, in September 1940, the Italian forces numbering over 200,000 crossed from Libya, their Italian colony, into Egypt.

They met stiff resistance from only 35,000 British, Australian and New Zealand troops, and were forced to set up fortified camps in a stand-off. Since there was a threat to the critical port of Alexandria and the Suez-canal, these forces would in future have the highest priority. Whilst Italy was overstretched in conflicts in Ethiopia and Egypt, Benito Mussolini decided to invade Greece from occupied Albania, with predictable and disastrous consequences for the Italians. With the Blitz still raging and the Battle of the Atlantic going against the British there was great enthusiasm when the Allies went on the offensive in December 1940. In a brilliant campaign the Italian static defences were encircled and armoured forces cut them off. The port of Tobruk was taken and by February 1941, Benghazi had fallen. In all 150,000 prisoners-of-war were captured in a humiliating defeat. Many thought that Tripoli was within reach and the Italians could be forced out of North Africa. However, success for both sides for the next two years was always dependent upon the length of their supply lines, which stretched along a single coastal road from their bases in Tunis and Alexandria. In the event, decisions elsewhere determined the outcome. In March under pressure from Hitler, Romania with her vital oilfields and Bulgaria joined the Axis, thus threatening Greece. Churchill was determined to support Greece, with the hope of impressing American opinion and neutral Turkey. After great pressure, General Wavell C. in C. Middle East conceded, and four divisions of 55,000 troops were ordered to Greece. In late March, HMS Gloucester fired the first salvo in the two-day running Battle of Matapan off Crete, in which the Italians lost three cruisers. On-board was Norman Murphy (1928-33), who had signed up aged fifteen. With control of the sea the armoured divisions were deployed successful. On April 6th, the Germans bombed Belgrade, swept into Yugoslavia and then Old Cryptians

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Greece, saving Mussolini from total humiliation. Their experienced Panzer forces supported by the Luftwaffe were far too powerful for the defenders. The Royal Navy managed to evacuate 40,000 allied troops, but over 11,000 were captured. The initial fears of the military were realised and this risky, largely political enterprise proved disastrous. From May 20th, over 20,000 lightly armed but crack German paratroopers, in an audacious move against superior numbers, invaded Crete. The navy attempted to prevent amphibious troops landing, but they took heavy punishment from Stuka dive bombers. After a bitter struggle the allies were forced to retreat over the mountains and were evacuated. At this desperate time the Royal Navy lost six destroyers and three cruisers, including HMS Gloucester, which had become isolated and was bombed by Stukas. Norman Murphy was one of 722 sailors who died and the 85 who reached land were captured to join another 11,000 prisoners. Greece and the Balkans entered a disastrous four-year period of occupation and exploitation.

Whilst the allied forces were weakened in North Africa and occupied in Greece, General Rommel and his experienced Panzer units had arrived at Tunis. The Africa Korps in a daring and surprising move advanced rapidly. By April 10th they had besieged the major supply port of Tobruk held by the Australians. The Panzers crossed the Egyptian border 1,000 miles from Tunis, but were forced to wait for essential supplies, such as petrol, oil, ammunition and water. The necessary reinforcements required were not forthcoming due to the build-up to the invasion of the USSR, so they went on the defensive. Both sides were subject to the hot, thirsty, sandy, windy, fly infested conditions throughout the summer.

The only good news during this period was the passing of the Lend-Lease Acts in March 1941. The constant images of the Blitz, and the growing losses in the Atlantic from the U-Boats meant that the mood of the American people was changing. After his decisive victory in the November elections, President Roosevelt skilfully managed to manoeuvre these vital acts through Congress. He proclaimed that the USA would become the ‘arsenal of democracy’. This triggered the vast industrial complex into action. Although still technically neutral this would prove decisive for the UK. Merchant ships started to replace the heavy losses and tanks were sent to beleaguered North Africa. It was decided to send more troops to Egypt for a major offensive at the end of the year. Nearly one and a half million rifles with their ammunition were dispatched, essential for training the new conscripts and the Home Guard. All goods were paid for in cash until the reserves ran out at the end of 1941. The debt accumulated and by the end of the war we were broke and the debt was £20 billion, equivalent 80 years on, to £300 billion.

The year 1940-1941 proved to be one of the most extraordinary in the history of Great Britain. The defeat in France and the humiliation of Dunkirk was followed by the brilliant success of the Battle of Britain. However, defeat in Greece and Crete followed by defeat in North Africa was a low point for Churchill. Shipping losses in the Atlantic were on the increase and the Blitz seemed never ending. It appeared that things could not get worse, however, more dark days lay ahead. Tensions were growing in the Far East, as a result of Japanese aggression and advances in China. However, everything changed when German and Axis forces invaded the USSR in June 1941. The fate of Europe and Great Britain would depend on the outcome of this monumental ideological confrontation between fascism and communism.

More details can be found in : Old Cryptians

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“A History of the Crypt School 1539-2018” by Charlie Hannaford.

“The Lost Generations” by Simon Birch, Sarah Birch and Ray Pocock.

Please contact me if you find any errors or have more information that is not in the above history. charliehannaford8@gmail. com

Charlie Hannaford (1956-64) Outside-edge : Schoolboy Reminiscences of ‘the Waggies’ 1. It was my good fortune to spend the first nineteen years of my life at 23 The Oval, Gloucester that was only 250 yards from the main gate of the Wagon Works Sports Ground. The ‘Waggies’, as the ground was affectionately called by those of us living close by, soon became for me a cricketing Valhalla.

In the match against Leicestershire on 7, 9 and 10 June 1947 I was entranced by the magnificent stroke play of Charles ’Charlie’ Barnett.

In the second innings Barnett carried his bat for the first time and in six hours scored 228 not out during which he hit a six and twenty-one fours. As a ten year old I saw a chunk of that remarkable innings. ‘Charlie’ Barnett soon filled the gap left by the retirement of Walter Hammond as my batting hero.

The County won the match and Tom Goddard – as a Gloucester boy – ever popular on the ‘Waggies’ - chipped in with 8-26 and 7-108 – a further contribution towards his 237 wickets in the season of 1947.

2. On 25, 26, 27 August 1948 – my first summer at The Crypt School - in the match against the Combined Services I saw part of Tom Graveney’s maiden first-class century (114) and a fine century by Lt.-Cdr J.E. ‘John’ Manners (147).

John died in January 2020 aged 105. At the time of his death he was the longest standing member of the MCC and the oldest surviving first class cricketer. In 1960 when I took up my first teaching post at Dauntsey’s School in Wiltshire I worked alongside John who was the bursar. Subsequently we played many times together (1961-1970) for the strong staff team, for Wiltshire Queries and the MCC. John was not only a superb batsman and astute analyst of the game but a wonderful friend with a gamut of amusing naval and cricketing stories. God bless him.

Howard Allen (1947-1955) Old Cryptians

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Memories from Paul James At the end of June 2020, I stood down as a City Councillor after just over 24 years. More than half that time I spent as Leader of the Council and 16 of those years I was heading up the city’s regeneration. I’m proud of what we managed to achieve during that time, although there’s still plenty to do. Quite a lot of those achievements were either done with the help of Old Cryptians or in some cases with connections to The Crypt.

We brought in around £1 billion of investment into regenerating the city – from Gloucester Docks and Quays, to completing the South West Bypass, to the Railway Triangle, Blackfriars and Greyfriars to name a few. I’m pleased that the residential development at Greyfriars was named Friars Orchard (at my request), just as it was when The Crypt was there before moving to Podsmead.

I’m proud of the £40 million of investment we delivered into the City Council’s Housing Stock to bring it up to Decent Homes Standard before transferring it to Gloucester City Homes after a ballot of tenants. Old Cryptians Andrew Gravells and Colin Organ led those projects, which paved the way for an as yet unrealised ambition to regenerate the Podsmead estate right on the School’s doorstep.

We brought the Rugby World Cup to Gloucester in 2015 after three years of planning, giving a £30 million economic boost to the city. Old Cryptian Jason Smith and his team at Marketing Gloucester were key to that – including delivering the “Scrumpty” trail, made up of 30 sculptures of a character I created which combined Humpty Dumpty (who was believed to be a siege engine used in Gloucester during the Civil War) and a rugby ball. I’m sure my A-level Art came in handy there! We also introduced and developed the Tall Ships Festival and transformed the city’s events programme.

I’m proud of how we put the city’s heritage at the heart of what we did. St Mary de Crypt has a new lease of life and the Old Schoolroom – where it all started – has been restored, thanks to the drive and determination of Rev Canon Nikki Arthy and her team, with generous support from the Heritage Lottery Fund and others. I was pleased to sit on the Project Board with the Headmaster and to donate £3000 with Councillor Pam Tracey, raised from the dinner held to celebrate Pam’s 25 years as a councillor and my decade as Leader in 2017.

Project Pilgrim at the Cathedral has given our most important building a muchimproved setting by replacing the car park with a new public space, restoring the Lady Chapel and making the whole building much more accessible. Llanthony Priory too has been restored thanks to a group of capable and enthusiastic trustees including Old Cryptian Martyn White.

Martyn served in the City Council Cabinet with me and had responsibility for Culture and Leisure. When we replaced the Christmas lights in 2006, they got stuck on a lorry in Slovakia meaning we had to have the switch-on event without any lights! In Martyn’s absence, I had to handle the media interviews, including a piece with the BBC’s Old Cryptian reporter Steve Knibbs, where I almost knocked out Knibbsy live on television with a piece of my enormous Notting Hill Carnival-style costume!

In my ward of Longlevens, the University of Gloucestershire relocated its Business School from the Park Campus in Cheltenham to Oxstalls in a shiny new building opened by the then Chancellor Philip Hammond. It wasn’t without its controversy locally and Old Cryptians

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Old Cryptian Stewart Dove was employed by the University to, amongst other things, liaise with the local community and deal with any problems.

I didn’t quite get Kings Square sorted out during my tenure, but it’s ready to go with £5 million of funding in place and planning permission approved. It was officially opened in 1973 by Peter Walker, then Secretary of State for the Environment. Peter presented me with a prize at Speech Day in 1989 (the school’s 450th anniversary) and I was pleased to arrange for him to visit again during one of my election campaigns. Sadly he is no longer with us, but I hope we can invite his son Robin (now a Government Minister too) when the new Kings Square is complete.

The Fleece, where we spent many an enjoyable evening for the Old Cryptians Founders’ Day Supper, has also been a tough one to crack. But we now have Dowdeswell Estates in place as the Council’s developer partner and I’m confident they will see it through. It would be great to return there after Founders’ Day again in years to come.

On some smaller notes, I was pleased to be able to arrange for the W E Henley plaque at his birthplace in Eastgate Street to be refurbished and to get a number of copies of his most famous poem ‘Invictus’ signed by South Africa’s World Cup-winning captain Francois Pienaar after bumping into him on holiday. Nelson Mandela was said to read Invictus every day while incarcerated in Robben Island and it inspired a film of South Africa’s 1995 World Cup triumph. I presented one of these to the School, which now hangs in the Henley Room. The rest were auctioned for local charities.

I also arranged for George Whitefield’s first sermon to be recreated at St Mary de Crypt before the USA v Japan match during the Rugby World Cup and for the 250th anniversary of his death to be marked during September 2020, albeit in a scaled down and virtual way due to the Coronavirus.

It also gave me pleasure to play my part in getting the athletics track at Blackbridge renewed and I’m delighted to see it thrive under Bob Purcell’s leadership. It’s a much better facility than it was for my undistinguished laps of it during my time at The Crypt!

During my Parliamentary election campaign in 2001 I brought Theresa May to The Crypt. She was then Shadow Education Secretary in a depleted Opposition team. As I recall, she was driven to the School by a junior adviser in a fairly clapped out car – a far cry from the Ministerial limousines she would become used to a decade later.

In the 2005 campaign, I accompanied the Conservative Leader Michael Howard, himself a grammar school boy, to Podsmead on his battle bus. After he’d been described by Ann Widdecombe as having “something of the night” about him, his advisers were desperate for him not to have his picture taken next to a sign saying “The Crypt”!

I was also involved in the battle to save the school in the early 2000s and thank goodness we prevailed. Perhaps the most memorable moment of that was when Michael Holmes, who by then had retired, stood up in a public meeting and commented on the absence of the then County Council Leader Peter Clarke, saying, “It’s a shame he’s not here. If he was here I would have said how welcome he was. Just as his son was welcome when he was here as a pupil.”

I also had to lead the city through some tough times – from the floods of 2007 to the disturbances of 2011 and the recession that followed the financial crash of 2008. This Old Cryptians

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led to major cuts in public spending, with local government taking more than its fair share of the pain. I had to introduce savings of well over £10 million during my tenure, which meant plenty of difficult decisions.

Old Cryptian Steve Elway, a council officer who became the Chief Executive of the Aspire Sports and Cultural Trust, helped the cause by reducing the net cost of running the city’s leisure centre from £1.5 million a year to zero. My best friend and Crypt contemporary Matt Cass, who serves on the board of Gloucester’s Business Improvement District and recently finished his year as President of the Rotary Club of Gloucester, has been a great support to me throughout.

Now I’ve finished my time as a local politician and moved on to other things, not least spending more time with my long-suffering wife Charlotte and young daughters Eirys and Tydwen, I will still take a close interest in how Gloucester develops – and how those connections with The Crypt will no doubt still be at the heart of it.

Paul James (1984-91) 150 Years of Gloucestershire CCC 1870-2020 Neville Cardus, the doyen amongst cricket writers, asserted that ‘there is no summer in this land without cricket’. This may be contested by those who deplore the game for it has often been said that you ‘either loath or love the game’.

However, for me and all lovers of the ‘Noble Game’, the invasion by CV19 has dealt the game a savage blow. So it was a tonic to be able to see some live Test cricket last week, albeit played behind closed doors. Then last weekend saw the emergence of no less than 300,000 club cricketers across the land of all standards, engaged in sporting rivalry again.

As a staunch supporter of Gloucestershire since the restart of cricket in 1946 it is a source of immense pleasure and pride for me that the county will celebrate the 150th anniversary of its foundation during this year.

Above all, the glory of the county has lain in the many memorable performances of its great cricketers – W.G. Grace and his brothers, Jessop, Hammond, Parker, Barnett, Goddard, Russell and many other fine cricketers and not forgetting the many brilliant overseas players, Procter, Walsh, Zaheer Abbas and Marshall amongst others who have adorned the game within the county and beyond.

In the age of Grace in the seasons of 1876 and 1877 in an embryo county championship the team were the uncrowned champions. They won no less than 12 of their 16 matches played and were undefeated. However, since its establishment in 1890 the title of county champions remains an elusive goal. The county has been so near yet so far - being the runners-up in 1930, 1931, 1947, 1959, 1969 and 1986.

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However, for those of us who were lucky enough to be present at Lord’s will always hail the extraordinary successes of the team in the One-Day finals from 1999 to 2004. The team were crowned champions on no less than six occasions and justly earned the accolade One-Day Cup Kings.

The Exiles, the supporters of GCCC will be celebrating and acknowledging the achievements of the club over past 150 years. Its magazine, Outside-edge, will be issuing an on-line edition for the first time in the autumn. Hopefully in the much revamped championship that will commence in August the team will enjoy success and make 2020 a memorable season.

Howard Allen (1947-1955)

The Rev. David Miles Board (1948-55) In a recent edition of the Cryptian, Dafydd’s classmate and friend, Peter Hobbs (committee member and former OCC President) wrote of his National Service experiences; in the extract from his memoir below, Dafydd talks about the difficult and brave choices that conscientious objectors were destined to take. It is well worth remembering that taking a stance that goes against the accepted norms takes significant courage and carries consequences that will shape the lives of those affected - this is as true today as it was in the 50s - Ed.

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The Rev. David Miles Board (1948-55) - also known as Dafydd Ap Ffransis Meilir - was educated at the Crypt from where he won an Open Major Scholarship in History to Balliol College, Oxford. Following an interesting and varied career spanning the BBC, the Vatican (knighted by Pope Paul VI) and S4C overcoming serious illnesses along the way, Dafydd has been creating an online record of his life, work and philosophies employing all forms of digital media in a lifelong project he calls The Tricel Hyperbook - take a look and immerse yourself in his world of multi media reflections.

Dafydd has previously written in the Cryptian about his school days, what follows is an excerpt from his post-Crypt and pre-Balliol years when National Service was still in place.

WAR & CONSCIENCE Oxford? Not so fast, boy. First things first.

It took a spot of grit that 1957 day in Bristol, avowing boldly before a County Court Judge the very opposite of what the great and the good stood for and had died for. The judge did not hold back his feelings, but he was fair. “You have, my boy” he sighed quietly, as though with resignation “the mind of a poet.” He did not mean to be flattering.

And his comment was not an aesthetic judgment but a reflection on my silly sickly absence from what he saw as real life. “However”, he sighed, “the state does not ask me to judge whether you are right, but whether you are sincere and not just avoiding what you fear”.

The tribunal debated quietly together, but not for long. “You are clearly sincere. We require of you two years and sixty days of service, working on the land and producing food, in place of military service.” And thus the papers were passed to me.

I had become a conscientious objector. No more in truth than a sloppy kid, self-obsessed and over-privileged, I now had to pull myself together. The judge was right. Indeed I had yet not been ground down into proper recognition of where things are and stand. But my blindness was not in relation to issues, politics and conflict, which was what he meant I suppose, since there I was arguably already adept at the theories. I still think that I was right to resist the idea that all young men could be compelled, whatever their conscience to commit themselves to potentially death-dealing military activity, signing a blank sheet. My naivety was rather in relation to sore work and effortful manual labour, where others had them day by day, wearing out their shoes, their strength and their guts.

THE TWO YEAR + RACE-TRACK My short life’s ambition, Balliol and Oxford and academic history, all but the last determined as if by fate from when I was eleven years’ tiny, was now firmly in place, and bound to be fulfilled. But before I would get there I had to undergo a life under orders for two years and sixty days, and apparently out under the elements. It was meant to be purgation, since not for the first or last time I had gone against the expected.

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Many of my fellow undergraduates were to find it quite interesting, and even a little cute I suppose, to hear that one of the Major Scholars of 1959 had worked with his hands, first as an agricultural labourer, and then pushing around the sick and dying as a hospital porter. Much more seriously, it proved to be a life-shaping interruption, and a very salutary one.

I actually loved the thought of the open air life, of not having to strive so hard every single day and every waking hour both to absorb new things and to find out how to think about them soundly. It had taken all my energy, including bodily and sexual energy, to be up with that. Now, I fancied – for did I not like gardening and its tough labours, and had they not gifted me some big muscle already? – there could be some rewarding relaxation. My own sort of war began, with Oxford set as my marker and finishing line for this physical struggle, getting up before the light, with more than two years long to go. The Objectors’ Panel had decided officially how I was to spend my time.

But not where.

Dafydd goes on to describe his National Service years working in market gardens and hospitals in “Oxford - the Balliol Years”.

There is so much more to be read and viewed, so please do take some time to explore Dafydd’s multi media world at http://www.conceptabercraf.com/new3/index.html.

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PART 4. OBITUARIES Air Vice-Marshall John Thornett Lawrence CB, CBE, AFC [1930-1936] John Lawrence was one of Churchill’s ‘Few’ who saw action in the Battle of Britain and went on to amass 6,000 flying hours.

His second son, Christopher, spoke eloquently of his father at a most impressive Thanksgiving Service for the life of John, at Deerhurst Priory Church of St Mary on 8 January 2020. Sadly inclement weather resulted in the cancellation of a fly-past in John’s honour after the service.

Christopher said at the outset of his father: Dad was an astonishing man, he lived a long time (he died in December 2019 aged 99 years), achieved much and has been awarded a number of well deserved honours. There are many letters after his name but it is the last three letters that meant most to him and most define him. And those letters are RAF. John had joined the RAF Volunteer Reserve in late 1938 and was called up in September 1939. He completed his training and in 1940 he joined 235 Squadron (Coastal Command) and flew Blenheims on anti-shipping operations over the North Sea. In the latter stages of the Battle of Britain his flight was detached to Thorney Island where he was frequently scrambled to intercept German aircraft. He also served in Gibraltar, the Bahamas and Scotland.

During the war his son told the congregation that: John was crushed by a bus, wounded, bombed, strafed, crash landed a couple of times and suffered multiple engine and mechanical failures. He managed to come through all of this and with his humour and sanity in one piece.

John was ever reluctant to talk of his experiences during the Second World. However Christopher in his eulogy referred to one of many of John’s close shaves with death. John was in a flying boat and in the latter part of his life he spoke to his son of this remarkable experience.

It was a beautiful day over Madeira and we had drifted up to about 12,000 feet when the fuel line suddenly ruptured and filled the cockpit with petrol. You can easily open the Old Cryptians

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windows on Catalina. You’ve never seen four cigarettes disappear so quickly in you life.

Fortunately the wireless operator fainted. If he had been conscious he would no doubt have fired up the radio and blown us all to smithereens.

I tell you it was a pretty testing descent trying to work out which controls might or might not produce the fatal spark. God it stank in there. Anyway we managed to get her down on the water, fix the fuel line, flush the spilt fuel out through the bilges and get airborne again.

As we took off we saw a Portuguese Gunboat coming round the point.

Had we hung around a bit longer, we would have been interned for the rest of the war.

John was not only a very courageous pilot but also a remarkably gifted one. Not surprisingly he was given the highest possible rating –EXCEPTIONAL-in flying boats and was awarded the much coveted Air Force Cross for his flying.

In recognition of his war record in Coastal Command and the liberation of Belgium in 1944, he was awarded the ‘Croix de Guerre avec Palme’ and the title of ‘Chevalier of the Order of King Leopold II’.

He was released from the RAF in July 1946. He returned to the well known family bakery business Lawrence Bros in Gloucester where in 1937 on leaving the Crypt he had begun his working life as a trainee master baker.

However within nine months he accepted a permanent commission in the RAF with the rank of flight lieutenant. He went on to hold a variety of posts and commands. The list is most impressive and reflects the richness of his service life.

In the 1950s after service in Germany and then as the personal secretary to the secretary of state for war he was promoted to wing commander and served with NATO HQ in Turkey.

Among John’s favourite postings was his command in Aden in the run up to the emergency. Aden was most volatile and dangerous where a misjudgement could result in career suicide. In Aden he was appointed to Group Captain and he was in command of air operations at the RAF’s busiest station.

In the mid-1960s John was commanding officer at RAF Wittering which operated Victor bombers armed with the Blue Steel missile that was the primary British nuclear deterrent weapon and where two aircraft always had to be on ten minutes standby. As his son, Christopher said in his eulogy: So Dad was in charge of the most potent military unit on the planet. This sort of responsibility is not given to the next cab on the rank. The RAF would only have given this job to one of their very best and most capable officers.

After a year studying at the Imperial Defence College he was posted in 1969 to the MoD to review the RAF’s deployments. One result of his work was the creation of the RAF Personnel Management Centre at Innsworth near Gloucester. Here he was promoted to Air Vice-Marshall and he became the centre’s first director-general.

In 1973 John took up his final appointment as Air Officer Commanding Scotland and Northern Ireland. As his son commented in his eulogy: Old Cryptians

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The high regard the RAF had for Dad was reflected in his final post. This was more or less the front line in the Cold War at the height of the Cold War. It was a prestigious and important job and a fitting way to end a brilliant career in 1975.

In retirement John joined Rolls Royce at Bristol and he also worked ceaselessly on behalf of SSAFA, the forces charity. In his work in both contexts and in much else in his life John did not make a big thing of it. And likewise he did not do so with his inclusion on the battle of Britain War Memorial.

John was very proud of his association with the Crypt and the Old Cryptians’ Club. Into the last decade of his life John so enjoyed meeting up with alumni at reunions. He was such convivial company and blessed with a delightful sense of humour. His charisma, modesty and breadth of interests ensured that meetings with John were memorable occasions.

In 1951 John married Hilary Owen, a lady of elegance and charm. She died in 2011. As his son said at the service ‘they adored each other and yes if there was something Dad wanted in particular on his gravestone, it was Hilly and their 60 year marriage.’

John is survived by their children, Patrick, a retired airline pilot: Christopher, the managing director of a fire protection company; Andrew, a retired marketing professional and Tessa, a retired midwife.

Postscript From the mid 1960s I developed a most happy association with the members of the Lawrence family. In 1966 quite by chance the first of John’s three sons, Patrick, became a boarder at Dauntsey’s School in Wiltshire. He was followed by his two brothers Christopher and Andrew.

It so happened that I was their Housemaster during a ten-year period prior to my move to Keswick School in the English Lake District in 1976.

Howard Allen (1947-1955)

Dennis John Wilshaw (1941-1952) Dennis died in June 2019. His funeral service was held at the Gloucester Crematorium on 4 July and was followed by a reception at the Old Cryptians’ Rugby Club.

Dennis was one of the many outstanding games-players at the Crypt in the post-war decade. Arguably he was the most talented of them all.

Dennis commenced his education at Tredworth Primary School. He did so in the company of other such Cryptian luminaries as Reg Hunt, Brian Showell and John Griffiths. At the age of seven Dennis became a Cryptian when he entered the Junior House.

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In the senior school Dennis soon excelled on the games field. He was a member of the undefeated and quite outstanding Colts XV of 1948/49. In that season he played fullback for the English Schools’ XV U15 Group against Wales at the Memorial Ground in Bristol.

However it was as a richly talented cricketer that Dennis made his special mark. He was an accomplished attacking batsman, a talented pace bowler and a brilliant fieldsman. In addition, Dennis was always immaculate in his appearance on the field and ever ready to share his ready wit and humour with his peers and opponents.

In 1950 he captained the 1st XI and also was appointed a School Prefect. In 1951 he was selected to represent the English Schools’ 18 Group team and he played with success against the MCC Young Professionals XI and the Welsh Schools.

In so doing Dennis achieved a unique honour when he thus became the sole Cryptian to win schoolboy international honours in both rugby and cricket. His international rugby shirt and his cap and tie for cricket are both displayed near the bar at the OCRFC headquarters.

Dennis was a member of Whitefield House and captain of the House cricket team. He was a violinist in the school orchestra and in 1949 he passed his School Certificate with a distinction in French. In the same year he was a fifth form prize-winner at Speech Day. Dennis served in the RAF during his National Service. He was stationed at Innsworth and during his service he played cricket for the RAF. After National Service Dennis declined a County contract with GCCC – preferring to play cricket for enjoyment rather than for a living.

He played cricket for Gloucestershire 2nd XI. In 1951 Dennis played in the GCCC 2nd XI team with two other Old Cryptians, Grahame Parker, the captain, and John Courtice, a contemporary. Dennis was also an outstanding playing member of Gloucester City CC from 1953-1961.

In 1969 due to work commitments Dennis moved to Shropshire and then lived in Lincolnshire where he played golf and returned to cricket when he came to live in Solihull for nine years prior to his return to Gloucester in 1983. When Dennis gave up both cricket and golf his sporting talents predictably came to the fore in bowls.

Dennis was a loving and proud family man. He is survived by his wife, Marion, his daughter, Helen and his two sons, Andrew and Stuart and the grandchildren Rachel, George, Maisie, Thomas and Joshua.

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Both his sons followed in their father’s cricketing footsteps. Stuart continues to play an important administrative role with Gloucester CC and his two boys, Thomas and Joshua continue to uphold the family tradition on the cricket field.

Sadly Dennis suffered a severe stroke and in the latter two years of his life he was nursed in care.

We offer the condolences of the Old Cryptian Club to Mrs Wilshaw and the members of her extended family in their grievous loss.

Postscript Dennis became one of my earliest sporting heroes during his years at The Crypt. I was three years his junior. He was also in Whitefield House and we played in the same position on the rugby field. I shared, too, his love of cricket and so admired and envied his rich talents as a cricketer.

I am most grateful to Helen Garlick, the daughter of Dennis, for all her help in the writing of this obituary.

Howard Allen (1947-1955)

G.T.J. ‘Gerald’ Harris [1947-55] My friend and former teammate Gerald Harris died on 29 October 2019. The impressive service and reception in memory of Gerald took place at the Gloucester Crematorium on 27 November 2019.

Gerald commenced his education at Longlevens Primary School and won a County Scholarship to the Crypt in 1947. Gerald was in Whitefield House. He was always so proud to have played in same house and school rugby teams with such luminaries who wore the same house and school colours, namely, Richard Evans, Howard Allen, Peter Meadows and Bernard Stephens.

Gerald was a formidable cornerstone of the forward pack in the 1st XV in the seasons 1953/53 and 1954/55. He was awarded his 1st XV colours in both seasons and was rugby captain of Whitefield House in 1954/55.

He possessed, too, the happy knack of serenading his teammates on their coach journeys to play away fixtures. His knowledge of the latest top numbers in the charts and on Radio Luxembourg was much admired by his peers.

The handicap of limited distance vision precluded Gerald from playing much cricket.

However in the seasons of 1954 and 1955 he found a degree of compensation as the accomplished scorer for the 1st XI. He was the consummate propagandist for the XI. The Old Cryptians

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team members always reckoned that with his ready gift for talking up ‘his team’ Gerald was often the means of taking a wicket or two on its behalf.

Gerald beyond the games field showed his acting talents. In 1953 he won praise for his performance in Bernard Shaw’s Passion, Poison and Petrifaction. In 1954 in the historic production by Charles Lepper of Shakespeare’s Henry IV Part 1 Gerald portrayal of Bardolph in the tavern scenes with Falstaff – superbly played by David Brazington, his close friend – was memorable.

Shortly after leaving school in 1955 Gerald commenced his period of National Service with the R.A.F. He was to spend after his basic training the rest of his service at Innsworth. Here he continued to play rugby and also to do so with the OCRFC. Between 1954 and 1983 he made 217 appearances for the club and he was the Club Captain in the season 1968-69.

In 1957 Gerald entered St Luke’s College, Exeter where he specialized in Primary Education. In 1959 he commenced his teaching career at Coney Hill Primary School.

Then the mid 1960s after a short period in Ghana with the British Forces Education Authority he was appointed to the headship of Whiteshill Primary School, near Stroud.

Gerald enjoyed further development in his career when he was appointed to be the Head teacher of the large Warden Hill Primary School in Cheltenham. Here he justly earned accolades for his effective leadership of a school with a high reputation. He much enjoyed the success of the Chess team that he coached and he was justly proud of his successful personal tuition of his aspirant applicants to the prestigious Pate’s Grammar School.

After his retirement in 1995 Gerald enjoyed in particular in the company of his friends, Old Cryptian reunions, his golf, his sporting visits to Kingsholm, Lord’s and Cheltenham College. He enjoyed his chess and his membership of Probus. For a number of years he served on the Governing Board and Appeals Panel when his considerable knowledge of educational issues proved an asset to his old school.

In addition Gerald continued to enjoy time spent in his holiday home in western France in the company of his family and friends. He showed here his prowess in the bottling of his beloved French claret and sampling an occasional glass or two. Throughout his life Gerald much enjoyed his travels on a world wide scale and his list of itineraries was most impressive.

Gerald was a proud and loving family man. He is survived by his wife, Irene, his daughters Jane, Clare and Fiona and by his grand children and great children.

Postscript We commenced our association in 1947 when we entered the School. Subsequently we became friends and teammates in the same Whitefield House and School 1st XV.. I was ever grateful that Gerald was in our team and not an opponent for he was a tough competitor.

Our friendship was curtailed when late in his life Gerald became a victim of Alzheimers. For a period prior to his death he was nursed in Brockworth Court residential home.

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For me Gerald was invariably good company and a loyal friend. He was convivial company and ever ready to share in good natured banter.

Howard Allen (1947-1955)

Lindsay Hugh Pickering [1970-75] Upon leaving The Crypt in 1975 Lindsay attended Gloucester City College of Technology where he sat for his A Levels before studying for a degree in Hotel Management at the University of Gloucester in Oxstalls in 1982. The hospitality industry was Lindsay’s passion in life and although it wasn’t always the main focus of his career it was something he returned to time and time again. Having met his partner Peter in Bristol in 1989 Lindsay moved to Taunton, the town that he made his home for the next 30 years.

At a time when gay marriage wasn’t legal Lindsay and Peter opted instead for a ‘blessing’ by the Metropolitan Community Church in London in 1994.

Following an HIV diagnosis in 1996 Lindsay’s increasingly poor health resulted in him being medically retired. But he never really stopped ‘working’. Lindsay was passionate, about people, about politics, and about the environment. With an overwhelming desire to champion the underdog and a firm believer in equal rights he wrote letters to the local papers in support of lowering the age of consent for gay men. He set up two HIV support groups, not only to support those who were affected by this devastating disease, but also to raise awareness and fight stigma. He also took the time to conduct interviews with the local media about his experience of living openly as an HIV+ gay man in a rural community.

By 2006 Lindsay’s interest in equality and justice led him to studying for a degree in Law through the Open University. However, an unexpected need to have major heart surgery in 2010 meant he wasn’t to complete his degree until 2015.

Lindsay was admitted to hospital on the 15th April 2020 as his breathing had become more laboured. The plan was to move him to the Bristol Heart Institute as soon as a bed was available for what would have been his second heart valve replacement . In the early hours of 26th April he died. That beautiful, caring, thoughtful man, the man that would do anything for anyone wasn’t invincible after all. But he would want you all to know this, Lindsay never did anything without giving it a lot of thought, he liked nothing better than to contemplate, deliberate and to plan each little detail before he would commit to something, and I’m sure, even when facing death, he was the same.

The outpouring of grief since Lindsay’s departure is testament to how loved he was, and by so many. He was an out and proud gay man who lived his lived exactly as he pleased.

He lived life to the full and brought tears of laughter to many. He will be greatly missed.

Peter Routley

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James Packer [1937-45] James Innell Packer (22 July 1926 – 17 July 2020) was an English-born Canadian evangelical theologian, cleric and writer in the low-church Anglican and Calvinist traditions. He was considered one of the most influential evangelicals in North America,[5] known for his best-selling book, Knowing God, written in 1973, as well as his work as an editor for the English Standard Version of the Bible. He was one of the high-profile signers on the 1978 Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy, a member on the advisory board of the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, and also was involved in the ecumenical book Evangelicals and Catholics Together in 1994. His last teaching position was as the board of governors' Professor of Theology at Regent College in Vancouver, British Columbia, in which he served from 1996 until his retirement in 2016 due to failing eyesight.

Wikipedia - https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._I._Packer

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For Sale Ties: Silk £25.00 Polyester £12.00

Scarves in Club Colours (pre-order): £25.00

Beanie in Club Colour: £10.00

Lapel Pin: £2.00

Old Cryptians’ Blazer: (pre-order) £120/£150 ‘Cryptian’ – Back Copies £5.00 Postage Cost for Stock: Ties £1.50; Scarf £5.00; Beanie Hats £3.00; Lapel Pin: £1.00 Cheques payable to The Old Cryptians’ Club to: Mr Matt Cass, Old Cryptians’ Club, Windsor House, 200 Barnwood Fields, Barnett Way GL4 3RT Or by E mail: matthewmichaelcass@hotmail.com

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