An Important Era in Our Community

from 2020 Gazette

by thekingsschool_official

Helping Our Rural Families – Drought Support Trip 2019

COMMUNITY

The Harrisford Group

Lloyd Family

One of the powerful stories of our School across its nearly two centuries of existence, is the story of the King’s families.

In some cases, generation after generation of boys have followed their fathers, grandfathers, great-grandfathers, great-great grandfathers, uncles and so on. Some boys arrive at the gates or the boarding house with a few cousins in train. Some from the farms of our region, and some from the urban sprawl of Sydney. They join the first in family boys and the international boys and the powerful story of the King’s school continues – the richness of the land, the cities and the globe woven into its current and future stories. We are all richer for it and each part of our wonderful School community is just one of the many threads that weave our narrative.

Central to that, is our over seventies Old Boys who recently formed and named themselves The Harrisford Group – we are told that at 69 years old you won’t qualify! These are the boys who enjoyed their King’s experience at the original school campus in the heart of Parramatta.

Central to the start of their bonding with the current campus, however, was the transfer of the Chapel from the original School. Brick by brick in a labour of love the replica rebuild of the Chapel continues to provide the home of gatherings for many of this Christian community’s celebrations, partings and reflections – watched over by the Old Boy custodians of the School.

It was fitting that on a beautiful day in August the start of the Harrisford Group’s inaugural event started with a celebration in the Chapel. For some, it was the first visit to the Parramatta Campus, but all were familiar with the Chapel at the heart of their School.

The gathering powerfully demonstrated the generational story of King’s, with brothers and cousins lined up on pews. Fathers brought sons - ‘younger’ Old Boys - along for the service. And the wonderful visual of James Lloyd [1964 peer year] standing at lunch with four current students – all his grandsons and the fifth generation of the Lloyd family – said it all.