Opus issue 4 by The Portsmouth Grammar School

Issue 4 â&#x20AC;˘ Spring 2011

Keeping in touch with OPs wherever they may be

Inside Introducing the new face of science at PGS The Bristow-Clavell Science Centre unveiled Black Magic! OP Roger on his extraordinary career

Making Waves OP marinersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; epic voyages to Bermuda, Brunei and Basingstoke! The Magazine for former pupils, former parents and friends of The Portsmouth Grammar School

OPUS • Issue 4 • Spring 2011

Portsmouth Grammar School • www.pgs.org.uk

Contents

A round-up of OP news and events

In Brief - A round-up of OP news and events

3-4

Flashbulb frenzy for OP more used to life behind the lens

Opus wins National Independent Schools Award 5 Launching a new generation of scientists at PGS 6-8 The Bristow-Clavell Science Centre One of the seven - Kenneth Budden OP

We are delighted to report that John Aitchison OP (1977-1984) and his camera crew have been awarded a BAFTA for Best Factual Cinematography for Yellowstone (Winter). John attended the ceremony and accepted the award on everyone’s behalf. One of his fellow shortlisted nominees in the Specialist Factual category was none other than PGS parent, physicist and broadcaster Professor Jim Al-Khalili OBE. The series was also nominated for a Cinematography Emmy.

9-11

Where are they now? – former PGS Science staff 12-13

Jackie Smith and Bill Taylor

Science Teaching – then and now by Mike Shepherd OP

14-16

“A futuristic building to nurture the scientists of 17 the future” - by Ben Goad, Head of Science Gold Star - An interview with Roger Black OP

18-19

The King and I - Memories of King George VI

Inside Track - Harvard Professor; Jeremy Bloxham OP

Meet the new OP Club President - John Bartle OP

Generosity of OPs has whole school climbing the 23 walls! - The newly-installed climbing wall The Landlocked Rower World record breaking rows of Dave Holby OP

24-25 26-27

The History Boys A new book by Mark Wingham OP and John Sadden

Prefects’ Reunion - 100 years of prefects at PGS

28-29

A Life on the Ocean Wave Serving in the Royal Navy’s front line warships

A Question of Sport - The school’s fundraising version

Foster Mum! - Mrs Pippa Foster

Under Starter’s Orders! - David Stenson OP

Cross Channel Derry - Christine Derry

A Glimpse Behind the Curtain Keir Strugnell OP recalls a PGS trip to Russia

36-37

Ask the Archivist - Questions answered by John Sadden 38 David Lenton - A profile of ‘Egg’, PGS Head of Classics 39-41

Move Over Grace Darling! The all-female crew competing in the ARC

In Brief

32-33

Trumpeting a school career - Sam Moffitt OP

Day in the life of a Surmaster Shedding light on the role

Forthcoming events

News of Old Portmuthians

45-47

In memoriam

48-51

Cover montage A key to some of the scientific faces past and present

52-55

The accolade comes as the culmination to a busy couple of years for John. Aside from Yellowstone, he has worked on another BBC TV series South Pacific, where he was memorably shown precariously balanced on a makeshift scaffold in the sea off the island of French Frigate Shoals as a dozen tiger sharks circled around him snatching any unfortunate black-footed albatross chicks that got their maiden flight wrong! He has also been the subject of a memorable series of programmes on Radio 4 last Autumn entitled A View through a Lens about some of his globetrotting adventures filming wildlife, including the now legendary aircraft journey from Sweden to Scotland he endured with two adult moose sharing the cabin! He is now working on a new series about the Hebrides for BBC Scotland which started filming on Islay in January and which will be transmitted early in 2013. PGSwill also be giving John the BAFTA treatment and rolling out the red carpet later this year when he takes time out from his hectic schedule to give an evening presentation on his extraordinary career in wildlife filmmaking on 24 November. More information and ticket booking for An Evening with John Aitchison, hosted by PGS in association with the Hampshire Wildlife Trust, can be obtained from Liz Preece in the school’s Development Office at l.preece@pgs.org.uk or by telephoning 023 9268 1392.

No More Tears thanks to Johnson & Johnson In December 2010, Rebecca Johnson OP (1993-2004) set off for Johannesburg, South Africa, on her third visit since December 2009, somehow managing to fit in her humanitarian visits with her Honours Degree course in Primary Education at the University of Winchester. She initially travelled there to work with TLC Ministries – an orphanage that takes in abandoned and AIDS orphaned Becky Johnson with the appropriately babies - which she got involved named ‘Lucky’, (far right), rescued from his abusive stepfather, standing proudly with through sister, Hannah at the entrance to the new home which OP (1991-2004), who is the TLC she helped construct for him. Fundraising Manager in the UK. Through the girls’ work with the charity, Rebecca became involved with the Tumi’s Door project, working with people living in the Eikenhof Informal Settlement – known to locals as the Jacksons Slums. The project work was incredibly varied – essentially listening to the needs of the people living there and finding ways to support them. During her six week stay, Rebecca undertook numerous tasks including preparing and delivering food packages, selling clothes to raise funds, as well as more harrowing situations, such as organising support for victims of abuse and rape, taking cancer patients to the hospital for surgery and building a new home for a boy left homeless after being attacked by his stepfather with a machete. In her spare time she looked after the children at TLC. Both organisations rely entirely on donations to continue doing their fundamental work. If you would like to hear more about either organisation, or would like to contribute to their continued work, Rebecca would be delighted to hear from you at rebecca.c.johnson@hotmail.co.uk

Wintry weather puts OP gathering on ice

Alasdair Akass

Liz Preece

Sue Merton

John Sadden

Development Director

Development Officer

Development Office Administrator

School Archivist 023 9268 1391 j.sadden@pgs.org.uk

The views expressed in Opus articles do not necessarily reflect those of the Editorial Team.

The PGS Development Team is always keen to hear from Old Portmuthians, former parents and friends of the school. Do please stay in touch and share your stories and reminiscences with us, submit content for future editions of Opus or nominate someone to receive a copy, by contacting us at development@pgs.org.uk High Street, Portsmouth, Hampshire PO1 2LN Tel: 023 9236 4248

Sixth Annual Portsmouth Lunch Club 2010 Snow arrived in Portsmouth at the beginning of December and caused the postponement of this popular event in the OP calendar to mid-January. Undeterred by the delay, a large number of OPs gathered at the Royal Beach Hotel, Southsea, to partake of belated festive fare. This year the attendees included the Deputy Lord Mayor of Portsmouth Cllr Cheryl Buggy. After lunch attendees were treated to a very entertaining talk by Mrs Pippa Foster (pictured right), former Headteacher of the PGS Junior School who retired at the end of the Autumn Term. Look out for notification of the 2011 event in the next issue of Opus. continued...

OPUS • Issue 4 • Spring 2011

Portsmouth Grammar School • www.pgs.org.uk

In Brief

continued

Annual School vs. OP Rugby, Netball and Hockey Matches 2010 Hilsea - the hub of PGS Sport. The hallowed turf. Home of the legendary ‘Hilsea Tea’. The place where so many cherished memories are set for both OP and current PGS pupils. It is, then, no wonder that such a large number of OPs arrived at Hilsea on 11 December, 2010 to, once again, proudly wear the Lion on their shirts and represent the OP club in the OP matches. And didn’t they do us all proud!! The Blair sisters (OPs Lucy 1991-1998 and Sophie 1991-2004) dominated the court in netball, whilst shooter Ali Materna (Netball Captain 2010) helped seal the 36-18 victory for the OP Club, despite the outstanding shooting from her younger sister Frankie, who is currently in the Sixth Form and played for the PGS team. A nail biting last minute goal for the PGS team resulted in a 1-1 draw in the girls hockey and much excitement amongst the large crowd of spectators. Recent news that the U16 girls have qualified for the National Finals will surely secure the OP club win in 2014 when those girls will return to Hilsea for OP matches!!! We were delighted to welcome back many Hockey OPs who were members of the U16 Boys Hockey Team in 2004 when they were crowned National Champions! Such a depth of talent combined with their determination to win secured the OP Club a 3-1 win. As in previous years, the rugby teams were made up of current PGS pupils and OPs, allowing OPs to enjoy some friendly rivalry against each other. The red team dominated the opening period, but with cheers of encouragement from the side line, the black team fought to victory winning 36-31. This wonderful day of PGS Sport was followed by a fantastic evening of celebration and friendship at the Annual Dinner where the OP Club welcomed the current PGS sports captains and the Senior Prefect, Dan Frampton. The OP Club welcomes you to the Annual School vs. OP Tennis and Cricket matches on Friday, 24 June 2011 (see “Forthcoming Events” for full details). Helen Linnett, OP Club Committee Member and PGS Deputy Head of Sixth Form

School memories on film If you have any amateur PGS related film that you would like digitised free, please contact archivist John Sadden, who would love to add copies to the school archive. All film would be returned with a digital copy on a DVD. Whether it’s a sports day, school trip, CCF camp or any other school related activity, digitisation will preserve your unique footage for future generations. John would welcome a call on 023 9268 1391 or email j.sadden@pgs.org.uk

PGS Memory Stick is Rather Flash! New for 2011 and priced at just £6.00, the ‘Twister’ 2GB High Speed USB memory stick, emblazoned with the school crest, is available from the school Development Office (development@pgs.org.uk) or by telephoning 023 9236 4248. For a full range of PGS merchandise, please visit the school website www.pgs.org.uk

Members of the PGS String Quintet, recipients of the first ever Sir Malcolm Bates Prize for Chamber Music at Prizegiving in 2010, and set up in his memory by Lady Lynda Bates.. Sir Malcolm attended PGS from 1946 -1950 and enjoyed a lifelong passion for music.

PGS Music Society A brand new society for music aficionados has been set up by the Music Department. It was launched in March with a champagne reception and a concert showcasing the best in PGS music. There is no charge for membership which is open to all OPs, former staff, parents and friends of the school. All members will receive: • Termly Newsletter • Reserved seating at main school concerts • Reduced priced tickets for Opera / ballet / concert trips arranged by the Music Department • Annual Members’ Reception and Concert • Special offers for selected events in the Portsmouth Festivities For further information, or to join the PGS Music Society, please contact Andrew Cleary, Director of Music at a.cleary@pgs.org.uk

The Development Office Needs You! The school Development Office is taking its cue from this Spring’s national census and encouraging all Old Portmuthians to get in touch. We are always interested in hearing about your activities and whereabouts and have now made updating us with your news even easier. We would particularly like to hear from 25-35 year old OPs. Simply complete our online survey on the school website www.pgs. org.uk. Just click on tab ‘PGS Association’, then select ‘Development Office’ from the list in the left hand side of the page and click on the ‘Survey’ button on the page displayed. There are all sorts of questions to answer about what you’re doing now and whether you are fulfilling the career plans you had when you left PGS or have decided to change direction, as well as opportunities to suggest improvements to alumni communication and opportunities which you may be able to provide to current pupils. The survey should only take a few minutes to complete, but will be very helpful to us in shaping future communications and assisting current pupils.

Opus wins National Independent Schools Award We are delighted to announce that Opus has been judged as the most outstanding independent school fundraising initiative in the country in the inaugural Independent Schools Awards. The twice-yearly publication is the brainchild of Development Director Alasdair Akass and is produced by him and his team, Liz Preece, Sue Merton and archivist John Sadden. Along with the school Bursar Don Kent, they learned they were winners at the finals of the awards, a black tie dinner in Oxford last November. ‘We were highly delighted when we heard we had won as knew we were up against some very strong competition from the two other shortlisted nominations,’ said Mr Akass.” It goes without saying that the win would not have been possible without the Development Office team’s hard work, the meticulous research of archivist John Sadden as well as the input of OP Simon Udal, who so expertly designs and produces the magazine for us. But most of all, we owe a huge debt of gratitude to the wonderful support we have received from OPs from around the world for the magazine. We have been regaled with story submissions and hugely positive feedback. In just three issues,

the OP community really seem to have taken to Opus. We definitely think that the magazine has creatively strengthened the school’s relationship with its alumni, staff, friends and supporters and its circulation continues to increase, including to current parents and neighbours of the school who are keen to follow the fortunes of former pupils of PGS.

The judges praised the diversity of stories in the magazine and the breadth of appeal to both contemporary leavers and long-standing alums. The awards featured ten categories in all and are organised by the Funding for Independent Schools (FIS) magazine. Editor Andrew Maiden said: ‘There were lots of entries, but the judges only shortlisted applications worthy of an award to a maximum of three. That meant some excellent projects did not even make it to the shortlist.’

Thanks for your very speedy response to my request for a copy of Opus 3 which seemed to arrive almost before I asked for it!! A very interesting read as usual and a very professional job. I’m sure it is on its way to an award. (John Brooker OP 1957-1964) It is pretty difficult to be pre-eminent amongst PGS publications, but the current edition of Opus seems to have achieved that. (Tim Hands, former Headmaster 1997- 2007) Thank you for yet another excellent edition of Opus. I was interested to see a photo of Tony George’s wedding with John Kemble as his best man, as I played cricket at PGS with both of them. The piece on Capt Shakespear was fascinating. I knew that Cyril Garbett had been at PGS, but not Percy F Westerman, whose novels I read as a youngster. Apologies for dribbling on, but at least you can see that I have not only read, but much appreciated Opus. (Dr John Sweetman OP 1946-1953) Congratulations on the new OP magazine. I cut my teeth by editing the PGS school magazine in the mid1960s before becoming a journalist. I was delighted to see that my old classmates and friends Brian Larkman and Max Lankester are now Chairman of Governors and President of the OP Club. (John M Morrison OP 1957-1967) Thank you for such a fantastic edition of Opus which is both a truly professional publication as well as entertaining and informative. I can not imagine a better former pupils’ magazine being produced anywhere! (Pippa Foster, former Junior School Headmistress, 1987-2010 ) I received today a copy of the third edition of Opus and write simply to congratulate you and your staff on such a splendid publication. It is undoubtedly one of the best Former Pupils’ publications I have seen and most attractively presented. (Tony Evans, former Headmaster, 1983-1997).

From left to right: Alasdair Akass, Development Director; Don Kent, Bursar; Sue Merton, Development Office Administrator; John Sadden, Archivist and Liz Preece, Development Officer

OPUS • Issue 4 • Spring 2011

Portsmouth Grammar School • www.pgs.org.uk

Launching a new generation of scientists at PGS The Bristow-Clavell Science Centre, named in honour of two famous former pupils who forged a friendship at PGS that was to last a lifetime, was officially opened during a ceremony attended by around 150 guests – many of them OPs - involved in its creation.

Mrs Bristow, Mrs Chapman and Mrs Clavell have generously supported the new science centre in memory of Alan and James. Officially opening the building which has been in use since the start of term, Mrs Bristow said her husband, Alan, knew the old science block well and had seen the drawings for the new centre. He was, she said, delighted that it was to be developed and that she took great pleasure in opening it.

Mrs Heather Bristow (pictured above left), widow of aviation pioneer Alan Bristow OP, unveiled a fittingly modern commemorative plaque in the entrance of the multi-million pound groundbreaking complex. She was accompanied by Mr Bristow’s sister, Mrs Muriel Chapman (above right). Former Southsea-born actress April Stride, the widow of OP James Clavell, was unable to join them as planned as she was recovering from eye operations but hopes to visit in the future. She sent a congratulatory message saying, in her absence, she would be raising a glass to the new centre. Alan Bristow and James Clavell (known as Jimmy) shared a love of sport during their time at PGS in the 1930s but their highflying careers took them in completely different directions after they left in 1940.

Guests toured the building where pupils performed a series of experiments and tests in the physics, biology and chemistry laboratories and members of staff were on hand to answer questions. (Dancing custard and home-made ice cream were particular favourites!) Among those attending were Dr Sandy Todd whose late father, Lord Alexander ‘Sandy’ Todd, opened the original science block in 1957 and later that year won the Nobel prize for chemistry. Mrs Lilian Stephenson and her husband Henry, architects who first met on that project, were also present.

Mrs Stephenson said: ‘I was asked if I was sad to see the old science block gone.... how can I be when it has been replaced by such a beautiful, wonderful, magnificent building?’

Some facts about the new building: • T he new building is a third of the height of Nelson’s Column • T he demolition created 1200 tons of rubble • T here are a total of 809 pieces of steel in the frame with 8200 nuts and bolts weighing 115 tonnes using 3299.4 m2 of paint and 250m2 or 625 tonnes of reinforced concrete The opening was one of a series of events in a special Year of Science at the school which culminates in the 2011 Portsmouth Festivities, themed ‘Portsmouth – Space City’. Headmaster James Priory also thanked everyone who had supported the project, including parents past and present, former pupils, PGS’ friends and supporters and added it had been quite a year! He said it was a privilege to witness a further Bristow-Clavell collaboration - the pair teamed up on the 1986 novel Whirlwind which told of Alan Bristow’s heroic 1979 struggle to escape revolutionary Iranian forces, rescuing his staff and equipment from danger.

James became an international bestselling author - many of his books such as King Rat, Noble House and Shogun became movies - and he also worked in the film industry as a director and screenwriter. Alan Bristow became a helicopter pilot and founded Bristow Helicopters Ltd, at one time the largest helicopter business outside of the United States. Despite commitments which took them around the world and demands on their time, they stayed friends right up until James’ death in 1994. continued...

OPUS • Issue 4 • Spring 2011

Portsmouth Grammar School • www.pgs.org.uk

Launching a new generation of scientists at PGS continued

‘These are two particular people that this building will hopefully be associated with for a very long time to come – two names which resonate way beyond this city and this school.’ Mr Priory said the friendship between Clavell and Bristow was an interaction of art and science, of engineering and the humanities and that the centre, which had already made a huge impact on the teaching and learning of sciences, was also an aesthetic space designed to inspire the creative.

He hoped that the new Bristow-Clavell Science Centre would help stimulate the minds, not just of PGS pupils, but OPs, parents and those across the school community, enthusing them with all that science has to offer as a changing, developing field. He added that it would be especially welcome if OPs found something in the school’s packed Year of Science programme of events (available from the Development Office) to tempt them to come and experience the BristowClavell Centre for themselves and see this dramatic new feature on the PGS skyline.

OM: S DONATIONS FR OU R GENE Y B OSSIBLE RE WAS MADE P CENT Morrison SCIENCE ELL Materna • Mr Ross -CLAV ge or TOW Ge IS rs R M B & r THE M • ger Cherry THE BUILDING OF Richard Hutchings Burley CBE • Mr Ro r ff M • Je r re so Ey es W of R Pr E • r l•M ight rs A Bappoo w • Mrs April Clavel Family • Mr Nik Kn T R Ayling • Mr & M ns r va M • -E t er fit on of Mrs Heather Bristo Ko M J e rs Th n • d family • Mr & M & Charlotte Rowde e Hancock Family an re Th n • ai to Cl th Or • or m ns w Ti • rn oh y bj Fa le d Ro & Mrs Davi Mr Geoff Fo ms r & Mrs Neil Mr Reg Drew • Mr • Dr Matthew Willia ney and Adam • M ls nk el Pi W R I G n rs sa M & Su r • Mr Ronald Clarke • M p Morrison • r David Thor ) Mr & Mrs Grahame r Roy Thornton • M • M t • et r ke nn Li oc t ell, OP (1922-2010 St ot w hn Sc Po r Jo n M r to M ys • t Ro ot , er Sc of their fath r & Mrs Gordon odman in memor y Go Mr Alan Scaife • M lly Sa rs M & rd Mrs Mar y Lo

What a wonderful building – my father, former pupil Royston Powell – would have loved it! (Sally Goodman, daughter of Royston Powell OP (1934-1939))

One of the seven On 30 January 1933, Adolf Hitler was appointed Chancellor of Germany. Two weeks later, a seventeen year old boy stood up and delivered a paper to the Portsmouth Grammar School Literary and Philosophical Society. He had planned a talk on relativity, quantum theory and cosmological evolution, but when he showed a draft to a teacher it was suggested that it was too advanced. Instead, he took as his subject “radio-activity”. Afterwards, one of the boy’s Science Sixth colleagues commented, “Damn interesting, Budden.” But a fourth former was overheard quietly reassuring his neighbour, “Nobody understood it.”

Several years later, Ken Budden’s passion for science led him to work on a project that was to help successfully thwart Herr Hitler’s plans to invade Britain. Budden joined Portsmouth Grammar School in 1928 and, as a young boy, took an avid interest in “wireless”, making crystal sets and early valve sets and even attempting, unsuccessfully, to receive the early television transmissions. It is not known if Budden came across a copy of Percy Westerman’s “War of the Wireless

Waves” (1923) in the school library, though there was a good chance of it being amongst those regularly donated by one of the school’s more famous alumni (see Opus 3). In it, “super-powerful ZZ rays” were generated and stored in a Naval Ordnance factory in Keyhaven, awaiting the day they could be unleashed on enemy navies. Unfortunately, and perhaps inevitably, dastardly foreign scientists were working on even superior “Ultra-K Rays” in a war of ever increasingly ultra-super superlatives. In the Science Sixth, Budden was taught by Mr Hawkey, a short Cornishman who many generations of pupils enjoyed mimicking. Hawkey introduced the eager Budden to organic chemistry while Mr Knowles and Mr Lee taught him physics of a less fanciful type than that which featured in Westerman’s novels. The feared but respected Mr Willis shared the joys of advanced algebra. It was Willis who recognised that the boy had potential and mentioned the possibility of competing for a scholarship at Oxford or Cambridge. Having been awarded a State

Congratulations! It is a beautiful building worthy of PGS. (Lilian Stephenson, architect of original PGS Science Block)

A wonderful building; may it inspire future pupils as our children were inspired at PGS. (former PGS parents Kathryn and Joe Moffitt, parents of OPs Lucy (2004-2006) and Sam (1996-2010))

A marvellous tribute to two tremendous OPs. I am sure that many future generations of PGS pupils will be inspired to follow in their footsteps.

Kenneth Budden c 1930

Scholarship on his results in the Higher School Certificate examination, Budden sought advice from Mr Hawkey. “My boy, “he said in his characteristic brogue, “St John’s (Cambridge) is a good working man’s College”. This was recommendation enough for Budden. At the school prize-giving, held at Portsmouth Guildhall, Budden was awarded both the Chemistry Prize and the Pares Memorial Prize for Mathematics, but, having been detained by the Cambridge examinations, his proud mother picked them up on his behalf. A week or two later a telegram arrived with the news that he had been accepted for St John’s, and, with his prizes packed (a copy of Houston’s “A Treatise on Light” and Starling’s “Electricity and Magnetism for Advanced Students”) Budden went up to Cambridge to read natural sciences. He chose Physics, Chemistry and Physiology for the first two years of study, but opted for Physics in his final year, gaining first class honours.

(Bruce Strugnell OP (1958-1967))

An amazing facility! (Grahame and Susan Morrison, current parents)

A tremendous facility to inspire PGS 21st century scientists (former PGS parents Margaret and Paul Knight, parents of OPs David (1977-1989) and Emily (1997-2004))

Kenneth and his sister Stella on Southsea Promenade in the 1930s. Stella also worked at the Telecommunications Research Establishment at Worth Matravers during the war.

Budden’s name recorded on the PGS Scholarship boards

continued...

OPUS • Issue 4 • Spring 2011

Portsmouth Grammar School • www.pgs.org.uk

One of the seven

engineering, and organisation in the annals of human achievement”. But while Watson-Watt played the leading role, he recognised that it was a team effort. When a Royal Commission on Awards to Inventors was established to hear claims of inventors who “allege that their inventions, drawings or processes have been used by Government Departments and Allied Governments during the War”, Watson-Watt submitted a claim on behalf of himself and six other scientists. In it he listed a number of inventions which, cumulatively, constituted the radar system which had helped defend Britain during the war. “We seven appear as a single indivisible group,” he argued. Kenneth Budden was one of the seven.

continued

He then decided to embark on a PhD, joining a radio research group at the Cavendish Laboratory headed by J. A. Ratcliffe. This group carried out pioneering work on the ionosphere, immediately prior to the Second World War. Observations of ionospheric reflection were made by using public service transmissions, and by studying the interference patterns or phase relations between the direct (ground) wave, and the reflected wave. Budden led a small group that studied the design of aerials in a brick hut on a rifle range in west Cambridge. Adolf Hitler invaded Poland and, shortly after war was declared, Budden was awarded his PhD. He then joined a group of scientists engaged in what was known as RDF (Radio Direction Finding) The acronym “radar” - radio detection and ranging had not then come into use. Back in the mid 1930s, the Director of Scientific Research at the Air Ministry (who may or may not have been a Westerman fan) asked Robert Watson-Watt to look into the possibilities of a “death ray” weapon using radio waves for use against enemy aircraft. He reported back that he didn’t think it was feasible, but that the problem of detecting aircraft by radio might be, and began researching and testing this possibility with the help of others. It was discovered that radio transmitters could create an echo from an aeroplane that was over 200 miles away.

Many thanks to Catherine Wright (Kenneth Budden’s niece) and Dr Bill Penley of the Purbeck Radar Museum Trust for their kind help in the research for this article.

Radar cover of SE England in Sept 1941. The inner line indicates cover at 5,000 ft, the outer at 15,000 ft.

As part of Watson-Watt’s team, Budden became involved in the development of a chain of radar stations, including the selection of suitable sites, which played a crucial role during the Battle of Britain. Radar was integrated into a sophisticated command and control network under Fighter Command, and, according to Sir William Sholto Douglas, “the Battle of Britain might never have been won... if it were not for the radar chain”.

From around July 1940, Budden worked at the Telecommunications Research Establishment at Worth Matravers, near Swanage, on the development of Ground Control of Interception, which sought to track incoming bombers and the fighter aircraft that were trying to intercept them. With the heavy losses of cargo ships and the introduction of the convoy system in the Atlantic, Budden was also involved in the installation of rotation radar aerials on ships.

An airwoman plotting aircraft on the cathode-ray tube of an early radar set. More than four thousand members of the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force used and serviced the equipment which played so decisive a role in the Battle of Britain.

In July 1941, Budden served with the British Air Commission in Washington DC and was later stationed in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) with an honorary rank of RAF Squadron Leader. After the war Budden returned to Cambridge as a demonstrator in the Cavendish Laboratory and as a Fellow of St John’s College. In 1965 he was appointed Reader in Physics. Until 1952 Budden did experimental work on radio waves of very low frequency but he then became more interested in theory than in experiment, and his future work was in the field of theoretical physics.

The radar illustrations are reproduced from Robert Watson-Watt’s autobiographical account of his career, Three Steps to Victory, published in 1957.

of his experimental and theoretical work on the propagation of very long radio waves and in 1993 he was awarded the Hertz medal by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. According to Watson-Watt’s entry in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, “The transition from the flickering and truant radio echoes of 1936 into the reliable defence system of 1940 was one of the greatest combined feats of science,

In a series of important papers Budden solved many of the problems that arise when a radio wave of great length is reflected from the ionosphere in the presence of the Earth’s magnetic field.

Early harbour radar cover of Southampton Water. Speed and course could be determined by the white “tail” of vessels.

350ft high steel lattice radar masts dating from the Second World War.

He became recognised as the expert in this complicated and abstruse field and his book on the subject, Radio Waves in the Ionosphere (1961) became a classic (which was revised and updated by Budden in the 1980s under the title The Propagation of Radio Waves). In 1966 Budden was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in recognition

Kenneth Budden in the 1930s

Portrait by John Edwards, 1982

OPUS • Issue 4 • Spring 2011

Portsmouth Grammar School • www.pgs.org.uk

Where are they now? – former PGS Science staff They may have taught about dormant genes, inert gases and hibernation, but life beyond PGS for two much-loved former members of the Science Department, has been anything but sedate. Here, Jackie Smith and Bill Taylor tell Opus how it felt to hang up their lab coats for the last time and the experiments that they’ve been up to since… Jackie Smith arrived at PGS over 25 years ago as the Chemistry technician, undeterred by the original response to her request for employment which stated that “the school only employed men or retired members of the armed forces”. She retired as Senior Science Technician in 2009. Jackie’s son Howard, an OP (1986-1995), is a practising GP at Guildhall NHS Drop-in Centre in Portsmouth. “It was with considerable trepidation that I faced the thought of life after PGS and it took a few weeks to become accustomed to a non-working lifestyle. In fact it was probably on the first wet, cold and miserable Monday morning when I just snuggled deeper into the duvet that I realised retirement was ok! The cliché about not having enough time to go to work is so true. We seem to have done so much in the past eighteen months. We started with a three month trip to Australia to visit our daughter, staying in Thailand en route, marvelling at the palaces and sights but being uneasy with the poverty that is obviously still very apparent. During our stay in Oz we travelled the Great Ocean Road, stayed in Melbourne, saw whales, penguins on Philip Island as well as kangaroos, koalas and huge numbers of wild birds. We also spent time in Sydney, Moreton Island, the Hunter Valley and of course Brisbane. The caravan has been well used in both France and Spain. It is less crowded and so much cheaper outside of school holidays. There has also been time to enjoy the company of friends walking in the Peak District, the Isle of Purbeck and on the South Downs. We now find that there is more time for culture (even for scientists!), so in 2010 we ticked Venice and Istanbul off our city hit list. It’s also lovely to be able to visit museums and galleries in London when again they are less crowded and surprisingly to bump into other Old Portmuthians doing the same”.

BILL TAKES CENTRE STAGE (WITH BEN) AT THE KINGS “My final few months to retirement were filled with fear and relief in equal measures”, recalls former Chairman of Science Bill Taylor. “How will I cope without the routine of thirty six years of waking up to another day at the chalk face; how enjoyable will it be to have a lie-in? I will so miss the minute by minute interaction with bright young minds; I’ll love the relaxed read of the morning paper over another cup of coffee or perhaps an early morning sail down the harbour. I know I’ll badly miss my colleagues but some of those expeditions will need proper planning. What will I do: paint the house, mow the lawn again or just fade away?” The reality bore no resemblance to expectation. “ ‘Prepare for the unexpected’ should be the motto of the newly retired, or perhaps ‘The Big Society awaits you!’” Bill’s departure from PGS prompted an immediate response from another much loved local organisation who were keen to harness his talents: “I was very quick to point out that I had no artistic talent whatsoever, when I was invited, nearly a year ago, to the position of Trustee and Education Director of The Kings Theatre in Southsea .” He is the first incumbent of this new role and has even teamed up with his successor as Head of Science, Ben Goad to become their very own flowerpot men! ‘Bill’ and ‘Ben’ took to the boards at the Kings last year to launch its first ever Open Week, which he masterminded.

Far from wooden, their fun-filled presentation aimed at Key Stage 2 children demonstrated the science behind theatrical special effects and was designed to both educate and entertain with experiments never before seen on stage.

The show was the first in a planned series of specialist science lectures starring ‘Bill’ and ‘Ben’ and PGS, a programme designed to provide a vital contribution to engaging youngsters with science. In an interview at the Kings with The News Chief Reporter Chris Owen, kindly reproduced with his permission here, Bill spoke of his new role and life after PGS and began by declaring: ‘I am not a luvee’. Chris wrote: In the silence of this wonderful old palace of a thousand dreams you can almost hear the voices, sniff the greasepaint and glimpse the ghosts of countless performers in the 103-year-old ‘drama and opera house’ – as it was dubbed originally. And if it is ghosts you are after, Bill Taylor is your man. For Bill is the new Albus Dumbledore of the Kings – the man whose wizardry could turn the place into a Hogwarts-style academy for young magicians. Well, that’s his burning ambition. Bill is a scientist. Quite a distinguished one. He’s an expert on gamma ray dosimetry He’s also a bit of a renaissance man who loves nothing better than mixing his love of science and the arts with a passion for getting young people inspired by both.

When he is not indulging his love of the outdoors (he was an alpine climber before the joints started complaining), rugby and sailing, he likes conjuring with smoke and mirrors. ‘That, after all, is what so much of the theatre is about,’ he says looking down wistfully at the stage. ‘If you want to create a ghost shimmering across that stage you do it with mirrors and by bending light. That’s how the Victorians did it and amazed audiences. There’s no magic, although the audience think it is magical. It’s all science. ‘Just look around you at all the science there is in here,’ said Bill with all the effervescent enthusiasm of the teacher he once was.

‘There’s the tricks you can play with the lighting, learning how sound travels so those at the back of this marvellous theatre can hear every word from way down there on the stage, and the mechanics of how heavy loads such as backdrops and scenery can be lifted with weights and pulleys.’ Bill, who lives at Emsworth with his wife Marion and his two step-children, spent 36 years teaching physics at Portsmouth Grammar School becoming Head of Physics, Chairman of Science, Senior Teacher (teaching and learning) and acting Second Master. In his ‘spare’ time he was an inspector for the Independent Schools Inspectorate.

‘To my knowledge the Kings is the first theatre in the country to have someone in my role with a specific interest in science,’ said Bill. ‘You know, most kids have a desire to get up on stage and perform – you only have to look at television programmes like Pop Idol, The X Factor and Britain’s Got Talent to see that.

‘But there are many, many children who are terrified of going up there, yet there are so many different aspects of the theatre which would interest them behind the scenes.’ He knows because he has seen it work, helping hundreds of youngsters live the performing dream. ‘Over two nights we had more than 800 kids on stage. They brought their parents and friends. One of the things which struck me afterwards was how many of those parents said they’d never been to the theatre before and how much they enjoyed it. If the parents hadn’t been what chance was there of the children making it? Shaking his head sadly, he said: ‘When you think that this place nearly became a pub a few years ago... ‘But the people of Portsmouth said ‘no’. They were not going to allow it. They wanted a theatre and they were determined to keep it and put on shows that the people wanted.’

Picture courtesy of The News, Portsmouth

OPUS • Issue 4 • Spring 2011

Portsmouth Grammar School • www.pgs.org.uk

Science Teaching – then and now The state-of-the-art facilities provided by the new Bristow-Clavell Science Centre underpin the school’s reputation as one of the South’s leading provider of science education. But, as Dr Mike Shepherd, Honorary Secretary of the Old Portmuthian Club and retired Physics teacher, discovers, science facilities at the school haven’t always been so cutting-edge… Science teaching at PGS goes back a long way. The first evidence appears to be in the curriculum of the ‘new’ school that opened in 1879 (now the Upper Junior), where natural sciences is mentioned. The first mention of chemistry is in 1884 when an examiner reported, “I am sorry that I am not able to speak very highly of the work done in this subject.... there remains a want of accurate knowledge, and an indistinctness of statement, which would seem to show that the subject has not been studied with the same diligence and earnestness as the others...”. In 1885 the examiner reported a weakness, or absence, of practical work. The Portmuthian of 1911, in an article ‘25 Years Ago’ (i.e. 1886), refers to a ‘new chemistry lecture room and space for practical work’. An early school prospectus records: ‘In the autumn term of 1900 a new science wing was opened, towards the building of which the Town Council of Portsmouth contributed £1,500, The school is now provided with admirable chemical and physical laboratories.’ It goes on to state: ‘The School is a School of Science under the Board of Education’.

Science pupils in the 1990s

character, feared by the lazy or casual and held in awe by those interested in Chemistry. It was widely believed that he rarely slept but worked late in the evening experimenting with his own chemistry set at home.

Before the excesses of ‘Health and Safety’ spoilt some of our fun, we would draw acids and other ‘interesting’ chemicals into measuring pipettes by sticking them in our mouths and sucking. Mike Sh

epherd

R.V Wells in action, 1977

Nationally, science teaching has changed markedly in the last 70 years; in syllabus content, teaching style, laboratory design, practical work and examinations. In the late 40s and early 50s the content of courses was far greater than is now the case. Syllabi contained much information, which one was expected to commit to memory. The teaching style was very traditional and formal. Information was given by teachers and one was expected to learn it. Whilst pupils could ask and receive advice or information during practical laboratory work, interruptions of classroom teaching were less welcome. It was Bill Tweed (Chemistry teacher, 1947-1966) who coined the phrase and practice “do as you are bid not as you are bad”. Practical science consisted mainly of demonstrations by teachers, although pupils were permitted to do a few experiments. Michael McNevin (19401946) recalls: ‘Doctor White’s lessons in Cliff House, Bournemouth (early 1940s) were memorable considering he only had a large chest of drawers to demonstrate on and a small room, the size of an average toilet, in which to keep all his few pieces of apparatus and chemicals. There was no laboratory but in the summer we cycled

five miles one afternoon a week to use the facilities at Bournemouth School for Boys. Actually handling apparatus was a new experience.’

Immediately post-war, laboratories were generally dreary, airless, cramped and formal. Many OPs, at school when PGS returned to Portsmouth in 1944, will remember being taught Chemistry and Physics in the science accommodation, which, until 1953, was on the ground floor of the Lower School across Cambridge Junction. The laboratories had high windows, fixed benches, many reagent bottles on racks between benches, sinks in which to wash apparatus and ancient fume cupboards in the corner, which were used infrequently and which were not very effective.

Physics laboratory added to the old school, 1900

This we duly did and a new block for Physics, comprising four laboratories, a lecture room and a preparation room, was completed on the upper school site in 1953. Similar accommodation for Chemistry followed in 1957. Bill Taylor comments: ‘The laboratories were large with high ceilings and consequently poor acoustics. Old oak benches were fixed and half the class had their backs to the teacher who stood remotely behind a large front bench, raised on a dais. Pupils sat on wooden stools, many dating back to pre-war days. Nick Stone (1950-1956) recalls ‘Science – and more particularly Physics – began for me when the new science block was opened. Physics, as taught by ‘Gaffer’ Gibbs, became the academic love of my life and it has remained that way. He was able to show us the way the subject combines the abstract precision of Mathematics with a real purpose – explaining how things are and how physical laws are formulated based on careful observation and experimental test.’ Mike Craddock (1945-1954) seems fortunate in having done more practical work than many. He writes: ‘My first physics master was William Barrow, then in the Sixth Form Peter Gibbs – both admirable. They certainly provided a very thorough grounding. My physics lab notebook recounts 30 experiments completed in the

two years prior to A Levels, probably with a partner, and starts at No 37, suggesting that I had already done 36 in the Fifth Form! One surviving book (marked No 2) of (probably dictated) notes seems equally comprehensive, with over a hundred pages of closely written material on heat, light, electricity and magnetism. Even for that date, the syllabus seems dreadfully conservative. Judging by my voluminous notes on inorganic, organic and physical chemistry, that subject was equally thoroughly taught.’ In the 40s and 50s school laboratory technicians were few, perhaps one for each department. W.R. Combes was one who was well remembered and respected; ‘laboratory steward from time immemorial’ according to Washington and Marsh’s 1976 history of the School. Roger Cherry (19451955) recalls him ‘cutting pieces of Sodium, held under oil, that, when dropped into a sink of water sped around giving off hydrogen – a practice he is sure is no longer considered safe!’ In the 1970s, Steve Harris (1968-1978) remembers being taught by David Aylemore, ‘‘The Doc’, a very impressive

It was not uncommon for a pupil to be distracted while doing this and, forgetting to watch the rising, would get a nasty lesson in the taste of some noxious substance.’ As far back as many of us can recollect the biology accommodation has been on the upper school site but it was just as bleak as that for Chemistry and Physics. Jeff Burley (1946-1954) remembers Ernie Wells as ‘an outstanding teacher of a whole range of biological principles and who devised many good working experiments. He was highly committed ahead of his time to what would nowadays be called nature conservation and biological diversity’. Examinations were formal and took place at the end of each course. Examination papers were set and marked by university boards and the questions in them required the recall of a great deal of information but not much logical thought. This was long before the International System of MKS units reached schools and in Physics, at A level in particular, it was necessary to remember the conversion factors between the various systems of units and to be able to apply them.

I well remember a sixth form practical chemistry session in the early 50s, when Bill Tweed exhorted us to “make the worst possible stink as the Governors will be coming round and the School needs new laboratories”. Science Lecture room, 1900

David Hampshire (centre) teaching Biology, 1982

continued...

OPUS • Issue 4 • Spring 2011

Portsmouth Grammar School • www.pgs.org.uk

Science Teaching – then and now The Sixties saw the coming of the Nuffield courses, at both A and O (GCSE) levels, where the emphasis was on pupil thought, experimentation and, not least, fun! Examination questions were designed to suit the courses and to answer them successfully required a higher degree of pupil thought and problem solving than hitherto. Perhaps these courses over-reacted to the situation at the time but there is no doubt that they achieved their purpose by acting as a catalyst to drag traditional science teaching out of its rut. In the last decade, they have been absorbed into the mainstream courses. Bill Taylor writes: ‘No Nuffield GCSE or A level exams were taken at PGS, however Physics followed the course for the first three years in the 1970s and 80s. We were saddened when they were stopped. However, Nuffield had a profound effect on the teaching of science and some experiments are done to this day.’

In the 1980s coursework assessment was introduced to GCSE, which resulted in pupils having to ‘jump through hoops’ throughout their final two years. To escape this many schools have changed to the International GCSE (IGCSE), which is also rather more formal and testing than GCSE. For the Sixth Form the International Baccalaureate (IB) is a more demanding and rigorous option. It also provides a broader education and many independent schools, including PGS, now offer it as an alternative to A level.

Laboratories in the new Bristow-Clavell Science Centre

continued

“A futuristic building to nurture the scientists of the future - thanks to OP and parental support” Opus talks to Ben Goad, Head of Science, about the reality of teaching, learning and working in the building which he was instrumental in bringing about.

Laboratories in the new Bristow-Clavell Science Centre

A significant limitation on the scope of practical work in the last twenty years has been the regulations of the Health and Safety Executive. No doubt some regulations are necessary but others defy common sense and unnecessarily limit the range of practical science and the knowledge and enjoyment gained from it. Accommodation for Science is now almost unrecognisable compared with that of the 40s and 50s. At PGS, the ‘new’ science block, mentioned earlier, has recently been demolished and the Bristow-Clavell Science Centre opened last autumn, a development that is essential if PGS is to continue to educate a large number of future scientists, engineers and doctors. What a superb facility it is, with bright and very spacious laboratories (thirteen), staff offices, prep rooms, corridors and atrium – a world away from the postwar laboratories! ‘Chalk and talk’ have long since been replaced by interactive whiteboards and these are evident in every laboratory. There is one large lecture

theatre (capacity 130) with seats which can be rolled back and the cleared space used to enlarge the atrium. Science is now taught exclusively in laboratories and practical work fully integrated with the theory, rather than being ‘tacked on’ in a weekly laboratory session. There are several technicians in each of the three departments – a necessity given the number of demonstrations and the amount of pupil practical work. Laptops are conspicuous and are used as a means of collecting, storing and displaying data. Science teaching has indeed changed markedly during the last century or so, mainly for the good. Pupils now gain a richer and more enjoyable scientific experience, which may be a better preparation for their future. In writing this article, I have received considerable help from John Sadden (PGS Archivist), Bill Taylor (former PGS Chairman of Science 1972-2008), and the OPs mentioned in the text, to all of whom I am very grateful.

I have often been asked to explain exactly how the Bristow Clavell Science Centre (BCSC) will improve the educational experience for our pupils at PGS. In truth this is rather difficult to pin down and I suspect that we won’t see the true benefits for some years to come. Many people will be hoping for greater pupil numbers taking science at A Level and Higher Level IB, or an upsurge in the quality of science results at GCSE and in the Sixth Form. This would be wonderful of course but most of the benefits are deeper and more intangible and, importantly, are already taking hold and I will try to lay my finger on them now. At a recent parents evening I let slip that in truth the quality of our teaching relies almost entirely on the ability of us as teachers.

I immediately envisaged an irate bursar accusing me of wasting the school’s money in new fangled frippery. However one way in which our teaching can be improved is by providing the environment and infrastructure to allow us to experiment with new ways in which to get the message across. A colleague reported back to me with his successes in using the two screens in his lab. He had shown an animation explaining a detailed aspect of Physics on one at the same time as teaching from another. The ability to provide immediate access to interactive ICT is hugely helpful to many of our pupils. I mused out loud in a recent lesson that I wished I could keep my notes visible for longer so that pupils had more time to

see them. “Why don’t you leave the last page on the other screen then?” cried one bright spark. How wonderful that I have the facility to be able to do that (and even more wonderful that I teach pupils who are interested in teaching me something new!). The atrium area and the break-out space in each floor are a joy to use. It never fails to gladden my heart when I walk into the building. Now instead of struggling through queues of pupils waiting outside the old building in the rain I come across groups clustered around the plasma screen discussing the latest bit of Chemistry news or watching clips of movies featuring Physics or trying to persuade the cichlids in the aquarium to notice them. The Biology department certainly wins the “Displays” award with some stunning banners designed for this year’s National Science and Engineering Week and the ability to move the pin boards and white boards outside their labs at whim has encouraged a continually changing set of posters featuring pupil’s work. David Bawtree, former Chairman of Governors, put me on the spot when I first suggested that we build a new science centre on the site of the old. “Your results are already fairly successful”, he said, “why should the school invest so heavily in the sciences?” To my great relief he agreed with me when I said that we can’t hope to remain successful if we just stand still. We have already started using the BCSC for more imaginative events with wider appeal. The Chemists have run a highly successful “Top of the Bench” challenge for

Ben Goa

local schools and the Royal Society of Chemistry would like to this to continue in subsequent years. Our science ambassador scheme which already uses sixth form pupils to inspire local primary pupils could provide some ideas for Imperial College in London who are looking to work with us as part of their outreach activities. The BCSC could become an interesting hub for science education in Portsmouth with the new lecture theatre a perfect venue for more intimate seminars. We have not really scratched the surface of what the BCSC has to offer and how we can use the facilities in new and innovative ways.

I have not yet given up on the Headmaster’s idea to hang the skeleton of a whale in the main atrium. We weren’t allowed to include a sufficiently strong suspension point in the ceiling but with a little imagination, some clever innovation and ultimately the will to make it happen, none of which are in short supply at PGS, I think we could just make it work.

OPUS • Issue 4 • Spring 2011

Portsmouth Grammar School • www.pgs.org.uk

Gold Star

Veteran athlete limbers up for interview with rookie relay reporters

When two PGS sixth formers, with aspirations to pursue careers in journalism and the media, were looking to hone their interview skills, there was one Old Portmuthian they wanted to talk to. Roger Black: Neil was passionate about rugby and had a real dedication to the pupils. It’s incredibly sad that he’s no longer here, but I can definitely say that he played a big part in making sport a lot of fun for us and was certainly an inspiration to me personally. Jordan: Were there any other teachers across the school who you particularly remember? Your Head of House, for example?

“Roger Black is so familiar to us”, said Ellen Davis, “his picture hangs in the school reception and many of us remember him when he was the guest speaker at Prizegiving a few years ago. He’s become even more familiar to many pupils more recently off the athletics track and in TV appearances on Strictly Come Dancing, Celebrity Masterchef and Mastermind and as Team Captain on the new series of the classic television show Superstars.” Ellen is no stranger to getting the scoop – her article on the visit to Portsmouth last year of the NASA astronauts who crewed the Atlantis Space Shuttle on its last scheduled mission - appeared in an issue of International Spaceflight magazine to much acclaim. The magazine has an avid readership and is published in over 30 countries. She and classmate Jordan persuaded amateur film maker and fellow sixth former George Graham to film the interview at Roger’s home in Surrey at the end of last year, shortly after Roger had been tempted out of retirement for the Aviva Legends Relay at the Aviva London Grand Prix, where he enjoyed an emphatic win and a tumultuous reaction from the capacity crowd at Crystal Palace.

Ellen: Roger, When did you first discover that you had a talent for running? Roger Black: Well when I first started at PGS they discovered that I had a leaking heart valve and, consequently, I wasn’t allowed to play rugby for the first two years. This meant I spent a lot of time running and I always seemed to win the 100 metres on Sports Day. When the time was right for me to take up rugby, I was always put on the wing because I could run like the clappers! Ellen: Sport is evidently a big part of your life. Were any of the teachers at PGS responsible for instilling this love for sport in you? Roger Black: Oh sure. Chris Stoneham was Director of Sport when I first came to the school and always encouraged me. I never ever thought that I was especially talented, but I was always encouraged to train hard. Then in the Sixth Form Neil Blewett came along. He and Roger Wilkins were my rugby coaches. Ellen: You mention Neil Blewett, who I’m sure you know sadly passed away recently. Was he someone who inspired you to take up sport?

Roger Black: Well, I was extremely lucky in that regard. I was in Whitcombe and we had the good fortune to have Gareth Perry as our Head of House. I used to think that he was seriously cool in his white Triumph Stag. Gareth was a lovely man who commanded great respect among his pupils. Bill Taylor was somebody else who I connected with, even though he only taught me for a short time. And I owe Mike Taylor an enormous debt of gratitude as, somehow, he managed to get me through Chemistry A level! I also vividly remember a very voluptuous French teacher by the name of Valerie Godeseth! Ellen: And what about your classmates? Are you still in touch with them? Roger Black: I have been quite good at keeping in touch actually. I am in regular touch with four or five fellow Old Portmuthians including Jon Ayling, Kelvin Hackett, Ed Richards and Guy Knight. Oh, and Pete Russell who was in the year below me. I think that that’s pretty good! Ellen: Were you surprised to be asked to be Head Boy? Roger Black: I was amazed to be asked. Back then, in order to be eligible for the role, you had to be in the CCF. But I never thought I’d be in the running because I had received a dishonourable discharge for bunking off summer camp! I think that I was probably the first ever Head Boy not to be in the CCF. I actually turned the offer down at first. But the new Headmaster. Tony Evans, persuaded me to give it a

go. My deputy Rupert Blake and I were a good combination – he was the master of discipline and organisation and ‘bad cop’ to my ‘good cop’! Jordan: Did you do well off the athletics track in the classroom? Were you as passionate about any subjects other than sport? Roger Black: I worked hard, but nothing ever eclipsed my love of sport. My best memories of my time at the school are invariably sporting ones….. playing football in the Quad at break and banter in the coach on the way to rugby fixtures. I remember not being very good at Biology, but I sat next to John Aitchison in lessons and copied his work. John has since gone on to be one of the world’s foremost wildlife film makers, so I must have had some inkling that he was destined for greatness! [See more about John Aitchison on page 3] Jordan: Our research has unearthed the fact that you are a Saints supporter! How did the fact that you supported Southampton FC go down with your friends at PGS? Roger Black: Well, if anyone is to blame, it is a friend of my father’s who took me to watch the Saints in 1976 when I was just 10 years old. Six weeks after that match they beat Manchester United 1 – 0 in the F.A. Cup Final and I have followed their fortunes ever since. And you wonder why I was such a fast runner as a schoolboy!

Stars in their Eyes – has been a very positive experience. But my business in corporate training and motivational speaking is entirely based around my journey to the Olympic rostrum. It’s what people want to hear about and, in my case, the various setbacks and injuries I had to contend with to get there I suppose make it more inspiring. I remember many a time on Strictly Come Dancing when fellow athlete Denise Lewis and I were invited to compare dancing live on television with the adrenaline rush of an Olympic race. But we simply couldn’t do it. Nothing comes close to the feeling of being part of an Olympic Games and I will never top it. Ellen: Although you were recently tempted back onto the track to take part in the Aviva Legends Relay at Crystal Palace. How did that feel? Roger Black: It was amazing to don the running spikes with Jason Gardener, John Regis and Iwan Thomas and going head to head. I still can’t quite believe that I broke the finish tape first, even though I’d triggered an old hamstring injury more than 20 metres before the finish line! The crowd was absolutely sensational. It was a great day. Ellen: And you have recently had your silver medal in the 4 x 100 metres relay at the 1997 World Championships in Athens upgraded to gold after a member of the American quartet, Antonio Pettigrew, was found to be drugs cheating. Do you look upon it as a win for the British team?

Roger Black: Good question. Actually I don’t because you train exceptionally hard for a rostrum place and we were denied that opportunity. I think the upgrade has been more important for my three teammates, who had never been world champions. The tragic postscript to the story is that Pettigrew committed suicide about four weeks after the news broke about his cheating. Ellen: You mentioned your career as a motivational speaker and trainer, so we have a scenario for you. Mr Dossett, Director of Sport wants to give a pep-talk to the First rugby team who have been struggling all term. What would advise him to say? Roger Black: I would advise him to take a rousing Churchillian approach! I would list all the great names that have graced the pitches at Hilsea and have gone on to great success. PGS aren’t losers! Ellen: Finally Roger, how would you sum up your time at PGS? Roger Black: I think that as a youngster you never really appreciate how lucky you are to have a good education, but I look back now and realise just how much I am indebted to the school. I loved every single day in the sixth form and am genuinely pleased and proud to be associated with PGS. The video interview with Roger can be found on the PGS website www.pgs.org.uk

Jordan: Did a PGS education help you at all in your career? Roger Black: Yes, I think it has, both on an off the track. In the competitive world of sports commentating and in the line of work I do now [Roger runs his own motivational and corporate speaking business with business partner and former javelin world record holder Steve Backley OBE], PGS definitely honed my ability to communicate and articulate and instilled in me a strong work ethic. Jordan: Was it difficult to adjust to life off the athletics track? Roger Black: Well I’ve been retired for 12 years now. I left the sport quite late for athletics at aged 32. You have to plan what to do for the rest of your life. I’ve been lucky to do a great deal of TV work, which for the most part – not counting

Roger Black MBE OP welcomes (from left to right) Sixth Form pupils Jordan Woodhouse-Butt, Ellen Davis and George Graham to his Surrey home

OPUS • Issue 4 • Spring 2011

Portsmouth Grammar School • www.pgs.org.uk

The King and I With the BAFTA and Oscar-winning film, The King’s Speech, on everybody’s lips, it’s worth recalling elocutionist and speech therapist, Harold Ripper, who was one of the country’s foremost practitioners in the field in the 1930s and 40s, and his son Michael Ripper OP, one of the most prolific actors in the history of British film, whose life and career was profiled in the last issue of Opus. The Ripper family lived in Alhambra Road, a pebble’s throw away from South Parade Pier. In 1938, Harold published “Vital Speech: A study in perfect utterance” and after the war The Times carried notices announcing that he had resumed teaching in London. Though there is no evidence that Harold helped George VI with his stammer, Harold did help many actors and celebrities of the period. But one of the beneficiaries of his coaching was his son, Michael, who had a burning ambition to be an actor. Michael’s dramatic talents were also nurtured at Portsmouth Grammar School, where, at the age of 13 he appeared as Puck in a school production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Twenty years later, Michael Ripper was a successful theatrical actor, but his career on the stage was brought to an end when, in 1952, he underwent an operation for a thyroid condition which left him unable to project his voice. As a result he devoted himself to film and television work and appeared in over 200 films and television series. In 2007, seven years after his death, Portsmouth Grammar School inaugurated the annual Michael Ripper Speech and Voice Competition which always attracts enthusiastic readings and performances from pupils.

Seeing The King’s Speech also brought back memories for Dr Charles Davies OP (19451949) who vividly recalls chatting to King George VI during a royal visit to Bourley CCF Camp in 1948. Charles wrote to Opus from his home in Alberta, Canada: “I thought you might be interested in this picture taken in Aldershot in 1948, at the CCF camp (or was it still called OTC then? - I can’t remember.) I am on the left and if you look carefully you can see my Lance-Corporal stripe and my PT Instructor crossed swords. Above me, the King is asking me how I operate the radio set (I was in the Signals Section). Many of your readers will be too young to know what “British Pathe” (pronounced Pathé) means. Well, in those days TV only existed in primitive form in a small area round London, so the rest of us got visual news by going to the cinema. There were always two films in every show, one short and one long, and between the two a young woman came round selling ice-cream

and cigarettes. (Yes, really, I’m not joking). And then a news programme was shown just like today’s TV news, except of course, only black and white. British Pathé was one of several companies which provided such news. Sixty years later, I happened to mention the event to my son, who amazingly managed to find the film on his computer, and printed this off for me.”

Photographs show King George VI inspecting the PGS Bourley CCF camp in 1948

InsideHaTrvrarad Prcofkessor The latest OP to be in the spotlight for Inside Track is Professor Jeremy Bloxham who was first appointed to the Harvard faculty as an assistant professor in 1987. He was promoted to full professor in 1993 and assumed the Mallinckrodt chair in 2005. In 2002, he was named a Harvard College Professor, a distinction recognising his exceptional undergraduate teaching. He currently serves as the Dean of Science in Harvard University’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences and has been recognised by Time Magazine as one of the most influential people in North America.

What is your abiding memory of PGS? For me, it was being taught mathematics by Mr Orton in the sixth-form. He gave me a deep appreciation of mathematics and was the reason I chose to read mathematics at Cambridge. An inspiring teacher can truly affect the course of one’s life. Harvard University, is celebrating its 375th anniversary in 2011 and is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. What do you love about it? I started my career at Harvard in 1985 when I was 25. What attracted me to Harvard then is largely what keeps me at Harvard today. It is a university which allows its faculty incredible opportunities: the opportunity to engage in research using the finest possible facilities; the opportunity to work with postgraduate students from around the world; and the opportunity to teach the most extraordinarily talented undergraduates. Harvard took the number one spot in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings in 2010. How does it feel to be heading up the science faculty in the most revered academic institution in the world? Of course, we’re not going to criticise university rankings, of which there are many, while we’re consistently ranked first, but just because we’re ranked first doesn’t mean we’re the best fit for all students. There is tremendous competition amongst the top universities to attract the best students, to attract and retain the best faculty, and, frankly, to attract the resources from our alumni and others to support the whole enterprise. A large part of my role is to ensure that science at Harvard retains its competitive edge. What, if anything, do you miss about living in the UK? One, of course, misses friends and family though London is only a six hour flight away. In fact, California is about as far from Boston as London, both literally and figuratively. The UK university system has gone through many changes since I left the UK. Back in the mid-1980s it was in serious decline but clawed its way back over the next two decades. Those gains now appear to be in serious jeopardy as greater, more profound changes loom ahead. PGS has a broad international outlook. The school is located in the historic heart of Portsmouth close to one of the world’s oldest naval bases and in an area with an aspiration to be a World Heritage Site. Since 2009 it has offered the International Baccalaureate alongside A Level. What advice would you give to PGS sixth formers contemplating study at an American University? I would strongly encourage them to apply. Although Harvard is not easy to get into--we get twice as many applicants as Cambridge for half as many places---the university is working hard to attract more international students. We also offer very generous financial aid (the need for which is not considered during the admission process) which typically reduces the cost of a year at Harvard (including room and board) to about

10% of parental income. Our financial aid policies apply equally to American and international students. Harvard believes strongly that the educational experience is richer if the university draws students from a broad a range of backgrounds and from as many countries as possible. For admission to Harvard or most other American universities the International Baccalaureate provides a more appropriate preparation than A Levels. Undergraduates entering American universities tend to be more broadly educated than their British counterparts who have taken A Levels in maybe only three subjects. Harvard, in general, expects its undergraduates to have studied english, mathematics, history, at least one science, and a foreign language through the end of the equivalent of the sixth form. Some students are admitted with more specialised preparation, but once at Harvard all students have to take courses not only in their area of concentration (Harvard-speak for their major) but from a broad general education curriculum, too. You are famously passionate about sailing. How does sailing in New England compare with the Solent? The sun shines a lot more and foul weather gear is needed much less. PGS has just opened its new state of the art science centre, the single biggest capital building project in its history. Harvard’s new Center for Biological Imaging is the latest in a long line of groundbreaking spaces for teaching and learning. What are the facilities like at Harvard? In the last few years, we have opened two major new science buildings, one primarily for the life sciences and one for nanoscale science, and we have recently started construction, in partnership with four other Boston area universities, of a highperformance computing center. It is being built next to a hydroelectric dam where electricity is cheap, green and plentiful. Without state-of-the-art facilities our faculty and students would not be able to conduct the kind of research that they do and we would not be able to pioneer the kind of innovative courses that are becoming a hallmark of the undergraduate experience at Harvard. The costs are daunting, but unavoidable if we wish to retain our leading position and to continue to innovate in both research and pedagogy. Alumni support is critical for making this happen. What do you consider to be your greatest professional achievement? Being elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of London a few years ago was certainly a highlight. Another highlight for me this summer will be the launch of the Juno mission to Jupiter. I’m a member of the science team for the mission, which has been a decade in planning. After launch, it will take another five years to reach Jupiter; once there, it’ll enter orbit and the exciting science planned for the mission will finally begin. What’s the best piece of career advice you’ve ever been given? To pursue what you are passionate about.

OPUS • Issue 4 • Spring 2011

Portsmouth Grammar School • www.pgs.org.uk

Meet the new OP Club President John Bartle was elected President of the Old Portmuthian Club at its Annual General Meeting in February. John attended PGS from 1947 to 1957 after which he gained a Portsmouth City Major Scholarship to Portsmouth School of Architecture from 1957-1963. He qualified with Distinction and went on to work for various private and public practices and development companies in the South of England before setting up his own Architectural and Planning practice in 1979. His early sporting interests included soccer, rugby, cricket, rifle shooting and roller-hockey and he was a member of both the OP Rugby Club and OP Cricket Club. He subsequently played for Havant Rugby Club, and currently serves as their Vice President. John’s foremost sporting interest however has become sailing. Over the last forty years or so he has competed at national and international level, winning a number of championships in different classes and is still helming at top level in offshore classes. His hobbies also include horse-racing (he is an intermittent owner), classic cars, motor racing, motor cycles (he is the proud owner of a collection of classic cars and motor bikes). In addition he is a keen golfer, setting up the PGS Golf Society and is current Captain of Hants & I.O.W. Masonic Golf Society. He is a lover of music of all sorts, particularly opera, and says that his all-time musical hero since discovering him at PGS, is Handel.

John is an avid collector of many things and has one of the largest and most important collections of English art deco earthenware in the country, together with other art deco works, paintings, drawings and prints. He is married to Sally, and lives in Southsea, with their two dogs, some 10 metres from his office. John’s father Wally Bartle taught at PGS from 1936

to 1970 and is the oldest known living Old Portmuthian, having just celebrated his 101st birthday at his home in British Columbia. Accepting the Presidency of the OP Club at the AGM, John thanked his predecessor Bruce Strugnell OP (1957-1967) for the high standard which he set as President and for giving so generously of his time to the Club. He went on to highlight the considerable amount of work that Committee Members put into the running of the Club’s affairs - amounting in total to hundreds of hours a year - and was at pains to acknowledge that some of them had being doing so over a considerable period of time. In particular he thanked Dave Morey OP (1945-1948) and Max Lankester OP (1960-1967) for all they have done for the Club on the occasion of their leaving the Committee. John went on to say: “Your Club was founded in 1885, some 153 years after the founding of the School. For its first 37 years the Club’s President was always the school’s Headmaster. During my time as an OP I have seen the Club move from being run by a succession of members of the school Common Room, including Roy Willis, John Thorp, Peter Barclay, Gareth Perry, Roger Wilkins and Roger Harris. By virtue of their position within the school they had access to information on current and former pupils and were able to liaise between the Club and the school.” “It is in my view fortuitous that, through the joint efforts of the school, the school Development Office, and the OP Club - though mainly on the initiative of the school - we have witnessed the birth of the PGS Association. This body embraces all those who have attended or served the School or currently do so, together with current and former parents. In short, anyone who has the school’s interests

at heart, which, I believe, should be essential to your Club. It is my opinion that that your Club could not exist in any meaningful way without the enormous help of the school, with which we have a symbiotic relationship. The school has always demonstrated its interest and pride in the affairs of OPs and in recent years I have observed this to be increasingly the case. Members of the school staff and of the Development Office have served with enormous enthusiasm on your Committee and have been prominent in promoting the Club within the greater boundaries of the PGS Association.” He concluded “ I think that we have challenges to face, but am more optimistic than I have ever been that we have a Committee which will respond to those challenges. Anyone of my age who has visited the school recently cannot fail to observe the huge changes that have taken place since our time. Nor can they fail to have been impressed by the sheer vibrancy and vitality of the place and enthusiasm and deportment of the pupils and staff. It really is quite a life-affirming place to be, and worthy of our pride and support.” A full transcript of John Bartle’s first speech as President of the Old Portmuthian Club can be found on the OP Club section of the website (under the PGS Association tab on the Home page), together with a full list of OP Club Committee members.

John Bartle has always taken a keen interest in all aspects of the school since he left in 1957. Here, he is shown monitoring progress on the construction of the new Bristow-Clavell Science Centre.

Generosity of OPs has whole school climbing the walls! The school’s newly-installed climbing wall has been officially declared open by the widow of the man in whose name it is dedicated. Mrs Iris Harris, who was joined by four of her five children - including new Surmaster Steven Harris OP – said how delighted and touched she was that a permanent memorial to her husband, the late Roger Harris, had been created to a man who had devoted a life of service to PGS. It was especially fitting that the climbing wall would bear his name as it was hoped that generations of pupils making use of it would develop Roger’s lifelong passion for outdoor pursuits and mountaineering. As a pupil at PGS from 1943 until 1951 Roger achieved an impressive array of distinctions, being head of Smith House, Head Prefect and Captain of Rugby, Fives, Badminton and Basketball. After Oxford and service in the Royal Navy, Roger taught chemistry at PGS from 1958 until his retirement in 1993. Throughout his teaching career he was heavily involved in a range of non-academic interests such as the CCF, the Duke of Edinburgh award scheme, rugby coaching, sailing and mountaineering. Roger served as Housemaster to Smith House, and became

the Senior Housemaster. He launched school sailing in 1959, established the first Newtown Camp in 1969, set up the first Fell and Bottle trip to the Lake District in 1971, oversaw the first of many successful Ten Tors teams in 1974 and in 1979, led a group of boys up to Mount Blanc to mark the first expedition of the newly-formed PGS Mountaineering Society. Major Sue Sheldrick, Contingent Commander of the CCF, said of the climbing wall: “This wall is a fitting tribute to a well-loved member of the PGS staff who devoted his teaching career to ensuring that cadets were engaged and challenged in outward bound pursuits. The installation of the Roger Harris Climbing Wall is beneficial not only to cadets, but will also foster a desire among younger pupils from Year 2 upwards to climb and enjoy a different physical activity.”

The finished climbing wall has created something of a buzz around the school and climbing fever is gripping the pupils.

Over 120 Junior School pupils have enrolled in after-school Bouldering Club and 20 members of staff have undergone thorough training in bouldering, traversing and route setting. They have been assisted with practical advice and tips from Matt Ostler OP (1977-1989), who cites Roger’s influence as the reason why he set up his own thriving climbing wall at Sandown Rocks on the Isle of Wight. Construction of the facility has only been made possible through the many individual donations by OPs from across the decades who knew Roger as a schoolmate, teacher and latterly as President of the OP Club. In addition the substantial contributions of both the Old Portmuthian Club and Old Portmuthian Charity ensured that the entire length of the school Sports Hall wall was taken up to create a much more ambitious structure than anyone had initially dared to envisage and a highly appropriate and permanent legacy had been created to someone with a towering influence on so many aspects of school life at PGS.

OPUS • Issue 4 • Spring 2011

Portsmouth Grammar School • www.pgs.org.uk

The Landlocked Rower You quickly learn never to be surprised working in the PGS Development Office by the amazing exploits of OPs, by turns exhilarating, awe-inspiring and sometimes foolhardy. It is always heartening to follow the fortunes of former pupils, but very rarely do we get to witness an Old Portmuthian taking on a challenge more unusual than Dave Holby (1990-1999).

Sore and blistered, the remaining training for the row became a bit tricky and very painful but he was determined to see it through.

‘Every challenge you set yourself is something to be tremendously proud of because you’re stepping out of your comfort zone into something quite scary and unknown – what a lovely feeling when you come out of the other side with a story to tell.’ Dave Holby On 18 December 2010 Dave completed a marathon world record breaking row of a staggering 40,075 km (the total distance around the Earth’s equator) in 934 days or 2 years and seven months. His superhuman challenge saw him rowing for between seven and eight hours per day for six days a week. He finished, where he started, in the middle of the Malls Shopping Centre in Basingstoke. Dave’s world record row, you see, is the fastest ever time for the virtual distance around the earth’s equator on a Concept2 land rowing machine!

Guinness Publishing even had to open a new category of world record so that his amazing feat of human endurance could feature in the famous annual reference book of human achievement.

The Mayor of Basingstoke and a cheering crowd of several hundred well wishers defied snow and ice to witness his last strokes after a mammoth journey. In an emotional thank-you speech Dave, who has become quite a celebrity and familiar face to the people of Basingstoke, dedicated his world record row to five year old Finley Brown, who lost his mum Kelly to Breast Cancer on Boxing Day last year. To date he has raised well in excess of £20,000 for the charity Breast Cancer Care. “The one thing I’m asked time and time again is how on earth I got the idea for the land row “ says Dave. “Unfortunately I’ve never really had a frame designed for speed but I’ve always been a decent plodder and tried to think of ways I could put that to use. As such throughout our final year at university my best friend

Jim (the powerhouse of the pairing) and I (the “twiglet”!) found ourselves rowing different town centres across the south to raise money for a number of terrific charities.” David started rowing on the water at PGS when he was 15 years old and fell in love with the sport almost instantly. “Learning to row off Portsmouth in the Solent was a pretty crazy affair because of the choppy water but it was also utterly exhilarating crossing the shipping lane and causing an Isle of Wight bound hovercraft to rapidly alter course was one high point...coming 12th in a racing category of 7 boats due to an administration error was a particularly low one! In spite of our tendency to struggle against some excellent crews in the regattas I was tremendously proud to captain the school team throughout sixth form and, whilst studying drama at Exeter University continued rowing in the senior VIII’s and IV’s boat. However, at 5ft 10ins and 11 stone I was the shortest and lightest in the crew by some way and whilst I loved every minute of training and rowing with the guys I always found the sprint work on the rowing machines exceptionally tough going compared to the big chaps in the crew.” Dave took a break from his acting career in order to spend four months running and rowing in a desperate bid to try and get fit for the challenge.

The Mayor of Basingstoke leads the countdown to the completion of Dave Holby’s challenge, December 2010

Six weeks before the start of the row he ran the London Marathon in full fire fighter kit to see if he could push himself a little harder. The heavy duty boots ripped his feet to shreds and took two toe nails clean off.

He is very quick to cite his time at PGS as providing him with the perfect training ground for his record breaking challenge. “Being at PGS was an absolutely magical time for me. I loved the school very much and feel very privileged and proud to have been able to develop there. Windswept rugby sessions at Hilsea, football in the quad with a mini size football, painting the ASCs for CCF in summer, rowing in the Solent, finding a secret doorway that led from Mr Arnold’s Maths Room to the Art Department and rearranging the mannequins into compromising positions – it was just a wonderful place to grow and be educated. I’m delighted that that will never change.” He is also in regular touch with many of his classmates: “I was incredibly lucky to have grown up alongside a brilliant bunch of guys – the likes of Matt Pittam, Alex Scarrat, JJ Owen, Prash Mistry, Jo Mardall, Si Turner, Adam Powell, Dave Picksley, Rob Murray, Chris Burr, Simon Bobin, Rob Birnie, Kieron Boyle and many others – friends that you hang on to for life. I remember so clearly when we became a co-education school – I must have fallen in love with ten different girls in the first week! “ Teachers too, provided a lasting source of inspiration: “When I was in the Lower

school I remember associating coolness with sideburns and thought Mr Warin was amazing – I’ve always loved sport and from an early age he was hugely encouraging and inspiring. Throughout my teenage years it would be Mr Hogg, Mr Cawte and Mr Faludy who inspired me the most. Mr Hogg was my Head of House and I thought he was just fantastic. I seemed to have had a fixation for taking my shirt off in any kind of school talent show and his words in my final sixth form report were ‘The thought that we might not ever see David’s torso on the stage of the David Russell Theatre again is indeed a sobering one’ – It was just a very lovely way of saying ‘Please don’t inflict this upon anyone again!’. Cawtie and Mr F taught me English throughout much my school life and I adored them both - I was heartbroken to hear that Mr Faludy had passed away so very recently. All three were tremendous men, very kind, great characters, exceptional teachers and also wonderful father figures – I felt very privileged to have grown up when they were all there and to have been guided by them.” Dave now has a choice about whether to return to the acting profession he has had to put on hold in order to complete the challenge, or continue to push himself to the limit with yet more record breaking exploits! “I fell in love with both acting and rowing at school and have pursued both ever since – however, when the rowing challenge came to an end, something felt very different and I realised I actually wanted to make a change. I love working with children and young people so I’m going to study for a sports degree through the Open University (to fit around work) and then train to become a P.E. teacher. I’m very much hoping I can get involved in sports development in the mean time and take up some coaching qualifications

A love for rowing dating from his schooldays: Dave Holby (front, left) as part of the PGS mixed rowing team at Southsea Rowing Club. Dave’s great friend and team-mate Mark Ready, who sadly died last year, sits behind him.

– sport and rowing, in particular, have always had a huge influence on me and if I can help children to experience that then it’s a cause I want to commit to for the rest of my life.” “It’s been lovely using my legs in a normal way since the row finished just before Christmas but I think Breakthrough Breast Cancer are a wonderful charity and I will help raise money for them for the rest of my life. I really do love endurance challenges – though it’s normally in the middle of one I do sometimes wonder why! I’m running the London Marathon in April (running dressed as a gorilla wearing a pink bra!) and I’m very much hoping to cycle from John O’Groats to Land’s End in the autumn. I would love to go for my first Iron Man triathlon next year and am hoping to do the Marathon des Sables, a six-day marathon across the Sahara Desert, in 2013. Apart from that, I think it’s back to the old 10km cross country jogs and fivea-side footie twice a week!” Dave is undeniably proud of what he’s achieved and the incredible amount of money he has raised for such a worthwhile cause, but also takes gratification from his schooling. “ If you can keep your head up and your heart strong, there’s nothing you can’t achieve – being at PGS taught me that. I’m incredibly proud to be an OP and very honoured to be included in Opus amidst such illustrious company!” he says. “I received such a lovely letter when I completed the row from Headmaster James Priory which my mother framed and now won’t let me take back to Basingstoke!” Donations to Breast Cancer Care can still be made to acknowledge Dave’s tremendous achievement at: www.justgiving.com/worldrecordrow

OPUS • Issue 4 • Spring 2011

Portsmouth Grammar School • www.pgs.org.uk

Move Over Grace Darling! Former pupils Alice (1999-2007) and Jillian Darling (1996-2010) and their mum Trycha are enjoying a unique gap year together by undertaking their first ever trans Atlantic crossing at the helm of their 42ft Southerly yacht, appropriately named ‘Triple D ’ . eventful. There was the thrill and spectacle of being one of the 239 entries as the starting gun sounded and feeling a sense of togetherness at seeing a long line of mast lights as the flotilla of boats stayed close to one another on the first few nights.

Then came drama as the boat’s generator failed and the girls dodged a succession of powerful sea squalls. “We did get a rip in the mainsail, which I mended with tape one day when the winds had calmed, and the halyard in our spinnaker pole broke one night – luckily when I was just poling out the jib – but other than this, the boat has held up very well”, said Jilli.

Three Women on a Boat: Alice, Trycha and Jillian Darling

The trio’s epic adventure has already made waves in yachting circles as Alice, Jilli and Trycha are the first ever mother-anddaughter team to compete in the 25-year history of the ARC, the world’s largest annual trans-ocean rally and the boat is also the first in the event’s history to comprise an all-female crew. Their marathon journey of 2,700 miles saw them set sail from home in Hayling Island in November on a route that will take them to the Canary Islands, across the Atlantic, through the Caribbean and back across the Atlantic, stopping off at Bermuda and the Azores along the way. ‘We are trying to raise money for the charity Centrepoint which helps homeless young people in London as we feel extremely lucky to be able to undertake

such an adventure as a close-knit family. We would like to help those who don’t have this fundamental, loving support,’ said Alice, who graduated from Cambridge in the summer. Sister Jilli left PGS last July and is taking a year out before starting university in 2011 while mum Trycha has temporarily rented out their home and left behind her job as a vet and her two dogs. The finish line of the ARC will not herald the end of their adventure:’ We aren’t planning to return until next June, as the plan is to sail north through the Caribbean and then home, via Bermuda and the Azores. I didn’t quite realise at first what a big deal it was for three women to do it alone, but everyone seems to be talking about us .’ The journey so far has certainly been

The last leg of the race proved to be the most emotional. “As we approached St Lucia the winds died completely and so we motored through our last night, timing our arrival with the rising sun”, remarked Alice. “We were all a little bit sad as we watched the sun go down on our last night at sea. On arrival at St Lucia, we created typical Triple D pandemonium…Jilli has now taken to re-naming the boat ‘Triple Disaster! First, we almost missed the bay we were aiming for, sailing right on past the marina in the darkness. We had to do a sharp right-turn when we finally gathered our bearings in order to stop motoring straight past St Lucia! Then we almost collided with the Committee boat which was displaying an orange light, as were most of the buildings on shore, making navigation very difficult!” Alice concluded: “The next few days passed in a haze of relief, exhaustion, boat repairs and celebration. We all attended

the ARC Prizegiving ceremony and were totally surprised to be awarded a special award for being the only all-female crew. Mum got a beautiful double string of freshwater pearls and Jilli and I were given a massage each. Bliss!”

The History Boys

There’s still time to support the Darlings’ epic maiden voyage by donating to their chosen charity Centrepoint at www.justgiving.co.uk/TripleD

No luxury voyage

Excerpts from Jili and Alice’s Triple D blog highlight some of the perilous situations that they have been forced to contend with during their unforgettable adventure on the High Seas…

TUESDAY

Tuesday brought with it some seasickness for me. I spent the entire day in bed asleep or dozing. I have been wearing an ear patch as a remedy and applied a new one at around 4.30. This seemed to bring on hallucinations, crazy dreams and ruined my eyesight! It was as if I was reading with 3-D specs with the words jumping off the page at me….all very frightening, but I still managed to get up for the night watch.

THURSDAY

Again… no wind. Mum on deck spotted a pod of whales, slightly too close for comfort so she gave a blast on the horn to scare them away. As soon as they had gone Alice and I went below deck to be greeted by an overpowering smell of burning. As we brought Mum down we all saw a plume of grey smoke coming from the engine compartment. Thus began a day full of very expensive satellite phone conversations and Mum exploring every single bilge she could find. We later discovered that the generator is no longer working either… a worrying night for us all.

MONDAY

Lots of broken metal pieces came out of the generator and we are pretty sure that it is completely kaput. So we will boldly venture forth without it… we now have no washing machine or water maker… but have ample bottled water and clothes, so should be just fine. Hopefully you won’t hear from us now until St Lucia…. I don’t think that there is any form of land now ‘til we reach there anyhow, so there is nowhere for us to stop!

Former Senior Prefect and former Portsmouth News crime reporter, Mark Wingham OP (1967-1977), has teamed up with School Archivist John Sadden to produce a new book, Portsmouth – Then and Now which compares views of the city in the past with a similar scene today. Pupils Ethan Creamer, David Simmonds and Jack Ross who are members of the school’s lunchtime Local History Club helped with the project, taking several of the ‘now’ photos. Tim Runnacles, OP, an avid photographer when he was at PGS in the early 1960s, also contributed several images. As well as booksigning sessions, Mark has also appeared on local television and radio promoting the book which proved a Waterstone’s bestseller over the Christmas period and had to be reprinted within three months of its launch. ““Being involved in a book about Portsmouth is a privilege when you have blue blood running through your veins,” said Mark when he visited the school library at the time of the re-launch. ”Just posing for this photo brought back so many personal memories for me. It was the first time I had sat in the library since the day I left PGS in 1977 - and for me, school days really were some of the best of my life.” Portsmouth – Then and Now (ISBN: 9780752456584) by John Sadden and Mark Wingham is published by The History Press and is available to buy on Amazon and at all good bookshops. Below: One of the images from Mark’s postcard collection shows Empire Day at Portsmouth Grammar School in 1912. The Commander of the South Coast Defences, Major-General Blewitt (right), addressed the boys, saying that “hard work, pluck and unselfish duty” would help maintain the British Empire.

OPUS • Issue 4 • Spring 2011

Portsmouth Grammar School • www.pgs.org.uk

Attendees: Clive Ansell (1969-1975) Alex Bennett (2003-2010) Lucy Blair (1991-2004) Pauline Blewett Rachel Blewett (1991-2005) Ines Clement (2008-2010) Barry Easton (1969-1975) Jamie Forlan (1996-2010) Sophie Giles (2003-2010) Matthew Gray (1996-2010) Steve Harris (1968-1978) Malcolm Hoare (1943-1951) Tom Holmes (2005-2010) John Owens (1953-1963) Katy Iliffe (1996-2010) Martin Lippiett (1954-1964) Simon Lippiett (1983-1993) Sam Moffitt (1996-2010) David Nuttall (1954-1964) Gareth Perry, former staff Martin Pickford (1960-1970) Tim Runnacles (1954-1965) James Scott-Brown (1996-2010) Duncan Selvester (1969-1979) Crispin Smith (1996-2010) John Stones (1967-1977) Sarah Strange (1991-1998) Bruce Strugnell (1957-1967) Keir Strugnell (1962-1969) William Swift (1996-2010) Jennifer Tilbury (1996-2010) Doreen Waterworth, former staff Tim Wiggins (1995-2009) Mark Wingham (1967-1977) John Willshire (1951-1961)

2010 marked 100 years of Prefects at PGS. Here, Katy Iliffe reports on joining together with other former prefects from across several decades to celebrate this important milestone in the school’s history….

Over the last one hundred years, the Portsmouth Grammar School’s prefect body has undoubtedly evolved. Being part of the 2009/10 prefect team I was invited to enjoy a special anniversary celebration to commemorate the one hundredth year of prefects at PGS which was held on 11 September 2010. With a drinks reception held in the Willis Room, everyone was met by a sea of faces both old and those who, like me, had left only three months previously. The chance to see both those people who you had known at school as well as those who had been pupils and prefects perhaps fifty years ago such as John Willshire (19511961) marked the great celebration of the prefects.

Mingling with those who had left some years ago showed how much things had actually changed; this undoubtedly included the use of the classroom E4 which used to be the place to receive beatings from the prefects! (Luckily for current pupils, this is no longer permitted.) The room was full of chatter such as ‘I recall when…’ or ‘do you remember?’ which not only let people talk about their experiences but it gave way for many of those assembled to revisit their memories and remember the times they had as a prefect at the school. Also in the Willis Room was an archive of pictures and items such as prefect uniform through the decades. Following a brief introduction from present senior prefect and Head Boy, Daniel Frampton and Headmaster James Priory we had, in typical PGS fashion, a group photo and then lunch.

After a lovely meal and some more chatter, James Priory delivered a speech about the changing nature of the prefects and a few anecdotes. He also spoke about the man who had a great involvement in the prefect body, Neil Blewett. Mr Blewett as Surmaster indisputably contributed hugely and had the most influence over the prefects in the last decade so it was also a huge privilege that his wife, Pauline and his daughter, Rachel (1991-2005), who was also a prefect, attended the event. Then a special note was given by a former prefect and the President of the OP Club, Bruce Strugell (1958-1967). Both speeches highlighted the importance of prefects and the growing number of those selected as a result of the growth of pupils.

After speeches and food had been finished, we all were lucky enough to have a tour of the brand new BristowClavell Science Centre. Even for those of us who had only just left the school this summer, few of us had actually seen the finished structure in its completed glory as we had lived with the building work and temporary labs. Everyone was in complete awe of this new abstract structure so markedly different to the previous labs. If I had found it hugely different and unrecognisable, then those who left much before I did must have found far greater a change! The next stop some people had seen, other prefects had not, the library. The Memorial Library in particular was new to many and again, everyone who had not been in there were suitably impressed. The tour concluded with a journey back to decades ago and

where perhaps the older prefects (such as Malcolm Hoare (1943-1951), David Nuttall (1954-1964) and John Owens (1953-1963)) were the most excited and intrigued to go to E4. Now used as the Sports Department Office, E4 was probably the biggest change from when prefects were able to inflict their punishments. Thank you to the Development Office for organising the event which everyone enjoyed thoroughly and allowed people to meet or reconnect with other prefects. The day was a great celebration of the prefects of the last one hundred years. Since the creation of the prefect body, the historic tradition has been upheld for a century and I feel very lucky to have been part of it. Katy Iliffe OP (1996-2010)

OPUS • Issue 4 • Spring 2011

A Life on the OceanWave

Portsmouth Grammar School • www.pgs.org.uk

Commanding Officer Andrew Burns (left) with Lieutenant Joe Verrecchia photographed on HMS Somerset

Two OPs have been serving together in one of the Royal Navy’s front line warships. Commander Andrew Burns and Lieutenant Joe Verrecchia (1990-2000) both studied at PGS and joined the Royal Navy as University Cadets. They have during the course of the last two years conducted operational deployments to the Far East and the Arabian Gulf in HMS Somerset. The Plymouth-based Type 23 Frigate is commanded by Commander Andrew Burns, who joined the Royal Navy in 1989. Lieutenant Joe Verrecchia joined in 2000 and is the Navigating Officer. Both entered the Royal Navy under the University Cadetship scheme, spending a year in initial officer training at BRNC Dartmouth, before attending university (Durham and Cambridge respectively), resuming full time naval training after graduation. HMS Somerset was commissioned in 1996, and is one of thirteen Type 23 frigates in service with the RN. The 133 metre, 4800 tonne ship is optimised for anti-submarine warfare but is employed as multi-role platforms able to deliver a range of maritime capabilities across the spectrum of conflict from war fighting to counter piracy and maritime security operations.

As the ship’s Commanding Officer (CO), Andrew is responsible for all that HMS Somerset does, ensuring that the mission is achieved and for the safety of his ship’s company. Joining the ship in December 2008, he is now coming to the end of his second command having commanded the Hunt Class Mine Countermeasures Vessel HMS Berkeley from 1998 until 2000.

Joe arrived in HMS Somerset in March 2009 and as Navigating Officer he has directed the ship’s navigation, planned its manoeuvres and piloted the ship in and out of constrained waters and harbours. He is also the Captain’s advisor on ship handling. The other aspect of the job is

to supervise the Bridge Team and trainee Officers of the Watch. Together the officers have completed two operational deployments, first TAURUS 09, an RN-led multi-national task group deployment to the Middle and Far East and Operation TELIC 10, deploying as a single unit as the UK’s high readiness warship in the Arabian Gulf. During TAURUS the ship conducted defence diplomacy during a number of visits including Valletta, Cochin, Singapore, Brunei, The Maldives, Rhodes and Ibiza. The ship conducted counterpiracy operations in the Gulf of Aden, participated in the Five Powers Defence Agreement exercises in the South China Sea and helped train the Yemeni Coastguard and Navy in maritime security and boarding operations. The main aim of the deployment was to demonstrate that the RN can deploy and sustain an Amphibious Task Group thousands of miles from the UK. Deploying in May 2010, this time to the Arabian Gulf, the ship visited Gibraltar and Crete and once in theatre made visits to Bahrain, Doha, Dubai, Al Jubayl in Saudi Arabia, and Muscat. Valletta and Barcelona were the final stops on the return passage. The focus of the deployment has been defence of the Al Basra Oil Terminal in the Northern Arabian Gulf to ensure the flow of oil to the international markets and therefore revenue to the Iraqi government. This is essential to ensure the continued stability of Iraq. The ship’s boarding team have been deployed to conduct over 250 Assurance Visits to seafarers in the Gulf demonstrating the Royal Navy commitment to the security of this

OP Mike finds himself in the hot seat at Question of Sport Sky Sports anchorman and OP Mike Wedderburn (1972-1983) is an expert when it comes to quizzing guests on his Sky TV shows but he found himself in the hot seat when he chaired a celebrity team for the school’s own fundraising version of Question of Sport.

strategically important region. Somerset has also been involved in counter piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden. With the ship now safely back alongside in Devonport, Andrew will shortly hand the ship over to a new Commanding Officer and take up a new appointment as Commander Sea Training to Flag Officer Sea Training (FOST), based in Devonport. Joe will continue as HMS Somerset’s Navigating officer.

Band of Brothers Joe Verrecchia is by no means the first in his family to devote his life to a career in the Armed Forces. His grandfather, Lionel Scovell OP, (1942-1949) was a founder member of the PGS CCF in 1948 and rose to become Company Quarter Master Sergeant before embarking on an illustrious career in the Royal Navy. Younger brother, Ben, OP (2001-2008), Regimental Sergeant Major of the PGS CCF in his time at school, is now reading Engineering at the University of Sussex and is a leading member of the University’s Mountaineering Club.

Mike was joined by former Pompey footballer Alan ‘The Legend’ Knight MBE, Team GB Paralympic sailor Helena Lucas and Harlequins CEO Mark Evans for the event which raised a lot of laughter and almost £1,000 for two PGS charities. Head of Rugby Simon Baker captained the PGS team and was ably assisted by Head of Netball Suzanne Gardner and sporty Sixth Formers Jess Walklin and Emma Spruce. Quizmaster for the evening was PGS Director of Sport Chris Dossett.

PGS started out well but as the rounds flew by - the Picture Board, Odd One Out, One Minute Round and On the Buzzer to name but a few – they fell further and further behind.

Keeping it in the family: Lt Joe Verrecchia RN (OP) pictured with his grandfather Cdr Lionel Scovell RN Retired (OP) and brother Ben (OP), then Regimental Sergeant Major of the CCF. The family came together to help celebrate the 60th anniversary of the PGS Combined Cadet Force at Hilsea Playing Fields in 2008.

Mike, a former Harlequins and Wasps rugby player and Hampshire cricketer, dazzled the David Russell Theatre audience with his encyclopaedic knowledge of sport and led his team to a 96-64 point victory during the evening, organised by the Development Office. Mr Baker and his team showed they were good sports and took their defeat on the chin – after all, they had helped raise around £500 each for the Neil Blewett Bursary Fund and the 56@45 Cambodian school campaign. ‘The event was a great success and good fun and everyone enjoyed themselves while raising money for two very worthy PGS charities,’ said Mr Dossett, who has been friends with Mike since they played rugby together at Loughborough University in 1989/90. ‘Mike was a brilliant sportsman before injury ended his career and took him into broadcast journalism. He is a true professional in whatever he does and his in-depth knowledge of his field has helped his team to victory yet again!’

One of the many highlights came during the interval when the audience was invited to donate £1 a time to guess ‘what happened next?’ when pupil Ashley World was filmed about to demonstrate the perfect rugby kick. Did Ashley kick the ball straight between the posts, was he hit on the head by a ball from a nearby game or did he trip up? And yes, he tripped up!!! And pupil Tom Cleary won the star prize in the raffle – a day at the Olympic yachting venue at Weymouth and Portland with the GB team and a session out on the water with Helena Lucas in her one person keelboat.

OPUS • Issue 4 • Spring 2011

Portsmouth Grammar School • www.pgs.org.uk

Foster Mum! Junior School Head Teacher Mrs Pippa Foster retired last December after more than 20 years’ service. Mrs Foster’s long association with the school began in 1987 when she joined the Pre-Preparatory School to teach Year 2. Her first encounter with PGS however , came in 1963 when, as a teenager at the city’s all-girls High School, she came to watch older Sixth Form boys and girls in the combined production of Charlie’s Aunt. That first connection has lasted nearly 50 years – she married solicitor Robert Foster OP (1955-1965), three of their four now grown-up children were pupils, she became a class teacher and ultimately Headmistress of the newly-formed Junior School created through the amalgamation of the Pre-Prep and Lower School. In 2008 a new tradition evolved with the leavers of that year who had been at PGS since Year One photographed ‘aboard’ the PGS train with Mrs Foster just before their own departures for new destinations. Opus has tracked down some of the leavers from that very first photograph, now aged 21, to ask for their memories of the inspirational, caring and dedicated teacher who successive generations of pupils have regarded as their very own PGS Mum!

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“Mrs Foster is a kind and caring person and a wonderful teacher. On my first trip to the Headmistress’s office at the age of about 6 she threatened to kiss me if I was naughty in class again. My immaculate behaviour to this day is due to her. Thank you!”

“Pippa Foster was an inspirational teacher; I consider it a privilege to have been taught by her. I never actually made it into her ‘Gold Book’ but wouldn’t hold that against her. I wish her a very happy retirement but somehow don’t think that she will slow down much”

Tom Evans OP 8 (1996-2008)

Patrick Merton OP 1 (1996-2008)

Tom is reading Architecture at Bath University and will graduate in 2012.

Patrick is in his final year at Cardiff University reading Physics and hopes to commence teacher training after a year travelling.

“She was the one teacher I will always remember! She never was afraid to get stuck in and make learning enjoyable whilst at the same time receiving the upmost respect! She made getting sent to the headmistresses office less of a punishment!!” Jack Forrester OP 6 (1996-2008)

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Jack is currently in his third year of his 4 year Economics degree at Bath University. His third year comprises of a yearlong work placement which he is completing at Amazon working in the Retail Finance Department.

“She was lovely, always giving us cuddles and even though I had a tantrum at my interview she still offered me a place in Pre-prep” Alex Williams OP 22 (1996-2008)

The Class of 2008 with Mrs Pippa Foster. Top row (from left) (1) Patrick Merton, (2) Nick Lopez, (3) Rory Beard, (4) Ali Hales, (5) Zachary Smith, (6) Jack Forrester, (7) Jonathan Grant, (8) Tom Evans, (9) Ali Youngs, (10) Ben Verrecchia, (11) Andrew Hadfield, (12) Nick Taylor, (13) Will Bond. Bottom row (from left): (14) Sophie Spraggs, (15) Katie Morris, (16) Katy Buxton, (17) Victoria Colgate, (18) Joanna Poole, (19) Danny Alexander, (20) Louise Yden, (21) Charlotte Molyneux, (22) Alex Williams, (23) Olivia Humphrey, (24) Vincent Webb, (25) Jonathan Parry, (26) James Leonard.

Alex is reading Electrical & Electronic Engineering at Loughborough University and will graduate in 2012.

“ Pippa was always very welcoming, warm and genuine to pupils no matter what age group. Her very open approach to being a headmistress was a wonderful example to all. I thoroughly enjoyed those days in preparatory school and it’s a shame that PGS has lost one of its brightest stars. I wish her all the best for retirement.” Nick Lopez OP 2 (1996-2008) Nick is in his final year at Nottingham University reading Management with Asian Studies.

‘ Pippa was always interested, caring and encouraging of all pursuits.’ Charlotte Molyneaux OP 21 (1996-2008) Charlotte is in her second year of five studying Dentistry at Kings College London.

“My fondest memory of Mrs. Foster has to be her assemblies in the junior school, where if it was your Birthday you would go to the front and she would bring out the famous PGS cake, where you would blow out the candles and make a wish- I always looked forward to going to school a little bit more those days! She was a brilliant headmistress and many of my PGS memories are tied to the junior school, and how kind she was to all of us, particularly when we were a little bit afraid to go to school to start with, she made us all feel happy and at ease.” Sophie Spraggs OP 14 (1996-2008) Sophie is in her second year at Warwick University reading English literature, having taken a year out after A levels.

“I remember Pippa as a teacher who genuinely cared for her students with a remarkable talent for teaching both inside and outside the classroom.” Rory Beard OP 3 (1996-2008) Rory is at Exeter College, Oxford reading Engineering for 4 years. Class of 2008 - Are you in the photgraph opposite? If so, we would love to know how you are celebrating your 21st birthday year, what you’re up to and your memories of being the first ever pupils to start your educational lives at Portsmouth Grammar Junior School. Simply get in touch at development@ pgs.org.uk or complete the simple online questionnaire on the Development Office section of the PGS website www.pgs.org. uk (PGS Association tab on the home page).

OPUS • Issue 4 • Spring 2011

Portsmouth Grammar School • www.pgs.org.uk

Under Starter’s Orders! School sport inspired life-long love of athletics

OP David Stenson (1947-1952) has a passion for athletics which began at PGS more than 60 years ago and started a life-long love of the sport. prepared hard to be there and I’m proud that everything goes well for them. The run is tremendously well organised.’ At school, David enjoyed cross country races on Portsdown Hill and field and track events, coming third in the 440 yards in 1949 and 1951. His interest continued once he left PGS and went to work for the family wholesale business, Mustang Toys. In 1968 he was made Captain of Portsmouth Athletics Club.

David Stenson and former Portsmouth and England goalkeeper David James get the competitors for the 2009 Bupa Great South Run under starters orders. (Picture courtesy of The News, Portsmouth)

Since 1991 when the Great South Run moved from Southampton to Portsmouth, he has fired the starting pistol sending thousands of runners on their way. This year someone else will be pulling the trigger for David has retired – but he will still be there, this time at the finish helping timekeepers see home the first elite men and women runners and wheelchair competitors. A former athlete and qualified starter, David was invited by race director Colin Goater to begin the inaugural run, a fledgling event which has grown to become the world’s number one ten mile mass participation road race. It attracts top runners from around the world such as Paula Radcliffe, Sonia O’Sullivan, Mo Farah, Joseph Ebuya, Luke Kibet and John Yuda as well as celebrities such as EastEnders stars Jake Wood, who plays Max Branning and ‘Nasty Nick’ John Altman (who recently launched the 2011 run) and BBC Sport’s John Motson and Ray Stubbs.

Last year, the elite race was the only ten mile event to hold a coveted International Association of Athletics Federation Gold Label and overall, a record 23,000 took part, raising thousands for charities. ‘I fired the gun that first year and I have fired it ever since. In all that time things have gone very smoothly apart from 2000 when the race had to be postponed because of flooding at Eastney,’ said David, who was in Privett House from 1947 to 1952. ‘It will be strange not to start all the different South Great Run races this autumn but 20 years is long enough and it’s time to give someone else a chance.’

Celebrities who have accompanied David in the past include Frank Bruno, Portsmouth Football Club’s David James, Harry Rednapp and Peter Storrie and Southampton manager Lawrie McMenemy. ‘It’s emotional when you see all those runners flooding by you. They have

He retired from active competition when he was around 30 but went on to serve on the committee of Portsmouth Athletics Club, ultimately as Chairman. He also became a qualified official, first as a marksman and then as a starter. David helped with the newly formed Portsmouth Joggers, founded by a trio of Portsmouth Athletic Club members who were overwhelmed when around 150 people responded to their advert in The News for would-be runners and the club is going strong today. He still plays an active role in sport in and around the city and the South as a committee member of the Hampshire Athletics Association, having been its President in 2006. A keen golfer, he played football for the OPs along with team mates Gareth Perry, David Allison and Roger Wilkins until retiring in 1977. ‘Sport in general and athletics in particular have enriched my life and given me so many opportunities and memories – and it all began at school!’ he said. If you are interested in taking up the challenge of the Great South Run, sponsored by Bupa since 1992, you can find out more at www.greatrun.org

Cross-Channel Derry David Hampshire, Head of Middle School, in his farewell tribute to Christine Derry when she left PGS in 2006, revealed why he always sat next to her in meetings: “I found out how entertaining it was to sit next to Christine at meetings because you could watch her doodle. It may have been a set of geometric shapes or a cruel caricature of someone at the meeting but it was always worth watching!”

Christine has painstakingly and lovingly immortalized a number of characters including Scrooge, Mr Pumblechook and Sarah Gamp in clay, not to mention Charles Dickens himself which remains proudly displayed at the school.

Her accurate but affectionate depictions of her colleagues sketched in the margin may well have been uncanny, but it is the three-dimensional representations of many of English Literature’s most beloved characters that she has vividly brought to life that she is most remembered for. Christine began her career as a Ceramics Teacher at PGS in 1988 and quickly established herself as a highly respected member of the Art Department who inspired pupils to create the most magnificent pieces of ceramic art. Somehow, amidst her teaching commitments and devoting many hours of her own time in the school holidays in the Department firing work for the pupils, she found the time and energy to run the highly successful and popular Red Gallery in Marmion Road, Southsea. She has had a lifetime interest in the novels and plays of perhaps the two most famous writers in the English Language – Charles Dickens and William Shakespeare – and has spent many years creating sculptures based on some of their most well-known creations. Her meticulous attention to detail involves extensive research into costumes of the day and, in the case of her Dickensian pieces, studying the etched drawings of the eminent nineteenth-century British book illustrator Hablot Knight Browne (pseudonym “Phiz”), who provided the plates for a number of Dickens’ most famous novels.

Christine’s latest work is a study of Shakespeare’s Falstaff

Christine Derry’s sculpture of Charles Dickens looks on as the author’s Great Great Grandson, the actor and performer, Gerald Dickens delivers the school’s annual Dickens Lecture in February 2011.

Her recent attentions have turned to Shakespearian characters starting with an evocative rendition of the portly Falstaff from the Henry IV plays and Merry Wives of Windsor.

Perhaps Christine’s greatest legacy at PGS however comes in the form of the soaring 9 foot high fired earthenware arch that she created in 2007 to mark the entrance to Junior School which has rapidly become one of the most iconic features of the school.

The more one looks at it, the more one sees: it is brimming with images, dates and emblems that have helped to shape PGS history. One might well describe Christine’s life now as ‘A Tale of Two Cities’ – she divides her time between her home and studio just outside the medieval walled town of Dinan in Brittany and returning to Portsmouth and other parts of the UK to exhibit work and deliver commissions. Christine offers weekend or weekly holidays for beginners or more advanced potters at her Brittany home which is well equipped with a ceramics and separate painting studio. She is also always pleased to discuss commissions and can be contacted at christinederry@orange.fr or through her website www.christinederry.com

The enigmatic archway which Christine designed as the entrance to the Junior School

OPUS • Issue 4 • Spring 2011

Portsmouth Grammar School • www.pgs.org.uk

Sometimes the impact of school trips can last a life time. Here Keir Strugnell OP (1959-1969) recalls how a PGS trip to Russia at the height of the Cold War over forty years ago still evokes vivid memories for him today. A huge advantage of being a pupil at PGS was the many opportunities we were offered. I was fortunate to be a member of a school trip in 1965 to Russia, at the height of the Cold War. A party of about 28 boys and accompanying staff went on a 3-week trip. At that time visits to the USSR were very firmly controlled. We travelled overland to Moscow, then to Leningrad and returned by boat across the North Sea. There were some famous and unforgettable sights, but above all else the influence and impact that this trip behind the Iron Curtain had has remained untold until now. At the age of 14 spending 3 weeks away from home might be a huge challenge today, but in 1965 the prospect of 3 weeks in the USSR was exciting and an adventure which would not be surpassed. Arriving in Moscow on 14 August 1965 I found everything very strange. Not surprising since I had only once before been abroad. My first impressions were of the huge buildings and vast expanse of green/parkland in between row upon row of apartment blocks. Everywhere there were people, taxis, buses and noise.

The guided tours were contrived to ensure that we saw what our guides wanted us to see. We were constantly being “informed” that all the things we looked at were very important in Russian culture and held in high regard by Russian people. We were impressed by the Kremlin and many other tourist attractions, but only from the view point of these “brainwashed” guides. Once we were able to explore on our own we found life very different...

One of the first things we found was that the buses had no conductors and the drivers only drove the bus. When you got on you were expected to put money (5 kopeks) into a box with a slot in the top and help yourself to a ticket - a true self-service operation. Although, when someone got on to the bus without paying all the other passengers just stared at them! I suppose that non-payment only meant higher taxes so people tried to show disapproval in the only safe way they could. This was our first introduction to basic communism in action. Walking around Moscow appeared like any other large city. You could buy most things in the Russian shops, but being a tourist you were encouraged to use “Birch” shops which were only able to accept foreign currency. The advantage of this became clear to a 14 year old school boy when I discovered that 20 Russian cigarettes in a Russian shop was about 3/4 roubles (£1/£1.12s old money), whereas in a Birch shop they were 6d. This meant I could get 64 packets of 20 cigarettes in a Birch shop for the price of one packet in a Russian shop! I could not work out why I was sometimes offered 15/20 roubles for a £1 note (normal exchange rate 2.5 roubles to the £) until I did the maths in the Birch shops. This was a very large black market! Time to exploit this like all school children before and after me, so I sold one or two of my £1 notes to total strangers. It was only after exchanging the second one I found out that this was a bad idea.

An American tourist was arrested for doing what I had just done and he spent a long time explaining his way out!

Evidence of the total “control” that we had been warned about only rarely surfaced. However, on one occasion I saw first-hand the immense stupidity of such a rigid system. My good chum Chris Blowers, better known to us all as “Blowers”, had been shopping across the road from the coach. While he was in the shop it started to rain, an absolute downpour. When he came out of the shop he checked for traffic and ran across the road and onto the coach, drenched. Suddenly there was banging on the door of the coach. We all craned our necks to see who it was, but we could only hear a heated conversation with the driver. Our guide called Blowers and explained something. He was given a raincoat and had to run along our side of the road about 70/80 metres to a pedestrian crossing, across that back down the other side of the road until he was opposite the coach and then all the way back again. The policeman then left us. Blowers, by this time, was a completely sodden mess. All because you couldn’t just cross the road anywhere. By the middle of the week in Moscow I felt I understood more but there was a growing unease about the way people were treated. The oppressive nature of Communism would stay with me for life. There were some huge inconsistencies and I was finding it hard to work out why they existed or even what had prompted them to be created. As an example we had

been introduced to the statue of Liberty & Friendship in Moscow by our guide (of course!). The statue itself consists of a very large plinth with a scantily clad man and woman reaching up with the man holding a hammer and the woman a sickle. This was meant to symbolise the unity between man and woman as well as the united strength of the people. Presumably it was work which showed their equality most effectively and confirmed the communist principles. So why was it that in all the time I was in Russia the only people in positions of authority or control were men! In fact when I got back to England I spent some time writing up a diary that I kept, during which I tried to remember any occasion when I had seen a woman soldier, official or manager. Everywhere there were policemen, soldiers and officials who controlled and directed the “people” that were all male. Subsequent television pictures of Mayday parades confirmed that the Russian brand of communism only had room for men at the top. The growing awareness of these inconsistencies motivated my life-long desire to resist all forms of dominance by one person/group of people over another. It has always been difficult for me to accept mindless bureaucracy, or any form of “organised” group that does not allow individuals to express themselves in a responsible manner. Wow! I didn’t realise that until I had written it down.

So is there anything else I discovered? Many, many things but they will have to wait for another time, along with the saga of how we got to Russia in the first place. There’s a lot to be said for flying, but in 1965 we had to go by train, didn’t we! To put this final part into perspective, I must mention our journey out to Russia. We travelled from Portsmouth to London and then to Dover. After crossing the Channel we made our way through Belgium, Germany, Poland and finally Russia. The different quality of life was always evident and made me stop and think very hard. Here there were people ploughing fields with horses and wooden ploughs; there were people living in a city which was split into two by a massive wall; then there were ordinary men and women on the train, dressed in what I saw as 18th century costumes. So trying to imagine how people could still use such out dated methods was very difficult to get my head round. It was then even harder in Russia because here was a country that was putting humans into space, building nuclear missiles and leading technologies for aircraft, ships and other industries. But at the same time here was a country that struggled to undertake even the simplest things in its domestic life.

Some of Keir

Imagine being in London and staying in an hotel. At breakfast all you can drink is anything which doesn’t have to be fresh. All you can eat is food that can be transported, only if it can last a long journey. Fresh vegetables and fresh milk are things which you only dream of. This was my experience in the premier hotel in Moscow. The lack of basic infrastructure and the short sighted policy of committing vast sums to a space and arms race took its toll on the ordinary people. But there was something even bigger that was to explode in 1989 and release more than just the people on either side of the Berlin Wall. All I can remember thinking is “take it slowly...”. It will take a long time to change history. I have tried to explain the impact of exposure to a totally alien culture in a way that you can understand. No words can express the legacy of this experience. I can only say that in 1993 when my daughter Ruth also visited Moscow on an exchange, the lack of infrastructure was making life after communism very, very hard. I always watch Russian progress with a very personal interest. ol trip to the

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USSR in 1965

OPUS • Issue 4 • Spring 2011

Portsmouth Grammar School • www.pgs.org.uk

Ask the archivist

David Lenton

Introducing a new feature in Opus where OPs are encouraged to ask school archivist John Sadden all those burning questions about their PGS school days that they never knew the answer to... until now!

David Lenton, ‘a traditional Classics beak of the best kind… who had the distinction – rare among schoolmasters – of never talking nonsense’

Please submit your questions for future issues to John at the contact address shown on page 2.

John Sa

dden

What is the history of the PGS lion? Since the 19th century, the school has used a variety of coats of arms, but it was not until the Senior Science Master, H. T. Lilley discovered the arms of the Founder, William Smith, that the sitting lion first appeared in association with the school. Lilley came across the arms while doing some research for the Boer War Memorial window in St Thomas’s Church (now Cathedral), which was unveiled in 1904. The lion appears on a metal cap badge dating from this time. William Smith was a man very conscious of status. He bought an honorary degree of doctor of medicine from the University of Oxford, purchased one of the best houses in the High Street (Buckingham House) and bought a coat of arms from the Garter King of Arms which featured the now familiar golden lion upon a red and black shield. Up until the 1950s the lion was proudly used by the school, but without authority from the College of Arms. Neither rampant nor dormant but couchant (lying down with raised head) he is alert but not aggressive. He appeared in various shapes and sizes but, perhaps, like the rest of the population, looked his worst during the Second World War when, at a time of “make do and mend, he appeared crudely embroidered on items of uniform and was barely recognisable as the noble king of the jungle. With victory came restored majesty and, in 1957, the School was officially granted its arms, with William Smith’s lion, head held high, sitting above two choughs (from the arms of Christ Church College) and the Portsmouth badge of a star and crescent moon, symbolising the close association between the School, the College and the City.

Why is the Yellow Book called the Yellow Book? The first “Yellow Book” in the archive dates from the Autumn term of 1957 and is, in fact, a cheerless buff. As many Old Portmuthians will remember, most of its pages were devoted to class lists, with the calendar of the term’s events only occupying a few pages. In the 1970s the buff began to change, with a hint, then another hint, of yellow, until, in 1974, the first truly yellow Yellow Book appeared, albeit in a subdued, matt hue. The dawn of the 1990s brought an excessive, over-indulgent, saturated yellowness that was destined to burn out, which it duly did in 1999. The new millennium brought the white Yellow Book, appealing, perhaps, to a cool, post-modern generation of pupil accustomed to irony. To prevent any confusion, the words “Yellow Book” appear in black on the white cover. One can only speculate, adding irony to irony, as to whether, in a future post-post-modern world, archive copies of the white Yellow Book will yellow with age.

Generations from the fifties and early sixties will recognise this description of Frederick David Lenton, Head of Classics at PGS, sports coach and Scoutmaster extraordinaire. It appeared in the Common Room obituary notices of The Ampleforth Journal in Spring 1991, following his death just before Christmas in 1990 at the early age of 66. David Lenton, or ‘Egg’ as he was affectionately known in these parts, had left PGS in the Summer of 1963 for Rome where, as a convert to Catholicism, he was to train for the priesthood. A year or two later he was back at the chalkface as Senior Classics Master at Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar School, Wakefield; and in September 1968 he moved to Ampleforth College in North Yorkshire as an assistant master, teaching Latin, Greek and Ancient History until his retirement in 1984. It was in keeping with the man - no slave to ambition and seniority – that he should take a step down professionally in midcareer to pursue the now twin callings of schoolmastering and pastoral care.

Ampleforth, a well-known Catholic boarding school located in beautiful countryside a dozen miles north of York, is attached to the Benedictine Ampleforth Abbey and was thus the ideal place for David to pursue the dual aspects of his future ‘ministry’.

Figure 1 - Apurimac River, Peru, August 1969

A bizarre coincidence in 1979 had prompted me to renew contact with someone who had made such a mark on his Portmuthian charges, especially on the tiny and thus highly privileged groups of the Classical Sixth. One day, working as a publisher for the Macmillan Press, I popped into the office of a colleague who was on the phone. While he continued his call, I noticed a batch of 30-40 large photographs on top of a bookcase. By sheer chance, the top picture was unmistakably Egg Lenton in Y-fronts, (see Fig 1) ‘rafting’ a tractor across a river (Fig 2), attended by several other individuals in various states of undress. Barely containing my impatience as the phone call dragged on, I eventually established that this was Father Bede in August 1969, bringing a tractor across the Apurimac River in Southern Peru, from Pichari village to ‘the Mission’. My colleague Charles Fry recalled that he’d been on a VSO gap year, working at a mission in Cusco State, where Father Bede had made a tremendous impression on him, and not just as a master-boatman. Presumably, David was taking his first summer ‘holiday’ from Ampleforth, combining work in the classroom with service to less fortunate communities of adults – a mix that was to form the basis of much of his later life’s work.

Figure 2 - At the wheel, Peru, August 1969

Armed with this image and another where Father Bede struggled with the pedals to disembark the tractor, and having learned where he was now teaching, I resolved to visit him there at the first opportunity. Preoccupied, though, with career and family, I let a dozen years slip by before, on a business trip to the North East and with an afternoon free, I called unannounced at Ampleforth in October 1991 to enquire as to David’s whereabouts. Though in retirement for six years and removed from his cottage in Helmsley to Ketton in Rutland, a few miles outside Stamford in his native Lincolnshire, David had kept in touch with Ampleforth through cricket festivals and visits to ex-colleagues and neighbours who remembered him with great affection. He had also maintained links with PGS Second Master, John Thorp, in whose Havant garden he is here seen (Figure 3) in the 1980s. Whitcombe House had been fortunate indeed to have been led by Messrs Thorp and Lenton – ‘Big John’s’ junior by some nine years – in the fifties and sixties.

Figure 3 - FDL in the Thorps’ Havant garden, c.1985

continued...

OPUS • Issue 4 • Spring 2011

Portsmouth Grammar School • www.pgs.org.uk

David Lenton

continued Classes in the Classical Sixth resembled college supervisions, except that we juveniles still felt the need to bait our mentors.

When we had let Egg and ourselves down through sloppy essays or lousy unseen translations, he’d be grim and strict and critical – but not for long!

Figure 4 - PGS Photograph 1959 – FDL, centre, and others in their prime

Imagine my disappointment, having at last made it to Ampleforth in October 1991, to learn of FDL’s death just ten months earlier, while seeing and hearing him come alive in the recollections of those who’d known him so well. David Lenton was born on 8 June 1924 in Lincolnshire and had a sister with whom he lived towards the end of his life. He was exempted from military service in the Second World War having lost a finger in a shooting accident at the rifle-range at pre-war Oundle where he was a pupil from 1938-42. The CCF was taken very seriously at Oundle whose curriculum was unique at the time among public schools for its addiction to applied sciences and engineering. Almost half the staff were scientists or engineers, and boys were summarily removed from classes on the ‘Classics or Modern Sides’ to shoe a horse, take a car engine to bits or to drive the school tractor about the fields, much to the irritation of the masters in these minority fields! This eccentric curriculum seems to have had little impact on David Lenton’s academic cast of mind, though he’d call on it thirty years later in the Andes. At Magdalene College, Cambridge (19425), he read Classics for the first part of his Tripos and History for Part 2, before teaching for a year or so at Sedbergh. He then took a DipEd at Oxford (1947/8) and taught at Exeter School for four years until 1952 when he arrived at PGS at the tender

age of 28. He taught Latin, Greek and Ancient History throughout the school, latterly leading a distinguished Classics Department after the semi-retirement of Frank Harrison who went to Oxford to teach Latin to undergraduates at his old college, Brasenose. David Lenton scholarly, authoritative, humorous on a good day, kindly except when slovenly work came his way - became that paragon, the ‘Classics beak of the best kind’. By the late 50s and prematurely bald, ‘Egg’ was nicknamed for his lack of hair, ‘Snowy’ Harrison for an abundance of the white stuff. Above (Figure 4) is the 35-year-old FDL in company with Messrs Ive, Hopkinson, Wells and Vearncombe in the 1959 school photograph. Observant readers will also have spotted among the Lower School likely lads (far left, arms folded) Brian Larkman, current Chair of Governors.

The goal was then to cheer him up, and that was not difficult, even if he was not quite ready for levity. Some daftness or witticism from us prompting involuntary laughter to creep over his stern visage, Egg would swing round, whirling his gown like a manic crow, and scribble away on the blackboard with a noisy frenzy. He thought thereby to conceal his uncontrolled amusement, little suspecting that the back of his bald pate was now deeply crisscrossed with wrinkles, as surely as his face was creased with evident mirth. We knew the storm was over. Outside the classroom, David Lenton was an ideal scoutmaster and a hugely enthusiastic coach on the rugger and cricket fields. Though immune to the appeal of home comforts, frivolous travel and fine food, he was a fixture at summer and weekend scout camps where he was quizzically suspicious of the stews and plum duffs that were the staples of his young charges. He was probably much more at home with the simple but beautifully cooked fare served up by Bruce (‘Gus’) Poole who’d acquired bushcraft skills from Baden-Powell himself on

Figure 5 - FDL, ‘Gus’ Poole [seated] and sundry hungry scouts at Droxford in the 1950s

Brownsea Island in Poole Harbour some forty years before. Egg certainly seems relaxed in this picture of Maestro Poole cooking away on his patent cooking range, under the envious gaze of hungry scouts. (See figure 5).

when it was absolutely necessary. Such reticence made even his friends shy to enquire into his private history: he was, for example, a convert to Catholicism; but when and whence and how were not, in his view, suitable topics for conversation.

On the sports field, David served the colt and junior colt age groups who were the cohorts at the top end of his scout troop. Equally comfortable with the different challenges of adolescents in the sixth form, he was, I suspect, excellent company and a fine if erratic performer with the MCC, the Masters’ Cricket Club. He is seen here, ready for action at Hilsea, in the side captained by Ted Washington before a cricketing accident deprived that equally remarkable ‘beak’ of his sight.

It appears that, while he remained an excellent classroom teacher, the focus of much of the work of his maturity was to be vulnerable, insecure and suffering adulthood. An admirer of Clement Attlee in the post-war period, now an aid worker as ‘Father Bede’ in poverty-wracked Peru, he was soon to be elected President of the Common Room where his practical wisdom and impartiality found free expression. He took on the Careers advisory work at a time before this became a full-time role in secondary schools; and he was persuaded, towards the end of his teaching career, once again to be Head of Classics. Following retirement he made time to teach English to convicts at Stamford Gaol, was treasurer of Rutland Citizens Advice Bureau and President of the Stamford Conference of the Society of St Vincent de Paul, a Catholic charity for the support of poor and disadvantaged people worldwide.

Valedictory remarks in the July 1963 Portmuthian speak of David’s decision to leave teaching ‘…to spend a period in Rome preparing for the priesthood… He goes from one cure of souls to another… from the problems, baffling enough, of this semi-enclosed community to the still larger problems of life and death.’ Why he stopped short of full priesthood is a mystery, even to his closest colleagues and friends, one of whom wrote in that informative and insightful obituary quoted in the title to this piece: His other most obvious trait was a deep privacy… he only talked about himself

His own day-to-day life was simple and self-sufficient, books almost taking the place of furniture in his homes at Helmsley and Ketton. His last years were saddened by the death of his sister with whom he

lived, but characteristically he bore this with patience and continued to work for others. Those who shared in this charitable work turned out in force at the funeral in Stamford of someone who ‘…was not an easy man to know; but he will not soon be forgotten’. By another strange coincidence, one of the principal mourners was listed as ‘Mr John Owen’; of course this was not me but I wish it had been and it’s a matter of abiding regret that I delayed so long the renewal of contact with a man of such humanity and influence. Acknowledgements: Figs 1 & 2 – Charles Fry; Fig. 3 – David Thorp; Figs 4,5 & 6 – John Sadden, PGS Archives. The Old Portmuthian (1963) and The Ampleforth Journal (Winter 1984 and Spring 1991 issues) and The Ampleforth Society for permission to draw upon Valete Notes and FDL’s obituary notice. Note: Would aspiring scribblers out there contact the Opus editorial staff about writing about PGS masters or mistresses who earned a similar debt of respect and gratitude. Ideally, broad coverage of the post-War period should be the goal, rather than subjects drawn from just one era. Help is available from the Archivist, John Sadden, and John Owens is glad to offer editorial assistance to those who might need a bit of help in that department. John Owens OP (1953-1963)

Figure 6 - FDL in Ted Washington’s MCC XI at Hilsea, about 1954/5) Standing: Peter Gibbs, Lew Asher (umpire), ‘Jesse’ James, Wally Bartle, The Egg, David Dyer, John Thorp, Colonel Bill Willis, Unknown scorer from visiting team. Sitting: Bill Tweed, Fred Howe, Ted Washington, Dennis Hibbert (HM), Ray Clayton.

OPUS • Issue 4 • Spring 2011

Portsmouth Grammar School • www.pgs.org.uk

Trumpeting a school career

When Sam Moffitt OP (1996-2010), a talented trumpet player, passed under the school arch, for the final time last summer, it proved to be a time for his parents Kathryn and Joe to reflect on his fourteen years at PGS. Here they affectionately record the opportunities, milestones, highs and lows (not to mention the occasional detention) that have defined his school career.

Sam Moffitt first day and last day at PGS September 1996 and May 2010

7 years in Highbury Band

PGS Musical West Side Story – Tony,

7 years in Portsmouth Junior Wind Band

Middle school sung Joseph – Joseph

6 Choir tours abroad 1 meal eaten in a Soviet coal mine

Captain and EU specialist of PGS Young Consumer Team 2009

4 Years in the National Youth Orchestra

2 Scholarships: Music and Choral

4 Years in Hampshire Youth Orchestra

1 Exhibition: All rounder

2 years in Cathedral Cantate

1 Head Chorister (Wilson Cantoris)

1 year in the National Children’s Orchestra

Trumpet Grade 8 (Dist) DipABRSM (Dist)

8 appearances on national TV

10 GCSEs at A*/A

1 BBC camera crew following for 3 days

1 Add Maths A

1 boy September 1996

5 performances at Royal Albert Hall

4 A levels A*AAB

2 very proud parents

5 at Royal Festival Hall

1 place at Oxford . . . . . . . . later . . .

2450 days

1 Young Man in September 2010

42 terms

plus Barbican, Sage, Bridgewater, Millennium Cardiff, Liverpool Phil, Roundhouse, Birmingham Symphony etc

14 years and birthdays

4 with NYO

28 pairs of new school shoes

3 with Cathedral choir

9 blazers, 4 cassocks

1 BBC Young Musician Brass Final

7 different school ties (Pre-prep, Hudson, Hawkey/Smith, Music, Sixth form, Prefect, Leavers)

15 or so broadcasts on Radio 3

Opus is delighted to report that Sam, a finalist in the 2010 BBC Young Musician of the Year Competition, winner of The News Best Classical Music Act 2010, and who continues to fly the Portsmouth flag in the National Youth Orchestra, is thoroughly enjoying his first year at Brasenose College, Oxford where he is reading Music.

490 weeks

12 Form Teachers/Tutors 3 Headmasters

First choral solo live on Radio 3 aged 9 With Cathedral Choir, NYO, BBC Young musician

3 Heads of Music

6 members of the Royal Family sung for (Queen, Philip, Charles, Andrew x2, Anne, Edward)

2 Bishops

1 appearance in Hello magazine

2650 choir practices (cathedral)

1 Prime minister, French president (DDay 60)

3 Deans

2000 packed lunches 1000+ PGS ensemble rehearsals 4 of those ensembles with older sister Lucy on Trumpet, Saxophone, Cello, Bass guitar and Voice 2 (known by parents) detentions 7 years as a Cathedral Chorister

1 ride in US President’s motorcade (DDay 60 choir dash to Caen) 1 duet with Willard White in front of 2,000 Year 6 Party Disco Dancing prize Hummel Trumpet Concerto with London Mozart Players 2009 Portsmouth Festivities Debut Recital 2010

2 very proud parents

Day in the life of a Surmaster In January this year, Steve Harris OP (1968-1978) took up the reins of Surmaster at PGS. Here school friend and fellow OP Jim Mangnall (1971-1981), who is well established in post as Surmaster and Head of Co-curriculum at Manchester Grammar School, sheds light on this uncommon yet pivotal role in the UK Independent Schools sector.

Dear Steve,

Steve Ha rris, Surm aster, Portsmo uth Gram mar Sch ool

d! Well for this A day in the life of a Surmaster they askebein g no two days Surmaster that is quite a challenge, there job. Drain rods figure from flower to remotely similar, such is the nature of the Land Rover Defender, There are days when I feel like a bee moving to another. ered large, as does a burst pipe kit, a batt flower polluting information from one person and many miles pop up tents, sandwich lunches, mud in profusion reds of years grand title might When you look at the seats set aside some hund on the M6, it’s certainly not the posh job thed as I struggle Surmaster you and ter ago in the Cathedral for the High Mas ng others, we are the imply. No one in the school now bats an eyeli ” from the school Amo ility. get a powerful sense of responsib through the school with my latest prized “totwhen I emerge the School or sites r othe our of one in odians of what our founder Hugh Oldham and cust used be to skips, ty simple is pret a the school. This have stood for since 1515. Fortunately he left bedraggled from the ducts and cellars beneath from the fit out bene be they can as they can all part of backing up our staff and pupils soother obstructions in job description - admit all, so long“be he manchild and without the education, irrespective of means, there “doing it”, ironing out the logistical and when the world has pox”! Above all “Dare to be Wise”. In times licated perhaps one their way. comp and l ytica become so sophisticated, anal ge of everything on the ground, My day job, is in effect, Deputy Head in charof sports, drama, nsibility of a Surmaster is to keep our feet wha respo t we are cts aspe of not in a classroom. That is to say all keep a sense of proportion and a simple sensedoing it. Hugh Oldham all and uits purs oor outd , ities be music, community projects, char supposed to be doing and how we should 3 offsite activity long since gone) trips, as well as looking after and organising of Fun” a title that established a stream of income in 1515 (now ns and I am one d “Hea mea the of as ive me to pect r irres centres. The boys refe that earned access for all, times spent with aspiration today. I cherish. I have vivid and fond memories of many who continue to rigorously defend that 200 of the 1500 of ugh thro run es valu his nd Roger Harris at PGS and so many of We are fortunate to be able to support arouortion. plumbing and all not is it ly prop kful that Than ase y. incre toda to do I aim g we thin and every pupils here s in a care home, driving! Mornings spent with boys and old ladierowing, sunrise over School as the The lineage of the term is pretty unclear in the; but it is certainly afternoons skimming along the docks coachingTrent in the ISFA uries cent the Erg Sahel in Morocco, victory at Burton on a premier concert at titles have ebbed and flowed over uty Head at St Paul’s School, curious to do a job defined as “Dep final, happy days in the Lakes under canvas,going across country to the School’s lad t London”! In spite of all that, it is a term dear St John Smith Square, a triumphan custodian of the boy’s only hope this heart and to my heart, I am very proud to being it to another in his wheelchair - I really am fortunate, I pass the job and the title and look forward to in years to come. memories are as rewarding as my own. who is passionate about a great institution ledge know edic clopa ency an skills odd g lopin It has involved deve intment and it driving regulations, It was a huge pleasure to learn of your appo themselves with of water purification, toilet options, minibus first-class cricket find ld shou of OPs ing certainly is strange that two licensable activity regulations, the mak moved on in so course plumbing! of and er amm warh of s point finer such a rare title. While I know that PGS has the ets, wick ed, there were many ways from the school days you and I shar some ble trou h which are muc and how ve dear There are days when I can’t belie values that it gave me that remain very e holds dear. I wish for it ge chan dn’t woul I but Stev fun, ng know people can have while havi central to my work, values that I faction bling to be part success and I hope that you has as much satis the world, it is a privilege and it is utterly hum every you , hter laug , iness of such a diverse range of moments of happ llence, which are and enjoyment from the role as I do. exce and ness kind ph, trium , ents evem fun, achi f alike. I can rarely Yours, magnificent moments for our pupils and staf and the single take much credit, given the autonomy we give . If you could only minded determination and enthusiasm they haveof life, indeed I’m bottle the feeling, you could sell it as the elixir younger by the day; pleased to say that I am therefore gettingsay that is not a good t migh I shall soon be 12 again! Steve, you ! PGS at s time my thing giving his memories of Jim Mangnall OP (1971-1981) aster begins. For Once the day job is over I feel the job of Surm problem solving and me it falls in two parts. The extracurricularand general WD40 in support naturally extends in the same role and pupils and help school life to take interest in all our staff small glitches which school life to flow, taking on those nagging forgotten corners of rmaster, gnall, Su otherwise persist and to take an interest in n a M im J School rammar the school. hester G Manc

OPUS • Issue 4 • Spring 2011

Portsmouth Grammar School • www.pgs.org.uk

Forthcoming Events Friday 3 June 2011

Friday 16 September 2011

PGS Golf Society Meeting, Southwick Park Golf Club at 1pm

OP Club Evening Lecture, David Bawtree Building at 7.30pm

All former pupils, staff and parents are welcome to attend. The format is 18 hole Stableford with full handicap. A three course dinner will follow at the Clubhouse. Meet for lunch at 1pm, tee-off at 2pm. Cost is £40 and includes golf, lunch and dinner.

This year’s guest speaker is Andrew Hind, OP, recently retired Chief Executive of the Charity Commission. Andrew’s distinguished career has involved a number of high profile roles – Deputy Chief Executive of ActionAid, Director of Finance and Corporate Services at Barnado’s and Chief Operating Officer at BBC World Service. No charge but booking essential – to reserve a place please contact Gareth Perry (e-mail gareth.perry1@gmail.com or tel. 023 9273 4606).

If you would like to attend please contact Alasdair Akass (e-mail a.akass@pgs.org.uk or tel. 023 9236 4248).

16-26 June 2011 Portsmouth Festivities: “Portsmouth – Space City”

Friday 7 October 2011

Venues around Portsmouth

OP Club Autumn Supper, David Bawtree Building at 7.30pm

This year the Festivities will celebrate Space. Discovery and Exploration; Science and Technology, Literature, Art and Architecture will all feature alongside Comedy, Folk, World Music and more with a wide ranging programme of events, exhibitions and displays in venues across the city. For details or a free brochure visit: www.portsmouthfestivities.co.uk or e-mail p.cleary@pgs.org.uk

Friday 24 June 2011 Annual OP vs. PGS Cricket and Tennis Matches, Hilsea at 3pm OPs and their families are asked to support the annual summer clash of school teams vs. OPs. If you would like to represent the OPs, spectate or need further details please contact Liz Preece (e-mail l.preece@pgs.org.uk or tel. 023 9268 1392).

Friday 24 June 2011 OP Cricket Reunion with ‘OP Veterans’ match, Royal Beach Hotel (at 12 noon) and Hilsea (at 3pm) A Cricket Reunion, including lunch at the Royal Beach Hotel, will take place alongside the OP Summer Matches and it is hoped there will be sufficient interest among OPs to enable an ‘OP Veterans’ cricket match to be held. If you would like to join the ‘OP Veterans’ teams please contact John Bartle (e-mail johnbartle@virginmedia.com) or for further information contact Sue Merton (e-mail s.merton@pgs.org.uk or tel. 023 9268 1385).

It is hoped that many OPs and Former Staff will attend this enjoyable event in the OP Club calendar. Music will be provided by the Glee Choir. Booking essential and cost is £15 per head. If you would like to attend please send Gareth Perry (at the address below) the number of places required and names by 4 October and enclose a cheque for the appropriate value made payable to the ‘Old Portmuthian Club’. Address: 34, Marine Court, Southsea, PO4 9QU E-mail: gareth.perry1@gmail.com Telephone: 023 9273 4606

Thursday 24 November 2011 PGS Guest Speaker: An Evening With John Aitchison OP, David Bawtree Building at 7.30pm This event is being held jointly by PGS and Hampshire & IOW Wildlife Trust (as part of their 50th birthday celebrations). Internationally acclaimed wildlife cameraman John Aitchison will give a talk entitled “Frozen Planet: Filming for the BBC’s New Wildlife Series”. Tickets cost £8 and booking is essential. If you would like to attend please send Liz Preece (address on page 2) details of the number of tickets required and enclose a cheque for the appropriate value made payable to the ‘The Portsmouth Grammar School’. Alternatively please call us on 023 9236 4248 with your credit or debit card.

Note: More information on all forthcoming events can be found on the school website – www.pgs.org.uk under tab ‘PGS Association’ in section ‘Development Office’.

News of Old Portmuthians His Honour Judge Jeff BLACKETT (1966-1973) His Honour Judge Jeff Blackett (Judge Advocate General) was appointed Special Professor in the School of Law at Nottingham University in August 2010. Judge Blackett is author of the new edition of Rant on the Court Martial and Service Law (2009) and, as Judge Advocate General, presides over the new single system of courts-martial for all three services: British Army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force. Judge Blackett will be involved in an advisory role on research and training projects, with guest talks to staff and students and advice for students interested in a career in military justice. William CRĖNEL PGS has been delighted to lure William over the Channel from his native Caen to teach in the Modern Foreign Languages Department. Many OPs may well remember that he worked as a Language Assistant at PGS for a year in 1996-97. Giles FRY (1981-1989) Giles (an ex-TGI Friday manager) has branched out and set up his own chain of cocktail bars. He is founder and Managing Director of the Snug Bar chain, which has branches in Cambridge, Hertford and St. Albans. Nick GOODALL (1963-1973) After leaving PGS Nick completed a degree in Architecture and later gained a 1st. Class Honours degree in Business Studies and Computing from the University of Portsmouth. He joined IBM and was responsible for the programming of technical communications. In 2010 he took early retirement from IBM and is currently catching up on various home and self improvement projects. Nick would be delighted to hear from any OPs who remember him or his brother, Tim (e-mail: nickgoodall1954@hotmail.co.uk). Richard HASTILOW (1956-1963) Richard has been appointed Chairman of Radian, the Eastleighbased social housing organisation with a portfolio of around 18,000 homes and which also supports approximately 400 people in the care sector. He joins Radian after nine years as Chief Executive of The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA). This

was preceded by a 32 year Royal Navy career which culminated in the command of the aircraft carrier HMS Invincible, supporting operations in Bosnia. Richard has strong links across Radian’s catchment area; he lives near Petersfield and was Managing Director of Hampshire Training and Enterprise Council and Business Link Group for 4 years. Peter HAMER HODGES (1961-1968) It was great to welcome Peter back to school in the latter part of 2010 following his return to Portsmouth after 30 years living and working in the United States. Peter has been teaching on the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme since 1977. From 1979-1983, he taught all levels of mathematics at the United Nations International School in New York, before moving onto Head of Mathematics and Dean of Administration at the Armand Hammer United World College in Montezuma, New Mexico from 1983-2010. Peter has been an examiner for the IB since 1985 and was a deputy chief examiner for Higher Level Maths from 2001-2006. Brothers David and Kenneth as well as cousin Richard Simonsen are all OPs. Jack HANCOCK (1997-2004) Jack is due to be commissioned into the British Army at the Sovereign’s Parade at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in April. The Sultan of Brunei will take the Parade. Andrew HIND (1967-1973) Opus is delighted to report that Andrew was awarded the prestigious Companion of the Order of the Bath in the New Year’s Honours List 2011. He was the first chief executive of the Charity Commission from 2004 until September 2010 and is widely credited with ensuring the sector has a regulator that is fit for purpose. He is guest-editor of Charity Finance for the February, March and April 2011 editions and has also taken up a part-time role as Visiting Professor of Charity Governance and Finance at Cass Business School. After leaving PGS in 1973 Andrew gained a degree in Accountancy and Commerce at the University of Southampton. He worked in practice in Kenya and it was during this time that he developed an interest the voluntary sector when seeing how aid agencies converted donations to activities on the ground. Andrew has extensive experience of working with the charity sector. He was a senior executive with ActionAid (1986-1991) and Barnardo’s (1992-1995) before moving to the BBC in 1995, where he was chief operating officer of BBC World Service. Andrew was co-founder in 1988 of the Charity Finance Directors’ Group (CFDG), and chair from 1992-1994. He is the author of The Governance and Management of Charities, and a former Charity Awards judge. He received the Outstanding Achievement Award for longstanding commitment and service to the voluntary continued...

OPUS • Issue 4 • Spring 2011

Portsmouth Grammar School • www.pgs.org.uk

News of Old Portmuthians

sector at the Charity Awards 2008. After Andrew left the Charity Commission in 2010, his former boss at the BBC World Service, Sam Younger, stepped into his shoes. Andrew kindly kicked off the first ever issue of Opus with his memories of sitting the school entrance exam in 1967 and will be returning to PGS as a guest of the OP Club in September to give an evening presentation on his extraordinary career in the Charity Sector (see Forthcoming Events for further details.)

time out from his hectic schedule last year to join with Portsmouth Festivities favourite Sheila Hancock and former PGS parent, the actor Christopher Timothy, in a concert of music, comedy and drama to raise funds for Portsmouth’s New Theatre Royal. Since going solo in 1966 Paul’s played on soundtracks (several of which he composed) and many recordings by artists including Percy Sledge, Tina Turner, Katie Melua and Memphis Slim. His songs have been recorded by an equally varied bunch, from early Steppenwolf to Helen Shapiro. Paul continues to attract new fans and has an avid following for his weekly blues show on BBC Radio 2 on Monday evening.

Keith TOMLINS (1956-1963) After leaving PGS Keith gained a degree in French and German, and subsequently a PhD, at the University of Reading. Most of his career was spent in teaching modern languages, including four years in Nigeria. More recently he has worked on a freelance basis in the fields of teaching, examining, examiner training and book writing and has also worked part-time for Staffordshire County Council as an adult foreign language teacher. He is married to his Mauritian wife, Chantale, has two daughters and currently lives in the West Midlands. Keith’s first novel entitled “The Fall of the House of Robson”, was published by the Book Guild in February.

Gary SHIPTON (1973-1980) Gary is Editor in Chief of West Sussex County Newspapers (West Sussex County Times, West Sussex Gazette, Mid-Sussex Times). He edited the West Sussex Gazette throughout the 1990s. Gary devotes a great deal of time speaking to young people in the catchment area of his newspaper group about business careers. He took on the persona of Lord Alan Sugar for Farlington’s School’s ‘Sixth Form Apprentice ‘ and was the key note speaker at last year’s Challenge of Management Conference for 180 Young Enterprise students at the College of Richard Collyer in Horsham.

David WARRELL (1948-1958)

Alexandra JEPHEZ (1997-2004) Alexandra is currently based in London working as a consultant at Jones Lang LaSalle, a property multinational, and very much enjoying all the opportunities London has to offer. Until quite recently she has been sharing a house with Sophie Robinson and Jocelyn Somerville, who are both doing very well, and she is still in contact with Alexa Byrne, Emily Knight and Sarah Capon (all 1997-2004) amongst others. Charlie KELLY (2000-2005) After graduating with a First Class Honours Degree from Leeds University, Charlie travelled to Taiwan to teach English before returning to the UK to study for a PGCE teaching qualification. Of his degree success, Charlie wrote to former Head of Sixth Form, Lara Péchard: “The whole Kelly household are in no doubt that I would never have made it as far as Leeds without your help, so I must thank you now for everything you did for me at PGS.” He goes on: “With the sense of essay structure and exam technique drilled into us by you and Dr Galliver, parts of the degree course seemed easy by comparison!” Howard MASON (1951-1956) Howard wrote into the Development Office after reminiscing about his schooldays whilst reading The Lindsay Years (one of a series of Portsmouth Grammar School monographs available from the Development Office free of charge). “The staff photo in The Lindsay Years brings even more memories taken as it was in 1950; as I started in 1951 it shows virtually the whole complement of masters, including ‘Stiffy’ Ladds, ‘Holy Joe’ Heritage, not to mention ‘Boggy’ Marsh (who once caught us smoking in the train on the way back from a fixture at the Dragon School in Oxford), and of course our history master Mr Lindsay, whom I still vividly remember jumping on the desk to illustrate a point”, Howard recalls. “He looked down on us, announcing in a booming voice that he was the King, while we were merely serfs! I also remember when I was a hooker in the school 2nd XV and both my props happened to be prefects. On this particular day following a Wednesday afternoon away match, I was sent to be punished in E4 when I returned only to be confronted with my erstwhile teammate (and you can’t really get any more matey than prop and hooker), who had been charged with meting out justice with the inevitable size ten beating. At least he had the decency to admit later that he found the situation a trifle awkward!” Polly MEYNELL (left PGS 1992) After leaving PGS Polly completed a degree in Textile Design and shortly afterwards set up her own business. She designs textile

installations, ecclesiastical robes, furnishings and unique tailored items and has undertake commissions for the Bishop of London and Pembroke College Cambridge amongst others. Recent projects include the complete interior design for a new build church in Crawley, a five metre tall triptych for a 300 seat auditorium church, and a set of five copes for Guildford Cathedral to commemorate its fiftieth anniversary. In addition to her work for the church, Polly has tailored numerous items of clothing for TV dramas, film premieres, weddings, carnivals and theatrical productions. Bruce MIDDLEMISS (1984-1991) Upon leaving school, Bruce joined the Metropolitan Police Cadets and says that he hasn’t looked back since! Now an Inspector, he became a familiar name and face across the press and broadcast media in May 2007 when the world famous historic clipper, the Cutty Sark, went up in flames. Bruce was the Metropolitan Police spokesman interviewed at the time after initial analysis of the CCTV footage of the area suggested the possibility of arson. Further investigation over the following days by the Met failed to find conclusive proof that the fire was set off deliberately. Ben MITCHELL (1997-2009) Opus congratulates Ben on winning a coveted Gold Medal in the coxed fours at the British Universities Head of the River championships in February. Tim OSMOND (1997-2004) Tim spent the summer of 2009 on expedition studying the biodiversity of Madagascar and researching renewable energy technology with four fellow Bath University students. He oversaw all the logistics of the trip and was responsible for photographing all the species found as well as carrying out herptile and lemur surveys. He even managed to fit in some time developing a prototype solar energy collector for heating water. He has now graduated from Bath with an MEng in Automative Engineering. Sally PAFFETT (left PGS 2010) After displaying amazing stage presence with a spine tingling rendition of the Snow Patrol hit Run at the 2010 Leavers’ Service in Portsmouth Cathedral, it is no surprise that Sally has successfully auditioned for a place at the acclaimed East 15 Acting School. Notable alumni of E15 include the actresses Alison Steadman and Gwen Taylor and Billy Elliott director Stephen Daldry. Paul POND (1950-1958) Perhaps better known as Paul Jones, vocalist and harmonica player of the successful 1960s group Manfred Mann, Paul collected a lifetime achievement award in February this year at the Keeping Blues Alive Awards in Memphis to add to the trophy cabinet. This follows last year’s award at the British Blues Awards where he was named as Harmonica Player of the Year. He took

Richard SIMONSEN (1953-1964) After his visit back to the UK in June 2010, Richard’s friends and former classmates Tony Knowles-Ley and Martin Lippiett are planning something rather special when it comes to meeting up again in 2011. Tony and Martin are planning to take a dozen or so former pupils to meet up with Richard for the October Air Shows in San Diego (Oct 1-2) and San Francisco (Oct 8-9), where his son, a fighter pilot in the US Navy, will be performing as part of the Blue Angels Flight Demonstration. Mel STRIDE (1971-1979) We congratulate Mel on being returned as the first ever Member of Parliament for the newly-created constituency of Central Devon in the 2010 General Election with 51.4% of the vote. Mel was selected as prospective Conservative candidate for Central Devon in June 2006 after his name was added to David Cameron’s so-called ‘A List’. He was the first A-Lister to be selected. He attended Oxford University after leaving PGS where he was a keen debater (having been elected, along with William Hague, as President of the Oxford Union). As a hobby he is a qualified tourist guide (authorised to guide some of the country’s most important sites including the British Museum) and in 2005 he won the Tourist Board ‘Guide of the Year Award.’

Opus offers congratulations to David, who is currently Emeritus Professor for Tropical Medicine & Infectious Disease at the University of Oxford, on his recent award of the Osler Memorial Medal for 2010 from the Oxford University Medical School. This award is made once every five years to the Oxford medical graduate who has made ‘the most valuable and international contribution to the science, art or literature of medicine’. (See page 52 for more about David). Kit WISE (1986-1993) Kit graduated from Oxford University and the Royal College of Art with an MFA in Sculpture. In 1999 he received the Wingate Rome Scholarship in Fine Art to study at the British School in Rome and in 2001 he received a Boise Travel Scholarship, administered by the Slade School of Fine Art, for subsequent research in New York, Egypt and Australia. He went to Australia in 2002 and in 2004 received an Australia Council Presentation & Promotion Grant as curator of the international touring exhibition “Academici: the first five years of the Australia Council Rome Award”. He also received an Australia Council Skills Development grant to study in Tokyo for three months in early 2006. In 2007 he received his third Australia Council research grant for original research in the fine arts. Currently Kit is Deputy Head of Fine Art and a Senior Lecturer in Fine Art in the Faculty of Art & Design, Monash University, Australia. His work is primarily focused on found-object based sculpture, installation, digital animation and web-based imagery, which he has exhibited nationally and internationally.

OPUS • Issue 4 • Spring 2011

Portsmouth Grammar School • www.pgs.org.uk

In memoriam

Jenny A CLARKE (1946-2010)

Opus is saddened to report the death of the following Old Portmuthians and colleagues W. G. (‘Gerry’) BUCK (1930-2011)

We are grateful to Senior Teacher Paul Nials for this appreciation of Jenny’s life. I remember the first time that I met Jenny Clarke. It was some 25 years ago, when I came to PGS for an interview. It was an unusual time of year to advertise a post, just before the autumn half-term and was caused because the incumbent, Barry Penn, had just been appointed as Head of Biology at Ryde School. Nik Knight was the Head of Department in those days and it is thanks to his meticulous note keeping that I am able to write this piece with greater accuracy than would otherwise have been the case. Nik introduced me to Jenny, the laboratory technician, during the obligatory tour of “L Block”. Despite being in the middle of busily setting up apparatus for forthcoming lessons, she greeted me with genuine warmth and took the time to make enquiries about who I was and where I had come from, allaying temporarily the stress of a typical interview day.

Sir Peter Carey, left, (PGS 1919-1927), served as a liaison officer in the Balkans, here with the novelist Evelyn Waugh, right, in Belgrade 1944.

The entire school community was extremely saddened by the sudden death of former Head Porter Gerry Buck on Friday 3 March 2011, just before Opus went to press. We send our condolences to Gerry’s widow Joan and to children Glenn and Geraldine, who both work at PGS. A full tribute to Gerry and his enormous contribution to school life will appear in the next edition of Opus.

Sir Peter CAREY GCB (1923-2011)

Sir Peter died peacefully in February in Cranleigh, Surrey. After leaving PGS in 1941, Sir Peter went to Oxford University (Oriel College) and then on to the School of Slavonic Studies at London University. He spent the war years as a serving officer (Captain), principally as a Liaison Officer in

the British Embassy in Yugoslavia, and in 1945 became an Information Officer at the British Embassy in Belgrade. After a spell in the Foreign Office (German Section), Sir Peter joined the Board of Trade, rising to the position of Under Secretary, before moving to the Ministry of Technology in 1969. A former colleague who worked for him at the Board of Trade recalled how he insisted on meeting everyone shortly after they arrived and before they left the Division. Another move followed in 1971, this time to the Cabinet Office and the post of Deputy Secretary. Sir Peter’s final appointment was as Permanent Secretary to the Dept of Industry where he quickly developed an extraordinarily wide knowledge of who was who among the captains of industry , and he was appointed a KGCB in the Queen’s birthday honours in June 1982. He subsequently held various directorships of companies including Cable & Wireless and the British Plaster Board Industries, and has been awarded Hon Doctorships from the City University, Birmingham University and Cranfield Institute of Technology.

Peter Carey in 1995 at the opening of the Sixth Form Centre with then Headmaster Tony Evans and Chairman of Governors David Bawtree

Peter Carey at PGS in 1939 with James Clavell OP

Sir Peter kindly donated much of his personal collection of books to the school library when he was moved out of the family home into respite care. He was a friend of the late Alan Bristow and late James Clavell, both of course fellow Old Portmuthians, and returned to PGS on many occasions including a ‘Serving the Crown’ reunion in 2002 and as official guest of honour to open the Sixth Form Centre in 1995. Peter is survived by his wife Lady Thelma and three daughters, Yvonne, Wendy and Nicola.

I was duly appointed by Tony Evans and I arrived at PGS in the September of the following year. It was clear from my first few days in the Biology Department that Jenny fulfilled a role wider than her title of “Laboratory technician” suggested. If the teaching staff were the cogs in the machinery of education, Jenny was the key pin in the middle that anchored all of the working parts in place. These were the days before computers, databases and even electric typewriters. Equipment locations and audio visual listings were kept on hand-written record cards, arranged in alphabetical order and located in two neat little drawer boxes. Not that these were necessary, however. Jenny knew the whereabouts of every piece of apparatus, how it worked, which experiments it was

used for and even more impressively, the content and potential audience suitability for every video or film that the department owned. She quickly became used to the tenuous enquiries from the new boy which were usually phrased something like “I need a programme suitable for a fourth year lesson on thermoregulation”. I can honestly say that such requests never stumped her nor were her replies anything other than totally accurate and helpful. More significant was the manner in which this information was given. She had a gift of dispensing advice without interfering. Her thoughts were offered for the listener to consider, accept or reject without pressure. She had the ability to make you feel valued, no matter how busy she might have been. She always took time to listen and talk, leaving one with the impression that she was delighted to help. Totally unflappable, efficient and industrious, her outlook on life was always entirely positive and it was almost impossible to feel negative in her presence. She would always strive to see the best in people, not in a blinkered, unrealistic way but in a manner that recognised their shortcomings were just an inevitable facet of their humanity. These outstanding qualities meant that she was a valued friend and confidante to all of those in Biology. Her patience and in-depth knowledge of the workings of the department were in particular demand in 1987 when David Hampshire, then a full-time biologist, embarked on a year long teacher exchange placement with a colleague from the USA. The success of that exchange was in no small part due to Jenny, who did everything in her power to ensure that our temporary colleague from across the Atlantic settled in quickly and coped with the inevitable clash of cultures that she encountered. I recall in particular that Jenny was very adept at handling pieces of complicated audio visual equipment. Video was very much in its infancy and we still relied heavily on projected films for entertainment. L2 was configured as a classroom/lecture theatre in those days, instead of the laboratory it later became and one of Jenny’s many tasks was to set up the 16mm cine film projector in that room. She was one of the few people capable of taming that whirring, clattering and temperamental monster. The fact that I still have all of my fingers to this day is down to her timely interventions. However, I wouldn’t wish to leave the impression

that Jenny’s talents were purely technical and administrative. On the contrary, she was a capable scientist too. She trained and worked in the Histology Department of the Post-graduate Medical School at Hammersmith Hospital, gaining an Associateship of the Institute of Medical Laboratory Technology after 5 years. She was appointed at PGS in the autumn term of 1976, changing careers after the birth of her two sons, the eldest of whom, Damon, attended PGS as a pupil. The extensive preserved microscope slide collection of the department remains as a testament to her ability as a histologist. In addition to her numerous professional accomplishments, Jenny was an excellent hostess and I remember fondly the departmental gatherings that we attended at her house in Lombard Street. As a young teacher, I can remember being very impressed not only by the lovely décor but also the well stocked wine cellar in the basement! Sadly, Jenny left PGS in 1990 after fourteen years of distinguished service, when her husband Mike, now School Counsellor at PGS, moved to take up a post as a School Chaplain at Hurstpierpoint College in West Sussex. She continued to work in education, variously as a laboratory technician and a Dental Health Education Officer until she and Mike returned to the area and set up home on the Isle of Wight. Jenny continued to work as the science technician at Solent Middle School until she took early retirement on health grounds at the end of January 2010. Her boundless energy, positivity and faith sustained her to the end when she eventually lost her battle against cancer. The large congregation that gathered in St.Thomas’ Cathedral on 23rd June 2010 to celebrate her life during a Funeral Eucharist service showed how much she meant to so many people and that she is missed by all of us greatly.

continued...

OPUS • Issue 4 • Spring 2011

Portsmouth Grammar School • www.pgs.org.uk

In memoriam Andrew FALUDY (1955-2010)

Rob will be remembered and missed by his friends and colleagues for his quick wit and calm, gentlemanly attitude, and for his energy and sense of fun.

Lt. Col. David W TAYLOR (1955–2011)

Twice married, Rob was a loving father who took great pride in his six children and grandchild. Our condolences go to his wife Tania and all his family.

David then went to Cyprus as Senior Staff Officer with responsibility for Ministry of Defence estates. His last Army post was as a Staff Officer at MoD Estates HQ in Sutton Coalfield. After retiring at age 50 he joined a civil engineering company and worked on construction projects in Iraq, Botswana and Dubai. It was at this time during a routine health assessment that asbestosis was discovered.

Christopher LAMBERT (1949-2011)

Andrew was a former member of the PGS English Department (1989 to 2002) and a former Head of Publications. He was a graduate of Sussex University and before joining PGS he taught French and English at Churcher’s College and Media and Communications to mature students at Highbury College. He was a colourful individual with a passion for justice and an unwavering commitment for individual freedom of thought and action. Andrew was a JP on the Portsmouth Bench and a valued advisor on Law to the Careers Department. His interests included winemaking and he was a qualified oenologist – he even founded the PGS Wine Club! Andrew retired from teaching in 2002 through ill health.

Rob HASKELL (1955-2010) Rob (known as Bob during his school years) passed away suddenly in October. He was 55. Rob had a long and successful career, first with IBM, and subsequently with AT&T when it bought IBM’s Global Network interests. Initially prompted by an early childhood in Scotland, Rob had a great love for the natural world. Folk music and traditions were another passion; at one time Rob had a folk music show on a local radio station, and was an enthusiastic member of the Victory Morrismen. This led to a side line as a barn dance and ceilidh caller, working all over England, including some unusual places such as aircraft hangars and HMS Victory. In 1997 he toured Northern China with Victory Morris and called at four ceilidhs.

David Taylor (at approx. 10 years old)

We are grateful to David’s lifelong friend, Wally Green, who served with David on three separate tours of duty with the Royal Engineers, for this information on David’s career.

Christopher attended PGS from1960-1966 and on leaving school he completed teacher training at CF Mott College of Education in Liverpool. His passion was for drama and English and he was appointed Head of English at Manhood High School, Selsey, West Sussex where he also created a Drama department. Christopher moved to Bridport in Dorset in1992 where he took the post of Head of Drama and second in English at Weymouth College. He was also a keen sportsman playing hockey, squash and tennis to a high standard as well as being a stalwart of the Chideock Players Amateur Dramatic Group. Friends described him as ‘the best quiz master in Bridport’. He retired from teaching in 2001 due to ill health. He is survived by his wife, Ann, and their two children.

Cambridge when his tour of duty was over. In 1992 he moved to a garrison in Chilwell, Nottingham, as the Officer in Command of a specialist team of Royal Engineers. He served in Bosnia, where he was involved in assessing damaged buildings for possible use by NATO, and this is how he believed he contracted asbestosis since the material was used frequently in these buildings.

David died on 18th January 2011, at 55 years of age, after battling from malignant mesothelioma. He attended PGS from 1964-1973 and later, after leaving university, joined the Royal Engineers. David’s record card shows that he excelled in many aspects of school life, rowing for the 1st IV rowing team and was described as ‘a boy of high intelligence, vigorous drive, sound balance, pleasant personality and good intentions’, qualities which served him very well indeed for the illustrious military career which followed. He remained firm friends with many former classmates throughout his adult life, including Nick Stevenson OP (19651974), who was a guest at his wedding. Wally first met David when they served together in Germany and Canada and were based at Cambridge. In Germany David commanded 65 Core Support Squadron of Royal Engineers, a heavy engineering unit which was quite unique at that time. In 1983 he served in the Falklands with 53 Field Squadron Royal Engineers returning to

He was highly qualified Chartered Civil Engineer with a passion for engineering and a wicked sense of humour.

Ernest Roy TAYLOR (1919-2010) We are grateful to Roy’s son, Brian Taylor, for this appreciation of Roy’s life. Ernest (known as Roy) was born in Portsmouth and attended Portsmouth Grammar School (from 1928-1937). On leaving school Roy joined the General Post Office (GPO) as a telephone engineer. Simultaneously he joined the Royal Signals TA eventually being called up for the War in 1939. He served as a young officer in General Montgomery’s 8th Army HQ throughout the North Africa Campaign as well as in the Middle East in Iraq and Palestine. He was wounded during the Italian landings at Salerno and was evacuated to Malta where, by coincidence, his Father (who was in the Royal Navy) was serving as an engineering officer in the dockyard. He met Helen, they married in 1944 and had one son, Brian. A source of great delight to Roy was the fact the former Headmaster of PGS (Dr. Hands) is the current Master at Magdalen College School, Brian’s old school. Roy was demobbed in 1946 and returned to work with the GPO in Reading. He continued his studies and qualified as a Chartered Electrical Engineer. One of his claims to fame was the telephone planning and installation for what was then Bracknell New Town. In his spare time

he was an official of “Wot The L Club”, a car treasure hunt, gymkhana and rallying club. Roy developed itchy feet and answered an advert which ended in the family moving to Oporto in Portugal where he was responsible for all telephones in the Oporto area working for the Anglo Portuguese Telephone Company. In 1968 Roy & Helen returned to the UK and settled in Benfleet, Essex. Roy then joined C&W and returned overseas working in the West Indies, firstly Barbados and then St Lucia and then on to Bahrain in the Middle East and Saudi Arabia, where Roy was a consultant advising the Saudi Minister of Communication. On retirement Roy and Helen moved to Gillingham in Dorset into a house they had built to their own design. Helen died in 1997 and after a year or so Roy met and befriended his great companion Mary. They had many happy holidays together. When Mary moved to Seaton, Roy decided to follow and bought a flat across the road from her in 2004. Roy loved to be visited by his granddaughters and their spouses and during the last fifteen months of his life he also got a huge amount of pleasure from seeing his great granddaughter, Megan.

David Edward TENCH, OBE (1929-2010)

working as a tax lawyer at Somerset House. At this time he also started working on a voluntary basis for the Consumers’ Association, contributing to the production of a number of publications for the organisation. In 1969, he joined the Consumers’ Association on a full-time basis as a legal advisor. David worked on the BBC TV programme ‘That’s Life’ with Esther Rantzen as the show’s legal advisor for over 20 years, even making the occasional appearance in front of the camera. He was awarded an OBE in 1987 and retired from the Consumers’ Association as Director of Legal Affairs in 1994. Described by Esther Rantzen as “the consumers’ legal guardian angel”, he was responsible for an impressive array of legislation, including the 1977 Unfair Contract Terms Act and the 1987 Consumer Protection Act. David will be remembered as an energetic, maverick lawyer who enjoyed challenging authority and the Establishment over unfair laws and practices – at a time when consumers had few rights and many within British manufacturing and the media were suspicious of such an organisation. Rosemary McRobert, the former Deputy Director of the Consumers’ Association (which now trades as Which?), described him as “an extraordinary consumer advocate. If it hadn’t been for David, we wouldn’t have got so much consumer legislation on the statute books.”

John DUDDELL (1922-2010) An Apology

David was a solicitor and human rights activist who spent a brief spell at PGS (1943-1944) when his father, a marine engineer in the Merchant Navy, was based at Portsmouth. After leaving school aged 18 David decided to pursue a career as a solicitor. He qualified before undertaking National Service in March 1952. In the Royal Navy, he was posted to Malta, where he worked as a decoder and learnt Russian, reaching the rank of midshipman. In 1958 he joined the Inland Revenue

Regrettably, our report on the death of John Duddell in the last issue of Opus contained inaccurate information. We stated incorrectly “John is survived by his wife Jean and their two sons”. John, in fact, died a widower. His first wife, Jean, died in 1994 after a long battle with Parkinson’s disease. John later remarried but his second wife, Betty, died in 2009. We would like to apologise for any distress or offence caused by this error.

OPUS • Issue 4 • Spring 2011

Portsmouth Grammar School • www.pgs.org.uk Issue 4 • Spring 2011

Keeping in touch with OPs wherever they may be

Joe Stork triumphed in a shortlist of eight applications for the post of PGS Headmaster in 1937. Of the 115 applications received, there were submissions from the Heads of Derby School and King’s School, Chester as well as Senior masters from St Paul’s, Whitgift and Repton and heads of department from Bristol Grammar School, Rugby and Charterhouse. Joe Stork, the 33 year old Head of Biology at Charterhouse, was appointed to succeed outgoing Headmaster Canon Walter Barton. Well-known for his text books, he was the first scientist to run the school. 9

Inside 19

Introducing the new face of science at PGS The Bristow-Clavell Science Centre unveiled

Black Magic! OP Roger on his extraordinary career

Professor John Lee OP (1953-1961)

John is Emeritus Professor of Animal and Plant Sciences at the University of Sheffield. He has been the keynote speaker at the International Eco-Summit in Beijing (2007) and is one-time President of the British Ecological Society. His primary area of research centres on plant responses to pollutant deposition and the adaptations of plant growth in extreme environments. 2

Dr Justin Whatling OP (1987-1992)

Justin is Chief Clinical Officer for BT, Visiting Professor at University College London Centre for Health Informatics, Vice Chair British Computer Society Health Strategy and Policy & Non-Executive Director at BMJ publishing Group Ltd. His wife Rosemary Whatling (née Knight) OP (1990-1992 is a Consultant in Paediatric Dentistry at Barts and the London NHS Trust and is the daughter of former Head of Biology Nik Knight. 3

Cover shows a montage of some of the scientific faces past and present to don a PGS lab-coat.

Professor David Warrell OP (1948-1958)

David Warrell is Emeritus Professor of Tropical Medicine and Honorary Fellow of St. Cross College at the University of Oxford, UK. After training at Oxford, St Thomas’s Hospital and the

OP mariners’ epic voyages to Bermuda, Brunei and Basingstoke!

Portsmouth Grammar School www.pgs.org.uk

26 The Magazine for former pupils, former parents and friends of The Portsmouth Grammar School

Royal Postgraduate Medical School, London, he has lived and worked as a physician, teacher, researcher and expedition doctor in Ethiopia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Kenya, Tanzania, Thailand, Burma, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Papua New Guinea, Brazil, Ecuador, Colombia and Peru. He has published more than 400 research papers and textbook chapters on malaria, rabies, relapsing fevers and other infectious and tropical diseases, comparative respiratory physiology, respiratory diseases, herpetology, venomous animals, envenoming and plant and chemical poisoning. He is a consultant to the World Health Organization (on malaria, rabies, snake bites, anti-venom production), British Army, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Medical Research Council, Royal Geographical Society, Zoological Society of London and Earth Watch International. David has kept in regular touch with PGS since leaving and has been both a guest speaker at Prizegiving and a member of the school’s Development Board. Read more about David in OP News in this issue (please see page 47). Professor Michael Usher OP (1950-1959)

Michael is the retired Chief Scientist of Scottish National Heritage and an Honorary Professor of no less than three Scottish Universities. Whilst a research scientist he met his wife Fionna and discovered a new flea to science on the Manx shearwaters of the Isle of Rum that he named in her honour – Ceratophyllus fionnus!

Anthony Errington OP (1946-1957)

Tony received a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of Houston in 1970 and went on to work on the Apollo and Shuttle Guidance and Control and early Space Station studies while employed by Lockheed Electronics Co at the Manned Spacecraft Centre. During 25 years with the European Space Agency at ESTEC he was responsible for Data Management and Communications Systems development on the Spacelab, Hipparcos, Columbus and DMS-R programmes. He is now a Board Member of the British Interplanetary Society. 6

Simon Scarff OP (1950-1960)

Simon is the Chairman and Managing Director of SmithKline Beecham Consumer Healthcare, based in New Delhi, India. He has been with the group in India since 1978, and was awarded the MBE in 1984 for his services to the British community in India. This was followed in 1999 with an OBE for his services to British industry. 7

James Scott-Brown OP (1996-2010)

James had articles published in Physics Education journal and won €1,000 of scientific equipment for the school in a European science essay writing competition before he left in 2010 to read Natural Sciences at Trinity College, Cambridge. 10

Making Waves

Joe W Stork, PGS Headmaster (1937-1942)

Kieran Bates OP (2003-2010)

Kieran’s enthusiasm for his subject was further fuelled in his last year at PGS, when he secured a summer internship at Berkeley University’s Paleontology Department. The trip, partly funded through an OP Club travel grant, saw him in good stead for the start of his university career at University College London, where he is studying Biological Sciences.

Professor David Rand OP (1951-1961)

David is Chief Research Scientist for the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) in Australia, where he has worked since 1969. He is the leader of the Novel Battery Technologies Group and his primary research interests include the development of batteries and fuel cells for hybrid electric vehicles and solar-based remote area power supplies. He has been the senior Technical Official of the World Solar Challenge, an epic odyssey for solar cars from Darwin to Adelaide through the heart of Australia, since its inception in 1989, and looks forward to the day when PGS enters a team! 11 Professor Jeremy Bloxham OP (1968-1978)

First appointed to the Harvard faculty as an assistant professor in 1987, Bloxham was promoted to full professor in 1993 and assumed the Mallinckrodt chair in 2005. In 2002, he was named a Harvard College Professor, a distinction recognising exceptional undergraduate teaching. He currently serves as the Dean of Science in Harvard University’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Bloxham studies how planets generate magnetic fields, a long-recognised phenomenon that is still not fully understood. His research group has developed a threedimensional numerical model that could explain why the Earth’s magnetic field has weakened by as much as 10% over the past 150 years. Other interests include the application of high-performance computing and visualisation to problems in geophysics. Read more about Jeremy in the Inside Track feature in this issue of Opus.

Nick Coffin OP (1995-2009)

The soon-to-be Doctor Coffin is in his second year at Birmingham University reading Medicine. 13

Mike Taylor

Mike is one of the longest-serving PGS teachers of recent times, a stalwart of the Chemistry Department who Roger Black credits with getting him into Medical School (see article in this issue of Opus.) His two children Matthew and Alison are both OPs. Matthew read Natural Sciences at Cambridge while sister Alison is studying Biological Sciences at Exeter. 14

Babak Javid OP (1984-1994)

Babak, one time ‘Young Immunologist of the Year’ (British Society for Immunology) , is a Visiting Scientist at Harvard University’s Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases and an Honorary Registrar in Infectious Diseases at Addenbrooke’s Hospital. He specialises in the study of the unique aspects of the translational apparatus of mycobacteria. 15 Professor Michael Craddock OP (1945-1954)

As part of the Canadian contribution to the Large Hadron Collider project Michael and his graduate students have collaborated in various aspects of its design, and in the upgrades of CERN’s existing accelerators to form its injector. Michael was one of the OP donors who helped to create the school’s Memorial Library. 16

Dr Alex Webb

Alex joined the Chemistry Department at PGS in September 2009. 17

David George OP

David cites his Biology teacher Ron Wells as instilling in him a lifelong fascination for the sea. He has a BSc in Zoology and a PhD in Marine Biology and began a career with the Natural History Museum with a senior research fellowship in 1965. A longtime council member of the Marine Conservation Society, which he chaired from 1984-1988, he is also an accomplished underwater photographer, and has been a member of the British Society of Underwater Photographers since the late Sixties as well as being voted best British Underwater Photographer. His textbook Marine Life which he co-wrote with wife Jennifer (who is Head of Biological Sciences at the University of Westminster) is widely regarded as the definitive guide to marine invertebrates. Although semiretired, he has recently worked on a project in Abu Dhabi examining the biology of coral reefs that have been decimated by rising sea temperatures.

Peter Russell OP (2005-2010)

P J is pictured here in his last year at PGS enlisting the help of Minister of State for Schools, Nick Gibb MP, in a science practical experiment. He is now reading medicine at Cardiff University. 19

Professor John Lee OP (1959-1969)

John Andre Lee is a consultant at Rotherham General Hospital and clinical professor of pathology at Hull York Medical School. Lee gained his medical degree, a BSc. and a Ph.D. in physiology at University College London. He is most notable to the wider public as co-presenter (with Gunther von Hagens) of Anatomy for Beginners (screened in the UK on Channel 4 in 2005), Autopsy: Life and Death (Channel 4, 2006) and Autopsy: Emergency Room (Channel 4, 2007). 20

Royston Powell OP (1934-1939)

Roy won a scholarship to PGS in 1934 and built short-wave receivers. This led him to join HM Signal School in 1940 as a laboratory assistant helping to develop radar for the Royal Navy. After the War he was appointed to the new Atomic Energy Research Establishment at Harwell and assisted in the development of radiation detection equipment. This work also took Roy to Oceania where he measured radiation at atomic bomb trials on Pacific coral atolls. He headed up Harwell’s instrument Technology Group, based in Bracknell before retirement. Roy was a great friend of the school and to the Development Office, taking a central role in drumming up support for the 2004 Development Campaign, part of which was to install and equip a brand new science laboratory. Sadly, he never saw the school’s Bristow-Clavell Science Centre finished before he died last year, but his proud daughters Mary Lord and Sally Goodman attended the official opening of the building and made a very generous donation to the building in his memory. 21

Nick Weaver

Nick took up his new challenge as Headmaster of Ipswich School last September following 3 years as Director of Studies and member of the Physics Department. He combined his love of music with his subject to broaden its appeal to pupils. Few will forget the famous ‘The Science behind the Electric Guitar’ lecture he gave in order to demonstrate electromagnetic induction! 22

Sophie Giles OP (2003-2010)

Sophie, a 2010 leaver, is in her first year of Medicine at Birmingham University. It was a remarkable year for prospective medics, with a total of 23 pupils leaving to read Medicine, Veterinary Science and Dentistry at university.

OPUS • Issue 4 • Spring 2011

Dr Jamie Kennea OP (1985-1992)

Jamie is a Swift X-Ray Telescope instrument scientist at Pennsylvania State University. 24

John Murphy OP (1995-2009)

John describes his fourteen year school career as “a long journey, but one that I have immensely enjoyed.” He decided to study dentistry at Bristol University, as it linked a strong practical and scientific element with the enjoyment of interacting with individuals from all walks of life. He already has his sights set on a postgraduate degree, possibly into maxillofacial surgery. He writes: “Upon finally leaving school I have realised how much PGS has done for me and I am grateful. I hope I can continue with the same success that I have enjoyed with the help of PGS so far.” 25

Dr David Hide OP (1956 Leaver)

After qualifying from Bristol University in Medicine, David started work in paediatrics, firstly as a registrar in Portsmouth, then as Senior Registrar in Bristol and Plymouth. He then went to the Radcliffe Infirmary in Oxford, before taking up his first Consultant’s posts in Swindon and Cirencester. David eventually took the opportunity to move to the Isle of Wight, where he continued to work in paediactrics and began research into asthma and allergies. The David Hide Asthma and Allergy Centre at St Mary’s Hospital is named after David, who died prematurely aged 58 in 1996. 26 Professor Peter Henderson OP (1952-1962)

Peter did three years postdoctoral work after attaining his PhD from Bristol University in Madison, USA. He moved to Cambridge in 1975 and, during his 17 years there, enjoyed a sabbatical year in Japan and was also Director of Studies, Tutor and then Vice-Master at Sidney Sussex College. His main area of research has been sugar transport into, and antibiotic efflux out of, bacteria. Peter’s recent appointments include Reader in Molecualr Biology of Membranes, University of Cambridge, Dean of Research, Faculty of Biological Science, University of Leeds and Canadian Commonwealth Research Fellow. 27

William Hazell, Headmaster (1837-1855)

Hazell was a keen naturalist, who collected books and pictures and was an early enthusiast for photography. 28

Jock Clear OP (1972-1982)

Jock is a senior race engineer working for Nico Rosberg. Previously he his been race engineer for Rubens Barrichello (from 2006 to 2009) and Takuma Sato (from 2003 to 2005). Clear graduated in 1987 with a degree in mechanical engineering from Heriot-Watt

Portsmouth Grammar School • www.pgs.org.uk University, Edinburgh. In November 2007 Clear was awarded the title Doctor of Engineering by Heriot-Watt “in recognition of his outstanding success in applying engineering science in the most demanding and competitive environments and as a role model to young engineers.”

Emma is a former PGS Senior Prefect and 2010 leaver who is in her first year at Bristol University studying Veterinary Science. 35

Professor Andrew Lyne OP (1950-1960)

Andrew is Langworthy Professor of Physics in the School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Manchester, as well as an ex-director of the Jodrell Bank Observatory, which he is pictured in front of with HRH The Prince of Wales. Despite retiring in 2007 he remains an active researcher within the Jodrell Bank Pulsar Group. 30

Professor John Jeffers OP (1936-1942)

John was the Director of the Institute of Terrestrial Ecology from 1976-1986 and was visiting Professor for the Universities of Newcastle, Kent and Greenwich at various times throughout his career. 31

Dr Ben Boyes OP (1992-1999)

Ben is a lead engineer on the project at EADS Astrium to design a six-wheeled robot that can work autonomously, making its own decisions about picking the best routes across the boulder-strewn, undulating landscape of Mars. The rover-the most sophisticated ever built-is due to explore the Red Planet in 2015 as part of the European Space Agency’s ExoMars mission. The original rover was named after the French actress Brigitte Bardot, albeit with the anglicised spelling, and some in the team wanted to name the new rovers after the Minogue pop divas Kylie and Dannii. In the end, though, the team settled on Bruno and Bradley to alliterate with the original rover’s moniker. Ben has even shown off the capabilities of an advanced prototype of Bruno on BBC TV’s Blue Peter. 32

Jennifer Tilbury OP (2003-2010)

Jennifer has the distinction of being the first girl from PGS to read Electrical Engineering at University. She left in 2010 to take up her place at Cardiff and has just been awarded a four year scholarship with Rolls Royce (flight engines). 33

Kenneth Budden OP (1928-1933)

Kenneth started his career at the Telecommunications Research Establishment, before moving to the British Air Command in Washington DC in 1941. This was followed by a post with Air Command, SE Asia. Kenneth returned to Cambridge after the war (from where he graduated), becoming a Fellow of St John’s College in 1947, and was involved in research there for many years. He was a reader in Physics from 1965-1982 , and became an FRS in 1966. Read John Sadden’s article in this issue of Opus.

Emma Hales OP (1996-2010)

Oliver Twinam OP (2001-2008)

Oliver, holder of the Wolfson Bursary at PGS gained a clutch of A grades at A Level enabling him to embark on a university career at Trinity College, Cambridge, where he is reading reading Natural Sciences. 36

Nik Knight (1968-2006)

Former Head of Biology, Nik cites his upbringing at Monmouth in the Wye Valley for instilling a love of wildlife in him. He went on to read Natural Sciences at Cambridge University and specialised in Zoology. A request by a group of pupils for a club for people too young to join the school’s Field Club, combined with his wife Gill’s experience of teaching at the Children’s Centre at the Natural History Museum, led to Nik forming the Wildlife Club in his first term in post. The Club is still thriving today and meets every Wednesday lunchtime. Retirement has given Nik the opportunity to get involved with more local nature conservation, including bat monitoring in the New Forest. 37

Roger Harris OP (1943-1951)

Roger devoted his life to the service of PGS, both as a pupil and as a teacher. As a pupil, he was a member of the very last PGS 1st XI football team and of the first PGS Rugby XV team when the school changed its winter sport in 1948. He was House Captain of Smith and also Head Prefect, leaving PGS in 1951 to read Chemistry at Oxford. He returned to PGS as a much-loved teacher of chemistry in 1958, offering his skills and time, not only in the classroom, but as a Rugby coach, a CCF officer, founder of the Adventure Training scheme and, for many years, Head of Smith House. 38

John Aitchison OP (1977-1984)

John is a wildlife cameraman and photographer. He’s worked on many BBC programmes including Big Cat Diary, Springwatch and Yellowstone, for which he has recently been awarded a BAFTA for Best Cinematography. Read more about John in OP News in this issue. 39

Alan Edgar Bristow OP (1933-1940)

Alan founded one of the world’s largest helicopter service companies, Bristow Helicopters Ltd, which prospered primarily in the international oil and mineral exploration and extraction industries but also spread into search and rescue, peacekeeping and other fields. He provided helicopter spotting services for Aristotle Onassis ‘s pirate whaling fleet in the Antarctic and later sold helicopters to several whaling fleets before being engaged

by the legless former fighter pilot Douglas Bader in 1955 to provide helicopter services to oil exploration platforms in the Persian Gulf. Bristow Helicopters Ltd eventually expanded to cover most of the globe outside Russia and Alaska, with notable profit centres in the British North Sea, Nigeria, Iran, Australia, Malaysia and Indonesia. For his services to aviation he was honoured with an OBE in 1966. A keen equestrian, Bristow represented Great Britain at four-in-hand carriage driving with the Duke of Edinburgh and used his engineering expertise to develop a driverless urban rapid transit system. He died on April 26th 2009, aged 85 and is permanently commemorated, along with his PGS classmate and lifelong friend, James Clavell in the school’s new flagship science building, The Bristow-Clavell Science Centre. 40

Bill Taylor (1972-2008)

Bill spent 36 years teaching Physics at Portsmouth Grammar School becoming Head of Physics, Chairman of Science, Senior Teacher (teaching and learning) and acting Second Master. In his ‘spare’ time he was an inspector for the Independent Schools Inspectorate. He is the immediate past President of the Havant Rotary Club and has just been appointed as Education Director of the King’s Theatre, Southsea. Read more in this issue of Opus. 41

42 Professor Mark Birkinshaw OP (1966-1972)

Mark is William P. Coldrick Professor of Cosmology and Astrophysics at Bristol University. He works on the large-scale structure of the Universe and the properties of the massive objects contained within it, using both observation and theory. He has been closely involved with NASA’s Chandra satellite before launch, and uses it and other space-based and ground-based telescopes from X-ray to optical to radio bands in order to study galaxies, especially those hosting massive black holes and showing signs of unusual activity. 43

Ron Wells

Ron was in charge of the PGS Biology Department for thirty years from 1947. Ahead of his time in recognising the importance of conservation, he was an important figure in the establishment of local nature reserves, conservation societies and in the in the collection of biodiversity data. Following his retirement from school in 1977, Ron continued to participate keenly in Sixth Form biology field courses and to act as a taxonomic consultant to the department. In 1998, Ron’s many contributions to the Portsmouth community were acknowledged by the award of the Royal Maundy. Ron sadly passed away in 2000.

Ian Osterloh OP (1965-1971)

Ian is a clinical researcher for Pfizer, Inc. who led the development of sildenafil citrate (better know as Viagra), as well as a number of Pfizer medications for cardiovascular disease.

Richard Simonsen OP (1953-1964)

Richard is the inaugural Dean of Midwestern University, College of Dental Medicine, in Glendale, Arizona. From 1989-1999, he was Global Professional Services Manager for the 3M Company, Dental Products Division. Until 1989 he was Professor and Chairman of the Department of General Dentistry at the University of Tennessee, Memphis. Richard is the author of numerous scientific publications and has lectured in over 30 countries. He is the developer of the Preventive Resin Restoration procedure and the etching of porcelain for esthetic and restorative procedures and has been awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award from the World Congress of Minimally Invasive Dentistry and as well as being recipient of the Distinguished Service Award from the American Society of Dentistry for Children.

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Did you know that mo able electronically? including Opus are avail r updates from us In order to receive regula ng events, please with news of forthcomi ur up to date email be sure to let us have yo address. ment@pgs.org.uk Drop us a line at develop

James Ware OP

One of the earliest pupils of the school in the 1760s, became a surgeon and oculist and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1802. 46

Alastair Hornby

Alastair Hornby was a Physics Teacher at PGS between 1956 and 1984 (latterly Head of Physics) whose bequest to the school helps fund two Sixth Form Scholarships in Science and Mathematics. His name is included in the list of benefactors read out by the Headmaster on Founder’s Day.

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Portsmouth Grammar School www.pgs.org.uk