Opus issue 7 by The Portsmouth Grammar School

Issue 7 • Autumn 2012

EXCLU

SIVE!

See over impressio leaf for artist ’s no Sixth Fo f proposed new rm devel opment

Keeping in touch with OPs wherever they may be

Inside 50 Shades of Grey: The amazing half-century PGS Rugby Reunion that sparked a Fleet Street scrummage! 21st Century Learning Space: Transforming the PGS Sixth Form experience

Hitting a Century! Portsmouth: home of Cage Cricket

Party of the Century! An OP volunteer’s perspective of the Olympic Opening and Closing Ceremonies The Magazine for former pupils, former parents and friends of The Portsmouth Grammar School

bridging

the gap

Tr a n s f o r m i n g t h e P G S S i x t h Fo r m E x p e r i e n c e

YOU’RE ALREADY PART OF PGS’S PAST – NOW HELP BUILD ITS FUTURE PORTSMOUTH GRAMMAR SCHOOL’S SIXTH FORM CENTRE DONATION FORM You can help us by giving as much as you can. Every donation helps. Please detach and complete the form overleaf and return it to: Portsmouth Grammar School Development Office, FREEPOST PT192, Portsmouth PO1 2YX Telephone: 023 9268 1392 | Email: development@pgs.org.uk | www.pgs.org.uk

Portsmouth Grammar School • www.pgs.org.uk PLEASE WRITE IN CAPITAL LETTERS Donor’s Details Name ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… Address ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… Postcode …………………………………………… Email ………………………………………………………………………………… Telephone …………………………………………… GIFT AID IT! I want Portsmouth Grammar School to treat all donations I make as Gift Aid donations. I am a UK taxpayer and confirm that all my gifts to Portsmouth Grammar School are and will be made out of my UK taxable income. This declaration will apply to all subsequent gifts. Signature ……………………………………………………………………………. Date ………………………………………………… · You must pay an amount of income tax or capital gains tax, equal to the tax that PGS reclaims on your donation in the tax year. If, in the future, your circumstances change and you no longer pay income or capital gains tax, please notify the school. · I f you pay tax at the higher rate, you must include all your Gift Aid donations on your Self Assessment tax return if you want to receive the additional tax relief due to you. · Please notify us if you change your address

MAKING A SINGLE GIFT I would like to make a gift of:

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By cheque, payable to: Portsmouth Grammar School (Please mark ‘SFC’ on the reverse of your cheque) By direct bank transfer to Portsmouth Grammar School, Lloyds Bank plc, A/C Number: 01076699 Sort Code: 30-93-04 (BIC Number: LOYDGB21361 / IBAN Number: GB48 LOYD 3093 0401 0766 99). Please reference your donation with SFC2013 Please debit my:

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Name(s) on card ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… Signature ……………………………………………………………………………. Date ………………………………………………… MAKING A REGULAR GIFT BY STANDING ORDER To the Manager of (name of Donor’s bank) ………………………………………………………………………………………………… Donor’s Bank Address ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… Postcode ……………………………………………… Donor’s Account No …………………………………………………. Donor’s Sort Code ……………………………………………… Donor’s Account Name(s) …………………………………………………………………………………………………….………………. Please pay the monthly / quarterly / annual sum (delete as appropriate) from my account number above for a period of ……… years until a total of ……………… payments have been made, commencing on ___/___/___ to Lloyds Bank plc, A/C Name: The Portsmouth Grammar School, A/C No: 01076699, Sort Code: 30-93-04 Signed by Donor(s) ………………………………………………………………………. Date ………………………………………… We would like to acknowledge publicly all donations. Please tick, however, should you wish to remain anonymous

ON BEHALF OF US ALL AT PGS, THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT

If you would like to discuss your donation or would like details of how you can support the school with a gift in your Will, please contact the Bursar, Don Kent on 023 9236 4250

OPUS • Issue 7 • Autumn 2012

Portsmouth Grammar School • www.pgs.org.uk

bridging

the gap

Tr a n s f o r m i n g t h e P G S S i x t h Fo r m E x p e r i e n c e

Dear Old Portmuthian

From its humble beginnings in 1732, The Portsmouth Grammar School has striven to provide education of the highest quality, supporting and developing individual talents within a strong community framework. This purpose continues to provide the underlying ethos of the school today. In order to remain at the forefront of excellence in teaching and learning, the school is about to embark on its most innovative and ambitious building project to date. Plans have just been released for a brand new, dedicated Sixth Form Centre which will equip pupils with independence and self-reliance, motivate them and promote learning as an activity, support collaborative as well as formal practice, provide a personalised and inclusive environment, and be flexible in the face of changing needs. This year PGS is celebrating the 85th anniversary of the opening of the Senior School on its current High Street site. This only happened to come about when the War Office were willing to sell the derelict officers’ block of Cambridge Barracks. Headmaster at the time, Canon Barton, addressed the Old Portmuthian

Club Annual Dinner, telling his audience that “There are times when the large thing to do is the only thing you can afford to do. This is a large thing. Great cities and little minds go ill together: nothing large is done without sacrifice.” Barton’s words launched an appeal that resulted in donations from across the

Old Portmuthian community which enabled the school to purchase and convert the building. Here, Headmaster James Priory spells out his vision for the Sixth Form and makes a direct appeal to all Old Portmuthians to support this unprecedented investment in the future of the PGS Sixth Form.

wha – pl will The n ew teve eas c A PGS r yo e he ost the Sixth Sixth Form u ca lp us sch For n on to ool m bu education should r e t not be an impersonal he a ach up to ilding ttac this £4 m exercise in conformity. It hed targ illio should be a deeply personal, liberating d We o nati et by n experience in which the journey becomes have on f givi more rewarding than the destination. orm ng therefore We are no longer pursuing an education . commissioned

At The Portsmouth Grammar School we believe our pupils should be happy and successful, in that order; as the culmination of their time at the school, it would be natural to expect the Sixth Form to be a particularly fulfilling and rewarding time. A successful Sixth Form, however, also prepares pupils for the next important stage of their lives – for university and future careers – which is why we also believe that we should think about where our pupils will be when they are 25 rather than simply at 18. How, then, do we ensure that our pupils have the knowledge and experience, the creativity and versatility, the resilience and integrity to thrive in such a fast-moving and competitive environment? How can we best support them in leading fulfilled lives and in fulfilling their potential to lead, not simply by standing out from the rest but by giving back and influencing the world for the better?

system that looks to create people to fit jobs. Our responsibility is to create an environment that provides the conditions for greater roundedness, versatility and a lifelong love of learning. As a day school we have the advantage of being considerably cheaper than the boarding alternative; our Sixth Form bursary programme makes PGS more accessible for bright pupils from low income families; parents also see the value of sending their child to a larger Sixth Form than most other smaller local independent schools can provide. Successful delivery of the International Baccalaureate diploma programme makes us even more distinctive in the area.

architects to scope, at the centre of the Main Quad, an inspirational, new Sixth Form Centre over three floors on the site of the existing building. The building will be naturally lit and spacious, a green building which affirms the sense of belonging to a motivated, welcoming and collaborative community.

With over 300 pupils, we provide a dynamic, co-educational Sixth Form experience. Pupils have the benefit of a choice between A Level and the International Baccalaureate diploma, an enormous range of co-curricular opportunities and outstanding pastoral support. The Sixth Form has grown by 50% since the current Sixth Form Centre was built in 1995. The ground floor area, which comprises the café and main social meeting space, is inadequate for the number of pupils we accommodate. The first floor teaching rooms and staff offices are limited in size and inflexible in layout. In 2011-12 nearly 40 pupils joined the school in Year 12. Our current facilities, however, are limiting factors in being able to sustain and potentially expand the size of the Sixth Form through improved retention and enhanced external recruitment.

continued...

OPUS • Issue 7 • Autumn 2012

Portsmouth Grammar School • www.pgs.org.uk

Nick Gallop

dedicated Careers space will also be available to former pupil undergraduates or graduates who are struggling to find suitable employment or who need advice and resources to further their fledgling careers. The area will also allow us to expand and build upon our successful ‘Working Lunch’ programme, whereby Old Portmuthians drawn from all manner of industry sectors give pupils the inside track on their professions in an informal setting.

This signature building will be immediately visible as you enter through the Main Archway, deliberately placing at the centre of the school the distinctive experience on offer for the Sixth Form. Moreover, ensuring that the new building is woven into the very fabric of the school, the first floor learning zone will be connected via an aerial walkway to the rest of the school. Whilst the facility is, first and foremost, designed for Sixth Form use as a pre-cursor to Higher Education and the workplace, the physical link to the rest of the school means that it can be used to introduce different year groups to the concept of finding and using information and resources on their own before they commence their Sixth Form studies.

The new centre will accommodate a large ground floor social area with a dedicated café and exhibition facility. On the upper floors, large classrooms and a suite of seminar rooms with Harkness-style tables will be designed to stimulate discussion and debate.

Our aim will be to attract and retain high calibre pupils and teaching staff who wish to become part of the life of a Sixth Form which prepares our young people successfully for university life and the world of work.

THE PORTSMOUTH GRAMMAR SCHOOL UNIVERSITY DESTINATIONS OF A LEVEL AND IB LEAVERS 2010-2012 AVERAGE Oxbridge - (11%)

Other - (14%)

Cambridge (Colleges include) Clare, Christ’s, Gonville and Caius, Homerton, Magdalene, Murray Edwards, Queens’, Robinson, Selwyn, Trinity, Trinity Hall

Aberdeen, Brighton, Brunel, Coventry, Edge Hill, Glamorgan, Goldsmith’s, University of London, Guildford School of Acting, Guildhall School of Music & Drama, Heythrop, University of London, Hull, Kent, Kingston, Lincoln, Northumbria, Oxford Brookes, Plymouth, Portsmouth, Royal Veterinary College, School of Audio Engineering, St George’s, University of London, Swansea, Trinity College Dublin, University College, Falmouth, University of the West of England, Bristol, Winchester

Russell Group (55%) Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Durham, Edinburgh, Exeter, Glasgow, Imperial College London, King’s College London, Leeds, Liverpool, LSE, Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham, Queen’s Belfast, Queen Mary, University of London, Sheffield, Southampton, University College London, Warwick, York

There is intense debate about how best children or students think, learn and work – for one thing, the technology that is open and accessible to current school pupils is completely different from any experienced by previous generations. And current school pupils are also set to face a professional world that is completely different from any faced by previous generations: one that is characterised by far more regularly changing employment environments, employers and teams. Skills of adaptability and resilience will be highly prized as will be the ability to join and work within rapidly changing teams, to solve problems quickly and effectively and to innovate when faced with ethical and/or commercial dilemmas.

The combination of a social, pastoral and administrative Sixth Form Centre with its own flexible teaching spaces will put blue water between PGS and other Sixth Form provision available in the region.

A suite of offices and meeting spaces will provide a dedicated base for Higher Education advice and Careers mentoring, as well as for the Sixth Form pastoral team, the IB Director and associated administrative staff, with rooms designed to host pupil and parent visitors. The

Oxford (Colleges include) Brasenose, Lady Margaret Hall, New College, Pembroke, Queen’s, St Catherine’s, St Hugh’s, St Peter’s, Trinity, University, Wadham

Head of Sixth Form

1994 Group (20%) Bath, East Anglia, Lancaster, Leicester Loughborough, Reading, Royal Holloway, University of London, St Andrew’s, Surrey, Sussex

This is a hugely exciting time for us all at PGS, but we cannot contemplate undertaking a project of this scale without your support. Please help us in whatever way you can to create an enduring legacy for successive generations of young men and women educated at Portsmouth Grammar School.

We’re hoping to create an environment that lives up to those demands and expectations: that allows those employability skills – social or reflective, collaborative or independent – to flourish alongside sustained academic development; an environment that is quite genuinely ground-breaking in its conception.

Zoe Rundle (joined Junior School in Reception) I like the freedom – to continue writing for The Portmuthian (I want to be a journalist), to play in the netball team and to use study periods in the library. The best thing about the Sixth Form is the people – if the centre was bigger, there’s no doubt more would be able to come to make the most of it.

Charlie Scutts (joined the Sixth Form from Felpham Community College) The biggest change for me is learning from teachers who are so dedicated to their subjects – who seem to thoroughly enjoy their jobs and are able to communicate that enjoyment to the pupils. It’s also fast-paced – I’ve been on a trip to Parliament, listened to Sir Max Hastings and talked at a Model United Nations conference…All in the space of a week!

Rohan Ahlawat (joined Junior School in Year 5) The biggest two differences are the independence to study and learn how best suits you, and also the relationships with staff who understand that people sometimes progress at different rates. Coming through from the Junior School, a dedicated Sixth Form Centre that you could study in and work in with others would be perfect.

Rebecca Turner (joined the Sixth Form from Portsmouth High School) Luckily I have always enjoyed the experience of change. If I didn’t I wouldn’t be able to study subjects – like Politics – that my previous school didn’t offer or pursue my interest in CCF. I’ve only been here for half a term but I’m already so pleased I came.

OPUS • Issue 7 • Autumn 2012

Portsmouth Grammar School • www.pgs.org.uk

Contents Cover: PGS 1st XV 1962/3 Rugby Squad recreate their team photo in the school quad. Read David Thorp’s account of a an unforgettable reunion weekend in this issue. Photograph courtesy of Richard Simonsen OP

Opus designed by Simon Udal OP (1977-1987) Simon Udal Design - www.simonudaldesign.co.uk

Back row, left to right: John Fifield (54-64), John Grant (58-65), Graham Wingate (56-65), Keith Dingle (56-63), John Hopkins (55-63), David Thorp (53-63), Dick Kendall (57-63), Dick Churm (55-63).

Front row: John Owens (53-63), Richard Simonsen (53-64), Peter Cunningham (56-63), Ken Bailey (captain)(56-63), Chris Clark (53-64), Barry Squire (56-63), Keith Tomlins (56-63).

In Brief - A round-up of OP news and events 7-8

Pipe Racks & Bookends - Thoughts of an old OP 37

“I didn’t get where I am today... by not going to PGS.” A profile of John Barron OP

We’re Going on a Bear Hunt! - Matt Allen OP 38-39 9

Curtain Up! Profiling Benji Sperring & Ian Nicholson OP 10-11 HOPPY - A profile of John Derek Hopkinson 12-14 Ask the Archivist - Questions answered by John Sadden 15 The Inspiring Mr Spiral - Martin Richman OP 16-17 Peter Lodder QC – 2012 Prize Giving Guest of Honour 18-20

Submariner Down Under - How the legacy of an OP may save a depressed Australian bush town 21-23

Bookshelf - Portsmouth & Gosport at War 39 Play together, Stay together - 1962 Ist XV reunion 40-43 Inside Track - Joe Michalczuk OP 44-45 We need to talk about Percy

The Original Bulldog - Peter Barclay 46-47 Singing for your Supper - Annual OP Club Supper 48 OP Summer Tennis and Cricket Matches

News of Old Portmuthians

50-51

Diary of a Games Maker - James Cockcroft OP 24-25

In memoriam

52-54

PGS Mum does Pompey Proud

Under Starter’s Orders! - Bupa Great South Run 54

Minnows and Sticklebacks - John Owens OP 26-28

And Finally... A farewell from Alasdair Akass, Development Director 55

Bookshelf - My Back Pages - Nigel Grundy OP 29 “This energy could be most useful ” A profile of Stephen Weeks OP 30-31

A Fair Cop - Sir Arthur Young OP 32-33

A round-up of OP news and events

Trio of OP runners helps Pru take strides towards recovery London-based best friends and OPs Emma Jenkins (19942003) and Lucy-Ann Henry (1996-2001) are combining their efforts to raise money for a charity close to both their hearts. The Prunella Ellwood Appeal is a charity raising money for Emma’s cousin Prunella. Tragically Prunella, a 23-year-old Army officer, was left in a coma following a car accident last December on her way back to barracks. Following 6 months in Addenbrookes Hospital in Cambridge and as many operations to her brain, Prunella has recently been transferred to the Royal Hospital for Neuro-Disability in Putney where it is hoped that intensive rehabilitation may bring about some improvement in her condition. Since she faces long periods of rehabilitation and countless necessary home modifications, the charity aims to provide funding and

emotional support for Prunella and her family. In attempting the Great South Run in October and returning to Portsmouth, the pair are teaming up with Emma’s brother and fellow Old Portmuthian, Simon Jenkins (1993-2006). All three will be venturing into unknown territory, having never run a distance race before. “That is”, Emma says, “unless you include my and Lucy-Ann’s top ten school cross country triumph when we capitalised on a short rest in the bushes to find a tremendous sprint finish! The three of us spent many happy years at PGS but none of us were exactly known for our sporting achievements; I just wish Mr Blewett was still with us so I could shock him by telling him I’m going to run ten miles of my own volition! Fully aware that those tried and trusted childhood methods won’t help them raise their £1,000 target, the pair are currently touring the many parks of London as part of their training routine. Determined to succeed, they are drawing on previous voluntary experiences to help keep

them motivated. As Emma commented: “Volunteering as a water distributor at this year’s London Marathon was a real inspiration. To see so many people pushing themselves to the limit in the name of charity really stimulated my thinking. That experience was one of the big reasons I chose to raise money in this way.” Those wishing to donate to this amazing cause can do so online by visiting the Appeal’s website at www.peaf.org.uk

Left to right: Simon Jenkins, Emma Jenkins, Debbie Jenkins, Suzi Ellwood, Tom Ellwood & Pru Ellwood

Gift in OP’s Memory gives bright outlook for pupil lessons

The Tudor King - A Celebration of the Life of the Distinguished Historian A. F. Pollard 34-35 Cage Cricket – “From Street to Elite”

In Brief

Back Cover: Peter Barclay surveys the scene at Hilsea Playing Fields, September 2012. Read Peter Cunningham’s affectionate portrait of a PGS legend on page 46. Photograph courtesy of Richard Simonsen OP (1953-1964).

Alasdair Akass

Liz Preece

Sue Merton

John Sadden

Chris Reed

Development Director

Development Officer

Development Office Administrator

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

Photographer in Residence

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

Lieutenant Colonel David Taylor attended PGS from 1964-1973, and sadly died at just 55 years of age in 2011 after battling with malignant mesothelioma (see obituary in Opus 1). David’s record card revealed that he enjoyed and excelled in many aspects of school life and his widow Terri was determined to ensure that there was a permanent reminder of him at the school he was very proud to have been associated with. From her home on the island of Cyprus, Mrs Taylor got in touch with the Development Office to establish if there was a piece of equipment or apparatus that would be of practical benefit to further teaching and learning at the school, that would serve as a memorial to her late husband. Thanks to Mrs Taylor’s generosity, PGS can now boast its own electronic weather station

on the roof of the Bristow-Clavell Science Centre which includes a rain collector, temperature and humidity sensors, barometer and anemometer. The weather station sends data to a console inside the building which displays current and historical data including rainfall, inside and outside temperatures, humidity, air pressure, wind speed and direction, wind chill, moon phases and short term weather forecast. Pupils in science and geography lessons have full access to the data and use it in lessons looking at meteorology and climate change; science lessons focusing on computer models of air pressure and circulation; and in maths lessons looking at statistics.

If you would like to commemorate a lovedone with a gift of school equipment, please get in touch with the Development Office at development@pgs.org.uk or telephone 023 9268 1392. continued...

OPUS • Issue 7 • Autumn 2012

Portsmouth Grammar School • www.pgs.org.uk

In Brief

“I didn’t get where I am today... by not going to PGS.”

continued

Back to the Fold delighted to see that he was still on the staff. Responding to my contact, he kindly agreed to meet me and offered me a two week placement at PGS where I would be able to see and experience what it would be like to be a part of school life from the “other side”, as it were. As you can imagine it was quite a surreal moment walking back under the main arch after nearly eight years, seeing how much had changed and and what remained the same. It was a particularly unnerving experience to be welcomed into the staff room and come across teachers who I’d last seen as a pupil. I left PGS in the summer of 2005. After a combination of working and travelling my passions have led me to where I am today - studying Theology at a college in London. As part of my studies I am required to do a placement with a chaplain. A chaplain is someone who represents the church in an institution such as a school or the military. I considered PGS for a number of reasons. I have thought about the possibility of teaching or working in a school as a chaplain myself in the future and so I wanted the opportunity to observe someone with experience in this area. The school chaplain at PGS, the Reverend Andrew Burtt, had been a great inspiration to me during my time at school so I was

I thoroughly enjoyed my fortnight’s return to my former school, catching up with familiar teaching staff who had taught me and getting to know other members of staff and pupils. It was particularly encouraging engaging with pupils in the classroom about philosophical and theological ideas and theories which certainly helped to reinforce my decision to focus on a career working with young people. Very quickly in one of the first lessons I observed, it became clear how much the pupils knew about other religions and philosophical ideas. Topics ranged from the arguments of Thomas Aquinas on apophatic theology to debating ethical issues such as abortion and stem cell treatments.

On my last day I was given the opportunity to speak at a Year 10 assembly. I told the pupils that when I was at school my Dad was rarely able to watch me play hockey. But at one of my last school games, playing at the Whale Island pitch, Dad managed to put in an appearance. I remember wanting him to witness me having the best game ever, but I ended up playing terribly. The thing was, however, I knew that no matter how well or how badly I had played, at the end of the game my Dad would still put his arm around my shoulder and would tell me that he loved me. I was able to tell the pupils that, as a Christian, this is exactly what God does if we believe in Him. My faith means that, no matter what I do, whether it is playing sport or writing essays, all that I am is built on my relationship with Jesus, because when everything else has wasted away, God has promised to love me and give me, and anyone who believes in him, a life to the fullest. I am so glad to have had an opportunity to return to PGS and that it has been so instrumental in shaping the path for my future. Ben Pearson OP (2000-2005) The school is always willing to accommodate work-shadowing requests from OPs who are considering teaching. Please contact the Development Office for further details.

Lest we Forget In preparation for the centenary in 2014, the school is planning a unique project to commemorate OPs who died in the First World War. The hope is that every OP’s grave and memorial will be able to be visited, respects paid and a photograph taken for inclusion in a school Book of Remembrance. Most graves and memorials are in the UK, France and Belgium, but others are further afield, including Turkey, Egypt, Greece, Iraq, Israel and Tanzania. If you are able to help in any way, for example by including a visit to a cemetery or memorial, or know of anybody in these countries who might be willing to help, please contact the school archivist John Sadden on 02392 681391 j.sadden@pgs. org.uk (Further details will appear in the next edition of Opus.)

Left: the school’s World War One memorial and above: Arthur Cook, one of the OPs commemorated on it.

Not a lot of people know that the actor who played the booming, egotistical, tyrannical, cliché-loving boss C.J. in the original (and best) Reginald Perrin television series, once attended Portsmouth Grammar School. But John Barron’s PGS career was to be a brief one. John Netterville Barron was born on Christmas Eve, 1920, and brought up by his actress mother. He attended Edinburgh House School in Lee on the Solent from the age of ten until fourteen. The school was given its name by a Scottish headmaster who had taken over the former Royal Naval School in Manor Road.

Barron started at PGS in September 1935 but only stayed for seven months. The Headmaster during Barron’s time was the autocratic Canon Barton, who, unlike C.J. at Sunshine Desserts, managed to lead Portsmouth Grammar School to expand and thrive. The boy could not decide what he wanted to do with his life. His absent father was recorded as being a farmer, but there was no indication that he wanted to follow in that particular furrow. His mother, exasperated by the boy’s indecision and ignoring any advice not to put her son on the stage, persuaded John’s godfather to pay his fees at RADA, where he started in 1938. And so he embarked on his acting career in repertory companies, but this was soon interrupted by wartime service in the Royal Navy as a Lieutenant. Following demobilisation, Barron returned to directing in rep, but was offered more substantial roles in the West End.

Barron in The Power Game 1966

In the late 1950s, Barron landed his first regular television role in Emergency Ward 10, the first successful British soap. He went on to feature in many well-known television series of the next three decades including The Avengers, The Saint, Softly, Softly, Timeslip, Doomwatch, Shelley, To the Manor Born, All Gas and Gaiters, Crown Court, Whoops Apocalypse, Potter, Yes, Minister and of course The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin. As Reggie’s boss C.J., Barron portrayed a character that is familiar to us all and his catchphrase, “I didn’t get where I am today by….”, caught on across the country. This simple phrase gave the writer, David Nobbs, infinite possibilities. “I didn’t get where I am by engaging in hanky-panky, willy-nilly,” was a particularly notable example. Barron became active in the actors’ trade union, Equity, and served as president for four years. Film work included The Day the Earth Caught Fire (1961), Jigsaw (1962) and Hitler – the Last Ten Days (1973). He died in 2004 shortly after appearing in a Comedy Connections programme celebrating the Reginald Perrin series. John Barron’s seven months at PGS, which according to his record ended prematurely due to ill-health, clearly made its mark. His entry in a TV Times directory dating from the 1970s cites the school as his sole alma mater, though he commented that his education suffered because of the many changes of schools he experienced. Nevertheless it seems that he was proud of his association with PGS and recognised that in some way it helped him get where he got.

Barron playing C.J. in The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin

John Sadden The Life and Legacy of Reginald Perrin (1996) by R. Webber TV Times directory (undated) I didn’t get where I am today (2003) by David Nobbs.

OPUS • Issue 7 • Autumn 2012

Portsmouth Grammar School • www.pgs.org.uk

Curtain Up!

expedition that carried with it the hopes of a nation and was a symbol of British spirit and endeavour.

The Last March is Ian’s affectionate portrait of the great British polar hero, Captain Scott and his life and death race against the merciless Norwegian explorer, Roald Amundsen, from its hopeful beginnings to the snow-swept tragic end.

The settings could not be more different. This autumn, in a coup de théâtre for PGS, two very different plays will receive their world premieres in London and the West Country with OPs directing and featuring in the cast. One, a new adaptation of Matthew Lewis’ gothic romance The Monk, is set in and around the sultry and sinister monastery of the Capuchins in Madrid, while the other takes place in the desolate landscape of Antarctica, in a play commemorating the centenary of Robert Falcon Scott’s ill-fated race to the Pole. Here Opus takes time out in the green room to talk to Benji Sperring and Ian Nicholson, whose dramatic vision is bringing these two very different human stories to life. of Ambrosio, the most pious monk in all Madrid. The promotional blurb - written in blood-red ink and released just before Halloween – chillingly promised that, “no-one in the auditorium will be safe, and as the action builds, the theatre itself is dragged into Hell.” Very fitting then that Benji managed to secure a three-week run in London’s only subterranean theatre, the beautifully-atmospheric Baron’s Court Theatre, lit only by candles and deep within the vaults of the Curtains Up pub in Kensington. Benji Sperring

This October former PGS Director-inResidence Benji Sperring (2010-2011), now at Dulwich College, launched his theatre company, Tarquin Productions, with a new dramatisation of the Matthew Lewis’ 1796 Gothic masterpiece (and A Level English text) The Monk. Benji set up Tarquin as a platform to transpose classic works of literature to the stage and introduce them to new audiences.

Matthew Lewis’ original book was a sensation when it was originally published, dividing the sensibilities of its readership between adoration and revulsion. Two hundred years on, the text still retains the power to shock the modern audience, and is seen as the cornerstone of the Gothic movement, a genre notoriously popular in theatre and art. The Monk follows the spectacular fall from grace

No one who saw Benji’s Kings Theatre productions for PGS will ever forget them: Sweet Charity so wickedly suggestive but just the right side of decency, which delighted its audience with its lead actresses in brightly coloured wigs; and Wizard of Oz which played visual tricks with every new scene, from the Kansas scenes in black and white to the crows played only by the actors’ hands.

production Sweet Charity, was now in her first year studying at the Guildford School of Acting and jumped at the opportunity to make her debut on a professional stage. The Monk has just completed its run and has been lauded by theatre-goers and critics alike, with over 10,000 people venturing underground in West London to see it. Among the stable of titles that Benji has in the pipeline to bring to the stage are Evelyn Waugh’s Decline and Fall, T.S Eliot’s The Waste Land and The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe.

Ian Nicholson

Ian Nicholson’s premise for The Last March could not be further removed from the claustrophobic setting of The Monk. In re-creating the vast Antarctic expanse, the eerie backdrop to the ill-fated Terra Nova expedition, he has employed sound recordings mimicking the Pitteraq, the notorious and terrifying polar wind and says that he will be using “spirited humour, frantic physicality and bucket loads of revitalising tea” to bring to life an

Ian left PGS to read English and Drama at Birmingham University. He then went on to gain a Masters in Actor Training at London’s Central School of Speech and Drama and at the acclaimed École Philippe Gaulier in France. Since then, he has been an in-demand theatre director and acting coach who has recently been appointed as a new associate artist with Portsmouth’s New Theatre Royal. He has been focusing on the theatre’s appeal for children and developing a theatrical adaptation of Jon Klassen’s children’s classic I Want My Hat Back using music and puppetry. He is currently working on a collaboration with the city’s D-Day Museum Like Benji, Ian is launching his new theatre company This is Tinder with the play, which runs from 20 December to 12 January, at another subterranean performance space, Exeter’s awardwinning Bikeshed Theatre. He saw the centenary milestone since the pioneering Briton’s epic vision came to the cruellest conclusion as the perfect time to re-tell a story of amazing fortitude, cruel misfortune and fatal misjudgment to a theatregoing audience. Ian describes the show as “a thrilling, chilling winter tale for all the family”

Visit the company’s new website www.tarquinproductions.co.uk for more details about what they plan for 2013.

Benji, who spent a year’s residency at Eton College before coming to PGS, facing such a complex and important launch pad for Tarquin Productions, was determined to surround himself with seasoned industry professionals. However, in casting the play’s female lead, Antonia, Benji went back to his PGS roots to track down a young talent whose commitment and stage presence had made a lasting impression on him. Lucy Dascalopolous, whom he had cast in the eponymous role in PGS’s acclaimed 2011 musical an

News of Scott’s reaching the Pole one hundred years ago and his death with his four colleagues did not reach Britain until a year after the event and came as a terrible shock. For the memorial service at St Paul’s Cathedral, there was a bigger crowd than turned up after the sinking of the Titanic. When the service finished, Scott’s sister Grace said, “I never imagined anything so wonderful and uplifting.” In 1913 nearly a million people went to see Scott’s Sledging Journals on show at the British Museum. Robert Falcon Scott’s status has altered a great deal since then, and his renown has been somewhat overshadowed by later explorers such as Ernest Shackleton, Edmund Hillary and James Clark Ross, but Ian hopes that The Last March will help to engender a new-found respect for Scott’s uniquely British blend of courage and ambition. Tickets for The Last March can be purchased from the Bikeshed Theatre box office on (01392) 434169. Further details on Ian’s forthcoming projects can be obtained by emailing him at info@thisistinder.co.uk

OPUS • Issue 7 • Autumn 2012

Portsmouth Grammar School • www.pgs.org.uk

HOPPY A profile of John Derek Hopkinson

displeasure, was enough to ensure that the exploits of Eskimo Nell, Sir Jasper and other luminaries of the rugby players’ limited repertoire remained unexplored on these occasions, the words dying on the lips of even the most battle-hardened of veterans – those whose seniority, thickness of limb, lowness of brow and luxuriance of facial hair (usually prop forwards) had allowed them to assume squatters’ rights on the back row of seats.

May 2011, and, prompted by the visit to these shores of Anglo-Norwegian speedster and US-based international tooth man Richard Simonsen, a number of OPs who played 1st XV rugby in 1962/3 were rounded up at short notice to meet at the Still and West in Old Portsmouth. The nostalgic icing on the cake was the presence at the gathering of coach John Hopkinson, looking marginally less svelte than in former times – as indeed we all were – but still displaying robust good health and a fine head of hair. fateful for the way his life was to unfold. Not only did it lead to a lifetime’s teaching career at PGS, but it was also there that he met Meg, his wife of some 63 years. Whilst the former consequence has been a matter of deep satisfaction and pride to Hoppy, the latter has no doubt provided him over the years with the even deeper satisfaction that comes from the irreplaceable experience of a long and rich family life.

The 50th anniversary reunion of the whole 1962/3 team in September 2012 gives us the opportunity to celebrate Hoppy’s contribution to PGS over some forty years and reflect on his rich professional and personal life. Hoppy was born in Chesterfield in 1925 and distinguished himself early on in the sporting field by captaining the football team that won the 1936 Chesterfield Primary Schools Cup. He gained a scholarship to Chesterfield Grammar School – also, coincidentally, Wally Bartle’s alma mater – and in 1943 was awarded an economics scholarship to Nottingham University, tenable after the war. A propos of Wally Bartle, Hoppy recounts the day that the Evening News rang up the common room and asked what PGS was planning to do about an impending solar eclipse. Wally Bartle, answering the phone, paused briefly before replying magisterially: ‘We have decided to let it proceed’. Instead of taking up the place to read economics, however, Hoppy decided to study physical education and embarked on a PE course at St Paul’s College, Cheltenham, a decision that was to prove

Hoppy’s teaching career was preceded by a spell in the Royal Navy and from 1945 he served with 804 Squadron in the Fleet Air Arm – service which accounts for the commanding figure he was later to cut when he commanded the Naval Section on the parade ground at PGS and paraded his nautical skills on the Clyde. This was followed by a further period of study at Loughborough College, where he took a final year PE diploma, before starting teaching in Weston-Super-Mare. 1949 remains, I suspect, a year deeply engraved on the Hopkinson consciousness. In July of that year he and Meg were married and a couple of months later he took up the post of Head of the PE Department at PGS, a post that he was to occupy with distinction for many years. As well as teaching PE in both lower and upper schools, he also taught geography, and in 1961 graduated with an external honours degree in geography from the University of London. I am indebted to the Old Portmuthian tribute written by his friend and colleague, Ray Clayton, on the occasion of Hoppy’s retirement in 1990 for details of his sporting achievements and teaching career. Hoppy was a regular member of Loughborough UAU XV, a college (now university) with a consistently fine

reputation for the standard of its rugby. He played for Portsmouth and was a regular Hampshire county player in the early 1950s. In addition to being a rugby player of some distinction, he was also a fine athlete, and his coaching duties encompassed both disciplines. He took over responsibility for school rugby in 1955 and ran the 1st XV for the next ten years. He was also for 17 years coach of the Hampshire schools 19 group. As master in charge of rugby early on in my own teaching career I found myself much influenced in my style of coaching by Hoppy’s example. Disappointingly, I never managed to master the piercing whistle that he conjured up by the simple insertion of a couple of fingers in the mouth. I had instead to make do with the promisingly-named Acme Thunderer, a superior whistle to be sure, and one capable of producing a satisfying noise, but it lacked the relaxed authority invested in the fortunate possessor of the fingers in the mouth method. As departmental head, Ray Clayton was well placed to assess JDH’s contribution to the teaching of geography at PGS, particularly in the geological field, where he established the geology A-level course and was responsible for the burgeoning collection of geological specimens.

Hoppy’s contributions to school life were varied and far-reaching. He and Meg accompanied ski trips to Norway, Austria, Switzerland and France. In the pool Hoppy coached swimming, water polo and life saving.

In the gym he presided over lower- and middle-school boxing, his clearest memory of which is the last-minute removal of boys’ spectacles as a preliminary to them advancing myopically toward their opponents, arms describing optimistic circles in the air. For 30 years or so he took part in annual field trips to Cumbria, where geographers would disport themselves in conditions of some hardship and occasional dissipation, returning to hint darkly at goings-on that would have to remain a closely-guarded secret. During one of these field trips, Hoppy remembers being presented with some murky looking crystals by one of the devious youths comprising his group and being asked to analyse them. Observing the boy sniggering in the background, Hoppy applied a quick taste test, which revealed the crystals to be brown sugar from a Keswick coffee shop. Bold indeed was the youth to dare to put Hoppy’s credibility as an analyst on the line in this way. A teacher of Hoppy’s experience and natural authority does not escape without significant extra duties coming his way. He was housemaster of both Eastwood and Grant houses and impressed himself on those under his tutelage through his firm yet friendly approach. This air of easy authority was also a distinguishing feature in his dealings with the rugby

teams he coached. Hoppy was a tolerant man, but he would leave you in no doubt of his feelings. I remember to this day him comparing my squat thrusts unfavourably, and to my mind rather cruelly, with those of my younger brother. These things hurt. However, Hoppy was to reveal himself as a sound judge of character when the same brother, believing PE teachers to be experts in all aspects of physical prowess, asked him to teach him unarmed combat. Realising that to place any such knowledge, however rudimentary, in the hands of one so callow would be a grave mistake, he simply shook his head and replied, ‘too dangerous’. Wise man. A memory that surfaces unbidden is of return coach journeys after away matches when the team gave full throat to a range of faintly bawdy songs, the tunes and words of which seem genetically implanted in rugby players. Generally Hoppy tolerated these vocal travesties, but on occasions when there were much younger boys on the coach, or if Mrs Hoppy (as we called her) was travelling with us, he would react if the singing threatened to overstep the mark. The sight of his craggy features advancing along the aisle of the coach, brow furrowed in

He was involved in the early days of competitive tennis, played on specially marked-out courts on the garrison commander’s lawn. Hoppy was an enthusiastic member of the school choral society and recalls particularly performing at the Royal Albert Hall under the mercurial direction of John Davison. He tells of once seeing on a notice board outside Southsea Synagogue a large head and shoulders photo of JD. Underneath, in bold capitals, stood the legend MESSIAH. A fitting tribute, some might say, if somewhat underplaying his importance in the grand scheme of things. Rarely are pupils vouchsafed insights into the more colourful aspects of their teachers’ lives.

A trawl among my contemporaries has, however, revealed a most unlikely connection between Hoppy and Mick Jagger. It appears that when Hoppy was a young man, and prior to his appointment at PGS, he was staying in a place where beds in lodgings were in short supply and he had to take whatever he could get. This turned out to be a double bed shared for three continued...

OPUS • Issue 7 • Autumn 2012

HOPPY

Ask the archivist

...continued

months with Mick Jagger’s father. As a result of this intimacy Hoppy was to get to know the Jagger family well. The story might be apocryphal, but since its source is the son of a former deputy headmaster of PGS, respected man of business and all-round pillar of society I have every confidence in its likely truth. The image of Hoppy hanging out with the Rolling Stones is one that is too felicitous to give up easily. Another former team mate recounts how Hoppy’s encounter with a student teacher’s unorthodox teaching methods left him bemused. The young man had decided to use a poker school to teach his charges how to calculate probability and a lively game of five-card stud ensued. When the novice had to leave the room for a few moments the noise level inevitably rose and Hoppy emerged from the gym to investigate what was going on. When it was explained to him that the anarchic scenario unfolding before him was serving the cause of statistics teaching, he forbore to comment further and sought the sanity of the gym, his face, as my informant puts it, expressing sheer disbelief. In his tribute, Ray Clayton expressed the hope that Hoppy would be able to spend even more happy hours on the golf course and that he and Meg would be blessed with good health and happiness in the ‘halcyon days’ that lay ahead. Happily, this hope has been more than realised

Portsmouth Grammar School • www.pgs.org.uk

and Hoppy and Meg have been kept busy in retirement by their wide range of interests and activities. Hoppy has continued to operate Pembroke Tutors, the small business that he launched in 1979 and which he managed until 2005. He served for ten years as Chairman of 1st Portsmouth Sea Scouts and was the founding treasurer of the local National Decorative and Fine Arts Society. He has been a keen golfer and member of the Southwick Park (HMS Dryad) and, more recently, of the Furze Hill Club at Denmead. He maintains close contacts with Portsmouth Cathedral, where he is a sidesman and a member of the team tending the memorial garden. (‘More Last of the Summer Wine than Groundforce’, he says). All this has been enriched by the company of their five grandchildren and visits to family in South Africa, France and Switzerland. They have travelled widely: North and East Africa, Syria, Tunisia, Morocco, Egypt. (‘Ancient visitors exploring ancient sites’, as he puts it). Hoppy underlines how grateful he is for the way in which the ‘old and the bold’ have always been invited to school functions by successive headmasters, ensuring that close contacts with the school have been maintained. Few people, I think, are aware of Hoppy’s keen interest in foreign languages. At our meeting last year he told me that he had learnt Russian while waiting for Meg in the supermarket car park. I assume

“Thunderer and Chunderer”

that this was over a number of visits, not just the one; in the latter case it would represent a formidable exploit indeed, but even in the former it is not without merit. Knowing that I have spent my career as a French teacher, Hoppy put me on the spot by questioning me closely about the vagaries of the French numbering system, specifically why there are different words for the numbers in different regions. It sent me scurrying to Le Bon Usage, the standard reference book on the French language, in an attempt to find the answers to his searching questions on something to which I had previously given little thought. It is only natural that tributes such as these have a valedictory feel to them. They not only celebrate the lives of those who are their subject, but they lead us to think how our own lives have been influenced by them. With the benefit of hindsight we can see that those who taught us at our most impressionable age were just like us, with the same quota of strengths, weaknesses and foibles. Some teachers mark us for life, leaving a deep and lasting impression, instilling in us a sense of values that we might be unaware of at the time, but which make themselves apparent with the years. John Hopkinson was such a teacher and his influence has indeed been far-reaching. We can only hope that the ‘halcyon days’ will be prolonged for many years yet to come for both Hoppy and Meg. And I’m going to get to the bottom of those wretched French numbers! Chris Clark OP (1953-64)

The hugely enjoyable reunion of the now legendary first XV of 1962/63 this autumn gave me the opportunity to talk to many OPs about their time at PGS and, as ever, I was pleased to receive several donations to the school archive. These included a pair of 1960s rugby shorts (washed), courtesy of Derek Case (1953-64), and a strange green tie with a curious symbol which I was unable to decode. This “Ask the Archivist” column, then, turns the tables.

Roger Crouch taking a break from thundering and chundering, in 1962.

The tie was donated by Roger Crouch (1953-63) who, as a self-confessed “spare”, was called in from the second XV to fill in whenever wingers Simonsen or Hopkins were injured. Roger happily explained the origins of the “Thunderer and Chunderer” tie:

“It is a reminder of a bunch of Old Portmuthians who left Portsmouth Grammar School in the early 1960s and who played together and stayed together throughout their lives. The initial bond and common interest were kindled by the then Geography master Ray Clayton, who led annual school field trips to the Lake District, based at the Braithwaite huts. Invitations to the annual rite of passage were extended to those non-geographers who loved the Lakes, the daily fell walks, and, not least, the chance of a pint of real ale in the evening.

and not too much walking became more desirable. Also the culminating activity of the human pyramid as shown in some of the Men and Boys photographs gradually reduced in height from its peak of four levels to two as backs got weaker with age. So, why the bucket and lightning flash with a puce green background? How do I put this in words that are repeatable or printable? Suffice it to say that the copious quantities of Derbyshire ale that our younger bodies were able to put away in those days sometimes had predictable consequences. Overnight flatulence was a regular feature and on occasions a brief foray outside the tent was required. All rather immature, but many of us were always late developers.

The “Thunderer and Chunderer” emblem.

As for the future, we have every intention of continuing the gettogethers, although plastic and metallic joint replacements, together with various other body repair jobs, are starting to limit the physical side of the reunions. For the record, and my apologies to those I have overlooked, the following Old Portmuthians have featured regularly in Thunderer and Chunderer activities: Tom Burnham, Roger Crouch, Andrew Dooley, Richard Dore, David Fawkner-Corbett, Bill Henderson, Dick Kendall, Roger Pope, Peter Stemp, David Thorp.“ The good condition of Roger’s tie suggests that, thankfully, it did not see active service in the “chundering” aspect of this fondlyremembered rite of passage of half-a-century ago, and it takes an honourable place in the Portsmouth Grammar School Archive.

Setting off on the annual field trip to the Lake District with Ray Clayton

The pull of the Lakes and the friendships made were such that many continued the pilgrimage after leaving PGS, hitch-hiking there and back in ones or twos (those tales alone would fill another book). Initially we camped, cooking and sleeping under canvas, even when wives were eventually coerced into attending, and the sight of the Ths and Chs emerging on hands and knees from tents in black ties for the Saturday evening celebratory dinner was unusual to say the least. As the years progressed, the comforts of a good hotel bed and breakfast

OPUS • Issue 7 • Autumn 2012

Portsmouth Grammar School • www.pgs.org.uk

The Inspiring Mr Spiral My new schoolmates and I had spent a term together at Highland Road infants’ school when Martin Richman arrived. I’m not sure why he was later than the rest of us but in nearly sixty years since then he’s not been too bothered by convention.

Martin Richman at PGS, circa 1960

A few years later we moved together to the Lower School, then on to the Middle and Upper Schools – we were not always in the same form but remained close pals, sharing in particular a fondness for art and music, which led us both to fulfilling careers. It was the ‘Summer of Love’, 1967, before we were parted pedagogically as he went to study graphics at Portsmouth’s Art College and I flirted briefly with a life in music but even then we stayed together. Martin and his college pal Geoff Allman developed Portsmouth’s finest psychedelic lightshow and worked at our performances, before becoming the bestknown local lightshow including gigs at the old South Parade Pier with bands like Yes, Traffic and Velvet Underground. When college days were over, Geoff went to Manchester where he still runs a graphics company and Martin sought greater opportunities in London, which became his home.

For some years he was ‘on the road’, managing the lighting for Chris de Burgh but in the early 1980s he went back to college and obtained a fine art degree at St Martin’s. As a student he began by studying painting and also developed his knowledge of lights and lighting in environmental installations and freestanding pieces. In the years since, he has established himself as a professional artist in two and three dimensions and a variety of media, including the imaginative development of his work in light, whether projected or reflected.

Sometimes we find his work in conventional gallery shows – in 2001 his “Come to Light” touring show had some weeks in Portsmouth’s (original) Aspex Gallery (Brougham Road) and he exhibits all over the world. A quick look at his CV on his website www.martinrichman.com reveals shows in Brussels, Glasgow, London, New York, Paris, Sunderland, Toulouse and Venice, while increasingly, as befits an artist who began with lightshows manipulating social environments, much of his work is to be found enhancing and changing everyday places and spaces.

Sometimes he works in previously dark and forbidding spaces – for example under old railway bridges in and around London – introducing ephemeral ‘materials’ that literally ‘lighten’ the experience of being there. Other projects work on transforming or shifting focus on large buildings. At Birmingham’s “Energy from Waste” building he has introduced cladding that reveals elements of the interior, while the towers gradually change colour. In Derby a large building is decorated with a large 3D spiral – one of Martin’s signature images. This same image runs under the feet of everyone who passed across one of the bridges to the Olympic Park in the summer of 2012 after Martin won a competition organised by the Olympic Delivery Authority. The bridge work, “One Whirl” plays with the idea of ‘One World’ sought to echo the ambitions of the games themselves, seeking he says “to express the energy and vitality not only of the games themselves but also the area” which is very close to his East London home. Further, the work utilised certain waste materials from this formerly industrial environment so that all the materials were “recycled, providing an ecologically sound visual engagement ….for…future users”. More generally, he says of these spirals

that they are “life forms” that “pile up” and “interconnect” as symbols of life’s energy and the creatures of the world. This is an entirely clear and acceptable explanation for images that might be seen by the lay spectator as essentially ‘abstract’ but his work is equally redolent of our days as close friends growing up in Southsea. We lived ‘around the corner’ from each other, just a few minutes walk from Southsea seafront and the park areas that stretch from Canoe Lake to Lumps Fort and further east, and we spent many hours around those areas with the Solent as a constant boundary on one side. We grew to love Southsea’s park, the beach and the sea so it is no surprise that his work has a concern for environmental issues – it was an inestimably rich, cheap and healthy playground. I see too in his art a fascination with its horizon, shifting light, shimmering sea, reflections, swirls and whirls. There are many echoes of the visual riches and delights of Southsea and the Solent beyond.

This of course takes me back to our bright summer days – for example the spirals that emerged in the rock pools, formed by the breakwaters in the receding tides. Those breakwaters are buried now but they were a source of fascination around the area known from its graffiti as ‘The Snake Pit’- and those steep concrete beach steps, now reduced in scale from mounds of shingle, can be found in his ‘steps’ piece (“Pleasure Beach”). But the qualities of light were not merely those of bright summer days for we had much pleasure being there in the autumn and wild winter too – especially at high tide playing ‘Chicken’, running from one set of steps to another as the waves crashed in. Always there was that sharp horizon, those glistening waves and that deep canvas sky. On other days we followed the Solent towards the Harbour Mouth and indulged our teenage excitement with pop culture and fashions, lounging nonchalantly ice blue Wrangler jeans (from Shirt King of course), at Billy Manning’s “Waltzer”, avoiding the gaze of the Teddy Boys, willing the gaze of the teenage girls and tapping to Elvis or the Shadows blaring from crude sound systems. As dusk came, the funfair’s neon lights glared and flashed – another strong visual experience we shared but the final key influence for Martin was his alone, for Martin is Jewish and he often speaks of the importance of the symbols and structures of his faith - in particular, the Synagogue’s interior, artefacts and rituals.

I enjoy these perceptible differences between our visual inheritances for it adds a mystery to the familiarity of those we shared on Southsea’s seafront. His art works as the best art often does because it attracts visually yet demands thought and is both general and highly specific – accessible to all but with features and qualities that enable individuals to connect it to their lives and experiences. Dave Allen OP (1958-1967)

Bristol City Council commissioned Martin to design this installation, comprising ten tripartite steel beacons set among fountains, as part of a £4 million harbourside regeneration project

Martin created this labyrinth of sand and light at Jesolo Lido beach in Venice

OPUS • Issue 7 • Autumn 2012

Portsmouth Grammar School • www.pgs.org.uk

Peter Lodder QC –

2012 Prize Giving Guest of Honour Whether the skills honed as an active member of PGS Debating Society help Peter Lodder as one of the country’s leading criminal barristers is not known, but the surviving school records suggest that he was no stranger to winning arguments in a challenging environment. Peter joined the Portsmouth Grammar School as a fifteen year old from King’s School, Gloucester. He was noted as being ‘sensible’ and ‘clearheaded’ as well as demonstrating resourcefulness, enthusiasm, intelligence and confidence, qualities which served him well as a Prefect and which made him popular with his fellow pupils. His sporting interests included tennis and hockey and he was a member of the triumphant Grant House team in the 1975 hockey league. Peter’s grandfathers had been a milkman and a bus driver, and his father joined the Royal Navy as a boy sailor and rose through the ranks to become an officer. Sadly, he died before Peter started at university, but no doubt he would have taken pride in the fact that Peter was the first member of his family to go to

university and graduate, and the first to enter the legal profession. He gained his Law degree at the University of Birmingham and, to finance his training, worked as a court clerk at the Old Bailey during the week and as a factory worker from 6am to 10pm on Saturdays and Sundays. A turning point came when Peter won the Jules Thorn Senior Law Scholarship, an award made by the Honourable Society of the Middle Temple and reported in The Portmuthian in 1983. This award enabled Peter to concentrate on qualifying as a barrister. Peter has been a Recorder of the Crown Court since 2000, and was appointed a QC in 2001. “Taking silk” has resulted in Peter taking on a wider range of challenging and serious cases. He has an extensive practice

in serious and complex fraud and moneylaundering cases, and a heavy workload in general crime including murder, drug and confiscation cases and high-profile road traffic cases. Peter’s views on high-profile trials and changes in the law are often sought by the media, and he has contributed to many topical programmes, including Unreliable Evidence and The One Show. Last year the Government’s legal aid proposals prompted Peter to write that the cuts “would leave many children, vulnerable people and families without any meaningful access to justice.” Peter was elected as Chairman of the Criminal Bar Association in 2008-9, ViceChairman of the Bar in the following year and Chairman of the Bar in 2011.

Address by Peter Lodder QC : My car was broken into recently; my children thought it was incredibly funny that not one of my CDs was stolen. So I am well aware of the generational difference between this former pupil and you current pupils. It is a privilege and a pleasure to be here. Thank you Headmaster for the generous comments you have made about my career. I am reminded of that great US Statesman Adlai Stevenson: “It is OK to listen to praise, so long as you don’t inhale it.” With such an introduction you might have expected the signs of early promise to appear in a catalogue of school achievements. But you will search in vain for my name in past prize giving records. Mine was a modest performance. However it was a very important time in my life. I come from a Portsmouth family with a little character: In the mid 1870s, my great-great uncle (then a young sailor in his twenties) had his hands amputated after they were crushed in an accident on his ship in the dockyard. He was fitted with two metal hooks and earned his keep each day on the seafront renting out a telescope to passers-by to look at the fleet. “Hooks” liked pubs and was highly skilled at sliding a pint glass across the bar with one hook so that it dropped into the middle of the other hook without spillage.

Every generation has inspirational teachers; for me that person was Ted Washington. Ted lost his sight in a terrible school cricket accident at the outset of his career at PGS, but he continued to teach history at the school until retirement. He maintained firm discipline, and remembered the voice and correct seating position of every boy in his classes. I had only been here for a few months, when my father was diagnosed with terminal cancer. Ted Washington remained strict but also showed great kindness. He was a model for coping with adversity. Certainly what I learned is that life is what you make of it. Especially if you are a little creative…. A few years later, in 1981, I was travelling through India. I was a passenger on a motorbike being driven by an Iranian student. We were heading for Bombay/ Mumbai where we had reserved a bit of deck space on an old steamer, which sailed along the west coast to a then little known place called Goa. As we drove down the main street in Pune a taxi pulled straight out in front of us and we collided. Immediately a gaggle of people gathered, and the irate taxi man declaimed hypocritically against bad foreign drivers. I was worried that we would miss our boat, but I was even more alarmed when my companion confessed that he had mislaid his driving licence. Fortunately I had mine so we ducked down, crawled out of the crowd, swapped crash helmets and then

crawled back in, just in time for the arrival of the police officer. It was clear I was destined to be a lawyer. My early training was in general commonlaw, which covered a wide range of civil work. Newly qualified, I was instructed in a trial for a respondent insurance company. The claimant’s camera was stolen whilst he was on holiday. He had taken it to the beach. When he decided to swim, being on his own, he buried the camera in the sand under his towel. On his return it had gone. The insurance company refused to pay out. They accepted that he was entitled to take it to the beach but maintained that he had not done enough to look after it. He was incensed and taking a point of principle, sued. I was instructed to maintain the insurer’s robust stance before the idiosyncratic judge at the Southend County Court. As the claimant’s barrister was about to start, the Judge cut straight across and went for me. “What do you say he should have done?” Not entirely confident of this part of my case, I repeated the insurer’s suggestion that he should have put camera into a waterproof bag and then worn it around his neck as he swam.

“Don’t be ridiculous Mr Lodder” came the Judicial retort, “He might have been mugged by an octopus.”

My Father also joined the Royal Navy, starting as a boy sailor and eventually becoming an officer. So although we moved often, we regularly returned to Portsmouth and that is how I came to PGS in 1973. Names from the staff room I knew have slipped into legend: Ray Clayton (so recently died), John Hopkinson, Max Snelling and John Marsh to name but a few. Geography Field Weeks in the Lake District remain a fond memory.

Peter Lodder QC with Headmaster James Priory

Presenting the Neil Blewett Award to Taylor Langford Smith OP (1998-2012). The Award is presented in recognition of the dedication of a pupil who is a true ambassador of the school and whose achievements have been accomplished in the spirit of the school’s values.

continued...

OPUS • Issue 7 • Autumn 2012

Portsmouth Grammar School • www.pgs.org.uk

Peter Lodder QC –

2012 Prize Giving Guest of Honour Sensing that my strengths might lie elsewhere, I moved towards criminal law. Gradually I developed quite a good practice. Lawyers are not unique, but we do deal, day in and day out, with people in a state of acute anxiety: they may have suffered catastrophic injuries, or have been bereaved in dreadful circumstances, they may risk losing their children, or their liberty, or their homes. This is where a well-rounded education really proves itself. I was fortunate enough to become a QC and now specialise in fraud, fashionably known as business crime, and murder – what I don’t now about firearms, knife wounds and blood spatter patterns isn’t worth knowing. It is a rewarding and fascinating job. It does require a great deal of hard work. I am often asked what I would have done if I had not become a barrister and in truth I don’t know; ‘What if ’ questions can be difficult. In an idle moment at a formal dinner Henry Kissinger asked Chinese Premier Deng Xiao Peng how the world might have differed if Nikita Kruschev had been assassinated instead of John F Kennedy. He paused, “Dr Kissinger, I think we can be sure Mr Onassis would not have married Mrs Kruschev.”

r e d n U n w o D r e in r a m Sub

(continued)

It was a great privilege to be elected to lead my profession last year. It took me to many different countries, into the world of politics, into international legal affairs, and helped me to better understand the importance of the rule of law. I often referred to Martin Luther King ‘Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere’. It was a challenge in many different ways. Not the least being last November, when I led a Bar Council delegation to Beijing and Tianjin. We were honoured with a banquet, hosted by the Minister of Justice. I was briefed that I would be invited to drink (possibly many) toasts and it was impolite to decline. The drink was a particularly strong version of Mao Tai, the glass to be downed in one. So I was relieved when, through his interpreter, the Minister apologised that because of a cold he would not be able to drink much. However, following the first toast he declared that he was much better, it was clearly a good cure and that in the interests of my own health we must have more. By the end of the evening we were incomprehensible to our fellow countrymen, but seemed to understand each other perfectly well without the interpreter. As an English A level student at PGS I studied Thomas Love Peacock, 19th Century satirist. He described one of his characters, Scythrop, as

“sent, as usual, to a public school, where a little learning was painfully beaten into him, and from thence to the university, where it was carefully taken out of him; and he was sent home like a well-threshed ear of corn, with nothing in his head” Not so at this school; tonight we celebrate a well rounded education. So again I would like to congratulate each of the prize winners, and also to congratulate their parents and to congratulate the inspirational staff of this generation.

ian How the legacy of an Old Portmuth sh town may save a depressed Australian bu

Some years ago I stayed overnight at Holbrook, New South Wales, around midway between Sydney and Melbourne. There in the park was a commemoration stone to a sailor called Holbrook, a submariner, who had won the Victoria Cross. It meant nothing at the time.

A good education is for life. And in saying that I bear in mind one of my first lessons as a pupil barrister, the one taught by a mother whale to her baby:

Holbrook sits astride the Hume Highway, Australia’s busiest arterial road. It is rich farming land, with wool, cattle and wheat predominant. The town was founded in the early 1830s by an Irishman, John Purtell, who called it Ten Mile Creek being “10 miles from Father Therry’s Yarra Yarra stockyard”.

‘Remember, it is when you are spouting that you are most likely to be harpooned.’ So before I finish may I briefly seek your indulgence. When my Father was ill and in great pain, he participated in treatment trials which could not help him but which would help others. Now few people die from that type of cancer. In his honour and in honour of Ted Washington, who helped me to see a way through those difficult times, I announce a new prize to recognise Fortitude. An important attribute in life, and one which an education at PGS upholds. Thank you.

But later I read in a history of PGS of the exploits of Lt Norman Holbrook who in 1914 scraped his tiny submarine along the bottom of the Dardanelles to blow up one of the Turkish navy’s battleships, winning a VC. Connection made, I phoned the Woolsack Museum, High Street, Holbrook, and read to the curator, Joan Taylor, the extract devoted to Holbrook from the school history. “Yes, that’s the fellow,” said Joan.

Prize Giving speaker Peter Lodder is flanked by Headmaster James Priory and Senior Prefects George Chapman and Chloe Sellwood.

“But what,” I asked, “has he got to do with Australia? He’s English, and probably from Portsmouth.”

In the mid-19th century an ex-farmer of German descent took over the Woolpack Inn – now the Woolpack Museum – Holbrook’s first pub. Ten Mile Creek became known generically as “The German’s Town”, hence from around 1860, Germanton. In 1906 it became the county seat of Germanton (now Holbrook) Shire, current population 5800. And that was its name on December 13 1914 when on the other side of the globe Lt Norman Holbrook, in a primitive craft called B11, carried out the most daring submarine raid of the First World War, winning the first naval VC in the war and the first ever by a submariner.

Even by First World War standards B11 was old and small. It was of a class that came into being in 1905, some 313 tonnes, little longer than a cricket pitch and just threeand-a-half metres wide, with an average speed of 10 knots.

Holbrook navigated the deep and treacherous channel at the entrance to the Dardanelles. He then avoided five minefields to penetrate the Turkish defences and torpedo one of the Turkish Navy’s most prized assets, the battleship Messudiyah. On its retreat, gunfire from forts and torpedo boats damaged B11 and destroyed its compass. Holbrook dived and for nine hours – in a craft designed to remain submerged for a maximum of two hours – scraped to safety along the bed of the Dardanelles.

“That’s right,” said Joan. “You see, back in the days of the First World War Holbrook was called Germanton on account of all the German farmers in the area. Germanton was hardly the right sort of name to have at that time, and the council was looking around for a new name. “Then this fellow sank the Turkish Battleship. It was all over the front page of the Sydney Morning Herald, and we thought he would do…”

Peter Lodder presents the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Short Story Prize to Thomas Ross. Part of the Portsmouth Curriculum course and taught by the Headmaster, this prize is awarded by him to the best short story based upon a new mystery involving Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson.

And that’s more or less the way it happened.

Lt Holbrook’s B11 submarine in Portsmouth Harbour, circa 1910

continued...

OPUS • Issue 7 • Autumn 2012

Portsmouth Grammar School • www.pgs.org.uk Mapmakers and post office staff everywhere will breathe a sigh of relief that the city fathers chose Holbrook instead.

Submariner Down Under He received the VC and the Legion of Honour, his second-in-command, Lt Sydney Winn, the DSO, and every member of the crew of 14 the DSM. Back in Germanton pressure was mounting for a change of name. AntiGerman sentiment was rising and German immigrants were interned. “This name (Germanton) is especially distasteful… owing to the hideous atrocities perpetrated by German soldiers in Belgium,” said a local editorial. The name of Livingstone was selected and rejected. So – for one reason and another - were Murdock, Lyne, Nardoo, Donaldson, Jergile, and Lonsdale, Briton, Freedom and Arnett. The council minutes for the period suggest a sense of relief when on April 15 1915 the little town became Holbrook. Two unnamed local poets celebrated the occasion. Germanton, says one, “tells of brutal Hun… of deed of shame that Germans moved by hate have done…” while there is… “No need to blush that Holbrook’s name This loyal town shall henceforth bear. For thus have we wiped out the shame That assailed too long a place so fair.” The second was equally fulsome: “Oh name of warrior bold, We hail thee with joy For Germanton is cold And Holbrook is the boy. “Goodbye to a name that smells Through deed doubly ignoble And ring in with bells The name of one so noble. “Flash the good news out Send it to the Dardanelles: For there our boys will shout ‘Germanton has gone to hell.” Council records are silent on whether Norman Holbrook was consulted. He first visited Australia in 1956 to visit an old shipmate in Victoria and the two men decided to visit Holbrook.

Stuart Gardiner OP (1950-56)

“When he arrived the commander didn’t say a word,” says local historian Les Taylor, who was present at the time. “It was his mate who told us ‘By the way, this is the fellow you’ve named your town after.’

The council heard that the Otway – sans fin – was in mothballs and waiting to be scrapped. The council thanked the navy for the fin – and asked for the rest of the sub.

“He impressed everyone with his modesty and the town made him a celebrity.” Holbrook visited the town again in 1969 and 1975. He died aged 88 in 1976. On his death his widow, Gundula, presented to the town his sword, medals and other memorabilia. The medals are locked in the council’s safe and displayed only on special occasions. The sword has been restored by the Australian War Museum and hangs in the Woolpack Museum below a replica set of medals. (Included in the memorabilia are his birth certificate – he was the son of Colonel, later Brigadier Sir Arthur Holbrook, proprietor of the long defunct Portsmouth Times and Hampshire County Times. The address given is 26 Victoria Road North, Southsea.) No war hero’s memory has been so scrupulously and devotedly maintained as that of Holbrook. His picture hangs in the council chamber alongside those of mayors, and opposite that of the Queen. In the Holbrook Memorial Park his figure, in heroic pose and sculpted in metal, stands aloft a memorial to the town’s pioneers. Nearby is a one-in-seven scale model of the B11. Filling stations, shops and motels carry his portrait and framed newspaper clippings from the Dardanelles incident. A second set of medal replicas hangs beneath his photograph in the returned soldiers club. “Hero in a tin-tub” reads a framed and faded headline in the Australia Café (“Open for Mrs Mac’s Famous Meat Pies”). Tea towels made by an Anglican women’s group record the famous deed. Such dedication is both nostalgic sentiment and a marketing device. Holbrook faces an uncertain future. Population is declining, albeit slowly, as the result of increasing rural mechanisation, low commodity prices and unreliable weather patterns. Massive

The navy was astonished. It had never before been asked to take a 2500 tonne sub inland. But if Holbrook could raise the cash and solve the logistics… Stuart Gardiner OP in the Woolpack Museum, Holbrook

trucks roll through the long main street 24 hours a day on their way to Sydney and Melbourne. The through traffic – truck drivers and “drive/revive” tourists – provide much of the town’s retail trade. A bypass is planned, but its construction is dividing the community. Those in favour argue that the new road will reduce noise and make Holbrook a safer and more attractive town. Those against – and they include most of the business community – have witnessed the decline of other small towns when bypasses have been built. The citizens of Holbrook, therefore, have recognised that they need a theme – something unique to attract tourists.

In 1986, notwithstanding the fact that the nearest coast is 400 km away, Holbrook declared itself as “Submarine Capital of Australia” and presented “Freedom of Entry” to the Sydney-based Royal Australian Navy Submarine Squadron. High-powered naval delegations visited the town to the delight of local hoteliers, but in 1992 the link came to an end when the submarine squadron was relocated to Perth. As a parting gift, the Navy sent the town the fin of HMAS Otway, an Oberon Class sub. What follows is testimony to the ingenuity and resourcefulness of a small country town facing an economic crisis.

Finance was the biggest stumbling block. With its tiny rates base, the town simply could not afford the estimated start-up cost of $70,000. For several months the Otway Project remained a pipedream. It was saved by an extraordinary event. Out of the blue came a gift of $100,000 by Norman’s widow, Mrs Gundula Holbrook. At Garden Island, the Sydney naval base, the Otway was made seaworthy, cut into pieces and transported by low loader – with suitable pomp, ceremony and police escort – 460 km down the Hume Highway. At Holbrook it was reconstructed with the assistance of a team of trainees from a government employment program.

Today HMAS Otway, all 90 metres of it, complete and still slightly discoloured from its navy service, sits majestically in a park opposite Holbrook Memorial Gardens, just off the main road, on the right as you drive south – the most bizarre and unlikely town symbol in rural Australia. We have come full circle. The sinking of a Turkish battleship nearly 100 years ago now serves – in a very real sense – to keep the high street businesses alive. In Holbrook, the town’s name may yet create the means of its salvation. Holbrook scarcely rolls off the tongue in the same way as some magnificent local Aboriginal names. Within 100km one will find dots on a map called Mullengandra, Tintaldra, Yarrara, Walbundrie and Courabyra. In fact one Aboriginal name was put forward. A letter to the Germanton Courier in 1915 suggested – not entirely in jest – Thug-wug-mungyel-bignyel (meaning something like “land of jumping waters”).

OPUS • Issue 7 • Autumn 2012

Portsmouth Grammar School • www.pgs.org.uk

Diary of a Games Maker I’ve always wanted to be involved in an Olympics. When my childhood dreams of being an athlete failed to materialise, I tried to get involved as a medical student in Athens 2004. Unfortunately, the restrictions on outside personnel travelling with teams are so limiting that, after contacting my old hockey coach who was involved with the GB hockey team at that time, I was left disappointed when it was obvious there was no way for me to offer any help, even as a volunteer. When I heard that London had won the Olympic bid in 2005, I vowed that I would do everything I could to get involved on home soil. In the two years approaching London 2012, at first the website asked for people to register interest in volunteering at the games. Once this had been done, formal registration opened and I filled out the application declaring I would offer at least 10 days of my time and explaining what sort of skills I could offer and therefore what sort of post would be applicable.

A few weeks went by and I received an email explaining that I was being considered as a member of the Emergency Medical Services for the Olympic games. Soon afterwards, I received my provisional rota showing the dates and shifts I would be expected to work. This was the moment I realised just what an experience I was in for, when I found I was working for the Opening and Closing ceremonies as well as the 100m and 200m finals and many other high profile events. I arranged to stay with a friend and his family for the duration and negotiated a few days of hospital work in between shifts at the stadium, so that I didn’t use all of my annual leave for the year (I had booked it all 18 months in advance in case I got lucky and got into the Olympics). Then came the preparation. I had to attend a role specific training day in London and then a Venue specific training day at the stadium (still having finishing touches). I also had to travel to London to collect the famous Games maker uniform. Eventually... the first day arrived and I travelled to the stadium for the dress rehearsal of the Opening Ceremony. This was my first real chance to meet the other

the appropriate personnel to attend depending on the information offered over the radio. Most of the injuries were minor sports injuries where our role was to assess and retrieve the athletes from the FOP without interrupting any races/events as much as possible. When a stretcher was required, the majority of the team would mobilise to recover the patient in the stretcher from the FOP. These patients were then further assessed in the medical room (usually by a sports doctor/physio due to the nature of the injuries) and sent back to the track, their team, the athlete’s village or to the Olympic village Polyclinic (physio/GP practice/massage/dental surgery on site). The main problems encountered were those of logistics. Trying to move a high profile athlete away from the prying eyes of their country’s media is quite difficult, especially when the athletes are naturally devastated that their Olympics may be over.

James Cockcroft (centre) surrounded by some of his fellow London 2012 volunteers

people I would be working with. We were split into shifts of around 16-20 and these would be the people we worked with almost throughout (they tried to keep us working with the same members each shift for better teamworking). Our responsibility was to offer emergency medical and sports medical care to any person on the Field of Play (FOP). On athletics nights, this included athletes and officials. On the ceremonies nights there were thousands of performers (including children), all the athletes and many technical staff. For the athletics sessions, there were far fewer people to watch, but more scope for injuries as can be imagined. For all shifts (ceremonies or athletics), pre shift we were allocated into teams of 4 or 5 to be positioned at each of 4 “corners” of the track. We were teamed up using appropriate skills mix to ensure that sports injuries and emergency treatment could be offered all over the stadium field of play. With my specialisms of trauma, intensive care and advanced airway management, I was available to offer medical care in trauma, life-threatening injuries or a cardiac arrest (all too apparent to

spectating crowds following the incident with footballer Fabrice Muamba just recently). For morning sessions we arrived at 6am (finishing at 3.30pm) and had a briefing. We were divided into teams and allocated team leaders and radios. The briefing would include the main events for the day and the likely/possible casualties/injuries that could occur at each corner of the track depending on the events that day and where they took place. (The afternoon sessions started at 1pm and finished at 11.30pm) The ceremonies started at 1pm and finished nearer 2am. We would check our kit off to make sure anything used had been replaced and was all in working order and then we would have breakfast. We would then position ourselves on the FOP at least an hour before the athletes were due to start the session. Any injuries occurring would be radioed to us from the Venue Medical Manager who was the contact between the FOP recovery teams and the stadium management teams and the London Ambulance Service. The team leader (which I assumed the role of for the Closing Ceremony) would allocate

The total extent of my “work” (luckily for the athletes) was carrying a middle distance medallist from the field of play in a stretcher and assessing and treating one of our own first aiders (in the spectator medical team)!! I worked with some very dedicated full time clinicians and some high profile sports medical staff including a Premier League football team doctor and the head of England’s rugby medical team among others. Every day, each of the senior clinicians held a teaching session to increase the knowledge of the teams and to make the most of this unique opportunity to share very specialist experiences in the areas of sports medicine in the UK.

Every day I travelled to and from the stadium in my purple and red Gamesmaker uniform and felt honoured to be a part of the Olympics and most proud to be British. The enthusiasm of all the volunteers, performers and athletes was infectious and made the two weeks something truly special.

The only adjective that comes close to describing the experience is “magical”. The Olympics was like stepping into someone else’s life for two weeks. A life I never expected to experience. After our shifts we could remain in the stadium and watch the athletics continue as long as we were happy to answer any questions the public had and take endless photos on their behalf. This is how I got to be present for the Golden hour on Super Saturday to watch Jess Ennis, Mo Farah and Greg Rutherford win their golds. A moment in history I will never forget. The wall of noise that had a wave of higher intensity as Mo ran around the stadium still sends shivers down my spine. I was up at 4.30am and home at 1am some days but it was the best 2 weeks of my life. For my time, I got to keep 2 uniforms, 3 pin badges, a gamesmaker relay baton, hundreds of photos, many lifelong friends and infinite (tell-your-grandchildren type) memories. James Cockcroft OP (1985-1999)

PGS Mum does Pompey Proud I felt very honoured to be nominated by the Royal Yachting Association to be an Olympic torch–bearer in recognition of the forty years of voluntary service I have dedicated to teaching people how to sail. My allocated ‘run’was from the Guildhall Steps, down Guildhall Walk to the University. I had hardly slept with apprehension over the big day. I met the other torch -bearers at the D-Day Museum and boarded the bus that was to drop us off at our assigned starting points . We started at the Hard. The Gosport Ferry, flanked either side by tugs with water cannons, arrived with the flame. The crowds were filling the road, the police out-riders making a pathway through. I was dropped off just behind Portsmouth and Southsea Station and escorted to the Guildhall carrying an unlit torch. I was not ready for the emotional rush that hit me when I saw the crowds in Guildhall Square. I met the flame on the steps and was guarded and guided along Guildhall Walk by the Metropolitan police. One of them asked me if I knew the whole of Portsmouth. At that precise moment, it really did feel that I did! Everywhere I looked there were banners and shouts and smiling faces. The whole area was generating such warmth and goodwill. The organisation was brilliant and the response of Portsmouth to the event was the best and largest in the country. It was such a privilege to have been part of it. All too soon I arrived at the next ‘kiss’ point, and my flame was extinguished. A minute later I was back on the pick-up bus watching the next section unfold on Southsea Common where a crowd 100,000 people had gathered. All in all an experience which I shall never forget. Margaret Hyde, former PGS Parent of Philip OP (1991-1993) and David OP (1995-97)

OPUS • Issue 7 • Autumn 2012

Portsmouth Grammar School • www.pgs.org.uk

Minnows and Sticklebacks

Waitrose now trades, to the fee-paying Portsmouth High School and the PGS Lower School. A couple of us won ‘free places’ to the Middle and Upper Schools in the 11-plus lottery (and it was a lottery), but otherwise it was three lots of full fees to be found, though the amounts sound tiny (£19/term in 1953) by comparison to today’s £4000 plus per term, and the full costs in Middle and Upper schools were offset to some degree by the direct grant from national government and contributions from the city and county education authorities.

In 2007, on a trip to my house in the Ardèche and with a few hours to spend in Portsmouth before the ferry sailed, I revisited Paulsgrove and photographed the two houses we Owenses lived in there. Cosham Station, by way of Copnor, Milton, Southsea Strand, Handley’s Corner, King’s Road (and eventually back to Cosham, via Commercial Road and North End). For the first time we lived in a house that actually belonged to our parents and this felt like a change of seismic proportions, though we kids would, at the time, have struggled to explain just why. 14, Newbolt Road

The first, the three-bedroomed 3 Bodmin Road, had been big enough from July 1948 until the fourth infant was born, whereupon the benign council shifted us across the road to 14 Newbolt Road where the fourth bedroom above the alleyway that bi-sected the block of four houses sufficed to see us through to the time when we all (five children by now) could in 1958 expand into the five-bedroomed palace, 30 Whitwell Road, Southsea, a stone’s throw from the Canoe Lake.

No longer could we dash out of our house to play on the 50-acre gash across the flank of Portsdown Hill, left rough and child-friendly by the far-sighted housebuilders in 1949 for the M27 to pass through decades later. Gone were those weekly Sunday-school trips to St Mary’s Church within the walls of Portchester Castle, where the draw was not the gentle Reverend Spinney, nor the discipline of donning school uniform for a sixth day in the seven. Crabbing on the foreshore, clambering about the walls and moat and collecting conkers in the Castle grounds secured our acquiescence in Mother’s scheme to bring a religious dimension to her campaign against juvenile barbarity!

Remember, Paulsgrove was new and spacious to families used to the cramped and shabby post-war housing in the city, often perforce shared with grandparents or even great-grandparents. Remember, too, that youngsters in those days – including younger toddlers - were free to roam and Paulsgrove brought within range the whole of Portsdown from Widley to Southwick and beyond. With a bit of planning, adult-free expeditions were mounted over the back of The Hill to Boarhunt, provisioned with tomato sandwiches, an apple and a bottle of Corona or orange squash.

The picnic site was the north bank of the Wallington River in which we swam in our underpants and where myth had it there was a bottomless pool some fifty yards to the west. Of course one day a younger sibling slipped (or was slipped) out of control into a little eddying pool and the rest cried out, ‘Bottomless pool, bottomless pool!’ Panic, superhuman powers of self-preservation, and David shot on to the bank from the ten inches of water into which he’d fallen! Only the weighty jam jars in which we’d have had to carry home the plentiful minnows and rarer sticklebacks, trapped with the crumbs of our picnic, kept us from denting the fishy population of that idyllic chalk stream. Naturally, in that distant epoch the sun always shone and we never squabbled – you don’t during golden ages – and all fishy creatures were returned safely to their stream.

30, Whitwell Road

Already more than four years into my time at PGS, I felt there was much more to this move than switching journeys to and from school from the red Corporation ‘A’ Bus (whose route was from Allaway Avenue to The Pier), to the red Number 6 Trolley Bus that circled the city from

Wallington River, near the bottomless pool, Boarhunt

From Paulsgrove already two Owenses had caught the A Bus on the half-hour thruppeny ride to School each morning, while a third went right round to the Pier for fourpence to get to Seacourt School. This was a preparatory crammer that helped boys into the PGS Lower School if they had trouble the first time they sat the entrance exam, or prepared them to sit entrance exams at 11 plus. That meant three lots of fares and school fees, with uniforms bought at Messrs MacDonald Woods and Mortimer in Palmerston Road, and sports kit for the Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday morning cricket and football sessions that, for us, really marked off PGS from the Paulsgrove West Infant and Junior Schools that had set us on our educational course. Funds were found, too, for lunches – if Mother hadn’t time to make up the pack lunches which were our staple, we’d be given one and sixpence each to sit down with local businessmen at a vast oval table at Grogan’s, an old-fashioned restaurant in Broad Street by the Floating Bridge to Gosport.

They were usually judged unwholesome (or found unaffordable) by the Owens Commissariat which, as a result, had to budget cheaper self-help or locally bought alternatives, though often the pack lunches were consumed during the bus journey to school. We children had no idea of the relative expense of one school compared with another, and soon a fourth youngster (the only girl in the brood) and a fifth would be on their way, via St Judes C of E Primary School, then in Marmion Road where

Here is a typical bill receipt from the Lower School, extras detailed, lunches by hand at 19s 6d per term. Such amounts took some finding in households whose annual income was counted in the low hundreds per year. Our parents took no holidays until their offspring had flown the nest, but they did send us off on school Youth Hostelling weeks to Wales and the West Country and (later) to scout camp fortnights in Hampshire, Wiltshire or West Sussex, interludes for which we couldn’t believe our luck. How did they fund, for five children, holidays which cost as much as a quarter of a full term’s fees (roughly £5 vs £20) – say, £1000 in today’s money?

School lunches at the time were grisly affairs delivered by a local caterer and reheated for consumption by boys whose parents had opted to take and pay extra for them a term at a time.

continued...

OPUS • Issue 7 • Autumn 2012

Portsmouth Grammar School • www.pgs.org.uk

Minnows and Sticklebacks There came to light recently from John Curtis, retired Middle School Head Master at St Peter’s School, Adelaide, and one of the intrepid leaders of Lower School YHA trips in the mid-fifties, documentation for the September 1956 trip to South Devon, together with a batch of colour photographs of episodes there. Here are the trip prospectus, the joining instructions and a view of our transport and seaside delights on the South Devon coast near Salcombe. Note how slim (even scrawny) are many of the little perishers, with only one or two exceptions. Post-war food coupons and rationing had not long ended, and household provender remained slight in quantity compared with today’s norms, if improving in quality approaching the age of Harold Macmillan’s ‘You’ve never had it so good!’.

Aspects of my life and the Portsmouth music scene.

Nigel Grundy in the PGS Recorder Group, c. 1960 Boarding the train at Totnes, nearest the camera Mssrs Pinhorne, Boyle, Owens J.T. and Owens D.

Why am I telling you all this? It may be of historical interest to some readers to recall how changed are conditions for pupils today from those of their grandparents fifty to sixty years ago – or it may just be that the Opus editors, for reasons best explained by themselves, have once more indulged the sentimental outpourings of one grateful for what PGS did for him, his siblings and friends. South Devon Sewer Mill Sand - Dam construction and destruction

MY BACK PAGES Portsmouth 1962-1972

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John Owens OP (1953-63)

My Back Pages is an autobiographical account of my life in Portsmouth from 1962-1972. The foreword is by Dr Dave Allen, an OP a couple of years younger than me; his involvement with the Portsmouth music scene began in the early 1960s and he is still singing and playing. I enjoyed my years at PGS, (1959-1964), though John Sadden, the school archivist, has discovered from the records that Peter Jameson thought I was, ‘a bit dim.’ If there was one thing destined to distract me from my studies in a big way it was the 1960s and what an amazing distraction they were, I couldn’t get enough of them. The excitement of the emerging music, art, fashion and photography scenes and the expectation of something new happening every day, became my focus; consequently my school work suffered badly.

On my last report before my O levels my maths master wrote, ‘If he passes in this subject I am afraid it will be a travesty of justice.’ He could rest easy, a travesty wasn’t committed!

The book opens with a light-hearted look at my last two years as a pupil at PGS, then chronicles my life as I become a mod, hippie, local DJ, artist and music photographer. Musicians I photographed include Black Sabbath, Pink Floyd, Arthur Brown, Sandy Denny, Alan Price and many others, national and local. There are over 600 photographs and graphics of the 1960s Portsmouth music scene in the book and many references to local personalities, music venues and festivals that I went to.

Nigel Grundy pictured with Jimmy James

I left PGS to take up a five-year horticultural apprenticeship with Portsmouth City Council, but after four years I changed career and became an industrial and commercial photographer. I later gained a BA (Hons) in Art, Design and Media, and a Master of Science in Architecture and Environment and spent the second part of my working life as a lecturer at the University of Portsmouth. If, like me, the 1960s have never left you, I hope my book will revive pleasant memories of those exciting days, especially if you spent them in Portsmouth and Southsea. Details of the book are on my website at www.imagesafloat.com. Nigel Grundy OP (1959-1964)

Nigel Grundy with Ralph McTell

OPUS • Issue 7 • Autumn 2012

Portsmouth Grammar School • www.pgs.org.uk

“This energy could be most useful ” As a sixteen year old Portsmouth Grammar School boy and Gosport resident, Stephen Weeks was a formidable opponent. Perhaps the lively exchanges in the Debating Society helped. Or the fact that he did his homework, in all senses of the word. The Hall on Trinity Green in Gosport was scheduled as a building of historic or architectural merit. Built around the time of the Battle of Waterloo, it had a curved staircase and a lookout on the roof giving a panoramic view of Portsmouth Harbour and the Solent, a vista enjoyed by Ben Nicholson (the head of boatbuilders Camper and Nicholson’s) and his family in the nineteenth century. The Hall had once served as Holy Trinity vicarage, but by 1965 was abandoned amid the Council’s new high-rise waterfront development. The stunning rooftop view was gone, but the shabby Regency splendour remained in the shadow of the surrounding characterless blocks of flats. When workmen from Gosport Borough Council began removing slates from the scheduled Hall one Sunday in January 1965, young Weeks acted. He was aware that the Council had demolished 56 listed buildings since 1947 and so went directly to the Ministry of Housing in London the next day, skipping school, and explained the situation. The Gosport Borough Engineer was contacted immediately and ordered to stop demolition.

The Hall drawn by Stephen Weeks

At a time of widespread concern about young people’s attitudes and behaviour, the fact that a schoolboy was doing all he could to prevent an act of wanton vandalism, rather than commit one, gave the newspapers some unusual headlines. “YOUTH BLOCKS DEMOLITION BY COUNCIL”, reported The Times. Within a few days, Weeks was showing the Ministry’s chief investigator of ancient monuments around The Hall. The Council’s neglect and vandalism was clear as they toured the building with glass underfoot, but its value as a historic building of interest, one of few remaining after wartime bombing and redevelopment, was also evident to those who wished to see it. Weeks showed the official around other local historic buildings, who declared, “I have never known a lad as young as this with such detailed knowledge.” Three months later the outcome of the Ministry of Housing’s investigations was announced. The Times headline summed it up, “SCHOOLBOY LOSES FIGHT TO PRESERVE HOUSE”. The cost of restoring

Stephen Weeks at PGS 1957

the building after the aborted start of demolition, it was argued, was too great. By 1965, the new Headmaster, Coll MacDonald, quickly recognised Weeks’ intelligence, creative ability, originality and force of personality. “Properly channelled this energy could be most useful,” he wrote with some prescience. Undaunted by the eventual demolition of The Hall, Weeks continued with his passionate defence of what remained of old Gosport.

He appeared on television in scruffy jeans alongside a robed and ill-briefed Gosport Mayor, knocking him out in round one. He appeared again in a BBC programme about industrial archaeology, talking authoritatively about Henry Cort’s pioneering forge, edited notes on Hampshire for the Pelican Buildings of England series and wrote for the Architectural Review. As a result of a survey he conducted for the Ministry of Housing, 25 buildings were listed for preservation. His passion, knowledge and prominence prompted Southern Television to commission him to make a twelve-part series on threatened buildings. Two films on the First World War army camp at Browndown and the deserted Wickham railway station for the BBC followed.

Stephen Weeks’ interview for BBC Industrial Archaeology programme. The Forge Gosport 1965

This did not prevent Weeks from taking an active part in school life, though there was concern about the impact it was all having on his academic studies. His interest in film continued, and in 1966, his last year at PGS, he made “Owen’s War”, featuring fellow pupils playing Tommies in the First World War. The credits for this film (which was made with photography student Jon Kenchenten) include I. Murray, R.J. Knott, D.N. Palmer, “Gas” Lynch, C.J. Lambert, A.D. Thomas, M.J. Maunder, G.J. Moss, M.M. Croucher, J.M. Morrison and I.R. Ventham.

Weeks skipped university, figuring rightly that his new passion for film making was best learned on the job. He moved to London and was soon working in the advertising industry and making his own films. He directed his cinema film ‘1917’ in 1968 – aged only 20 (probably the youngest ever film director). In 1970, at the age of just 22, Weeks was directing Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing in ‘I, Monster’, an adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic ‘The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde’. This was followed by ‘Sir Gawain and the Green Knight’, which was produced by Carlo Ponti. In 1973 he produced and directed ‘Ghost Story’, a challenging project that was filmed almost totally in India on a tight budget, which starred Marianne Faithfull, then at the peak of her heroin addiction, and Vivian MacKerrell, who was the real life Withnail. The rest of the cast, which included Penelope Keith, were stricken with diahorrea. The resulting film has cult status, and was described by The Guardian on its DVD release as

Christopher Lee, Stephen Weeks and Peter Cushing on the set of I, Monster

“an effective, thoroughly creditable M.R. James-esque tale of a stately home haunting”. Meanwhile, Weeks’ home had become his castle. He moved from a Fulham house to the derelict Penhow Castle, a 12th century castle in Gwent, and began an ambitious programme of restoration that took seven years. Penhow Castle was eventually opened to the public for 25 years and, during this time, Weeks developed an expertise in presenting and marketing privately owned historic houses. Penhow won many conservation awards and Weeks’ innovations included: stereo audiotours, nocturnal candle-lit tours (during which visitors hoped to catch sight of the resident ghost), special educational programmes and job creation and training projects for disadvantaged young people. In between directing and producing films (including ‘Sword of the Valiant’, starring Sean Connery), Weeks continued his campaigning to restore and reuse historic buildings and to protect the countryside, the despoliation of which took priority in his campaigning. He set up a trust to preserve eight disused railway viaducts by finding them new uses. In 1980, The Times described him as “a militant conservationist in the best sense of the word”. “It should not be necessary, in a civilized society, to argue the case for conservation. It should be automatic,” argued Weeks. “Perhaps I tend to overreact. But I look at how the countryside used to look and compare that with today. It is all horribly depressing.” In 2003, Weeks sold Penhow and emigrated to the Czech Republic to restore Skvorec Castle which had fallen into disuse when the Communist regime ended. In the same year he published his acclaimed novel, Daniela, a “compelling story of sexual obsession and betrayal as Nazi Prague falls”. A further four novels followed. Restoration of Loucen Castle, near Prague, was completed in 2008, and Weeks is currently advising on a 400 roomed castle in Poland. At the same time, he is working on a new film, his first in many years, Pain, set in India in 1938-41. That remarkable schoolboy energy, which so impressed his old Headmaster, shows no sign of abating. John Sadden

The Times 7 Jan 1965, 3 March 1965, 15/9/80, 6/8/81, 8/8/90, 6/1/01, 20/9/02 Sunday Times 28/12/03 The Guardian (Guide) 7-13 November 2009 Gosport from Old Photographs by John Sadden (2012) Ghost Story DVD notes (the extras include Stephen’s films made while at PGS) Illustrations (except I, Monster poster and PGS image) by courtesy of Stephen Weeks.

OPUS • Issue 7 • Autumn 2012

Portsmouth Grammar School • www.pgs.org.uk

A Fair Cop

has said 90,000 Kenyans were executed, tortured or maimed during the crackdown, and 160,000 were detained in appalling conditions. 200 members of the British and African Security Service, 32 white settlers and several thousand African civilians were killed by the Mau Mau.

Last year a set of files was discovered in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office archives that exposed a dark chapter in Britain’s colonial past. It had been claimed that these sensitive files, which were expatriated from Kenya in the early 1960s, did not exist but the persistence of a researcher eventually bore fruit. What was revealed was a barrel of bad apples and the administration of a system of brutal oppression that was rotten to the core. Amongst the files was the potentially seismic correspondence of a Colonel Arthur Young who had been appointed Commissioner of Police for Kenya in 1954. Arthur Young was born in 1907 and attended St Jude’s School before joining PGS in January 1916, at the same time as the great cricketer Wally Hammond. Young’s father, Edwin, was a builder and the family lived in St Simon’s Road, Southsea, where his mother supplemented the household income by giving over rooms to lodgers. No doubt this helped cover the cost of school fees for Arthur and his siblings. Unfortunately, little is known of Young’s time at the school. He left at the age of seventeen and, against the wishes of his parents, joined Portsmouth City Police as a cadet clerk before becoming a beat bobby. The streets of Britain’s premier naval port in the 1920s would have been a challenging initiation into practical policing, but provided a good grounding for what was to come. One suspects his height – six feet four – helped.

Young’s rise through the police ranks was remarkable, especially so for a nonHendon graduate. He left Portsmouth in 1938 and, at the age of 31, became the youngest Chief Constable in the country (at Leamington). He was seconded to Coventry after its blitz where he introduced a good neighbour scheme enabling those made homeless to be helped. This scheme, relying on and promoting community values, was later adopted nationally by the Home Office. In 1941 he became Senior Assistant Chief Constable in Birmingham and two

Young was up against what he referred to as “the vociferous body of public opinion which is continuously seeking to justify and even to extend the practice of the rule of fear” and which helped create an environment in which such abuses could take place.

years later was given responsibility for establishing a school for policemen who would maintain law and order in liberated Axis territory. Young was appointed Chief Constable of Hertfordshire at the end of the war and so impressed the Home Secretary that he was promoted to Assistant Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police in 1947, and Commissioner of the City of London Police from 1950 to 1971, the first beat bobby to progress through the ranks to that level. He was considered a “policeman’s policeman”, improving pay, training and professional standards. During the 1950s, Young was seconded to introduce the philosophy of policing as a public service (rather than a force) to the colonial Gold Coast (Ghana) and Malaya prior to independence. His skills in converting often corrupt, para-military forces to accountable law-enforcement agencies met with great success, and The Daily Telegraph described him as a “a noted morale raiser and anti-corruption hell raiser”. But then the government sent Young to Kenya. Here, his attempts to stop institutionalised brutality, torture and murder of African nationalists in detention camps were continually frustrated, not least by the colonial governor, Evelyn Baring. Kenya was valued for its natural resources, including its land and rich mineral reserves and had become a British protectorate in 1895. By the 1900s, the massacre of native Kenyans prompted Winston Churchill (then a liberal, but by no means lily-livered) to express concern about public reaction to what the British were doing.” It looks like a butchery... Surely it cannot be necessary to go on killing these defenceless people on such an enormous scale”.

Sir Arthur Young

Nearly fifty years later, Young expressed similar concerns to the Governor. He wrote, “The horror of some of the so-called Screening Camps which, in my judgement, now present a state of affairs so deplorable that they should be investigated without delay, so that the ever increasing allegations of inhumanity and disregard of the rights of the African citizen are dealt with and so that the Government will have no reason to be ashamed of the acts which are done in its own name by its own servants.” A few weeks later, after further investigation, he wrote, “In the majority of cases the death has been caused by wilful violence and ill-treatment…which classifies the matter as murder.” This was the time of the infamous Mau Mau Rebellion, the military conflict in which anti-colonial Kenyans fought the British whose history in the country was one of violent oppression and exploitation. The conflict was characterised by savagery, atrocities and summary executions, and neither side emerged with any glory. The Kenya Human Rights Commission

The treatment of Africans, which would have been easy to rationalise in the context of a racist and brutal time, disgusted Young. He resigned in the hope that it would prompt British government action, but his resignation letter was suppressed and he stayed silent out of a sense of duty. However, he regretted that subsequent atrocities and massacres could have been prevented. Last year, when the correspondence surrounding Young’s stand was unearthed, The Times cited him as an example of “the internal consciences of large organisations – the people who tell the boss and their colleagues what they do not want to hear.” The editor praised Young’s moral courage as a “quiet whistleblower”. Young resumed his command of the City of London Police but, in 1969, he was summoned to the Home Secretary’s office. James Callaghan knew Young personally, and admired him as an effective troubleshooter and “a great personality and tremendous leader of men”.

Arrest of a civil rights protester in Northern Ireland

The challenge was to disband the infamous B specials, demilitarize the Royal Ulster Constabulary and create a new police service. The Old Portmuthian duly reported that “an old boy, Sir Arthur Young, is at present tidying up that bother in Northern Ireland”. While “The Troubles” were to prove intractable for many years, Young initiated the first steps away from unjust, aggressive and counter-productive policing. Falls Road residents told him, “We have waited fifty years for you” while Unionist graffiti declared “Sir Arthur Young – Traitor!” A Christian socialist, Young contemplated Anglican ordination twice, but his commitment to making the police a respected profession prevailed. He possessed a formidable charm, was antiMasonic and anti-capital punishment, all qualities that set him apart amongst his peers. Colleagues unsuccessfully attempted to secure him a life peerage and Young died in 1979. John Sadden

Northern Ireland civil rights mural

Sources Sir Arthur Young – The Quintessential English Policeman by Georgina Sinclair (Proceedings of the RUC Historical Society, Winter 1999) The Old Portmuthian, 1970 The Times (editorial) “Taking on the Boss” 13 April 2011 A House Divided: the dilemma of Northern Ireland James Callaghan (1973) BBC News website Mau Mau uprising: bloody history of Kenya conflict http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-12997138 (Accessed 3 October 2012) Thanks to Georgina Sinclair and Max Lankester

“Arthur, I have a difficult job for you to do and I don’t want to take no for an answer.” “What is this?” I told him. “My God!”

An interrogation camp in Kenya

Callaghan recalled how Young “really did not want to go; he had a job to do in the City of London Police and wanted to get on with it.” But Callaghan persuaded him. “Arthur, it is your job to go, and you know you can do it, and very few other people can.”

City of London Police shield presented to PGS by Detective Chief Superintendant J. Simmonds (PGS 1949-1954) in memory of Col. Sir Arthur Young (PGS 1916-1924)

OPUS • Issue 7 • Autumn 2012

Portsmouth Grammar School • www.pgs.org.uk

The Tudor King

A Celebration of the Life of the Distinguished Historian A. F. Pollard

Albert (“Bertie”) Pollard was one of the most eminent historians of the Tudor period during the first half of the 20th century, and he always acknowledged his debt to Portsmouth Grammar School in launching his academic career. He was one of seven children. His father was descended from a long line of Methodist ministers and was denied entrance to university because of his nonconformity. He ran a chemist shop in Ryde on the Isle of Wight, where he was also a J.P. and Chairman of the Isle of Wight Council. Bertie Pollard and his brilliant elder brother Harry went to PGS, where they soon made their mark. The total number of boys in the school in the early 1880s was 300, with average class sizes of over 30. Harry went on to achieve a first at Oxford, and was a lecturer in biology and anatomy at Charing Cross Hospital before being drowned in a tragic swimming accident in Dover aged 28. Bertie won prizes for mathematics and scriptural knowledge and his swift rise up the class rankings in most subjects can be traced in the school archives. Aged 14 he won a scholarship in the Oxford local exams to Felsted. I have recently been through the remarkable series of letters (in the London University archives) written by Bertie to his parents while he was at Felsted. At first he was clearly homesick: “I like to see the leaves falling because it reminds me that the sooner the leaves are off the trees the nearer the time to go home again”. “I do not think Harry would like it here…I would give a good deal to be going across the water every day to the Grammar School.” Felsted School

He liked his housemaster, and was pleased not to have to play football, but found the school “a miserable place after home”. He comments that “ I should like to have some fellows I know (at PGS) come here to raise the school’s reputation. In the same vein: “I do not think on the whole that the school is much superior to the PGS in the scholastic line.” Elsewhere he states sarcastically that “noone here seems to have much idea about history.” News from his old school was always welcome. “I am glad to see that The Portmuthian is progressing favourably”. “I do feel proud of my old school, 3 scholarships of £80 this year and my brother too.” He was surprised by some aspects of Felsted: “the fellows in my dormitory are all smaller than I am - even the prefect who is supposed to look after the others”. “We get up at 6.45 a.m.”… but “go to bed whenever we like”. “The boys here do just what they like out of school”. “At dinner they let us have as much bread and meat as we like and afterwards pudding. There is water to drink on the table but every boy’s glass in the 6th form is filled with ale if he does not object.” Money was obviously tight in the Pollard household, as he states that he had to furnish his own study, and could not afford to replace a broken chair. He was upset when a teacher accidentally lost three of his books which he had lent him, as he could not afford to replace them, and there is much mention of his academic

He founded the Institute of Historical Research and for 13 years was Chairman of the History Board.

prizes and insightful detail about the interviews and fierce competition for scholarships and exhibitions at Oxford. From Felsted he won a scholarship and an exhibition to Jesus College Oxford, where he duly went on to gain a first in History in 1891, and later the Lothian Prize (for an essay on Jesuits) and Arnold Prize (for an essay on Protector Somerset). He coached the College Eight apparently with the help of a large dinner bell (!) and became engaged to Catherine Lucy, whom he married in 1894. For eight years he was Assistant Editor of the monumental Dictionary of National Biography, producing over 500 entries of his own, all immaculately researched. Bertie’s long association with London University began in 1903 as Professor of Constitutional History, ending only with his retirement in 1931.

A great reformer as well as teacher, he in effect founded the London School of History, overhauling the entire undergraduate syllabus, and introducing a seminar system.

By the time of the award of a research fellowship at All Souls Oxford (1908), Pollard had produced three of his finest works: England Under Protector Somerset (1900), The Life of Henry VIII (1902), and The Life of Cranmer (1904). By 1914 the magisterial Political History of England 1547-1603 had been published, and works on Wolsey, Henry VII and Parliament followed.

unhonoured and unsung”, but was unsuccessful on all occasions. His resignation from the Institute of Historical Research was accompanied by some ill feeling and misunderstandings, but solace was found in having more time with his family, especially grandchildren. He died in1948. Few if any of his contemporaries combined such a combination of brilliance in both teaching and educational innovation and writing. A comment in an American review of his biography of Cranmer could be justly applied to Pollard himself: “a remarkable instance of a poor boy who rose from obscurity largely by accident, yet not unaided by his own marked ability of intellect and character.” Dr Alan Kittermaster, history and politics teacher PGS 1988-2008

He was a regular contributor to The Times Literary Supplement and wrote extensively for the Cambridge Modern History series. Famous historians including Neale, Elton, Trevelyan and Lord Acton were admirers, and book reviews made much of his “clear and dignified” style of writing. During the First World War he delivered a famous series of lectures on the conflict, marked by a notably dispassionate and objective tone. Bertie also founded the Historical Association, and was its editor for six years, and President for three. By now a historian with an international reputation, he travelled as visiting Professor to Columbia University, and undertook an exhausting but widely praised lecture programme in the USA and Canada. There were some disappointments along the way. He stood three times, unsuccessfully, as a prospective Liberal M.P (the last attempt being in 1924); causing quite a stir with his vitriolic condemnation of Lloyd George’s Government, describing it as “unwept,

Election publicity, 1924

OPUS • Issue 7 • Autumn 2012

Portsmouth Grammar School • www.pgs.org.uk

Cage Cricket – “From Street to Elite” The names Mike Barnard, Richard McIlwaine, David Rock and Jon Ayling may be familiar to you as the four Portsmouth-born OPs who have played first-class cricket for Hampshire since the war. Perhaps you remember taking the opportunity to watch Hampshire in the days when they played regularly at the United Services ground just north of the school? If so, the more senior among you may recall Neil McCorkell, who kept wicket and often opened the batting for Hampshire from 1932-1951. On retirement, Neil moved to South Africa where last March he celebrated his 100th birthday. Neil was born in White Hart Lane (Road), Old Portsmouth and learned his cricket at Portsmouth Town School and in local church sides before Hampshire found him. When he retired, he had played nearly 400 matches with 17 centuries and at the time was Hampshire’s leading wicketkeeper. Less happily, he is the last Portsmouthborn Hampshire cricketer from a state school to enjoy a successful career with the county. The Hampshire side of 2012 won two trophies for the first time in its history including as many as eight players produced through their junior ranks. In more than 80 years since Neil McCorkell made his debut, players have come from Gosport, Fareham, Basingstoke, Winchester the Isle of Wight and Southampton but the only Portsmouth exception to the four PGS boys is Lawrie Prittipaul who played around 10 years ago, having been educated at the city’s ‘other’ private school, St John’s College. In addition, the days of Portsmouth club sides competing with the best in the region have disappeared. There is no Portsmouth (or Southampton) based club in the top two divisions of the Southern League. There may be all kinds of reasons for this decline – having taught in local comprehensives, I suspect aspiration is a bigger local issue than ability - but too few ‘Pompey’ youngsters have sustained experience of cricket as a sporting option. Whatever the reasons, Prittipaul is spearheading a way to encourage local youngsters (boys and girls) to enjoy cricket through ‘Cage Cricket’.

Cage Cricket is a version of the game that resembles an outdoor and broadly (but not exclusively) inner-city version of indoor cricket.

It is, if you like, a structured form of the street cricket that produced many fine players in the years before the motor-car rendered this a hazardous activity. Before any purists among you cry ‘no ball’, let me stress that as Hampshire’s Hon Archivist I bow to no-one in my commitment to the history and traditions of the great game but the waste of potential talent in inner cities is a tragedy and if the Olympic legacy is to mean anything it must embrace every opportunity in every sport. I believe that Cage Cricket does that and its philosophy of “From Street to Elite” stresses that there is an aspiration to support the best Cage Cricketers to move towards the traditional forms of the game.

Cage Cricket, developed in Portsmouth, was formally launched on Tuesday 12 June 2012 at the Houses of Parliament. Sir Ian Botham and Rod Bransgrove (Chairman, Hampshire Cricket) were among those who supported the launch in person while many cricket people, MPs and others came to watch and participate. The event was covered on BBC’s South Today, Sky Sports News and a BBC news item featuring Sir Ian and Crispin Blunt MP is available at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/ uk-politics-18410125.

Cage Cricket is a continuous, intense form of the game, played in multiple use cages that function equally for basketball, tennis and other hard surface sports. Batsmen are required to attack but with careful control of shots – out of the net scores nothing. Every player bats, bowls and fields and of equal importance, every player umpires and scores. For young people this provides invaluable social and sporting experiences.

Pipe Racks & Bookends Random Thoughts of an old OP

When I joined Portsmouth Grammar School in September 1932 I was a small, shy, reserved loner and I think I stayed that way until I was invited to join His Majesty’s army in 1942. I started at the bottom in Lower 1 and with a modicum of luck and having done lots of homework I graduated steadily in the ‘A’ stream until 1939 when I found myself in Upper Five B. Throughout all this time my progress was largely uneventful and unspectacular. The only time I was mentioned in The Old Portmuthian was in 1934 being a cast member when Lower 2 did a short play in French called “ Les Jumeaux Pois” in front of the parents – I can’t imagine what they thought of it!

The Westminster launch is evidence of the ambition of this project and there is now a Cage at Hampshire’s Ageas Bowl, which is in constant use on match days. The local pioneers hope to spread it far beyond Portsea Island, but it was conceived in Somerstown and developed in Landport. PGS boys including Andrew Marston, Jack Marston, Will Smitherman and Reuben McArdle der Karapetion were among the first to play and suggest improvements. Reuben’s father Trevor McArdle is Lawrie Prittipaul’s Cage Cricket partner and the duo hopes to establish a highly visible centre on Southsea seafront alongside the tennis and beach volleyball. Perhaps it will spread rapidly and stand eventually alongside the great achievements of Hambledon’s cricketers 250 years ago. It is a wonderful opportunity to provide an exciting experience for our boys and girls – and incidentally, if, like me, you participated in last year’s (very) old OP’s match even you might enjoy this version – it’s an intense workout but there’s little running required! For more information, please visit www.cagecricket.com Dave Allen OP (1958-1967)

Mr Charlesworth with Upper Five B

I passed through many masters’ hands over the years and still remember some names if not their subjects: Messrs Ensor, Bayes, Watson, Heritage and some who were given rather unkind nicknames: Fatty Baxter, Beefy Pearce, Nosey Parker, Stiffy Ladds, Bill Willis and of course Slimy Barton. One who escaped our cruelty was our form master in U5B, Mr Charlesworth, who I remember as a small, mild mannered father figure who attempted to instill some discipline and sufficient knowledge to enable us to pass the school certificate which I managed to do first time, much to my amazement.

Also in the yard was a larger corrugated iron gym, a place that filled me with foreboding as I wasn’t built to climb ladders, ropes and wall bars, nor to vault over horses. It was ruled by an ex-naval PTI named Bellinger who tried to build up some muscle in us weak and weedy specimens. I dreaded the time when he said “Get your boxing gloves on, three minutes in the ring”. I remember names of some fellow pupils, friends like Gilbert Trower, Ken Wigmore and Derek Herbert; form members Paul Gibb, Fred Northover, Bob Stewart, Mervyn Francis, Doug Lockhart, the Bott brothers, Ray Layton amongst others and others by repute or by sight – Alan Bristow, Sam Barnard, Frank Cranmore, Harry Pearce, Wally Organ, Phil Norster and Alan Donnelly. Some have passed on, a few during the War cut down in their prime, but what of the others? If I remember, Wednesday afternoons were designated as a sports period at Hilsea. My lack of athleticism meant being detailed to make up the number in a team and this resulted in me trying to avoid having the football passed to me in case I was tackled and flailing a cricket bat around in the vain hope of hitting the ball. We were also

forced to do cross country runs, but I will pass over that without comment. Apart from Sports Day, this was really the only sporting activity practiced in those days, although I must admit I used to look in admiration at those first eleven stalwarts, the Stobbs brothers, Lanyon, Collier, Ashton, Clavell and all the others. Some memories are blurred with age, but odd ones crop up such as the tuck shop in the basement where the toilets were and rows of pegs for our raincoats, detention periods in the Common Room (several times!) and having to wear the school cap at all times in public. Then there were the dreaded visits to E4. When the school was evacuated to Bournemouth, I was billeted with 2 or 3 others in a house in Southbourne and lessons were taken in a house nearby – the name unremembered. My outstanding memory of this period was of waking on the cliff top to the Sunday afternoon concerts by the Municipal Orchestra at the Pavilion. Looking back, I had 7 years of first class education which, although they may not have led to a high profile career, made me proud to wear the school uniform and to be a part of the ongoing history of Portsmouth Grammar School. Maurice Ralph OP (1932 -1939)

Wally Bartle tried to interest us in Art, unsuccessfully, and Mr Asher was in charge of woodwork. This took place in the hut in the grounds of the old school, but I think his efforts only equipped us to produce mis-shapen pipe racks and bookends. Headmaster James Priory (centre) hosts a Reunion for PGS Leavers 1935-45, November 2008. Maurice Ralph is seated far right.

OPUS • Issue 7 • Autumn 2012

Portsmouth Grammar School • www.pgs.org.uk

We’re Going on a Bear Hunt! Matt Allen OP (2003-2011), first got into photography while witnessing the salmon run in Canada. This amazing annual spectacle ignited a passion for the natural world which he hopes to build his career around. Matt, who was shortlisted for the internationally prestigious Veolia Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year, is reading Biology at Bristol University. Here he tells Opus that, despite the lack of mod-cons in North Vancouver Island, one of the last remaining wildernesses of the North American continent, he was happy to grin and bear it this summer in the hope of a chance encounter with one of the most feared and secretive mammals of all….

When I opened up my emails after the New Year celebrations, there it was; the news I had been waiting for! This, as Willy Wonka would say, was my ‘Golden Ticket’ to a truly memorable summer. After receiving the all clear from my University (University of Bristol) about passing my exams, my summer plans could now begin to be put in place, and the adventure could begin. On 31 July I headed off to Vancouver Island, located on the west coast of Canada. It was here that I would spend two months of my summer living the dream… showing people the magnificent Grizzly bear! My final destination was Telegraph Cove. This very small settlement, (population drops to 4 in the winter) was to be home for the summer, and it was from here that the company I was volunteering for, Tide Rip Tours, was based. I was told that I would get board and lodge in return for volunteering for the company, I really had no idea what to expect.

I was told my accommodation was basic: little did I know that basic to a Canadian meant no electricity, water or internet! Upon arrival I was shown to my new home, which was nothing more than a glorified cardboard box covered in fibreglass. It was affectionately named the palace, despite being ungainly located in a gravel pit. The ‘pit’ as it was referred to, was an

old carpark that was now occupied by young kayak guides and café workers. My trailer home was basic, but incredible, I felt like I was truly living in the middle of nowhere. Cooking was carried out on a camping stove, or if I was tipped from a tour, I treated myself to a bison burger from the Seahorse Café. Living with such few luxuries (electricity and water) was surprisingly enjoyable, I really felt like I was immersing myself in the outback way of life, definitely an enjoyable if at times uncomfortable lifestyle. Work officially started at 6 am, which meant getting up an hour earlier, and as any student or sane person knows, this is the most ungodly hour to to be awake. Getting up so early had its benefits though; one of the undoubted highlights was being able to witness the sun rise over the Johnstone Strait. As the season progressed and the days got shorter, the light outside when I woke up was zero, due to the remoteness of my location, there was minimal light pollution resulting in star-scapes that were breathtaking. There were no street lamps around, all I had was my torch to scan for beady eyes watching me in the bush.

The 10 minute walk to work was terrifying at times, one of the main thoughts being that North Vancouver Island has the highest concentration of cougars or mountain lions in the world. The tours were pretty much fully booked each day, and as guests arrived at 7 am they were briskly taken down to the boats ready for departure. There were three boats in the fleet, all 12 passenger 10 metre long aluminum based boats. On board every boat was a senior guide and a deckhand/interpretive guide. As

there are no Grizzly bears on Vancouver Island, we had to commute two hours to the mainland to find the animals. En route I had the wonderful task of serving breakfast to the hungry guests. The two hour crossing to the mainland was never dull; every day we saw Humpback Whales, Dalls Porpoise were practically a guarantee and Black Bears foraging on the beaches were a near certainty if the tides were favorable. After breakfast, I did the rounds of conversing with guests, getting them to sign up for tours and spotting wildlife. As my confidence grew, I began to give presentations about North American bears, the story of a salmon’s life cycle and Grizzly bear physiology and reproductive biology; though my signature talk quickly became ‘A Year in the Life of a Bear’. Part of being an interpretive guide, as the name suggests, was being able to get across to visitors the diversity of the region. This included explaining the geology of the area, local first nation culture, the economic importance of salmon farms and the correct identification of any wildlife species spotted. After the two hour boat ride, we transferred to specially designed flat bottom riverboats in Glendale Cove, Knights Inlet. These had viewing platforms on top, which proved invaluable when scanning for bears in metre high sedge flats! The engines were cut off once we were in the river, and the senior guide

and I hopped overboard to push the boats up the river in search of bears. Only when I saw my first bear while pushing the boat, did I realise that I was in some danger if the bear wasn’t in a good mood. These animals can run as fast as a race horse, and cover significant ground in a single stride. With little more than knee deep water between me and a 400 kg bear, my tour guiding experience just got a whole lot hair-raising! Bear sightings were hugely tide dependent, I guided on 5 days when no Grizzlies were seen; only 12 days out of 120 in the season were no bear days… not a bad record! Being my first season guiding, I didn’t have any amazing stories to tell around the camp fire about encounters like the other guides did, however after guiding for a summer, I can honestly say that 4 metres is very very close to one of the biggest land carnivores in the world! Taking care of the guests and positioning the boat for them was my main priority, but my camera was never far away and providing it was safe to do so, I never passed up an opportunity to snap some shots of these awesome animals! My time in Canada came to a close in late September after I travelled around once guiding had finished. With my goal in life focused on becoming a wildlife photographer, filmmaker or presenter; wildlife guiding and encouraging others to appreciate the natural world was the perfect way to spend my summer. Until I find opportunities to break into the filming industry, tour guiding is my number one route. It not only presents the opportunity for me to see amazing wildlife, but also allows me to meet people from all over the world. I’m a great believer in pursuing your passion in life... I guess you could say that it’s not so much a case of taking the bull by the horns, but more of taking the bear by the scruff of the neck! Matt Allen OP (2003-2011)

This new edition of PGS archivist John Sadden’s history of the Portsmouth area in the First World War is timely, with the approaching centenary of what was described as “the war to end all wars”. It brings together three years’ research together with a collection of photographs and memories from local people and provides a comprehensive and very readable social history of the area during the tumultuous years of 1914-18.

Photographs below are taken from Matt’s website, www.mattallenwildlife.com

The prelude to war in Britain’s premier naval port is described, including the area’s important role in the arms race, public reaction to the outbreak of war and the subsequent changes in attitudes to the conflict. The introduction of women into traditionally male workplaces like the dockyard, the efforts to encourage men to enlist and the fear and confusion as Portsmouth became the target for spies and Zeppelin attack are described in this well-researched and often moving account. Portsmouth Grammar School lost two teachers and at least 127 Old Portmuthians in the conflict and extracts from three letters written by serving OPs are included. “Vividly brings those days to life...the author captures the spirit of a time which began with jingoistic flag-waving and tub-thumping and ended in the horror and heartbreak of seemingly endless casualty lists.” Yesterday magazine “Fascinating reading... the writing is some of the best we have seen in the local history genre.“ Navy News

OPUS • Issue 7 • Autumn 2012

Portsmouth Grammar School • www.pgs.org.uk

Play together, Stay together With these words on 29 September 2012 Ken Bailey, rugby captain of the 1962 Ist XV, welcomed the team back to Hilsea for our 50th Reunion.

The initiative to pull the team together for its 50th Reunion began in earnest and we had great collaboration with the School’s Development team lead by Alasdair Akass. Initially it was rather like building a band with John on lead, Richard a strong vocalist supported by session players Ken Bailey, Peter Cunningham and Chris Clark plus me counting the beans. Before long, we began to find where most of the squad lived and the idea of articulating our life stories took shape. The editor, John Owens (with an even more skilful wordsmith wife, Eve), initially allowed us 300 words each plus one or two pictures but it was not long before this coverage was extended. Several of us suspected that it was the editor’s own life captured in a mere 1800 words that suddenly opened the door for the rest of us to double up! Then the wording and content came under fierce examination as the undisciplined style of the more scientifically trained members of the team was scrutinised and sent back for correction. HM Government classified pictures of warships were excluded but our dealings with the School and other alumni were to be encouraged. Slight tampering with the truth was tolerated.

Not only were all 23 of the Squad present but also the touch judge, Jon Webb, who had travelled from Prague.

The chance of us all being alive was estimated at over 250,000 to 1, higher still counting in two of our venerable coaches, Hoppy Hopkinson and Peter Barclay. The third coach, Ray Clayton, had only passed away weeks before and many Old Portmuthians had celebrated his life at his funeral on 20 September. The story of our 100% turn out plus these long odds captured the media’s imagination, starting with Meridian ITV and Portsmouth’s local paper The News. Three minutes on Meridian’s evening news, with a number of interviews including John Grant from Sydney, Richard Simonsen from Arizona and Philip White from British Columbia, captured the

spirit. The syndicated story then made the Sun, Mail, Express and Telegraph online websites that were translated into a quarter page in the Sun titled “Still kicking” and also two full page articles in the Daily Express, three days apart. We made page 3 of the Daily Express with the ‘then and now’ photos of the team under the headline “Nice Try!”, followed by some thoughtful journalism by David Robson with a full page in the editorial section titled “Never had it so good” and their bye line “Friends Reunited”. Fittingly the celebrations included a match between the current 1st XV and Churchers College, Petersfield, which the School won 55-0. What an appropriate score and we like to think that we stimulated their efforts that afternoon. Headmaster James Priory summed it up, “Our current first XV were inspired when they met the 1962 team. They couldn’t believe the camaraderie they still had after all this time”.

Inspire a generation This phrase achieved good resonance with the teenagers in the 2012 Olympics and so too for those of us of this age in 1962. In our case, inspiration first came from Portsmouth Grammar School and then from within the ranks of our own team. Opus played no small part as readers may have noticed the presence of two regular contributors, John Owens and Richard Simonsen. John has written several articles for Opus and Richard’s name kept cropping up as the story of his antics in Arizona and earlier athletic and professional career were there for all to read. Together they returned to the School in May 2011 and after meeting many of the existing sixth-form attended an impromptu gathering for eight of the 1962 team assembled at the Still & West in Old Portsmouth. That ‘then and now’ photograph appeared in Opus 5 and 6.

But where was Derek Case, the reserve hooker in 1962 from Wickham? Local sleuth, Peter Cunningham, paid a visit to the village and before long had dug up enough clues to find that Derek’s youngest brother lived locally and the connection was made. The date of the Reunion was established, tickets booked from far-flung parts of the world and the timing of the game switched to suit the 1962 team, all at the risk of disrupting the normal but, as can be seen from the School’s calendar, complex scheduling. The final MEN and BOYS book was published and distributed in late August, astounding many of us with its quality, vitality and pictures from over the years. Apart from write-ups for the 16 of us in the ‘Then and Now’ photo, there were seven others who had played: backs Peter Stafford, Mike Connor and Roger Crouch plus Derek Cannon, Derek Case, Jerry Owens and Tony Jeffries all in the pack, if not quite all in the team in question.

Were our lives and careers really that interesting? A copy has been lodged at both the British Library and the RFU! Old Portmuthians everywhere can purchase their own copy at a special price of £6 per copy (including p & p)

The start of the Reunion The Still & West again came into its own with the long distance flyers attempting to overcome their jet lag on the Friday evening and for them to believe something really was going to happen after fifty years away. A good number of Old Portmuthians and friends joined the pre-match reception on Saturday afternoon and for the first time our wives and girl friends met in the assembled throng, greatly improving the attractiveness of the afternoon. Fifty years of catching up began and the front row didn’t take long to snuggle up again. The Skipper held the floor and still remembered how to inspire the teams of 1962 and 2012, saying: “We absorbed the satisfaction to be gained from striving together to meet an aim that was over and above that of a single individual. We learned to recognise that it is equally important to meld together the talents of all the team players into a cohesive whole, rather than rely solely on the skills of any one of us in order to achieve success. We realised communication is key, a plan is essential, and this plan needs to change once the

opposition is engaged. I personally, and I think probably all of us, have relied time and time again on these principles to make our way through the lives and the careers we have chosen to follow since we were last together at school. We are so fortunate to have been given the opportunities to pick up these guiding ways on the pitch. But above all of these, whatever you do, we have been shown to make sure you have fun doing it. Life is so much better if you do. And most importantly, playing in a team provides a bond that lasts for always. The very fact that we are here today is clear proof of the maxim that ‘Those who play together, stay together’.” Ken Bailey also thanked Hoppy and Peter Barclay for their key roles of coaching and guiding the 1962 team. It was also the opportunity to make amends for not presenting colours to Dick Churm who had missed the last game in 1962 and Hoppy duly obliged by presenting the tasselled cap of yesteryear, so evident on the front cover of this Opus issue.

John Owens thanking Ken Bailey for his words of wisdom

continued...

OPUS • Issue 7 • Autumn 2012

Portsmouth Grammar School • www.pgs.org.uk

Play together, Stay together

The re-enactment of the 1962 team photo

Clapped off the field by (l to r) Dick Churm, Graham Wingate, Richard Blair (OP), Peter Stafford, Keith Dingle and David Thorp

Annual Rugby Presentation In a bid to create a legacy and to encourage current teams to stay in touch, the 1962 team presented the school’s current 1st XV side with a trophy – a rugby ball which we all had signed. We also pledged to present similar rugby balls every year for the next ten years to the player of the season, signed by all the members of each winner’s squad, in the hope that they will instil a similar sense of enduring camaraderie and friendship amongst future generations of PGS pupils.

Getting on with the game Pre-game, the 1962 team was able to stand tall in front of the even taller 2012 team for the combined photographs. Media interviews began and lasted for one hour from which the three minutes TV clip was eventually extracted. Judith Hopkins, John’s wife, was one of the interviewees but did not make the cut. All one hour’s worth is also available on disc from the Development Office. 55-0 later, the special 50 year reunion cake was displayed and all tucked in.

(l to r) Roger Crouch, Peter Stafford, Tony Jeffries, John Bartle, John Owens, Christine Thorp, Ken Bailey and Hoppy

The 1962 and 2012 teams and Old Portmuthians

Many thanks were expressed to Reg Way and his Hilsea team for the outstanding service and refreshments. None of us could remember the 1st XV pitch and the grounds as a whole in such superb condition – well done, Bob Wheeldon and his ground staff! Missing the heavy leather ball from 50 years ago meant the game looked so much quicker and points were rattled up faster at 5 per try as opposed to 3 in those days. We were sure this had nothing to do with differences in the fitness of today’s players.

The celebrations Forty-eight of the squad and guests dined in style at the Royal Naval Club. Guests of honour were Meg and Hoppy Hopkinson, Peter Barclay, Simon Clayton (Ray’s son and representative) and his partner Debbie. A series of toasts preceded the thanks to John Owens to whom we all owe much gratitude for leading our Reunion. Peter

Hoppy and Peter speaking at the dinner

and Hoppy gave their words of wisdom. Peter “I know why everyone is so polite to me; they would still be in trouble if they were not.” Hoppy “Thank you to John Owens and his Committee for organising a unique and memorable reunion. Many regrets that Raymond was missing but he would have said ‘it was a reight good do’. Congratulations to the 1962 team on their vitality and longevity. I put this down to good clean living in their youth.” Lunch next day was delightful and held at Jerry and Linda Owens’s house in Old Portsmouth. Yes, the Owens family has many branches as Jerry is John’s cousin. Special guests from the School were James and Helen Priory, Alasdair and Emily Akass and Ben Wilcockson, 1st XV captain in 2012. The continuing celebrations were interrupted only by the arrival of Phillip White two hours late for the 11a.m. photo shoot!

Throughout the preceding 18 months, Richard Simonsen had planned for the perfect re-enactment of the 1962 team picture. This was no mean feat as Richard lives in Scotsdale, Arizona but only recently had taken on an assignment in Kuwait as visiting professor of dentistry and appeared to circle the world on a regular basis. His photographic skills were evident in the pilot run and his planning reached a crescendo via increasing frequency of emails. The chairs on which we were to sit were taped down so that the exact background would be recreated under the Arch in the School under which 85 years of school children had passed. Tassel hats were discovered, or not, in attics but the School Archivist, John Sadden, had some spares. We were ready for the 11 a.m. shoot, lined up in our exact positions and had practised two facial expressions: ‘game face’ and ‘smiley face’. But where was Phillip, was he jet lagged? Photos were taken with a gap, touch judge Jon Webb was allowed to stand in. The youthful 90-year-old Peter Barclay took centre stage. There was also time to shoot the ladies sitting and standing in their partners’ positions. Eventually Richard thought Phillip would have to be pasted in later (at the time ‘pasted’ had several meanings!). But no, the red-faced British Columbian arrived and history was made. ITV was there and the School photographer, Chris Reed, exercised his skill. The media circus had the material that would make the national stage, the weekly copy of the International Express and eventually reach round the globe to Australian radio.

Richard and Judy Simonsen centre stage

The legacy of the 1962 reunion

“They have barely changed at all” was the flattery from the local newspaper. “They are winners in life” meant we had done well all still to be alive, or so said The Express. The opening words of the second Express article were nearer the mark: “It is rare for a rugby team’s greatest moment to come when their knees are old and stiff and their hair, if they still have any, has long since turned grey. But of Portsmouth Grammar School’s 1962 first XV that can truly be said. As a team they were not special - that season losing more than they won – but 50 years on they have come together, every last one of them... Every one of them felt compelled not to let the others down... Old friends can mean more not less.” The culmination of 18 months frantic emailing across the globe to achieve our coming together might have meant the end of a journey, albeit one that few of us

(l to r) back row, Viv Fifield, Jo Barrow, Lizzie Webster, Judith Hopkins, Christine Thorp, Moira Kendall. Front row, Verena Cannon, Juby Simonsen, Barbara Edwards, Lorna Bailey, Veronica Clark, Chantelle Tomlins, Marlies White

will ever forget. I am sure this is wrong as the emailing has not ceased! We realise that the community of our rugby players that came together from fifty years ago is real and lasting. The headline “Never had it so good” really does mean us. Our thanks go to Portsmouth Grammar School; for our education, our rugby team, the start of our careers and now their full support for our 50th Reunion. Play together, stay together! David Thorp (PGS 1953 – 1963) If you are inspired to hold your own reunion at the school or would like a copy of Men and Boys, please get in touch with the Development Office team at development@pgs.org.uk or telephone 023 9268 1392.

OPUS • Issue 7 • Autumn 2012

Portsmouth Grammar School • www.pgs.org.uk

k c a r T e d i s In Entertainment Repo

(Below) Joe has rubbed shoulders with some of the most popular names in film and television including, (from top to bottom), Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley in the Harry Potter film series), Russell Brand, Dermot O’Leary and Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy in the Harry Potter film series)

rter

The latest OP to be in the spotlight for Inside Track is Joe Michalczuk (1994-2001), entertainment reporter for Sky News, who works on television, radio and across the digital spectrum. He has worked in media for the past ten years at BSkyB and ITN and has interviewed countless figures in the public eye from Liam Neeson, Robbie Williams and Kylie Minogue to Russell Brand, Daniel Craig and Hugh Grant. He is also an accomplished sports broadcaster, having worked at Talksport and on the news and sports desk at IRN reading bulletins, reporting, writing and subbing copy for over 200 newsrooms across the UK as well as providing match day build-up and commentary as Chief Reporter for Portsmouth Football Club. Joe is a former ITN Young Journalist of the Year and Birmingham Young Journalist of the Year. Joe’s interest in journalism began at PGS and at 16 he began working for The News, writing a weekly football column which appeared alongside Harry Redknapp’s. He also set up and ran the hugely successful Pompey supporters website Fratton Faithful, which he later sold. He spent his gap year in the PGS English department, all the time honing his journalistic skills on The News and on The Quay, before going to Manchester University to read English. While there, he was the Manchester City commentator and reporter for Key 103. He has come into school regularly to talk to budding journalists in the Sixth Form about his experience of sports journalism, giving an insight into the world of radio broadcasting, with tips on match commentary and news reporting, and has even invited pupils to shadow him for a day. ‘I really enjoyed my time at PGS. It’s a school that allows you to become a confident person and have the faith in yourself to go for what you want. The environment and support I received there certainly help me focus on my ambitions and chase them, ‘ Joe says.

What are the best and worst things about your job?

Who is the most poisonous celebrity you’ve ever had to interview?

There was a moment last month, when I was sitting with a glass of champagne in my hand, legs stretched out on an upper class Virgin flight to NYC, when I thought this isn’t a bad way to earn a living – and to be honest without sounding too sickening, I actually love my job. Every day is different, I get to meet some interesting characters and see inside the hilariously pampered world that is ‘celebrity’. There are times when I’m off to speak to some reality TV contestant when I think I could be using my brain a little more - a personal low was “interviewing” Pudsey the dog (last year’s winner of Britain’s Got Talent) – but I have little to complain about – the highs definitely outweigh the lows.

‘Poisonous’ is quite a harsh word – but one that is very apt for Katie Price. Without going into too many details, my Editor once spent a whole day locked in meetings with Sky Lawyers after - the glamour model formerly known as Jordan – made a legal complaint against me. The worst thing about it was that my Editor’s ‘defence’ to more and more senior people at Sky was that “Joe’s a big fan of Katie, he would never set out to upset her” – it got me off the hook, but I have a very familiar surname, so if I ever meet people over at Sky One or Sky Atlantic, they look puzzled for a moment and then always go “oh – as in the Katie Price fan”. Other celebrities who could do with a reality check include Zac Efron (“Zac is very hot, he needs a fan brought to his room immediately and it must only be pointed and blowing on Mr Efron’s face”) and Rihanna who postponed a FIVE MINUTE interview with me, 30 seconds into it, so that she could go ‘rest’ for two hours….

Which celebrity number is on your phone? Umm an eclectic mix of Eamon Holmes (does he count?) Dermot O’Leary and Harry Redknapp… celebrities and journalists are more likely to tweet each other these days though… which is the perfect time to plug mine… you can find me on @joemichalczuk What single piece of advice would you give to someone who has set their sights on a career in broadcast journalism? Start young – get yourself known by tweeting and blogging and pestering local radio stations or newspapers for work experience. With local media merging into regional hubs it’s getting more difficult to gain experience but places are still happy to have someone helping out at a weekend if you show initiative and enthusiasm to be a journalist. It’s a competitive industry and being proactive will separate you from the others. At university, get a degree in something other than journalism and immerse yourself in the student paper/radio station. All of the big companies now require a post-graduate diploma from the NCTJ – there are about 15 courses in the country. Finally the ‘big three’ broadcasters Sky, ITN and the BBC all offer graduate trainee schemes – so they’re worth looking at early on to see exactly what you’ll need to apply once you’ve got your NCTJ/BJCT qualification. You have already interviewed some of the most recognisable and famous faces on television and in film. Who is the one person in the public eye that you have yet to interview, that you would most like to? Daniel Day Lewis and Maggie Smith would be up there due to the fact they don’t really ‘do’ interviews – and the only ‘A’ lister I’ve got left to tick off that list is Tom Cruise – but he’s got a couple of new films out in 2013 so hopefully I’ll be able to sort that out in the next few months. Directing wise it’s got to be Spielberg – the architect of modern blockbuster cinema – he’s also over here in the new year for Lincoln so that will be a big moment sitting opposite the man behind ET, Jaws, Indiana Jones etc. What in your opinion has been your ‘killer’ interview question and what has been the best answer to a question you’ve posed to an interviewee? Not sure about a ‘killer’ question – but it’s always a great feeling when an interviewee thanks you for asking ‘different’ questions. I’ve asked plenty of questions where I’ve been ‘killed’ though – Michelle Pfeiffer was affronted when I asked her about a ‘sexy vampire flick she’s filming with Zac Efron’ (moral of the story – never trust Wikipedia). Matthew McConaughey’s publicist physically stepped inbetween us when I asked him about his waxing habits (he was discussing a movie about male strippers) and most recently Daniel Craig had to ask me “Are you flying half mast because you’re interviewing Commander Bond?” – I promptly did my flies up. Do you miss life away from the sports desk? The biggest change was getting used to PRs signing off their emails with a kiss (X) – I had a crisis of confidence and thought about adding a ‘xoxo’ to my email signature – but decided against it. Put it this way, when you’re dealing with football clubs the dilemma of whether to sign off an email with a kiss never cropped up. However I still haven’t completely left the world of sport – you can catch me doing the Portsmouth FC commentary every Saturday afternoon on 93.7 Express FM from 2pm (add another point to question 4 – you have to be a shameless self publicist). Is the life of a celebrity correspondent all freebies and film premieres? Well what you’ve got to remember is that when I’m at an after party or a red carpet or a film screening... I’m actually officially at work. Does that answer your question? What’s the competition like with other journalists vying to get the red carpet scoop? We’re a friendly bunch really in broadcast journalism – we leave scoops to the more uncivilised press – I’ve seen it get nasty between various paparazzi and Daily Star journalists before!

Among the celebrities that Joe has interviewed in the past year are One Direction, Gary Barlow, Lord Andrew Lloyd-Webber and Zac Efron

And finally, tell us a really exclusive piece of celebrity gossip? I’m not going to tell Opus – when I can sell it to Heat for 200 quid!

We need to talk about Percy The annual Percy Westerman Seminar, which has been held at the school for the last two years, has drawn academics, collectors and ‘ripping yarn’ aficionados from all over the country. The 2013 event takes place at the school on Saturday, 16th February, 10am-4pm. Tickets are available by telephoning organiser Nigel Gossop on 02392 375594 or emailing him at westermanyarns@gmail.com Percy, who attended PGS from 1890 to 1893, wrote at least 174 adventure novels between 1908 and his death in 1959, as well as numerous magazines articles and stories. Among them were tales of the sea, scouting, deeds of derring-do, science fiction and historical adventure. A PGS monograph, Tales of Pluck and Daring - the life and work of Percy F. Westerman by Nigel Gossop is available free of charge from the school. Selected cover images from the school’s Westerman book collection have been reproduced as wonderfully evocative greetings cards (priced at £1 each) and packs of notelets (£4), with every purchase benefiting the school’s bursary fund. To order either the monograph or greetings cards and notelets, please get in touch with the school Development Office at development@pgs.org.uk or telephone 023 9268 1392.

OPUS • Issue 7 • Autumn 2012

Portsmouth Grammar School • www.pgs.org.uk

The Original Bulldog

His final contribution to the School was as Careers Master in which post his well judged initiatives coupled to his wide research were widely recognised and hugely appreciated by many beneficiaries.

An OP’s appreciation of Peter Barclay

Peter has always had an outstanding flair for relating to people of all sorts. New pupils lost their shyness when he greeted them, parents felt welcome when he courteously showed them to their seats at a service or concert. He so obviously enjoyed all the personal contacts connected with school life that he made everyone share that enjoyment. Many thousands of past members of the School gladly acknowledge a debt of gratitude to him.

Born on 15 July 1922 Peter got off to a brisk start, as he always would, and had experienced life in his father’s various vicarages in Tyne and Wear, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly by the age of six. The bomb demolished the School and temporarily blinded him.

Clearly an attentive and receptive pupil - playing Snap at three, Whist at six and Bridge at eight - he vindicated his mother’s teaching technique at her small school in the vicarage at Lelant in Cornwall by getting a place at the Dragon School in Oxford in 1930, a bit of a family ‘business’ as it had been founded by Skipper Lynam, his Grandfather. Continuing his already very accomplished start in life, he then won an Exhibition in 1936 to St Edward’s, Oxford. Meanwhile, in 1935 The Reverend Cyril Barclay had been appointed vicar of Holy Trinity, Gosport. It was here that with his wife, Catherine, the family later devoted themselves to the wartime care of both parishioners and local residents who lived perilously close to the attention being given to Portsmouth Naval Base by the Luftwaffe. To this day, Barclay House stands on Trinity Green - on the Gosport side of the Ferry in commemoration of the renowned work done by The Reverend Cyril and Catherine throughout the Second World War and, no doubt in the early days, also by Peter and his brother, Tim. Leaving St Edward’s in 1940 and while waiting to join up, he got a job at Fleetlands near Fareham and lived in the vicarage for a while. Returning one evening from the Criterion Cinema and hearing a bomb whistling above him, he threw down his bike and hurled himself behind the wall of the South Street C of E Primary School.

Eventually, however, Peter was able to push his bike home very slowly and, looking understandably disshevelled by the near miss, was met by his Mother - a courageous and resilient First World War Ambulance Driver in the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry (FANY) - who asked him whether he had fallen off his bike again! After staying with friends in Scotland for a while, he joined up in Inverness in the 42nd Regiment – Black Watch and was duly promoted to Lance Corporal. Later commissioned in the Royal Northumberland Fusiliers, he landed in Normandy at Arromanches on D+6 and fought in the subsequent campaigns westwards across France, Belgium, Holland and Germany with 21st Army Group until VE Day on 8 May 1945. Duly de-mobbed in 1947 - having remained in the Army while awaiting his place at Oxford - he went up to Hertford College to read English and completed the two year course available to Ex-Servicemen for the award of a Dip Ed.

Captaining the College Cricket and Hockey X1s, he had a University trial at Hockey, scored four goals and was promptly not selected for a Blue! Grounds for an appeal there, these days, surely! Peter first appeared at PGS during Donald Lindsay’s Headmastership as a ‘student prince’ in 1950 and the Headmaster and boys so enjoyed his company that he was very soon offered a permanent post which he took up in September 1951. For some 35 years, Peter taught Geography, English and Religious Education mainly in middle and ‘O’ Level forms. His style was lively and dynamic. It stimulated and amused his charges. No one ever went to sleep in a ‘Basher’

period! Pupils understood instinctively that, beneath the genial and jesting manner, there was the conscientiousness, determination, firm discipline and skilful technique of a born schoolmaster. Perhaps the most eye-catching feature of his professional life was his wholehearted engagement in every conceivable extra mural activity. In rugby it was he who introduced the terms ‘Bullpup’ and ‘Bulldog’ to the School vocabulary as the names of the U12 and U13 rugby teams that he both organised and coached so assiduously and successfully. Coaching cricket was undertaken with equal vigour, commitment and focussed enthusiasm with his coaching principles also applied as he batted and bowled for the MCC (Masters’ Cricket Club). Having been a serving officer in the Second World War Peter was, of course, ideally placed to offer his knowledge and practical experience to the Combined Cadet Force which he did with his customary mix of élan and thoughtfulness - eventually commanding the Contingent with conspicuous success between 1963 and 1970. It was, however, Peter’s ability to transmit his own enthusiasm to young pupils that so impressed your correspondent as an 11 year old in the mid 1950s. Most, if not all, of us were delighted to learn that on wintry Friday afternoons at Hilsea his specially amended rules of ‘British Bulldog’ allowed you to run headlong into another 11 year old without being punished or made to apologize! Marvellous! Could The Reverend William Webb Ellis have ever imagined what it was he had unleashed when ‘with a fine disregard for the Laws of the game, as then written, he picked up the ball and ran with it........’ Much more important than the mechanics and tactics of Rugby, Peter taught us its ethos - which he himself, albeit unknowingly, embodied - and ensured that we were aware of the

Peter Barclay (left) during CCF inspection mid - late 1960s

lasting friendships that would be made during the ‘third half’. How right he was and how lucky we all were to be imbued with this at 11! It could equally well have been Peter speaking when Willy John McBride, while captaining Ireland and the British Lions, said that years after the score and details of a match had been forgotten, what you do not forget are the friendships made and kept. Whenever any kind of school entertainment was being planned, Peter’s assistance was sought. For oratorios in the Guildhall and Carols in the Cathedral he was a leading member of the bass section of the Choral Society.

In his athletic younger days, clad in the family kilt, he would gladly teach Scottish Country Dancing to his colleagues and pupils. As a leading performer in an entertainment called ‘Staff and Nonsense’ he appeared in a mock ballet which ended with the Headmaster in a statuesque pose with his foot firmly on the Barclay chest! A man involved in, and comfortable with, such a range of School activities was clearly destined to employ his talents as a House Master. He did so and was House Master of Hawkey for some years and subsequently of Latter House. In both

posts he quickly absorbed a detailed knowledge of all in his charge and his care, inspired them in their work and won both the confidence and respect of their parents. Greatly assisted by Ruth, his wife, Peter demonstrated his versatility by acting as Secretary of the Appeal Fund soon after the School became independent and raised £200,000. This campaign brought him into contact with many Old Boys and strengthened his ties with the OP Club. It was a well deserved honour when he was elected its President in the Club’s Centenary year in 1985.

With the vast Barclay clan having mustered in Lee-on-Solent in July this year - including Peter’s step daughters Susan and Lee and his younger brother, Tim - to celebrate his 90th birthday, Peter’s zest for life continues apace - leaving home at 0630 on golfing days, playing top level bridge and even being spotted this summer at Wimbledon - in the Centre Court of course! Where else? Thank you, Peter, for all that you have brought, and are continuing to bring, to the lives of so many people. Please be assured that it is hugely appreciated by all those privileged to have known you in your many roles. Peter Cunningham OP (1957-1963)

Peter Cunningham with Peter Barclay, Fawcett Pavilion, Hilsea Playing Fields, September 2012

OPUS • Issue 7 • Autumn 2012

Portsmouth Grammar School • www.pgs.org.uk

Annual OP Summer Tennis and Cricket Matches 29 June 2012

singing for your supper This year’s annual Old Portmuthian Club Supper – in its first incarnation as an ‘Autumn Soirée’ - proved to be a most enjoyable evening for all those who came along.

This year a triumphant OP Cricket team celebrated their first victory against the PGS 1st XI in many years and there was further success for the OP Tennis team. Cameron Prentice, Captain of the OP team, reports on a closely fought match. Old Portmuthians vs. PGS 1st XI Cricket Match The annual cricket match between the 1st XI and the Old Portmuthians provides a great opportunity for former pupils to return and compete at the school playing fields. Although the game was doubtful following poor weather conditions, after a brief delay due to rain, the game got underway.

It is always a popular and thoroughly enjoyable evening, so what contributes to its ongoing success? A simple answer is the variety of entertainment that the evening provides to OPs and their guests. Walking back under the school’s splendid arch and glancing across the quad brings back memories of our younger days. We made our way to the foyer of the David Bawtree Building for a drinks reception. Looking around we saw many old friends and others who we had come to know in more recent years and had the chance to move around and meet them again. At 8pm we took our seats in the Rotunda. The entertainment varies from year to year, but in the celebratory year of 2012, organisers treated us to a veritable revue of musical talent showcasing pupils past and present. First up we witnessed two gifted pupils, Melissa Talbot and Phoebe Pexton, who sang and played the flute

respectively. We were reliably informed that Melissa is a member of no less than 5 different choirs! The pupils were accompanied by Karen Kingsley from the school’s Music Department. Then it was time for a change in tempo as Dr Dave Allen OP (1958-1967) and guitarist Dennis Reeve-Baker (part of the band Reet, Petite and Gone for which Dave is lead vocalist) had us all toe-tapping along to their unique blend of folk, blues and skiffle. Next came a theatrical interlude. Ian Nicholson OP (1993-1995), took on the role of polar explorer Captain Robert Falcon Scott. He demonstrated his considerable acting skills with a combination of movement, speech, sound effects and humour. Ian spoke passionately about his new theatre company, Tinder, which has strong links with Portsmouth’s New Theatre Royal. Tinder’s first production,

The Last March, is a dramatisation of the epic struggle of Captain Robert Falcon Scott and his men to conquer the South Pole and receives its world premiere at the Bike Shed Theatre in Exeter before Christmas. Ian appealed to OPs for funding to enable this important story to be told. (Read more about Ian’s recreation of Captain Scott’s ill-fated polar expedition in the Curtain Up article on page 10.) The final entertainers on the bill were James Priory, the Headmaster and Ben Charles, Deputy Head Co-curricular rounding off the evening with their rendition of the Abba hit Thank you for the Music. All the performers received enthusiastic applause from an appreciative audience. At around 9pm came the final pleasure, a generous buffet supper in the school Dining Hall. Round tables seating ten people made it possible to join old friends and perhaps make new acquaintances. It was another chance to share conversation, recall memories and update on some aspects of our lives. Table by table we were invited to select from an extensive variety of delicious food, provided by the pleasant and hard-working school catering staff.

Batting first, the OPs started steadily on a damp surface at Hilsea but then lost several wickets to find themselves 38-4, with accurate bowling spells from James Hammond, Leo Patterson, Rory Prentice and Andrew Gorvin. Past captains Will Bond and Cameron Prentice then rebuilt the innings for the Old Boys and began to pick up the run-rate. Particular aggression was shown against the 1st XI spinners and the pair took the score to 110-4 in the 16th over when Prentice retired having brought up his 50. Despite losing regular wickets towards the end of the innings, the OPs continued to score at a very healthy rate and eventually finished on 150 off their 20 overs. In reply, whilst Jamie Scott bowled well for the OPs, PGS started their innings quickly with opening pair Jack Marston and Seth Jackson going at the run rate from the off. Jess Walklin bowled accurately for the OPs during the middle overs to raise the required rate above 8 an over. In spite of the efforts with the bat of PGS staff member Nick Cooper, the 1st XI could not score sufficiently during the later stages of their innings, with Chris Stone bowling especially tightly. Twenty runs off Miles Walker’s final over proved too many for the 1st XI and they fell short by 11 runs, resulting in a rare victory for the OPs – the first in many years. Many thanks to Scott Curwood and Sam Lavery for umpiring the game and organising a great occasion for all Old Portmuthians. Final Scores - Old Boys: 150-8. PGS 1st XI: 139-5 Cameron Prentice OP (1997-2011) During the afternoon John Thorp presented the Thorp Bat Award to the most talented cricketer, PGS 1st XI member, Robert Gibson. The award is made in memory of John Thorp senior who was Second Master at PGS until 1976 and a keen cricketer who played for the MCC for many years.

Old Portmuthians vs. PGS 1st VI Tennis Match In a very wet summer the rain relented for a few hours to allow the annual OPs vs. PGS 1st VI Tennis match to take place on Friday 29thJune. Whilst the rain stopped, the infamous wind that so often sweeps across the playing fields at Hilsea was very much present from the start of the match and the challenge was to see which team would cope with it best. The OP team was somewhat depleted this year through a combination of injuries and prior commitments and comprised of just two pairs: Jim Hayward (1974-1981) & John Stones (1967-1977) and David Thorp (19531963) & Tim Clark (1984-1991). The school had arranged for three pairs to play and it was decided that the OP’s should play two sets against each of the school pairs. In truth the OP team had something of an advantage with all four players being involved with tennis clubs and consequently playing a lot of doubles tennis. Match of the day was a closely contested game between Jim & John and school pair Billy Crawford & Tom Arnold with the OP’s prevailing 6-3 6-4. The final result was a 6 rubbers to 0 win for the OP’s. It is fair to say that the OP’s used their experience and made the most of the windy conditions. For the record the other two school pairs comprised Freddie Bell & Henry Scanlon and Toby Bennett & Tom Lavery. Overall it was an enjoyable afternoon and as always we were looked after very well by the Hilsea catering staff with a nice supper.

A big thank you to those who contributed to making it a most enjoyable evening. If you missed it this year, make sure you come along to the next one! John Roberts OP (1943-1948)

Despite having a depleted team Tim Clark, OP Tennis Captain, reports on an enjoyable match which resulted the OPs being victors for a second year running.

Tim Clark OP (1984-1991)

The OP Club salver for Cricket was presented to Jamie Rood, PGS 1st XI Captain, by John Bartle, the OP Club President.

OPUS • Issue 7 • Autumn 2012

Portsmouth Grammar School • www.pgs.org.uk

News of Old Portmuthians

Dave HOLBY-WOLINSKI (1990-1999)

Sarah BATEMAN (1985-1987)

Reginald DREW (1930-1939)

The Old Portmuthian Charity was delighted to welcome Sarah onto the Board of Trustees earlier in the year. Sarah has not long returned from an epic charity drive from Hampshire to Cape Town, taking in about 20 countries and covering 20,000 miles. She has previously served on the Committee of the Old Portmuthian Club.

Samantha graduated in mid July with her First Class BA Honours degree and after auditioning in both England and across Europe, has now secured her first professional job in classical ballet with the Vienna Ballet.

Opus sends warmest congratulations to Reg and wife Marie, who had a party on 10 November to celebrate their 70th wedding anniversary. The couple met in Towyn, on the North Wales coast on 29 July 1942 at an Army Cadet staff dance and were engaged shortly afterwards. In November that year, Reg went from being Assistant Instructor in Gunnery at Tonfanau in Gwynedd to a posting to with his regiment, which was mobilising at Headingley, for immediate departure overseas, so the couple married in haste at Lenton, Nottingham on 9 November 1942. The couple, who have two children and two granschildren, moved to Southampton after the War before finally settling in Solihull in 1960. Marie ran two hair salons in Nottingham while Reg enjoyed a career in insurance after the Army. And the secret to such a long and happy marriage? Reg defers to Marie, who states: “Well, we don’t really ever quarrel and we tend to do as we like and not boss each other about!”

Phil BOYLE (1960-1967)

Dan FRAMPTON (2009-2011)

After leaving PGS Phil studied at the University of Durham and at RAF College Cranwell. He then pursued a career as an operational pilot in the RAF, retiring after twenty years service. He went on to work for leading management consultancies for a almost five years before becoming a co-founder and Managing Director of Ramsay Hall Ltd. (Recruitment Consultants). Phil is a Chartered Engineer with first degrees in Engineering and Maths and Masters Degrees in Avionics Systems and Management Sciences. He is also President of the global Royal Aeronautical Society (RAeS) and in 2004 was awarded the RAeS Sir Robert Hardingham Sword for outstanding service to the Society. His interests include anything to do with aircraft, classic cars and recreational mathematics.

Former PGS Senior Prefect Dan has been elected (by some considerable margin) as JCR President of University College Oxford for the academic year 2012-2013.

Dr Dan BERNEY (1974-1984) Congratulations to Dan, Consultant GU Pathologist at Barts and the London NHS Trust, who has been appointed Professor of GU Pathology at Barts. After gaining a 1st class degree at Jesus College, Cambridge and UCL Dan became a Registrar at Barts. He was appointed Consultant Histopathologist in 1998 and focused on research into male genito-urinary malignancies. In 2007 he was appointed Honorary Reader and has published 75 peer reviewed papers. Samantha BOSSHARDT (1997-2009)

and wife Lara are delighted to announce the birth of their daughter Saskia Elizabeth, who was born on October 6 at 10.37pm weighing 7lbs 7oz. Dave says “Just like her mummy, Saskia’s a bit of a cracker”.

Ed LESLEY (2006 Leaver) After graduating from Warwick University with a degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics, Ed is now employed by BlackRock Investment Management on a graduate scheme and for the past two years has worked in the Fixed Income division. His role focuses primarily on deciding which bonds to invest in from European banks. Ed has faced a steep learning curve as he knew little about the investment industry before joining Black Rock, but he’s finding the work very enjoyable.

Alex HIBBERT (1990-1996) Alex Hibbert, extreme adventurer, acclaimed photographer and world record holder, had a new book published on 25 May 2012.

Rebecca DALE (1991-1998) Rebecca, one of the first girls at PGS, has become engaged to The Honourable Timothy John McDiarmid, younger son of the late Lord Clyde and Lady Clyde. Fellow OP Jemma Mitchell (1991-1998) is to be bridesmaid at the wedding will take place in Edinburgh in May 2013. Rebecca is a Specialist Urology Registrar at Broomfield Hospital in Essex.

Kate LOW (2002-2004)

KALAALLIT NUNAAT – Land of the People is a beautiful and candid photographic account of life in Greenland. The photographs reveal the traditional and changing way of life for the Greenlandic Inuit, as well as the harsh reality of polar exploration. Book details. Published 25/05/2012 by Tricorn Books. ISBN 9780957107441 Andrew HIND CB (1967-1973) The Old Portmuthian Charity was delighted to welcome Andrew, former Chief Executive of the UK Charity Commission, onto the Board of Trustees earlier in the year.

Katie is currently in her fourth year of her DPhil at Magdalene College Oxford. Her varied graduate career has included a year at the Ecole Normale Supérieure in Paris and Katie has now just been appointed Lecturer in Ancient History and Director of Studies for Classics at Regent’s Park College. Tom SEEBOLD (1997-2011) OPs Tom Seebold, James Gibson, Connor Guille and Matt Arnold have built on the musical opportunities afforded them at PGS and have formed the acoustic rock band, Heronshaw. The band’s first EP, entitled The Truth, It Hurts, was launched in August at the Spinnaker Tower. Now based in London, the band members are Tom Seebold (vocals, keyboards), James Gibson (guitars), Connor Guille (vocals, bass) and Matt Arnold (drums). The band’s details and samples can be found on http://heronshaw.bandzoogle.com Helena SCHOLFIELD (2003-2010) Helena has been elected President of the Cambridge University Women’s Boat Club. Currently in her second year studying Medicine at Trinity Hall, Cambridge, she rowed at bow in Blondie in the 2012 Henley Boat Races.

Ian LINES (1974-1984) Ian is Chief Engineer at Atkins (Engineering and Design Consultancy). He is also an international croquet player, having played international representative croquet for Great Britain since 2004. Ian started playing croquet in 1993 and won the All England Association Handicap Championship in 1995. He played for Great Britain in their successful Solomon Trophy team against the USA in Palm Springs and achieved his highest world ranking of ninth in early 2005. During that year he also represented England in the Home Internationals, played in the Plate Final of the British Opens and got through to the knockout stages of the WCF Association World Championships. In March 2006 Ian represented England in the World Golf Croquet Championships in Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand. Ian’s brothers ,Peter and Robert , featured in an earlier issue of Opus when they visited the school. Both now live in Australia.

Michael SHEPHERD (1948-1957) Michael and Mary have recently celebrated their Golden Wedding. They were married at St John’s Church, Purbrook, in July 1962 and were fortunate that all their close family (Michael’s brother, John (55-65), Mary’s sister, two daughters, four grandchildren and one great grandson) as well as the best man, Nick Stone OP and both bridesmaids were able to be present at the celebration.

OPUS • Issue 7 • Autumn 2012

Portsmouth Grammar School • www.pgs.org.uk

In memoriam

Ernest William READ (6/11/17 – 26/04/2012)

Opus is saddened to report the death of the following Old Portmuthians and colleagues Prof. Donald BOULTER CBE, MA, DPhil (Botany) (1926-2012) Donald Boulter, Emeritus Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Durham, was at PGS from 1938-1944 and, through a distinguished academic career, established himself as one of the world’s leading experts in plant genetics. The Boulter Prize in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry is an annual award made by the University to a student reading for a degree in Molecular Biology who performs most meritoriously, at or near first class standard, in either the second year or Finals examinations. Professor Boulter was also instrumental in establishing the world-renowned Durham University Botanic Garden, which is set amongst beautiful mature woodlands on the southern outskirts of the city. The Boulter Room, part of the Garden’s Visitor Centre, hosts educational talks and public lectures on all aspects of botany and horticulture. Always “Prof” to his students, Donald was an inspirational teacher whose aim was to achieve better crop production through the application of biochemistry and molecular biology. He did much to shape the path of plant science and its leading institutions across the world.

Ray CLAYTON (1922–2012) It is with great sadness that the PGS community heard the news of Ray Clayton’s death in September, following a short illness. Ray taught Geography at PGS from 1950 to 1987, following war service in the King’s African Rifles fighting the Japanese in Burma. A Cambridge graduate, Ray’s leadership, drive and enthusiasm quickly led to his appointment as Head of Smith House and later to Head of Geography, where his

department flourished with increasing numbers of students leaving to read Geography at university. His classroom work was enhanced by annual field trips to the Lake District (as recounted in Philip Ventham’s excellent article in Opus 6) and Ray’s contribution to the Combined Cadet Force and the sporting life of the school was immense. Ray was an inspirational teacher and a friend to many former pupils and teaching colleagues, and he will be greatly missed. Many hundreds of OP and staff mourners gathered for his memorial service on Thursday 20 September at St Peter’s Church, Somerstown, Portsmouth and he was represented at the 1962/3 First XV Rugby Reunion by son Simon, OP (1968-1978).

Peter H HUTCHINGS (15/04/29 – 09/2012) Peter attended PGS from 1937-1940 and was at the school when pupils were evacuated initially to Sparsholt, then Southbourne. His funeral service took place at Drayton Methodist Church on 11 October.

Beryl MARTIN (Died 28/05/12) Beryl worked in various capacities at PGS for 35 years the last 15 years spent at Hilsea, where she regaled successive generations of PGS and opposing teams with legendary match teas and was muchloved by colleagues and pupils alike. She retired aged 75, but continued to love her sport especially cricket and football (Beryl was a passionate supporter of Manchester United Football Club.) She will be sadly missed by all who knew her.

Rodley Meredith PARKER (04/08/16 – 01/03/2012) Rodley attended PGS from 1929 to 1935. We are grateful to Rodley’s son, Jon Parker, for this appreciation of his life.

My father represented PGS in Cricket (wicket keeper and sometimes opening batsman). He was also proficient at Fives (form of hand ball played in an open court against a wall), and enjoyed cross country running and small bore shooting. After leaving school he joined the Westminster Bank and rose to become Area Manager in the South West. During the War he married Muriel Ash in 1940, and served in the Royal Navy as the Captain’s Secretary aboard HMS Erebus. He spent four years at sea then joined Muriel in Ceylon until the end of the War. After returning home he continued with his career in the bank and had three children, Susan, Penelope and Jonathan. He told me of the sadness he felt when he returned to the school to view the Book of Remembrance and read the names of the many young men that he had known as boys who had perished serving their country. Rod was a committed Christian and was respected professionally for his honesty and fairness. In his later years he wrote his memoirs, excerpts of which have been placed in the school archives. Dad loved his time at Portsmouth Grammar School and returned recently with Sidney his brother. He was hugely impressed by the facilities now available. In fact a photo of him at the school during the visit is on the PGS website – he was very proud of that! Excerpt from Rodley Parker’s memoirs:. “I have had a long life and whilst I may not have become wise, I must I hope (like the man who wrote Proverbs in the Bible) have acquired some wisdom. I have had moments of success and generally I have enjoyed a wonderful life, receiving a great deal of love from my dear wife, my lovely family, my wonderful parents, and my friends. If there is a message that I would like to pass on (and I hope it does not sound too trite) it is what Jesus said -“I am giving you a new command - Love one another.” (John 13 Verses 31-38). With all humility I give you the thought that we are all human (God knows this of course), so don’t let your failings depress you. Try to rise above them and ask for forgiveness. Strengthen your faith. Life is for living, enjoying, learning and loving. Believe in Jesus, there is no other way.....”

Ernest died on 26 April 2012 aged 94 years, making him one of the oldest Old Portmuthians. He attended PGS from 1926– 1933. After passing the school certificate in 1933, he went on to enjoy a long and prominent career in banking. He quickly rose from bank clerk to being appointed Manager of the Commercial Road branch of the National Provincial Bank in 1962 – the exact post which his father had held for 23 years until 1946. Ernest was very highly regarded within banking circles, serving as President of Portsmouth and District Centre of the Institute of Bankers in 1967 and finishing his career as Advances Manager to the National Westminster Group of Banks. He was very proud of his association with the school and maintained regular contact with PGS, donating regularly to the Bursary Fund, enabling the school to offer places to those most able to benefit from a PGS education who would not otherwise be in a position to attend.

Revd Michael Derek VINE (1935-2011) We are indebted to the Revd Peter Bryant OP (1948-1953), Michael’s school and lifelong friend, for allowing us to base this appreciation on his funeral tribute. Michael attended PGS from 1948 -1953, playing rugby for the school and taking an active part in the Debating, Choral, and ‘Lit and Phil’ Societies. But despite outstanding academic excellence, gaining entry to Christ Church, Oxford, things rarely seemed to go totally smoothly for him. The text from the Sermon on the Mount, “God causes the rain to fall on the just and the unjust”, seemed to be so true in his case, with his having far more than his fair share of the rain. Also, perhaps it was that, blessed by God with a fine mind, he could turn his mind to too many things, and thus it took time to find his true niche in life. At that time, after school, National Service was required of every boy, Michael serving in the Intelligence Corps in the Government listening post in Cyprus, decoding cold war intercepts. Then on going to Oxford he realised he had made a mistake in his choice of subjects, and found his interest in physics waning, whilst increasingly his mind turned to the mysteries of theology and spirituality. However, having been accepted for

ministerial training, the Theological College he chose (Ely) decided to close down, and he had to find his own way ahead. But he overcame the difficulties, passed the necessary exams, and was accepted as a curate at Syston in the Diocese of Leicester. It was here that he married his first wife Valerie, whom he had met originally when she was a librarian at the Bodleian Library in Oxford. Happily Valerie was to give Michael two daughters, Philippa and Juliet. Success at Syston meant that for his second curacy he gained an appointment in the very visible and upmarket parish of South Ascot in Berkshire, but perhaps this was not the best of choices for someone with a growing family and without private means. It was thus perhaps only natural that he should think of his roots in “Pompey” and look to service in the Royal Navy as a Padre as a way ahead. Having passed the selection process, and after training, he served in Gosport and then Singapore before a nasty viral disease of the heart laid him very low for a long period. But the rain fell yet even more heavily, and with the Navy retrenching, Michael was made redundant. So what to do next? Life in the R.N. had largely been in training establishments with youngsters and this he had enjoyed, thus Michael now retrained professionally as a teacher. Unfortunately, this all coincided with a growing realisation between Michael and Valerie that their paths through life should lie in different directions, Valerie joining a religious order to serve in India and Michael taking care of his two daughters. For the next seventeen years he taught very successfully at “The Hall” – a preparatory school much favoured by the great and the good to ensure entrance for their children to the top echelon of schools. Perhaps seventeen years of this pressure cooker existence got to Michael somehow, as the writer, now living in Usk, was surprised to receive a telephone call asking if he could be introduced to the local bishop, who had himself been a senior Naval padre. In due course they met, and Michael was offered the choice of a living there and then, or of starting again as a curate to regain the hang of things, and it was with considerable humility that he took the latter path. A curate at 55! He served this at St Christopher’s, Bulwark in Chepstow, where his time is remembered with considerable affection – his efforts

to re-establish himself in parish life and his work with children in particular (not to mention his notable performance in the Easter Passion play as Pontius Pilate!). But at last the call came – to Llantilio Pertholey – with a very difficult task of taking over from a long serving, saintly and much loved predecessor. In this task he was highly successful and so here the sun shone, and Michael had found his niche in life as a country parson. To put the icing on the cake, a new wife as well – Rosemary – a member of the PCC, a fellow School Governor, and a like mind. Sadly, however, not too long after his wedding the heavens opened again. On taking medical advice he retired, eventually to live close at hand in Abergavenny. But his richly deserved retirement was blighted by recurrent bouts of ill health, and finally he succumbed to a stroke out of the blue. Many people were blessed in their lives because of contact with Michael. A man of many skills and interests (the Sherlock Holmes Society!), kind, ever courteous, able to talk to anyone – the highest and mightiest in the land, at a Royal Opera House Gala, for example – and yet be at home in an old folks tea party. A true Christian gentleman in every respect of that word; he never blamed anyone for his many and various misfortunes; he never said a bad word about anyone. Michael Craddock OP (1945-1954) adds: Besides the Sherlock Homes Society, Michael was an active member eventually a committee member - of the Lewis Carroll Society, giving talks at meetings around the country, guiding tours around Carroll’s Oxford haunts, and having articles published as far afield as Japan. One impressed American visitor reported, ‘After dinner we had the toast [and] the speech about goodness knows what by Michael Vine - it was very funny, though!’ The Society’s final tribute sums up his character admirably: ‘His wit and charm made him popular with members and his contributions to the Society’s [Carroll Centenary] conference in 1998 were among the highlights of that event...... It seems everyone who met him regarded him as a genuine friend and news of his passing will be met with sadness by members around the world.’

continued...

OPUS • Issue 7 • Autumn 2012

And Finally..

In memoriam Luke WILSON (1976 – 03/10/12)

We are very sorry to report the death in Cologne, Germany on 3 October of Luke Wilson, following a short illness. As well as having a successful school career, Luke started the PGS Juggling club, and after studying at Circus Space in London, went on to have a successful international career as a cabaret and circus artist, producer, director, teacher and writer. He

was featured on the cover of the International Jugglers’ Association magazine in 2009 when he was referred to as “one of the most versatile, intelligent and skilful jugglers working today”. Luke was loved and respected by everyone he worked with and was a passionate believer in imparting his circus skills to up-andcoming performers. He worked as Head of Department, Juggling and Equilibristics, at Circus Space, the UK’s premier circus school, and co-created and delivered the Juggling and Circus Skills Masters module at the University College of Dance and Circus in Sweden. He is a one-time prize winner at the Festival Mondial du Cirque de Demain and his sleight of hand saw him banned from British casinos!

Kerry STONE A correction and an apology In Opus 6 the photograph accompanying Kerry Stone’s obituary was blown up from a team portrait of the 3rd XV taken in 1956 which had been donated with the names of known pupils listed on the back. Unfortunately, the team members were listed right to left, rather than the conventional left to right, leading to the wrong pupil being identified as Kerry Stone. Sincere apologies to all concerned for this error, especially to Paul Davis whose picture was used, but who is very much alive and well. John Sadden, School Archivist.

‘We’ll always have Pompey’ It is with sadness but enormous fondness that I bid you all farewell. In January I take up a new challenge across the Channel at the British School of Paris and will be moving my wife and baby daughter to the Western suburbs of the French capital. The City of Light may have inspired poets and artists for centuries and is synonymous with romance, but it was at PGS that I experienced my very own coup de foudre! Not only did I meet my wife here, I have also had a four and a half year love affair with the school and have been hugely inspired and charmed by all the Old Portmuthians I have had the pleasure of meeting. It has been a wonderful privilege to get to know you, serve you and share your memories of your time at this remarkable place. The Development Director role is one quite unlike any other in the school. Sometimes the requirement has been to be amateur sleuth, tracking down ‘lost’ boys and girls, while at others it has been akin to being a BBC World Service broadcaster, providing expatriate Old Portmuthians with news of the mother country. I have enjoyed every single second, supported by a wonderful Development Office team and I have forged many friendships with you which I hope will endure long after I have passed under the arch for the final time. Unlike you, I am technically not an OP, but I am nonetheless very proud to have been associated with Portsmouth Grammar School and very much it is a case of ‘Au Revoir’ rather than ‘Goodbye’; I will continue to support school events when I can and hope that some of you will look me up in Paris! Very best wishes to you all

Under Starter’s Orders! PGS Director of Sport, Chris Dossett, is trying to encourage as many members of the school community to enter the Bupa Great South Run 2013 running as a PGS team to raise money for the school’s Cambodia Appeal; this includes pupils, staff, parents and OP’s. There are three events for people to enter:

• Mini/Junior Great South Run Saturday 26 October (Pupils Years 3-10) • 5km Great South Run Saturday 26 October (Aged 14 and over) • 10 mile Great South Run Sunday 27 October Spaces for the races fill up fast so please enter early to avoid disappointment. When you have entered please can you inform Chris by email so that a list of team members can be kept (c.dossett@pgs.org.uk).

David Stenson OP (1947-1952), the person responsible for firing the starting gun for the Great South Run from 1991 until last year.

Alasdair Akass Alasdair and daughter India pitch-side at Hilsea Playing Fields, September 2012 (Photo courtesy of Richard Simonsen OP)

Portsmouth Grammar School www.pgs.org.uk

Portsmouth Grammar School • www.pgs.org.uk

The OP Charity 21st Anniversary Appeal

From December this year the OP Charity will be celebrating its 21st Anniversary. In the best tradition of good schools the Charity was conceived in the hope and expectation that former pupils, who had benefited from a first class education at PGS, and others, might wish to contribute to the future wellbeing of the School.

What it does Over the last ten years more than 95% of the funds distributed have gone to pupils in need in the form of sixth form bursaries - ‘The OP Bursaries’; the total accumulated sum used for this purpose is already well over £100,000. In recent years this has meant that two or three sixth form pupils each year have benefited from funds provided by the Charity through their sixth form years. However, the need for financial support in the sixth form alone, never mind the rest of the School, is ever greater. The OP Charity currently provides only a tiny percentage of PGS bursary requirements and in this anniversary year we wish to boost our funds so we can do more. Family background is taken into account before any pupil is granted a bursary. The problems, financial and otherwise, of some families applying for assistance are horrendous and money only goes to those suffering severe hardship, usually through no fault of theirs. The following extract from a letter received from one recent beneficiary, partly funded by the Charity, shows what a difference such financial support can make to the life of a pupil. “Despite coming from a single parent family dependent on the welfare state, I had always been determined from a young age to become a doctor. However I soon realised during sixth-form that despite having large ambitions, I didn’t have the support or commitment there to help me accomplish my goals.

Desperate to not allow my background to impact on my ambitions, I contacted PGS on the off chance there was a way I would be able to receive a top quality education, be pushed academically and receive all the help and support I needed to become a medic in one of the best and most renowned schools in the area. There was truly nothing I wanted more. I was incredibly surprised and ecstatic to be offered an interview and then to be awarded 100% bursary. My experience at PGS was happily the best two years of my life in education. I was indeed stimulated intellectually, and benefited so much from the support and care of teachers, tutors and staff, who really cared about me as a person and tirelessly worked with me to help me attain my grades, prepare me for interviews and help with my applications to UCAS. Overall I had a really wonderful sixth form life, enjoying my lessons and growing in confidence and as a person, as well as making lifelong friends. The pastoral, social and academic environment was outstanding. Today, I am a second year medical student in a top London University. When I graduate I am hoping to specialise in psychiatry and work with children and adolescents suffering from trauma as part of Medicins Sans Frontieres. I truly believe this wouldn’t have been possible without the time I spent at PGS. I am so eternally grateful and indebted to the people who gave me the opportunity to study there, and I would like to take this opportunity to thank them from the bottom of my heart for allowing me to follow my dreams.”

Portsmouth Grammar School • www.pgs.org.uk

What it is

How you can help

The Charity was set up in 1992 with the following objects:

Donations, large or small, are always welcome and greatly appreciated. We aim to make this process as easy and possible and details are given below.

• t o provide relief for any person in need, hardship or distress who is: - a past or present pupil of the School - a past or present member of staff of the School - the spouse, former spouse or dependent of any such person • t o advance education at The Portsmouth Grammar School in such ways as the Trustees from time to time think fit, including assisting in the provision, maintenance, improvement or extension of the premises of the School The Trustees’ present policy is that the majority of funds distributed should be devoted to bursaries. In 2004, thanks to the generosity of OPs, the OP Charity was able to set up a designated OP Bursary Fund by means of a £50,000 gift to the School. This, together with additional funds from the Charity, has helped to finance pupils in need through the Sixth Form and to a very much lesser degree the Charity has also been able to help OPs proceeding to degree courses (mainly postgraduate).

Finally, you can make a significant difference to our efforts and to PGS pupils in need by leaving a Legacy to the OP Charity (address in 2 below) in your Will. Several such generous gifts have, in the past, greatly helped the Charity to increase its bursary support. Legacies given to Charities are funds from your estate not currently subject to Inheritance Tax. Many of us look back on our days at PGS with much pleasure and great appreciation of the superb start in life that they gave us. If you make a donation or leave a legacy, this will enable others to benefit from the excellent education that PGS provides and give them the opportunity to have a similar start in life.

Will you help the Charity to provide assistance to even more pupils in need? (Registered Charity Number 1016072)

Donations can be made as follows. 1. By donating on-line on the OP Charity page of the school website (www.pgs.org.uk ) 2. By cheque to the Barry Easton, The Hon Treasurer, The Old Portmuthian Charity, 7 Spindrift Mews, Bosham, West Sussex, PO18 8LW 3. By asking your bank to set up a Standing Order (monthly, quarterly or yearly as you wish) in favour of the OP Charity at Lloyds Bank, Southsea Branch (Sort Code 30-93-04, Account Number 00097080)

In all cases, if you are a UK taxpayer, please complete a Gift Aid Declaration (if you have not already completed one in favour of the OP Charity), which can be printed from the charity page of the OP Club section of the school website (www.pgs.org.uk/pages_op.php?sub=op_cha ), and send it to Barry Easton, at the above address. This will enable the Charity to recover 25 pence from HM Revenue and Customs for each £1 donated.