Elizabethan Newsletter 2017/18

Neville Walton Travel Award

The OWW Global Community

Richard Pyatt – with gratitude

Jamie Voros (MM, 2010-12) shares stories of travelling through Nepal following the earthquakes.

Your worldwide network that offers a wealth of knowledge, resources and learning opportunities.

After 32 years at Westminster, we bid farewell to a much admired member of the teaching staff.

The Elizabethan Newsletter 2017 / 18

OW Dom Parsons (HH, 2001-06)

© Photograph: Team GB /Andy Ryan

From Little Dean’s Yard to Pyeongchang

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All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any shape or form by any means electronic, mechanical photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior permission of Westminster School.

The views and opinions expressed by writers within the Elizabethan Newsletter do not necessarily reflect those of Westminster School. No responsibility is assumed by the publisher for any injury and/or damage to persons or property as a matter of product liability, negligence or otherwise, or from any use or operation of any methods, products, instructions or ideas contained in the material herein.

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Contents 04 From The Editor 04 From The Chairman 05 Welcome from the Head Master, Mr Patrick Derham 08 Welcome from The Dean of Westminster and Chairman

The Westminster School Development Office

10 Development Report 12 Global Community 14 Events in Pictures 16 Q&A: Richard Pyatt – With Gratitude 18 The Record of Old Westminsters 18 Camden 19 OW Sports Society Reports 26 The Neville Walton Travel Award 30 The Next Generation of OW Lawyers 32 From Little Dean’s Yard to Pyeongchang 36 House Society Reports 38 An Introduction to Platform 42 School News 45 3-2-1 @ OWL! 46 From the Archives 50 Oli Bennett Charitable Trust 51 Old Westminsters at Bletchley Park 52 Westminster and the Royal Navy in the 18th and

Vicky Comber Development & Events Executive

of Governors, The Very Reverend Dr John Hall

Lucie Kennedy Director of Development Kat Stobbs Alumni Relations & Development Manager

alumni@westminster.org.uk +44 (0)20 7963 1113

The Elizabethan Newsletter Editor: Kat Stobbs Design: Haime & Butler Print: Lavenham Press Westminster School is a registered charity in England and Wales (no 312728).

Information is correct at time of print.

19th Centuries

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Honoured History Alumni in Print Westminster School and the Great War Centenary In Memoriam

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From The Editor

From The Chairman

We are delighted to welcome you to the 2018 edition of the newly revamped Elizabethan Newsletter.

Welcome to the new-look Elizabethan Newsletter. I, along with all members of The Elizabethan Club Committee, hope that you will enjoy reading this edition of our alumni publication. Due to staffing changes within the Development Office, this is the first newsletter which has been published since 2016 and we are thrilled with the new design and hope you will be, also.

We hope that you will thoroughly enjoy reading the various articles and news which we have compiled for your enjoyment.

We are eager to hear your thoughts on this new design and the content within. Should you have any comments on this publication, please do not hesitate to contact me.

With best wishes, Kat Stobbs Alumni Relations and Development Manager kat.stobbs@westminster.org.uk Tel: +44 (0)20 7963 1115

I am truly grateful to all the Old Westminsters, both recent and those of a more distinguished vintage, who have contributed to the creation of this magazine. There are some fantastic, insightful and interesting articles in this edition and I hope that it may inspire you to perhaps write something yourself for the next.

I am delighted that the Elizabethan Newsletter gives the entire School community an opportunity to share experiences and celebrate achievements.

I am also delighted to announce that in the Play Term 2018 we will be moving to a new Old Westminster website, which will make it much easier for the entire OWW Community to stay connected with each other and the School. More information on that will be shared with you, closer to the launch of the website.

I look forward to meeting many of you at future Elizabethan Club events in the coming year.

With all good wishes, Artin Basirov

Elizabethan Club Committee Jonathan Carey, President (GG, 1964-69) Artin Basirov, Chairman (GG, 1989-94) Charles Low, Treasurer (QS, 1967-72) Jessica Chichester, Secretary (GG, 2000-02) David Roy, Vice-President (AHH, 1955-61) Tim Woods, Vice-President (GG, 1969-74) Nick Brown, Vice-President (RR, 1968-73) Michael Rugman, Vice-President (GG, 1955-60) Matthew Webb, Sports Rep (BB, 1999-04) Arnav Kapoor, Young OW Rep (MM, 2010-15) Poppy Maxwell (PP, 2008-10) Emma-Jane Gordon (LL, 2012-14) Oliva D’Silva (GG, 2008-10) James Kershen (WW, 1981-86) Tarun Mathur (AHH, 1988-93) 04

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Head Master’s Welcome In fictional thriller Different Class Joanne Harris revisits St Oswald’s Grammar School in the fictional town of Malbry. The Headmaster, Dr Shakeshafte, is described as spending “the best part of his day in his inner sanctum, engaged in headmasterly activities as vital as they were unfathomable”. It is the question pupils always ask me – “what do you do all day Sir?” My answer invariably focuses on the sheer delight I get in seeing the pupils engaged in the dizzying array of activities on offer. This year has been no exception and the Westminsters of today continue to impress me with all that they achieve.

I

was thinking of this recently when I was part of a panel of Heads at a prep school, talking to a sizeable audience of potential parents.

Each of the panel had to speak for three minutes before questions. By the time my turn came, it was difficult to think of anything distinct to say… In typically impressive style, my colleagues had eloquently espoused the values underpinning their schools, the achievements of their pupils and the virtues of an all-round liberating education. It struck me that a way of getting across something slightly

different about the distinctive nature of Westminster was to talk about place, three places in fact, to give a flavour of what life was like here on a day-to-day basis.

I talked about Abbey. We gather there twice a week in the most majestic of school chapels and hear from an array of speakers who stimulate and challenge in equal measure. The undoubted highlight this year was the induction of the first girls as Queen’s Scholars, a wonderful moment in Westminster’s History.

I talked about School. Here we see so much that encapsulates the very essence of Westminster. I spoke about the weekly Latin Prayers, the Greaze, talks and some wonderful music. I could also have mentioned OW and Parents’ Committee events including the Quiz which the staff team won and much else besides.

I talked about the Boathouse. Our rowers continue to excel and I am writing this straight after National Schools Regatta where we won four medals including two Gold ➽ ISSUE 2017/18

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(J15 2nd XII and J16 IV). I cheated a little in that I also mentioned Vincent Square and the Sports Hall (only Westminster could have such an Art Deco gem as its Sports Hall) , as well as our numerous other sporting successes (in football, cricket, cross-country, judo, rock climbing to name but a few) this year, to make the point that Westminster really does do sport.

If I am honest, I doubt if in my brief talk that I got all this across. Even at greater length, it is just a snapshot. But it is a snapshot that makes a point.

Place matters, but what happens in places matters more. And a lot happens. In the classroom the results continue to speak for themselves. The Remove last year (2017), achieved what their predecessors have done by achieving over 50% of their grades at A* or the equivalent at Pre-U, a feat not matched by any other school and our best results yet. 74 Westminster pupils achieved offers from Oxford and Cambridge this cycle, equating to a success rate of 42% of all applicants, 36% at Oxford and 48% at Cambridge. It is also impressive to see great success this year at highly competitive institutions such as Imperial, the LSE, Durham and UCL. Applications to leading universities in the USA are also increasingly popular – this year (2017), Westminster has seen further success on the US Schools front with the highest number of applications to date. 29 pupils secured offers at some of the leading and Ivy League universities such as Columbia, Harvard, Princeton, UPenn and Stanford, amongst others.

25 pupils have decided to take up their US offers, which is our strongest ever uptake to the USA. You would expect me to say all these things but last year we were externally audited in the sense that we had an inspection. This was a fascinating three days for the School Community; we were part of the pilot of the new regime. I hope you have read the reports, which are on the website, and that you will be as delighted as we were with the findings. Rest assured though, we will never be complacent. We continue to self-evaluate and to think about ways in which we can improve to retain our position as one of the leading schools in the world. What pleased me most in the oral feedback were references to the kindness that pervades the school and a very clear statement that our liberal ethos leads to a pupil body liberated from dogma, prejudice or unthinking conformity.

This was very much the theme of what I said at Big Commem in 2016. I used the story of St Jerome to make the point that it is doubt that gives us education and that the state of not always knowing why we are learning what we are learning is absolutely central to the process of

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education and growth. I ended by defining what I see as Westminster’s ethos:

In the 456 years since Elizabeth I refounded this school it has offered a defence against the merely utilitarian, against the pursuit of a life lived only for the moment, a life which shuts out other people, their experience and their history and their knowledge. And this is where its ethos lies.

The hero Achilles, in Homer’s Iliad, says that the ideal man is a speaker of words, and a doer of deeds. He is also, in the end, a member of his community. Our own ideal is not far off that mark. We seek to teach you how to express yourself, and how to act. As long as you accept your responsibilities to your community, and take seriously your duties of service, courtesy and friendship to other people – starting here at School – what you say, what you think, and what you do is up to you.

Interestingly our partner school, Harris Westminster Sixth Form, also had an inspection last year. We were delighted that Ofsted graded them Outstanding in all inspection categories.

Additionally, in the recent Oxbridge admissions round HWSF pupils achieved a remarkable 25 offers; an improvement on 23 the previous year.

We continue to be passionate about widening access. Last year we appointed Kevin Walsh as Director of Outreach and Widening Access and much of his work runs alongside, and is complementary to, the existing excellent civic engagement and volunteering work that we already do. With Jeremy Kemball and the Under School staff, we have set up Platform; a Westminster Academic Enrichment Programme (westminsterplatform.org.uk) which is working with bright Year 5 primary school boys and girls across London. This initiative has been enthusiastically greeted by the schools. Further, we are looking at our approach to fundraising and in particular, developing our capacity to provide life-changing bursaries to pupils who would benefit from a Westminster education. More on this soon.

Our aspirations will be helped by the China initiative. The Chairman wrote to you in December about the agreement we signed with the Hong Kong educational company HKMETG to open six bilingual schools in China by 2028, the

OUR BEST RESULTS YET

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Westminster pupils achieved offers from Oxford and Cambridge this cycle, equating to a success rate of 42% of all applicants.

36% at Oxford

48% at Cambridge

first opening in Chengdu in 2020. This follows three years of careful consideration and negotiation. We are delighted by the opportunities our new collaboration with HKMETG provides in assisting our drive to widen access to a Westminster education, still further.

Our Bursary Fund will also be helped by the latest Westminster publication which will be available in March 2019. Ad Te Levavi, a stunning collection of photographs of “a year in the life” of this extraordinary community as seen by the photographer Christopher Jonas, is a book that all connected with Westminster will want to have. All profits, post production costs, will go to the Bursary Fund, and details can be found on the leaflet within this publication.

We continue to develop our facilities. We now have the Bentham Room, named after the English philosopher and former pupil Jeremy Bentham (one of the OWW featured in Loyal Dissent – thank you to those of you who have bought a copy; just over £1,500 was raised for the Bursary Fund from sales), and this new space has been created out of the old Cloister Gym. It is used for public exams, for the many society meetings and lectures that we stage and for parents’ evenings. In addition, I am pleased to report that the refurbishment of the Robert Hooke Science Centre is complete and we have added a 7th floor. Computer Science has now moved to Hooke and so we have all the sciences together which is hugely beneficial. We have also added an observatory. Work is now progressing on the site of the old music school, the Adrian Boult Centre. The building was on the site of the old Abbey’s medieval great kitchen.

Archaeologists, who have monitored the work throughout, have made some interesting discoveries including wall sections that pre-date Edward the Confessor. Work will be complete by Play Term 2019. More on its usage next year.

Finally, a new sixth form parent asked to see me at the Parents’ Meeting in November; I prepared myself for what was to come. She said, “We have been struggling to create the ideal environment for our daughter to be happy for 16 years… and you have managed it in eight weeks”. I take no credit for this and I am not naïve enough to think that any of us can be happy all the time. We try, collectively, to create an environment where the pupils are happy, purposeful, challenged and successful. They seem to be.

Long may that continue to be the case.

This letter does not do justice to all that has happened since I last wrote to you. Suffice to say that your old school is in excellent fettle and I continue to consider myself very fortunate to be working in 17 Dean’s Yard as Head Master of what I know is no ordinary place.

Floreat!

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Welcome from The Dean of Westminster and Chairman of Governors, The Very Reverend Dr John Hall

T

he Queen’s Scholars were on parade in the South Cloister when The Queen with The Prince of Wales came to the Abbey on Friday 8th June 2018 for the opening of The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Galleries in the Eastern Triforium.

After the dedication and a tour of the Jubilee Galleries, The Queen met many of the people who had worked on the Galleries’ design and development and the building of the 7-storey access tower, called the Weston Tower to honour the very generous gift of the Weston Foundation chaired by Guy Weston (CC, 1973-77). Her Majesty, with His Royal Highness, then walked through the Cloisters, meeting Alan Titchmarsh, who had proposed the memorialisation of Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown put into effect through a new cistern and fountain in the Cloister Garth. In South Cloister, The Queen spoke briefly to the Under Master and Master of the Queen’s Scholars, having learnt that each of them was leaving to take up a Headship. She was particularly interested to meet the first group of girls to be Queen’s Scholars. Her Majesty had approved the proposal that girls be admitted to College and had sent a warm message for their installation; now she met them in person together with the College boys. The Queen seemed pleased to see their wing collars, white ties with tailcoats and gowns and wondered whether the ‘rig’ was uncomfortable; gallantly the supposition was denied. A group of Westminsters joined the Abbey’s choristers to wave farewell to Her Majesty and His Royal

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Highness as their Daimler pulled away from the Cloister entrance, the Royal Standard proudly aloft.

The following Friday witnessed another rare and special occasion, attended by a group of Westminsters with the Head Master and Under Master, when the Abbey held a Service of Thanksgiving for Professor Stephen Hawking, interring his ashes in Scientists’ Corner between the graves of Sir Isaac Newton and Charles Darwin. The body of Isaac Newton had been buried in the Abbey, in the North-East corner of the Nave, eight days after his death in 1727. John Herschel had been buried there in 1871 and Charles Darwin in 1882. The ashes of Ernest Rutherford, who in 1920 had predicted the existence of the neutron, had been interred nearby in 1937 and in 1940 those of Joseph John Thomson, whose discovery of what we now call electrons had been announced in 1897.

In Scientists’ Corner are memorials to other distinguished scientists, including Paul Dirac, at whose memorial dedication in 1995 Professor Hawking gave the address.

The circumstances of the burial of Charles Darwin were these: The Dean of Westminster at the time, George Granville Bradley, a former pupil of Dr Arnold at Rugby School, and Master of University College Oxford, was away in France when he received a telegram forwarded from the President of the Royal Society in London saying “…it would be acceptable to a very large number of our fellow-countrymen of all

classes and opinions that our illustrious countryman, Mr Darwin, should be buried in Westminster Abbey”. The Dean recalled “I did not hesitate as to my answer and telegraphed direct…that my assent would be cheerfully given”. The body lay overnight in St Faith’s Chapel, and on the morning of 26th April the coffin was escorted by the family and eminent mourners into the Abbey. The pall-bearers included the United States Ambassador and the President of the Royal Society. The burial service was held in the Lantern. The chief mourners then followed the coffin into the north aisle of the Nave where Darwin was buried next to the eminent scientist Sir John Herschel, a few feet away from Newton. The Bishop of Carlisle, Harvey Goodwin, in a memorial sermon preached in the Abbey on the Sunday following the funeral, said: “I think that the interment of the remains of Mr Darwin in Westminster Abbey is in accordance with the judgment of the wisest of his countrymen… It would have been unfortunate if anything had occurred to give weight and currency to the foolish notion which some have diligently propagated, but for which Mr Darwin was not responsible, that there is a necessary conflict between a knowledge of Nature and a belief in God…” At Stephen Hawking’s Service of Thanksgiving, the address was given by Lord Rees of Ludlow OM, the Astronomer Royal, Past President of the Royal Society and sometime Master of Trinity College Cambridge (and thus at that time, a governor of Westminster School). He concluded his address by saying, “Darwin wrote, ‘I feel most deeply that [religion] is too profound for the human intellect. A dog might as well speculate on the mind of Newton. Let each man hope and believe as he can’.

Stephen described his own scientific quest as learning ‘the mind of God’. But this was a metaphor. He resonated with Darwin’s agnosticism. It’s fitting that he, too, should be commemorated in this national shrine. His name will live in the annals of science: nobody else since Einstein has done more to deepen our understanding of space, time, and gravity. Millions have had their cosmic horizons widened by his books and lectures. Even more, worldwide, have been inspired by a unique example of achievement against all the odds.” Stephen Hawking’s gravestone reflects the inscription on the gravestone of Isaac Newton (Hic depositum est quod mortale fuit Isaaci Newtoni) and reads, Here lies what was mortal of Stephen Hawking with the dates of his birth and death, 1942 and 2018, his historic formula and a representation of a black hole.

A well-known broadcaster once asked me whether only practising Anglicans could be buried in the Abbey. That cannot be right. A hundred years ago the Abbey was described as our imperial Valhalla. In truth, the range of people buried and memorialised in the Abbey is huge, from friends and relations of Elizabeth I, to great 20th and 21st century figures in our national life. No doubt that will continue: a challenge and opportunity for current and future Westminsters.

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DEVELOPMENT REPORT Lucie Kennedy Firstly, a tremendous thank you to all those OWW who have welcomed me to the Westminster Community so warmly since I arrived in April 2017. I feel incredibly lucky to be able to work in such stunning surroundings in a school steeped in remarkable history, amongst a wonderful community of staff, pupils and Old Westminsters.

The Development Office has undergone significant change in the last year or so, but we are now driving forward with a range of exciting projects and initiatives to enhance the experience of everyone connected with the Westminster Community.

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The start of the new academic year will see the launch of a new online OW platform, named OW Connect. This exciting new platform will provide OWW with the opportunity to connect with one another, network, share memories and photographs, easily communicate within their societies and groups, book tickets for OW events and engage more deeply than ever before with The Elizabethan Club and the School. OW Connect will become the main hub of all Old Westminster news and information, and we hope you find it a fantastic tool to enhance all your OW interactions.

Shortly after the launch of OW Connect will come the launch of our new bursaries campaign.

We are embarking on a mission to vastly increase Westminster School’s provision for bursary pupils, with a new focus that will be central to the School’s future evolution, whilst remaining faithful to its original foundation. We are doing this because we believe that a Westminster education should be available to the very brightest children, regardless of their financial circumstances. Our new educational venture in China will make a significant contribution towards these efforts in the fullness of time, but we have a very long way to go and so we will need everyone’s support to be able to build a substantial endowment for bursaries for the first time. This campaign is set to transform the futures of many more young people, and it will enrich the experience of all pupils at Westminster School. Over the coming months you will see new literature, a film and information on our website outlining what our aspirations are, how you can support and what the impact of that support could be. If you benefited from bursary support when you were at School and would like to be a voice in our new campaign, sharing your own story about the life-changing benefits of bursaries, please contact me directly. Also, if you have any advice or if you would like to find out more about our plans, I would be delighted to hear from you.

Everyone will be aware that our data protection laws have recently been changed, and you will have received a copy of our updated Privacy Policy which can be viewed on our website. There are likely to be more communications from us in relation to the General Data Protection Regulation and e-communications later this year. If you have any questions, comments or concerns about how your personal information is stored and used by the Development Office, please do not hesitate to contact us.

We will not be conducting a telephone fundraising campaign this summer, but instead you will see that the Development Office is focusing on a range of different initiatives to help to both gather support for the bursaries campaign and to ensure being part of the Westminster Community is as rewarding for everyone as it could possibly be.

Finally, the Development Office and The Elizabethan Club are eager to get back in touch with former staff members. If you are in contact with any of your former Masters, Matrons or colleagues, please do encourage them to contact our office – we would be delighted to involve them in all that we do.

As always, our utmost thanks goes to everyone who has contributed to the School in so many ways over the years – whether that be through mentoring, coming to speak at events, offering financial support or actively participating in the wealth of clubs and societies that the Westminster Community offers. I look forward to meeting many more of you in the next year, and hope to see you at an OW event or gathering soon.

With warmest wishes, Lucie The Development Office +44 (0)20 7963 1113 developmentoffice@westminster.org.uk

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community

GLOBAL

If you are interested in becoming a Volunteer International OW Associate and/or helping us organise a gathering for Big Commem 2018, we would be delighted to hear from you!

Please email Kat Stobbs for more information: kat.stobbs@westminster.org.uk

Your worldwide network that offers a wealth of knowledge, resources and learning opportunities.

Westminster is proud and privileged to have a diverse and eclectic mixture of students, staff and former pupils within its vast community, including world leaders in corporate, nonprofit, and government organisations.

With an OW living on every continent (bar, of course, Antarctica), wherever you are in the world, there is most likely a fellow OW either close by, or only a phone call away. Our alumni are crucial in giving our current students a helping hand by providing internship opportunities, mentoring and inspiration. They are champions of Westminster School and our work around the world.

The Elizabethan Club and the Development Office are now planning to grow your international network even more, increasing the number of international alumni chapters. This will enable OWW to connect with fellow alumni in their region, creating a network of contacts and engaged groups around the world who will form a vital part of the School’s alumni community.

International alumni networks provide a warm welcome to future students, recent leavers and those moving to a new city or area. They also organise events, ranging from informal social gatherings to black-tie dinners, as well as professional networking opportunities and academic experiences.

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International OW Associates

As part of the launch of this network, and our aim to make our incredible network of alumni even more accessible and prominent, we are looking for members of our international OW community to become Volunteer International OW Associates. These individuals will act as representatives of the School and The Elizabethan Club in their particular countries or cities.

With full support and advice from the Development Office, OW Associates will be the first point of contact for any and all alumni in their country or local area. They will be official ambassadors of Westminster School.

Commem 2018 What will an International OW Associate do?

• Help to run the international chapter in their city/region, working closely with the Alumni Relations and Development Manager at the School • Organise social events and activities for OWW and members of the Westminster Community around them • Provide opportunities for professional networking and for alumni to share their skills and expertise • Aid the Development Office in maintaining an accurate record of alumni, or other members of the wider Westminster Community, in their particular region • Assist The Elizabethan Club in strengthening the relationship between Westminster and its former pupils • Help to promote Westminster School and the benefits of a Westminster education, on a local and regional level, thereby increasing the School’s international reputation

The Commem celebrations and services are a long-standing tradition within the history of Westminster School and have been a staple in the Almanack for generations. Taking place alternately each November, Big and Little Commem see the School and its pupils give thanks to benefactors past and present who have generously given to the School, starting with our Foundress, Queen Elizabeth I. OWW will remember the solemn service, laying the roses on the tomb of Queen Elizabeth and the receptions up School and up House.

2018 is a year of Big Commem and will be our launch of the new international network, with reunion events and gatherings taking place across the world. We hope to have as many events and as many members of the Westminster Community celebrating together, as possible.

Big Commem 2018 will be our first truly international celebration.

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Events Since the last Elizabethan Newsletter, the wider Westminster Community has had a number of wonderful social, intellectual and professional gatherings. Here, we share a few photographs from some of those events.

If you have been at one of our OW events and took photographs to have memories of your time together, please do send them to alumni@westminster.org.uk

Open Houses

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Black Rod Steps

Henley 2017

Small Carols 2017

Hong Kong Reception

Young Gaudy

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Q &A Richard Pyatt – With Gratitude Richard Pyatt, teacher, Head of English (1996-2006; 2009-2013), President of the Common Room (2000-2003; 2015-2017), much loved colleague and friend, retires this summer after 32 years at Westminster. Here, with the present Head of English, Abigail Farr, he reflects on his time at the School.

Richard, can you describe yourself as you were when you first arrived at Westminster?

Westminster felt very much like being back at Oxford, but on better terms – a very exciting college, and in London! Having spent my early adult life in Oxford, then commuting to High Wycombe for my first teaching job, I was thrilled finally to have made it to the capital. I shared a big basement flat with friends in Clapham South and I quickly got to know everyone in the School community. It was like one big academic party. After my first Election Dinner in 1988 I was bombarded with holiday invitations. I was full of the buzz all the time.

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What was the English department like in those days?

Some teachers had been there since the 1960s. I was interviewed by David Edwards (Westminster 1975-2016).

When I said I liked poems because they fitted conveniently into a single lesson, he replied, “What about Paradise Lost?” We spent a good part of the interview chuckling. I was appointed with Michael Mulligan and Charlotte Moore; we quickly became pals. Gavin Griffiths also remains a great chum – brilliant, mischievous and probably pretty suspicious about the new bugs who were all younger than him. We were helped by having the Head Master, David Summerscale, in the department; a huge literary enthusiast and a great support to me when I became head of English in 1996.

The department indulged in great debates and arguments over authors, texts, critical schools and ideologies.

Sometimes these could become heated. I can remember, at different times, keys being thrown at a dissenting colleague during a meeting and at another time a banana. I chaired one such debate between John Field, a Westminster legend in his own right who argued for a more traditional approach to literature, and the young

firebrand Michael Mulligan who was probably more of a Marxist poststructuralist. Usually our discussions would spill out into pubs that no longer exist, like The Old Rose and The Paviours. We lived and breathed literature and the pupils were huge contributors to and participants to that culture, as they are today.

What have you most enjoyed teaching?

The freedom and opportunity to work with such a wide variety of texts and authors over the years has been wonderful. When you teach the work of an author it often seems as though he or she is present in the room. Larkin has remained with me throughout the years. Hardy, Dickens – especially Great Expectations: I can see Pip in my younger self, and, perhaps now, the Mayor of Casterbridge! The Tempest was very much a touchstone and the Romantic poets; King Lear stumbled through hundreds of lessons and Hamlet has died many times. Novels could burn brightly and then not make an appearance again for decades, such as Muriel Spark’s, The Girls of Slender Means. I had to stop teaching Persuasion because my copy crumbled away – and I have always loved ‘going in with a poem’.

Is there anything that didn’t work?

I now realise that dear Iris Murdoch’s great novel The Sea is a retirement text and not for adolescents, and a few groups followed me into the pages of Sir Walter Scott. Sometimes I ‘pitched’ lessons wrongly, but they were great fun and could be anarchic.

With some groups I couldn’t put a foot wrong and others dug their heels in.

I taught the present Housemaster of Dryden’s, Tom Edlin, back in the early nineties and he can remember far too many of my lessons. Apparently, our principal text was Northanger Abbey and when I was bored with the class I would send them out onto a dangerous balcony to gather inspiration for their haiku compositions.

Where else did you hold your classes?

All over the place. We were peripatetic until the School acquired the Weston Building for Humanities classrooms in the Millennium. That made a huge difference. But, until then, we had lots and lots of lessons in the Library, which meant reading and books were right at the centre of Westminster life.

Classrooms back in 1986 were ingeniously tucked into holes and warrens all around Yard – the crowded piazza where everything happened.

Houses were independent fiefdoms with their own traditions and characteristics. I usually dined in Liddell’s and felt part of a wacky and affectionate family in that House.

bought a house near Alston shortly after, which I must have visited over thirty times, not only with School groups but with friends in the holidays.

I even took my parents up there. It is thrilling to be so near Hadrian’s Wall.

I have many happy memories of France, too. Maurice Lynn and I took Expeditions to Gignac and Agde where he also had second homes. Maurice would drive all night and we would wake up next to the Mediterranean.

I would love to see Westminster acquire a good European base, especially post-Brexit, so that pupils can experience this again on a regular basis.

Any other wishes for the Westminsters of the future?

We should teach them all to cook! Bring back Domestic Science! Cooking restores your inner balance. It’s good for people, physically and mentally and these days is linked to awareness about health, food production and the environment. Regardless of that, let’s put creativity and the imagination at the heart of everything we do. ■ Richard Pyatt with Michael Davies

What would you say you found most surprising at Westminster?

Westminster helped put right a wrong from my childhood by showing me that sport need not be associated with fear.

Thanks to Danny Gill, the open-minded Head of Station when I arrived, anyone in sporting accolades could have a bit of a go and join in. I took over Badminton in 1994 and it became my sport until my elbows and knees went last year – a direct result of so many hours on the court!

What about Expeditions?

This was another missing piece from my childhood. I got into the culture of Expeditions at Westminster having had no background in it, at first to please my new friends on the Westminster staff. Shortly after arriving at the School I led an expedition to Hadrian’s Wall and I fell in love with it. The School ISSUE 2017/18

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The Record of Old Westminsters has been an invaluable resource for members of the School community, academics and family historians alike.

Quite apart from the changing social patterns which the names reveal, which makes it a fascinating publication in its own right, it also allows for the range of Old Westminsters’ accomplishments and expertise to be celebrated.

The series was begun in the 1920s when G.F. Russell Barker (OW) undertook to compile a list of all the pupils who have ever been educated at the School, and to gather information about their lives and achievements.

The list was nearing completion in 1927 when Barker died and Alan H. Stenning (OW) picked up where Barker had left off. The Record of Old Westminsters, which was finally published as two volumes in 1928, includes all former pupils “from the earliest times” to 1927.

Volume III, which was compiled by J.B. Whitmore, G.R.Y. Radcliffe and D.C. Simpson (all OWW), brought the list as far as 1960. Volume IV was produced

by F.E. Pagan and his son, H.E. Pagan (both OWW), bringing The Record forward to 1989.

In Play 2014 work began on Volume V, led by an Editorial Committee and supported by The Elizabethan Club and The Westminster School Society.

The completed text includes nearly 10,000 biographical entries, covering pupils educated at the School from Play 1937 to those who had left the School in Election 2015.

Our deepest thanks to Mr Tony Willoughby (LL, 1959-62), School Archivist Elizabeth Wells and all those who worked tirelessly to produce Volume V. Copies are £20 + postage and packaging.

To purchase your copy of Volume V, please contact: record@westminster.org.uk

Camden Camden is Westminster School’s magazine for the Liberal Arts. The magazine is a platform for writers to comment on aspects of current affairs and engage with ideas in history, culture and social issues. An e-version of the magazine is available on the School website.

Whilst the vast majority of articles have been submitted by pupils, I am delighted to include an article by an OW commemorating the centenary of HH Sheikh Zayed’s birth. As editor, I am keen that the magazine should maintain and strengthen links amongst the wider community and, to that end, would like to encourage contributions of articles from OWW for future editions.

Mr Geran Jones For further information, please contact the editor at geran.jones@westminster.org.uk

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OW Sports Society Reports

The Record of Old Westminsters

Angling 2016/2017: We had a couple of days on the River Test in May this year at Leckford on the John Lewis Estate Water.

Peter Kleeman & Tom Manderson were also fishing and we had a great time.

2017/2018: A day’s fishing was organised by Chris Manderson on the River Test on the Longstock Estate Water in May 2017. Chris was joined by Jamie McCartney, the much acclaimed sculptor. We had hoped for a larger number of Old Westminster fishermen but the weather may have had something to do with the low number attending. However, both Jamie and Chris had a most enjoyable day and an excellent lunch (plus a good number of fish).

If any OWW would like to join the Society, then please contact Chris on 0777 152 2215 or cmanderson@comitfs.com Access to good beats on the River Test is becoming increasingly difficult so an early declaration of interest is necessary.

Chris Manderson (GG, 1957-62)

Tennis 2016/2017: This season had a rocky start getting knocked out of the D’Abernon Cup in the round robin stage. However, we played four excellent friendlies, held our fourth Alec Melville Cup doubles tournament, and enjoyed fantastic events at The Garrick, The All England and Elysee.

Marc Baghdadi and I suffered a hugely disappointing round robin defeat in the D’Abernon Cup, finishing the top team in our group by games, but frustratingly losing two matches in extremely tight tie-breaks, which meant we went out of the competition. We hope more of our first team players are available next year to secure a better result.

We managed to play four friendly matches this season before the courts were re-surfaced in July. Three matches against the Old Wykhamists ended in a win, a draw and a loss; and we unfortunately lost in a thoroughly enjoyable match against The Bar. All matches were great fun and thank you to all the members who played this season including Jimmy Notaras, Simon Clement-Davies, Giles Atkinson, Chris Anguelov, Caspar Melville and Matt Webb.

This year’s Alec Melville Cup doubles tournament was a real highlight as ever. The much coveted trophy was deservedly won by Caspar Melville and Giles Atkinson, who beat Rupert Coltart and Darius Latham-Koenig in the final. We had our first mixed doubles semi-final with Hettie Williams and Jimmy Notaras losing to me and Iona Seligman. It was also great to have so many recent leavers joining, including Darius, Jerome Kamm and Demetris Ioannides. A huge thank you as ever to Matt Webb for again organising this excellent event.

On the social side, we started the season with a wonderful pre-season dinner at The Garrick Club in February thanks to our host Duncan Matthews, Honorary President. We also enjoyed another very special day at the Wimbledon Championships thanks to our hosts Nick and Alex Perry. This is always a massive highlight of the season! Jimmy Notaras organised our end of season dinner at Greek restaurant Elysee for the second year running. Always huge fun and a real high note to end on!

As ever, Saturday morning sessions at Vincent Square run year round weather permitting and our Wednesday evening sessions run from April to August. Please come and join us or feel free to get in touch if you want more information.

We hope to see you on court!

Tristan Vanhegan (HH, 1994-99), Club Captain

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Cricket 2016/2017: for OWWCC reflected the unsettled nature of the world at large, with strong performances against Marylebone Cricket Club and in the Cricketer Trophy offset by disappointment at adverse weather during Cricket Week, and not quite managing to get over the line to win in a couple of games. The season started well, with OWWCC finally achieving victory over the Pink Elephants in the season curtain-raiser. Tight bowling from the OWWCC attack restricted the Pink Elephants to 114, which was duly knocked off with four wickets left in hand, led by handy innings from Lucas McConnell (34) and Charlie Cooke (27).

June began with sunshine and the biannual visit of the MCC, boasting a recent Leicestershire batsman and Aftab Habib (one of the “class” of 1999 England Test batsmen).

Nonetheless, OWWCC set about their task with gusto, Alex Scott (4-87) claiming the two prize scalps and reducing MCC to eight wickets down, before the tail wagged to the tune of 100+ runs. The 258 runs MCC set as a target proved too many, as OWW got in and got out, with Scott and Jake Robson seeing the afternoon out for a draw.

Two weeks later, OWWCC made the short journey to Reigate for the opening round of the Cricketer Trophy, full of confidence after 2015’s run to the semi-final. Having been bowled out for 103 on a decidedly sporting pitch, and having let Reigate get off to a flyer at 40/0, OWWCC’s prospects looked gloomy. However, James MacDonald (3-23) and Fred Johnson (5-17) suddenly found the right lines and lengths and, aided by Alfred Enoch (3-32) returning to blow away the tail, bowled Reigate out for 94. The game against the School followed shortly afterwards, but unfortunately fell victim to rain halfway through.

The quarter final of the Cricketer Trophy held up the challenge of an away tie at Hurstpierpoint. On a slightly soggy morning, OWWCC won the toss and elected to field, with MacDonald (3-38), Scott (2-26) and Kavi Amin (2-19) bowling well to restrict them to 166. Unfortunately, despite the best efforts of Scott (44), Alexander Asher (26) and Alex Stewart (19), OWWCC could not recover from losing early wickets and fell agonisingly short in the chase.

Cricket Week began with an initially promising, but ultimately heavy defeat at the hands of the Eton Ramblers.

Runs from Alex Fisken (63), Milo Johnson (30) and Amin (40) had set Eton 236 to chase, which they accomplished for the loss of only two wickets, thanks to a high quality 140* from their opening batsman. The following day, another opposition opening batsman inflicted a century on OWWCC, although the bowling attack, led by MacDonald (3-75) and Kit Winder (3-46) managed to restrict the rest of the Heretics’ batsmen.

Early wickets again were OWWCC’s downfall, as only Winder (55*), Asher (32) and James Kershen (22) ever got going.

The midweek games mostly fell victim to the weather, however, one match did take place, against the HAC. Winder (2-49) and Ben Collis (2-17) did their best to keep the target within reach, and OWWCC got off to a good start, thanks to Milo Johnson (48) and Mihir Date (30). However, a middle order wobble held up the chase, and a draw was the result.

The second weekend of Cricket Week saw improved weather and two classic close finishes. First, against Kensington on the Saturday, OWWCC had batted first, setting 20

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182 to win, with Steve Dolben (88) and Jeremy Lascelles (33) leading the way. Leo Nelson-Jones (5-44) almost bowled OWWCC to victory, with all three results possible going into the final over, with the game finishing with Kensington five runs short of victory, and OWWCC needing one more wicket.

Sunday began similarly, with Milo Johnson carrying his bat for 93* to set Marlborough Blues 163 to win. Early wickets from MacDonald (2-45) and Eugene Daley (3-46) put OWWCC in the driving seat, but valiant performances from the Marlborough lower middle order saw them win with two wickets left.

The final game of the season saw OWWCC venture into the City to play against the HAC. More runs from Milo Johnson (68) saw OWWCC set HAC a challenging 190 to win.

MacDonald (5-32) and Nelson-Jones (3-39) took wickets at regular intervals, to bring the season to an end in grand fashion, with victory by 35 runs.

OWWCC is as ever very grateful to Franklin Barrett not just for his role in preparing Vincent Square, but also for the friendly atmosphere and enthusiasm for the game that he brings to it; he has also proved a valuable and welcome addition to the squad. Cricket is nothing without lunch and tea, and we are very lucky to enjoy Gloria’s cooking at Vincent Square, which is always spot on. Finally, OWWCC would like to thank the School and The Elizabethan Club, without whose kind help OW cricket could not function.

Any OWW wishing to join OWWCC should contact: Jake Robson (Fixtures Secretary): jnarobson@gmail.com / 07764181366 Alexander Asher (Treasurer): alexanderasher@gmail.com / 07795364694 Alex Scott (Captain): ajdscott100@gmail.com / 07769592659

Water 2016/2017: More pots, more ambitious foreign racing: 2016 was an exciting year for the Elizabethan Boat Club.

The year began with May’s Putney Town Regatta: Jack Holborn (LL, 1997-2002), Tom Sutton (MM, 2005-2010) and Oliver Cox (HH, 1997-2002) joined Mr Sharp of the teaching staff in what proved some of the cheekiest pot-hunting EBC’s ever done. But it worked – and, most important, so did our new and excellent Kanghua 4x/-.

Henley saw the usual round of tea-break drinks, ably organised by Jack Holborn. A lot of champagne disappeared, and grand plans were made...

In September, we again competed in the Alleynian Regatta for school alumni, run by Dulwich College. Elizabethan fielded a crew combining recent leavers and EBC veterans:Tom Fielder (DD, 2005-10), Jonathan Edwards (MM, 2011-16), Wilf Kimberley (WW, 2005-10), Daniel Rix-Standing (BB, 2004-09), Tim Jones (LL, 1992-97), Hugo Ventham (QS, 2010-15), Alex Williams (BB, 2011-16) and Oliver Cox (HH, 1997-02), all coxed

by Charlie Howell (BB, 2003-08). Keyed up to take this race’s trophy back from St Pauls’, we discovered they had scratched at the eleventh hour. A three-abreast final at Putney saw some great sprint racing, held in a grandstand atmosphere thanks to the crowds leaving Fulham FC. A dominant performance saw us overhaul the alumni of both St Edward’s School Oxford and Dulwich College, and take the cup for the fifth time in eight years.

November marked the culmination of our season and the plans made at Henley: at the invitation of OW Paul Castle, EBC returned to Basel in Switzerland to compete for the second time in the BaselHead – a 6.4km course on the fast-flowing Swiss Rhine involving a 180-degree turn mid-race! Tom Fielder, Jack Holborn, Wilf Kimberley, Pierre Thomas (HH, 2004-09), Alex Critchley (BB, 2002-07),

Tim Jones and Oliver Cox, joined by two friends from Imperial College BC, took on an Elite division led by the German Olympic silver-medallists from Rio. In an unfamiliar boat and despite challenging conditions we beat four Elite crews, more than half the schoolboy (U19) crews and all but three (out of 22) of the Masters crews. We were also the quickest of three British crews. It was a major success.

The Elizabethan Boat Club exists for the use of all OWW who wish to pick up rowing again: we can accommodate both competitive spirits and those looking for a more occasional commitment. Sculling or crew boat options are available most weekends, and we have use of the sports hall on Wednesday evenings for crew training.

If you are interested in getting involved, or in supporting the club, please do get in touch with one of our active members.

Oliver Cox (HH, 1997-02)

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Golf 2016/2017: From a competitive perspective, 2016 was a year of mixed fortunes for OWGS. At the Halford Hewitt, having risen up the rankings following two third round appearances in the last three years, we were expected to beat St Paul’s and duly did so, 3.5-1.5. In the second round, however, the boot was on the other foot given that we were drawn to play Eton, twice winners in recent years. The form book did not lie and the Etonians were as strong as anticipated. In the end, we were despatched 0.5-4.5. Eton then progressed to the quarter finals, where they lost to the year’s surprise school, Radley.

Later in the year, having made it through the London regional qualifier and into the finals of the Grafton Morrish at Hunstanton, we lost very narrowly to Oundle in the first round, 1-2, in heart-breaking circumstances, the final match being lost on the 18th green. It was wonderful to see Iain Petherick, the Society’s most senior surviving member of a Halford Hewitt team, in the crowd supporting us and a great shame that we were unable to deliver the victory which was well within our grasp.

Elsewhere, we failed narrowly to reach the final of the Royal Wimbledon Putting and our senior teams succumbed to Marlborough and Charterhouse respectively in the Bernard

From left to right: Edward Cartwright, Carl Rietschel, Johnny Woolf, Henry Kingsbury, Tom Smith, David Weinstein-Blackadder

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Darwin and Senior Darwin. Throughout the season, all matches against other schools were won or halved bar one loss, also to Marlborough.

However, activities on the course were overshadowed by the loss of two immense figures; Tudor Davies and Barrie Peroni. As one of the Society’s foremost competitors for over three decades, Tudor will be remembered by most as the 1955 Welsh amateur champion. However, to his fellow OWGS members, he was a true bon viveur who was just as happy to partner a scratch player as a 24 handicapper. In his pomp, few struck the ball with more authority. Stretching from the 1953 to 1999, his 46 year span of appearances in the Hewitt is the second longest in the Society’s history and in partnership with Jim Durie, he was our “banker” in the Hewitt throughout the 1970s and 1980s. Barrie was Hon. Secretary of the Society for 27 years (1965-1992). Throughout his time in office, he was the perfect benevolent dictator, ensuring that everything ran highly efficiently but not at the expense of anyone’s enjoyment. The bursary programme which he co-founded has ensured that no young OW has had to miss a competition through lack of funds. Many current team members are well aware of the debt of gratitude that he is owed.

They will both be sorely missed but not forgotten.

Ronnie Bulgin, John McAnally, Robin Hillyard, David Roy, David Weinstien-Linder, Henry Kingsbury and Angus Roy watching Bill Coutts Donald putting

2017/2018: 2017 was a year of great fun but undoubtedly one full of “what might have beens” in the heat of battle.

We played eight matches, defeating the Old Wykehamists, Old Paulines and Old Reptonians but losing to the Old Uppinghamians, Old Marlburians, Old Radleians and the London Solicitors Golfing Society.

Both the LSGS and OWGS were close to the heart of Peter Morley-Jacob, a past President of the former who had recently been elected as our President at the time of his passing. It was in memory of such a special and much-missed man that the two societies met for this, their first encounter.

The match against the School was halved. Thanks must be offered to Charles Ullathorne, the master in charge of golf station, who continues to unearth new golfers.

Our performances in competition can best be described as frustrating. In the Halford Hewitt, we lost to Bradfield in the first round but performed well in the Plate, where we defeated King Edward’s Birmingham 3-0, Harrow 2-1 and then lost 1-2 to, the eventual winners, Merchant Taylors. We qualified for the final of the Grafton Morrish but lost a very close match 1-2 to Glasgow Academy, who went on to lose narrowly in the semi-final. We were placed fourth in the Plate.

We failed to qualify for the final of the Royal Wimbledon Putting Competition and in both the Bernard Darwin and Senior Darwin, we lost very close matches 1-2 to Winchester and Wellington respectively. We also performed creditably in the Dick Watson Trophy at Aldeburgh.

Finally, congratulations must be offered to Mark Batten, who became Captain of Royal St George’s in April 2018, the second OW to hold this high office in the past three years.

David Roy (AHH, 1955-61)

The retiring President of OWGS Clem Danin (on the left) handing over “The President’s Jug” to the new President Bill Coutts Donald

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Fives 2016/2017: DIVISION 1 The Old Westminster Division 1 team faced the innumerable challenges of the topmost league head-on this season: highlights included a 3-0 victory over the Old Berkhamstedians, and a slew of 1st pair wins. It was particularly heartening to be joined on so many occasions by several of the top Westminster School players, who not only proved their mettle in the Kinnaird Cup and National Schools’ Championships, but also their enthusiasm for league fives, proudly representing Westminster’s particular brand of artfully lackadaisical schoolboy fives in both Divisions 1 and 2.

DIVISION 2 It was a season of two halves for the Old Westminster Division 2 side, with the main achievement being that these two halves did ultimately summate to produce a whole, completed season. In very British fashion, the OW team celebrated finishing the fixture list on a respectable nil points—rather than the negative double digits for which they seemed destined—after a series of administrative forfeitures were systematically undone. Grateful thanks go to the OWs’ fellow Division 2 clubs, whose magnanimity and generous ‘fivesing spirit’ made this possible.

Our thanks are also due to Freddie Krespi and Laurie Brock, who, after several years each at the helm of the OW teams, are both passing on the reigns as they look to expand their horizons beyond the Westminster courts.

TOURNAMENTS Despite not necessarily reaching the upper echelons of the EFA leagues, the Old Westminsters were on great form at tournaments throughout the year. This was achieved both as a team – the mostly floppy-haired squad having ironic success in both Barber Cups despite their apparent aversion to haircuts, reaching the finals of the Richard Barber Cup in their debut, and making a strong quarter-final appearance in the Alan Barber Cup against eventual winners the Old Olavians—and individually, with stand-out performances in the Mixed Championship finals, the Ladies Championship semi-finals, and the London Tournament quarter-finals.

Kinnaird Cup (Mens’ Nationals) Finalists (L-R): Riki Houlden (OW 2008-13) with partner Jonny Ho (Old Cholmeleian)

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Particular congratulations go to Riki Houlden, who followed up a sterling appearance in the Northern Tournament final with Old Cholmeleian Jonny Ho by becoming the first OW to compete in a Kinnaird Cup final since TG Lund in 1936. Riki was also nominated for EFA Player of the Year, alongside OW Matt Lewin’s nomination for EFA Coach of the Year as a result of his outstanding efforts at Westway.

LADIES The Old Westminster Ladies made their presence felt this season throughout the calendar, from the Aberconway Cup to the Varsity Match. There were also plenty of breakthrough moments and a number of notable firsts: there was a female presence on court for all of the OW Division 2 games played this season; the Andrew Aitken Trophy (a.k.a. the Westminster Cup) had its first female recipient, with Elana Osen winning alongside organiser Laurie Brock; and for the very first time a full, bona fide Westminster team was fielded at the Richard Black Cup. Hopefully in the seasons to come these achievements will be commonplace as the OW ladies, and the OW contingent in general, continue to reach new heights.

Elana Osen (PP, 2007-09)

Richard Black Cup Team (L-R): Helena Khullar (OW 2012-14), Olivia Prankerd Smith (BB 2007-09), Bonnie Tse (PP 2007-09), Viva Ruggi (2017-present), Daisy Goldman (2017-present), Elana Osen (PP 2007-09)

Richard Barber Cup Team (L-R): Hugo Young (2013-present), Riki Houlden (OW 2008-13), Can Koksal (2013-present), Alex Benson (2013-present), Sahil Shah (OW 2011-16), Elana Osen (PP 2007-09)

Athletics 2017: For over 50 years, OWW took part in an annual race against the School along the traditional long distance race route from Barnes to the Boat House at Putney; an event that has attracted some unusual and occasionally distinguished guest runners, including one Olympic medallist and several internationals in a variety of sports. In recent years the race has been moved to Hyde Park, a more central location, and staged in the early evening mid-week in September.

Now renamed The Serpentine Cup, it is slightly shorter than the towpath course but equally flat and proving popular.

In 2017, two School runners, Harry Clarke and Caspar Griffin, were first and second, with the leading two OWW, Tibo Rushbrooke finishing third and Freddie Hill fourth equal with the School’s Thomas Adamo, in a desperate lunge by the pair for the line. The School took the team trophy, with the OWW second and the Staff third.

Three months later, the OWW were at the annual Old Boys’ five mile cross-country event on Wimbledon Common, organised by Thames Hare and Hounds. In order to limit the numbers, which had threatened to overwhelm the officials, entry fees were introduced two years ago. In fact, such a ploy seems to have had the opposite effect and there are now almost 300 competitors, ranging from a few School runners as guests, to people in their 70s.

The first OW home was Alexi Calvert-Ansari in 30th place, with Mark Wainwright next best in 54th. Our first veteran runner was Toby Vanhegan on 172th. Special mention should be made of the School’s Annabelle Evans, who was 114th and the third female in her field. We look forward to having her running for us when she leaves.

John Goodbody (LL, 1956-61)

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The Neville Walton Travel Award Jamie Voros (MM, 2010-12)

Location: Kathmandu, Nepal

epal is a beautifully remote country, many thousands of metres above sea level. My ears did not pop as the plane came into land on one of the world’s shortest commercial runways in Kathmandu. At 14,000 feet up we were almost landing in the clouds. The mountainous beauty promised by the view from the plane was striking, particularly given that just one year before my visit, Nepal had been rocked by a series of devastating earthquakes. Many families were displaced initially, and one year on many still did not have access to proper shelter. I jumped to the conclusion that so many people were experiencing serious problems with housing this far on because shelter design appropriate for the climate and lack of materials must have been major hurdles.

Nepal’s lack of housing in the wake of its earthquakes sounded solvable through intelligent design and engineering.

These ideas gave rise to the topic of my bachelor’s thesis: a transitional shelter for Nepalese earthquake victims.

Transitional shelters are a form of rapidly buildable housing that displaced people can live in until they are able to find permanent housing. Typically, a transitional shelter is designed specifically for a certain disaster or population.

After nine months of design iterations, running simulations and reaching out to anyone familiar with Nepalese culture I produced my own transitional shelter design. ➽

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Upon arriving in Kathmandu, I was greeted with a cityscape completely different from what the media had promised me. I was taken aback by how quickly the condensed, dusty city melted away into rural greenery

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Upon arriving in Kathmandu, I was greeted with a cityscape completely different from what the media had promised me. I was taken aback by how quickly the condensed, dusty city melted away into rural greenery. Even the constant swerving and sharp breaking amidst a cacophony of blaring horns and flashing headlights was not enough to keep me from noticing that most of the buildings hardly looked hit by an earthquake. Among the mass of buildings, wires and uneven winding roads, few buildings were still sporting visible damage, they were like gap tooth holes on the block. I later learned that the people who got hit hardest by the earthquakes and were still feeling the brunt of their effect were those living in rural areas surrounding Kathmandu.

While there were buildings in the middle of Kathmandu affected by the earthquake, the easy access to labour and materials made them a lot easier to repair, rebuild or at least cordon off the damaged parts. The hotel I was staying at had closed a large portion of its rooms due to earthquake damage, but

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Initially, when the Nepal Red Cross organised food to be flown in and transported, the inefficiencies in clearing customs caused the majority of it to go bad at the airport.

had done an excellent job of fixing up the outside and keeping unaffected rooms open.

In preparation for the trip, I had reached out to the ends of my network to get in touch with the Nepal Red Cross and Open Learning Exchange (OLE). The OLE is an initiative started in 2007 to provide better education to school age children across all of Nepal through integration of technology and technology infrastructure.

I met with Mukesh Singh of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC). He explained the full repercussions of the earthquake aftermath, far beyond the lack of housing, going from the initial lack of food to loss of schooling in rural areas. The main complication and what seemed like the major hurdle to the Red Cross’ efforts was something that I had not recognised at all. Despite being a third world country, the amount of red tape imposed by the system (such as where governmental funding was allowed to go and clearing customs) held back efforts. Initially, when the

Nepal Red Cross organised food to be flown in and transported, the inefficiencies in clearing customs caused the majority of it to go bad at the airport. He talked about problems with donations: a significant amount of food that was sent over contained beef and Nepal is a largely Hindu country.

Beyond learning of new problems I was also able to verify concerns I had addressed but not fully resolved during my thesis, mainly that without good communication with the people you hope to provide housing to it becomes very difficult to provide it effectively.

A classic example is where housing is built and left unused because it does not cater to the communities and culture in rural areas. I learned that often Nepalese people would rather stay on their own land with their families than move to an emergency housing facility.

I had the opportunity to meet with Rabi Karmacharya of the OLE who very kindly discussed social repercussions of Nepal experiencing an earthquake in terms of loss of schools and access to

education. During the time I was in Nepal, the OLE was experiencing difficulty finding labor to re-construct schools in rural villages, despite offering at or above market rate wages. The OLE even offered to pay parents and people already in the villages, but too many of them chose not to accept a temporary paid position to reconstruct schools for their children.

Being able to see the state of Kathmandu and the surrounding area, coupled with the interviews I conducted at the Nepal Red Cross and OLE, opened my eyes to the problem as a whole. The kind of damage suffered is different to that which the media portrays; not only are there many houses which are completely destroyed, but there are also many only partially standing in unsafe conditions. House design is completely necessary to restore conditions in the aftermath of an earthquake, but it is only one small part of the solution to a much greater, systematic and physical problem.

Most importantly, the physical problems that arose from Nepal

experiencing such a huge natural disaster are just the tip of the iceberg.

It is not just an issue of rehoming people; it is an issue of repairing the physical ties within the community.

That is reconstructing social connections as well as clearing road blocks and rebuilding homes in a way that the people will actually appreciate and use.

I am immensely grateful to the Neville Walton Travel Award and Westminster School for allowing me to put the last piece of my thesis in place: actually visiting Kathmandu.

I am very lucky to have developed a cultural understanding of the problem and was able to explore why design is only part of the solution when it comes to rehoming displaced people.

My travel to Nepal has equipped me with incredibly valuable knowledge to continue down this path and work out the next steps. â–

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The next generation of OW Lawyers Each year, The Elizabethan Club sponsors a number of places at the OW Lawyers’ Dinner for Remove and Sixth Form pupils who are interested in studying Law at University. Below are letters of thanks from those students who attended the dinner this year.

I wanted to thank you immensely for the privilege of being able to attend the Lawyers' Dinner on Friday at Home House. The lovely food at the venue was complemented well by the fruitful discussion I could have with many of the older practising lawyers. I had the good fortune of being able to sit on the same table as Lord Neuberger himself, being involved in a discussion with him and the other lawyers regarding the topic of euthanasia. The discussion itself helped me understand the thought process that being a lawyer required. I was also able to inquire about what parts of the law might interest me as well as courses in university that I may consider when it comes to applying for Law. The experience was eye-opening and definitely very useful to me as an aspiring law student.

Aryan Mishra (BB, Remove) Thank you for including me in the Old Westminster Lawyers’ Dinner at Home House on Friday evening.

The event was fabulous, the food was excellent and I got to wear a tuxedo for the first time! Lord Neuberger’s humour set the tone for the evening putting me at ease in your distinguished company. I felt the people at my table went out of their way to include me in conversation, answer questions on various topics I was interested in, and were generous in sharing their views on current events as well as stories from their personal lives. Thank you again for giving me the opportunity to mix with people I truly enjoyed meeting and speaking with, while learning about the legal profession.

Kieran Angammana (GG, Sixth Form)

I write to thank you for letting me attend the 2018 OW Lawyers’ Dinner.

It was a great privilege to attend the dinner which all the other attendees seemed to be very enthusiastic about. It did not take long after arriving at Home House to be approached by several lawyers who were keen to find out who we were and it was delightful to be welcomed in such a friendly way. I felt like I was amongst many others who had a lot of respect for Lord Neuberger and were looking forward to hearing from him.

I was able to learn a lot from the lawyers whom I met especially because of how different they were. It was possible to hear from both barristers and solicitors, those who had continued their education after Westminster in different ways, or were now practising different areas of the law.

This meant that I was lucky enough to speak to a barrister who had read Greats at Oxford which is the course that I most want to apply for this summer. It was encouraging to hear how he became a barrister after taking his degree.

I also spoke with a lawyer who was able to tell me all I wanted to know about the courts in London and who gave me advice on watching cases being heard in courts.

Lord Neuberger spoke about the Neuberger Law Prize which was very useful to hear as I would like to enter it this summer. He read his notes on the essay submissions he had judged, which was good advice for how best to write the essay myself. The rest of his speech was a very interesting insight into the challenges that the courts face, based on his own experiences at the Supreme Court.

I am very grateful for the opportunity that the Club has provided me with as it has allowed me to learn a lot.

Ben Goodrick (GG, Remove)

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I would like to express my sincere gratitude for the opportunity I have been extended. Being able to attend the Old Westminster Lawyers' Dinner was, as a prospective law student, a fantastic experience. I was able to get a much deeper insight into the profession having been able to speak to and learn from accomplished lawyers in a variety of disciplines. It was also illuminating to exchange words with such eminent legal professionals and reaffirmed to me that the law is what I want to pursue. It is your generosity that enabled me to do so, and for this I am very grateful.

Sushrut Royyuru (LL, Sixth Form) I would like to express my sincere gratitude to you for allowing me to attend last night’s dinner at Home House; the venue was lovely and the food was marvellous! It was an opportunity which I found not only enjoyable but also extremely useful in helping me to make choices for university and beyond. Having spoken with a number of distinguished lawyers at the dinner, all of whom were most affable, I feel much more well-informed about the multitude of paths to go down in the Law and the options for universities and degrees. I was fortunate enough to be sitting next to Lord Aylmer at dinner who told me lots about his time as a professional negligence lawyer, which I was pleasantly surprised to find absolutely fascinating. He also gave me great insight into the ethics of law and the importance of never compromising one’s integrity for the sake of a client or the like.

I also thoroughly enjoyed Lord Neuberger’s talk which was both amusing and incredibly insightful, backed up by a wealth of personal experience. I found his talk most inspirational, especially as a current Westminster.

Jay Chitnavis (PP, Sixth Form)

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From Little Dean’s Yard to Pyeongchang

© Photograph: Team GB /Andy Ryan

It’s safe to say that there isn’t one particular way in which one makes it to the Olympic stage. Each athlete who succeeds in representing their country at the most prestigious sporting event in the world, has carved their own path toward the ultimate goal of an Olympic medal.

OW Dom Parsons (HH, 2001-06) is no different. After winning Team GB’s first medal of the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics with bronze in the Men’s Skeleton, Dom became the first British male to win a Skeleton medal since John Crammond in 1948.

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Dom sporting his Olympic bronze medal in Pyeongchang. © Photograph: Team GB/Andy Ryan

It’s been a few months now since the Games. Do your feet feel like they’ve had a chance to touch the ground again yet?

I’m back at university now cracking on with my PhD; since the Games I’ve found that getting my brain back into an academic gear has proven to be a bit of a challenge. I’ve been doing my PhD part time for about five years, with six months of each year focused on academics and six months training and taking part in the Skeleton season.

Whereas the PhD has suffered a little bit recently, there’s a bit of time now where I can focus on it and it’s much easier to fit training around a self-guided PhD than a rigid undergrad timetable!

The Skeleton is quite a niche sport.

How did you get introduced to it and what made you want to compete at the highest level?

I hadn’t heard much about it before coming to study here at the University of Bath. I’m incredibly lucky that Bath is the home of the National Federation of Skeleton. I’d been really keen on

sport throughout my school years and was a pretty decent 400m runner.

I’d joined an athletics training group when I first arrived at uni and one of the athletes who trained with us was part of the British Skeleton team. He invited our group to have a go on the push track in Bath and it was an experience that I really enjoyed! From there, I became annoyingly enthusiastic about the sport and was invited to a push track competition along with the GB team, which I ended up winning.

This caught the attention of the National Federation officials who were there and they took me on the ice for the first time in Norway later that year.

The more I learnt about the sport, the more I loved it. It contains all the things in sport that excite me: the explosive power at the start, the analytical side of the technology and equipment that you use, and the skill side of the driving down the track. I’ve always been into driving and fast cars and although this is definitely a very different style of driving, it’s the same sort of thrill.

How do you deal with nerves and performance anxiety when performing at such a high level? Do you have a specific mantra or set of exercises to mentally prepare yourself for the run?

There’s a lot of preparation that we do throughout the summer as well as right before a race. There are a certain set of processes that we put in place that influence everything that we do from starting a warm up to pushing off from the blocks. Obviously at the Olympics, it’s a much bigger race than a World Cup or World Championship competition. At Sochi in 2014 it was the atmosphere and sense of occasion that really pumped me up for the race. In the year or so before Pyeongchang, I didn’t feel quite as much anticipation for races – I did start to wonder if I was going to feel that thrill anymore. However, as soon as we got on the bus at Pyeongchang for the first day of the race, I could feel the nerves very strongly – it was almost a welcome feeling! It helps my performance to have that feeling: it gets the adrenaline going, ready for competition. ➽

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I also developed some different spikes for wearing during my race. The standard shoes we are given don’t have great stiffness properties and I thought it would be advantageous to have shoes more similar to those of the top-level sprinters... they were the shoes I wore when I won my medal. I’d like to think that they gave me an advantage in the race!

In the last week or so leading up to Pyeongchang, when you were in the Seoul training camps, you had some trouble with a strained adductor muscle. After an injury like that, how do you manage to keep your focus and avoid psyching yourself out?

It was only about 12 days before my race, so the injury was a big worry! It did affect a lot of the physical prep leading up to the event. My first high intensity effort on it was only two days before my race and I didn’t really know how it was going to handle that level of intensity.

In the prep days leading up to the race, I focused more on the sliding aspect of the run, so when it came to race day I knew that that part of my run would be strong. Luckily, my adductor was okay once it actually came to the race. It did affect my push times a little but it didn’t manage to ruin my medal chances.

Can you remember what you were thinking at the moment when you realised that you’d won the bronze?

At the end of the race, on my last run, I made a couple of mistakes near the bottom which probably cost me about 1/4 of a second on my overall time. All I could see looking up was the board which said total time and position. I knew I had dropped behind the Russian athlete who had gone before me and I knew that the athlete going after me was a Latvian guy, who has won pretty much everything except an Olympic Gold medal. When the Latvian crossed the finish line, the Russian athlete

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started to celebrate and turned to me and said “You’re third!”. He didn’t speak much English at all, so I didn’t want to make an idiot of myself by celebrating if I had come fourth. I couldn’t see any score boards and I was being told that I had come third, so I trusted the officials.

It wasn’t until a little later on that I found out that I was only behind the silver medalist by 2/100ths of a second! After the race there’s a mad rush of activity that takes place, anti-doping tests, sled checks and media interviews etc, so the medal ceremony wasn’t until 7 hours after the race had finished!

You’re currently studying for your PhD in Engineering at the University of Bath. Have you found that your academic studies have had any influence on your development in the Skeleton?

I have applied my engineering background to my performance in the last few years, working on the sled and the runners. I also developed some different spikes for wearing during my race. The standard shoes we are given don’t have great stiffness properties and I thought it would be advantageous to have shoes more similar to those of the top-level sprinters. I used a toprange sprint spike as a template and shaved off all of the bottom to make it a flat surface and then designed some spike plates that would be suitable for running on ice. I did a lot of research into the properties, materials and designs of sprint spikes that track athletes use. I made about six pairs or

so, and they were the shoes I wore when I won my medal. I’d like to think that they gave me an advantage in the race! My engineering background gave me the skill set that I needed to make those advancements. A few people noticed my shoes in Pyeongchang, but luckily they soon realised that Adidas weren’t supplying me with any special stuff!

I’ve also been tremendously well supported by my sponsors, Bromley Sports. They’re world leaders in Skeleton sled development and production. It’s wonderful to work with a team who continually drive for innovation, in both their Olympic Skeleton sled performance and their recreational range of products. Sponsorship from Bromley Sports has had a huge impact on my performance over the last few seasons and I’m thrilled to be involved with their development of the next iteration of Skeleton sleds.

What impact did your years at Westminster have on you?

My time at Westminster equipped me with fantastic foundations for furthering my education – everyone who comes to the School is fortunate enough to experience an incredibly rigorous and quality academic education. Having the skills to really study well and perform well in exams was incredibly important once I made my way to the University of Bath. In my first year of university, much of the content for my Maths courses had already been covered in my final year at Westminster!

"My time at Westminster equipped me with fantastic foundations for furthering my education."

The medal ceremony where Dom was awarded his bronze medal. © Photograph: Team GB/Andy Ryan

Do you have a particular memory from school that stands out in your memory?

In no way would I encourage this particular incident to be repeated, but I have a stand-out memory from ‘Muck Up Day’ – it caused a bit of a security scare. There was an idea from some of the boys to bring in some smoke bombs, similar to the kind you’d find when Paintballing. Somewhere between 50-100 smoke bombs made their way into Little Dean’s Yard on this particular day. When Big Ben struck a certain time, everyone ignited their smoke bombs and dropped them into Yard… it looked a bit like a battlefield! The School was

evacuated and there was a bit of a scare due to the proximity to the Abbey and Parliament. I don’t know if the ringleaders were found and, before you ask, I don’t know who they were!

Will we be seeing you in Beijing 2022?

It’s definitely a goal and I had a review meeting with the coaches and British Skeleton Federation about this yesterday. I think there was a lot of untapped potential in my performance at Pyeongchang, especially due to my injury. If I can focus on just Skeleton for the next few years I could possibly do even better in Beijing. So, fingers crossed! ■

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Hear from your House Society

College Society The 2017/18 calendar was another full one for the College Society. Our back-to-annual dinner in September was attended by over 70 alumni and their guests. An AGM with an exceptional musical interlude, provided by current College pupils, kicked-off the evening, while the night was completed with Compline in St Faith’s Chapel.

At the AGM we said thank you to James Fulton, a stalwart of the Society despite his many years abroad, and Oliver Rubens who is also now based in Hong Kong. We also welcomed two new members, Theo Peterson and Sacha Mehta, who have already brought passion and insight into the Committee – and taken on my mantle of the youngest member on the Committee!

This year saw the continuation of our successful Spring Lecture Series, following Dr Tina Beaconsfield’s (CC, 1975-77) recollections in 2016 of her time at Westminster, and her professional development to become a consultant radiologist having been born deaf. The College Society welcomed Tom Richardson (CC, 1954-59) the former UK Ambassador to Italy (1996-2000) and the UK’s Deputy Representative to the UN (1989-1994) in April to give his insights on the diplomatic circuit and current issues on the international scene. Very well attended by alumni and current College pupils, we were treated to a historical masterclass on world politics of the late twentieth century – something that continued at the speaker’s dinner.

Rigaud’s Society 2017/18 also saw the first female Queen Scholars admitted to College.

A truly historic moment, the Committee is commemorating this event by commissioning a portrait of all eight female QS by current Westminster pupil, Lucy Li, to hang in College.

The next College Society Dinner is to be held on 20th September 2018 and invitations will be sent out shortly.

Alumni who left up to seven years ago are invited to attend for free, and there will be discount pricing for members of the College Society and for those who left between eight and ten years ago.

The evening promises to be an enjoyable event and we look forward to seeing many alumni there.

We would like to thank the Master, Mark Feltham, for his continuing support of and enthusiasm for the Society, and wish him the best of luck with his upcoming move to Bosnia and Herzegovina as the headmaster of UWC Mostar. The Committee also wish to welcome Gareth Mann as Master of the QS and very much look forward to working with him over the coming years.

If you would like to join the Society please do contact me on the below details. Membership is very modestly priced and provides vital funds to support the work of the Society and discounts on tickets for events.

If you have any ideas as to how the Society might extend its activities, please do not hesitate to contact any member of the Committee.

Arda Eghiayan Chairman: Duncan Matthews (QS, 1974-79) dmatthews@20essexst.com For membership details Hon Sec: Arda Eghiayan (CC, 2000-02) arda.eghiayan@gmail.com

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The Society continues to take an active involvement in supporting the House, most notably providing a number of travel bursaries to members of the Remove.

Last year, members of the Society and their guests held a very well attended Black Tie dinner in College Hall. Guest speaker Matt Frei, anchorman of Channel 4 News and OR, gave a fascinating insight into President Donald Trump and how the world might be saved by Kentucky Fried Chicken.

A similar event will be held in June 2018 and all ORR and their guests are encouraged to attend. Details will be sent out nearer the time.

With thanks, as ever, to Richard and to the Development Office for all their support over the year.

Ipsu rasu!

Grant’s Society The Old Grantite Club is in excellent heart and we are a very sociable group. During the last few years we have organised informal events such as drinks at a local hotel to ensure our events are accessible and appealing to all OGG. This year we are holding a drinks reception in the House of Commons as the guests of RT Hon Dominic Grieve QC MP (GG 1969-74) on Tuesday 11th September 2018 from 7.00 - 10.00pm. This event is open to all OGG and their partners. Please look out for ticket details on the OWW website and by e mail from the Development Office.

Busby’s The Busby Society has enjoyed a number of social gatherings since the publication of the last Elizabethan Newsletter, including a wonderful dinner with current Remove students.

It was a very enjoyable evening, and Old Busbites and students alike shared stories of their time at the School.

We are looking forward to our next event, during the Play Term, and will be circulating details of the gathering very soon.

The Society was also delighted to contribute to the new Piano, which was bought for the House.

To make sure that you are receiving email invitations about Busby events, or if you are interested in helping to organise such gatherings, please contact: alumni@westminster.org.uk

The Development Office is eager to provide support for all House Societies, Sports Societies and interest-groups who wish to hold events and gatherings for their fellow OWW. Please contact the Development Office to arrange an event or talk with the team. alumni@westminster.org.uk 020 7963 1113

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An Introduction to Platform Inspiring pupils in the community, who show excellent academic potential Hannah Verney, Westminster Under School

If asked, “What is the best thing about Westminster Under School?” many boys and parents would answer in a flash, “The teachers!” and, rightly so! Westminster is renowned for inspiring and stretching teaching, which encourages each pupil to reach their potential and learn at their highest possible level.

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Equally, we are all aware of the privilege such an education provides and the importance of sharing what we have is more critical today than ever. Platform is an educational initiative which works closely with as many as 35 inner city primary schools, some of them local and a number further afield, for example, Bromley and Lewisham, to identify bright children in Year 5 interested in an academic challenge. ➽

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Once links are established with primary schools many children are eager to attend the monthly Saturday morning enrichment teaching sessions where they are taught by a range of Under School teachers who are keen to be support the programme. We are fortunate to have received significant funding from the Worshipful Company of Drapers and ongoing support from the Westminster School Development Office. Attendance is very high amongst the 40 children who are taught in two classes of 20.

Each month the children have core lessons in Maths and English and then the world truly is their oyster, with lessons from Drama to Latin and everything in between on offer! The children quickly establish firm friendships and are always excited to attend early on a Saturday morning, often rushing in with their homework!

Perhaps the best way to measure what the sessions mean to families is this quote from a parent of a pupil in the inaugural 2017 cohort,

“We would like to say thank you as we are very appreciative of all the effort, resources and material invested in our son. He has benefited greatly from the course, discovering new interests in a wide range of authors, books, vocabulary and his enthusiasm for learning has increased. The programme has been an inspiration to our son, who speaks highly of his experiences at Westminster to all his friends and family. Please continue the fantastic work you are doing. Platform has ignited a flame in our young man and has shown him that hard work will payoff: something we have always instilled in him from an early age. Thank you.�

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Open to both boys and girls, the sessions are designed to expand their minds and also provide an experience of being taught alongside other capable and enthusiastic children. Reading widely is hugely encouraged and, thanks to financial donations, we were able to set up a high quality library, lending books to the children each month, as part of the English curriculum.

On top of the purpose to enrich the pupils, we also want to show them, and their parents, the plethora of selective educational opportunities available to them at 11+. Forward thinking independent schools look to provide bursaries, for pupils who might not otherwise be able to attend, and Westminster hopes to be leading the way in this area.

We are very grateful to all of the parents who have already helped us, in a variety of ways, to get Platform off the ground; from its pilot phase and now into its first fully-fledged year of operation. We are always interested to hear from parents who feel aligned with the programme’s aims, who may

be able to help us expand. Whilst we are not looking for funding for Platform for the foreseeable future, as this has been secured, a brand new bursaries campaign will be launched later this year establishing a new endowment for bursary provision, which will be the core focus of our development activities.

This will be the start of a long-term drive to ensure that the brightest and most deserving young people are all given the same opportunity to benefit from a world-class education at Westminster. We have high aspirations to be able to transform the lives of more young people and we will be looking to the Westminster Community to partner with us and help us achieve our goals. â–

westminsterplatform.org.uk If you wish to find out more, please do feel free to visit the website, or get in touch with Lucie Kennedy, Westminster’s Director of Development at: developmentoffice@westminster.org.uk

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TENDER SHOOTS IN THE WOOD OF OUR STATE Westminster School celebrated an historic moment when twelve new Scholars were elected to the College of St Peter, including, for the first time, four Sixth Form girls.

In a charter of 1560 Elizabeth I established the Collegiate Church of St Peter in Westminster, consolidating her father’s plans for two Masters and forty Scholars: ‘… the youth which is growing to manhood, as tender shoots in the wood of our state, shall be liberally instructed in good books to the greater honour of the state’.

On the historic election of the first female Queen’s Scholars, HRH Elizabeth II wrote to the Head Master, Patrick Derham, to send her good wishes.

Following election, the girls soon set to their duties, one of which is to guard the steps to School (the school hall) during Latin Prayers. This traditional role, that of the ‘Mon. Os.’ and now also that of the ‘Monitrix Ostii’, was to provide a security presence deterring passers-by who might be interested to explore what was happening up School. The pupil was also required to inform the Head Master of the time throughout the day.

As a source states: “[T]he day passed rather slowly with the Monos. He could, indeed, play rackets by himself, or with

any boy who might come out of school for a few minutes – that was all. Still, in the eyes of most boys, the ‘studiorum remissio’ – ‘the forgiveness of lessons’ was a sufficient recompense for the monotony.” Gladly, there is no need to miss lessons today!

At the beginning of October we were delighted to welcome back Michael Jarvis, Captain of Queen’s Scholars 1968-9, who met with Hein Mante, Captain 2017-8 to discuss how the role has changed – and remained the same – over fifty years.

CHINA SCHOOLS Westminster School is thrilled to announce its involvement in founding six schools in China.

The income from this international partnership will help Westminster to fund bursaries for those pupils who need financial support. The schools are being created in collaboration with a Hong Kong education firm, with the first to open in Chengdu in 2020.

The new Chinese schools will teach China's national curriculum, “augmented by aspects of a Westminster curriculum.” The Head Master said the partnership with China would deepen a ‘cultural collaboration’ and that it would be a step towards being able to ‘provide a Westminster education for all who might benefit from it, irrespective of means.”

BRINGING COMPUTER CODING TO THE DEVELOPING WORLD Remove student Mahek Vara (PP) has set up an educational charity, Code Camp, to teach computer programming to children in developing countries. Already operational in 1,810 schools in Gujarat and benefiting over 78,400 children, Code Camp is now extending into the region of the Gulf.

It was her regular trips to India with her family that led Mahek to question why so many Indian children leave school without the computer skills necessary to express their creativity.

“As I grew up, I realised that education for computing in state-funded Indian schools was in terrible shape, if it existed at all.”

Mahek decided to set up the Code Camp Education Foundation, a charity which, with the help of volunteers, imparts essential programming knowledge to children between the ages of 9 and 16. Mahek began by leading classes and teacher training days herself, coaching over 100 teachers. Teachers from remote places came and learnt how to implement the Code Camp programme in their own

school. Code Camp can take place anywhere, so long as there are supervising staff, computers available and adequate space.

Now over 30 Code Camp volunteers not only teach classes of children in Indian schools but also train supervising staff so that they can teach computer programming themselves, through carefully designed specialist courses. Rapid expansion was made possible by the support of the Education Minister in Gujarat who helped Mahek to reach out to more schools, so that more children could benefit from Code Camp teaching and resources.

Explaining the impact of her project to the School in Abbey, Mahek related a conversation she had with one of her twelve year-old students: “I asked him what he did during his free time after school and his response was that he had to work in a factory from 2 in the afternoon until 9 at night. He didn’t do it for his enjoyment or for work experience: he did it to sustain his livelihood. Many other children like him were spending their time after school working and were not able to use their remarkable talents. To think that I may have made an impact on his life is simply incredible.”

Over the Christmas holiday, Mahek has been in negotiations with Ms Hawa Al-Dawoud from the Arab Yoga Foundation, to discuss how Code Camp may be further expanded into the Gulf Region. Her ultimate aim, is that Code Camp should help and inspire children from low socioeconomic backgrounds to fulfil their potential worldwide.

IPSY, THE NEW APP FROM SIXTH FORMER ANDREW GLEN Congratulations to Andrew Glen (LL) who has just released his third App to the AppStore, a 2D physics-based game called ‘ipsy’. He explains it here.

“The goal for each level is to guide the ball to the finish point. The only way you can affect the ball’s direction is to draw the ground, which it will bounce off. Each level features objects to help players achieve their goal or to hinder their efforts: the test is to think both strategically, to find the optimal route for the ball, and geometrically, to make sure the ball bounces off the ground at the desired angle.

I enjoy writing software because it’s created in a very controlled environment. In Electronics, if you solder a chip in backwards, it could take you a fair amount of time to remove the solder and pry it back out.

In cookery, once the cake is in the oven, you have to wash up all the utensils you used to make it. But in programming, there is none of this.

Mistakes are rectified with ‘undo’, and there’s no physical downside to being creative!

When I started making ipsy properly, I knew I wanted to make a beautiful product. I wanted everything to be

animated. I wanted colour gradients that matched the shadow on the ball, and a firework when you reached the end of the level. It took me a long time to complete because, having mastered the mechanics of the game, I tried to code it to look perfect from start to finish. Now, in my eyes, it’s the best app I’ve ever made.”

Andrew’s next project is with a start-up company building an app to help NHS physiotherapists track the quality of their patients’ exercises by using motion sensors in the phone. We are hugely impressed with his work and wish him all the best with his new project over the summer.

A WEEK OF SELF-DISCOVERY Westminster PHAB is a week-long summer camp for disabled guests, organised by the teachers but hosted completely by Sixth Form students.

The 41st Westminster School PHAB took place in July this year and our ‘Phabracadabra’ week celebrated all things magical through our workshops and activities.

We welcomed 36 guests who have a range of disabilities, some of whom require assistance with almost all aspects of their everyday lives, to come and live with us. A team of 45 Sixth form pupils, supported by staff, trained to be carers for the week.

Guests and hosts alike took part in daily workshops run in School, with subjects including Art, Design, Photography, Film, Drama, Ceramics and Music. In the afternoon we took advantage of our location in central London with sightseeing and shopping trips; evening activities included a magic show, karaoke and a trip to the Curzon cinema.

The highlight of the week for many was undoubtedly the trip to the Warner Bros. Studios in Leavesden in order to enjoy ‘The Making of Harry Potter’ studio tour. Seeing the film sets, dressing up and getting the chance to try a butterbeer was a real treat for all involved! On Saturday we dressed up for our formal dinner and dance which was held to celebrate the week’s experience, and on Sunday we welcomed friends and family to a BBQ and show.

In Abbey, Davide Bertone (GG), Martha Cruz (RR) and Ed Easton (HH)

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School News

explained their experience to the School community: “In the life of a young person, 90% of what you do is for yourself; during PHAB 90% of what you do is for others.

That’s what makes it so unique. I first signed up because it seemed a great thing to be part of, but as the end of school year drew closer and closer, privately I started filling up with doubts.

What if my guest didn’t like me? What if I ran out of things to talk about? And most of all, what if I didn’t know what to do? All the social anxieties of a teenager came to the surface.

However, from the moment we started setting up, there was an overwhelming atmosphere of affection and support between us hosts and the teachers. We were all a family with a common purpose from the start. And when the first few guests arrived, seeing their faces of pure happiness instantly woke me up to the reality that PHAB meant the world to every single guest. One guest had even started a 365-day countdown on his phone until the next PHAB. It turned out to be the best week of my time at Westminster. Never have I felt as if my life had more of a purpose.

My guest was the kindest and most friendly man that I have ever met.

I will never forget him. He taught me just how fun living life in the moment can be.

PHAB was as much a week of giving as it was of self-discovery: learning to break through the limitations that a self-conscious teenager places on himself.”

Congratulations to all involved.

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TECH SENSATIONS Lower Shell boys Bhuvan Belur (BB), Joe Bell (QS) and William Yu (GG) have won the second Raspberry Pi Pioneer Challenge in a brilliant demonstration of Westminster initiative.

The Raspberry Pi Foundation works to put the power of digital making into the hands of young people, so they can solve the problems that matter to them and are equipped for the jobs of the future. In this, their second competition for 11-16 year olds, entrants were asked to work together in groups to invent a new device to bring gaming into the ‘outdoors’. They then had to post a video on YouTube explaining what they had made, how they went about it and displaying how it worked.

Bhuvan explained, “Because the deadline was the beginning of July and we were busy with exams, we really only had three weeks to film and make it all. So we worked on it before school, during breaks and after school, as well as during Robotics Club, where we could call on Ms Bustamante and Mr Maynard.”

Their final submission was chosen as one of 5 winners from about 300 entries, receiving the ‘Technically Brilliant’ award.

As prize-winners, they were invited to the Pioneers summer camp at the Google HQ London where they spent the day making robots, and using the Google AIYY api to create their own Google homes. The day finished with talks by four Google employees in various fields, about the future of technology and what their jobs

entailed, and a free tour of the YouTube space, to which access is only usually allowed for those with 10,000 subscribers or more.

But for the boys, the highlight of the experience was the actual making: “Staying up late, fixing bugs and figuring out new tech was incredibly fun. The most challenging thing was probably the time constraint, but it was definitely a valuable experience!”

We can’t wait to see what they make next.

3-2-1 @ OWL! The Old Westminsters’ Lodge completed a feast of Freemasonry up School in October 2017, performing all three principal ceremonies in one meeting. This triple ceremony is almost unprecedented in modern times and certainly none of the members and guests present had ever been to a meeting like it. A highly convivial dinner in Ashburnham House completed the evening.

The Lodge was founded in 1887 and membership is open to male Alumni and Staff of the School. Apart from having seriously fun meetings and dinners, charity is an important part of what we do. In 2017, London Masons pledged £2.5 million funding to the London Fire Brigade for two extended height aerial vehicles that were so lacking during the awful Grenfell Tower fire. This followed sums raised in recent years, including for a hi-tech ‘cyberknife' at Barts’ Hospital, vehicles for the London Ambulance Service, and a second helicopter air ambulance

which had been badly needed in London. We are proud to say that all of these are playing a vital role in making London a safer place to live and work.

If you have an interest in our ancient and honourable institution please contact our Secretary (sec@ oldwestminsterslodge.org) to find out more, or visit the Lodge website for further details.

Why men only? We are constituted under the United Grand Lodge of England, whose predecessor was founded over 300 years ago as the governing body of an all-male institution. That tradition and rule continues. For this reason we are only permitted to accept male applicants for membership. So far, no alumna of Westminster School has founded a Lodge specifically for Westminster alumnae. However there are several Masonic Lodges for women in the UK and if any alumnae are interested please contact us and we can put you in touch. oldwestminsterslodge.org

The donated air ambulance lands in Parliament Square

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From the Archives Elizabeth Wells

School Archivist

I would like to take the chance to highlight some of the exciting new additions to the Archive over the past two years, donated by Old Westminsters, which have enhanced our collection.

Account of the first Westminster v. Charterhouse match in 1863

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John Rae by Anthony D’Angour

AMNESTY RETURNS: The Town Boy Ledger and The Football Ledgers We have an amnesty on the return of items once held at the School that have, for whatever reason, strayed from home. Donations can be dropped off anonymously at the School’s reception or sent to the Archives at the address below. Recently, some significant historic ledgers have been recovered in this way. One OW dropped off the final volume of the series of Town Boy Ledgers which had been stored in his attic. The Ledgers were kept by the pupil elected ‘Head of the Town Boys’ (Princeps Oppidanus or Princeps Oppidanorum). The seven volumes in the School’s possession were conserved thanks to a grant from the National Manuscripts Conservation Trust and are currently being serialised online: townboyledger.westminster. org.uk. Adding the eighth and final volume to the series ensures we have an unbroken account of pupil experiences running from 1815 until 1959. This latest volume also covers the years of Second World War and includes important details about the life

of the School during evacuation and the adjustments made upon returning to Westminster in 1945. We are delighted to have it back.

A cache of ledgers was returned to us from the widow of an OW thanks to the kind assistance of Colin Brough (AHH 1959-63). Amongst the collection were Football Ledgers spanning the years 1854-1881. These have already attracted a lot of interest from a number of individuals researching the history of the game. Westminster was instrumental in the formulation of the first Football Association rules in the 1860s and these ledgers will provide important background to this crucial period. It also provided us with Westminster’s description of the first ever Westminster v. Charterhouse match, a now historic fixture. It tallies well with Charterhouse’s account – both agree on the ‘miserable weather’ and the final score, 2-0 to Westminster; the only discrepancy is the date – the Carthusians got it wrong!

JOHN RAE Our largest acquisition came in the form of an impressive portrait of Head Master John Rae, donated by the artist Anthony D’Angour (WW 1971-75) who painted it whilst he was still a pupil in the School. The gift was perfectly timed to mark the 10th anniversary of Rae’s death on 16th December 2006 as well as the 30th anniversary of his retirement in 1986.

During his time at Westminster, Rae wrote newspaper articles and regularly appeared as a panellist on programmes such as Question Time. He allowed the BBC to film its 1979 documentary about the School, a programme which received a mixed response from both parents and the press. Although many disapproved of his engagement with the media, he was a respected voice in defence of independent schools at a time when they were under much attack.

He even received invitations to dinner with the Prime Minister, Harold Wilson, at Downing Street. Controversially, Rae spoke out against ‘assisted places’ stating “you do not deal with a famine by sending a few lucky children to lunch at the Ritz” – an unpopular stance with some other head teachers who were reliant on the scheme.

Rae worked hard to modernise the School and rescue it from its perilous post-war financial position. He improved the School’s science facilities and created a new day house, Dryden’s, in 1976. Rae made a number of changes to the School’s statutes, removing some restrictions on who could apply to be scholars at the School. He will always be remembered as the Head Master who introduced girls to Westminster. He faced criticism for doing so, and for his appointment of a female pupil as Captain of the School in 1986. As always, Rae was able to provide a reasoned and articulate defence of his decisions. The journal he kept whilst Head Master, published after his death as ‘The Old Boys' Network: John Rae's Diaries 19701986’, remains the best insight to the School during that period.

The portrait has been hung in the Markham Room, gazing through the School’s newly created Bentham Room to the Abbey beyond and not far from Rae’s memorial stone in the Cloister below.

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From the Archives

Denny Brock at The Beachcomber Restaurant

DENNY BROCK AT THE BEACHCOMBER RESTAURANT We are always eager to add photographs to the collection, particularly if the individuals who feature can be identified.

In cases where the donor wishes to retain the photograph, we are happy to take a scan to add to our growing digital archive of images. One of the images that captured our imagination is that of Denny Brock being treated to dinner at the Beachcomber Club in Mayfair in 1963. The occasion was a farewell to Brock as Housemaster of Ashburnham – he moved to become Housemaster of Grants in the Play term. The Mahiki of its day, the Beachcomber Club included hula dancers and live crocodiles in its pools.

College by John Croft

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COLLEGE Another new painting in the collection depicts College in 1947, still a shell prior to its refurbishment and reopening by King George VI in 1950.

Acquired from the artist John Croft (HBB, 1936-39), it now hangs in the newly created Bentham Room.

EXPEDITIONS Michael Davies (AHH, 1957-63) deposited a number of records relating to his school days at Westminster including scrap books and material relating to the Arctic Norway expedition of 1962.

Are you an Old Westminster author?

The School actively collects fine and first editions of books written by Old Westminsters. If you are a published author, please consider donating a copy of your work to add to the collection. Godfrey Greene (GG, 1902-1907) left his personal collection of works by Old Westminsters to the School on his death in 1956, founding the Greene Collection. The School has continued to add works over the years and we are keen to keep the tradition Greene started alive.

Thanks The above are only a small sample of the materials we have received. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all OWW who have donated time, money towards conservation, reminiscences and archival material to the School over the past two years. We love adding new things to our collections, which are widely used both within and outside of the School. Please keep the donations coming!

Signed cover of the Arctic Norway Expedition diary

Elizabeth Wells, Archivist archives@westminster.org.uk 020 7963 1110 @WSchoolArchives ISSUE 2017/18

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Oli Bennett Charitable Trust

Here’s a question for you: what links Loyd Grossman, a gin distillery near Pitlochry and a pair of tickets to see the musical School of Rock? Well, yes, perhaps there is more than one answer to that, but the answer I was looking for was this: the Oli Bennett Charitable Trust.

To explain: Loyd Grossman was a lively guest speaker at our fundraiser at Westminster in June, the theatre tickets were among the prizes to be won that evening, and Badvo Distillery is one of the many new businesses that the charity has supported over the past 15 years.

That was just this year. Previous fundraisers have featured art fairs, opera singing and Peep Show’s and The Thick of It’s Jesse Armstrong sharing his secrets on successful sitcom writing.

established the charity to help enterprising young British people (aged 18-30) get their business ideas off the ground. Since 2002 we have awarded more than £145,000 to a diverse range of entrepreneurs, including stained glass restorers and furniture makers, fabric and fashion designers, bakers and shoemakers, potters and plumbers, blacksmiths and beauticians, as well as people developing educational resources for autistic children. Among many others.

Oli had always dreamt of starting his own business. His life was cut short before he could, but today the Oli Bennett Charitable Trust has helped set up more than 100 new businesses.

We look forward to supporting many more.

For more information on the charity’s work and future events, see: olibennett.org.uk

But, you might be wondering, how exactly does the charity work? After Oli Bennett (RR 1985-90) was killed in the September 11th attacks in New York, his parents, Joy and Adrian (RR 1954-59),

Kieron Connolly (GG 1985-90) @oli_charity

Artwork from Matthew Croft, available at the 2017 Art Fair

Work by Eden Stained Glass; one of the businesses supported by the Trust

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Old Westminsters at Bletchley Park Memories of

I. John Croft CBE (Home Border, 1936-41)

In 1942, there were three OWW at Bletchley Park and one other associated with it; Bentley Bridgewater (later Secretary of the British Museum), Angus Johnstone-Wilson (later Sir Angus Wilson, novelist) and myself, then aged 19 and straight from Christ Church, Oxford. The other OWW were between 10 and 12 years older. Angus Wilson noticed I was wearing an OW tie, which led to a lifelong friendship.

Lastly on the staff of the cryptographic training course at Bedford was J. R. Cheadle, then an officer in the Intelligence Corps and who, after the war, stayed on at G.C.H.Q. The training course was devoted to hand or field ciphers – there was no mention of machine ciphers. When I was posted to Bletchley I was plunged into the most complicated cipher of the lot. This was the Lorenz Teleprinter, which had twelve rotors compared with Enigma’s four, and was only used by the German High Command and Hitler

himself. ‘Station X’ as it was known, or simply BP, was a mixture of civilians and service personal. At the time, and for many years after, one did not disclose to others what one was working on, but I subsequently ascertained that both Bridgewater and Wilson had been assigned to the naval section and were involved with the transmission of call signs by enemy ships and listening stations.

After six months at Bletchley I was transferred to the London outpost, located in Berkeley Street off of Piccadilly, and Aldford House in Park Lane. It was a relatively small team dealing largely with diplomatic i.e. non-military traffic. In war, it is advisable to watch your back as well as your front so we were also keeping an eye on neutrals and certain allies. After a few weeks struggling to break the Finnish machine cipher, I joined a new section to deal with the revived Soviet Comintern network of political agents

scattered about Europe from Norway to the Balkans in advance of Russian armies, who communicated with Moscow using a hand cipher encrypted on a volume of Shakespeare.

The Comintern was kept separate from others and had no visitors. However, there was a common room at Aldford House and there, briefly, I met H.A.R Philby (OW) who was on the staff of MI6 and eventually defected to the U.S.S.R. Sometime in 1945 the Comintern network changed over to the use of One Time pads then considered more or less unbreakable. And so, with the European war at an end, I returned to Oxford to complete my degree. If there is a lesson to be learned from this experience, it is that the Cold War actually originated in 1943.

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Westminster and the Royal Navy in the 18th and 19th centuries Dr Michael Willoughby (KS, 1948-53)

wo hundred years separated the careers of the two OW admirals, George Legge and Richard Phillimore, featured in The Elizabethan’s summer issue of 1953. In that interval the School supplied the Navy with many other officers, of whom a good proportion became admirals, though others who would have expected to achieve high rank were prevented from doing so by disasters that overtook them in the earlier years of their service. In the account that follows it will be noted that most were scions of noble families.

They entered the School at what would now be considered prep school age, remained there in most cases for one to three years, and then joined the Navy in their early teens, either directly as deckhands or via the Royal Naval Academy at Portsmouth.

OW admirals frequently come out as ‘characters’. The earliest of those now considered, Edward Vernon (b. 1684), is widely known for his introduction of the daily ration of ‘grog’ (rum diluted

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Edward Vernon (b. 1684) is widely known for his introduction of the daily ration of ‘grog’ (rum diluted with water) for every junior rating.

Edward Vernon

with water) for every junior rating.

This term derives from Vernon’s coat of grogram, a coarse fabric of silk, of mohair and wool, or of these mixed with silk, often stiffened with gum (OED), and it has remained his nickname ever since. The measure was intended to minimise the drunkenness at sea that had been a major handicap to the Navy’s performance – and it succeeded brilliantly. Vernon differed from most OW sailors in being an intellectual, having excelled in the classics at school. As a lieutenant he served in H.M.S. Barfleur under Sir Cloudesley Shovell, but had fortunately left his command by 1707 and so avoided probable death in the storm which drove four of the Admiral’s ships onto rocks in the Isles of Scilly and resulted in the loss of some 2000 souls, including the Admiral himself. As Vice admiral of the Blue in 1739 he led the capture of Porto Bello in the Caribbean, a town described at the time as “the only mart for all the wealth of Peru to come to Europe.”

This made him a national hero

The Battle of Porto Bello

overnight. He was less fortunate in an attack afterwards on Cartagena (now in Colombia), another repository of Spanish gold which had provided rich spoils for Sir Francis Drake in an earlier age. Three other OWW, Captain Savage Mostyn (b. 1714) and Lieutenants Thomas Broderick (b. 1708) and Augustus Hervey (b. 1724) also took part. When Admiral of the White in 1745, he was struck off the flag list by George II for insubordination to the Admiralty, which meant the end of his career. Doubtless this had been a product of the ‘flamboyant style’ which contributed to the professional respect a series of crucial victories had gained for him.

A name as celebrated as Vernon’s is that of the Hon. Richard Howe (b. 1725) who, as a lieutenant, had served briefly in the former’s flagship. At the age of 22 he was appointed Flag Captain to Admiral Knowles. In 1755 his ship H.M.S. Dunkirk fired the first shots of the Seven Years’ War off the St Lawrence river. Two years later he took part in a failed attempt to destroy

French ships in their home port of Rochefort, but in the process anchored 60 yards off a fort guarding the harbour and silenced all its guns in a matter of 35 minutes. Also a captain in this engagement was the Hon. John Byron (b. 1723), a schoolfellow of Howe’s. The battle of Quiberon Bay in 1759 involved yet another contemporary of his at the School, Captain the Hon. Augustus Keppel (b.

1725). He met Benjamin Franklin in 1774, but in the following year was unable to contact George Washington, with whom he had hoped to negotiate. He had been tasked with blockading the East Coast but, lacking ships and men of the quality required, could not prevent French support reaching the revolutionaries.

Like a number of other OW admirals, Howe combined a career as an MP with his naval commitments. He was prominent – and unpopular because of his insistence on reforms he considered desirable – in the House of Commons until ennobled by the King in 1782. On the same day he took H.M.S.

Victory as escort to a large fleet of merchant ships carrying supplies for Gibraltar. Despite adverse weather conditions he avoided opposition and delivered them all safely. In 1788 he was granted an earldom. At the age of 68 in 1794 he was called upon once more to face the enemy. The result was a resounding victory over the French far out in the Atlantic, known thereafter from the date on which it fell as ‘The Glorious First of June’. However, it was thought by contemporaries in the Service that he should have made more of an effort to pursue enemy vessels that had been badly damaged.

A summary of his 59-year service in the DNB reads: “His achievements were prodigious and must put him in the first rank of any of the naval commanders of any age”. Specifically, he presided over much modernisation – not least in simplifying the code of signals and encouraging development of the divisional system which survives to this day.

At Porto Bello in 1739 Lieutenant Thomas Broderick (b. 1708), serving ➽

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under Vernon, led a landing party he sent to storm Castillo de Fierro. Such was his success that the Admiral then gave him his first command. As a Rear-admiral he was one of two OWW associated with Admiral Sir John Byng in 1757 when the latter decided to break off his assault on Minorca and return to Gibraltar. Subsequently he participated in the Admiral’s courtmartial. The following year he was Second-in-Command of the Mediterranean Fleet when his flagship H.M.S. Prince George caught fire off Ushant and, on being recovered from the sea after an hour’s swimming, he was found to be among the 250 saved from a crew of 800.

One of two OW admirals whose names reveal their kinship to major poets was John Byron (see above in the account of the Rochefort attack). As a teenager he was one of the few to survive when in 1740 his ship foundered off Chile, and “after undergoing the most dreadful hardships” he reached Valparaiso. In 1764 he was sent to survey the Pacific; but his heart was not in it so, preparing a negative report, he made his way home by the most direct route, and in doing this set a record for the circumnavigation!

George, Lord Byron, was his grandson.

The other was Edwin Tennyson d’Eyncourt (b. 1813), a cousin of Lord Tennyson, who became an admiral after serving in the Chinese War of 1841 and

in the Baltic during the Crimean War. The Hon. Augustus Hervey (b. 1724), later Earl of Bristol, had a distinguished and apparently enjoyable career. As a lieutenant stranded in Lisbon while his ship underwent a refit there in 1740 he was made welcome by the ladies of that city, and is recorded as later conducting amorous affairs in several Italian ports. Another side of his character was seen at Livorno in 1748 when a merchantman loaded with explosives caught fire. No other vessel dared approach it, but he towed it out to sea where it exploded, singeing his coat but causing no other damage to his ship. The next year he (perhaps not unexpectedly) parted from his wife. In 1756 he joined Byng’s fleet investing Minorca and advised him against his fatal decision to withdraw to Gibraltar.

He subsequently wrote a strong defence of Byng. From 1758 he combined successful actions against the French with sitting as MP for the ‘family seat’ of Bury St Edmunds. As a Lord Commissioner of Admiralty from 1771 he contributed to significant reforms of the Navy’s administration.

Captain Sir Charles Cotton Bart. (b.

1753) served under Howe on the Glorious First of June in 1794 and with Captain the Hon. Henry Curzon (b.

1765) the next year under Admiral William Cornwallis in an encounter with the French off Brittany which became celebrated as ‘Cornwallis’s

Retreat’ – not to be confused with the humiliating surrender of Yorktown 11 years earlier by his elder brother, General Charles Cornwallis. Here the Admiral, in command of a few warships escorting a convoy of unarmed vessels, pursued by a larger and faster French fleet, hove to and faced the enemy after ordering the convoy to disperse.

The British held out until the French turned away, suspecting the approach of (non-existent) reinforcements for their enemy. With the entire fleet safely home there was national rejoicing, while Cornwallis received many honours.

When and how did any of our admirals cross paths with Nelson?

William Hotham the younger (b. 1772) served as a volunteer under Nelson at the Siege of Bastia, Corsica, in 1794.

The next year his uncle, Vice-admiral William Hotham (b. 1736), took a fleet out of Livorno against the French, and fought an action in which victory was convincingly attributed to Captain Nelson of H.M.S. Agamemnon, who made no secret of his displeasure that he had not been allowed to finish off vessels which he believed could easily have been overtaken and despatched.

As captain of H.M.S. Lively the Hon. George Stewart (1768) took part in the Battle of Copenhagen in 1801. At Trafalgar the only OW aboard H.M.S. Victory was Midshipman the Hon. Ralph Nevill (b. 1786). Captain Eliab

John Byron

Augustus Hervey

James Goodenough

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John Hallett (OW) was amongst the crew of HMS Bounty set adrift by mutineers

Harvey (b.1755) followed the flagship in command of H.M.S. Temeraire.

Although not a participant in the battle, Commander Peter Parker (b.

1785), in command of the sloop H.M.S. Weazel at the age of 20, was in a squadron watching Cadiz, and saw the Franco-Spanish fleet emerging at 6am on 20th October, signalling this to the main fleet. His vigilance was rewarded after the battle by Collingwood who then promoted him to captain. In a ‘postscript’ action on 22nd October, Captain the Hon Henry Hotham (b.

1777) commanded one of a fleet stationed in the Bay of Biscay which met and captured a French squadron fleeing Trafalgar. In 1815 Hotham, again off the French coast but now Rearadmiral leading the blockade, forced Napoleon to cancel a plan to flee to the USA after his defeat at Waterloo.

James Goodenough (b. 1830) was involved as a lieutenant in escorting convoys of French troops and Russian prisoners of war in the Baltic during the Crimean War. From there he went to serve in campaigns around China, where his detachment armed with field pieces assisted in the capture of Canton. The year after his promotion to captain in 1862, he was sent by the Admiralty to the USA with instructions to make a report on the ships, guns and personnel of the Union Navy. Not least because Britain was known to favour the Confederate cause, it is surprising that his enquiries were not only tolerated but accorded the active cooperation of every specialist officer he approached at all the principal naval bases except Charleston, where perhaps the proximity of the enemy made for extra caution. Available for study at the National Archives in Kew are the report itself in a decaying hard-back account book and a series of letters he sent to Their Lordships as he moved from one centre to another, all written in a clear script and, where the guns and engines are concerned, described at a level of technical detail that would not be expected of most seaman officers. The authorities supplied Goodenough with engineers’ drawings to accompany his text. Each topic covered incorporates tables of precise figures all the way down, for instance, to the number of officers in

Not least of the opportunities was for success in battle to be rewarded with large sums of prize money.

every rank. There followed appointments to various European countries as naval attaché and then in 1873 as commodore in charge of the Australia station. This included supervision of British interests in Pacific islands regarded as protectorates, one group of which, the Santa Cruz archipelago, he was visiting in 1875 when he was struck by a native spear and developed tetanus, from which he died. His son, Admiral Sir William Goodenough, commanded the 2nd light cruiser squadron at the Battle of Jutland with some distinction.

Mention should be made of an OW sailor John Hallett (b.1769) who, as a midshipman in 1789, was one of 17 crew set adrift in the Pacific with their captain, Lieutenant William Bligh from H.M.S. Bounty in the mutiny that

became a legend. After nearly seven weeks they reached Timor. Both he and Bligh were court-martialled but acquitted, and Hallett was even promoted to Lieutenant. Sadly, however, that was the end of his career as he died four years later of the effects of his ordeal.

Although far from comprehensive, this account of Westminster’s association with the Royal Navy should give some idea as to how varied were the experiences offered – chiefly by hostilities between the colonial powers of Europe in the 18th century – to any young man with a taste for military service at sea. Not least of the opportunities was for success in battle to be rewarded with large sums of prize money. Admiral Legge’s career at the end of the Stuart period was soon followed by the Navy’s adoption of a more formal structure. With the coming of the steam engine, iron plates of armour, and advanced weaponry in the 19th century, the conduct of sea warfare underwent dramatic change up to World War I, when Captain (later Admiral) Phillimore shared in Britain’s first successful action against Germany at the Falkland Islands in 1914. OWW have occupied senior posts in the Royal Navy less frequently over the succeeding century, but their stories too should be worth telling in time to come. ■

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Honoured History

T

he pink granite column which stands in Broad Sanctuary, opposite the Hawksmoor Towers at the west front of the Abbey, often goes unnoticed by the crowds of tourists that gather there each day. Up until recently, even if they had wished to know more about the monument they would have struggled to decipher the worn inscriptions on the plaques around its base. The elements, and pollution from London traffic, had not been kind to the ornate carvings at the top and bottom of the column.

Now, however, thanks to the generous intervention of The Elizabethan Club, the memorial has been restored and its letterings renewed. For this seemingly inconsequential construction in fact has important historical significance.

The column was erected in 1861 to mark those Old Westminsters who had died fighting in the Crimean War (1854-56) as well as those who lost their lives suppressing the Indian Mutiny (1857-58). It is extraordinarily rare: one of the earliest war memorials in the country to commemorate a group of named individuals, and certainly the earliest war memorial of any school.

It cannot claim the distinction of the Franco-Prussian War memorials, which were the first in Europe to commemorate rank-and-file soldiers by name – as all the Old Westminsters who fought and died were officers – but each is accorded his place on the memorial, from Field Marshal to Cornet. The inscription, by Under Master Rev. T. Weare (OW), reads: "To the memory of those educated at Westminster School who died in the Russian and Indian wars A.D.1854-1859 on the field of battle or from wounds or sickness, some in early youth, some full of years and honours but who all alike

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It is extraordinarily rare: one of the earliest war memorials in the country to commemorate a group of named individuals...

St. George atop the memorial, prior to restoration

gave their lives for their country.

This column was erected by their old schoolfellows in token of sorrow for their loss and of pride in their valour and in full assurance that the remembrance of their heroism in life and death will inspire their successors at Westminster with the same courage and self-devotion" We have remarkably few records concerning the erection of the memorial in both the School and the Abbey’s archives. It is possible that the documents were destroyed during the Blitz, or that they were never lodged at Westminster at all and remained with the architect responsible, Sir George Gilbert Scott or the committee formed to decide on the site and form of the monument. We know that the column was paid for by subscriptions raised by Old Westminsters and that fundraising commenced in 1857. The lions at the base are said by Lawrence Tanner, in his work Westminster School: its buildings and their associations, to have been designed by Sir Edwin Landseer.

The memorial was not uncontroversial at the time, and the First Commissioner of Works, William Cowper, was questioned about it in the House of Commons on 17th April 1861, with a view to preventing its erection, which had already begun. Presented with a fait accompli, Cowper decided it would be best not to remove the memorial, but noted that: “…if my assent had been asked to this monument, I should have hesitated to sanction the extraordinary incongruity of placing statues in the mediaeval style on a classical column.”

His comments are perhaps less pertinent today, over 150 years later, now that the war between gothic and classical styles has subsided.

One of the most complicated

Top left: The Tudor Arms, or perhaps those of Lord Raglan – now in place on the south face of the memorial Top right: A maquette to produce a new shield bearing the School’s coat of arms Bottom: A late 19th Century engraving depicting the memorial

elements of the restoration work was the replacement of two shields carved into the Portland stone at the base of the column which were badly worn.

One undoubtedly displayed the arms of the School and Abbey, the second was assumed to be the Tudor coat of arms, used by Henry VIII and Elizabeth I, with three fleur de lis quartering three lions passant. Recent work, by David Broomfield of the White Lion Heraldry Society, has suggested another possibility. The arms, which are on the south face of the memorial could be those of Field Marshall Lord Fitzroy James Henry Somerset GCB, 1st Lord Raglan, who commanded the British forces at Crimea and whose name is carved onto the panel below. Lord Raglan’s arms also include the fleur de lis quartering lions passant, but with the addition of bordure compony – a decorated boarder. Without details of what was intended in the original design, it will remain a mystery.

Next time you visit the School or pass by on Victoria Street, do stop and take a look at the memorial and read the names freshly carved into its surface.

Elizabeth Wells, Archivist archives@westminster.org.uk 020 7963 1110 @WSchoolArchives

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Alumni in Print

BOOKSHELF

The Stars Move Still

Abandoned Castles

The First Afghan War

What happens when a cold calculating individual chooses to punish the most vulnerable in the community for misplaced revenge?

In May 1927, a quiet town in Michigan suffers the most traumatic of days as its school becomes the target.

Based on the true events of the deadliest school massacre in US history, ‘The Stars Move Still’ is set against a backdrop of disease and illness, prohibition, racism and rumours of gangland activity. The violence of the First World War and other conflicts remains an ever-present memory.

Preoccupied by the intricacies of daily life replete with temptation, ambition and fear, the community remains oblivious to the danger poised to strike at its heart.

A town called Bath, hurtling towards mayhem. Only one person saw it coming but everyone was affected…

Ruins perched on cliff tops, towers enclosed in ivy and moss, battlements watching over frontiers that have ceased to exist. When we see the remains of castles we are bound to wonder; who built them? What battles were fought there? When did they fall into ruin?

From Ancient Greece to the Crusades, from the Hundred Years’ War to the American Civil War, ‘Abandoned Castles’ tells the stories, in 150 striking photographs, of more than 100 hill and sea forts, strongholds, towers and citadels from Europe to Africa and America, from India to Japan.

A British military invasion to secure regime change in a foreign country.

Initial success in toppling the existing ruler but no proper planning of what to do once in occupation. Faulty intelligence that ignored the danger signals and a failure to understand local politics. British forces sent with ill-suited equipment, compounded by economic squeezes from London. Confusion in lines of command between the political and the military, and several years later a mission that ended in humiliation and failure.

Andy Regan (BB, 1981-85)

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Kieron Connolly (GG, 1985-90)

Richard Macrory (LL, 1963-68)

The Coggly Poon

David Hornsby (GG, 1945-50) David Hornsby, who wrote Tom’s Bomb, which has appeared in several anthologies and is a favourite poem of many children, has been urged by his fans to publish more of his work. He has now produced a collection of humorous verse, for ages 8-100, with his own amusing drawings. This book includes Sir Samson Simpson's Sloop, with every single word beginning with S, and The Coggly Poon, introducing the reader to lots of unusual words – all of which can be found in the dictionary.

A Voyage to War – An Englishman’s account of Hong Kong, 1936-1941

Churchill: The Greatest Briton

Hugh Dulley’s father Peter Dulley (KS, 1917-22) became a Kings’ Scholar at the end WW1. He rowed at Westminster and was in the College Vlll, who were winners of Lamprobatics in 1922. After leaving Westminster, he rowed in the Thames RC Grand Vlll which was chosen to represent Great Britain in the 1924 Paris Olympics.

Peter worked in Chile and then joined Jardine Matheson in Hong Kong in 1930. He was a keen weekend sailor and as a result, became a member of the Hong Kong Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (HKRNVR) in 1935. Four years later at the outbreak of WW2, he was called up in the HKRNVR. Peter eventually graduated to commanding an ocean going tug of 500 tons, which he took from Hong Kong to Aden, calling at islands still enjoying pre-war peacetime and navigating by sextant across the Indian Ocean. Peter returned to Hong Kong in September 1941 and three months later was killed during the Japanese invasion.

Collected in this book is six years of correspondence from Peter to Therese, his wife. Edited and condensed by Hugh, it paints a unique and often humorous picture of life in Hong Kong at the time. The recent Commodore of Peter’s sailing club, the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club, has written a preface to the book commemorating the HKRNVR and those who lost their lives.

This December will be the 75th anniversary of the Japanese invasion.

There are few figures in British history more famous than Winston Churchill.

Renowned for guiding Britain through the tumultuous Second World War, his speeches echo through history, and his wartime leadership was recognised as essential for weathering WWII. But there is so much more to the man than his speeches and official images. ‘Churchill: The Greatest Briton’ explores that hidden history in detail, tracking Churchill's nine-decade life from his early childhood, all the way to his last days. Few characters in history have written as much as Churchill, and his writings and photographic records happily provide the opportunity to put together a unique illustrated portrait of this remarkable man. This book is full of revealing personal letters, documents, and speeches, which draw attention to the unforgettable power of the man’s oratory prowess. Churchill was not without fault - the disastrous Gallipoli campaign, the creation of Iraq in 1921, his blind spot over India - all these contributed to a reputation for unreliability that dogged much of his public life. This results in an exciting, colourful retelling of this political titan's life; a must-read.

Hugh Dulley (BB, 1954-58)

Christopher Catherwood (AHH, 1968-72)

Bloody History of America Kieron Connolly (GG, 1985-90)

Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness may have been proclaimed in the Declaration of Independence in 1776, but in pursuing – and defending – those ideals, the United States has witnessed the shedding of much American blood and that of its enemies, too.

From the Revolutionary War to the Civil War, and from World Wars to the Cold War, conflict and bravery have been a part of America’s history, as have the ill-treatment of its native peoples, slavery and the persecution of African Americans even after enslavement was abolished.

Yet the story of America is also one of religious tolerance and the Pilgrim Fathers, of the rule of law, and of opportunity.

‘Bloody History of America’ traces the narrative of this still young nation from the adventurers of the 16th century, to the soldiers fighting Islamic State (ISIS) today. From the Salem Witch Trials to the McCarthy-era witch-hunts, from Prohibition to Hollywood excess, and from religious cults to political corruption.

Illustrated throughout with 180 captivating paintings, photographs and illustrations, ‘Bloody History of America’ is a vivid account of the darker side of the United States.

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Westminster School and the Great War Centenary Mr David (CD) Riches, Westminster School

O

ver the course of the Great War Centenary, between 3rd August 2014 and 11th November 2018, the School embarked on a mission to visit the final resting place or official war memorial [if missing in action] of all the Westminster students and alumni, who fell during the Great War. To date, as the centenary of the Armistice looms ever closer, staff, former staff and OWW have visited 160 of the 224 known graves and memorials. The most recent visits recorded include Brigadier Peter Fabricious (LL, 1966-71) visiting 2Lt John Dodgshon RFC in Upavon and Clem Naylor (CC, 2000-05) finding Lt Eric Hicks MC in Alexandria and Captain Arthur Churchill in Ismailia War Cemetery, Egypt.

Most of the remaining 64 are on the Western front and will be visited before November, but a number are further afield and we need some more help from the Old Westminster Community to complete our task.

We are endeavouring to find visitors for the following locations, overleaf, to visit, pay their respects and send a digital photograph of the grave to be included in the final publication of the ‘Westminster Great War Dead Remembered’.

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For more information on the project, please email:

david.riches@westminster.org.uk

Country

Cemetery

OW Name

Location

Germany

Cologne Southern Cemetery

Captain Charles Schlotel

I, F, 11

Germany

Hamburg Cemetery

Captain Norman Robertson

V,A, 13

Greece Karasouli Military Cemetery, Thessalonica

Lt Leonard Moon

A, 189

Greece Karasouli Military Cemetery, Thessalonica

Capt. Walter Purves

F, 1408

India

Delhi Memorial Gate

Gentleman Cadet Worthing

India Gate Panel 2

Iraq

Kut War Cemetery, Baghdad

2Lt Alfred East

R5

Ireland

Glenealy, Church of Ireland, County Wicklow

Major George Drought

near left corner

2Lt Godfrey Hunter

Officers Sect. grave 65

Ireland Grangegorman Mil Cemetery, Dublin

Israel

Gaza War Cemetery

Capt. Alexander Clark-Kennedy XVIII

A, 3

Israel

Ramleh War Cemetery

Lt Colonel George Stack

AA, 73

Israel

Jerusalem War Cemetery

Lt Charles Cracknell

R,2

South Africa

Johannesburg [Braamfontein] Cemetery

2Lt Leslie Imroth

1979

Capt. George Sumpter

I, E, 23

Turkey Haidar Pasha Cemetery, Istanbul

UK

Dawlish Cemetery

2Lt Kenneth Kemp

2153A

UK

Chatham Naval Memorial

Sub-Lt Frank Besson

13

UK

Chatham Naval Memorial

Sub-Lt Archibald Gordon

30

UK

St Johns Church Seaborough, Dorset

Major Ralph Batley

UK Shirley St John Churchyard, Croydon

Lt James Dunlop

North of Church

UK Plymouth Naval Memorial Engineer

Commander Edward Meeson

10

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In Memoriam The Development Office have been made aware of the deaths of the following members of The Elizabethan Club and greater Westminster School Community, since the publication of the last Elizabethan Newsletter.

2013 Andrew James Morris Gifford (LL, 1976-80) 2016 Mr Anthony Bostock (GG, 1945-48) Dr John Crosse (AHH, 1949-54) Mr Tudor Davies (GG, 1948-52) Mr Luke Herrmann (BB, 1945-50) Mr Barrie Peroni (RR, 1947-52) Mr Roger Robinson (KS, 1945-50) Mr Desmond Roy Morris (AA, 1940-45) Dr Michael Sweet-Escott (KS, 1936-41) 2017 Mr Rodney Barker (BB, 1947-52) Mr John Bernard Bury (GG, 1930-35) Mr Derrick Kleeman (RR, 1932-37) Sir Richard Paniguian (GG, 1963-67) Dr Gordon Anthony Wells Sharrard (KS, 1941-46) Mr William Wrigley (QS, 1960-65) 2018 Mr Charles Jeremy Broadhurst (AHH, 1956-61) Canon Wilfrid Browning (AHH, 1931-37) The Rt Hon The Lord Roger Nicholas Edwards Crickhowell (BB, 1947-52) Mr Peter Martin Hall (QS, 1960-64) Ms Amanda Jorgensen (Teaching Staff (Art), 1994-12) Mr Robin Sawers (AHH, 1948-53) Mr Clive St. George Clement Stanbrook OBE QC (RR, 1962-66) 62

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Tributes ANDREW JAMES MORRIS GIFFORD (LL, 1976-80) 3rd January 1963 – 19th February 2013 After leaving Westminster School Andrew went up to Trinity College, Oxford, where he took a degree in Literae Humaniores. He won the Douglas Sladen Essay Prize in 1984 and was called to the Bar in 1988 by Lincoln’s Inn.

TUDOR DAVIES (GG, 1948-52) 10th June 1934 – 18th April 2016 Tudor Davies joined his older brother Richard by arriving at Westminster in 1947 by which time the School had returned to London after the Second World War. He soon showed his prowess at various sports including athletics, golf, gymnastics and soccer where he represented the school as a goalkeeper. He and Barrie Peroni persuaded the Head Master to allow boys under the age 16 to play lawn tennis, but the Head Master insisted that each applicant had to pass a tennis test to confirm his capability and commitment. Westminster never looked back, and in 1956 the School won the Youll Cup played at the All England Club.

Golf was the game where Tudor truly excelled. He played for Wales between 1954 & 1960 and was the Welsh Champion in 1955. He was a very active member of the OWGS for over sixty years and played in the Halford Hewitt between 1953 and 1999. Typical of all top players, Tudor was always happy to partner anyone without a complaint no matter where you put him.

No truer sign of a real gentleman. He will be missed.

ANTHONY BOSTOCK (GG, 1945-48) 18th July 1931 – August 2016 Anthony was born on the 18th July 1931 in Blackheath London.

His early childhood was spent in Cairo, a place he loved dearly, and on returning to England his parents sent him to Cheltenham Junior College. He went on to Westminster School in his early teens. Upon leaving Westminster, where he enjoyed rowing, he declined a place at Oxford and instead joined

Coward Chance (now Clifford Chance).

Anthony later took up a career within the legal department of the BBC where he ultimately spent most of his career as Head of Legal for both TV and Radio. He also ran their legal departments across England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales (no mean achievement considering the massive complexities and legal differences between the jurisdictions).

After leaving the BBC he embarked upon a legal writing career. Up until he had a serious head injury in 1994, he was compiling a book comparing media law across all the European Countries, a task he sadly never completed.

Anthony was a talented linguist (he spoke eight languages) who loved camping, good food and model railways. Up until the very end he never totally lost his dry sense of humour, compassion and concern for others.

DR MICHAEL SWEET-ESCOTT (KS, 1936-41) 29th September 1922 – 4th August 2016 Michael Sweet-Escott, who has died aged 93, came to Westminster as a King's Scholar in 1936. Two others in his Election remained lifelong friends: Norman (N.J.P) Brown who became Professor of Philosophy at Queens University, Kingston, Canada and Donald Swan (the musical half of Flanders and Swan – ‘At the Drop of a Hat’ etc). He took part in the wartime movements of the School, first to Lancing, then Exeter University and finally to Whitbourne, Herefordshire.

In his final year he became joint editor of the Elizabethan with Norman Brown. In 1941 he gained a Westminster Scholarship to Christ Church, Oxford where he got a first class degree in Classical Honour Mods (a shortened war-time course of three terms).

In 1942 he joined the RAF and trained as a pilot and then as a navigation specialist in Canada where he was an instructor for 18 months. Finally he did his operational training on mosquitoes.

When he completed this, the war had ended, and having a place at university, he eventually got early demobilisation and was able to start studying in

1946 as an Oxford University medical student, as he had determined to become a doctor, specifically a GP. After qualifying in 1951 he joined a large group practice in Skipton, North Yorkshire, and had a happy and fulfilled life, combining some hospital work and teaching with an extensive practice in the Yorkshire Dales. Retiring from full time work in 1985, he worked part-time in the Cotswolds till he was 70. He and his wife then made a final retirement to Gargrave in the Yorkshire Dales.

DESMOND ROY MORRIS (AHH, 1940-45) 22nd May 1927 – 15th August 2016 Desmond Morris was the middle of three sons of the Bishop of St Edmondsbury and Ipswich. He became the Head Boy of ‘Home Boarders’ (now Wren’s) when Westminster School was evacuated to Buckenhill, Bromyard and Herefordshire during the Second World War. At school he particularly enjoyed athletics as his major sport.

On leaving school he studied modern languages at St John’s College Cambridge where he also enjoyed rowing; after university, Desmond spent the main part of his National Service in Germany.

Following demobilisation he trained as a teacher, spending the bulk of his working life at The Royal Hospital School, Holbrook, near Ipswich, where he became Deputy Headmaster.

He died aged 89 after a short illness and is survived by his younger brother, his wife Monica, four children and ten grandchildren.

LUKE HERRMANN (BB, 1945-50) 9th March 1932 – 9th September 2016 Luke Herrmann, who has died aged 84, was an expert on the art of JMW Turner and the author of several books about his work including Turner Prints (1990), which led to a revival of interest in the artist’s engravings. After Westminster and National Service Herrmann went up to New College, Oxford, where he read History. On leaving Herrmann became an assistant editor in charge of articles about art for the Illustrated London News.

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In 1956 a chance encounter with Sir Karl Parker, Keeper of the Ashmolean, led to Herrmann moving back to Oxford to work for the museum. He remained at the Ashmolean until 1967 when he took a lectureship at the University of Leicester and, with his colleague Hamish Miles, established the university’s much admired art history department, of which he eventually became the Chair.

He married Georgina Thompson, an archaeologist and Emeritus Reader at University College London, in 1965.

She survives him with their two sons.

ROGER ROBINSON (KS, 1945-50) 9th April 1932 – 19th September 2016 Roger was born at Hoylake on The Wirral, home of The Royal Liverpool Golf Club. He was a second-generation King’s Scholar, graduate of Trinity College, Oxford, and a golfing blue.

Roger’s working life until 1980 was spent in the Liverpool shipping business.

Roger was a true all-rounder, his sporting CV including soccer, cricket, tennis, squash and hockey at top club level. His golfing career was one of particular distinction: at his zenith he had a scratch handicap and, as a member of the Royal & Ancient, he served on many of the Club’s committees including the Championship and Rules of Golf Committees. Such wide experience more than qualified him for his final occupation, that of Secretary at Eaton Golf Club for nearly a decade up to 1992, when the Club stood on the Duke of Westminster’s estate at Eaton Hall outside Chester.

In 1982 Roger was honoured with the Captaincy of Royal Liverpool and few if any OWGS members can have put more back into the game from which we have all derived such pleasure.

Roger stands as a very distinguished member indeed, one of whom we should all be truly proud.

Submitted by I Petherick

DR JOHN CROSSE (AHH, 1949-54) 4th January 1936 – 5th November 2016 John Ormandy Crosse, who died in 2016 aged 80, led an interesting life 64

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as an army doctor. He was born on 4th January 1936 in Shanghai where his father, also an army doctor, was then stationed. Following the Japanese attack on Shanghai, the family were taken to safety in Hong Kong by the Royal Navy, and later returned to England by troop ship. He spent most of the war years living with his mother in a remote part of North Wales while his father served abroad. He did not attend the local Welsh school and spent much time playing outdoors. In one incident, he and some friends were swept out to sea in a rowing boat, but were fortunately spotted by an RAF plane and rescued. His formal schooling only started when the family moved to London near the end of the war. He attended Eaton House preparatory school and then Westminster, where he was up Ashburnham under Francis Rawes and then Denny Brock. He was a good sportsman, playing in the Football 1st XI, and he also represented the School in tennis and athletics.

He was also committed to the CCF, where he rose to the rank of Sergeant.

In 1955 he went up to Queens’ College, Cambridge, to read Medicine, completing his clinical training at St Thomas’s Hospital. After his house jobs, he followed in his father’s footsteps and joined the Royal Army Medical Corps as a doctor. He was a medical officer to a battalion in the Radfan campaign during the war in Aden. He later served in Singapore, Colchester, Cambridge and Germany (where one of his patients was the imprisoned Rudolf Hess), and also had short postings to the Falklands (just after the war) and Belize. He was promoted to Colonel in 1987 and retired from his final post as Senior Medical Officer at Shorncliffe Army Camp in 1996. John was an enthusiast who enjoyed many activities. In addition to sport, these included outdoor pursuits – particularly sailing and canoeing. In retirement he enjoyed looking after his garden and was also coordinator of the local neighbourhood watch, which suited his military organisational skills. He was followed to Westminster by his two younger brothers, Mark and Stephen, and later by his nephews David and Alexander

(Mark’s children), who were all up Ashburnham. He died on 5th November 2016 after a short illness.

He is survived by his wife, his three daughters and his four grandchildren.

BARRIE PERONI (RR, 1947-52) 17th September 1933 – 11th November 2016 Barrie Peroni arrived at Westminster in September 1947. He played football for two years in the 1st XI and was Captain of Tennis in 1952.

After leaving school it was not long before he started doing an enormous amount for the Old Westminsters. He was Hon. Secretary of the OWFC from 1957 to 1965 and then Hon. Secretary of the OWGS from 1965 to 1992, and its President from 1996-1999. Under his stewardship both these sections had a successful period and many OWW were very grateful to him for all his dedicated hard work. He was a fine golfer and represented the Westminsters in the Halford Hewitt regularly between 1967 and 1985. He also represented the Old Westminsters in the Arthur Dunn Cup (Football) and the D’Abernon Cup (Tennis).

Having qualified as a solicitor he joined his family firm, Norman A. Peroni, which he eventually controlled.

He successfully guided the company from the dwindling market distributing photographic paper into the packaging and imaging industry.

He was a tireless worker for local charities, in particular the Thames Valley Adventure Playground, which he set up in 1982 for both children and adults with special needs.

JOHN BERNARD BURY (GG, 1930-35) 10th July 1917 – 18th January 2017 John was educated from 1930-1935 at Westminster, where he was Head of Grant’s, and from 1935-1938 at Balliol where he read Modern History.

During the War he was commissioned in the Royal Signals.

After demobilisation he joined Shell, working in Brazil, Britain, Switzerland and the Netherlands. In 1972/3 Shell sponsored him as a Fellow Commoner at Churchill College Cambridge where

he worked on understanding the emerging environmentalist movement and its implications for the oil industry.

Once retired, he focused on his art-historical interests. He wrote an introduction and extensive notes to the edition of Francisco de Holanda’s book on portraiture, Do Tirar Polo Natural, published in Madrid in 2008. He assembled a considerable private library and donated his collection of important antiquarian books on architecture to the library of King’s College, Cambridge, in memory of his grandfather J.B. Bury, who had been a fellow of the College.

He was particularly proud that, in a collection of the best humorous letters to The Times published in 1987, he (under the pseudonym J.R. Burg), was the only correspondent to feature twice.

John is survived by his wife Anne whom he met in Brussels in 1944 and to whom he was married for 72 years; his children Michael and Peter; his grandchildren Catherine, Clare, Francesca (CC, 1999-00) and Eleanor; and his great-grandchildren Joe, Nicky, Betsy and Jacob.

SIR RICHARD PANIGUIAN (GG, 1963-67) 28th July 1949 – 25th June 2017 Sir Richard Paniguian, who has died aged 67, became Head of Defence Sales for UK Trade & Investment after a wide-ranging and intrepid career as an executive of the oil giant BP. After Westminster, Richard read Arabic at Durham University before obtaining an MBA at INSEAD. He began as a graduate trainee with BP’s trading division in Oman and Dubai, going on to become Vice-President of International Oil Trading in New York, Head of Capital Markets in London, Tresident of BP Turkey, and then Chief Executive of BP's Tanker Shipping Company.

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cybersecurity and accompanying defence ministers on trips abroad.

Paniguian’s work in defence and security earned him a knighthood two years ago. He was awarded a CBE in 2007 for services to UK business. He was a keen cricketer who started a short-lived club, the Bounders, and was for many years a member of MCC.

DR GORDON ANTHONY WELLS SHARRARD (KS, 1941-46) 9th August 1928 – 27th October 2017 Gordon Sharrard, who has died aged 89, started at Westminster as a King’s Scholar in 1941. Gordon followed his elder brother, William John Sharrard, who was a King’s Scholar seven years earlier. He joined the school when it was evacuated to Whitbourne in Herefordshire (he often recounted cycling to lessons five miles away in Bromyard), with his final year back in London. At this time, Gordon developed his love of music, playing piano and cello in concerts, as well as acting in Shakespearian plays.

In 1946 he was awarded a Triplett Exhibition to Christ Church College Oxford to study medicine. He spent his clinical years at University College Hospital London where he met his wife Margaret who was a midwife and qualified in 1954. During house jobs in Lincoln he somehow found time to set up the Lincoln Opera Society!

He started training to be an ENT surgeon, with posts in Guildford, Nottingham and the Royal National Throat, Nose and Ear Hospital in London. In 1965 he took a Senior Registrar post in ENT at Cumberland Royal Infirmary, Carlisle. In 1967 he moved to Manchester University to take up a Senior Research Associate post in Audiology. The research involved the use of an early computer to look at the EEG evoked responses of deaf children, which contributed to the development of cochlear implants. This work led to a doctorate and in 1973 Gordon was awarded Doctor of Medicine (DM) from the University of Oxford.

He then became a GP in the Manchester area, first in Clayton, then Longsight before spending five years in Hattersley. Throughout this busy 66

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period, he was also an emergency doctor in the Manchester area and was Medical Officer in Audiology in Tameside, until he retired in 1983.

Gordon had a wide range of interests including history and archaeology.

However, his lifelong passion was music and he was Artistic Director of his own opera company in Manchester, producing twenty-seven operas. He continued to sing in choirs and play his cello in three orchestras in the Manchester area into his late eighties.

Gordon remained in contact with the School throughout his life, attending events of College Society and also meetings of the school friends who were evacuated to Herefordshire.

He leaves his wife Margaret and his children and grandchildren.

Submitted by his daughter, Dr Helen Sharrard

MR CHARLES JEREMY BROADHURST (AHH, 1956-61) 20th April 1943 – 25th February 2018 Dearest and beloved husband of Marisa, much-loved father of Emma and James, father-in-law of Rebecca and grandfather of Olivia, Imogen and Raffie.

MS AMANDA JØRGENSEN (Teaching Staff (Art), 1994-2012) 13th May 1968 – 6th March 2018

My beautiful Mum was diagnosed with a complex, high-grade glioblastoma multiforme in January of this year.

She was admitted to hospital having suffered from headaches, visual disturbances and a loss of appetite over a period of several months. The tumour also caused her to experience

confusion and short-term memory loss which were very distressing for us all. After an operation intended to remove only a small part of the tumour for analysis, the surgeon informed us that there was absolutely no possibility of further treatment due to the malignancy and location of the tumour.

Just a month later, on the 6th March 2018, she died at the Willen hospice in Milton Keynes, where we were able to spend those last precious days with her.

As a teacher of Art and a true creative, my Mum inspired and supported not only my brother and I, but so many young people during her 49 years of life. She was a graceful woman and a beacon of positivity despite all that she suffered, remaining dignified and maintaining her endearing sense of humour even in those last weeks of her life. Deeply saddened by our loss, my Dad, brother and I are hopeful that one day a cure can be found for this horribly cruel disease.

Submitted by her daughter, Amy

THE RT HON THE LORD ROGER NICHOLAS EDWARDS CRICKHOWELL (BB, 1947-52) 25th February 1934 – 17th March 2018 Lord Crickhowell, who has died aged 84, was, as Nicholas Edwards, the Welsh secretary for eight years in Margaret Thatcher’s first two administrations.

Representing the principality to the Cabinet’s Thatcherites was not easy. He was known as ‘Big Stick Nick’ to many across the Severn Estuary, but he fought dogged internal battles with the unwilling Treasury to secure funding for Welsh projects, including most notably the Cardiff Bay barrage. The scheme, initially opposed by conservationists and many Welsh politicians, including the city council, some prominent Labour politicians, local residents, Treasury ministers and Thatcher herself has, despite the initial cost which soared far beyond the original estimates of £50m to more than £200m, helped regenerate the southern part of the Welsh capital.

Edwards supported it, foreseeing a venue for an opera house, but the area now incorporates not only the Wales Millennium Centre for the performing

arts but also the Senedd, the Welsh assembly building. Though mocked at the time, Edwards rightly described the bay project as one of the greatest pieces of urban regeneration in the country.

Edwards, a tall, saturnine figure, spent almost all his 17 years in Parliament as the Conservatives’ spokesman on Welsh affairs. He was of Welsh stock but he was born, son of Marjorie Ingham Brooke and Ralph Edwards, in London, where his father was the head of the woodwork and furniture department at the Victoria and Albert Museum, and later an adviser on works of art to the Historic Buildings Council of England and Wales. Years later, arguing privately with Thatcher against cuts in arts funding, he would claim: “I was virtually brought up in the V&A and have known the art world all my life.”

The family had a home in the Black Mountains of south Wales as well as one in Chiswick, west London. Edwards was educated at Westminster School, before going to Trinity College, Cambridge, to study history after national service in the Royal Welch Fusiliers. After university, he went into insurance in the City and in due course became a Lloyd’s broker.

He was elected Tory MP for Pembrokeshire at Edward Heath’s triumphant general election in 1970.

It was a constituency that had supported Labour for 20 years, and was at that stage represented by the eccentric Desmond Donnelly. Edwards would hold the seat throughout his Commons career.

Once Thatcher became the party leader in 1975, Edwards’s business background and support for the new leader made him the opposition’s shadow secretary of state and he duly became Welsh secretary when the party returned to power in 1979. Wales was by no means a Tory-free zone: 11 Conservatives were elected to its 36 seats in that year (eight were elected in the 2017 general election in the principality’s now 40 constituencies) but Edwards’s Thatcherite economic stance ensured that he was her envoy to the Welsh.

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pragmatic. Regional aid was cut, but there was special pleading for aid to the steel works at Shotton and, when Wales’s sole Plaid Cymru MP Gwynfor Evans threatened to starve himself to death to secure a separate Welsh language television service, Edwards conceded that too.

He was a keen supporter of the Cardiff Bay barrage project, despite pointed threats from the Treasury that he should keep quiet and warnings from Thatcher’s private secretary that it would be just another public sector folly. As he wrote to the prime minister: “I can hardly fail to express support for a proposal I personally have carried forward publicly … the proposal is fundamental to the successful development of south Cardiff.”

Edwards was equally vehement that the Government should not be seen as philistine by cutting arts funding to the National Museum of Wales and Welsh National Opera while ladling it out to the new British Library and the opera in London. He told Thatcher in a private note released 30 years later: “Huge expenditure and the presence of international stars are not necessary to achieve high standards and cultural excellence – lessons that Covent Garden has apparently still to learn.”

He insisted that the Tories should not write off the arts world as entirely consisting of their political opponents.

Though he recognised that he might be a lone voice crying in the wilderness, it was appalling politics and a social misjudgement: “The arts are important for themselves, not only a hostile political interest.” In 1995 he would lead the campaign for the WNO to have a permanent home in Cardiff, in opposition to the then Tory government.

As secretary of state, he travelled widely, seeking private sector investment in Wales and by 1987 his health was under strain. He decided to step down at that year’s general election. He was appointed to a life peerage and played an active part after that in the House of Lords.

In 1989 Crickhowell was made the first chairman of the newly established National Rivers Authority, even though he admitted he knew nothing of 68

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environmental science. Far from being a Thatcherite laissez-faire leader, he championed the improvement of water quality and the shaming – and, if necessary, prosecution – of industrial polluters.

Crickhowell was himself a freshwater angler and lived in a converted watermill in the Black Mountains. “Any organisation that thinks it may happily go on polluting our rivers and seas, or thinks that it is likely to get away with it scot-free would be making a very great mistake,” he told the Guardian in 1989. The first to be prosecuted was Shell. The NRA would be, he said, the strongest environmental protection agency in Europe and he led it until it was absorbed into the Environment Agency in 1996.

His ill-health did not prevent him taking up a string of business and cultural appointments. He returned to underwriting and other directorships at HTV, Anglesey Mining and Associated British Ports. And he served terms as president of the University of Wales, Cardiff, director of the Welsh National Opera, chairman of the Cardiff Bay Opera Trust, president of the Contemporary Arts Society for Wales and the South East Wales Arts Association.

He married Ankaret Healing in 1963.

They had a son, Rupert, and two daughters, Sophie and Olivia.

Obituary taken from The Guardian

PETER MARTIN HALL (QS, 1960-64) 18th December 1946 – 12th April 2018 Martin was born in Cairo, on 18th December 1946, to John Hall, an officer in the British Army who had served in Egypt during the war, and Ida Salem, the daughter of Ovadia Salem, an immensely wealthy Jewish businessman who had fled persecution in his home town of Salonika in 1920.

Shortly after Martin was born, John Hall, with financial assistance from his father-in-law, tried farming in the white highlands of Kenya, but with the onset of the Mau-Mau rebellion moved with his family to Britain, where he taught chemistry, at first at Westminster. He suffered further financial difficulties when the Salems’ assets were

confiscated by the Nasser government.

After a spell in prison Ovadia died, a ruined man, in 1958, and throughout his life Martin was haunted by the sense of the precariousness and perhaps also the pointlessness of worldly success.

Martin’s mother, to whom he was always very close, came from a French-speaking and cosmopolitan background, while his father was from a devout non-conformist family in Bedford, members of the church known as the Bunyan Meeting. They were a very ill-matched couple and they separated while Martin and his younger brother Michael were schoolboys. This event matured him very quickly, and taught him early that authority was not always to be relied on, and that life’s crises had to be faced from one’s own resources. In facing such crises he showed a rare fortitude.

None of these problems, however, impeded his career at school, where he stood out by his brilliance and exceptionality. He arrived with a good command of French, unusual in those days, the result partly of his mother’s influence, and partly of his previous education at the Lycée Français in South Kensington. He also excelled as an actor, taking the part of the servant girl Toinette in the school’s production of Molière’s Le Malade Imaginaire to great acclaim, and as a footballer, until he was banned from one of the school teams for not having the right attitude where training was concerned – an early example of his subversive attitude to authority.

Intellectually he was outstanding, and even as quite a young boy had a remarkably sophisticated appreciation of French literature, and of literature in other languages, especially English and German. He went up to Christ Church to read French and German on a Westminster closed scholarship when still only 17, which is an indication of his ability as a scholar. In later life he used to say that he had gone to university too soon and had not taken advantage of his time there but, if that was true, the fault was not entirely his own, for in the 1960s Oxford was not a very exciting place, intellectually or socially.

Martin, however, read widely, in contemporary literature as well as in his set books, and made many friends,

some of them for life. He cultivated a mildly Bohemian persona, by turning day into night, and gained a certain notoriety by missing seminars and classes scheduled for 5 p.m. because he had overslept. Lack of funds made foreign travel difficult, but he did go with me on a memorable trip to Dublin in Easter 1966, not to participate in the celebrations of the fiftieth anniversary of the Rising of 1916, then in full swing, but to visit locations associated with Samuel Becket’s first novel, Murphy. That was an indication of his commitment to the imaginative world of a great writer.

Oxford was followed by an MA in French Drama at Bristol University where he met Liz Tracy who in 1970 became his wife. A year later the young couple, and their first child, moved to Northern Ireland where Martin had secured a post in the French Department of the University of Ulster. Their time in Ireland was brief, though exciting, because it coincided with the height of the Troubles, and in 1973 they returned to London after Martin’s appointment to a lectureship in French at King’s College.

There he remained for the rest of his academic career. He was not a conventional modern academic, always busy with administration and endlessly publishing. He was, though, an excellent teacher, with a genuine interest in his students as individuals.

He was particularly effective with those with who had exhausted the patience of everyone else, for he had a remarkable understanding of other people’s needs and feelings. He was also a deeply learned man with an extraordinary breadth of knowledge which went far beyond his area of specialisation, the literature of the French eighteenth century. All his colleagues benefited from his erudition and from his willingness to discuss and comment perceptively on their research projects, something which he would invariably do with wit and charm.

Martin’s PhD thesis, ‘The “Roman historique et galante, 1680-1750”’, was completed in 1992, but he did not turn it into a book and he published very little.

Yet his silence may have resulted from a principled belief that the world does not need the multiplication in print of one-sided opinions about literary texts.

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This would seem to be the meaning of his very interesting introduction to the Penguin translation of Diderot’s novel, Jacques le Fataliste, published in 1986.

There, after pointing out the reductive nature of the numerous judgements made about the book, he concludes: “Jacques calls to the intelligent reader – not the doctrinaire one – and invites us all to write our own conclusion”.

Martin was never the man to impose his conclusions on anyone else.

Martin had many interests outside his academic work. He had a wide knowledge of classical music, and was once said to have been the most musical man never to have learnt to play an instrument. He accumulated great learning in a number of other areas: wine, botany (with especial attention to mycology), gardening, more in its theoretical than in its practical aspect, and bird-watching.

In all of these activities he was joined

by Liz. To have married her was certainly the wisest decision he ever took. She pardoned his excesses and provided a barrier between him and the outside world. At home Martin, the perfect host, did much of the cooking and entertained his guests with wit and sympathy, but with Liz always there to provide a link to reality.

He was my oldest and my dearest friend, and his passage through the world has made it a sweeter place.

Liz survives him, as do his two children, Kate and Dan. Submitted by Mr Tom Earle

CLIVE ST GEORGE CLEMENT STANBROOK O.B.E. Q.C. (RR, 1962-66) 10th April 1948 – 13th April 2018 Clive St George Clement Stanbrook was an international lawyer, a businessman, a farmer, a government adviser, and a tireless sponsor and prosecutor of African agricultural and economic development. He had interests in Brussels, London, the Turks and Caicos Islands, and a working, teaching farm in Malawi dedicated to the sustainable improvement of the health, education and welfare of the villages and communities that it encompassed.

Educated at The Dragon School, Oxford and Westminster School, London, 70

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he read law at University College and qualified as a barrister in 1973 when he was called to the Bar of England & Wales by the Inner Temple. He was subsequently admitted to the Turks and Caicos Islands bar in 1983 and to the New York bar in 1989. Initially, for almost a decade, he focused on criminal law, notably being sent as a very young lawyer to Pentonville Prison to assist the infamous gangster, Reggie Kray.

After Britain joined the European Economic Community (now the European Union) Clive became an experienced international trade and competition lawyer. Together with his partner Philip Bentley Q.C., Clive pioneered a full-time EU trade law and competition law practice in Brussels.

His first big case was to defend the Canadian wood pulp producers successfully in the Wood Pulp case which started in 1981 before the European Commission and went all the way to judgement by the Court of Justice in 1988. He also conducted anti-dumping and state aid cases, and advised on WTO and International trade issues in many parts of the world.

In Brussels he developed considerable experience in providing EU law advice for a number of industries, including retailing, pulp and paper, textiles, engineering, chemicals, cement and the services sectors. In particular, he was heavily involved in counselling these industries in the run up to the creation of the Single Market in 1992.

He is acknowledged as a leading expert in various legal directories, including Chambers & Partners’ “The World’s Leading Lawyers for Business”, for his work in EU anti-trust, international trade, litigation and arbitration. In 2005 he moved his practice to the Brussels office of the international law firm of McDermott Will & Emery, becoming a partner in this firm and doing business under the name of McDermott Will & Emery/ Stanbrook LLP. He was followed by Philip Bentley and his other professional colleagues in Brussels.

He is co-author of Dumping and Subsidies, third edition (Kluwer, 1996); co-author of Extradition – The Law and Practice, second edition (Oxford University Press, 2000); and co-editor of International Trade Law and Practice

(Euromoney, 1990). He also wrote and lectured on a variety of European Union and international trade topics. As the youngest ever President of the British Chamber of Commerce for Belgium and Luxembourg, he was awarded the OBE for services to British Industry in the EU in 1987 and was appointed Queen's Counsel in 1989.

In 2006 he and his family bought Toleza farm, in Balaka, Malawi, determined to restore the fortunes of the farm and return some prosperity and activity to the surrounding area.

The farm was revived as well as the communities it included and employed, with youth employment programmes, education and health and other social programmes. Clive divided his later years working indefatigably on a diverse range of projects in Malawi, the Turks and Caicos Islands and Brussels.

Clive was married to Julia Hillary in 1971. They have four children (Fleur, Sophie, Ivor and Isabella) and six grandchildren (Grace, Julia-Rose, Anna, Elina, Elio, and Theodore). Clive’s son Ivor has taken over all responsibilities for his father’s interests in the Turks and Caicos.

Clive was born in Harrow, London in 1948, and grew up in Northern Nigeria, where his father Ivor was a District Officer in the ten years before Nigerian independence in 1960. By his own admission, Clive always worked hard and long, although his devotion to his family and friends was legendary. A convinced optimist and believer in the strength of willpower, he fought cancer successfully for years, but died at the very time that he seemed to have overcome the disease.

Clive will be remembered by the thousands of people whose lives he touched throughout his life for his massive personality, unbounding enthusiasms, robust motivation, love of life and his infectious sense of humour.

He was an inspiration to all those he worked with. There were many who wanted more of his time, but the sheer volume of his many commitments and interests, which seemed even to increase as he got older, made this a familiar but redundant complaint to those lucky few within his beloved family who always and rightly had first call upon his precious time.

Submitted by Lionel Stanbrook

The Development Office Westminster School 17a Dean's Yard London SW1P 3PB +44 (0)20 7963 1113 developmentoffice@westminster.org.uk