Blue Paper 2017

The 2017 Magazine

blue paper

Turning swords into ploughshares with Ben Wintour Worth Society Life

Volunteering in Belize and Guatemala Life and Times of Worthians

Here’s to you Mr Robinson Meet our Hotelier par Excellence The Old Place

Fr Stephen’s Golden Jubilee

The

blue paper

Contents Worth Society Life

Life and Times of Worthians

04

Chairman’s 2017 Report Jeremy Fletcher (G’72)

34

Meet Philip Barnes StB’72 – Hotelier par Excellence – Interview by Mary Lou Burge

05

A Message from Mary Lou Burge Worth Society Committee

37

Combat Stress Mickey Morrissey R’78

06

Worth Society Events 2016 Worthians Hong Kong Dinner – Nick Bodnar-Horvath C’72

38

Our First Worthian Bishop Interview by Howard Griggs

40

Here’s to you Mr Robinson Dom Stephen Ortiger

42

PRIDE: My journey with Rugby in Africa Craig Monteiro StB’05

44

Swimming for West Papua Tim Davies C’10

Channel Swimmers Reunion – Ben Barham R’10

48

1960s & 1970s Decade Reunion Dinner – Andrew Stewart B’72

Steel Warriors Ben Wintour B’09

52

Worthians Caught on Camera

2016 Inaugural Worthians London Carol Service – Peter Pavry WPS’58

EDUCATION WITH HEART & SOUL

St Benedict’s Day Mass & Supper – Ben Oakley F’08 2017 Careers Networking Evening – Alexander Hills R’13 Class of 2006 10 Year Reunion – Robert Butterworth StB’06

20 20

Class of 1987 30 Year Reunion – Jonathan Nickell B’87

56

Announcements

Class of 1967 50 Year Reunion – Michael May StB’67

58

News in Brief

Worth Prep School (1933-65) Reunion – Peter Agius WPS’66

62

Worth Careers Fair 2017 Duncan Pring, Head of Careers

Book Review Just Where you Left It by David Roche StB’79

63

Obituaries Michael Clarke G’63 – Timothy Clarke G’66

Work Experience Kate Hamilton StM’13 – Levison Meltzer Pigott

21

Global Action Awards 2017 Overview: Mary Lou Burge

22

GAA: So Why Medicine?

Andrew Morris R’06

24

GAA: Jungle City to Volcanic Sands Edward Bridge StB’11

28

Worthians Sport Rugby – Giles Sacarello StB’08, James Kemp F’14 and Desmond Calnan R’69

James Pontifex C’64 – The Pontifex Family Adam Braverman StB’05 – Stefan Humphries StB’05

The Old Place 66 68

Fr Stephen’s Golden Jubilee

70

The Forerunner Vision Will Desmond C’09

71

Abbot Christopher Jamison elected Abbot President

71

I woz ‘ere Dom Bede Hill

72

An update on Development at Worth Edward Schneider

73

Worthians – The Second Generation

74

University Destinations 2017

Cricket – Michael Bilbé StB’06 Squash – Jeremy Dowling Golf – Ken Ross G’65 Football – Andy Taylor

OPEN DAYS 2018 3 February | 17 March

A Message from the Head Master Stuart McPherson

Worth Society Directors Nicholas Barnett, Fr Mark Barrett, Mark Collini, Jeremy Fletcher, Michael Gabriel Worth Society is a not-for-profit limited company (number 06506005)

The Worthians Charitable Trust Patron Fr Luke Jolly, The Abbot of Worth Trustees Nicholas Barnett, Fr Mark Barrett, Jeremy Fletcher

“This school has everything going for it” The Good Schools Guide 2017 www.worthschool.org.uk

The Worthians Charitable Trust (registered charity number 1084948)

Advertisers We would like to extend our grateful thanks to this year’s advertisers: Worth School Farleigh School Magazine designed and produced by: Green Lizard: 01892 619888

I 03

Go to www.worthsociety.org.uk for latest news, event information and to update your contact details

Chairman’s 2017 Report

Message from Mary Lou Burge

A

T

s ever, this year’s issue of The Blue Paper highlights the extraordinary diversity, both geographically and in terms of activities, careers and contribution, of what Worthians get up to - so much of it done selflessly and for the benefit of others. With some quite incredible achievements, I find myself simultaneously proud and humbled to be associated with such a group.

As regards the Society, there is no shortage of comment in the pages that follow on the various events, milestones and achievements that have punctuated the last 12 months in the life of the Society and Worth as a whole. Whilst there is always more to do and the desire from your Committee to reach more and help more alumni continues unabated, as Chairman I am delighted to report that clear progress has been made on a number of fronts.

This year, three or four areas stand out for particular mention.

First, the Committee has for some time been looking at ways of hosting larger events to reach more Worthians simultaneously.

We were therefore greatly encouraged by the enthusiastic reception of, and attendance at, our two large events this year the London Carol Service and the 1960s/70s Dinner. It is obvious that people derive huge pleasure and value from the ability to meet a wide cross-section of their fellow alumni. Consistent with our strategy in this area, there will hopefully be many more such events, with a 1980s Dinner already planned and events for the 1990s and 2000s groups still to come.

Second, it has long been our ambition to get more alumni back down to Worth and I’m therefore pleased to report that there is a marked increase in alumni footfall down in West Sussex, as is clearly evidenced from even a cursory glance through The Blue Paper. Hardly a week goes by without Mary Lou hosting an event or welcoming visiting alumni, often accompanied by partners.

This is to be encouraged. Not only is it fascinating to see how much has changed - much will be unrecognisable to older alumni but revisiting is also an opportunity to re-engage with the Benedictine values that shaped all our lives to a greater or lesser extent. Your Committee is looking for ways to organise larger alumni gatherings back at Worth, ideally as a regular annual event.

Given the busy lives of our alumni and the dictates of the School’s calendar, this is not as simple as it may seem. In the meantime, I would once again encourage all of you to revisit ‘The Old Place’.

You will always be assured of a warm welcome both monastically and by the School where Stuart McPherson, the Head Master, is hugely supportive of the Society.

Third, the Global Action Awards is where the Society can give some, albeit limited, financial assistance to alumni for worthwhile projects. It is particularly gratifying when, as has been the case this year, the Society’s help has made a meaningful difference to the future direction of two alumni. Although our charitable

04 I

his year has been an exciting year of firsts for the Society; our very first London Carol Service, the first St Benedict’s Day Meatball Supper courtesy of the Belpassi Bros, and the first large scale reunion of Prep School (1933-65) Worthians. All have been magical events, but the highlight of the year has to be the bringing together of over 100 Worthians from the 1960s and 1970s decades for a special dinner in London in May. Watching some reconnecting after 40 years was quite emotional and the warm wave of fond nostalgia in the room was palpable. The evening was such an overwhelming success that 2018 sees the turn of the 1980s decade, which we hope will be as enthusiastically supported!

Jerry Fletcher and Mary Lou Burge

resources are obviously limited, we can do more here and would welcome further applications. Mary Lou will happily advise upon both the application process and criteria. It is also worth highlighting the Bruised Reeds programme which offers confidential support to those alumni who have fallen on hard times - more information can be found on our website.

Wearing my Governors hat for a moment, whilst the School continues to thrive (with record head count this year), it is gratifying to see the Development Office, under Ed Schneider, off to a good start with a number of projects for both School and Monastery under consideration. As important is the launch of the Bursary programme under which The Development Office will raise money to help finance the education at Worth of pupils who might not otherwise be able to afford it. It has to be in the best interests of the School that it should be able to draw from as broad and diverse a pool of talent as possible. Hopefully, there may come a day when the Society, with the generosity of alumni donors, may be able to fund bursaries specifically for the benefit of alumni.

Finally, as ever, I must end with the usual tribute to Mary Lou Burge without whose tireless dedication the Society would simply not function. Quite apart from the organisation of all the Society events, Mary Lou is the hub around which a whole range of networking, liaising and coordination for the Society revolves.

She is constantly helping alumni to get in touch with each other, as well as liaising with monks and teaching staff, both past and present to attend the various gatherings as requested by alumni.

And all this on a part time basis whilst bringing up a family of three boys. On behalf of all alumni, our sincere thanks and appreciation as ever.

Jeremy Fletcher G’72

It has also been wonderful to have hosted so many Worthians back here at Worth, some dropping in for a coffee whilst passing, some coming back to talk to students and others coming back for organised reunions such as the Class of 1967 and the Worth Channel Swimmers. It is always a pleasure to see you!

We continue to support our young Worthians with careers advice and networking opportunities thanks to our strengthening network and the willingness of Worthians to help each other - many thanks as always to those we reach out to. I know the young Worthians deeply appreciate the help - I was most amused by one who

thanked me for putting on a ‘buffet of lawyers’ at our annual Careers Networking Evening.

We sadly lost a dear friend and supporter of the Society this year.

John Surtees CBE had attended every one of our football tournaments played each March in memory of his late son, Henry ‘09. John died in February and will be greatly missed. Andy Taylor pays a lovely tribute to him on page 32.

As ever the Worthian Sporting Clubs are looking to recruit new members, regardless of age or experience, so look out for our football, golf, rugby, cricket, squash and netball fixtures and join in the fun.

The year ahead sees the retirement of a key member of Worth staff for the last 26 years. Michael Oakley will be stepping down from his role as Director of Music and a musical extravaganza will be held in the Abbey Church on Friday 25th May 2018 to say an appropriate farewell. We would love as many Worthians involved as possible.

It only leaves me to say that I hope you enjoy reading this latest issue of The Blue Paper. It is a fantastic testament to the busy, growing and thriving Society that we are!

Mary Lou Burge, Worth Society Manager

Worth Society Committee Nick Barnett G’73 – Director, Trustee Office: 020 7404 4022 Email: nick.barnett@hotmail.co.uk

Stuart McPherson – Head Master Office: 01342 710222 Email: smcpherson@worth.org.uk

Fr Mark Barrett – Director, Trustee Office: 01342 710340 Email: jmbarrett@worth.org.uk

Ben Oakley F’08 – Music Mobile: 07973 899330 Email: boakley@cantab.net

Mary Lou Burge – Worth Society Manager Office: 01342 710241 Email: worthsociety@worth.org.uk

Daniel Pring R’03 Mobile: 07865 064439 Email: Daniel.Pring@tokiomarinekiln.com

Mark Collini StB’89 – Director Office: 020 7783 4941 Email: markcollini@yahoo.co.uk

Duncan Pring – Careers Office: 01342 710239 Email: dpring@worth.org.uk

Jeremy Fletcher G’72 – Chairman, Director & Trustee Office: 020 7070 6611 Email: jeremy.fletcher@kewcapital.com

Tess Ryan StM’11 Mobile: 07840 098323 Email: tessryan10@hotmail.co.uk

Michael Gabriel C’85 – Director Office: 01892 619888 Email: michael@greenlizardhomes.co.uk Maddy Ilsley StM’10 Mobile: 07952 481636 Email: maddyilsley@hotmail.co.uk

Worthians Golfing Society Ken Ross G’65 Home: 01323 733499 Email: emails@kenneth-ross.co.uk Worthians Rugby Club Desmond Calnan R’69 Mobile: 07535 939582 Email: dcalnan@tecres.net Worthians Squash Matthew Doggett F’07 Email: mdoggett@worth.org.uk Worthians Cricket Matt Donegan StB’11 Email: donegan.matthew@googlemail.com

Fr Kevin Taggart Office: 01342 710338 Email: ktaggart@worth.org.uk Edward Schneider – Development Director Office: 01342 711564 Email: echneider@worth.org.uk Andrew Taylor – Football Email: agtaylor44@gmail.com

Worth Society Life

Life and Times of Worthians

The Old Place

I 05

Worthian Advisors included:

2016 Hong Kong Dinner

After a sumptuous dinner in the Hong Kong Room, a lively discussion took place reminiscing over the old days as well as arrangements to meet on a more regular basis in the future - Hong Kong Worthians only seem to get together during visits from the Head or Deputy Head of the School.

6th

April 2017 brought us the annual Careers Networking Event at The Refinery in New Street Square, London. 40 or so Worthians piled onto the balcony to connect, advise, assist (and drink). Made possible by the excellent organisation of Mary Lou, recent leavers and graduates were given the opportunity to talk to professionals in a variety of sectors including insurance, finance, law, business, engineering, design, technology and many more.

The following Worthians attended the 2016 Hong Kong Dinner: Gordon Pearce Robert Carroll R’71 Nick Bodnar-Horvath C’72 Helen Bodnar-Horvath John Bowden R’74 Chris Hunt StB’85 Andrea Hunt Sean Taylor C’85

Justin Jaques G’90 Marc McAlister G’98 Chan Ahn R’99 Kelvin Ho StB’05 Timothy Yuen B’05 Leo Lok Ting Lui StB’06 Hon Keith Wong StB’07

We had a good cross section of Worthians spanning the decades; from Robert Carroll R’71, a foreign correspondent for Asia, to banker Hon Keith Wong StB’07. Whilst the majority seem to have ended up in finance, we have John Bowden R’74 with Microsoft and Jack Harrison G’00 representing Jamie Oliver restaurants across the region.

John Bowden R’74 who originally ran an interior design company uncovered a remarkable piece of trivia linking Hong Kong’s Supreme Court Building (the building next to the Hong Kong Club), to the façade to Buckingham Palace and the Southern Frontage of Worth School (including the balcony hall - now known as The Cowdray Room - where we held daily assemblies) - all the work of architect Sir Aston Webb.

Chris Hunt StB’85, now a Worth parent, and I enjoyed a quiet Cuban cigar on the 4th Floor Terrace following the dinner.

Nick Bodnar-Horvath C’72

It’s no secret that in today’s world networking is crucial. With the interconnectivity of the City, and the borders of industry thinning, the classic cliché is more relevant now than ever before - it’s not what you know, it’s who you know! Although I cannot speak with much authority for those who are settled into their careers, being well connected brings literally endless opportunities for your professional development. At the event I witnessed countless business cards being traded which will likely result in numerous recommendations and favours occurring.

However, if you are like me, and you’re still yet to decide what on earth you are going to do for the rest of your life, making the effort to meet people will help you work it out.

I left Worth in 2013 without a clue what I wanted to do, and that didn’t change until my final year at University in 2016.

I did a bit of work with some solicitors and thought that it might be up my street. I was coming into the game late and needed ideas and experience ASAP. Cue, the Worth Society Careers Networking Event. I was presented with a ‘buffet’ of lawyers in four different areas. After picking their brains for an hour or so, I gained a valuable insight into what they did on a day-to-day basis. Additionally, they gave me some great advice on how to approach applications and how to decide what type of solicitor I want to be. The quote of the evening, which is relevant to everyone, was:

“Don’t try and decide what area you want to go into straight away, try and decide what kind of working life you want to have. This gives you a starting point and basis on which to build on.”

Because of this gem of advice, I started to place more emphasis on how I wanted to work, and not necessarily the work I wanted to do. From this, I have really honed in on what area of law I’m interested in pursuing. Finally, and arguably most importantly, some of the lawyers were kind enough to offer me work experience in their offices over the summer.

With competition in the job market becoming more challenging, you must make yourself stand out from other candidates. Having oodles of work experience will help you shine brighter than the other applicants and gives you the tools to impress at interview. So, the networking event has helped me get more of a feel for my possible legal career, got me some much-needed work experience and ultimately has helped cement and narrow my career ambitions.

I would encourage everyone and anyone, from industry leaders to recent leavers, to attend the next networking event. You never know who you might meet or what can happen as a result. At the very least it’s a great opportunity to catch up with old schoolmates over a few drinks. On behalf of all those who attended huge thanks must go to the Worth Society for making all the connections (and free drinks) possible.

Sandy Hills R’13

Simon McMenemy, James Fletcher and Tess Ryan

Florian Schacker and Thomas Glen

We welcomed the following young Worthians to our Careers Networking Evening: Fergus Ryan and Emily Hollings

06 I

Worth Society Life

Life and Times of Worthians

The Old Place

James Henwood B’07 Matthew Stagnetto B’10 Ben O’Donnell-Bourke R’11 Illan Aboitiz StB’12 Rebecca Bhargava StA’12 Alexander Hills R’13 Mark Poole StB’13

Thomas Poynder F’13 Samuel Poynder G’13 Thomas Glen B’14 Jeremy Man F’14 Hugh Murphy B’14 Emily Hollings StM’15 Fergus Ryan B’15

I 07

Events

Events

A

splendid evening was enjoyed by Worthians at the Hong Kong Club on Thursday 27th October 2016.

The evening was hosted by Gordon Pearce, Deputy Head of Worth School, and attended by some 14 Worthians and 2 spouses.

2017 Careers Networking Evening

Nick Barnett G’73 – Fine Jeweller Patrick Holdich G’74 – Foreign & Commonwealth Office Simon McMenemy R’89 – Ogletreedeakins Howard Brookman G’93 – Bloomberg Will Kenney B’95 – Waverton Investment Management Alistair Myles G’99 – Levison Meltzer Piggott Jack Bodkin G’03 – Ropes & Gray Daniel Pring R’03 – Tokio Marine Kiln Insurance Florian Schacker B’07 – Ince & Co (Shipping Law/Marine Insurance) Giles Sacarello StB’08 – Howden Insurance Brokers Adrian Vella C’08 – Yahoo Media Sales David Armstrong F’09 – Luxury Retail & Civil Service Maddy IIsley StM’10 – Sainsbury’s Investor Relations Dominic Robinson B’11 – OC&C Strategy Consultants Tess Ryan StM’11 – Vaughan Designs Niamh Fogarty StM’14 – FTI Consulting Mary Lou Burge – Worth Society Manager James Fletcher – Real Estate Venture Capital Management

2016 Inaugural London Christmas Carol Service Ben Oakley F’08, Fr Stephen and James Minch F’08

D’Arcy Trinkwon

A

Reading. Thus were acknowledged both the achievement and limitations of maturity.

I was designated to read the First Lesson, the opening of St John’s Gospel in which he unfolds the great mystery of the Incarnation. My Roman Missal (c.1953) designates this as the ‘Last Gospel’ which was said at the end of every Mass immediately before prayers for the conversion of England (or was it Russia?) and breakfast.

Come the day, having emerged from the Crossrail tunnel workings at Tottenham Court Road tube station, my wife Anne & I made our way westward along the less than salubrious environs of Oxford Street before scuttling south into the pasture that is Soho Square. Anne had sung professionally in St Patrick’s Choir some years ago and knew the way. I too had visited Soho in earlier days. Unkind souls could suggest that we encompassed the sacred and the profane.

After a quick pizza and glass of wine (was that wise?) in Dean Street we returned to St Patrick’s. The Church was full, the organ played, the Choir processed and sung: “…fear not nor be dismayed!” Well, I did and I was as I climbed the steep steps to the pulpit clutching my plasticised Gospel in one hand and my heart in the other. “…. we have beheld His glory, glory as of the only Son of the Father.” And so I floated down the steps as a solo treble intoned “Once in Royal David’s City”. My Christmas had begun.

The Choir were rehearsing as we arrived. Directed by Michael Oakley, Worth’s Director of Music, and accompanied by the renowned Worth Abbey Organist, D’Arcy Trinkwon, appropriately suited in Advent purple.

An uplifting service ensued with Readings impeccably delivered by Worthians from across the decades. The Choir excelled in choral pieces by Palestrina, Vaughan Williams, and others whilst heartily joined by the congregation for the familiar carols.

We had time to appreciate our surroundings. St Patrick’s opened in 1893 replacing an earlier chapel founded 100 years earlier. The Church benefited from a major renovation 5 years ago enabling us to appreciate the impressive semicircular Roman barrel-vaulted ceiling, the Terrazzo floor and many other fine features and furnishings. All the while enveloped in a glorious overture to Christmas.

A lusty “Hark the Herald Angels sing” and a rousing Organ Voluntary delivered us to the undercroft for mulled wine and canapés and thence into the Soho night fortified by the Solemn Blessing delivered by Abbot Luke.

Peter J Pavry WPS’58

On arrival Mary Lou kindly and thoughtfully presented me with a birthday card and a plasticised large print copy of my

The Worthian girls were out in force

8I

Peter Pavry

Events

Events

mixture of pride and trepidation overcame me when Mary Lou Burge suggested that I read a Lesson at the inaugural Worthian London Carol Service on 7th December 2016 at St Patrick’s Church, Soho Square. I was to represent alumni of Worth Preparatory School (1933-1965). The service coincided with my birthday but the challenge to maintain sobriety and a steady nerve for my Pulpit Premiere was bravely accepted.

Our first Head Girl, Jessica Coffin StM’10

The choir was made up of both current and former pupils

Worth Society Life

Life and Times of Worthians

The Old Place

I9

Class of 2006 10 Year Reunion

St Benedict’s Day Mass 2017 Events

L

ast summer I was looking in the mirror, wondering why my hair was thinning and teeth permanently stained with wine. Then it dawned on me that it was a decade since I left Worth and it was time for our 10 year reunion!

Our annual St Benedict’s Day Mass was held on 22nd March this year to coincide with the traditional monastic feast day of 21st March, the date of St Benedict’s death. This became a particularly poignant gathering to not only remember Worthians who have passed away, but also people that had been killed and injured in the Westminster Bridge terror attack that afternoon - striking a moment of reflection amongst the celebration.

The 2006 leavers congregated at the Lansdowne Club in London for a black tie dinner on the 15th October 2016 to reunite and reminisce. We had over 50 attendees in total, some making the effort to come especially from overseas.

We were delighted that Fr Kevin, Duncan Pring, Andrew Taylor and Jeremy Dowling were able to join us and it was remarkable how they had not changed in the slightest!

Fr Christopher Jamison and Fr Mark Barrett presided and with beautiful music played by celebrated Abbey organist, D’Arcy Trinkwon, and sung by a Worthian choir, it was a very moving ceremony.

We started the evening with a drinks reception where it was slightly surreal watching the staggered arrival of some people we had not seen in just over a decade. Everyone was immediately recognisable and in true Worth spirit it felt like we had only seen each other yesterday. Before going into

The 50 or so attendees then all piled downstairs into the Church Hall that had been appropriately decorated with red, white and green tablecloths, to be treated to lashings of delicious Italian meatballs and pasta cooked by Worthian restaurateurs, Belpassi Bros (Livio & Lorenzo B’04) and wine provided by Worth Society.

dinner, a few old skits were played over a projector, reminding us of the mischief we had and how high pitched some of our voices were!

Sitting down over a formal meal it was clear from the wine consumption that all of us were enjoying being together again! After some speeches and drinking the club dry we headed to a late bar to continue the celebration. Come midnight the crowd started to disperse without being asked to leave by the bar staff, to the best of my knowledge! This was in contrast to former reunions we had shortly after leaving Worth – clearly our livers are more efficient!

Having the majority of our year attend and coming together again as one group was truly special. I recall an unending amount of stories recounted, demonstrating how our time at Worth had left such an impression and we will no doubt be reminded of the same stories in another 10 years’ time!

Robert Butterworth StB’06

I’d like to warmly invite all Worthians and Worthian singers from all generations to join the ranks of choir and congregation for future Worthian Musical Events.

2017–2018 will bring a number of events to mark the retirement of Worth School’s Director of Music, Michael Oakley, after 26 years of music making with the Monastery and School. There will be a large event in the Abbey Church on the evening of Friday 25th May 2018 - keep an eye out for emails with more details as they are confirmed.

Ben Oakley F’08

Livio Belpassi and Jerry Fletcher

Meatball magic in the making

Alex StB’04, Christianne and Richard Pollen StB’65

The following Worthians and guests attended the Class of 2006 10 Year Reunion: Jeremy Dowling Dr Duncan Pring Fr Kevin Taggart Andrew Taylor John Barnes Mark Bannister Florian Betzinger Michael Bilbé Thomas Bilbé Simon Blunt

10 I

Worth Society Life

Life and Times of Worthians

The Old Place

Jasper Boekel Nicholas Bottino Michael Burr Jospeth Busuttil Robert Butterworth Alonso Caro Alistair Drummond Rupert Ede Matthias Fiedler Will Gibbs Richard Hayward

Laurence Hegarty Henry Herbert Toby Ingram James Innes Christian Kiene Tobias Kulitz Angus Lam Freddie Little Tom Marsden JP Matthews James Moir

Adam Murlewski Konstantin Pagouras Marcus Pathan Julian Pearce Tristan Phillips Tom Planterose Sebastien Plummer Freddie Pritchard Rupert Robinson Andrew Rush Edward Sacarello

Christopher Scotland Patrick Siu Adam Smyth Oliver Swift James Talty Javier Triay Paddy Ward Edward Wheeler Alex Williams

I 11

Events

T

his was certainly the busiest year for Worthians musical activity to date, and set the tone for a number of key events to come in our future annual calendar.

Channel Swimmers Reunion Supper

Nick Adams Sakura Adams Mary Lou Burge Howard Griggs Stuart McPherson Johneen McPherson Alan Mitchell Dr Duncan Pring Ditas Pring Fr Peter Williams Ben Barham R’10 Tim Davies C’10 Nick Elvidge C’11 Nick Gandy R’11 Dominic Robinson B’11 Jack Udale B’11 Conor Keating R’12 Henry Palmer R’12 Chris Cannon R’13 Robyn Cunningham StA’13 Joseph Jefferys C’13 James Keegan R’13 David Corr B’14 Hugh Murphy B’14 Sam Steers C’14 Ashley Thomas StB’14 Will Chadd B’15 Michael Cook C’15 James Thompson C’15 Toby Wild R’15 Harriet Brown StA’16 Anna Stordy StM’16 Ben Wishart R’16

S

ure, all British puplic schools can safely claim to build the people, the characters and the confidence of those who are excellent enough to scholar or privileged enough to afford. They're historically famous and revered around the world for it. What sets Worth apart from all others is its ability to offer the development of all three in one tangible and globally recognised form.

Every year for ten years now a team of students from Worth has taken part in an annual Channel swim.

At 17 a Channel swim - more specifically the cold water training - is most probably the first genuinely tough and testing thing one can do, and it is a real humbling honour for me to have breastfed 5 generations of Worthians through such a remarkable process of development in their lives. I have certainly learnt a lot myself doing so.

Whether they make it across the 21 mile straight or not is irrelevant, it is the process that builds the character, not the cherry or the sprinkles of making it to some gloomy beach near Calais.

12 I

The Romans used to toughen up their legions by making them swim long distances in cold water and it certainly appears to work for Worth pupils too. Every year on the first weekend in May they turn up with wide-eyed terror, wimpishly looking at the cold, uninviting, foamy grey chop of Dover Harbour. The naturally self-conscious teenagers strip off in front of their mates, wiggle some Speedos on under a flailing towel, trying to preserve the little dignity there is left at that time of year on the windy Swimmer's Beach. How they shiver before getting into the circa 9 degree Celsius water... but they all get in. In and out, in and out, enduring longer and longer each weekend.

on the week before. It’s hard - positively Victorian - and that's a good thing in this increasingly sterile and explored corporate world. All schools should do it.

It’s coming up to a decade of Channel swimming for Worth students and we're thrilled that the new Head Master, Stuart McPherson, recognises, supports and celebrates something I think any school would see as a unique and special asset, especially as it’s only Worth that can boast this of its students - there's a college near Slough that’s a decent competitor, sporadically chucking a solo out, but it's only Worth whose students take part in this every year.

Stuart McPherson showed his support by inviting us all to a Reunion Supper on 17th June 2017 which had an astounding turnout. In true Worth style each year has donated their efforts to charity and over £70,000 has been raised so far for various causes. It was a poignant and bonding evening enjoyed by all.

I remain happily baffled that there are sufficient numbers each year who reveal themselves in some sort of Spartacus way wishing to take this challenge on, perhaps that highlights a certain attitude of a Worth student.

You should see the overwhelmingly enthusiastic parents who beam with pride on the beach as their kid reaches a milestone, even more so with one who struggles, improving

Worth Society Life

Life and Times of Worthians

with their first-born, my Goddaughter, made it personally very touching.

The first person to swim the Channel, Captain Matthew Webb (25 Aug 1875), said "Nothing great is easy"; that’s quite a lesson for what is now a privileged mini-militia of Worthians to have learnt first-hand - rather than be told - and more importantly believe in at such a formulative age. Worth has something jolly remarkable and special here and with the new Head Master’s backing, long may this continue.

To mark the ten year anniversary we're organising a Worthians Team to swim the 43 miles of Lake Geneva.

If you'd like to take part then please register your interest at www.LakeGenevaSwimmingAssociation.com which Tim Davies C'10 and I have gone on to establish and put The Worth Swim in the comments section.

Ben Barham R’10

To have my mentors Nick & Sakura Adams who swam with us in the first year (2009) come down from Eton

The Old Place

I 13

Events

Events

The following Worthian Channel Swimmers and guests attended the Reunion Supper:

Andy Stewart and Fr Stephen

1960s &1970s Decade Reunion Dinner It was twenty years ago today,

Events

Events

Sergeant Pepper taught the band to play.

They've been going in and out of style, But they're guaranteed to raise a smile.

So may I introduce to you the act you've known for all these years?

You may or may not recognise these Beatles’ lyrics, but 50 years ago I first heard them while being driven to Worth by my father for the beginning of a 5-year education away from home. This would be at what I now know to be a fantastic establishment, which helped me to develop from a boy into a young man. And I got married there in 1978 and also sent my own children to school there.

On 4th May 2017 I travelled from my home in Rutland to the renowned Cavalry & Guards Club in London to be reunited and dine with over 100 Worthians, many of them contemporaries from my time at Worth. But this journey was filled with memories and anticipation, not the foreboding of 50 years ago. Who would I meet? Would I recognise people that I had known so long ago? Who would recognise me? What had we been doing for the last 45 years? The answers to these questions came very quickly and names came back as if I had been using them only yesterday over the pre-dinner drinks. An unexpected pleasure came from reuniting with several members of the teaching staff and even 3 Abbots. Yes, 3. Two of these venerable gentlemen, Frs Stephen and Kevin, clearly had trouble getting their minds around the fact that most of us old boys had now retired. They could remember helping us through our ‘O’ Levels! Abbot Luke wasn’t so confused as he had been a fellow pupil alongside me in Chapman House all those years ago.

Jerry Fletcher and Abbot Luke (Richard Jolly)

Patrick Dodd

Jonathan Monckton and John Gorman

Simon Gordon

Richard Rivlin and Jeremy Brooks

Shane Bisgood

Bernard Elkington and Simon Slaughter

Terence Delaney

Gordon Wignall

Over the most delicious 3 course dinner the tales I heard would, of course, fill a paperback book but the friendship and camaraderie had to be experienced to be understood.

We may be different but we were all alike and getting back together again was fantastic.

If your year comes up for a reunion, don’t miss it. You won’t regret it.

Andrew Stewart B’72 John Butterworth, Simon Crane and Fr Stephen

Desmond Calnan and Nick Robinson

The following Worthians and Guests attended the 1960s & ‘70s Decade Reunion Dinner: Fred Belcher Mike Margrett Stuart McPherson Fr Stephen Ortiger Keith Owers Roger Stokes Fr Kevin Taggart Bernard Elkington R'63 Simon Slaughter R'63

14 I

Sir David Bell C'64 Jeremy Best C'64 Rodney Bligh C'64 Terence Delaney G'64 Christopher Frederick C’64 Sir Peter Jonas G'64 Patrick Nivelles R'64 Chris Carter G'65 Ken Ross G'65 Sinclair Webster R'67

Jerome Bertram C'68 John Crookenden G'68 Martin Milmo G'68 Desmond Calnan R'69 Patrick Dodd R'69 Janusz Heath G’69 David Maclure R'69 Christopher Anthony G'70 Patrick Bisgood G'70 John Butterworth G’70

Simon Crane StB'70 John Cryer G'70 Francis Drake G'70 John Gorman G'70 Peter Gottelier R'70 Stephen Gough C'70 Brian Heathcote C'70 Tim Pethybridge StB'70 John Smythe R'70 John Watson StB'70

Worth Society Life

John Wild C'70 Shane Bisgood StB’71 Peter Furlonge C’71 Rory Graham B'71 Abbot Luke Jolly C'71 Richard Mitchell StB'71 Alistair Riley G'71 Michael Worrall R'71 Nicholas Bathurst R'72 Dominic Bexon C'72

Life and Times of Worthians

The Old Place

Jeremy Brooks StB'72 Robert Brown C'72 Nigel Burnford StB'72 Jeremy Fletcher G'72 Gavin Hamilton-Deeley R'72 Paul Leverton StB'72 Adrian Marlowe StB'72 Richard Rivlin StB'72 Michael Shanahan G’72 Andrew Stewart B'72

Ken van Terheyden C’72 Charles Weston-Baker B'72 Hugh Bett B'73 Paul Cattermull StB'73 Chris Coffin G'73 Jonathan Monckton G'73 Nick Norton R’73 Simon Willson C'73 Simon Cope R'74 Simon Gordon StB'74

Liam Hammond C'74 Mark Madsen C'74 Francis McHugh C'74 Anthony Morrissey R'74 Dominic G Quennell C'74 Aidan Freyne G'75 Andrew Hogge StB'75 Patrick Jago StB'75 James Keliher C'75 Crispin Kelly StB'75

Dominic Nevill R'75 Nicholas Robinson StB'75 James Tibbles C'75 Mark Breen StB'76 Nick Butterworth G'76 Mark Simpson StB'76 James Blake B'77 Matthew Burnford StB’77 Julian Ferguson G'77 James Madsen C'77 (HB)

John Murphy B'77 Mark Murray-Flutter G'77 John Tate G'77 Patrick T Flynn B'78 Charles Hamshaw-Thomas B'78 Robert Lindsel C'78 Michael Morrissey R'78 Gordon Wignall R'78

I 15

The following Worthians and guests attended the Class of 1967 50 Year Reunion:

Class of 1987 30 Year Reunion

Jonathan Nickell B’87

Class of 1967 50 Year Reunion

Sean Conway Michael Grocholski Stephen Kittoe Michael & Jane May Simon & Beth Renouf Sinclair Webster David Whittaker John & Barbie Willis John Young

T

he attendees of the ’67 reunion on 29th June 2017 met for morning coffee at Worth with I imagine no small degree of apprehension. After 50 years would one recognise or be recognised, but of course after some head scratching, hand-shakes and much chuckling and banter it was interesting how quickly memories came flooding back.

Events

Events

O

n 15th September 2017 the Worth School 1987 leavers had their reunion in London. An evening at The Phene in Chelsea, London saw 27 old boys (in more ways than one) get together for beer and much reminiscing. Many laughs and stories of the old times with some people having not seen each other since leaving. It was a hugely enjoyable event and there was much talk of doing it again next year - maybe at Worth with perhaps a cricket match involved, so watch this space.

Fred & Anne Belcher Mary Lou Burge Fr Bede Hill Stuart McPherson Fr Stephen Ortiger Ed Schneider Fr Kevin Taggart Fr Richard Wilson

Two charming and most patient students then gave us a tour of the impressive new buildings and facilities that have so changed Worth since our time in the ’60s. We popped into a French class and found boys and girls being taught in what seemed a relaxed and civilised environment. Most of us I think would remember the cramped and formal style of lessons in the potting sheds, rather strict and with the ever present threat of being ‘sent’ for some misdemeanour or other. We were shown the new Art Department - such a far cry from the subterranean studio in the back quad (reeking of paraffin) that I remember so fondly and where I learnt so much from Anthony Renouf. We remembered other names and characters from then: Andrew Bertie whose Rolls was replaced by a Fiat during the first ‘oil’ crisis; the Colonel Van Vredenburgh; Ian Bonner and ‘Duckie’ Coleburt with his wonderful tennis outfit - but what a good player he was!

Sean Conway, David Whittaker and I at this stage also remembered when 10 shillings was enough to get us down to Brighton and back, buy a cinema ticket, a share in a packet of 20 and a pint on the way as we walked back to school from the station. Heady days!

The following Worthians attended the Class of 1987 30 Year Reunion: Alex Aiken Max Bower Anthony Bromley-Martin Hugo Clarke David Cutajar Drew Davy Tom Derry Tom Ford Julian Gabriel Tim Hobbs Jonny Lobb George Macari Anthony Morris Jonathan Nickell

Tim O’Brien Charlie Raincock Julian Ryan Jon Sharkey Paddy Sutton Charlie Salter Mike Turner Raul Uranga Dominic Waghorn Kevin Walshe Ed Wilkinson Mark Wilson Marcus Wrey

My wife Jane rather thought us old boys reverted to being ‘boys’ during this tour, wanting to remember where we used to go for our quick ciggies, and where we got caught and got a painful 6 from Fr Dominic, etc etc. Our tour guides were really very patient.

We also saw the new club facilities for the Sixth Form, a good space to relax and socialise. I remember our equivalent more spartan, and in the cellar where we were allowed some beer and a ciggie a night or did I just imagine that?

There followed a simple but beautiful service in the splendid ‘new’ church. Twelve of the monastic community sang in English not Latin unfortunately but it was enough to remind me that Worth was where I got my love of Gregorian chant.

The Abbey is impressive, especially with the recent Thomas Heatherwick additions, but it is rather big and I remember the old church, now part of the monks’ quarters, for its rather cosy comfort but great sense of monastic presence.

Then we had lunch. Delicious food perfectly served and the wine flowed generously. As we enjoyed the meal we remembered the food of our day - sliced omelette, spam, and cornflake tart with plenty of lumpy custard were top of the list and of course served so well by the Spanish maids!

16 I

Worth Society Life

Life and Times of Worthians

The Old Place

We were joined for lunch by the Head Master, Stuart McPherson, and Development Director, Ed Schneider, as well as Fred and Anne Belcher and delighted also that Frs Kevin, Stephen and Bede could be there to keep us all in order. Kevin had great memories of the other House Masters of our day especially of ‘Foxy’ Fabian hiding up a willow tree one day waiting to catch boys smoking. We also remembered Frs Bernard and Edward, both great characters with twinkling eyes and good laughs, their pipes and cigars.

Fr Stephen and I recalled sitting our German ‘O’ Level together, his stellar performance on Mastermind (Jeeves and Wooster his specialist subject I think) and I asked him if he could be Pope for a day what changes he would bring to the Church. It was an interesting reply! I would have enjoyed speaking more with Fr Bede on how dogma or blind faith fit in with this factual and evidence based world we now live in. Perhaps another time.

Worth had been my home. My parents lived abroad throughout that time and often holidays meant a new house in a new location. Weekly boarders now almost the norm were then most unusual so for most boys the life at Worth was all you lived and breathed for the whole term. At the end of the lunch John Willis spoke eloquently for us all when he thanked the community and especially Mary Lou for organising such a special day!

So we ate, drank, talked and laughed and felt very much at home. It reminded me that for 5 years of my adolescence

Michael May StB’67 (Head Boy ’66)

It had been a special day. It was wonderful to meet school friends after half a century and reconnect, to hear about the births and deaths, the joys and sorrows that seem to have visited us all more or less in equal measure.

We had all been reminded of how much we owed to the education, care and guidance we received at Worth more than 50 years ago. Worth is a special place and it was good to be reminded of that for a few hours that day.

I 17

Worth Prep School Reunion Events

8 of the 51 went up to Worth School and 4 of those 8 were Founder Members in 1959. The remainder, bar 1, all went on to Downside and many of those had lost contact with Worth over the years. Getting together such a wide ranging guest list was the culmination of much activity over the last year in gathering the archives together, tidying up the typed official list of Worth Prep boys that Fr Bede had, and then sending emails to known contacts and posting messages to Old Gregorian (Downside) groups.

The day started with everyone arriving in the Whitehead Room. This was the first noteable difference to many. In our day it had been called the Day Room or Assembly Room and the only way in was from the inside, not through a door off The Quad. People soon discovered those in their school years (and with such a spread of years there was bound to be someone else you knew) and stories of the ‘good old days’ were exchanged. I was glad to see 4 others in my year.

Rupert, who I had caught up with earlier in the year, and Ross, Adrian and George who I hadn’t seen in 40, 50 and 51 years respectively. We have dubbed ourselves ’66 Leavers and were there for the final year of the Prep School in 1965 when it changed into Worth Junior House, an institution that lasted for another 35 years. There were other guests who I had made contact with in the previous year by email or Facebook - Peter Pavry, Nicolas Bellord, Nicholas de Piro, James Sherry and last, but not least, my brother Michael, who was doubled booked with an A&B Grandparents Day taking place in the Abbey Church.

After tea and coffee we all assembled in The Quad to start our tour of all the old haunts led by some willing sixthformers. I have to say they did amazingly well to keep tabs on their errant groups with people darting off in odd directions to investigate some favourite play area of old and swapping groups as we moved around. But they did contrive

to get us all back to the Abbey in time for Midday Office.

We started off around the original (main) building which all the pre-1959ers would have known as ‘their day room’, ‘their dormitory’, ‘their whatever’. Us ’66ers only ever resided in the buildings around the Tower (Tower, Butler and Ford House) and if we were ever ushered into the Head Master’s Room (Dom Maurice and then Dom Dominic), where it still is, then we were probably in trouble. The current Head Master, Stuart McPherson, observed our reactions as we all trooped into the hallowed chamber.

Then up the hill to have a look around the buildings we ’66ers were most familiar with. Ah yes, this used to be a courtyard, this was the old gym, this was the ‘cinema’ (such as it was), this was where the Tower House chapel was. I particularly wanted to see one room on the first floor corner of Tower House (later Bede House) that I knew as ‘5-dorm’, my first dormitory that I entered on a cold day in January 1962. In there were 4 ‘new’ boys and a prefect.

3 of the 4 were nephews of monks - Doms Denis, Roger and Hugh. And our first prefect was Dom Jerome’s nephew. My wish was fulfilled, although I found that a partition wall had been removed, that it was somewhat bigger and was now a sixth-form recreation room. Fr Stephen was in our group and was enthralled as any of us to be walking around his old domain from when he was St Bede’s Housemaster.

After Midday Office we were back in the Whitehead Room for a tasty lunch. While we were eating we had the famous Worth Film projected onto a screen, which caused quite some interest. This had been filmed by Doms Denis and Benedict in the ’50s, then languished and discovered in a cellar, transferred to video and now DVD.

As we were finishing lunch we had speeches from the Head Master, Stuart McPherson, commenting on all the changes we had found during the day and Development Director, Edward Schneider, talking about his wish to build on the legacy and raise funds for bursaries for future generations at Worth. Thanks were given to Mary Lou and Johanna for organising a most successful day.

Events

O

n a bright autumn morning, Thursday 21st September 2017, over 70 guests arrived at Worth for a major reunion of Worth Prep School boys.

There had been a ‘Queen’s Jubilee’ reunion in 2012 for those in the school 1952/53 (with a couple of younger brothers joining the party) but this was on a very much larger scale. 48 of the 70 guests were Worth Prep Boys covering every year from 1936 to 1965. That is almost every year of the Prep School’s existence. Added to that number were 3 monks; Frs Richard, Kevin and Stephen, who were Prep School boys. Sadly Fr Charles, the fourth old Worth boy in the community couldn’t be with us, but everyone sent their best wishes. Add in a couple of matrons, Helen Sweetman and Tigs Sacre, Abbot Luke (Worth School but not Worth Prep) and Fr Bede, the monastic archivist who’s sister, Fear, was also a Worth Matron, and the party was complete.

Nicholas de Piro then gave a speech on behalf of everyone with thanks for all that Worth had done for each of us, with stories from his time and a recollection of pretty much every name in one particular school photograph.

And I loved hearing his gentle Maltese accent - a country very close to my heart!

Finally we all walked over to the Monks’ Cemetery to pay our respects to all our old friends, starting with Dom Maurice. It was a very moving and fitting end to what had been a marvellous day and with everyone saying ‘when’s the next one?’

Over 1,500 can say they were ‘Worth Prep Boys’ and so there are many more out there still to contact. During the last year I have compiled an almost complete archive of Worth Records 1946-1966 on Facebook thanks to Peter & Michael Hawkins, Peter Pavry and Rupert Cuddon-Large, and this has proved to be a great means of making contact with the lost. But realising that most are of an age that ‘don’t do Facebook’ I volunteered to host the archive on a webpage and the school photos and Worth Records can now be found on www.agiusww1.com/worth Have a look and pass the word around. Here’s to the next time!

Peter Agius WPS62-66

The following former pupils attended the Worth Prep School Reunion: 1936-1941 Timothy Matthews 1940-1944 John Taggart (Fr Kevin) 1941-1946 Robin Gowlland 1942-1944 Simon Wilson (Fr Richard) 1942-1945 John Clyne 1943-1948 John Albert 1944-1950 Peter Davies 1944-1949 Peter Kemmis Betty 1944-1949 Peter Koe 1944-1950 Carl Tantum 1945-1948 Simon MacLachlan 1945-1950 Byard McHugh 1945-1949 Michael Wilson 1947-1952 Maurice Asprey 1947-1951 Nicolas Bellord 1947-1952 Simon Matthews 1947-1953 Richard Ortiger (Fr Stephen)

18 I

Worth Society Life

Life and Times of Worthians

The Old Place

1948-1953 Patrick Branigan 1948-1952 Michael Legge 1948-1951 Anthony Mallet 1948-1951 Dudley Plunkett 1948-1949 Peter Wright 1950-1955 Tony Bueno 1950-1955 Nicholas De Piro D'Amico Inguanez 1950-1955 Richard Pavry 1952-1958 Michael Agius 1952-1957 Johnny Harrison 1953-1958 Peter Pavry 1953-1956 Anthony Pontifex 1954-1959 Rodney Bligh C’64 1954-1959 Bernard Elkington R’64 1954-1959 Simon Slaughter R’64 1954-1959 Nicholas Wynne G’64 1955-1960 Nicholas Mellish

1955-1961 James Sherry 1955-1961 Martin Whinney 1956-1961 Neil Cook 1956-1961 Christopher Dobson StB’66 1956-1961 George Higgins 1956-1960 Nicholas Kittoe 1957-1962 John Young C’67 1958-1962 Brian Mooney 1959-1961 Timothy Clarke 1959-1962 Stephen Kittoe C’67 1961-1966 Rupert Cuddon-Large 1961-1966 Ross Kilpatrick 1962-1966 Peter Agius 1962-1966 Adrian Holmes 1962-1966 George Hutchins 1964-1968 Mark Lee-Barber 1968-1972 Peter Barnes (W/Junior House)

I 19

The Global Action Awards

Worth Careers Fair 2017

The Global Action Awards Jerry Fletcher and Andrew Morris following his successful presentation to the Awarding Committee

T

F

or the eleventh year in a row, Worth School organised a Careers Fair for its Lower Sixth Form students on 1st July 2017. Well over 100 students were able to participate in this event which was designed to encourage them to think about possible options beyond Worth and indeed beyond University. The format we employed was similar to previous years, with a number of outside speakers talking about their own career to small groups of students.

Each speaker made their presentation four times, so students had the opportunity to learn about life in four careers that were of interest to them.

Once again we were indebted to Worthians who contributed three of the nine speakers. It is on occasions such as these that one really appreciates the willingness of former pupils to give back to the place where they were educated. We were delighted to welcome back Adam Fudakowski G’02 who had already talked to students in the Walter Monckton Society, but who on this occasion gave them the benefit of his knowledge of starting a new business. The world of work is changing rapidly and this proved to be one of the best attended talks. Angus Lam R’06 was one of many pupils who studied Economics at Worth and went on to read the same subject at Bath and Durham, which has led to important jobs in different areas. He had spoken at last year’s Careers Fair and very kindly agreed to do a repeat performance by popular demand! He offered very helpful

he Worthians Charitable Trust (WCT) Global Action Awards (GAA) programme has now awarded a total of £27,780 to Worthians since its formation in 2000.

We continue to encourage Worthians to apply for a GAA and spend some time in voluntary work for the good of others and the community, either here in the UK or overseas. Although historically the majority of awards have been made to recent Worth Leavers embarking on a gap year, it is important to stress that the scheme is open to Worthians at any age or stage of their lives.

Adam Fudakowski, James Shepherd and Angus Lam

advice on the sort of options that an Economics degree offers in the world of work. Last, but by no means least, James Shepherd C’09 spoke eloquently about the benefits of a career in accounting. This is a tremendously fast growing area of employment, and one which is much misunderstood. James was able to draw on his very personal experience to offer thoughts that were both down to earth and yet encouraging.

In fact this year we received two applications from Worthians who had left Worth some years ago and are now studying Medicine, one after several years working in Finance.

Andrew Morris R’06 left a career with KPMG in 2013 to retrain as a doctor specialising in paediatrics. He was keen to go to India for his ‘elective’ and was awarded £1,500 to spend

After a hard morning’s talk, most of the speakers enjoyed a lunch that was I am sure even better than those which they used to enjoy in the Refectory a few years ago! The feedback we received has been very positive and, as always, I am most grateful to the former students who come back to pass on their experience to the present cohort of pupils.

I was aware of the wealth of experience in the Worthian network and so I emailed Mary Lou Burge to see if she could offer any guidance or contacts. She kindly put me in contact with Alistair Myles G’99 who is a partner in the family and divorce law firm Levison Meltzer Pigott and through this I was able to arrange a week’s work placement in his firm.

I really enjoyed the placement, it was a valuable insight into family law that would otherwise not have been available to

Mary Lou Burge, Worth Society Manager

2016-17 Edward Bridge (StB’11) – Medical Elective at The Western Regional Hospital, Belize and volunteering with ‘La Choza Chula’, Guatemala Andrew Morris (R’06) – Medical Elective at Ananthapuri Hospital, Kerala, India

An insight into Family Law

H

If you are considering applying for a GAA, would like to donate to the GAA fund via the Worthians Charitable Trust, or just want to find out more; then do please contact me at worthsociety@worth.org.uk or take a look at the Community Support section of our website www.worthsociety.org.uk

GAAs Awarded since 2010

Duncan Pring, Head of Careers, Worth School

aving graduated from Exeter University in 2016 with a degree in History, I decided I should probably start looking for a job. I have always wanted to be a lawyer, in spite of not studying law at university, and realised that because of the fiercely competitive field that is law I needed to gain some experience. The work experience that I had done was primarily in commercial law and whilst this was interesting I felt that it was important to experience more of what is a very broad sector.

a month in Ananthapuri Hospital in Kerala. Edward Bridge StB’11 who is studying Medicine at Leeds University was heading off to South America during the summer of 2017 and planned to spend 6 weeks volunteering in The Western Regional Hospital in Belize as well as spending some time with the Belize Red Cross Society, before heading to Guatemala to volunteer with the charity ‘La Choza Chula’ that encourages sustainable local development. He was awarded £1,000 to help fund his trip. You can read about both Andrew and Edward’s experiences on the following pages.

me. I particularly learnt about the crucial role that solicitors can play in remedying often difficult and upsetting circumstances. I sat in on meetings with clients, received some really helpful advice from all of the staff and a highlight was a visit to the Royal Courts of Justice. It also confirmed to me that I am certain that I want to work in an area of law that deals with people.

In all honesty, prior to my work experience with Alistair and whilst at university, I was quite complacent about pursuing a career in law; assuming that everything would fall into place post-university. My work experience with Alistair impressed on me the importance of being pro-active and making the most of the contacts that the Worthian network presents. I’m incredibly grateful to Alistair and Mary Lou for this opportunity and would urge any former pupils looking for work experience to make use of the network, which we are so fortunate to have.

Kate Hamilton StM’13

£2,100

2014-15 Peter Webb (C’14) – volunteering with the Manquehue Movement in Chile

£1,000

Benjamin Booker (B’13) – volunteering with the Puericultorio JAVA Orphanage in Peru

£500

Beatrice Lewers (StA’13) – volunteering with the Puericultorio JAVA Orphanage in Peru

£500

Stephen Free (C’15) – working with VSO & ICS in Tanzania

£500

Frances Oesterlin (StM’15) – teaching English in Cambodia

£500

2013-14 Merrick Winter (F’13) – teaching English with Global Vision International in India and Nepal

Life and Times of Worthians

The Old Place

£500

Charlie Bridge (StB’09) – teaching English with TASK Brasil in Rio de Janeiro

£500

Thomas Harrison (StB’92) – founding Fusion Enterprise Music & Drama Group for adults with learning disabilities

£150

2012-13 Charlotte Bonhoure (StM’13) – working with the Manquehue Movement in Chile Naomi Dring (StA’13) – volunteering for Worth Abbey’s ‘Outreach Peru’ programme in Peru

£750 £1,000

James Folger (B’10) – teaching English at schools in San Jose in Costa Rica

£400

Ciaran Stordy (StB’12) – working with the Manquehue Movement in Chile

£500

2011-12 Niamh Fogarty (StM’11) – volunteering with Tanzanian NGO, TanzEd Xavier Geissmann (B’11) – working with the Manquehue Movement in Chile

£500 £700

Francis Dring (C’12) – volunteering with The Peru Mission in the Amazon

£1,000

2010-11 Jack Clancy (F’11) – working for a remote Maasai community in Tanzania

£900

Chris Napleton (C’11) – volunteering at an orphanage in Nepal

£700

Will Desmond (C’09) – working with Cross Purposes in the UK

Worth Society Life

£1,500

2015-16 Antonia Foldes (StM’11) – volunteering with TECHO in Colombia

2009-10 James Harrold (StB’10) – working with the Manquehue Movement in Chile

20 I

£1,000

£750 £400

I 21

The Global Action Awards

So Why Medicine?

T

his is the question I get asked more than any other.

Some people are born to do something while others sort of slip into their careers. Some people know what they want to do when they are really young whilst others don’t figure it out until much later. I am firmly in the ‘others’ category. I didn’t know what I wanted to do. I didn’t know when I was at school, nor at university, not even when I first started working. And I've figured out that sometimes it’s alright not to know. At Worth I chose the ‘A’ Levels that I was either good at or that my friends did. At university I chose the subject I knew I would enjoy with no thought about what career prospects it held. And when I started working I followed my friends into graduate entry schemes thinking that maybe I’d be one of those people who would work for a living and just ‘live for the weekends’…that old cliché. But soon I realised that I couldn’t work for work sake.

If I was to do something for 8 to sometimes 12 or more hours a day it had to be something I enjoyed. Even if it had good career prospects, or good progression opportunities, or good pay. I knew within a month that the career I had chosen in finance with KPMG wasn’t the career for me.

But what was? How was I supposed to figure that out now in my early 20s? So I went back to the basics. I knew I had to enjoy my job and that it had to have some element of meaning to me. I thought about what work I had done in my life that I had enjoyed, and the thing that kept coming into my head was the care work that I had done with the OMV. The OMV is a charity with close links to Worth. Many of you may have been involved. The biggest event that the OMV is involved in is its trip to Lourdes where a huge group of volunteers take disabled ‘pilgrims’ for a week away to the South of France. I had been a few times and was closely involved with the youngest group of ‘pilgrims’, a group of school-aged children from Ireland. The work I did with this group was the best and most enjoyable thing I’d done that could even be considered ‘work’. I also became interested in the medical side of this care work with a number of the children, in addition to having numerous disabilities, having various medical conditions. So from this I considered the possibility of medicine. I didn’t dive into it though. I knew that I had to ‘know’ whether medicine was for me before deciding to pursue it. And so for the next 18 months all the holidays I took from my work were used to experience various areas of medicine. Every day I spent in the world of medicine made me think more and more that this was for me. So, 5 years later I am a doctor, having finally figured out what I want to do.

India was a vastly different experience from the Evelina and it was invaluable to experience these differences. old teachers, members of the Monastery, and a collection of former pupils made me feel like I was back at school!

Thankfully I survived the nerves and was lucky enough to receive an award which meant that I was able to fund 2 weeks in London and 4 weeks in India.

My two weeks in London were at the Evelina Hospital, located next to Westminster Bridge. I chose this as the experience of care work with the Irish group of children with the OMV has made me think more and more that paediatrics is the speciality that I would like to pursue in the future. The Evelina PICU is a large specialist intensive care centre with 20 beds, one-to-one nursing and a senior-led doctor team consisting of a variety of specialists including anaesthetists, paediatricians, cardiologists and surgeons.

It is a high intensity environment truly dedicated to the sickest and most specialised children’s cases across London.

Retrievals also take place from further afield - while I was there one was even arranged from Gibraltar. As such I saw an incredible variety of cases and some of the sickest children in the city which was an incredible learning opportunity for me.

My second placement was four weeks at the Ananthapuri Hospital in Trivandrum, Kerala, India. India was a vastly different experience from the Evelina and it was invaluable to experience these differences. I flew into Trivandrum and joined two of my colleagues who had already been in the country for two weeks. It was great to join friends and have their knowledge of the area upon arrival. Trivandrum is not a tourist destination in any way and so some of the most interesting experiences we had were of the numerous interactions with locals bemused at our ‘whiteness’. The

This report is about my elective, a component of medical school which involves practising medicine in hospitals that you wouldn’t usually train in and is often used as an opportunity to experience medicine overseas. So in my final year of medical school I contacted Worth Society to ask if they would consider me for a Global Action Award to help fund my elective. After my application I was invited down to the School for an interview with the Worth Society Committee. Sitting in front of the Head Master, some of my

22 I

constant staring and requests for ‘selfies’ were amusing and bemusing in equal measure.

My time in the hospital was also a cultural experience.

I was the first foreigner to ever attend for an elective or ‘internship’ as they called it. The nurses and doctors were thus equally bemused by my presence and I had to constantly attempt to explain why I was there. My learning objective was ‘to gain experience in communication with those with little or no English’. This was particularly difficult to achieve. The local language of Kerala is Malayalam and very few people speak English. The doctors speak a little English, the nurses almost none, and patients very rarely spoke even a few words. I tried my best but struggled at times to communicate with patients. This made me more inclined to learn about the cultural aspects of Indian medicine and to look at the differences between India and England with regards to medical practice.

While at the hospital I spent my time across three different rotations; paediatrics, cardiology and emergency medicine.

I was able to experience a vast array of different cases and people as a result. While on my cardiology placement I gave a presentation to the cardiology team which was supposed to only consist of 15 people. However when more doctors and nurses figured out who was giving the presentation it seemed as if the whole hospital came to see the white man talk!

The hospital was a private institution - the first I’d ever spent time in. The contrast to the NHS hospitals in the UK was vast.

Having grown up in the UK, with parents who grew up on working class estates, I have had the importance of free healthcare ingrained in my very nature. I have deep and strong opinions on the importance of free healthcare and its

importance on education, social connection, and the economy. It was fascinating to observe the invoicing, billing and payments that took place in the hospital. This was no more evident than my week spent in the Emergency Room.

Patients were invoiced after every doctor consultation, every blood test, every scan, and for every medication. This was obviously the norm for those patients using the hospital with there being no insurance elements to the healthcare in this area of India. The doctors were bemused when I told them that healthcare in the UK was completely free at the point of access. But I always came back to my NHS viewpoint.

Why should those without go without their health? Why should anyone have to choose food over healthcare costs?

Why should anyone have to choose between which of their ill children be treated? Extreme examples, but ones that do take place. Aneurin Bevan’s famous quotation always comes to mind whenever I think about free healthcare: ‘no society can legitimately call itself civilised if a sick person is denied medical aid because of lack of means’. But I also often found myself feeling like the self-important foreigner. Why should my western, supposedly superior, views be any better than theirs? This was even more acutely profound in a country that has the shadow of colonialism forever hanging over it and even more so when you are the only ‘white’ person in the entire hospital.

Despite having to spend most of my time in the hospital, I did manage to explore some of the enormity that India has to offer. The city we stayed in was called Trivandrum, or Thiruvananthapuram in Malayalam the regional language.

Our stay here was a cultural experience. A typical walk out for dinner in the evening would involve every sense. On one corner the smells of spices and burning incense, while turning around another, the overpowering unpleasantness of dirty sewage. The lack of a waste disposal system meant rubbish was often burnt on pavements. The humid heat would invade your lungs and eyes while dust circled around your feet. The multiple stunning colours of female saris contrasted with the beautiful greens of coconut and mango trees. Walking the streets you didn’t know what you would encounter. Numerous times we stumbled across religious processions demonstrating the music, dance, culture and even animals of India. Kerala is frequently called ‘God’s country’ and it is difficult to disagree. The scenery outside the city is truly stunning, a tropical paradise interspersed with beautiful rivers and backwaters. I went to Alleppey a backwater tourist destination for both local and foreign travellers. As it was the off-season we had the backwaters to ourselves to spend a relaxing day on the water, much needed after spending time in the hustle and bustle of the hospital.

This opportunity would not have been possible though without the GAA that I was given by the Worth Society. So I would like to thank them for the opportunity and hope that this article gives those reading it time to think about what they really want to do in their lives.

Andrew Morris R’06

Worth Society Life

Life and Times of Worthians

The Old Place

I 23

The Global Action Awards

Jungle City to Volcanic Sands Volunteering in Belize & Guatemala Above: El Paredón. Below: La Choza Chula

T

his summer, thanks to the generosity of the Worth Society, I spent 6 weeks undertaking a medical placement at the Western Regional Hospital (WRH) in Belmopan, the capital of Belize. The WRH is a statefunded institution that adopts a role like that of a small district general hospital in the UK. Compared to the UK, Belize spends half as much on healthcare (7.58% and 3.88% of GDP respectively), and the result is an understaffed system which often lacks basic equipment. Belize has no medical school of its own, so all the doctors working at WRH, despite being Belizean, were forced to train abroad.

There were only twelve doctors employed at the WRH, which I felt was an inadequate number for such a large amount of clinical work and responsibility. For example, in 2016 alone, the hospital admitted 55,724 patients – that’s 4,644 patients per doctor!.

During my time at WRH, I was based on the Maternity ward and had the opportunity to attend multiple ward rounds and several outpatient antenatal clinics. The WRH is compact, so I also spent some time observing work in other specialities such as Psychiatry, Surgery and Internal Medicine. I was surprised to discover that the main causes of mortality in Belize are very similar to the UK – chronic health conditions like ischaemic heart disease and diabetes. I arrived with the pre-conception that Belize must be more affected by communicable or tropical diseases, considering it is a less economically developed country in a tropical region.

A typical day at the WRH would involve an 8am ward round on the maternity ward, followed by a visit to the labour suite, where I often assisted with deliveries. If no patients were in labour, I was encouraged to visit the operating theatre to observe obstetric procedures like C-sections.

Whenever no surgeries were scheduled I would use the time to visit other departments. On one of these occasions, I was called to see a young girl who’d been bitten by a deadly snake – the Fer De Lance. Fortunately, following several doses of antivenin, her condition was stable, so I was tasked with debriding the necrotic tissue from her bite wound. The Belizean doctor guided me through the procedure, and I did my best to keep my hand steady with the scalpels and tweezers as the poor girl blinked back tears of pain.

In the afternoons, I attended the antenatal clinics, where I observed nurses offer health promotional advice to expectant mothers. I was also able to examine patients to check the progress of their pregnancies and to discuss the results of the ultrasound scans. Although Belize is an English-speaking country, many of the patients only spoke Spanish, which gave me a great opportunity to practice my novice Spanish skills. On Wednesdays and Thursdays every week, I visited post-natal and child development clinics in the local communities, where I helped weigh, measure and vaccinate children. Speaking to the kids and their parents gave me a valuable insight into the health of the people in the surrounding villages, and emphasised the importance of health education. Many of the locals lacked awareness

of basic issues like food hygiene, infectious diseases, and practicing safe sex.

At the WRH, there was always something to do, with so few doctors tending to so many patients. I often ended up helping out in A&E, or chatting with the inpatient psychiatric patients who never received any visitors. With so much going on, my six week placement flew by!

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed my time at the WRH and greatly valued the clinical experience I gained through working with the Belizean clinicians, particularly the OBGYN team.

Following my hospital work in Belize, I travelled down to a small village on Guatemala’s Pacific coast – El Paredón.

Named after the wall of sand that divides the mighty ocean from the snaking freshwater river, I was struck by its wild beauty as soon as I arrived. Hopping off the riverboat, I found myself outside a little building – La Choza Chula – meaning the “Cool Shack” in Spanish. This was the headquarters of the social enterprise that I would be volunteering with for the next two weeks.

I was called to see a young girl who’d been bitten by a deadly snake – the Fer De Lance.

La Choza Chula was set up in 2012 in response to the growing surf tourism trade in El Paredón. Since then, the organisation has been working within the community to promote education, environmental awareness and local businesses. It has formed a successful partnership with the community’s schools, building a library for the primary school and financing the construction of a secondary school, computer laboratory and an organic permaculture garden. LCC runs a successful business comprising sales of community boat tours and handmade products. The business also runs week-long cultural immersion experiences for volunteer groups. The business not only employs people from El Paredón but funds various social projects in the community, such as an English teaching programme and environmental

Edward and other Leeds Medics on their first day at Western Regional Hospital

Worth Society Life 24 I

Life and Times of Worthians

The Old Place

I 25

The Global Action Awards

Jungle City to Volcanic Sands continued When you run out of paper in Arts and Crafts!

whilst playing the game emphasised the lack of education in the village. Children as old as ten struggled with even the simplest Spanish phrases, highlighting the importance of La Choza Chula’s work in the community.

Whilst I was in El Paredón, La Choza Chula hosted two thoroughly enjoyable events. The first, a seed conference, invited agricultural experts and members of the business community to teach students how to tend to their own school garden. The teenagers clearly admired and respected their seniors, and listened attentively as they discussed the best crops to grow, and different techniques to increase yield.

The second event was a highly-anticipated surf competition. Another charity, Share the Stoke Foundation, had donated several top-quality surf boards which would be offered on a rental basis to the winners of the competition. As opposed to just giving the boards to the winners, La Choza Chula’s ingenious idea was to incentivise literacy and reading by only loaning the boards to students once they had read a book and written a report on it! This scheme is an effective way to re-engage young surfers with education as many leave school early to work as surf instructors or in the construction industry.

Having been out surfing myself in the huge waves that battered El Paredón’s beach, I was astounded by the skill of the local competitors. Girls and boys as young as eight, skimmed gracefully over the crests of the waves, flipping and pirouetting in a spray of seawater. Every trick was greeted by a huge cheer, and every wipe-out with sharp intakes of breath from the crowd of spectators. Towards the end of the competition, children began clustering around the shiny new surfboards, aware that to use one, they would have to start reading! When the competition winners eventually collected the boards, their smiles stretched from ear to ear. Witnessing this joy was a very special moment, and demonstrated the impact that La Choza Chula has had in El Paredón.

Suturing with the A&E registrar

awareness workshops. It also ensures the running and maintenance of the library, which holds extra reading and writing classes for every grade at the primary school and visits the neighbouring village of El Naranjo once a week.

My responsibilities as a volunteer with La Choza Chula were simple, I helped in the library on weekdays and assisted with special events at the weekend. The library work was incredibly rewarding and involved organizing group activities with the children from sports and art, to board games and reading. Initially I was quite intimidated by the bands of children scurrying across the playground, but they gave me a warm welcome and before long I was getting stuck in on the football field, and getting my face covered in paint. One of the kids’ favourite games was Monopoly, but none of them seemed to know the rules – they were happy to go round and round the board without actually buying any properties! I explained the rules, and my version of the board game was soon adopted.

Watching the kids hesitantly read out the ‘Chance cards’

Towards the end of the competition, children began clustering around the shiny new surfboards, aware that to use one, they would have to start reading!

La Choza Chula depends on the hard work and dedication of a small group of staff and volunteers who are passionate and knowledgeable about sustainable community development. Despite the business covering its own operational costs, the organisation is always looking for support for bigger projects and training courses, so if you would like to donate to help their cause, please visit their website http://lachozachula.org/ There are also various volunteering opportunities with La Choza Chula, particularly for those that can speak or write Spanish, so if you’re interested please contact one of the team in El Paredón.

I was incredibly sad to leave El Paredón because even after only two weeks, I was made to feel like part of the community. If you are looking for an exciting volunteering opportunity, set in a relatively undiscovered part of Central America’s idyllic coast, with ample surfing opportunities, than La Choza Chula is for you!

Edward Bridge StB’11

The highly sought after prizes from La Choza Chula's surf competition, courtesy of Share the Stoke Foundation

26 I

Worth Society Life

Life and Times of Worthians

The Old Place

I 27

The following Worthians donned the ‘blue and gold’ of WOBS RFC in the 2016-17 Season:

Worthians Rugby

Tom Calnan R’95, Rob Rooney G’01, Jack Bodkin G’03, Giles Heather F’03, Dan Pring R’03, Alex Williams R’06, James Henwood B’07, Tom Cruz B’08, Giles Sacarello StB’08, Kevin Danagher StB’09, Rory Ryan C’09, Edward Kemp F’10, Christian Killoughery R’10, Joe Rivers F’10, Matthew Stagnetto B’10, Nick Elvidge C’11, Ed Everington B’11, Sanche de Montesquiou G’11, Ben Jozwiak StB’12, Eoin O’Connor F’12, Tom Poynder F’12, Dom Robinson B’11, Marco Boodramsingh C’11, Finbar Tilford F’12, Miles Bateson B’13, Ben Derbyshire B’13, Angus Bonner R’14, James Kemp F’14, Fergus Murphy-Hunt F’14, Dom Suckling B’14, Luke Cummins C’15,Tommy Ferguson C’15, Toby Jozwiak StB’15, Christy O’Brien R’15, Fergus Ryan B’15, George Suckling B’15, Will de la Haye G’16, Barney Elwes R’17, Gabriel O’Brien F’17

2016-2017 Season Report Sport A minute’s silence at the Hendon 7s after the sudden death of former WOBS Captain, Adam Braverman StB’05

James Kemp receiving the Glenn Robertson Trophy from Abbot Luke at the annual ‘Youngers vs Olders’ Worthians match at Worth in September 2017

those who took the field that day as we registered a stunning 71-0 victory against all odds. This gave the team much needed confidence going into the next fixture against Streatham-Croydon, but sadly the WOBS went down narrowly missing a try to win the fixture when the ball was placed over the dead ball line. Most unfortunate.

At the mid-way point in the season, there were still plenty of opportunities to turn the season around. The WOBS had narrowly lost 5 out of 7 of their opening fixtures by less than 10 points. Surely a bit of dedication and cohesion would see the team over the line and survive to fight another season in Surrey 2?

Thankfully, there was a response from the team as victories were to follow the holiday period. Early in the new year, the WOBS registered victories against Old Caterhamians and, in an extremely tough game, Cranleigh. We then dipped badly to suffer 3 defeats on the trot, leaving ourselves the difficult but not impossible task of needing to win our last three games to guarantee safety. However, the motivation was matched by those clubs around us in the bottom half of the table as we struggled to avoid relegation. Sadly we could only manage 2 out of 3 (which some might say “ain’t bad”) beating Streatham-Croydon and Economicals, and losing our penultimate game by just 2 points to Kingston. We had the final kick of the match to salvage the game with a difficult conversion – which, if successful, would have saved us.

Thus the Worth Old Boys suffered the narrowest of relegations from Surrey 2. If it is of any consolation, they were almost the first club in the League’s history to be relegated with a positive points’ difference. It is clear that the players are as good, if not better, than most other teams in the League, but we just didn’t have the depth in squad or took the correct preparation. The late revival to our season was partly due to establishing a regular fly half in Fergus Ryan B’15 who kicked with precision and intelligence. He formed a strong rapport with the ever-reliable Neil Pickford (guest) at scrum half. Special mention must also go to Nick Elvidge C’11 who volunteered and propped incredibly well for the majority of the season, coming in from the back row.

Dom Suckling B’14 proved deadly in attack scoring 14 tries in 14 games. Through a hard season, and lack of continuity, the side was led brilliantly by our Captain, Ed Kemp F’10, who played all but one game and displayed continuous passion and commitment. Of course, the club only continues due to the tireless efforts of chairman, Desmond Calnan R’69, who without fail turns up to every match (unlike almost every player) and spends his week chasing the players to make a team for Saturday.

Ultimately, the 2016/17 Season did end in relegation for the Worth Old Boys RFC to a more familiar level of Surrey 3. But we will learn from this, and we believe that with the current squad we will rise through the Leagues in the next three seasons and dominate Surrey 1.

By way of compensation for the League disappointment, the team entered our usual round of Sevens competitions.

We performed well in all of them, winning the Hendon Sevens (at our 16th time of asking!!) in April, and the Middlesex Jug competition in May – showing indeed that we have the talent, if not the props!

Giles Sacarello StB’08 and James Kemp F’14

Summer Rugby Festival Our annual Summer Festival of Rugby on Saturday 2nd September 2017 took on a new dimension this year – with the spanking new WOBS mega-barbecue, powered by cateringking Phil ‘Swanny’ Swann, replacing the trusted Belpassi Bros meatballs of former festivals. As usual, the 100 players, family and friends who came to our home ground at Whiteley Village in Surrey enjoyed the customary Pimms and cakes.

The catering arrangements were topped by the surprise arrival of beer-meister Neil Pickford in the London Beer Factory’s taxi, complete with beer dispensers fitted into the side of the vehicle – the craft beers providing a very popular addition to the day. Furthermore the players and spectators were treated to a day of beautiful sunshine, which added to the fun and festival atmosphere of the day.

An essential part of the day is the Children’s Programme which again proved to be a major success. Quite apart from the entertainment for the children, the programme also allows families to stay longer at the Festival. Someone forgot the eggs for the egg-and-spoon race, so the children were offered competitive running races and a throwing competition, in addition to the ever-popular traditional Tugof-War event. These took place at hourly intervals with fixed breaks from the rugby during the day, with many winners medals awarded to the children. It was all skilfully facilitated

by WOBS Skipper (and primary school teacher), Ed Kemp, along with fellow teacher Tom Davies.

Five teams played a light-hearted, but just occasionally serious, round robin league competition, with the top two teams playing off in the Grand Final for the coveted Silver Fox trophy: • Giles Sacarello’s team ‘THE OLDS’ – mainly regular WOBS players • The guest team ‘THE GOATS’ – Sevens specialists • Tom Calnan’s ‘FAT BOYS’– really ancient WOBS players • TEAM D – formed on the day • Barney Elwes’ team ‘YOUNG WOBS’ – mainly recent school leavers

The simple format meant that all four of Fat Boys games were played under Touch Rugby rules, while all other encounters in the round robin were played with full contact under standard Sevens rules.

The draw of the competition saw the hyper-fit young WOBS team exposed to a punishing series of games with few rest breaks in between, with unfortunate results for them. In contrast, Fat Boys, returning to the Festival for a third time, were given a very gentle schedule of games – allowing them ample opportunity for recovery and to demonstrate their former skills with some very polished and exciting (and determined) performances in their pool matches. Veterans Ed Gordon Steward and Seb Bailey R’93 were imperious in midfield, only occasionally donating interception tries to their opponents, while skipper Tom Calnan R’95 and former Club Captain Chris Jackson StB’95 provided the gas (perhaps with a lower octane number than in their heyday), with Matt Blott B’08, Dom Bosher R’08 and Tom Davies also offering speed in attack, aided by fit-again Kevin Danagher B’03. The Silver Fox provided the guile. Fat Boys registered a win and, remarkably, a plucky 3-try draw against the eventual Tournament winners… and were unlucky not to get through to the final themselves, coming 3rd overall.

The toughest pool game of the day was between The Olds and The Goats, in which The Olds triumphed by a single try to win 31-26. The Final also between The Olds and The Goats was a high class encounter with 5 tries apiece – with The Goats triumphing by just 2 points due to a single extra conversion in their favour. Amazingly, the two speedsters, Shane Adams and Kevin Danagher, the latter released from the Fat Boys team after lengthy negotiations, traded tries throughout, accounting for 9 of the 10 tries scored.

A big thank you goes to the organising Committee of Nick Elvidge C’11, Ed F’10 and James Kemp F’14, and Giles Sacarello StB’08 who worked tirelessly in the weeks before to make the Festival a success. Giles kept the event moving smoothly with his pithy and amusing announcements, with or without the megaphone. The WOBS RFC sponsor, Jeremy Marozzi, showed real stamina in managing the drinks stall in the sun all day without any sign of flagging. Not content with his own efforts, Jeremy followed this with a generous cash donation to the Club to double the profit made on his stall.

Julie Calnan kept watch all day on the stalls whilst persuading nostalgic WOBS to purchase moth-eaten original shirts from the 1990s. Kevin Elvidge also gets a big thank you for transporting the mega-barbecue to and from the ground – and Swanny and Nick should have Winners Medals too for painstakingly constructing the monster on the day.

It now looks like the Festival is firmly established as a not-tobe-missed summer event for Worthians, their families and friends. See you again next year!

Desmond Calnan R’69

Sport

W

orth Old Boys Society RFC (the ‘WOBS’) entered the new League campaign in Surrey 2 in 2016/17 looking to build upon their impressive previous season finish of fourth, pushing for promotion to the dizzy heights of Surrey 1. It was clear going into the start of the season that the WOBs had incredible talent and, most importantly, young talent in their ranks. On reflection, perhaps this confidence in our ability had a negative impact on our performances off the pitch, as our preparation and organisation ahead of the season was sluggish. Inexplicably, the squad’s options at front three were damaged with a number of players calling in early retirement, coupled with injuries and other commitments leaving the team incredibly exposed in what is considered to be the only specialist position in today’s modern game. The WOBS lost the opener to London Economicals by a single point, 26 points to 27, and sadly it took until late October for the boys to achieve their first win in five games in the League.

The WOBS went on to claim their second victory of the season in what was the most memorable moment all year against Old Paulines. The WOBS could only muster a squad of 14 players on the day, however this did not dishearten

FAT BOYS Team

The 2017 Youngers vs Olders Match Teams – The Youngers beat the Olders 62-29

28 I

Worth Society Life

Life and Times of Worthians

The Old Place

I 29

The following Worthians represented the Worthian Cricket Team during the 2017 season: Charlie Gairdner StB’01 Ed Long G’03 Hugo Bashall R’06 Michael Bilbé StB’06 Thomas Bilbé StB’06

James Innis C’06 Tom Plantarose R’06 Ed Hall-Smith R’07 Warwick Symcox R’07 Tomas Wright B’08

Charlie Forbes StB’09 Ed Watson StB’09 Ben Wright B’09 John Manning C’10 Jo Rivers F’10

Theo Rivers F’11 Greg Russell F’11 Luke Donegan StB’13 Oli Rivers F’14 Luke Cummins C’15

Worthians Cricket

Worthians Golf

2017 Season

2016-2017 Season has been the twentieth anniversary year of the Worthians Golfing Society and the usual stalwarts have continued to support the Society. The success of any Society relies upon a regular influx of new members but sadly only a few younger Worthians have participated despite my annual appeal that golfers of any standard would be very welcome. So, any golfer reading this, please consider joining us. I can be contacted at kandbaway@googlemail.com and will send you details accordingly.

The decision was made to play a 20 over fixture. A decision that sadly didn't go so well for the Worthians. With the lack of cricket in the season, playing leg side wides and fielding restrictions didn't help us a huge amount. So bowling first we gave it our best effort, with some solid bowling from Luke Cummins and Thomas Bilbé, but the Worth School 1st XI managed a very respectable 160 for 4 off their 20 overs.

The season began with the annual weekend Autumn Meeting taking place at the Royal Ashdown Golf Club in October 2016. Friendly games were played on the Saturday, followed by a dinner at the Felbridge Hotel and the next day Worthians, some with sore heads, took to the course to do battle for the Worth Salver. Rory Pickard StB’11, runner-up the previous year, beat George Ross G’95 and James Blake B’77 into second and third places whilst James Blake won the nearest-the-pin prize, and Dominic Pasqua B’76 the longest drive.

Needless to say as a group of out of practice Worthians our preferred strategy in response was to attack hard from the beginning. That was initially looking good with a quick start thanks to some strong batting from James Innis and Luke Donegan. However like London buses one wicket quickly followed several more in quick succession. The effort was sadly not enough with the Worthians falling short of the mark. Making 116-6.

Patrick Davey C’01, Phillip Davey F’04, Peter Gottelier R’70, Hugh Maguire R’77, Greg Pickard StB’81 and Ken, George and Simon Ross G’98 represented the Society in the ever enjoyable annual match against the Old Gregorians,

Sadly as mentioned all other fixtures could not go ahead for a range of differing reason. Hopefully next year will give the Worthians a chance to build on a few strong seasons.

again at Royal Ashdown in April 2017. I am pleased to report a victory for the Society by 41/2 to 31/2 matches.

May 2017 saw us return to Moor Park Golf Club to compete for the Worth Rose Bowl Trophy. This is a magnificent venue, but this year for reasons which are unclear, support was less than usual and so members of the Old Gregorian Society were also invited to play. Dominic Pasqua carried off the trophy with Matthew Wood B’77 and Graham Hutchings G’05 close runners-up. Nearest-the-pin prizes were picked up by Graham Hutchings, Dominic Pasqua and Michael Liddell (OG) with Julius Stephens (OG) powering his way to the longest drive. Following an excellent lunch the friendly greensomes were won by myself and Michael Liddell (OG).

As usual, the Society participated in Scratch Stableford Foursome events, namely the Grafton Morrish Public Schools event at Knole Park Golf Club in May and the Russell Bowl Catholic Public Schools Competition at Woking Golf Club in July. Team players included Stephen Bamford StB’68, Hugh Bett B’73, Rodney Bligh C’64, Jeremy Man F’14, Simon Pickard StB’78, Dominic Pasqua, Phillip Davey, Peter Gottelier, Ken Ross and Matthew Wood. Despite valiant efforts, success cannot be recorded!.

Ken Ross G’65

The Bilbé brothers

Michael Bilbé StB’06

Worthians Squash 2016-2017 Season

T

he first match against Worth students took place on Saturday 12th November 2016 and, as I was away, Matthew Doggett kindly hosted the event for me.

The Worthian team were: Desmond Calnan R’69, Harry Fisher B’81, Stephen Barham StB’94, Guy Salimbeni F’07, George Salimbeni F’11 and Matthew Doggett F’07.

Again, the Worthian team proved too strong and experienced for the current Worth team but there were some good matches, with Jamie Rowland, Alex D’Amario and Brooke Benwell putting up encouraging performances against the opposition. The matches were followed by a very enjoyable buffet lunch.

The second match, due to be played on Sunday 19th March 2017 had to be cancelled as not enough players were available to play but as the fixture has proved successful in previous years, I hope that we will be able to make sure it takes place in 2018.

I am stepping down as Head of Squash next year and Matthew Doggett F’07 will be taking over. He will be looking forward to arranging squash fixtures in March and November and would like to encourage any Worthian who enjoys the game (at any level!) to come along and play. If you are interested, then please do get in touch with Mary Lou at worthsocietyworth.org.uk Jeremy Dowling

Winners of the 2016 Autumn meeting at Royal Ashdown Forest; Dominic Pasqua, James Blake, Rory Pickard and George Ross

30 I

Worth Society Life

Life and Times of Worthians

The Old Place

I 31

Sport

Sport

T

2017

he Worthians cricket season was one of the shortest in recent memory due to some poor weather and a couple of scheduling issues. This reduced us to a single game for the season; Worthians vs Worth School 1st XI. As always for the Speech Day match we had plenty of support and a team full of Worthians looking to find some early form for the first fixture of the season.

A minute’s silence in honour of John Surtees CBE

The following Worthians played in the 2017 Football Tournament: Under 23s Team Captain: Alex Davis-White B’14 Tim Long B’11 Theo Rivers F’11 Alex Fletcher C’12 Hugh Slater B’12 James Kemp F’14 Freddie Boag-Jones R’15

Worthians Football 2017 Match Report

Carlo Lucarelli B’15 Fergus Ryan B’15 Nathan Amin C’16 Will de-la-Haye Earl G’16 Daniel Evelegh R’16 Cameron Pring R’16 Luca Querici C’16

Over 23s Team Captain: Mark Breen B’05 Jack Clancy F’11 Ed Kemp F’10 Christian Killoughery R’10 Joseph Rivers F’10 Matthew Stagnetto B’10 Harry Woodman F’10

Matt Morley C’09 Tom Wade F’08 Jonathan Whitehead StB’08 JP Matthews B’06 Jack Rackham R’05 Dale Bellis F’03

Alan Mitchell, StBHM Mike Matthews and BHM Clement Donegan The Under 23s Team

I was in a newsagents in the South of France when I learnt of Henry's accident. It was on the front page of the sports newspaper Equipe. I remember Henry missed the leavers’ dinner because of the Goodwood Festival of Speed and the following weekend he was at Brands Hatch. The next time I saw the Surtees family was at Henry's funeral in the Abbey Church. Later that summer Henry received 3 good A levels.

I guess that is where it could end. Yet there is one more part to this story. Out of their grief the Surtees family found strength in helping others. The Henry Surtees Foundation was established to raise funds primarily for the air ambulance but also to support youngsters who want to get involved in motor sport and engineering and other good causes. The School tribute to Henry, the appropriately named Pitstop Centre, is under the Clock Tower where you can see a mural of him in his racing car.

I wanted to keep the memory of Henry alive, so his name and the story remained in the Worth culture. I was told of a trophy that had been found during the restoration of the basement in the School Office. It was black, it had dents and

M

y first memory of John Surtees was seeing him in the centre pages of a sporting greats annual that my uncle had bought me for Christmas. On one page he was banking his Italian Augusta motorcycle as he became 500cc World Champion. On the other page he was driving his Formula 1 Ferrari through the chequered flag to become the World Grand Prix Champion. He had just beaten Graham Hill into second place. Not to mention Clark and Moss. Interestingly Damon Hill attributes his change from motorcycles to Formula 1 to John Surtees. That is where John stayed in my childhood memories, one of many sporting heroes.

it had no plinth but it did have a hallmark! I was taking the 1st XI Football at the time and I suggested to John that the School could play the Old Boys for the Henry Surtees Cup. He was delighted and happy to restore the trophy. Not only that, he offered to come and present the trophy, in one of his Ferraris! The following year we created a Tournament for the Staff and Worthians to play and John provided the ‘H’ trophy.

Sport

Sport

was achieving academically. Henry wanted to do both ‘A’ Levels and motor racing and that's what he did. Racing at Monza on Sunday and Registration at Worth on Monday, amazingly, became the norm for Henry.

John sadly passed away in February 2017. In March, before our annual Football Tournament started, we had a minute’s silence. After the competition the Head Master presented the trophies in the Pitstop. The School won the Henry Surtees Cup and the Over 23 Worthians team won the ‘H’ Trophy and I explained to the boys the significance of the trophies and the venue.

The Henry Surtees Foundation continues to work for good causes and one way it raises money is at Brooklands with an annual go-kart event - 3 Worthians entered a team this year.

Any petrol heads out there want to do some team building?

Finally, I am delighted that the School association with the Surtees family will continue as Henry’s sister, Leonora Surtees, has agreed to present the Henry Surtees Cup at next year's Tournament. All the Georgie Best.

Andy Taylor

That was until our Trial game against Hurstpierpoint. I was the Year 9 rugby coach and we were playing an A and B XV fixture. I was trying to keep an eye on both games so I was sure I hadn't missed any talented players in the Bs. It was week 2 of the autumn term so I was still trying to remember names, never my strong point. I was asking how the front row players were doing in the B XV. A boy with a shock of blonde hair seemed to be holding his own in the scrum. I looked down the team sheet and asked the B coach if the boy could play the second half with the As. A small chap to my right beamed a big smile and said, “Looks like we’re moving up!” It was John Surtees on the touch-line and Henry on the pitch.

Henry soon began to focus on go-karts rather than rugby, and as he impressed on the track I rather lost touch. Worth was a relatively small school - pre-girls there were about 400 boys. I don’t recall teaching Henry History or Games after Year 9.

We would meet up next in Year 13. I was Henry's House Master in his final year and Henry was starting to be recognised as a serious talent on the race track. He had progressed to Formula 2 and he was racing most weekends at famous venues around Europe. I recall a conversation with John Surtees. He wanted to know how I felt Henry was coping with the pressure of ‘A’ Levels and the demands of motor racing. The question was whether he should give up the racing for a year. We looked at his most recent assessment and all his teachers were all positive, “Working well," "hitting target grades," so it was apparent that Henry

Worth 1st XI Captain, Oliver Maude, receives the Henry Surtees Cup from Head Master, Stuart McPherson and Ed Kemp F’10 receiving the ‘H’ Trophy

32 I

The Winning Over 23s Team

Worth Society Life

Life and Times of Worthians

The Old Place

I 33

Meet Philip Barnes StB’72 Hotelier par excellence With Philip now settled in the helm of one great British institution we met for lunch in another under his control; Simpsons-in-the-Strand has always been owned by The Savoy and has recently undergone a £1.5 million restoration, yet still retains its oak-panelling and leather Gentleman’s Club feel, and still serving great British dishes.

We caught up over potted shrimps, Woolton pie and summer berry pudding.

So how did you end up in the hotel industry?

I had always had a holiday job from a young age so when the Copthorne Hotel opened I went along and worked long shifts doing everything under the sun. Looking back I can’t understand why, but I loved it. I remember seeing the General Manager greeting guests in the foyer every evening and I thought ‘that’s what I want to do’. From there I went to a London hotel group and then on to the US in 1979 in my mid-twenties.

So let’s start at the beginning and find out why you went to Worth?

How have things changed in the industry over the years?

We moved down from the North for my sister’s health as the air was filthy with industrial fog and she had asthma. My father became Head Master of Holy Cross Middle School in Crawley and my mother was a teacher. I went to the local catholic school but didn’t get on there so they sent me to Worth, which was quite a financial struggle for my parents.

I remember my Mother dreading the trip to Harrods to buy my school uniform.

Back in those early days it was very much all based on hospitality - shaking hands and kissing babies - whereas now it’s all about the business. It is a completely different industry.

What beckoned you back to the UK after so long?

It seemed like the right time to come back. I had this hotel in Vancouver that was going from strength to strength with a great team and I just felt it didn’t need me anymore. I have all these friends and family that I haven’t spent much time with for 37 years and I love music and theatre and the culture of London. I do miss my children, but they are older now and need their own space.

What are your memories of your time at school?

• Born Manchester in 1953 • Arrived in St Bede’s House 1968 • Studied Hotel Management in Brighton • First hotel job as Trainee Manager at Copthorne Hotel • Subsequently spent over 40 years in 4 & 5 star hotels on 5 continents • Delighted to be back in the UK as Managing Director of The Savoy • Under his stewardship accolades include Best City Hotel in Canada, No.1 Hotel in Canada, Best International Hotel for Business • Co-founder of tourism profession charity • Greatest passions; reading, music and live theatre • Spending quality time with his 3 children (aged 21, 23 & 24) keeps him ‘forever young’

I have incredibly fond memories of Worth, I was very happy.

It was rather a bubble though and I remember coming out of there feeling a certain lack of preparation for the world at large, cloistered in a community like that. We did occasionally ‘break out’, rather like The Great Escape. We had no idea how to interact with girls despite them being bussed in from Woldingham and Mayfield for dances. It was all rather terrifying watching them on the opposite side of the room.

So you are still in contact with some fellow pupils?

Gosh yes, that’s part of the reason I came back and some of them I feel closer to today than I did when we were at school.

Those relationships are so solid. Coming back together after all these years is so comfortable, no airs or graces, we are still 13 despite all the lumps and bumps of life. It’s wonderful to still be hanging out together. Since being back the floodgates have opened, and I’ve never been lonely!

Who most influenced you during your time at Worth?

I feel that Fr Stephen is almost a family member. We’ve always kept in contact. He cared for me and guided me, as did Fr Edward Cruise. Your House determined where your relationships were and with St Bede’s up the hill just that little geographical difference separated us. I knew the other monks but these two were key.

What are your plans for The Savoy?

When I arrived in November 2016 I knew the work task ahead of me was monumental. The Savoy is one of the most famous hotels in the world. The name and building are iconic but the service has not always kept up to what was expected, so we need to change some perceptions. When people book the Savoy their expectations are sky high so we need to meet those expectations. Strategically I’m looking at what business we want, what kind of guest we want, what is out there and available to us and build better links with the various communities. I am going to bring to the table what I know from experience works best.

I took Fr Edward out to dinner while he was passing through Chicago some years after I left school. Bearing in mind I wasn’t the best academically and seemed to spend a lot of time in his office in trouble I asked him why he had made me a prefect. He said it was because the worst behaved boys made the best prefects – they knew everything that was going on as they knew every trick in the book!

Was it the ethos of Benedictine hospitality that got you here today?

What’s the secret to a good hotelier?

I don’t think so. In fact I remember the food at Worth being a bit rough. I always came home having lost weight.

Breakfast was the worst meal of the day until you became a prefect and then you had access to your own toaster!

34 I

Worth Society Life

Life and Times of Worthians

To get everybody working in the hotel to understand that the guest is the most important person in the building and that it’s not me paying them, it’s the guest! I don’t think

The Old Place

I 35

Combat Stress:

Meet Philip Barnes StB’72 Hotelier par excellence continued

A Personal View of the Veterans’ Mental Health Charity people are any more difficult than they used to be but if we don’t take care of them they won’t come back. Our focus shouldn’t be on one thing, but a thousand things. With 600 people working in the hotel it’s about trusting staff to make the right decisions when it comes to guest satisfaction. One person can destroy everything you are doing. If you have a chef who won’t accept a dish back, no waiter is going to take anything back to the kitchen. I like complete transparency – I want people to tell me when things go wrong.

What are the big challenges facing the hotel?

Brexit is one. About 80-85% of my staff are European who are now making decisions to go home and people are not coming to work here. We currently have 60 vacancies for all types of positions. It’s a battleground and it will start to affect the standard of customer service. We’re looking at doing a recruitment drive in Canada, a country that has a very comfortable culture and people tend to understand the British way of life. I’m an optimist though. There is no challenge that can’t be overcome. Being in this business you have to overcome problems.

I imagine it’s pretty challenging personally too?

It can literally be 24/7. You are at the beck and call. One example was being called at 3am when a deranged individual came into the lobby in my hotel in Vancouver with a gun. I had to go in and deal with it. If you are going to lead a team you have to lead from the front and so you have to be there.

Have this year’s UK terror attacks made a difference to business?

Yes definitely. The Westminster Bridge attack was a minor blip, the Manchester bombing compounded on that and then London Bridge really slowed it all down dramatically.

But that’s the world we live in now and we have to work with it. Luckily people tend to have short memories.

So what’s next?

At the moment I love what I do, it’s the best job in the world, but I will go back to Canada eventually. I have a home in Vancouver and we go to Whistler every New Year. My children are my greatest love in life. I adore them. When we all get together we have a blast.

Have you thought about writing a book?

It has been suggested. In this industry you see all sides of life, some of it sad, some of it hysterically funny. I’ve met many celebrities but the role of a hotelier is to protect the guest, so total discretion is one of the challenges of the job.

When people ask me who’s the most memorable person I’ve met it’s dead easy, it was Nelson Mandela who arrived at my hotel, got out of the car, pumped my hand repeatedly and told me what a pleasure it was to meet me!

Interviewed by Mary Lou Burge, Worth Society Manager

I

n 2014 I was nominated and elected to be a trustee for Combat Stress, this most important of mental health charities. As is often the way in life my involvement initially came through a close friend who had served for many years both in the Black Watch and the Special Forces.

Combat Stress has a long established partnership with NHS England who, for the last six years, has commissioned the charity’s intensive post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) programme. Over 1,200 veterans have benefitted from this programme to date.

Perhaps similar to many people I was unaware of much of the history of Combat Stress so I thought it appropriate to write a short piece not only laying out the background to the charity but also what it is currently involved in as I have no doubt there are Worthians of all ages who have served in the forces and who might one day require the assistance of Combat Stress.

Combat Stress’ other free services include short-stay clinical treatment, occupational therapy, community support, a Peer Support Service and a Substance Misuse Case Management Service.

The charity was founded in 1919, which I think is quite remarkable considering the stigma there must have been shortly after the end of the First World War concerning what is now known as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Combat Stress is the UK’s leading charity for veterans’ mental health.

Last year over 10,000 calls were handled by its 24-hour Helpline and its 14 regional community teams undertook almost 5,400 face to face appointments. There are thousands of veterans across the UK registered with Combat Stress. The youngest is 20 years old and the oldest is 98.

The Combat Stress vision is that veterans will be able to lead full and liberated lives in communities that understand the issues they face with mental health. The charity is on a mission to raise awareness that invisible injuries can be just as hard to cope with as physical ones.

Combat Stress is approaching its centenary in 2019.

It plays a vital role in society working hand in hand with the NHS, MOD and partners. Post-Afghanistan and Iraq the pressure on its resources and the number of veterans requiring help continues to rise. If you know anyone needing assistance then please do not hesitate to contact Combat Stress through its 24-hour Helpline: 0800 138 1619 or visit www.combatstress.org.uk Mickey Morrissey R’78

Reuniting with Paul Magoris B’72, Alan Hodgson StB’72 and Peter Hampshire B’72

With his ‘greatest love’, his children Nick, Cat and Austin

36 I

Worth Society Life

Life and Times of Worthians

The Old Place

I 37

Some of the monks thought I would be a priest after leaving school because I used to go to Mass every day.

Our First Worthian Bishop

B

John Gordon MacWilliam StB’67 was born in Wimbledon on 20th November 1948, the son of an Army officer, the third of six children. He spent part of his early childhood abroad in Sudan and Somaliland, and after his time at Worth spent eighteen years as an Army officer. He Joined the Missionaries of Africa (White Fathers) in 1984, he studied philosophy and later theology at the Missionary Institute, London, as well as his spiritual year in Switzerland and a two-year missionary experience in Tunisia and was ordained to the priesthood at Worth in July 1992.

ishop John MacWilliam looked back on his time at Worth and declared: “I was quite a lazy pupil.”

where I wanted to be, to the extent that I was often happier at school than sometimes during the holidays at home.

For someone who has worked tirelessly through his life to serve others, it is quite a surprising statement.

“I reflected quite deeply on my vocation and finally felt that my vocation was to be in the Army, serving my country and the world, so when I left school I went to Sandhurst and spent about 18 years as an Army officer. At the same time I was living my faith as a layman. I took part in Catholic pilgrimages, the military pilgrimages to Lourdes and also I was a member of the United Services Catholic Association which was an association supporting Catholic soldiers in the forces. During that time, as I had also previously in my childhood, I had experience in Muslim countries which perhaps opened my eyes to the need for Christian presence and witness among Muslims and that would have been an influence on my later vocation to become a missionary priest with the White Fathers, the missionaries of Africa.”

But John MacWilliam has always liked to surprise a little.

When he left Worth, the monks thought he would become a priest; instead he went into the Army, serving in Germany, Northern Ireland, Oman among other places. Then after 18 years serving as an Army officer, he made the decision to end his military career and begin his theological training.

In May, the 68-year-old became the first Worthian to be ordained bishop. Perhaps the monks were right all along; perhaps John MacWilliam always knew where he was heading, he just took a roundabout way to get there.

After three years at the Pontifical Institute of Studies of Arabic and Islamology in Rome, in 1995 he was appointed to Algeria where he worked mainly in educational support as a means of interreligious encounter with Islam. His first task, in Tizi Ouzou in Algeria, was to reopen a White Father community which had been wiped out by terrorists the year before.

Further appointments included Algiers (2000-2003) and Ghardaïa (2003-2008) in Algeria and the Institut des Belles Lettres Arabes in Tunisia (2008-2015).

Worth School will always evoke fond memories for John MacWilliam, which is why he wanted his ordination as Bishop of Laghouat in Algeria to take place at Worth Abbey. A 1967 leaver, he said, “I can honestly say my years at Worth were very happy years. I felt very much at home. The monks at the time – and particularly Fr Maurice Bell who was one of the older monks – helped me in my first term with spiritual accompaniment as a new boy. I took part in League of Christ the King, which was a sharing group. I was not particularly academic. In fact, I was quite a lazy pupil, but I got through and got my A Levels. I enjoyed the sport and won my 1st XV rugby colours and cap, amongst other things.

In May 2015 he was appointed provincial superior of the White Fathers in the Maghreb, the post he held until March 2017 when it was announced that the Holy Father had appointed him Bishop of Laghouat in the Algerian Sahara. His consecration took place at Worth on 20th May 2017. He speaks English, French, Arabic and Italian and his leisure interests include birdwatching, history and rugby.

“Some of the monks thought I would be a priest after leaving school because I used to go to Mass every day. It was voluntary but it was something that meant a lot to me. That was one of the things for me that made Worth somewhere

Bishop John’s new post in Laghouat, Algeria will be a challenge as it covers an area which is ten times the size of Britain, but with only 10% of the population.

Life at Worth had quite an impact on Bishop John. So what did he take from the School? “The importance of having emotional and spiritual support when you need it. I was in different Houses at Worth, I was in the original Chapman and then a founder member of St Bede’s. I found that I could always go to my Housemaster, who was a monk, with a problem and I knew it would be listened to attentively and solutions sought. That was something I took with me.

As an Army officer I would try to provide the same confidence and trust with my soldiers.”

Interviewed by Howard Griggs, Worth’s Digital Marketing Manager

Ordination day at Worth surrounded by John’s Worthian friends and current pupils

38 I

Worth Society Life

Life and Times of Worthians

The Old Place

I 39

Here’s to you Mr Robinson

W

e raise a very admiring and warmly congratulatory hat to Nick Robinson StB’75 who stepped down this summer from the Headmastership of King’s College School, Cambridge, after nineteen stellar years during which the school has grown from 285 pupils to its current 425, a testament to the vigour which is one of Nick’s striking characteristics. Another testament is the almost non-stop building that has taken place during his tenure of office: a new classroom building and library, a new music department, a new ICT and DT centre, new Astroturf and Squash courts and, as we speak, a new £6 million indoor Sports Centre, to be completed in September 2018.

A recital of buildings built, numbers achieved and sums of money raised can induce a gazed eye response; moving from narrative to analysis, Nick has put formidable organisational skills at the service of people, particularly young people; it has been a winning combination. Nick has always been the go-to person when something has needed doing - putting up a building, launching an Appeal, organising a charity event, starting an orchestra, editing a school magazine, co-coordinating diocesan pilgrimage - but what he has so vigorously and competently undertaken over the years has always been at the service of people; flesh and blood have trumped bricks and mortar; the what has been there for the who.

Throughout his teaching career (Eltham College 1981-1986; Worth 1986-1998; King’s 1998-2017) Nick has always gone the extra mile, indeed the extra several miles: in 2004 he became the co-founder, with the Duchess of Kent, of ‘Future Talent’, a charity that supports gifted young musicians from low-income backgrounds; in 2007 he twinned King’s with Dikkumbura Sri Siddharta School 1,700 on roll, aged 5-17 - in Sri Lanka, giving his staff and students an incentive to look beyond the Cambridge bubble. In 2012 Nick volunteered to help with that year’s London Olympics and Paralympics, two weeks with each; his role - looking after international photographers in the basketball arena - was, he said, rather like dealing with difficult children.

Supporting the young and supporting disabled people and making it possible for them to enjoy life to the fullest has been Nick’s leitmotiv and he has brought remarkable energy to the pursuit of this aim; dynamos could take his correspondence course. Multi-tasking has been another NJR characteristic; while teaching and Housemastering during his twelve years at Worth he also edited the Worth Record, created, ran and conducted the Worth Abbey Community Orchestra and was chief Brancardier of the Arundel and Brighton diocesan pilgrimage to Lourdes. Why do one thing when you can do several? Exactly. There is a passage in the Book of Psalms which includes the words: ‘they walk with every growing strength’ which might puzzle the reader; how can people gain strength by expending energy? Thank you, Nick, for showing us how.

40 I

King’s is a Prep School but also a Choir School with sixteen boy choristers who sing with fourteen adult male Choral Scholars in King’s College Chapel. During his time in Cambridge Nick has had two titles and two roles, Headmaster of King’s College School and Master over the Choristers. Wearing the second hat he has shared the task of auditioning choristers with Stephen Cleobury, the Director of Music at King’s, and has travelled the world with the choir - Europe, America, the Far East, Australia - and, in the process, met several of the great and the good: the Queen and Prince Philip. The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall, Mikhail Gorbachev and Bill Gates. Nick’s has also been one of the readers’ voices that 150 million listeners have heard each Christmas Eve when Carols have been broadcast from King’s. This has been Prep School Headmastering with a difference, yes, quite a difference.

Never happier than when with people, Nick has been outstandingly hospitable over the years, making his Headmaster’s house, The Pavilion, available not only to his family but also to many visitors, including Cardinal Cormac Murphy O’Connor and such Worth-ites as Fred and Anne Belcher, George and Angela Daly, Mike and Patsy Margrett, Paul and Carol Miller, Michael and Kate Oakley, Glenn and Annette Robertson, Philip Robinson and Yours Truly; to be far from the madding c in such delightful surroundings and such genial company has been a super-boon to us. We are profoundly grateful.

Nick has always admired Worth’s first Abbot, Victor Farwell, who used to say that he did not want to be remembered for projects and buildings; he hoped his success as Abbot would be measured by the quality of the community he had created. There are interesting resemblances between Nick and Abbot Victor and this is undoubtedly one of them; the legacy of a happy school - students and staff alike - is what Nick has tirelessly worked for and clearly achieved. One of his leaving presents was a home-made, Simon and Garfunkel-inspired, poster: ‘And here’s to you, Mr Robinson, juniors love you more than you will know, wo, wo, wo; we will miss you more than we can say, hey, hey, hey’. The poster then scrolls down to a quotation from a parent: ‘It’s always difficult to ascertain what makes parents want to send their child to a particular school. For us it tends to be not so much to be new classrooms or equipment or reputation, even though these things are important; it’s all about the ‘feel’ of a school, how everyone communicates and the general atmosphere. Your school has a genuine feeling of warmth and support coupled with a real desire to take children to their potential. It is easily the best feeling we have had from any school we have visited. We think you’ve got it very right, Mr Robinson’.

Yes, Mr Robinson, you certainly have.

Dom Stephen Ortiger

Worth Society Life

Life and Times of Worthians

The Old Place

‘And here’s to you, Mr Robinson, juniors love you more than you will know, wo, wo, wo; we will miss you more than we can say, hey, hey, hey’.

I 41

PRIDE: My Journey with Rugby in Africa

B

hubesi Pride Foundation assembles teams of committed volunteers for annual rugby coaching expeditions, using the sport as a tool for education and development in Africa. Working with schools and communities in east and southern Africa, children unite through sport, local staff are empowered and meaningful partnerships are developed to ensure sustainable impact for the long-term.

I applied to join the 2016 Bhubesi Pride Expedition. The itinerary of which was: 24-Jan-2016 - Kenya 10-Feb-2016 - Uganda 25-Feb-2016 - Tanzania 20-Mar-2016 - break (Zanzibar) 27-Mar-2016 - Mozambique 04-Apr-2016 - Malawi 18-Apr-2016 - Zambia 05-May-2016 - Botswana 17-May-2016 - Namibia 31-May-2016 - 02-Jul-2016 - South Africa My initial intention was to take a three month sabbatical from my job and complete the first half of this trip. Both my parents were born in Kenya and I have never been there.

However, the sabbatical was off the cards as I changed jobs shortly after being offered a place with the charity. After much deliberation I made the decision to take it as annual leave from my new job before accepting the volunteer slot for the Mozambique (1 week) and Malawi (2 weeks) leg. With hindsight it was the correct decision. It was the most rewarding and humbling experience I have ever had.

The aim is to impart the charity’s values onto the children using coaching sport as the tool. PRIDE stands for Professionalism, Respect, Integrity, Discipline & Enjoyment and these principles are at the heart of the coaching. We got this message across by drawing on examples within the sport and parallels in the classroom and life. This was well received by both the children and also the volunteer coaches who were predominantly teachers.

Whilst most volunteers were either school or university leavers, the experience and backgrounds on the programme were mixed. The age range was from 18 to 60 and volunteers

Demonstration School (Special Needs) taking part in the Tournament in Malawi

Me (left) with two other volunteer coaches. Rory (right) went on to work for the charity as a 2017 tour Project Manager

With ADPP School on Tournament Day

hailed from countries all over the world. There were some with only a year or two of touch rugby experience and others who had played professionally and internationally.

Malawi is a very rural country with its economy based mainly on tobacco and tea exports. In 2016 it had a GDP per capita of US$300, which put it under Mozambique in the rankings, although both were in the bottom 10. One of the big differences I noticed was the amount of foreign investment from the Far East going into Mozambique’s infrastructure, which the locals attributed to the recent discovery of large reserves of coal and gas.

age groups. There were many last minute changes to the tournament that we had to make and deal with on the spot as the organisers which was all part of the challenge.

Since leaving Worth in 2005 I've been involved with various clubs at various levels, both at university and onwards (including the WOBs of course) across both rugby union and league. I always try and make it back to School to play in the annual WOBs game. I even played a part in establishing the rugby league club London Chargers RL in 2013. I remain on the committee and I’m still playing now. So prior to my trip, I thought I had a decent idea of what goes into running a successful club and training sessions. But coaching children, and coaching in Africa, is a completely different ball game.

I spent a lot of the time learning from those who had been out there for longer.

The typical structure of the week involved coaching in the schools in the mornings and then optional miscellaneous activities in the afternoon, then at the end of the week there was a tournament. The week was geared up to prepare the schools for this. It started off with basics such as passing backwards and running forwards, and then graduated to games with reffing with a focus on what to expect on tournament day.

We presented the local volunteers who helped us with a t-shirt and a certificate with a grading based on their level of commitment, competence and our confidence in their ability to take the sport and the charity’s values forward.

Outside of the normal structure, we played a contact 7s tournament with some local senior clubs and also spent a weekend on Lake Malawi which was incredible. There were different things on offer depending on where you were with the charity. For those who were there before and after me, there were opportunities to go on safari, sandboarding, kayak the Nile and many other activities.

In Malawi, I was assigned to Mngwangwa, the school furthest away from our camp. It was over a 2 hour journey at 6am, but I had little to complain about as I looked out of the window. The journey there was insightful as we drove through miles of countryside and saw what was clearly a daily repetitive struggle to survive.

There were various volunteer roles on the trip including, Cook, Lead Coach, Kit Manager and Tournament Director.

I was fortunate enough to try my hand at all of these during my relatively small stint of three weeks, including the coveted volunteer role of Tournament Director. I took on this responsibility during my final week at the Malawi Tournament held at Mzumanzi School.

Whilst we were in Malawi, we heard some truly tragic news.

One of the current students at Mzumanzi passed away.

The student was in the same age group as many of those participating. This really focused our attention on the real reasons for being there. On tournament day we held a minute’s silence for him.

The Malawi tournament was the biggest we had organised to date with 450+ children participating across three different

The tournament also included a special needs school with a game that I got to participate in with many of the other coaches.

My partner coach in Malawi was a great guy called Derek, a teacher in Zimbabwe who shared many insightful stories about his country and continent. We worked well together and our school ended up winning all three finals in the tournament at the end of the week. However, that wasn't our goal or measure of success. Our goal as a charity was to impart the PRIDE values onto the community.

Coaching a 2 on 1 at ADPP School in Mozambique

I’m still in contact with a few of the in-country volunteer coaches today and they often send me pictures and updates on how the children are doing.

I’m still looking for my next charitable endeavour. Working with Bhubesi PRIDE was a rewarding way to see two countries and work with and be a part of a fantastic community. Joining a charity is a great way to use annual leave.

I highly recommend volunteering with Bhubesi PRIDE and am happy to offer any words of support/advice to any Worthians who are keen to know more. https://www.facebook.com/bhubesi.pride.official/ http://rugbyinafrica.org https://twitter.com/bhubesipride https://www.youtube.com/user/bhubesipride Craig Monteiro StB’05

Mozambique is a beautiful country. It is the only country that is part of the Commonwealth that wasn't part of the British Empire. It was a Portuguese colony. Whilst there are different tribes within Mozambique, they have aimed to unite as one country under one language - Portuguese. This created a language barrier for us, as despite my surname, I don't speak any Portuguese and usually unfairly expect everyone to speak English. This was fine for most of the adults in Mozambique, but not for all of the children. The volunteers, who had been on the tour since the start, had picked up a fair bit of Swahili over the preceding four weeks, however this was not as useful in Mozambique. For the children there, we came from a faraway country, spoke a different language and were trying to get them to play a game they had never seen before with a funny shaped ball.

That was the challenge. But by the end of the week, none of this mattered as the children took to the sport and to us with enthusiasm and like sponges also picked up a lot more English than I did Portuguese.

At Mngwangwa School in Malawi

42 I

Worth Society Life

Life and Times of Worthians

The Old Place

I 43

“We’re going to swim a petition across Lake Geneva and deliver it to the UN”

Swimming for West Papua

S

wimming for where? This is the question I most often hear when I tell people about what we’ve done. Is it surprising? Not really. Does it bother me? Not in the slightest. On the contrary, starting a conversation about West Papua is the whole point.

On the 29th August 2017 I, along with five other team mates, swam in relay along the entire length of Lake Geneva (Lac Léman to the locals) in Switzerland. Over 69km in length and more than 300m at its deepest point, Lake Geneva is - to quote Ben Barham R’10, founder of the Lake Geneva Swimming Association (LGSA) and responsible for introducing open water swimming to Worth – ‘a monster’.

After having arrived in Geneva on the morning of 28th August we headed straight to our accommodation on the other side of the city centre in order to settle in and focus on the giant task ahead of us. It was early afternoon when we got the call, “We’ve spoken with the pilots, you're on for tomorrow. Meet them and the boat at the start point, 8:30am sharp.”

44 I

Worth Society Life

Life and Times of Worthians

The Old Place

The news wasn't a surprise. The LGSA had kept us up to date throughout and yet, despite this, the mood changed.

Suddenly it was real and there was no turning back. The team sprung into action and got busy shopping for last minute groceries, packing bags, double checking swim gear and re-packing bags. The plan was, get up at 5am, load up the van and get on the road with plenty of margin to meet the boat on the other side of the lake at Villeneuve. The last thing we wanted was to get caught in traffic and fret about being late. Tension was high enough as it was.

Our forward thinking paid off and we arrived, relaxed and ready, at the pontoon at Villeneuve in plenty of time, and were even rewarded with an incredible and colourful sunrise, the warm light peeking through the surrounding mountains and steadily slipping its way down the horizon and onto the lake.

The next part went like clockwork I’m proud to say. As Chairman of the LGSA I’ve been heavily involved in every

swim we have put out to date, organising the operations and often accompanying in person. This being the case I was able to brief the Swim for West Papua team regarding the logistics on the day in great detail. As a result it took no time at all to load up the boat, motor over to the start point, run through the safety briefing and have our first swimmer jump into the water to head to the start beach. Swimming the length of Lake Geneva is a beautiful experience for many reasons, but the start beach is especially memorable, being tucked around the corner from the Château de Chillon - the stunning island castle dating as far back as the 11th century and immortalised in Lord Byron’s The Prisoner of Chillon. One immediately gains a sense of the history ingrained in those stone walls, which imbues an air of gravitas to the whole occasion. The swim is no longer a standalone event but already feels part of a tradition.

To add to the occasion our swim did not begin unnoticed, but was seen off by a crowd of West Papuans, singing traditional songs and sounding a large conch shell. The

I 45

28 hours 7 minutes and 48 seconds later Joel brought the swim home, and we were greeted by a mob of cheering voices and smiling faces.

Swimming for West Papua continued

1969 with the Act of Free Choice, regarded by many as the ‘Act of No Choice’, selecting a handful of West Papuans and forcing them to vote in favour of Indonesian annexation.

Today there exists a Free Papua Movement, which has provoked significant military involvement from Indonesia.

Reports of extrajudicial killings, torture, arbitrary detention, excessive force and mistreatment of peaceful protesters are commonplace. Unfortunately there is little independent scrutiny of the situation in West Papua, as human rights organisations and journalists are restricted from visiting.

The atrocities going on in the region, combined with a shocking lack of awareness of the situation, inspired Joel to want to do something. His idea was to write a petition asking the United Nations to allow the West Papuan people the right to an independently supervised vote for selfgovernance. A petition with a million signatures on it. A petition which would be swum (symbolically) across the length of Lake Geneva, all 69km of it, and delivered to the door of the United Nations. Joel knew about my role in the LGSA and asked if we could organise the swim for him. He also (too) casually asked if I would be up for being a member of the six-person relay team which would actually carry out the swim. Before thinking I said “yes”. Fast forward a year and here we were, on a boat in the middle of the lake with the swim well and truly underway.

significance of our swim for them was hard to comprehend.

My friend Joel first approached me towards the end of last year to explain to me his idea, “We’re going to swim a petition across Lake Geneva and deliver it to the UN”.

He went on to explain that during some time spent scuba diving in the region he had become aware of West Papua.

The western half of the island of New Guinea, made up of the provinces of Papua and West Papua, is under Indonesian control. Formerly the Netherlands New Guinea, Papua was retained by the Dutch after Indonesian independence in 1945 but the province was annexed by Jakarta in 1963.

Indonesia then formalised its control over West Papua in

46 I

We laughed, we cried, we stood in silent amazement that we had finally arrived. We achieved what we had set out to do and in that moment, nothing else mattered.

Our work was finished, but the work of the Free West Papua Campaign was just beginning. Although our swim and petition was a separate initiative the campaign backed us all the way and played a vital role in helping to spread the word about our petition and gather support. As I write the petition is being delivered to the UN with nearly two million signatures, including those of Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Ralph Regenvanu, Revd Steve Chalke MBE, Peter Tatchell and Otennili Latu Langilangi (Captain of Tongan rugby) to name a few. We have smashed our target and can only hope that more and more people will add their voices in support of West Papua. Our swim has got the ball rolling - the rest is up to you.

Tim Davies C’10 www.swimforwestpapua.com www.lakegenevaswimmingassociation.com

As conditions on the lake go we could not have asked for a better day. The sun was shining, the water was like glass and in the sky a few clouds offered the odd patch of welcome shade. Days like these help to remind me of how lucky I am.

They also belie just how much of a challenge this swim is.

With the majority of our team being completely new to open water swimming we had our work cut out for us.

Guaranteed at least five hours of swimming each (the average swim takes about 30 hours), it would be a test of mental and physical resilience as each person dived into the water to complete their next swim-leg, over and over again, all through the night and into the next morning. Luckily our team, both swimmers and non-swimmers, was hugely dynamic and supportive, singing songs and doing crazy dance moves. It sounds stupid but it’s undeniable the amount of energy it gave each of us when we thought we couldn’t continue.

If our departure from Chillon was special, the arrival at Bains-des-Paquîs was even more so. 28 hours 7 minutes and 48 seconds later Joel brought the swim home, and we were greeted by a mob of cheering voices and smiling faces. West Papuans in traditional grass skirts and traditional feathered headdresses were singing and dancing, while the local Swiss looked on in curiosity and amusement. Most people weren’t aware just what it meant for those West Papuans, as we six swimmers stepped out from the water onto the pebbled beach in Geneva. For those of us who did know their excitement was contagious.

Worth Society Life

Life and Times of Worthians

The Old Place

I 47

Turning Swords into Ploughshares – Steel Warriors

I

Met Police in London alone take in around one tonne of knives every month.

t wasn’t that long ago that I was a Worth boy, running around the corridors of Butler House and doing everything I could to haggle for an extra sausage in the School Ref. My class year at Worth was in fact the last year that was all boys. I often look back fondly on my time at school, not only in developing academically but building more of an identity and learning how to mix with people.

I was never much of a straight arrow at school and was fairly dyslexic. I would often fall short of deadlines as anytime I sat down to do some work I would drift away in my thoughts with my mind wandering elsewhere. That said, I did manage to get my act together and graduated from school and university, and then found an internship, leading to my first paid job in advertising.

I remember day one in the office, rocking up in a sharp blazer with freshly polished shoes hoping to make a stellar impression. I was met with a baffled reception, wandering around amongst a sea of Nike trainers, ripped t-shirts and chest-long beards.

Pia and Ben at the foundry

After a year of hard persuasion that the blazer was a terrible mistake, I was accepted in as a ‘creative’. A creative typically comes up with ideas that will be turned into adverts, or generate publicity for brands. Over the past few years I have grown to love this role and I now work at a separate agency as a creative.

My job is to be lost in (somewhat controlled) thought and come up with ideas for brands. Part of the role is to keep my finger on the pulse of the news agenda and this has ultimately led me to learn more about a rising issue in the UK that many of you will already be aware of.

Every day I came across articles about the growing issue of knife crime. One article mentioned that the Met Police in London alone take in around one tonne of knives every month. These knives are often carried by children as young as 11 or 12, and many as young as this are also becoming victims.

I started to look into past campaigns around knife crime and I felt pretty underwhelmed by the messaging used.

Much of this outlined what I thought were fairly obvious points; ‘carrying a knife will put you in prison’, and ‘carrying a knife will get you killed’. To me these seemed like pretty evident risks that most knife carriers would be aware of when deciding to carry a weapon - rather like most smokers are aware that ‘Smoking Kills’ when they decide to pick up a packet of cigarettes.

It never occurred to me or friends at school to even consider carrying a knife. It made me interested to find out more about why young people decide to arm themselves.

I worked with my partner, Pia, to conduct some research.

48 I

Worth Society Life

Life and Times of Worthians

The Old Place

I 49

It never occurred to me or friends at school to even consider carrying a knife.

It made me interested to find out more about why young people decide to arm themselves.

Steel Warriors continued

We visited the Police and a number of charities. They collectively agreed that young people carry knives for two main reasons; a) for protection and b) to exercise ‘bravado’ to their peers.

can use Snapchat to scan ‘snapcodes’ on their phone, leading them to video tutorials with ‘virtual trainers’ teaching them how to train.

We wondered, rather than just outlining the risks, if there was a way that we could take all of this confiscated knife steel and turn it into something that directly prevents these two ‘motives’ as well as showing that lives should be built on steel, not destroyed by it.

Although Steel Warriors may only form one piece in the prevention puzzle, we are glad that we have managed to create something that seems to be genuinely getting used and being talked about. So far our story has received national and international coverage reaching over 240 million people and 34 different countries.

Calisthenics is a trending form of exercise worldwide. It involves using a group of solid bar set-ups and your own bodyweight as a way of training. There are a number of calisthenics gyms across London and we had heard several stories of people using these gyms to build more physical confidence and escape this world of fear and bravado.

Our next steps are to expand our network of Steel Warriors gyms around the UK, giving young people in highly affected areas free access to spaces where they can build their bodies and use their energy in a positive way. We also hope that the nature of knives being built into the DNA of the gym will get people talking about this rising issue.

With parks being underfunded in the UK we made it our mission to work with the Police to collect several tonnes of knives, melt them down and recycle the steel into calisthenics gyms. Largely due to its high rate of knife crime, we chose Tower Hamlets as the borough to locate our first park.

A year ago Steel Warriors was only a passing thought.

Getting one gym off the ground has only been possible due to the incredible help that we have received from those who believed in the idea. We are extremely excited about what Steel Warriors could become but we will only be able to expand with the support of people who share our vision.

Success for us would be one day not having any knife steel to build with.

We reached out to engineers, foundries, ground workers, steel fabricators and many other parties who got behind the vision of this idea and supported us - free of charge - to get our first gym off the ground which is now built in Langdon Park, Tower Hamlets.

Pia and I would hugely appreciate any support that you can give to help us raise funds or publicity around this initiative.

For more info, take a look at our website: www.steelwarriors.co.uk

It has been increasingly rewarding seeing the growing positive response that we have received from the local community and government officials including the Mayor of London’s team.

Ben Wintour B’09

Young people have been flooding the space at all hours of the day and it has been great watching it come to life. Kids

The first Steel Warriors gym at Langdon Park

The launch event

50 I

Worth Society Life

Life and Times of Worthians

The Old Place

I 51

Caught on Camera

David Roche StB’79 celebrated the launch of his debut poetry collection at Hatchards, London in September 2017

45 years after their last holiday together in Cornwall with a Fiat 500, Stephen Murphy B‘72, Andrew Robinson B’73, Chris Quennell C’72 and Tony Tyler C’73 met up again, this time in France, in August 2017

Class of 2003 Worthians, Brandon Chau, Osvaldo Kwan, Ai Yoshino, Mark Chan, Quinton Choi and Alvin Chan met up for dinner in Hong Kong

Paddy Johnston B’06 received his PhD in English Literature from the University of Sussex in January 2017, having earned a very rare unconditional pass at his viva exam in October 2016

Fr Stephen meeting The Holy Father in October 2016 whilst representing the Arundel & Brighton Diocese for the first International Congress for Episcopal Vicars and Delegates for Consecrated Life

Giles Hamilton B’82 and Joe Hurley C’82 in Majorca, summer 2017, still best mates and holidaying together 40 years on

A football match prior to Freddie Pritchard’s B’06 wedding in Tuscany in July 2017 with Freddie Faull B’06, Joe Busuttil B’06 Tom Marsden F’06, Edward Wiggins C’06 and Fred Little B’06.

Raibert MacDougal, Jonathan Wilkins, Peter Furlonge & John Wild joined Jonathan Wilkins (all Class of 1970) and Worth’s Photography Teacher, John Everest, for Jonathan’s Photography Lecture to Worth students in March 2017

Charlotte Cotterell StA’12, Louise Moon StM’12, Lauren Martin StA’12 & Elizabeth Hill StA’12 linked up with Fr Stephen on a visit to Worth in November 2016

Ed Mannix StB’78 out skiing in Zermatt with some of his chalet guests Crispin Etherington R’67 his wife Jane and their dogs Gryffin and Lily at their home in Maryland, US

Giles Hamilton B’82 and Greg Pickard StB’81 linked up at St Mary's Ascot Parents’ Day

52 I

Marcus Elwes, Charles Rangeley-Wilson, Pebs Wheeler & Guy Montgomery, had a reunion with others from the Class of 1983 in London in summer 2017

Jack Harrison G’00 visiting Nick Smyth StB’00, his wife Amy and son Zac in LA before heading into the Desert in an RV

Worth Society Life

Life and Times of Worthians

The Old Place

Charlotte Bonhoure StM’13 arriving at Santiago di Compostela in September 2017 having walked 2,800km in 112 days from The University of St Andrews

Joshi Hermann R’05 at work as Editor-in-Chief of Tab Media in the US

I 53

Caught on Camera continued Mark Spyropoulos StB’99 singing at the 2017 Easter Vigil in St Peter’s Rome

Robert Tyler G’02 and Tom Elliott C’96 who both live and work in Myanmar with Robert’s father Tony C’73 in Yangon with the famous Shwedagon Pagoda in the background

Andrew Robinson B’73 and Tony Tyler C’73 linked up for the first time in over 35 years in November 2016 as they now live an hour away from each other in the South of France

Peter Barnes (Junior School 1968-72) has written a book about his parents setting up one of the first ‘Pick your Own’ fruit farms in North Devon

Mark Spyropoulos StB’99 also took time out from the Vatican Choir to teach the Worth School Choir at a Masterclass weekend in November 2016

Theo Mulcahy, aged 2, Oli Mulcahy C’05, Flo Mulcahy, aged 3, and Kitty Gibson StA’12. Oli is married to Kitty’s cousin and they all had a lovely week near Lyon in France in summer 2017

Three Rutherford boys were commissioned out of Sandhurst in April 2017; Nick Gandy R’11 has joined the Royal Regiment of Artillery, Sebastian Ward R’11 the Welsh Guards and Andrew Pring R’10 the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards, here in their new mess dress at the Commissioning Ball after the Sovereign’s Parade

Matthew Kwong R’10, Christoph Roggemann StB’10, Will White StB’10 and girlfriends Meredith Howell and Isabelle Hundt reunited in Hong Kong in July 2017 for a traditional Chinese dinner

Leo Lui StB’06 and his girlfriend, Vivian visited Worth in February 2017

Great to have Roy Green StB’16, Fabio Macari StB’16 and Elikem Logan G’16 back with us on Speech Day 2017

September 2017 saw the return to Worth of Jon Franks, Rupert Boheimer, John Griffiths and Keron Steele here with Fr Stephen, for a mini reunion of 1976 leavers

Tim Aldridge B’75 enjoying his early retirement

Thomas Hicks B’13 running the London Marathon in April 2017 for The Born Free Foundation – he plans to do it again next year!

Mary Lou Burge enjoyed showing Anthony Pontifex, his sister-in-law, Zsuzsa, and her children, Jancsi & Sari, around the campus when they visited in July 2017

Juan Dibos G’65, Alex Nauta G’65 with Juan’s wife Grace on their recent visit to Alex in Boca Raton, Florida, USA

54 I

Worth Society Life

Life and Times of Worthians

The Old Place

I 55

Announcements Jenn and Freddie Pritchard

Philip and Lucy Lundberg

Births

Engagements

Marriages

Angus Gairdner StB’96 and Julia, a son, Jago Nicholas Hugh, born on 23rd August 2017, a brother for Myla

PJ Bailey R’95 to Jacqueline Jansen on 5th March 2017

Matthew Burnford StB’77 to Jo Mills on 17th July 2017 at St Mary the Virgin, Chastleton

William Walder C'98 and Sofie, a son, Felix, born on 20th October 2016, a brother for Rafe and Tiggy Andrew Pollen B’00 and Candida, a son, Caspar Joseph Hungerford, born on 29th April 2017 Hugo Sanders R’00 and Milly, a boy Magnus, born on 21st December 2016, a sister for Ida

Giles Turton F’02 to Emma Gabriel on 30th September 2017

Philip Lundberg C’80 to Lucy Gilchrist on 10th December 2016 at St Mary’s Church, Bentley, Hampshire

Giles Heather F’03 to Rebecca Hackett on 6th April 2017 Edward Noel-Hill StB'07 to Munisa Nurova on 7th January 2017

Benjamin Neil R’94 to Lydia Critchley on 30th September 2017 at Chelsea Old Town Hall

Dominic Bosher R’08 to Lizzie Normandale on 30th April 2017

Damian Staveley StB’01 to Helen O’Reilly on 19th August 2017 at St Patrick’s Church, Maudabawn, County Cavan, Ireland

Anthony Lamb R'08 to Ali Crossland on 29th May 2017

Robert Birchall R’01 and Natalie, a son, Luke Alexander, born on 23rd February 2017, a brother for Sam

Stefan Humphries C’05 to Alice Christian on 2nd September 2017 at Lake Garda, Italy

Owen Lean C’01 and Antonia, a son, Ruairi Peter, born on 11th March 2017

Patrick Johnston B’06 to Claire Elaine Begley on 5th August 2017 at Sacred Heart Church, Bushey, Hertfordshire

James Madsen B’02 and Rebecca, a son, Alfred Christopher George, born on 16th August 2017

Freddie Pritchard B’06 to Jennifer Valle on 21st July 2017 in Borgo Corsignano, Tuscany

James Hunt StB’03 and Melanie, twin daughters, Darcey Rose and Alexa Shelley, born on 3rd January 2017

Matthew and Jo Burnford

Fred Bradley R’04 and Louise, a daughter, Olivia, born on 30th May 2017 Oliver Ingram B’04 and Ekaterina, a daughter, Abigail Ekaterina, born on 27th May 2017 Will Desmond C’09 and Bexx, a daughter, Lucy Jane, born on 15th March 2017 Krystian Rybarczyk StB’12 and Kinga, a son, Józef Franciszek, born on 2nd July 2017 The Gairdner Family

Caspar Pollen's Christening

Anthony Lamb and fiancée Ali Crossland

Distinctions Fr John MacWilliam StB’67 was ordained as Bishop of the diocese of Laghouat, Algeria, at Worth Abbey on 20th May 2017 Michael Questier R’82 was made Honorary Professorial Fellow in History of Catholicism at the Centre for Catholic Studies at Durham University in August 2017

The Walder family

Lieutenant General Patrick Sanders R’84 was appointed Commander Field Army in December 2016

Deaths Michael Clarke G’63 on 8th June 2017, aged 71 years James Pontifex C’63 on 22nd December 2016, aged 70 years Christopher Brutton C’65 on 12th August 2016, aged 69 years John Franck R’73 on 4th December 2016, aged 61 years Paddy and Claire Johnston

Simon Anthony G’75 on 21st July 2017, aged 60 years Adam Braverman G’05 on 15th April 2017, aged 29 years

James Hunt with Darcey and Alexa

56 I

Abigail Ingram

Worth Society Life

Life and Times of Worthians

The Old Place

I 57

Tim Aldridge B’75 Took early retirement from the City in December and have moved permanently to Chichester where I spend my time running a small local shoot, gardening, fishing, playing the occasional game of rather ragged golf and tinkering with a variety of aged motor cars.

Jeremy Bacon R’76 I've been a journalist all my working life and, among other newspapers, spent about 20 years at The Daily Telegraph and recently left The Times after working there for about three years.

I have a son and daughter who are both at University and I'm now thinking of going back to live and work in St Lucia, where my mother is from, for the next few years.

News in Brief Humphrey Berridge, Physics ‘66-’78 I taught at Worth as Head of Physics from 1966 immediately after leaving Oxford until I think 1978 when I moved on to Wellington College. Now living in Devon and was so sorry to miss the ‘60s & ‘70s Reunion Dinner in London in May. If there are any Worthians who remember that far back and would like to get back in touch my email address is humphb@btinternet.com

Junior House Peter Barnes JH’72 After leaving Junior House in July 1972 (having been a prep school prefect in the year before under Colonel Vredenberg), my parents moved from Camberley to North Devon to set up a fruit farm. I went to West Buckland School for 5 years (where I was a day boy). In 1978 I went to Lancaster University, where I studied Politics & graduated in 1981. The following year I moved to Brighton and was in the retail trade for 5 years. In 1990 I started at HMRC and had a 20 year career there, taking early retirement in 2011. In 2014 we moved to North Devon. In March this year I married my long term partner, Ian, and published my first book in April which I have dedicated to my late parents.

Worth School 1960s Peter Campbell C’64 Still living in Australia; in Brisbane, Queensland.

Happily married to a lady aged 45. I tutor children in the basics of the English language; Writing, Reading, Grammar and Phonetics. Have learnt the true method of how to study anything and retain it not just to memory, but to full understanding as well. Wish I had known this when I was at Worth! Am also a professional composer of orchestral music with 4 CDs to my credit. Still work part time, very active in a NO DRUGS campaign in Queensland. Pretty active in a variety of sports also. Life is enjoyable.

Alexander Nauta G’65 Just to let you know that all’s well. I had a great meet up with John Dibos G’65. He is living in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, married and in good shape!! All my best wishes to the Worth Community.

David Young C/StB’66 Following 40 years in the Marketing and Communications industry, mostly with the WPP Group, finally retired as Vice President Operations, Ogilvy & Mather. Now live in Rutland with wife Liz and, as a former Colonel in the Army Reserve, spend time on voluntary work as Chairman of ABF The Soldiers' Charity as well as Show Director for the Leicestershire County Show.

Simon Renouf C’67 Attended a very happy day for ‘67 old boys reunion on 29th June 2017. Am in the process of finishing a book which after centuries of humankind trying, finally solves the problem, ‘Can Science and Faith be reconciled?’ It’s primarily a book of science targeting sincere atheists. (Hope that doesn’t sound patronising!) It’s called ‘The universe was made for you’.

John Harben G’69 I’ve just completed a year’s work developing and leading a programme of mainly educational projects to celebrate the 700th anniversary of the Freemen of Norwich in my home city. This

58 I

1970s Jonathan Wilkins C’70 On the 21st March 2017 I once again visited Worth, this time with reinforcements. Was able to rustle up Raibert MacDougall C’70, Peter Furlonge C’70 and John Wild C’70 to be part of my talk on ‘Take or Make Pictures?’ to John Everest's Photography students. These four Chapman Old Boys were the original founders of the very first photographic darkroom at Worth.

Fr Kevin was keenly watching the talk, during which at one point raised the rather inspiring axiom from the Pattern on the Trestleboard - 'In all things great and small, I see the Beauty of the divine expression' - to which he nodded wise approval. One of the students even asked whether one could ‘make money’ from photography these days, to which my daughter stepped in to answer, proudly announcing that her father was obviously so loving photography that earning money became second place. Finally, the magic moment portrait of Abbot Luke was proudly displayed. I had taken a rather wonderful photograph on my previous visit at the very same spot as the one I had taken of Abbot Victor Farwell 47 years previously. The Jonathan Wilkins Prize awarded for Best Photographer at Worth, in the form of a hand painted glass fusing plate, was also presented on the day. The ‘group of four’ then had a memory jolting lunch in the Refectory. My 6 month old granddaughter, Valentina, was presented with the school mascot teddy bear, which was duly christened ‘Kevin’. It was truly a wonderful day for us all. Thank you Worth.

Chris Quennell C’72 By way of explanation, back in the early 70s, Stephen Murphy B‘72, Andrew Robinson B’73, Tony Tyler C’73 and myself used to spend some of the summer holidays together in Cornwall. One year Chris borrowed his Mum’s bright orange Fiat 500, which proved to be a smash hit in and around St Mawes and Portscatho! Some 45 years after our last holiday together we thought that it would be fun to meet up again, this time in France, in August 2017. Of course, it was absolutely essential to hire a Fiat 500 – see Caught on Camera.

Anthony (Tony) Tyler C’73 retired from full time work last year and now divides time between Hong Kong and Provence. A non-executive director on two public companies – BOC Aviation (aircraft leasing) and Bombardier (aircraft and train manufacturing). Had an informal reunion in Provence in August with Andrew Robinson B’73, Stephen Murphy B’73 and Chris Quennell C’72 plus WAGS! Peter Griffiths B'74 I’m the middle one of three Griffiths to pass through Worth. My wife and I have recently set up a holiday let in Pembrokeshire (www.ewebarn.co.uk) Sleeping 6 it is in a very quiet and peaceful rural position, but centrally located to provide access (within approx 40 minutes) to the whole of the Pembrokeshire coast which has over 50 beaches and a fantastic coastal walk. An ideal retreat for monks and Worthians alike!

Worth Society Life

Life and Times of Worthians

The Old Place

John Tate G’76 Have become a doting grandfather – and have a second grandchild on the way. Enjoying a new part time job as Finance Director for my sons’ fast growing London based Yard Sale Pizza. I get to one of their three shops regularly so if any Worthian would like to meet for a Pizza on me get in touch! jtsenior@yardsalepizza.com Michael (Mike) Bernard C’77 Still working at IBM, with nearly 36 years under the belt there. I'm a European Marketing Director working on Systems and how they are taken to market. After 6 years, I am relinquishing my role as Trustee at AbilityNet, a charity helping people with disabilities through technology. However, I still chair the Corporate Advisory Board for Exeter University's MBA course and have recently joined the Business School's International Advisory Board.

Living with Catherine and several pets in Wiltshire, and with two of our three boys living and working away from home. The youngest goes to University this September. Still playing music in assorted bands to retain a degree of sanity.

Hugo Hanshaw-Thomas StB’77 For sale: Vintage St Bede’s Rugby Shirt. 1975. Condition: Very good. Green and yellow horizontal stripes Label: Harrods. Offers please.

James Madsen C’77 Enjoying being semi-retired but with continued business trips out to Dubai and Riyadh to catch some sun. Became a grandfather for the first time in October last year to a beautiful little girl called Ellie. Splitting time between England and our house in the Gironde, France. Have to say my French has not improved since ‘O’ level days. Looking forward to catching up with many of the 1972 year intake at a reunion in November.

Stephen John Portelly R’77 After leaving Worth I took a year out to catch up and get some valuable work experience, then went to Nottingham University to study Metallurgy and Materials Science.

I graduated in 1980 whereupon I started working for an engineering contractor working in the oil & gas industry - London based but travelling around NW Europe, including offshore. During this time I spent 2 years on my company Brown and Root's Graduate Engineer Training Course, obtained a postgraduate Diploma in Welding Engineering and became a Chartered Engineer. I then went onto projects, spending some time in Norway. I left Brown and Root in 1985 and joined Shell in London (until moving to Aberdeen in 1988). I spent nearly 30 years with Shell in Aberdeen before changing employers for nearly 5 years, being made redundant (oil industry crash) and retiring.

During my career I progressed from a specialist engineering role into more middle management and project management roles. I have a wide experience and skill set. I got married in 1986 (in London) to Elaine. We have 2 great children (both born in Aberdeen), Stacey (born 1991) and Adam (born 1994). No grandchildren on the horizon!

Stacey lives and works in Glasgow in the hospitality industry (although her work takes her all over the UK). Adam lives at home and works for a national supplier of civil engineering and road materials (not academic - very hands on!). Elaine and I retired nearly 2 years ago and are really enjoying life. I spend my time relaxing, gardening, bowling, volunteering and doing community working. I am slowly learning to accept the significant differences between the private and public sectors. My main focus is doing what I want to do and giving back - to others - some of what life has given me. We still live in Kintore in Aberdeenshire - about 6 miles north of Aberdeen. Retirement has allowed me to get to know my environment and community better.

We come down south occasionally to see family and friends although both my parents have now passed away.

Edward (Ed) Mannix StB’78 Established in Zermatt with wife Suzanne and Poppy the spaniel but bouncing back for gigs in Méribel every so often to play bass with the old band. Still dabbling in tax consultancy although the pre-retirement project has turned out to be much harder work than intended. That said, running Matterhorn Chalets is still fun!

Michael (Mickey) Morrissey R’78 Celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary this year (pearl) happy memories of Fr Bernard officiating for us prior to baptising our first two children all those years ago. Rosie 27, Hugo 24 (OG!), Olivia 21 and Francesca 18, on her way to Edinburgh University this September, so now out of schools for the first time in over twenty years! Still beavering away at Smith & Williamson in London and am also a Trustee of Combat Stress which is the country’s leading military charity for veterans suffering from PTSD. Have been living in the Cotswolds for nearly 25 years; open house for any Worthian passing by. It was great to attend, with my brother Anthony (R’75), the recent Worth Society ’60s & ’70s Decade Dinner at my club, Cavalry & Guards, in London and catch up with many old friends. As a result there is a plan to repeat our year’s 30th anniversary celebrations of ten years ago sometime soon!

David Redmond Roche StB’79 Have had a book published of humorous poems for families based on school days, holidays etc – see Book Review on Page 62. A lot are based on memories of my school days at Worth (see We Have Ways of Making You Eat) as well as my family life with my Finnish wife Johanna and our 3 sons (now in their twenties). It came about as I needed to write a poem for a son's poetry competition as I couldn't stand the same old regurgitation again; it then developed into covering all aspects of how ridiculous family life is. The book will ring bells for the majority of parents and their kids, so it is a strong recommendation for Christmas - the edition in the stores is under a tenner for a beautifully illustrated hardback!

Jonathan Stordy StB’79 Daughter Anna finished a year ago at Worth and is going to Bath University in October. Our son Ciaran finished a masters at Oxford in Medieval English Lit this summer and is doing internships and looking for work in the TV production industry. I started as CEO of Spain's oldest brewery 6 months ago and will happily welcome any Worthian to our fun Moritz microbrewery in Barcelona.

1980s Philip Lundberg C’80 A busy last 12 months for the new Mr & Mrs Lundberg. We moved out of our house in the village in September 2016 into rented accommodation while it was extended and renovated. Got married on 10th December 2016. Moved again in early March 2017 and still unpacking the final bits and pieces. Five children between us. Alexander is in the 1st XV at Wasps in Coventry and studying PPE at Warwick. Matthew just about to start his final year at Loughborough studying Management Sciences and Economics. Amber at Newcastle reading Marine Biology. Tom also at Newcastle reading Biological Sciences and Sebastian who is in his final year of A levels at Salesian College in Farnborough. Busy times!

John Shepherd B’81 Twelve months ago I made a complete career change and am now CEO of Trailblazers Mentoring – a charity which mentors young men (18-25) in four prisons. It has been a fascinating 12 months, learning how charities work and more importantly learning about the criminal justice sector. I would be delighted to hear from any WOBS involved in this sector, in whatever capacity John.shepherd@trailblazersmentoring.org.uk Eldest brother Tony B’75 now retired from Outward Bound and spending as much time in the air with his paraglider. Meanwhile brother Mark B’79 continues with corporate law.

Giles Hamilton B’82 Unfortunately spent most of the year recovering from surgery after a motorcycle crash last October. I'm still (I hope!) working at Bank of China Intl in the City. Still married to Mini. My son Hugo, 16, has just finished his second year at Eton and my daughter

I 59

News in Brief

News in Brief

Former Staff

included the creation of Norwich Freemen Records Online, a searchable database of more than 5,000 names of Freemen taken from their Old Books, or Registers; an inter-school debating competition; a website; and the sponsorship of an actors’ company to produce street theatre performances seen by more than 4,000 people. I see a lot of Guy Horton G‘69 and even more of my 3 grandchildren.

Justin Brown C’78 Myanmar focus since 2000 with network to support. Import, marketing & distribution: jahbrown@gmail.com

Lexi (Alexandra), 11, starts at St Mary's Ascot in September. As I write we are about to go to Majorca with Joe Hurley's (C’82) family. Still mates after all these years! I'm no longer active in UKIP and have returned to the fold! My brother, Ben Hamilton B’91, is part owner of the Copenhagen Post after an MBO. Sean Buckley G’83 Good to catch up with Mark Johnson C’83 in February of this year – he put the rest of the year to shame by doing the Marathon des Sables. Enjoyed a reunion with a good number of the year in March – Pebs Wheeler StB’83 travelled from Canada, Tony Sugrue G’83 from Luxembourg and Andrew Hobbs G ’83 from the back of beyond (thought we had lost him for ever!). My daughter, Alicia Buckley StM’14 is studying French, Spanish and Business at Newcastle University but is currently doing a year’s work experience starting at HSBC in Paris followed by somewhere in Spain we hope!

Tom Ford B'87 Arrived in Luxembourg in 2010 working for various technology companies and haven't managed to leave yet. Enjoying work, family and the ‘Continental’ lifestyle. Any Worth boys living in Lux, thinking of moving to Lux, or passing through, do get in touch, it's a great place to be! Also my brother Ben B'91 and John B'82 are well. Ben is in Singapore with his family; John is back in London for the first time since the late 1980s with Fidelity, his kids all in UK education (secondary and University). We had a great family reunion over the summer in Italy to celebrate our mother's 80th birthday. Jon Nickell arranged our first and only reunion drinks in 30 years at The Phene in Chelsea. From what I can remember (we did well on arranging the drink, less well on identifying some food to eat...), a great evening had by all.

Paul Fremantle B’87 I'm now Dr Fremantle, having just completed my PhD in Computing, looking at security of the next generation Internet. I'm still in good contact with James Marshall R’87 and Andrew Gregory R’87.

Mark Collini StB’89 Enjoying family life and being entertained by my lovely girls. Beatrice (two and a half) is already in pre-school and Sophia has just turned one. We’re still loving living by the river in Barnes.

Dominic Hirons G’89 Living in Cuckfield with wife Louisa and three daughters Alexandra, Bethany & Jemima. Working at Morgan Stanley in London as International Head of Operational Risk.

Thomas Sullivan StB’89. Moved to Madrid with Mandy, Christian (11) and Tamsin (9).

1990s Dominic Stobart C’90 Married with three kids and living in Pelham, New York. Recently qualified as a USA Cycling race official.

Paul Collini StB’91 Appointed as an Advanced Research Fellow in the Florey institute of the University of Sheffield and an Honorary Consultant in Infectious Diseases at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals.

Conducts research in HIV and leads on Tuberculosis for the Royal Hallamshire Hospital. Magda continues her hard work as a GP serving a deprived area of Sheffield. Joseph (11) has now started secondary school at Mount St Mary’s College, Derbyshire (Jesuit School!) and Matthew (8) is at Mylnhurst Preparatory School.

Sebastian (Seb) Bailey R’93 Recently back in the UK after 6 years in New York. Our eldest, Genevieve, started at Worth in September.

Greg Clark G’93 Became CEO of Lattitude Global Volunteering (Charity Patron Princess Anne) in September 2017.

60 I

Angus Gairdner StB’96 Jago Nicholas Hugh Gairdner was born on 23rd August in Kingston Hospital - a little brother for Myla; we are totally smitten! We are still living in Putney and I remain at Sky having this year taken on the leadership of a big multi-year technology project to reinvent the systems we use to deliver content to customers. It is a fascinating role but the scale is somewhat daunting!

We had an amazing holiday en famille to Mauritius in April prior to Jago's arrival and an incredible week in Cornwall during the June heatwave! Turns out that was summer!

Rob Cottrell R’97 Now in my third year at St Edward’s School in Oxford as Head of Rugby, Assistant Housemaster and Spanish teacher.

My long-suffering wife is expecting in March 2018, so life will no doubt be throwing more vomit-covered curve balls…

Alex Kenney B’97 Have suddenly become middle-aged in the last year - have gone from working as a financial services consultant with a laptop living in rented accommodation in North West London to having a dog, a car, a house with a big mortgage back in West Sussex and a daily commute to a desk at a Bank in London.

Gareth Maguire B’97 Still enjoying Cheshire life, kids growing up fast (Felicity 3, Cecily 5, and Finlay 7). No interest in going back to Switzerland – gone native ‘up north’; Man City, bitter, rarely wear a jacket, even in winter. Anyone passing through Manchester drop me a line Gareth.Maguire@kellogg.com and we can meet up.

Louie Sumpter StB’97 Finally took the plunge and decided to start up a design agency with a couple of good friends. Hard work but super rewarding!

Michael (Mike) Matthews B’99 After twelve formative years working at Worth, the final four having been Housemaster in St Bede's, I am moving on to pastures new and taking up a Deputy Head (Pastoral) role at Farleigh School in Hampshire. I can't thank the Worth Community enough for how it has shaped me as a person and helped me discern my vocation as a pastoral leader in Catholic education.

2000s Alex Bone R’00 Myself and Andrew Long B’00 have set up an energy switching company that allows customers to continually save on energy prices by automatically switching to a better deal. Take a look at www.Switchcraft.co.uk Jack Harrison G’00 Two years now in HK and looking forward to joining the Worthians dinner in October. Hopefully see a few WOBS at the Sevens next year. Went to see Nick Smyth StB’00, his wife Amy and son Zac in LA this year (see Caught on Camera).

Owen Lean C’01 Became the proud father of Ruairi Peter Lean in March this year. Still performing professionally, now specialising in corporate training and motivational speaking. www.owenlean.com Dominic (Dom) Reynolds StB'01 Working as a TV Correspondent on ITN's 5 News, raising Eliza (3) and Arthur (1) with wife Clare in west London and launching a communications training business, www.freshfocus.tv Damian Staveley StB’01 Living and working in Dublin. Got married on 19th August 2017. Anyone visiting Dublin please feel free to contact me via Facebook.

Giles Turton F’02 Got engaged to Emma Gabriel on 30th September 2017 on Leith Hill, Surrey. We plan to marry in summer 2018; Tom Carew Hunt StB’02 is to be my Best Man. Quinton Choi G'03 Still in Doha, Qatar working for the government.

Weather starting to cool down after a long summer. Any Worthians visiting or transiting feel free to get in touch. qchoi98@gmail.com

Worth Society Life

Life and Times of Worthians

The Old Place

Tom Hammond-Davies C’03 In 2015, embarked on an ambitious 12-year project to perform the complete vocal works of J. S. Bach in Oxford. See www.oxfordbachsoloists.com for more. This coming Autumn I will take up the post of Director of Music at St John's College, Oxford.

Lieutenant. At the time of writing I am two months away from completing my Troop Leaders' Course after which I will deploy in October on my first operational tour to Cyprus on a UN peacekeeping mission. By this time next year I will be based up in Scotland at Leuchars Station near St Andrews topping up my Cypriot tan.

Giles Heather F’03 Got engaged to Rebecca Hackett on 6th April 2017 on the Isle of Skye. Marriage will take place on 7th April 2018 at St Barnabus Church, Dorking, with 7 of the 14 ushers Worth Old Boys!

Christoph Roggemann StB’10 Reunited in Hong Kong in July 2017 for a traditional Chinese dinner with Will White StB’10 and Matthew Kwong R’10. I’m working as a legal trainee for the German Consulate General in Hong Kong until November 2017, Will is travelling around Asia with his girlfriend for a couple of months and Matthew is permanently living in Hong Kong.

James Hunt StB’03 My wife (Melanie) and I had twin girls on the 3rd January 2017. They are called Darcey Rose and Alexa Shelley. They are a rare form of twins called mono mono twins and equate to one in every 35 million childbirths!

Fred Bradley R’04 My wife Louise and I have welcomed a baby daughter into our lives. Olivia was born on 30th May 2017, whilst listening to a former colleague on Magic 105.4 playing ‘So Amazing’ by Luther Vandross. Yes, only I would care what was on the radio at the time, but the songs all seemed so apt, I couldn't not mention it!

Christopher Madsen B’04 Living in Singapore with my wife Hannah our son Samuel and another baby due 1st December. We are very much enjoying our experience living in Asia with lots of travel for work and holiday across the region. Spent the summer organising three matches for Chelsea FC in Beijing and Singapore, which was a fun challenge, and continue to work on Chelsea’s commercial business across Asia. Great keeping in touch with fellow Worth boys Bellm R’04, Cottrell StB’04, Pollen StB’04, and Podbury C’04.

Joshi Herrmann R’05 In the US as Editor-in-chief of Tab, a publication about youth and campus culture written by student journalists. Just received a $6m round of funding, led by News Corp.

Patrick (Paddy) Johnstone B’06 I think it's time I shared some news with The Blue Paper - I don't think I ever have done, but I do have two big things to report. One is that I received my PhD in English Literature from the University of Sussex in January of this year, having earned a very rare unconditional pass at my viva exam last October. Photo from my graduation in ‘Caught on Camera’. The other is on 5th August I married Claire Elaine Begley at Sacred Heart Church in Bushey, Hertfordshire. Adam Murlewski StB’06 was one of my ushers.

Edward (Teddy) Noel-Hill StB’07 Since leaving Worth and finishing Uni I have been working for the United Nations (specifically the UN Migration Agency) where I started as an intern and rose through the ranks to be a Project Manager. I primarily cover Afghanistan and Tajikistan but have also been deployed to Ethiopia for the South Sudan refugee crisis. Got engaged to the beautiful, patient and supportive Munisa in January, wedding scheduled for June 2018. Would be happy to hear from any Worthians involved in the humanitarian sector enoelhill@iom.int Dominic Bosher R’08 I am pleased to announce and share with the Worth Community my engagement to my fiancé Lizzie Normandale.

I asked Lizzie to marry me on Sunday 30th April whilst on holiday in Dubai and she said YES! We are planning to get married in Majorca in September next year and the occasion is set to be well attended by plenty of Worthians.

Philipp Maximilian Sohler StB’08 From 1st June 2017 have moved to Zagreb, Croatia, to be the new commercial director of Kaufland a chain of supermarkets belonging to the Schwarz Group (Lidl, Kaufland), one of the largest retailers in the world.

Alexander Fey StB’09 Following a very pleasant one-year spell in Edinburgh, I will be relocating to Malaysia in November 2017 for new adventures.

2010s Andrew Pring R’10 After an intense year of Army Officer training have successfully completed the Regular Commissioning Course at The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and commissioned into The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards (Carabiniers and Greys) as a Second

Chloe Thomas StM’10 Am now a BEAT eating disorders charity ambassador. Also back modelling but now much healthier - doing sports and fitness, not fashion anymore (as there was too much pressure to remain thin) - which fits with my job as a personal trainer and nutrition coach.

Dylan Warren B’11 After achieving a First Class degree in (BA) Architecture, I entered full time employment in Belfast, working with Ostick & Williams. As this is an International company employing a small team, my work involved varied developments in the UK and Middle East. These projects encompassed sports stadiums in the UK, palaces in the UAE and specialised laboratories for the University of Edinburgh. I then moved back to London to undertake my Master’s degree whilst working part-time for POD Architects, a progressive practice near Liverpool Street. Having gained my Masters (Architecture Part II) I was offered a full time position at POD. Here I am once again engaged with a formidable array of projects as can be seen from POD Architects' website. These incorporate small residential conversions to large £300m commercial redevelopments, and everything else in between… I am currently working on two projects with Worthians which include the development of a large residential house and a conversion of an office into a mixed use complex. If you or your company are interested in discussing your future property requirements in the UK and/or Europe, please do not hesitate to contact me at dylan@pod-architects.com Dominic O'Donnell Bourke R’12 I graduated from the University of Edinburgh this summer with a degree in Medicine and have started my job as a Junior Doctor down in Truro, Cornwall.

Kitty Gibson StA’12 Just returned from a lovely week with family near Lyon in France with my cousin Olivia and Oli Mulcahy C’05 whom she married in 2012. Oli is a Lieutenant in the Royal Navy, and I am leaving my job in events to go to Australia for a year in November for a belated Gap Year.

Charlotte Bonhoure StM’13 Walked 2,800km to Santiago de Compostela in 112 days during my summer holiday setting off from my university, St Andrews, on the 18th May. Merrick Winter F’13 Graduated August '17 with First Class Honours in English Literature and Film, from King's College London. Moved to New York City August '17 to pursue a career in music and film production, having previously completed two semesters abroad studying music at The New School, NYC (Mannes), and The University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Considering graduate study at NYU Steinhardt, starting Fall '18. During degree in London, ran my own freelance photo and film production business, working for companies such as the @london instagram account, Beautiful Destinations, and producing content for clients such as Google, BBC Radio 1, The LadBible, Eurostar, and Rolls Royce. Also served as a member of the Youth Advisory Board for the Roundhouse in Camden.

Edward Le Marchant G’16 Sitting at home with a cup of coffee - no real plans for the summer. That was 3 weeks ago. Now I'm working on a farm outside of Kadoma in Zimbabwe. How did I get here? Impulse, and wanting to experience something new. After working for a month here in the southern part of Africa, herding cattle and tending to crops, I plan on visiting Victoria Falls. One of the most beautiful natural wonders. And of course, jumping off the 111m high bridge which will be a moment to remember, forever.

I 61

News in Brief

News in Brief

Peter (Pete) Cullinan StB’83 I have moved back to South Africa from Kenya to our home town in Durban and am travelling within SA and to Europe on business – doing a lot of work for Daimler Benz. Son (Joshua) has got into medicine at Uni Cape Town (UCT) and is off to see Hugo Douglas-Dufresne G’82 & family for New Year. Daughter (Danielle) is in her 2nd last year of high school but got her National Colours in Netball representing SA against Australia and New Zealand.

Wife (Julia) is running her own small business in marketing and about to embark on renovations to the house which will be hell. Life generally all good at present.

Tom Calnan R’95 Have recently returned from 7 years in the Middle East (split between Abu Dhabi and Dubai) and am working back in London again for DLA Piper law firm, as a partner in their Real Estate team. I'm now living in East Sheen, London with my wife Bonnie, and 2 year old son Archie. In my spare time I still occasionally turn out for the mighty Worth Old Boys RFC; like father like son…

JUST WHERE YOU LEFT IT Michael Clarke G’63

Family Rhymes for Modern Times David Roche StB’79 Unbound 2017

M

“Mum, I can’t find my shin pads and it’s football today.

ichael and I arrived at Worth in September 1959; me into Butler House in the Prep School and he joined the other founder pupils of Worth Senior School in its very first term. Founder pupils were granted the privilege of private rooms that had been ‘requisitioned’ from previous use, Michael’s room having been the Prep School’s former tuck shop.

Michael was capable of being extremely focused on a challenge in hand, displaying true grit, determination and dedication to task in adversity. I remember when he announced his decision to read all the books in the library at Worth and recall other boys sniggering at him behind his back. However in 4 years he had managed to read all the fiction and non-fiction by every author from A to G - a remarkable achievement.

Aside from cross-country running, Michael became interested in mountaineering and endurance activities and embraced Outward Bound and Civil Defence at school under the guidance of the then Brother Bede Hill. He later went on an Outward Bound course at the old Moray Sea School in Burghead and sailed on their three-masted training schooner, Prince Louis. Having won a first prize in carpentry at Worth, he was appointed assistant ship’s carpenter and had to help with running repairs when the rigging was damaged during a gale. He doggedly took on anything that was thrown at him and always kept to the Outward Bound motto ‘To Strive to Serve but not to Yield’ – not far removed from the Cowdray motto ‘Do It with Thy Might’.

His predisposition for all things mathematical was no doubt encouraged by Colonel Vredenberg, who introduced him to an extracurricular study of the Trachtenberg Speed System of Basic Mathematics.

In his early teens he became interested in Practical Wireless and Practical Electronics magazines after seeing advertisements in Boys Own and obtained a few used copies from somewhere which he would study assiduously. Already an avid reader of Eagle and fascinated by early science fiction, he received a 6 volt Philmore Space Patrol crystal set radio kit from an aunt in America.

Michael revelled in anything that he alone was expert at. His crystal set required a very long aerial to capture signals and for this purpose he obtained a 100ft reel of insulated wire. In the days before Google, he looked up the properties of the trees in our garden in the Encyclopaedia Britannica, where he discovered that rhododendron trunk was harder than oak. He cut 4-inch diameter rhododendron poles about 18 inches long and nailed them with 6 inch nails to a tall

It’s the 3rds v St Wotsits and we’re playing away.

They’ve got that big bruiser who plays at the back.

Where the hell are my shin pads? He is prone to hack.”

“They’re just where you left them. Why’s your memory so poor?

Right under the radiator by the back door.”

“Mum, I can’t find my door key, I think it’s been stolen.

Or maybe it fell from my pocket with the hole in.

So it is partly your fault. Can you get me another?

You did it for Daniel, and he’s my big brother.”

“Conspiracy theory is not a bad call, But it’s right where you left it, on the tray in the hall.”

“Mum, I can’t find my biro, and it’s not ‘where I left it’.

I used it for homework so don’t even suggest it.

I left it right here so you must have moved it.

It’s your fault, it’s obvious, and ha!, I’ve just proved it.”

“You’ve got me. I’m guilty. Arrest me. But wait…

What’s that, where you left it, right under your plate?”

So how do mums do that? They have a sixth sense For locating my iPhone or an old fifty pence.

It’s the same for our dad too. If he needs the remote, He just asks our mum and it’s Murder She Wrote…

“If you got off your backside and looked under the couch, It’s there, where you left it, now mow the lawn.” Ouch.

There must be a cheat way that mums win our deference.

They hide stuff, and map it, then learn the grid reference.

They memorise items and their hidden location, Then have all the answers, like it’s their vocation.

“That’s right, you believe that while you’re all away, We’re just where you left us, doing nothing all day.”

“Funny and witty. Perfect as a gift for anyone who is a parent, has a parent, or knows a parent.”

62 I

Worth Society Life

Life and Times of Worthians

The Old Place

Scots pine, whose first branches must have been 40 feet off the ground. In this way he gradually constructed a tree ladder with which to scale the tree and set his aerial. The first rung was too high for any of his younger brothers or sisters to reach. This was typical of Michael, thinking through the risks.

Michael was someone dedicated to problem resolution and he thrived on challenge.

Having studied Chemistry at University, in his early career as a chemist with Shell Chemicals in Egham, he was one of a small team who worked out how to impregnate closed cell polyurethane elastomers with pesticides for very slow release, a discovery leading to the patenting of Vapona® insect repellent packs.

He went on to be a specialist in corrosion on North Sea rigs.

Michael’s self-reliance enabled him to overcome obstacles and in some cases survive, using only his intellectual resources and analytical skills to execute a plan. A vivid example of this occurred whilst driving a 4wheel-drive vehicle in the Libyan Desert in the ‘70s. He was conducting a corrosion inspection of a pipeline and was alone - with nobody for several hours drive in any direction - when his vehicle struck a rock damaging the underside and ground to a halt. He discovered a trail of oil leading back several yards with various pieces of metal and parts from the transmission. In 45 degree heat he dug a hole in the sand to get underneath to clean and reassemble it all. He used a metal tray to hold the parts in with a low gear selected before securing it in place with wire, realising that he would be unable to change gear or stop without everything coming apart again. He managed to start and coax the vehicle for 60 miles at a steady slow speed, taking 6 hours to get back to civilisation.

He was precise. A keen member of Chelsea Football Club he once took me along to watch Dennis Wise’s testimonial match. It was a friendly against Bologna. In front of a crowd of 23,000 Chelsea had a goal disallowed through the offside rule in the final moments of the match that ended in a no score draw. As the ball went into the net, a spectator in the stand behind us yelled out ecstatically, but prematurely,“We won, we won!” Michael turned around and rebuked him saying,“No, we watched!”

He was IT self-educated and continued to be fascinated by and embrace the latest technologies throughout his life – he was an early IT program developer and registered trouble-shooter applying fixes on behalf of Clarisworks for Apple OS. Michael served in ‘A’ Squadron 21 SAS ‘Artists Rifles’ 1967-1970 and HQ Squadron 1978-

I 63

Obituary

Book Review

T

his is a charming collection of humorous poetry the first verses of which were originally written for David’s three boys to read out at school poetry competitions or slams, as a change from the classics which traditionally ruled the day. The collection developed into poems for all the family on subjects that are relevant to everyday life, such as embarrassing dads, bullying, taking exams, parents rowing, family holidays, doing your kids' homework, etc. A lot are based on memories of his school days at Worth (see We Have Ways of Making You Eat). David is sure that the poems will resonate with many other Worthians and the book is available from all good book stores as a lovely little hardback or an ebook.

Founder Pupil 7 June 1946 to 8 June 2017

1998 and in the early 1980s was serving in the Royal Signals at Trials Squadron at the School of Signals in Blandford Forum in Dorset. One of the trials he took part in was ‘Dimhead’. It was here that he made his mark with his expertise and devotion to SAS Communications as Dimhead was a Digital Message Handling Device, a superfast Enigma type system, designed primarily by him for use by the SAS, although now common throughout HM Forces.

Aside from his love of maths and science subjects, Michael studied Russian for fun.

He also carried on long distance games of ‘Shogi’ (Japanese Chess) with a pen pal in Japan via ‘bluey’ aerogramme. One of these games set a world record for duration, more than a year for one game.

He loved music and studied the flute, later playing in the Reading University Orchestra.

He owned a collection of recorders and mouth organs as well as an ‘ocarina’, a clay wind instrument painted to resemble a bird. Hopefully, he will continue to play it in Heaven.

Michael wrote his News in Brief in last year’s issue of The Blue Paper with a comprehensive bio of his professional achievements and expressed hopes for improvements in his mobility, following recent health challenges. Sadly Michael was not granted his desired respite and was taken from us unexpectedly on 8th June 2017, the day after his 71st birthday. He died of a cardiac arrest whilst attending a regular hospital check-up. This came as a shock to us all, for in spite of challenging health conditions in recent years he had always been a fighter and seemed to be overcoming the latest difficulties.

His family were grateful that Fr Kevin was able to officiate at his funeral, which was attended by his surviving 8 siblings and their partners, numerous cousins, his wife Mimma, sons Martin and Alan with Alan’s wife Hannah and his grandson Charlie. Many former lodge brothers were in attendance as were former colleagues from 21 SAS Regiment, who gave him a memorable send off. This included a poignant moment at his burial when a former officer took off his own regimental tie and dropped it respectfully onto Michael’s coffin.

He had always been determined, courageous and driven to win over adversity. It was disappointing that he was not granted more good years to watch his 18 month old grandson Charlie growing up.

He leaves me richer for having known him, and although greatly saddened by his premature passing, immensely privileged to have walked with him. Worth can be proud of his achievements.

Timothy Clarke WPS’59-61 and G’61-63

James Pontifex C’64 Adam Braverman StB’05

Founder Pupil 4 April 1946 to 22 December 2016 ames was born at Staplecross near Battle, East Sussex, the son of a farmer. He was the fourth of five children and his parents provided him with a happy and secure childhood. After primary school he started at Worth Preparatory School in September 1956. In his first term he had the rather dubious reputation of being the most beaten boy in the house, which was more a case of high spirits rather than of any mal intent. On one occasion, whilst in the infirmary, he threw an inedible sausage out of his window, only for it to land at the feet of the then Head Master, Dom Maurice Bell, who was in The Quad showing some prospective parents around!

In 1959 the Upper School was established and James became one of the 29 Founding Pupils. He loved Worth so much that he did not want to move on to Downside. He used to say that the first Upper School boys were all treated like gods and the food was out of this world. He loved sport and was rather good at squash. Being a late developer he did not particularly shine academically, except in History, which became his lifelong passion.

On leaving Worth in 1964 he taught at a prep school for a year, before entering St Mary’s College, Twickenham and qualifying as a teacher three years later. This, however, did not satisfy his awakening curiosity in more academic studies. He decided to get a History degree at Birkbeck, University of London, while working as a teacher. He then taught History at St Thomas More Catholic School in Eltham and later at Burlington Danes, a big London comprehensive, inspiring generations of children with a love of History. He became Head of Department here but he was not interested in moving up the career ladder to become a Head. He realised that administrative work was not for him; he loved being in the classroom. Throughout this time he was much loved and respected by his colleagues and pupils alike for his warm generosity, wit and professionalism. During these years he also did a lot of reading; apart from History his interests were mainly Literature, Politics and Religion. For a while his Catholic faith waned and he replaced going to church with a ‘cause’. He did voluntary work for Amnesty International mostly to free prisoners of conscience in the former Soviet Union. He was also a Freeman of the City of London and a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Armourers and Brasiers, thereby continuing a family connection with that Company going back to 1781.

T

here are 80 minutes on the clock. The score is Merstham 15 - Worth 16 in a crucial end of season Worth Old Boys rugby match. The Merstham fly half is lining up a conversion from 10 metres inside the right touchline. If he scores, the game’s over.

Nearly all the Worth boys have their heads down as the kicker begins his run-up.

They’re tired, they’ve given everything but it hasn’t quite been enough.

privatisation and tender documents for British companies expanding into Hungary. In 2001 they decided to move to Budapest and transferred the business there.

James was a brilliant, devoted, loving and much loved husband and father. He is survived by his wife and two children John, born in 1993 who having obtained his History degree from Oxford University is now studying for his MA in Sacred Theology at the International Theological Institute in Trumau, Austria, and Sarah born in 1995 who is doing an English degree with a Spanish minor at Pázmány Péter Catholic University in Budapest.

Out of the pack, a lone Worth player somehow summons the energy to charge out to the kicker. The Worth boys have seen this before from Adam Braverman, their captain, always the first to put up his hand to fight for his teammates - and the last to give in. They watch and grimace as the kicker runs up to strike the ball… but Adam has somehow made up the ground, and successfully charges down the kick.

James was always his own man with great integrity and never went along with trendy fads. He had a lot of wisdom, charm, humour, warmth and a selfless, generous spirit. He was a most loyal friend. He had a great gift for making the most of every situation and bringing the best out of people.

More than anything else he was convinced of the truth and beauty of the Catholic faith. He died of colon cancer giving all his suffering to the Lord. He breathed his last while his wife and two children were praying The Resurrection, the First Glorious Mystery of the Holy Rosary at his bedside. He is buried in Budapest. His Memorial Mass was celebrated by Fr Kevin, his old House Master at Worth. The following was quoted on the cover of his Memorial Service booklet:

Anyone who was at Worth that day will remember the result: the final score, Merstham 15 - Worth 16. And everyone who knew Adam will recognise the incredible, unflinching determination that won the game for his team against the odds.

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” (2 Timothy CH4: V7) He is painfully missed by all who had the privilege to know him well: his wife and two children, his brother and sisters, his friends and pupils.

I had the pleasure, the honour, the thrill of being best friends with Ads ever since we were 13 growing up together at Worth.

The Abbey, the School and surrounding grounds were a happy place for Adam and for all of us. Adam excelled in everything he did; he was always top of the class, was a quietly talented artist, he represented the Worth First Teams in every sport he played, going on to represent Sussex in rugby and then deservedly won the award for the best all round sportsman in our final year.

He was a fantastic Head of House at St Bedes where he was always the first to welcome new classmates and look out for the younger years.

May he now enjoy the happiness and peace of the Lord’s Kingdom.

The Pontifex Family

Adam’s extraordinary will power was obvious right from the beginning. He was just a winner and his ferocious, battling spirit was infectious - an inspiration to everyone around him. It didn't matter if he was the biggest, the strongest, the most experienced - Adam just found a way to win. Whether it was on the rugby field, finishing his mother Fenella’s limitless supply of roast potatoes in the South of France, remaining undefeated at Mercy

In 1987 he married his Hungarian wife, Zsuzsa, who worked for the Hungarian Section of the BBC World Service and later they set up their specialist Hungarian language school and translation agency. She also wrote the definitive Teach Yourself Hungarian course book, trained diplomats for the Foreign Office and set Hungarian language exams for the Institute of Linguists. James mostly ran the translation side of the business. This was the time of great changes in Central and Eastern Europe so they translated most of the

64 I

Worth Society Life

Life and Times of Worthians

The Old Place

Mercy, knowing more about the TV show ‘Friends’ than his sister Tamara, winning dorm fights in his beloved Gervase or throwing himself head-first into a stagnant puddle to make that one last, all important, kick up with a football, Adam would invariably end up victorious.

So it came as somewhat of a surprise when, aged 17, we realised that Adam was struggling to learn to drive. He had a brand new car on the drive, had completed a block of lessons but strangely said that he wasn't quite ready to take his test. It was only at the end of the summer, having proved he could drive like a racing driver by doing donuts and wrecking Fenella’s field, he let it slip that having at least 10 of his best mates as his own personal taxi drivers was a far better option than getting his own driving licence.

I know there are many who would consider Adam to be their best friend, and he was.

He had the extremely rare quality of treating everyone exactly the same, including me as a shy 13 year old that he took under his wing. I had an ease and depth of friendship with Adam that I value more than I can possibly describe. Adam was the most genuine, generous and loyal person I have ever met.

Once, he noticed the drinks were running low at a Worth Old Boys RFC end of season dinner and quietly bought a couple of extra kegs of beer for everyone. Nobody even knew he did it. He wasn’t looking for credit he just loved seeing his team, his boys, having a great time. Another time I asked him to help my grandmother move 500 bails of hay into the barn before a storm came in. He offered to help straight-away and worked like a man possessed all day, battling through severe hayfever, but we finally got the job done. It was only a few months later that I found out that he had given up tickets to the tennis that day in order to help.

home from home, and for a few of us our actual home for the summer. It was a happy place, full of fun, adventure and competition. We would spend hours in the pool, playing tennis, football, rugby and riding bikes. We would create whatever competition we could. One stupid game we invented was throwing and catching raw eggs. If you didn't cushion the egg properly when you caught it the yoke would go all over you. This resulted in Adam hilariously persuading Fenella that he did need 100 eggs in the weekly shop because it was important for his gym routine and to maintain his biceps.

Adam absolutely loved The Garth, although I know he'd want me to point out that it wasn't all fun and games. He did have to water Fenella’s hanging baskets every other day - a herculean chore according to Adam.

Hanging baskets aside it really was an idyllic childhood.

I think about Ads a lot, and it’s always the same picture I have of him in my mind. It’s that fantastic cheeky smile he’d give you after one of his self-proclaimed legendary quips, or when he knew he had you in a game of cards, or when he’d caught you taking life just a little bit too seriously. He had a wonderful way of looking at life - and that smile, that fantastic smile, will stay with us all forever.

Stefan Humphries StB’05 Address given at Adam’s Celebration of Life at Worth on 10th May 2017

Adam loved nothing more than being with his family and friends, with many great times spent in Gran Canaria, Israel, Greece and in the South of France, but nowhere was he happier than at his family home, The Garth. Every long summer growing up was spent there and for many of us it was a

I 65

Obituary

Obituary

J

29 May 1987 to 15 April 2017

A Message from the Head Master

A

cademic years slip by so fast that, before you know it, your school days are behind you and you need your annual alumni magazine to give you the sense of what has changed and what has stayed the same since you were there.

This year has been a year of change in some parts of the School. In particular, a reconfiguration of boarding provision sees a return of Gervase as a house for boys from Year 9 to 13, and a corresponding return of the old Gervase tie.

Gervase is now located in what was until recently St Mary’s, while girls’ boarding has moved into the building that was until the end of last term Gervase House.

What hasn’t changed, however, is the spirit and feel of Worth, which continues to provide something unique to its pupils - some combination of the beautiful surrounds, dedicated staff and Benedictine heart that makes it a special place to work and to be educated.

This has been a busy year for the School, featuring many of the traditional highlights such as Speech Day, sports tournaments, excellent music concerts and three outstanding drama productions — ‘Romeo and Juliet’, ‘West Side Story’ and ‘The Wizard of Oz’. There have also been new developments such as the introduction of Politics as an A Level subject, a pre-IB course, exeat weekends, hockey for boys, a social café dedicated to Sixth Form use and a new magazine called ‘Worth Knowing’ which you may have seen.

Over the course of the last year, many Worthians have taken the opportunity to come together at events at Worth and

There were some fantastic costumes for the Senior School production of Romeo and Juliet

66 I

Meeting Worthians at the 1960s/70s Decade Dinner

Boys’ Hockey was introduced as a Games option

elsewhere to reacquaint themselves with old friends and hear something about what the School is like these days. It has been my great pleasure to join many of these events, such as the reunion dinner covering the 1960s and ‘70s at the Cavalry and Guards Club in May; the Worthians Carol Service at St Patrick’s, Soho last December; the Class of 1967 reunion, held at Worth in June, and the annual Old Worth Boys’ Rugby fixture played at Worth in early September and the recent Prep School Reunion.

Forerunners’ help, chaplaincy has become an area of real vibrancy in the School where pupils feel welcome to explore their faith and many commit to building up this centrally important part of the School’s community by getting involved in activities and worship throughout the term.

One of the most enjoyable of all the reunions held last year was for those former pupils who had swum the Channel.

Remarkably, teams from Worth have swum the English Channel every year since 2009 raising more than £70,000 for charity along the way. More than twenty Worthians attended the reunion to share stories about mid-channel encounters and other obstacles that made their Channel Swim memorable. After swimming for a whole day, sadly this year’s team was forced to abandon their effort off the coast from Boulogne-sur-Mer – a long way from Calais! after currents and cold water began to take their toll. The Channel swimmers show the charitable endeavour and determination that is typical of Worth pupils.

Interest is growing in Lacrosse and Worth is now competing against other schools

Worthians returning to the School for a reunion or other event are often struck by how much the fabric of the School has changed since they were pupils here. But I am always struck by the affection old boys and girls express for the place, and I am sure we are all very grateful to Worth Society for providing so many opportunities for them to come together at Worth or elsewhere to remember their time at school and hear about the Worth of today. I look forward to meeting many of you at Worth Society events in the coming year.

Stuart McPherson, Head Master, Worth School The Pitstop Café was converted into a Sixth Form Café, offering a place to work and relax

A very good contingent of Worthians joined the OMV pilgrimage to Lourdes again this year; it is good to see that this aspect of school life continues to attract interest and commitment from both current and former pupils. As many will know, Worthian Will Desmond C’09 leads the Forerunners, a group of four youth mission workers who live at Worth and work in the School chaplaincy. With the

The Head Master with this year’s Deputy Head Boy Eli Barrott, Head Boy Harry Hamilton-Deeley, Head Girl Ellen Brownings and Deputy Head Girl Clemency Derbyshire

Worth Society Life

Life and Times of Worthians

The Old Place

The Junior School’s production of The Wizard of Oz was performed at Chailey Heritage School, a school for young people with complex physical disabilities

I 67

Fr Stephen’s Golden Jubilee

You can listen to Fr Stephen’s homily from the day on this link: https://clyp.it/vl5ptuo4

T

hank you for the lovely smoke signals, many and varied, that you sent me to mark my Golden Jubilee of priesthood; I am more touched than I can say. It was wonderful to see so many of you on 19th August (“A party for Me?” thought Pooh to himself. “How grand!”) but, whether or not you were here that particular day, your love and support over the years has been, and remains, the greatest gift that I could possibly receive; thank you, thank you and thank you, in that order.

Every blessing on you and your families, now and always.

Love and prayers Fr Stephen

What a wonderful celebration of such an inspirational monk, priest, House Master, Head Master, friend, mentor and all round good egg not to mention a seriously tiggerish, endlessly supportive person. Here is to the next 50 years in the service of Our Lord and us all!

Michael Bray R’65

Worthians from across the decades joined Fr Stephen on his special day

68 I

Fr Stephen’s beautiful cake made by The Chadd Family

Worth Society Life

Life and Times of Worthians

The Old Place

I 69

Abbot Christopher Jamison elected Abbot President

The Forerunner Vision A model of innovative chaplaincy

T

and resurrection (John 14:2). The second famous forerunner was Saint John the Baptist, who prepared the way for the coming of Jesus.

he thirteen monasteries of the English Benedictine Congregation meet every four years in General Chapter when, among other things, they elect an Abbot President. When General Chapter met in July 2017 at Worth Abbot Christopher was elected in succession to Abbot Richard Yeo of Downside Abbey.

Abbot Christopher is an Old Gregorian but joined the Worth community in 1973. He was Head Master from 1994–2002, and Abbot from 2002–2010. More recently he

There is something about John's own adoration of Christ that draws his disciples to Jesus. In the same way, at the heart of our vision for the Forerunners is to provide a witness that points people to Jesus. I would describe us as ‘storytellers’, who want to share our own stories of how God's Story has impacted our own with our primary aim being to introduce both staff and pupils to the person of Jesus.

We have set out to do this in a number of ways over the last two years, being particularly inspired by our Chilean counterparts from the Manquehue Movement. At the heart of their movement is a focus on the Word of God as a place of encounter and also the importance of accompaniment.

We have started to develop various new models alongside the monks as well as building on what has gone before.

Particular activities of note have included ‘Oasis’, ‘Confirmation’, ‘Subiaco’ and the formation of a new student leadership group called ‘Nazareth’.

I

n October 2015 the Forerunners arrived at Worth. We had been invited a year before to come and have a conversation with the Abbot about the possibility of forming a community of young adults living on the Worth site in Compass House. Our purpose would be to serve the School, The Open Cloister and the Monastery. Significantly a couple of months before receiving this invitation I had been on retreat at Worth and while walking past Compass House had received what I might describe as a 'spiritual prompting' that I should pray that this, rather ‘out-of-sorts’ building, might become a formation house for young adults. Two months later I received an email from Br David proposing the idea of forming a small group of youth ministers to work in the School.

While I had never been attracted to the idea of chaplaincy in schools on account of its often isolated nature, this proposal on the other hand was a little more appealing given its more collaborative structure. After leaving Worth as a student in 2009, I spent six years journeying all over the UK with a team doing secondary school missions in Catholic schools. I had experienced a real thirst amongst both pupils and staff for an authentic Gospel which could transform their lives. Thus we set about discerning the path forward and after many meetings and much prayer, four of us moved into Worth during the October 2016 half term under the title of ‘Forerunners’.

So what is a forerunner you ask? Well, we find two particularly famous forerunners in the Gospels, the first of which was Jesus himself who went before us to prepare a place for us in his Father's House, through his life, death

70 I

Oasis is for Years 7-9 and sets out to create a culture of exploration by providing an unpressurised environment in which to explore the Catholic faith with the help of older students. This is followed by the opportunity to opt into the Confirmation programme in Year 10 which seeks to provide a more in depth preparation for the reception of the Sacrament so that students might become more involved in their faith. Following this, students can join a Subiaco sharing group, which are student led and aim to form friendships across Houses and Year groups while praying the Scriptures. Finally, as of this term, the new chaplaincy student leadership group has formed known as Nazareth, where students can become committed to the mission of the chaplaincy. They meet together weekly to eat together, become better formed in the faith and pray. To help the students grow in their leadership they are also accompanied by either a Forerunner, monk or staff member, whom they meet with on a two weekly basis to foster their own personal journey with God.

has been working for the Bishops of England and Wales as the Director of the National Office for Vocation.

Abbot Christopher is not the first Abbot of Worth to be Abbot President. Victor Farwell, Abbot of Worth 1965-1988, was Abbot President from 1967–1985. Abbot Victor guided the Congregation through the currents of the post Vatican II era. Abbot Christopher has new challenges to face in the era of Pope Francis, of a declining church in the western world but of a

growing Church in many other areas. As well as representing and supporting the thirteen monasteries that comprise the English Congregation, Abbot Christopher will participate in the wider Benedictine world along with the eighteen Presidents of other Congregations. He will be involved in the 2018 Synod on ‘Young People, the Faith, and Vocational Discernment’, which will chart the way forward for the Church for some years to come.

I WOZ ‘ERE

I

wonder why so many of us love to leave our mark behind when we depart from a place. Maybe a sort of “I woz ‘ere” feeling? Yes, but there must be more to it than that.

My thoughts were prompted by a visit to the attic space in the main school building which provides access to the flagpole on top of the tower. And there on a wall, exposed to the elements yet fairly sheltered, are the autographs of a goodly number of you! My reaction was one of pleasure at recalling so many whom I had known as school children.

But why did you do it? And how did you gain access to this ‘forbidden area’? There must be a few stories to tell! Did one of you gain possession of the key to the staircase that went up into the roof space from inside what used to be Fr Philip’s school room when he was Head of Music?

While fostering exploration, involvement and commitment to the faith remains a high priority in our work at Worth, there is one aspect which perhaps has more impact than any other and this is our service to different departments.

A key element of our work will be to help both students and staff to understand that in a Catholic school faith does not just reside in the chaplaincy but can impact every aspect of our lives. Moving forward we hope to really develop these relationships through sport, the arts or other extracurricular activities so that Worth might become a model of innovative chaplaincy for other Catholic Schools in the UK.

But to go back to my theme, during times lived together, especially during childhood and especially boarding school, we often experience a bonding which is particularly strong and enduring. So does a need develop to leave behind one’s ‘mark’, by way of saying, “Please don’t forget me!”?

I suspect it does. Anyway I can assure you that we don’t forget you, and my rediscovery of your autographs brought me great pleasure as I remembered you all.

Will Desmond C’09, Leader of the Forerunners

Dom Bede Hill Worth’s Archivist

Worth Society Life

Life and Times of Worthians

The Old Place

I 71

We are delighted to announce

An update on Development at Worth

T

he first year of the new Worth School and Abbey Development Programme is off to a good start.

Working with the Head Master and the Abbot we have begun to raise funds in support of bursaries and subsidised places in the Open Cloister. Worth wants to reach out to those in need who would most benefit from all the School and Abbey have to offer whatever their financial circumstances.

We have recently hosted a lunch for over 60 former pupils of the Prep School and their spouses in the Whitehead Room. They were welcomed by the Head Master and the Abbot and were taken on tours of the School. After lunch there was an emotional speech by Nicholas De Piro, reminiscing about his time at Worth and thanking the School and Abbey for their generosity. The day ended with a visit to the Abbey Cemetery providing an opportunity for all those who wished to pay their respects to their former teachers.

that this year’s Glenn Robertson Spirit of Rugby Trophy was awarded to Barnaby Elwes R’17

The day also saw the launch of the Worth Bursary Appeal and the establishment of the 1933 Society which will recognise all those who are kind enough to remember the School and Abbey in their wills. More information on this will follow in the coming months.

Many congratulations

There are also a number of possible capital projects under consideration and my office is working closely with the Governors of the School and the Abbey Chapter to help shape the future of Worth through the solicitation of gifts. Both the School and the Abbey depend on the generosity of Worthians to realise their vision of Worth for the 21st century.

The Development Office continues to work closely with the Worth Society, attending events and getting to know as many Worthians as possible. There are many events planned for the coming year and I look forward to attending and continuing to spread the word about Development at Worth.

Worthians - The Second Generation: September 2017 Pupil Surname

Christian Name

Current Year

House

Father’s/relatives name

Bailey

Genevieve

8

Austin

Sebastian R’93

Byrne

Henry

9

Austin

Nephew of Edward Sherlock StB’85

Gabriel

Iona

10

St Catherine’s

Julian C’87

Gabriel

Samuel

10

Austin

Michael C’85

Halffter

Toby

11

St Bede’s

Nephew of Jaime StB’77 & Fernando Zobel StB’78

Hamilton-Deeley

Harry

13

Rutherford

Gavin R’72

Hunt

Thomas

10

St Bede’s

Chris StB’85

Jenkins

Callum

13

Farwell

Jonathan G’81

(house, year left)

Little

Matilda

10

St Mary’s

Roderick G’90

Owen

William

9

Gervase

Nephew of Alex G’88 & Justin G’91 Duckworth

Pack

Frederick

11

Chapman

Nephew of Laurence (G’83) & Benedict (G’97) Kennedy

Pavry

William

10

St Bede’s

Justin StB’91

Simpson

Charles

11

St Bede’s

Nephew of Alistair StB’95 & William StB’96 Lockhart

Edward Schneider, Director of Development

Worthians Children currently registered to join Worth

• Did you leave Worth between 2011 and 2017?

In Many Ways the Perfect Venue

• Were you doing your DofE Gold Award and never quite got round to finishing?

If you are looking for a venue to host a special party, hire sports facilities or hold a business seminar, our stunning location, facilities and dedicated support staff will provide everything you need.

Throughout the year Worth School’s facilities are available to hire, primarily during the school holidays, but, depending on the nature of the event, term-time lettings can sometimes be accommodated.

In addition, Worth Abbey’s ‘The Open Cloister’ gives you the opportunity to leave the hustle and bustle of life behind and the chance to rest, refresh and reflect in our purpose-built retreat centre.

You are invited to attend our day or residential retreats which are run by members of our Monastic Community and Lay Collaborators.

If you would like to find out more about Worth Abbey Projects, please call us on 01342 710318 or email lettings@worth.org.uk or visit www.worth.co.uk

72 I

Worth Society Life

Life and Times of Worthians

The Old Place

It may not be too late...

Pupil Surname

Christian Name

Proposed start date

Year group

Father’s/relatives name

Archer-Perkins

Georgina

2022

9

Richard C’66

Bailey

Miranda

2018

7

Sebastian R’93

Ceparano

Matthew

2018

12

Anthony C’88

Gerada

Frederik

2018

9

Charles R’90

Kelly

Sophie

2020

12

David StB’91

Le Gouellec de Schwarz

Amedee

2018

9

Nephew of James G’93 & Simon G’98 Albert

Le Gouellec de Schwarz

Maximillien

2019

7

Nephew of James G’93 & Simon G’98 Albert

Little

Lochlan

2018

9

Roderick G’90

Main

Callum

2019

12

Kevin StB’76

Store

Poppy

2019

9

Eamonn C’86

(house, year left)

If you want to find out if you could still receive your Award (and go to St James’s Palace to have it presented) please contact the School DofE Manager, Julian Williams, at jtwilliams@worth.org.uk

I 73

Worthians - Year 13 University Destinations 2017 Name

Course

University

Name

Course

University

Kasen Aboitiz

Political Science

Brown (USA)

Isabella Lee

Business & Management

York

Monique Aboumrad Sidaoui Computer Science

NYU (USA)

Benjamin Lovill

Real Estate

Nottingham Trent

Gurdip Ahluwalia

Classics and French

Oxford

Lucia Macari

Marketing Management

Oxford Brookes

Emmi Baines

Music

Bristol

Hamish Macmillan

Marketing Management

Brighton

Charlotte Baker

Psychology

Oxford Brookes

Joe Maher

Economics

York Surrey

Sarena Bhargava

Medicine

Birmingham

Dominic Masters

Aerospace Engineering

Isabella Blowey

Global Health & Social Medicine

King’s College London

Oliver Maude

Sports Management

Coventry

Ciara Brady

Law & Politics

Queen’s Belfast

Joseph Merceica*

Philosophy

Bournemouth

Imogen Brown

Architecture

Oxford Brookes

Miles Merry

Philosophy

King’s College London

Arianna Buccino

Management

York

Max Mulroy

Business & Management

Oxford Brookes

Tom Burnell

Medicine

Manchester

Eric Ng

Computer Science

Brighton

Nicholas Byrne

Management

Manchester

Michael Nunes-Carvalho

Psychology

Sussex

Jackie Cai

Game Design

Brunel

Oyinkansola Olawuyi

Communications, Culture & IT

Toronto

Lucas Casla

Management

Warwick

Gabriel O’Brien

Geography

Bristol

Madeleine Chamberlain

Molecular Cell Biology

York

Charles Page

Law

Cambridge

Timothy Chandler

History

UWE

Jack Parry*

Business Management

Swansea

Peter Cloudsley

Management

LSE

Gianluca Pasquini

English

Birmingham

Michael Cong

Mathematics & Economics

LSE

William Pedley

Business Management

Liverpool

Spencer Connell

Business Management

Southampton

Riccardo Perris

Law

Reading

Gregory Crous

International Relations

Queen Mary University

Rosie Piper

Economics

UWE

Edward Curtis

Aerospace Engineering

Surrey

Ted Piper

Psychology

Exeter

Andrea Da Corta Fumei

Economics

Bristol

Chloe Pullan

History

Bristol

Alexander D’Amario

Economics & Management

Bristol

Pawel Radtke*

Computer Science

Durham

Will Davies-Ratcliff

Business & Management

Exeter

Natalie Riley

Civil Engineering

Bristol

Jake Defriend*

Theology & Religious Studies

Nottingham

Grace Riminton

Politics, Philosophy & Economics Warwick French and Beginner’s Italian

POSSIBILITIES...

Philosophy & Politics

Bristol

Isabelle Ritchie

Millicent Dutton

Law

Oxford Brookes

Pietro Rocco Di Torrepadula

Isabella Enoizi

English

Exeter

Guy Roundhill

Sebastian Forsythe

Sports Business & Marketing

Winchester

Jamie Rowland

Business Administration

Bath

Alexander Fretwell

Creative Writing & English Literature

Bath Spa

Max Sandeman

Economics & Finance

York

Martino Santicoli

Economics & Finance

Reading

Felicity Gardner

Physics

Bristol

Thomas Scanlon

Politics, Philosophy & Economics Edinburgh

Politics & International Relations Southampton

Luigi Giannelli Viscardi

History & Politics

Reading

Sebastian Gilling-Ulph*

Film & Television

Southampton Solent

Cameron Glenister

Business & Management

Plymouth

Dominic Glenister

Business & Management

Oxford Brookes

Catherine Glover

Economics & Politics

Leeds

Emily Green

Marketing Management

Oxford Brookes

Saskia Harris

Criminology

Liverpool

Emily Hollings*

English Literature

Oxford Brookes

Tom Hollings*

History

Oxford Brookes

Artem Ivanov

Philosophy

Royal Holloway

Ella Jenkins*

Politics & Modern History

Manchester

Owen Jones*

Geography

Southampton

Harnoop Kalsi*

Optometry

Cardiff

Eleanor Keating

Political Science & Sociology

Birmingham

Jonathan Kemp*

Combined Flexible Honours

Exeter

Felix Knudsen*

Business & Management

Exeter

Patryk Kulik

Aeronautical Engineering

Imperial

Sparkling WITH

William de-la-Haye Earl*

Amy Gareze

Farleigh School is a leading Catholic co-educational prep school in Hampshire for boarders and day pupils aged 3-13

Oxford Bocconi University (Italy)

Psychology

Leeds

William Siebert

History

Southampton

Stuart Sinclair

Religion, Politics & Society

King’s College London

Joseph Smith

Mathematics

Nottingham

Stephen Steers

Illustration & Animation

Coventry

Anna Stordy*

International Management & French

Bath

Jeff Suen

Game Design

Norwich University of the Arts

Daniel Szoke

History

LSE

Hannah Teasdale

Music

Royal Academy of Music

Melissa Torkizadeh

Medicine

King’s College London

Charlie Weston

Business Management

Southampton

Becky Williams

Veterinary Medicine

Surrey

Olivia Wilson

Theology

Oxford

Ryan Wong

Computer Science

Newcastle

Pitch Yuktasevi

International Relations

Royal Holloway

Felicitas Zoellner

Dentistry

Vilnius, Lithuania

*denotes 2016 leaver

Come and see us...

To arrange a visit, please contact Mrs Catherine Hall: admissions@farleighschool.com

Red Rice, Andover, Hampshire SP11 7PW

Please note: these details were correct at time of going to press

www.farleighschool.com @FarleighSchool 74 I

Worth Society Life

Life and Times of Worthians

The Old Place REGISTERED CHARITY NO. 1157842

Wearing the Society Colours Worth Society Merchandise

www.worthsociety.org.uk

Ties @ £20.00 each Choice of: • 100% smooth silk with Worth cross and crown motif embroidered onto a navy background (pictured above) • 100% smooth silk, navy blue and gold striped tie • 100% reppe silk, navy blue and gold striped tie

Enamel Cufflinks Each pair comes in its own presentation box and is available in either a chain-link or T-bar fitting • Chain-link @ £35.00 per pair • T-bar @ £30.00 per pair

Sterling Silver Charm @ £30.00 Engraved with the Worth crown and cross motif, has a sterling silver lobster claw fitting for attachment.

Hallmarked on the reverse and comes in its own navy blue presentation box

Socks @ £10.00 100% cotton striped in Worthian colours, choice of: • Gentlemen’s, short (size 6-12) • Ladies’, long (size 3-7)

Visit the Merchandise section of the Worth Society website at www.worthsociety.org.uk and purchase items safely and securely using PayPal.