Download PDF - Old Brutonian Association

OBA NEWSLETTER 2005
LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT
e-mail address: rhysjones@oldbrutonians.com .
Dear Old Brutonians,
This is my last letter to the OBA as President and I must
say that the three years has passed in a flash. Since the
last Newsletter, the School has welcomed the new
Headmaster, Nigel Lashbrook, his wife Jill and their family
to Bruton and we wish them every success and happiness
in their new home.
My proudest moment was obviously the visit to the
School of HRH The Countess of Wessex. She was very
happy to see the School and Hazlegrove, and thoroughly
enjoyed the day. It was a great pleasure to me that the
visit started at Sexey's Hospital, where Mary Tyndall
kindly showed us around her delightful apartment, and
my only regret was that John, my Housemaster in Old
House, was not there to meet my daughter. I sincerely
hope the School obtained some benefit from the visit
following all the hard work put into the occasion.
During the visit The Countess opened the New Norton
Library and unveiled the portrait of Air Chief Marshal Sir
Peter Squire which hangs there. This portrait was
presented to the School by the OBA in order that it will be
an inspiration to future generations of boys, and also as a
fitting tribute to a high achieving Old Brutonian. I would
like to thank Peter for agreeing to it and for all the trouble
he took during the sittings. Everyone visiting the School
should make a point of inspecting the new Library and
viewing the portrait. In addition, the portrait of
D.E.Norton has been moved from the John Davie Room
and now hangs in the entrance to the Norton Library to
complete the connection.
During the year the Committee agreed to increase the
value of the OBA Scholarships offered to begin to bring
them more in line with other Scholarships available.
However, this will need the support of you, the members,
so if you are not currently contributing to the OBA
Charitable Trust, I earnestly ask you to do so. I am sure the
Vice President will enlarge on this topic elsewhere.
The development of OB sport continues and anyone
wishing to participate or organise an OB sporting activity,
not already covered, should contact John-Kai Flerning, our
Sports Coordinator. The Committee is always willing to
consider some financial support – just present a good case.
Since retiring from the Committee, Jamie Reach has
taken over the task of developing the OBA Regalia and,
after some unavoidable initial delays, is beginning to
tackle the matter. I know he has some interesting ideas
and you can soon look forward to a greater range of items.
The meetings with the Sixth Form Leavers have
continued, and I am sure this opportunity for future
members to see what the OBA does and stands for will be
beneficial. I would like to thank Jamie Reach, Kate
Sedgman and David Hindley for their hard work and for
making these meetings possible.
The London Lunch, although not an "official" OBA
event, was once again a great success, covered elsewhere,
and was attended by The Countess of Wessex as our guest
of honour. My thanks go to Richard and Alice Taylor, and
also Richard Sullivan for all their hard work. This again
brings me to the subject of the Bruton Dinner in June. Last
year's event was a very good occasion, enjoyed by
everyone, marred only during the night by a few
irresponsible people. This dinner deserves greater support
from the membership and I look forward to seeing more of
you there this Summer.
I wish to record my sincere thanks to all the OBs who
have served and are serving on the Committee for all the
support they have given during my time as President.
Particularly, I must thank David Hindley and Colin Hughes
upon whom the vast majority of the work falls, and who
always come up smiling. Also, Richard Sullivan, who as
Vice President took it upon himself (and his longsuffering
wife Jan) to provide board and lodging on my visits to
Somerset - he will shortly discover the position of Vice
President is but a sinecure! Also, my thanks go to all the
"extras" who assist in the running of the OBA, such as the
sports organisers, the Dinner organisers, Harry Witherby
(IT), the Honorary Auditors, Jan Juneman (for keeping
DJCH sane), and anyone I have forgotten. My grateful
thanks to them all.
Finally, may I say that I have thoroughly enjoyed my
three year stint as your President, and I hand over the post
to the new President with my very best wishes to him and
every member of The Old Brutonian Association.
Floreat Brutonia!
Christopher Rhys-Jones
President , Old Brutonian Association
To update addresses or to inform us of news for
publication in the annual newsletter please contact:
The O.B.A. Office, King’s School ,
Bruton, Somerset BA10 0ED
Telephone/fax: 01749 813253
e-mail: oba@kingsbruton.com
OLD BRUTONIAN ASSOCIATION NEWSLETTER 2005 5