magazine - Somerville College - University of Oxford

6 | Somerville Magzine
1959 Golden Anniversary Reunion
& Golden Egg Fund
The 1959 Golden Anniversary Reunion held at
Somerville on 8-10 September 2009 was an innovative
and ambitious project in several respects.
LIZ FINCH
(Gamble, 1959, PPE)
First, there was the length of the event, which was
designed to bring a year group together over three days.
Second, there was the challenge of producing a booklet
of biographies and recent photos to accelerate the mutual
re-acquaintance – and to provide a permanent reference
for us and a career archive for the College. Third, and most
important, we aimed to invent a tradition to benefit
Somerville by making a joint year-group donation or
‘Golden Egg’ to give something back, fifty years on,
to the College which had nurtured us.
With these aims set and the event organised (by a
few members of the year group with support from the
Alumni Offi ce), success depended on an enthusiastic
response from the rest. It was forthcoming: the booklet
contains brief biographies of 55 undergraduates and two
postgraduates. Out of 67 who matriculated in 1959, 60
survive and 41 were able to attend the Reunion, together
with three postgraduates. Above all the response to
the Golden Egg initiative astonished us by its generosity.
As we sipped our welcoming champagne in the sunlit
garden on the first evening, groups were dynamic, changing
shape continuously as others arrived and seemingly
youthful feet tripped across the grass to embrace friends
from fifty years ago. The following morning our key event
took place: we sat in a single large circle exchanging
reflections on our life experiences since Somerville. This
was a truly memorable session, frank and fascinating, and
could have filled any amount of time available! After lunch
– and more conversation – some members of the year led
tours of libraries, museums and art galleries prior to a talk
and video on the life and work of our Principal, Dame Janet
Vaughan, who had influenced and inspired so many of us.
Then followed the Gala Reception and Dinner.
The climax of the Golden Reunion was the announcement
of the total of our Golden Egg Donation, which, notwithstanding
our ambition to assist the College, surprised and
delighted us all by its size – over £31,000 towards the
new student accommodation buildings on the Radcliffe
Observatory Quarter! The following morning, the Principal
joined us for breakfast and a lively question-and-answer
session, and our programme ended with a guided tour of
the tranquil gardens.
The mood as we drank coffee on the lawns was a happy mix
of contentment and, above all, hope. Our greatest hope is
that the Golden Egg tradition has indeed been invented. We
know that the year of 1960 is carrying it on – let us trust that
subsequent years will feel a similar debt to Somerville and a
similar wish to keep up this tangible flow of gratitude.
The 1959 Golden Egg
Committee: (l – r top)
Helen Boon,
Eleanor Arie
(l – r bottom) Liz Finch,
Caroline Barron