Versa: Issue Seven
Versa is a biannual publication and will be published every autumn and spring term. Versa has replaced the former magazine, OA Bulletin and will offer a comprehensive insight into the many facets of alumni life.
Versa is a biannual publication and will be published every autumn and spring term. Versa has replaced the former magazine, OA Bulletin and will offer a comprehensive insight into the many facets of alumni life.
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VERSA<br />
OA NEWS<br />
VIRTUAL GOLDEN JUBILEE REUNION<br />
A NEW BRITISH RECORD<br />
MEET THE OA ASSOCIATION<br />
TRYING TIMES<br />
PICKARD AND<br />
AUTUMN 2020<br />
THE PROMS<br />
David Pickard (OA 1978)
Inside<br />
this issue<br />
Editorial Team<br />
Chris Harbour<br />
Sarah Osborne<br />
OA Merchandise 2<br />
OA President’s Notes 3<br />
OA Events 4<br />
School House to Rectory 7<br />
Featured OA – David Pickard 8<br />
Announcements 10<br />
OA News 11<br />
A Venture into Post-War Europe 16<br />
Ask the Archivist 17<br />
Meet the OA Association 18<br />
Committee Members<br />
Give the Gift of Education 20<br />
this Christmas<br />
OA Sports 21<br />
@oldalbanianassociation<br />
@OAAssociation<br />
St Albans School<br />
Archives<br />
Old Albanian<br />
Networking:<br />
St Albans School<br />
St Albans School Foundation | CHARITY NO. 1092932
2 3<br />
OA ASSOCIATION<br />
President<br />
Mike Hodge<br />
07774 161624<br />
mike@mikehodge.co.uk<br />
Secretary<br />
David Buxton<br />
01727 840499<br />
davidbuxton36@gmail.com<br />
Treasurer<br />
David Hughes<br />
07701 027881<br />
hughespost@hotmail.co.uk<br />
Membership Secretary<br />
Roger Cook<br />
01727 836877<br />
rogercook@btinternet.com<br />
Hon. Auditor<br />
Peter Dew<br />
01582 453773<br />
peter.a.dew@btinternet.com<br />
OA SPORTS<br />
RUGBY<br />
www.oarugby.com<br />
President<br />
Richard Milnes<br />
07940 255355<br />
richard.milnes@oarugby.com<br />
Chairman<br />
Rory Davis<br />
07748 146521<br />
rory.davis@oarugby.com<br />
Hon. Treasurer<br />
Rick Powdrell<br />
07795 200125<br />
rick.powdrell@oarugby.com<br />
Hon. Secretary<br />
Peter Lipscomb<br />
07856 240229<br />
peter.lipscomb@oarugby.com<br />
Joint Mini Chairmen<br />
James Hathaway<br />
07793 609279<br />
james.hathaway@oarugby.com<br />
Scott Bachmann<br />
07931 338080<br />
scott.bachmann@oarugby.com<br />
Junior Chairman<br />
Ian Tomlins<br />
07867 971585<br />
ian.tomlins@oarugby.com<br />
OA Saints Chairperson<br />
Steph Plunkett<br />
steph.plunkett@oarugby.com<br />
FOOTBALL<br />
President<br />
Nick Jackson<br />
oldalbaniansfc@gmail.com<br />
CRICKET<br />
www.oacc.org.uk<br />
Chairman<br />
David Goodier<br />
07796 551657<br />
davidgoodier@hotmail.com<br />
President<br />
Richard Morgan<br />
01727 843844<br />
richard.morgan50@btinternet.com<br />
Director of Cricket<br />
Simon Bates<br />
07720 383600<br />
simon.bates@s2mprofits.co.uk<br />
Treasurer<br />
Richard Ransley<br />
07878 499432<br />
richransley@gmail.com<br />
Secretary<br />
Alison Finley<br />
01727 853985<br />
ajfinley@ntlworld.com<br />
TENNIS<br />
www.oatennis.com<br />
Membership Enquiries<br />
Matt Hume<br />
matthume@btinternet.com<br />
RIFLE & PISTOL<br />
www.oashooting.com<br />
President<br />
Owen Simmons<br />
01438 840674<br />
olsandpjs@aol.com<br />
Captain<br />
Andrew Wilkie<br />
01202 424190<br />
Andrew.wilkie@ymail.com<br />
Treasurer<br />
Andrew Moore<br />
01984 641539<br />
caroline985moore@btinternet.com<br />
GOLF<br />
Captain<br />
Peter Dredge<br />
01582 834572<br />
pjdredge42@aol.com<br />
Hon. Secretary<br />
Kevin O’Donoghue<br />
01525 758356<br />
kevin.odonoghue19@gmail.com<br />
OA LODGE<br />
Assistant Secretary<br />
John Williams<br />
01438 715679<br />
johntwilliams@talktalk.net<br />
SCHOOL<br />
www.st-albans.herts.sch.uk<br />
Development Director<br />
Kate Gray<br />
01727 515177<br />
kgray@st-albans.herts.sch.uk<br />
Alumni Relations &<br />
Development Manager<br />
Chris Harbour<br />
01727 515184<br />
charbour@st-albans.herts.sch.uk<br />
Alumni Relations &<br />
Development Assistant<br />
Sarah Osborne<br />
01727 224540<br />
slosborne@st-albans.herts.sch.uk<br />
Archivist<br />
Sue Gregory<br />
01727 515178<br />
sgregory@st-albans.herts.sch.uk<br />
EDITORIAL TEAM<br />
Chris Harbour<br />
Alumni Relations & Development<br />
Manager<br />
Sarah Osborne<br />
Alumni Relations & Development<br />
Assistant<br />
OA<br />
MERCHANDISE<br />
We have recently expanded our range of OA merchandise and now<br />
stock woolly hats, tracksuit bottoms and Christmas baubles! Why<br />
not pick up a stocking filler for the OA in your life?<br />
1<br />
2<br />
Please go to www.oaconnect.co.uk to view our complete range<br />
of merchandise. Items can be purchased on our website or by<br />
contacting the team on oaevents@st-albans.herts.sch.uk or<br />
01727 515187. Alternatively, please complete the form below, and<br />
send to: Development Office, St Albans School, Abbey Gateway,<br />
St Albans, AL3 4HB. International p&p prices may vary.<br />
[1] OA Tracksuit Bottoms<br />
£25.00 (+ £2 UK p&p)<br />
Navy blue cotton blend drawstring lounge tracksuit bottoms featuring<br />
the white School crest. Available in sizes S, M, L, XL and XXL.<br />
[2] OA Knitted Beanie Hat<br />
£12.50 (+ £2 UK p&p)<br />
Navy blue acrylic hat featuring the white School crest and a navy and<br />
grey bobble.<br />
[3] St Albans School Christmas Bauble<br />
£5.00 (+ £2 UK p&p)<br />
A brushed silver bauble featuring the blue School crest and packaged<br />
in a transparent acetate box.<br />
Name<br />
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payable to St Albans School Foundation<br />
Please debit my: Visa/Delta MasterCard UK Maestro<br />
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(if applicable)<br />
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for £<br />
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code:<br />
OA PRESIDENT’S NOTES<br />
I<br />
closed my notes for <strong>Versa</strong>: <strong>Issue</strong> 6 with the words “By the<br />
time my notes are read, we might have a clearer picture<br />
[about Covid]”. Well, the only clarity and certainty we have is<br />
that Covid will affect all our lives for a very long time to come. I<br />
would just ask all my readers to be as careful as you can be.<br />
In the last six months, I have attended NO school functions,<br />
which has been a huge disappointment to me. However, I was<br />
delighted to be told that the two victores ludorum for the OA<br />
President’s Prize were Lauren Adams and Kemjika Oguike<br />
who are both exceptional in their sporting fields. Lauren was<br />
the Lacrosse Captain and, despite being injured, motivated<br />
her team mates to great successes from the side lines. She was<br />
also in the Netball 1st VII. Kemjika is an outstanding athlete<br />
and played 1st XV rugby for two seasons. He scored many<br />
extraordinary tries through immensely powerful running. In<br />
a very strong sporting year, his all-round contribution stood<br />
out. Many congratulations to Lauren and Kemjika – two very<br />
worthwhile winners of the OA President’s Prize.<br />
I have received a splendid<br />
letter from Fergus (pictured<br />
left) who was the inaugural<br />
winner of the OA President’s<br />
Sports Grant in 2019. This<br />
is a grant, given by the Old<br />
Albanian Association, to<br />
help a selected up-andcoming<br />
sports person in<br />
their quest for improvement.<br />
Fergus told me he had<br />
purchased dumbbells and<br />
FERGUS<br />
plates so that he could<br />
work on his strength and<br />
conditioning whilst all the gyms were closed. He is this year’s<br />
1st XV Rugby Captain but, in all probability, is not going to<br />
lead his team out at Woollams this term. A great shame. The<br />
OAA wishes Fergus every success with his rugby prowess in<br />
the future.<br />
Turning, now, to OA matters. I am often asked about the<br />
Old Albanian Sports Association and how it interfaces with<br />
the OAA. OAs (and, I am sure, parents and students of the<br />
School) are often interested in the role that OAA plays in the<br />
running of “OAs” at Woollams. So, I thought it would be a<br />
good idea to use some of my space here to try and explain the<br />
workings at Woollams…<br />
As you are hopefully aware, OASA is a charity created after<br />
we moved to Woollams from Beech Bottom in 2002. OASA<br />
is completely independent from OAA, though OAA appoints<br />
trustees to the OASA Board. The OASA does not run the sports<br />
Mike Hodge (OA 1965), OA President<br />
clubs that use Woollams’ facilities and that is a fact which is<br />
sometimes not understood. The primary objective of OASA is<br />
the delivery of a community sports facility which is available to<br />
EVERYONE at any age. I like to think that we have been hugely<br />
successful in this aim and continue to live up to the ambitions<br />
of those many OAs who have helped shape OASA, Woollams<br />
and the Community facility.<br />
The day-to-day running of the facility is handled by a full-time<br />
team led most ably by the General Manager, Paul Watkins. He<br />
and his team look after the facility, ensure the various sports<br />
clubs can train and play their matches, cater to Saracens and<br />
manage a full third-party events calendar, bringing in key<br />
revenue to the charity. That is, of course, until the Coronavirus<br />
hit. Just don’t forget – if you need a venue for an event in St<br />
Albans, please call OASA.<br />
Paul and the team report to part-time CEO, Craig Tallents, who<br />
has been involved in OASA for the last 12 years. Craig and Paul<br />
report to an Operations Board on a monthly basis. The Board<br />
consists entirely of volunteers – a couple of whom are Trustees<br />
of OASA. They act as a Board of Directors responsible for<br />
ensuring that OASA is on track and operating efficiently.<br />
The final piece of the jigsaw is the OAA Trustees, of which I am<br />
one of 11. Most of us regularly attend Woollams and are kept<br />
up to date on what is going on. As you can well imagine, the last<br />
six months have been particularly tough but we have, thus far,<br />
weathered the storm.<br />
I have, fortunately, been able to attend one reunion event this<br />
year and that was at the beginning of October when eight of<br />
the OA 1965 vintage turned up at The Digby Tap in Sherborne<br />
for our annual meeting. I am told by the Digby Tap archivist<br />
(Rick Moore) that this event commenced in July 2008 – about<br />
two months before our 50th School Reunion (18th September<br />
2008), which celebrated our first day at School on 18th<br />
September 1958. The Digby Tap group was started by Rick<br />
Moore, Barry Mackenzie and Bill Neale. Various “new bugs”<br />
have now joined the select band including “Sid” Owen, Dave<br />
Merriott, Pete Smith, Andy Wilkie, Alun Lewis, Dave Chapman<br />
and myself. Rick Moore and Dave Chapman were unable to be<br />
with us this year due to Covid reasons but the rest of us had an<br />
excellent socially distanced session of four on each table. The<br />
event is enjoyed hugely by us all – even if many of the stories are<br />
repeated. But would we know?<br />
We live in very challenging times but I am delighted to know<br />
that the School is in good heart and functioning in the ‘new<br />
normal’. We can only hope that our lives will become easier<br />
once we have this virus under control. Please stay safe and well<br />
for the next issue!
4 5<br />
OA Events<br />
Our usual calendar of reunions, networking events, concerts and dinners<br />
have all made way for virtual meets and online events.<br />
Thank you to our OA community for joining us at these virtual<br />
occasions and we will continue to bring you creative and inventive ways<br />
of socialising and staying in touch with your alma mater!<br />
CLASS OF<br />
1960<br />
Reunion<br />
VIRTUAL<br />
GOLDEN<br />
JUBILEE<br />
Reunion<br />
THE GREAT<br />
ST ALBANS<br />
SCHOOL<br />
Virtual Quiz<br />
In October, we hosted our first ever virtual quiz, in<br />
which OAs could participate by completing online<br />
questions about the School site, its history and sporting<br />
achievements.<br />
Many thanks to those who took part – we hope it was<br />
enjoyable and bought back some memories of the School.<br />
Congratulations go to Jeremy Bromfield (OA 1968) and his<br />
daughter Anna Bromfield (OA 2014), who won the quiz with<br />
a score of 33 out of 41.<br />
VE DAY<br />
Virtual Afternoon<br />
Tea Party<br />
On Friday 8th May, we marked the 75th<br />
anniversary of VE Day with a virtual alumni<br />
event on Teams. All OAs were invited to join<br />
Development Director, Kate Gray (sporting a Great<br />
Britain headdress), for a celebratory afternoon, where<br />
OAs could share memories and pay tribute to all the<br />
servicemen and women who played a part during<br />
WWII.<br />
We were lucky enough to hear Robin Ollington’s<br />
(OA 1947) account of the memorable day and the<br />
celebrations which took place on St Peter’s Street 75<br />
years ago.<br />
Reuniting virtually to celebrate 60 years<br />
since leaving the School, the Class of<br />
1960 shared a drink and some stories<br />
on a Zoom call on Thursday 23rd April. The<br />
international group proposed a toast to the<br />
School and each other, before reminiscing<br />
about times then and now.<br />
Although we were unable to host our Golden Jubilee<br />
Reunion in person, we were delighted to hold a<br />
virtual version of the event on Friday 19th June<br />
2020 for the Classes of 1970 (50 years since leaving the<br />
School) and 1977 (50 years since joining the School). We<br />
were pleased to welcome OAs from both years and we<br />
hope that everybody thoroughly enjoyed catching up and<br />
reminiscing after many years apart.<br />
During the event, OAs shared photos from their time at the<br />
School and discussed the School band, Fantasy. There was also<br />
talk of a reunion when life returns to normal and a suggestion<br />
that Fantasy should reunite to play some tunes! Many thanks<br />
to all who attended and we hope that the physical reunion<br />
may be a possibility in the future.<br />
VIRTUAL SYDNEY DRINKS<br />
Old Albanians can be found all over the world<br />
and we are keen to keep our international<br />
alumni just as involved as those closer to<br />
home. Previous OA international events have taken<br />
place in New York and San Francisco, and our<br />
intention for 2020 was Sydney, Australia.<br />
Unfortunately, the event was put on hold due to the<br />
pandemic. In its place, we decided to host a virtual<br />
drinks event on Thursday 13th August, 6pm (AEDT<br />
time). We were pleased to have had the opportunity<br />
to speak to a number of OAs who we otherwise would<br />
not have seen for many years. Many thanks to those<br />
who attended.
6 7<br />
OA Events<br />
FOUNDERS’<br />
DAY<br />
OAA<br />
AGM<br />
SCHOOL HOUSE<br />
TO RECTORY<br />
by Louis Baycock (OA 1949)<br />
On Saturday 4th July, Founders’ Day was somewhat different<br />
to its usual format. Every year, the School community comes<br />
together to commemorate the Founders of the School with<br />
a Service in the Abbey, followed by a drinks reception, lunch and<br />
Summer Social at Woollams. Although we were unable to hold the<br />
event on site this year, we were pleased to share the Headmaster’s<br />
address with OAs via email. Our thanks go to all the OAs who sent<br />
in positive feedback about the address, as well as to everyone who<br />
contributed to its success.<br />
THE GREAT<br />
ST ALBANS SCHOOL<br />
Bake Off<br />
As part of our virtual events programme, we are<br />
celebrating the return of the Great British Bake Off<br />
to our television screens, with The Great St Albans<br />
School Bake Off competition.<br />
Once a month until the end of term, we are<br />
launching a new baking challenge and asking<br />
our School community to get involved.<br />
October’s challenge was ‘Best in Class’<br />
cake and we were inundated with entries!<br />
Congratulations go to Ben in the Fourth<br />
Form and parent Ms Cliffe for winning their<br />
respective categories with their incredible cakes,<br />
pictured right.<br />
The final challenge this December is a Bûche de<br />
Noël (yule log), so get baking! Every participant<br />
who signs up receives a baking kit, and the<br />
winners of each round are awarded prizes. Visit<br />
our social media pages for information on how<br />
to sign up.<br />
BEN'S CAKE<br />
The 128th Annual General Meeting<br />
of the Old Albanian Association has<br />
been rescheduled from Monday 7th<br />
December to Wednesday 20th January at<br />
8pm. All members are welcome to attend<br />
the virtual meeting. Please contact David<br />
Buxton, OAA Secretary, to request the link<br />
to join (contact details on page 2).<br />
MS CLIFFE'S CAKE<br />
There was never any doubt in my family that I would<br />
follow my brother Ken (OA 1932) to the School. It<br />
was going to happen, and that was that. So, in due<br />
time I sat the entrance exam in Room 22 in the Gateway – a<br />
room I was to visit again some 60 years later for an OA Lodge<br />
meeting when I was an assistant Provincial Grand Master for<br />
Devonshire.<br />
I arrived at School House in September 1946, after saying<br />
a brave goodbye to my mother. Ration Book duly handed<br />
over, I found myself in Upper Dorm, with John Willé as<br />
Housemaster and Christopher Bloxham as his deputy. The<br />
dorm was on the top floor, iron bedsteads with a ‘biscuit’ type<br />
mattress. The wash basins were under the windows which we<br />
had to sleep with open every night.<br />
I began in 3B, with R.K. Hands as Form Master and set about<br />
learning. Homework for boarders was in the Big Lecture<br />
Room in the Science Block. At weekends, School House<br />
boarders were “entertained” in that room by the Head, W.T.<br />
Marsh.<br />
We had breaks when term finished – how I looked forward<br />
to those breaks – home on the 712 or 713 Green Line to<br />
Mill Hill. I also looked forward to Sundays, with its ritual<br />
giving out of small envelopes with one’s ‘Personal Points’ in<br />
it together with 7d, sixpence for sweets at Ma Piggott’s sweet<br />
shop just up the hill to town, and a penny for the collection in<br />
the 9.30 service at the Abbey. Going to the Abbey gave me my<br />
love of the Church of England, which has been a major factor<br />
in my life! I was prepared for Confirmation by the Sub-Dean,<br />
Canon Douglas Feaver, who I met again when he was Bishop<br />
of Peterborough sometime in the late 70s.<br />
The very severe winter of 1947 was enormous fun and<br />
very very cold, as we found when we woke up one January<br />
morning to find snow all over the washbasins, and oh boy!<br />
Was it cold! But we had a lot of fun with a huge slide down<br />
the upper quad. Ice skates were sent for or borrowed, and we<br />
skated down Abbeymill Lane to the lake. We even skated up<br />
and down the Head’s drive!<br />
Arriving in 4B was a step up, and I came under the influence<br />
of P.R. Heather. I learned a lot from him, not least a love of<br />
the English language and eventually a rise to 5A for English,<br />
learning Chaucer at his best!<br />
I was still a boarder for the winter term in 1947, and it<br />
happened that one day I was called out of class. My brother<br />
wanted to speak to me, and as we walked around the quad he<br />
told me that our father had died. He had been terminally ill<br />
for a long time, and his possible death was something that I<br />
must have known subconsciously, as it didn’t seem to come as<br />
a surprise. My mother could no longer afford the fees, so I had<br />
to cease boarding and become a “Daybug”, the breed of which<br />
boarders were contemptuous. This had advantages for me<br />
as a train enthusiast – commuting every day from Mill Hill<br />
was a delight! School routine was just the same for dayboy<br />
or boarder except that dayboys ate lunch in the dining room<br />
under the Factory Block.<br />
1948 was the great year when the School was 1000 years old,<br />
and we joined together with the city to make a great thing<br />
of ‘948 to 1948’, with a superb pageant which was great fun.<br />
1949 came to be a great year for getting out and about. At<br />
Easter Mr Jarry organised his usual trip to the Lake District<br />
and that was most enjoyable, apart from the fact that on<br />
arriving at Keswick, I was on the luggage rack with my<br />
shoelaces tied together! I met my Waterloo when climbing<br />
Helvellyn, as I ‘froze’, and had to be pushed from behind by<br />
Brian Ward, whom I later linked up with at the OA Lodge. It<br />
turned out that I was suffering from Chicken Pox at the time<br />
without knowing it, and consequently gave it to some on the<br />
expedition!<br />
Then came the days of exams. Results came out in the<br />
summer holidays and I received mine unofficially – quite,<br />
in my view, spectacularly. I was in camp with the Crusaders<br />
Union at Polzeath and went into the village Post Office to get<br />
something. Who should be there but Marsh! ‘Surprise!’ was<br />
not the word – he said ‘Ah, Baycock, you’ve done quite well,<br />
but you need another subject to get Matric.” Needless to say, a<br />
telegram was sent home there and then, to which my mother<br />
replied in the words so often used by L. G. Walker: “Good,<br />
splendid, Excellent”!<br />
In the Christmas term I re-sat Geography, and happily I was<br />
able to get the necessary marks for a Credit. So, at the end<br />
of Christmas term 1949, I left School for the big wide world,<br />
quite confident and looking forward to whatever was coming<br />
my way. I feel that my life was influenced for good by so many<br />
characters at School and I remember them with affection. I<br />
am in no doubt at all that School gave me a secure grounding,<br />
and a love of music, architecture and the Church of England,<br />
the latter being something that helped to shape my future!<br />
Louis Baycock was ordained in Peterborough Cathedral and<br />
has had a 50-year career as a priest. Now retired and living<br />
in Devon, you can read a full version of Louis’ memoirs in the<br />
online edition of <strong>Versa</strong> here: www.oaconnect.co.uk/versa
8<br />
9<br />
FACING THE<br />
MUSIC<br />
David Pickard (OA 1978) talks to us about striking the right note as Director of<br />
The Proms and finding the balance between tradition and creativity.<br />
Tell me about your childhood and where you grew up?<br />
I was a chorister at the King’s School in Ely for three years. I<br />
loved singing in the choir but I hated living away from home,<br />
so I came home and enrolled at St Albans School. I remember<br />
it as being an incredibly friendly and welcoming school. I<br />
felt very happy the whole time I was there. I found it a very<br />
intellectually stimulating place to learn.<br />
There was the most amazing teacher called Simon Lindley.<br />
We all talk about inspirational people at school and he was<br />
absolutely one of those. David McCord was another important<br />
part of my musical upbringing. It was he who introduced me to<br />
opera which has become such an important part of my life – he<br />
was the person who got me through my A Levels and got me<br />
into Cambridge. I went as a choral scholar to Corpus Christi.<br />
After University, you went to the Royal Opera House. How<br />
was your time there?<br />
In my gap year before going to Cambridge, I remember my<br />
mother’s insistence that I write to the Royal Opera House.<br />
Incredibly, in December 1978, I got a telegram from the Opera<br />
House saying, “Come in and see us”. It was the lowest of low<br />
roles but to be there was amazing. They gave me a break which<br />
genuinely would not have allowed the rest of my career to<br />
happen had they not, because when I graduated, I wrote to<br />
them again to ask if they had a job and they found me one. It’s<br />
a good example of what I often say to people wanting to get<br />
into the Arts, which is write to people and seize the initiative.<br />
Unbelievably at the age of 22, I was the assistant company<br />
manager of the Royal Opera House.<br />
The New Shakespeare Company then followed…<br />
Yes, we had a staff of three. One was the admin assistant, one<br />
did the casting, and I did everything else – the books, the<br />
banking, checked the loos were clean before performances – it<br />
was very hands on and the best training you can possibly get.<br />
I then went to Kent Opera which was probably the most<br />
difficult moment of my career, as fairly soon after I got there,<br />
the Arts Council withdrew their grant from the company,<br />
which led to voluntary liquidation. If I’m being honest, I was<br />
taking on a job at a company which in retrospect was not<br />
financially viable, but you learn things from even the dark<br />
moments.<br />
Following Kent, in a moment of fate, I found myself working<br />
with Sir John Drummond at the European Arts Festival who<br />
was, at the time, Director of the Proms. Exactly 30 years ago, I<br />
was working with the Director of the Proms not then knowing<br />
that I myself will be Director of the Proms. He was a great<br />
influence on my life.<br />
How did you find working at the Orchestra of the Age of<br />
Enlightenment?<br />
I remember thinking at the time that the Orchestra of the<br />
Age of Enlightenment was a rather odd job for me because<br />
effectively, it’s all about trying to recreate music from the<br />
Baroque classical period as those composers would have heard<br />
it, played on very old, or copies of old instruments. It is quite<br />
rigidly academic in that sense. Actually, what the OAE did was<br />
convert me. I realised these people were not trying to create<br />
museum pieces, they were doing the opposite, saying “you think<br />
you know this piece but we’re going to show it in a completely<br />
different colour”. Sir Martin Smith (OA 1960) interviewed me<br />
for the job and at the end he said to me, “you should know we<br />
went to the same school”. I had never met anyone who had been<br />
to St Albans School before! It was a rather nice moment.<br />
You set up the Orchestra’s first education programme, do<br />
you believe the arts and music hold an important place in<br />
Schools?<br />
I think it’s absolutely vital. We must accept that the amount<br />
of classical music heard in most schools is very little. As a<br />
professional musician, it’s important you give something back to<br />
the rest of the community, partly as a social duty but partly for<br />
our survival. If people don’t hear the music of Mozart and Bach<br />
in schools, they’re not going to be sitting in our audiences in 20<br />
years’ time.<br />
What advice would you give to pupils passionate about<br />
music and wanting to follow a career path in music?<br />
The big change in the musical world is what I call the iPod<br />
generation. When my children were growing up, they had<br />
access to a whole variation of music. When I was at St Albans<br />
School, the other kids used to laugh at me (in a nice way!)<br />
because I listened to Wagner while they were listening to Elvis<br />
Costello. Nowadays, you can listen to both. The musical world<br />
is broad and diverse now, where it never used to be.<br />
In terms of career advice, it’s so hard at the moment as<br />
musicians are suffering enormously in the pandemic, but I<br />
have never regretted following where my heart led me. You<br />
have to decide if you want to go and do a job that pays you a<br />
lot of money but maybe gives you fewer emotional rewards,<br />
or you may not get financial rewards, but your life is richer. I<br />
think everybody must make that call and I have no regrets on<br />
the decision I made.<br />
At Glyndebourne Opera House, you were the first to<br />
livestream performances free of charge. Why did you decide<br />
to do this?<br />
I went to Glyndebourne in my 20s and I remember thinking,<br />
it’s a shame that it is more associated with champagne, wealth<br />
and picnics. Whereas I associate Glyndebourne with quality,<br />
imagination and innovation. I wanted the world to know that<br />
side of it and see the quality of the work without having to go<br />
there. I was particularly proud of the fact that it was free.<br />
You are now Director of the BBC Proms. What did you<br />
want to achieve when taking on this role and how did it feel<br />
to be asked?<br />
Partly because of my relationship with Sir John Drummond,<br />
I had always thought if the role at The Proms came up, which<br />
is regarded as the greatest classical music festival in the<br />
world, I would be interested. With the Proms, you don’t go<br />
in thinking “I’m going to turn this on its head, we’re going to<br />
put an ice rink in the Royal Albert Hall and have skating to<br />
music”. You’re starting with something very successful which<br />
you can change. Part of that change while I have been there<br />
has been around diversity, in the broadest sense of the word.<br />
This includes diversity of the people on the stage and I was<br />
very proud to watch the Last Night of the Proms this year and<br />
see an entirely female line-up. That is indicative of how we<br />
have tried to readdress some of the imbalances in the classical<br />
music world. The other side is diversity in what we present in<br />
music. There shouldn’t be any sacred cows. Music is a creative<br />
business and although we will never get rid of the original, we<br />
should always be thinking of different ways of doing things.<br />
Nobody could have predicted the measures that needed to<br />
be in place for this year’s Proms – how did you deal with the<br />
Coronavirus restrictions?<br />
When I left Broadcasting House for Lockdown in March, our<br />
Proms guide was literally rolling off the printers. We hoped<br />
we could go ahead as planned but each week that went by this<br />
became less and less likely. It came to a point when we had<br />
to make a call on what we could do, and even that was on a<br />
wing and a prayer. Luckily, things moved sufficiently in the<br />
right direction but the guidelines from the government were<br />
changing all the time. We were planning programmes that we<br />
didn’t know whether we could deliver. Thankfully, we did. We<br />
only ever had 40 players on the stage at one time but that was<br />
a huge step forward from what it might have been. It was nailbiting<br />
stuff and I have to say, as we speak now I am very glad<br />
the Proms are not in the first few weeks of November, because<br />
I don’t think we would be able to do now what we did then.<br />
How far into your planning did the decision of not having<br />
an audience get made?<br />
We planned it all along, because for most of this period,<br />
audiences were not permitted. About a week before we were<br />
due to get into the Royal Albert Hall, a decision was made that<br />
we could have an audience but by that point, we had planned<br />
the safety of all our performers and staff which was paramount.<br />
Some people actually preferred the Proms without an audience<br />
as there wasn’t anyone coughing between movements!<br />
There was controversy gained around the Last Night and<br />
the lyrics of Rule Britannia and Land of Hope and Glory.<br />
What was your take on this public row?<br />
What it served to show us is how treasured the traditions are<br />
for the Last Night of the Proms and if I’m honest, I think we<br />
were all very surprised at the level of feeling about it all. We<br />
were trying to make the Last Night as special as it always is<br />
but acknowledge it is not the same without an audience and<br />
a choir. We needed to give people the same feeling of elation,<br />
but in a different way. We started by saying we would have<br />
those famous pieces not sung as we thought that was the best<br />
way to do it musically but then rightly, as we realised this is<br />
not what people wanted, we tweaked it.<br />
Everything has to develop and evolve and I think what we’re<br />
learning now is the pinch points of the Proms, what areas can<br />
grow and what areas are part of the tradition that we leave<br />
alone. The Proms should take people on an emotional journey,<br />
which includes fear, anger, hope and joy. I think the pieces we<br />
chose took people on that journey. Ending with You’ll Never<br />
Walk Alone felt like the right piece to be presenting to an<br />
audience now.<br />
Are you currently working on the 2021 Proms? What plans<br />
do you have for the festival?<br />
We plan two years in advance, so we have most of next year’s<br />
programme filled but we’re still in a totally unknown situation<br />
as to where we will be next July. There are so many unknowns<br />
but we need to assume it will be business as usual. The positive<br />
about all this is it has made us learn to be more flexible,<br />
which I think is true for all organisations. We managed to put<br />
together a stimulating series of concerts at two weeks’ notice,<br />
not two years’ notice. It may be that we have to do that again<br />
next year. It’s good for us all to be more flexible and I hope we<br />
can deliver next year.
10<br />
Announcements<br />
OBITUARIES<br />
ENGAGEMENTS &<br />
ANNIVERSARIES<br />
11<br />
Nigel Hardy Appleyard<br />
(OA 1984) 1965 – 2020<br />
Written by his wife Martine<br />
Appleyard<br />
It is with enormous sadness that the<br />
family announce that Nigel passed<br />
away in the Royal Free Hospital on<br />
Saturday 26th September, aged 54,<br />
following a bravely fought battle with<br />
cancer. Dearly loved and devoted<br />
husband, father and son, he will be terribly missed by his wife<br />
Martine, daughter Siân and mother Rosemary. His warmth,<br />
kindness and good humour will be sorely missed by friends,<br />
family and all who know him. An inspirational teacher and<br />
trainer of teachers, he will also be a massive loss to Goffs<br />
School, Cheshunt where he had taught for 32 years.<br />
A private funeral was held at West Herts Crematorium on<br />
15th October 2020. Due to Covid restrictions, the service<br />
was unfortunately restricted to family and close friends only.<br />
There was a webcast of the service for anyone unable to attend.<br />
Donations if desired in memory of Nigel to be made to the Royal<br />
Free Hospital Quiet Cancer Appeal – Special Trustees Grant 311.<br />
David Stanley<br />
(OA 1974) 1956 – 2020<br />
Written by Chris Rolfe (OA 1974)<br />
David Stanley died on 17 October, just five weeks after a<br />
diagnosis of widespread and aggressive cancer, perhaps a<br />
mercy, but shocking for friends and family.<br />
David joined St Albans School in the autumn of 1967, joining<br />
Form 1C under the tutelage of “Dickie” Bond. Pupils were<br />
arranged alphabetically and as a result, I met David in the first<br />
minutes of our school career and we were friends ever since.<br />
David followed the typically broad school curriculum until A<br />
Levels, when he chose the sciences.<br />
Moving on to Liverpool University, David studied to become<br />
a vet. Once qualified, he moved to Shropshire and spent much<br />
of his career in a practice in Oswestry, caring for larger animals<br />
on farms. Later, he moved to Norwich, practising as a locum for<br />
smaller animal practices and also performing certification work<br />
for the movement of livestock and other foods.<br />
There will be a number of OAs who recall very happy holidays<br />
on the Stanley family narrowboat, Ivy Rose.<br />
Roger Varian Clifford<br />
(OA 1948) 1930-2020<br />
Written by Robin Ollington (OA 1947)<br />
Those of us remaining of the wartime generation will be sorry<br />
to learn of the death in August of ‘Rosie’ Clifford, a nickname<br />
he earnt through the number of leading female roles he found<br />
himself playing in the days of a single sex school. Amongst the<br />
most memorable being that of Gwendoline in ‘The Importance<br />
of Being Earnest’.<br />
Possessing a very good singing voice, Roger became a chorister<br />
at the Abbey from an early age and upon his arrival at St Albans<br />
in 1941, he was immediately co-opted into the School choir.<br />
A keen sportsman, Roger played rugby and cricket at school,<br />
whilst in his role with the Prefecture, he was known for his<br />
fairness and generosity, especially by the junior offenders.<br />
I remember once, he and I had both been caught misbehaving<br />
in some way or another by Charlie Argent. As a punishment,<br />
we were given a detention during which we had to clean all<br />
the school silver which had been locked away for safety during<br />
hostilities and thus over the years had gone black. I will never<br />
forget the smell of metal polish…but it did look amazing!<br />
Michael Entwisle<br />
(OA 1945) 1927 – 2020<br />
Written by his wife Susan<br />
Ketchen<br />
Michael Entwisle was born in<br />
French Guinea on 31st October<br />
1927 and died on 31st July 2020,<br />
in Courtenay, B.C., on the hobby<br />
farm he dubbed, Guineacres.<br />
At the age of five, Michael and his parents returned to England<br />
where Michael attended St Albans School. After completing his<br />
military service as an Officer in the Royal Artillery in Gibraltar,<br />
he studied medicine at St Mary’s Hospital Medical School in<br />
London. He married Rosemary Moore in 1955 and they raised<br />
four children. Michael was in general practice in Wisbech<br />
for eight years, followed by two years in regional hospital<br />
administration in Sheffield and Leicester and three years in<br />
psychiatry, leading to a Diploma in Psychological Medicine<br />
in 1969. In that year, the family emigrated to Calgary, Canada<br />
where Michael joined the new Foothills Hospital and the new<br />
medical school at the University of Calgary. He was appointed<br />
to the Department of Psychiatry at the University in 1971 and in<br />
1991 he was appointed Professor Emeritus.<br />
After the dissolution of his first marriage in 1988, Michael met<br />
Susan Ketchen who lured him to Vancouver Island where for<br />
six years he was Director of Psychiatry at St. Joseph’s General<br />
Hospital, Comox. He retired in 1997 and developed the skills<br />
needed for the country life. He took special pleasure in sharing<br />
his rural paradise with his children, grandchildren, friends and<br />
colleagues. He had an easy laugh and behind his gentle exterior<br />
was a remarkable determined spirit. He died on his terms, in his<br />
own bed with a view out over the pasture to the mountains.<br />
Michael is survived by his wife Susan Ketchen, children<br />
Alison, Christine (Lance) and Stephen, and grandchildren<br />
Kaela (Andrew) and Alexandra (Matt). He was predeceased<br />
by his son Jonathan.<br />
James Mohajer<br />
(OA 2012)<br />
On 14th September 2020, James<br />
Mohajer and Tara Peseschkian got<br />
engaged in London. They hope to get<br />
married in April 2021 in Germany, their<br />
future home.<br />
After seven wonderful years at St Albans School, James went on<br />
to teach music and sport at a school in Zambia during his gap<br />
year. On his return, he studied Law with International Relations at<br />
Canterbury Christ Church University. After completing an LLM in<br />
Public International Law at LSE, James joined Quinn Emanuel as a<br />
Legal Assistant. He will continue his legal career in Germany at GSK<br />
Stockmann from January 2021.<br />
Tara grew up in Wiesbaden, Germany and she studied Medicine at<br />
the University of Kassel, which is in partnership with the University<br />
of Southampton, therefore spending two years in England (and it<br />
was during her time in England that James met Tara). She is now<br />
a foundation year doctor and is hoping to specialise in child and<br />
adolescent psychiatry, following in the footsteps of her father and<br />
grandfather.<br />
The wedding (COVID-19 permitting) will hopefully see a few OAs<br />
attend, including two OA Best Men, Albert Koomson and Nima Salehi<br />
(OAs 2012), as well as James’ former music teacher, David McCord<br />
(1970-2014), who remains a close friend to this day.<br />
Monte Copas<br />
(OA 1942)<br />
Monte and Doreen Copas<br />
recently marked their platinum<br />
wedding anniversary (70<br />
years) with afternoon tea at St<br />
Michael’s Manor.<br />
Both Monte and Doreen were<br />
pupils at Fleetville Junior School. Monte then studied<br />
at St Albans School and Doreen at St Albans Girls<br />
Grammar School. In their teens, the couple joined the<br />
youth group St Peter’s Church Youth Fellowship.<br />
Monte volunteered for the Army in August 1944 and<br />
after training was posted to the Royal Engineers in<br />
Palestine. Doreen qualified as a dancer and toured the<br />
UK for three years in musicals including the Song of<br />
Norway.<br />
Monte and Doreen re-joined the Fellowship in 1948.<br />
Their friendship blossomed and they married in St<br />
Peter’s Church in 1950.<br />
Doreen and Monte began their married life in St<br />
Albans and later moved to Harpenden in 1966 where<br />
they still live. The couple have three children and four<br />
grandchildren.<br />
NEW BEGINNINGS<br />
OA News<br />
In June of this year, Rebecca Sandler (OA 2014) was made redundant from a<br />
Research Associate post based in London. This turned out to be the catalyst for<br />
personal development and growth.<br />
My redundancy left me feeling lost and panicked. Although executive search was<br />
not my passion, it was a solid job with interesting clients and it paid the bills.<br />
For me, personal connection and making a positive difference to people’s<br />
lives is my thing. This led to me retraining in two completely new fields as an<br />
investment in my future. I have now become a Yoga Teacher, having completed<br />
an intensive training qualification. I am also on the road to becoming a<br />
Transformational Life Coach which will propel me into my new career as a<br />
Holistic Wellness Coach. Although a redundancy, a fractured hip and lockdown<br />
were willing me to fail, I took the lemons that 2020 dealt me and, fuelled by<br />
passion, fierce determination and ambition I have begun to rewrite what could<br />
have been a hideous few months.
12 OA News<br />
13<br />
LOCKDOWN<br />
Album Writing<br />
Sean Wyer (Bracebridge) (OA 2016) was Head of<br />
School whilst at St Albans School and went on to<br />
study music at Hertford College, Oxford. He is now<br />
embarking on the start of his music career.<br />
My debut single, “You Don’t Get to Call Me Baby”, is<br />
inspired by my current experiences as a proud Queer pop<br />
artist and my past ones as a closeted teenager. My music<br />
draws from the pop icons of my childhood, and tackles<br />
themes such as body image, self-love, and the pressures<br />
that come with being a young, gay man. This change<br />
has come alongside me completing my degree at the<br />
University of Oxford, touring the world in the a cappella<br />
group Out of the Blue and moving to London to work<br />
with Dan Patterson (creator of Mock the Week) on a new<br />
musical for the West End.<br />
Whilst Covid-19 brought a pause to my intended musical<br />
plans, lockdown offered the opportunity to write a solo<br />
album. I am hugely grateful to my School friend, Tim<br />
Nejad (OA 2016), for illustrating the beautiful album<br />
artwork and Harry Fleet (OA 2015) and Kaine Levy (OA<br />
2014) for directing a series of music videos I intend to<br />
release over the coming months.<br />
This song marks a point of arrival for me; I have come<br />
to fully embrace my authentic self. My hope is that my<br />
music, and my story, can offer some inspiration for<br />
young people seeking to come out and find a confidence<br />
in their own skin.<br />
“You Don’t Get to Call Me Baby” is available on all major<br />
streaming sites or can be purchased on Bandcamp.<br />
A NEW BRITISH<br />
RECORD<br />
On 15th August 2020, Lizzie Bird (OA 2013) won<br />
the 2000m steeplechase in Pontoise, Paris – cutting<br />
almost ten seconds off the previous British best. Lizzie<br />
comments below…<br />
Despite a rough end to the season, I am very grateful that I<br />
had the opportunity to race this year. Because of all the race<br />
cancellations, I just took whatever race opportunities came<br />
up and ended up with three races in eight days to start the<br />
season! A local road 5000m, a 1500m (both of which I ran<br />
PBs in) and the 2000m steeplechase in Paris. I had never run<br />
a 2000m steeplechase before (it's a non-Olympic distance, so<br />
not raced very frequently) but thought it would be fun and I<br />
knew I'd have a good chance of breaking the record.<br />
It was a low-key meet with relatively small fields, but a few<br />
of us were trying to run fast. Irene Sanchez-Escribano was<br />
aiming for the Spanish record and Aimee Pratt was also<br />
aiming for the British record. A pacemaker led the first<br />
kilometre and then I took the lead for the rest of the race,<br />
with Irene close behind me. The clock wasn't working so I had<br />
no clue what pace we were running, but I was pretty excited<br />
to find out afterwards that we'd both broken our national<br />
records!<br />
I was looking forward to competing for the British title (and<br />
the 3000m steeplechase record) at the British championships<br />
in Manchester, but unfortunately I picked up a stomach bug<br />
and I didn’t have time to recover before the end of this very<br />
short season. I will have to save that for 2021!<br />
THE FLYING<br />
CIRCUS<br />
Jerry Ward (OA 1977) learnt to fly at the age of 17 with an<br />
RAF scholarship. Jerry spent 20 years in the RAF including<br />
30 missions in a Tornado fighter during the first Gulf<br />
War, then flying commercially up until a tragic accident in<br />
November 2007. What followed was 22 months in hospital,<br />
three on a ventilator, before getting home and trying to carry<br />
on with life as best as possible. He has completed the Great<br />
Manchester Run 10 times in his wheelchair being pushed<br />
by friends, family, and supporters, and continues to actively<br />
fundraise to benefit others.<br />
“Due to all the restrictions with Covid-19 this year, I haven't<br />
been able to do the regular Manchester Run, or any corporate<br />
dinner talks to help with charity fundraising. So, to combine<br />
my passion for all things aviation related, we came up with<br />
a plan to raise funds for three great charities: Back-up Trust,<br />
Aspire and Fly2Help.<br />
“On Monday 21st September, I took to the skies again. Not<br />
wanting to do it the easy way, we were in three, 1940s Stearman<br />
bi-planes. At least, I was in one, my wing-women were standing<br />
on top! Huge thanks go to AeroSuperBatics, my wing-women/<br />
carers and for everybody’s support over the last 13 years.”<br />
To donate, please go to uk.virginmoneygiving.com/Team/<br />
FattysFlyingCircus.<br />
After a varied career in business, David Tearle (OA 1965) decided to exercise his<br />
writing skills to produce a number of books on American and British history. For<br />
his latest work, David has turned closer to home…<br />
In September, we mark the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Britain. We also celebrate the<br />
Spitfire but what is less well known is the role that the aircraft played more than a year<br />
earlier – and without firing its guns.<br />
In early 1939 the British Secret Service hatched a plan to use an unarmed Spitfire to fly<br />
secret reconnaissance missions high over Nazi Germany to establish the true extent of<br />
its readiness for war. I knew some of this story because my father designed the camera<br />
that went into that Spitfire. In the last few years, I have been able to uncover the story<br />
behind MI6’s ‘secret’ espionage air-force that changed aerial intelligence forever. All this<br />
was achieved by two former World War 1 fighter pilots and an American/Mexican arms<br />
dealer with a very shady past…<br />
‘Winterbotham, Cotton and Miranda’ will be available on Amazon in the New Year.<br />
BEGIN AGAIN<br />
Brian Scruby (OA 1950) took full advantage of the<br />
Covid-19 hiatus to write his autobiography, Begin<br />
Again. Born in England to parents Iris and Charles,<br />
a war correspondent and a real estate developer, the book<br />
witnesses the sweep of history from the Blitz on London to<br />
the development of the American television industry and<br />
the coming digital age. Brian tells of his experiences during<br />
the German bombings of his town on the glide path out of<br />
London as a youth, and of the lessons learned from building<br />
a career in the nascent television business. He covers life<br />
lessons learned from surviving hurricanes and flooding,<br />
the Coronavirus and everything in between. Brian has<br />
extensively travelled around the world and in Begin Again,<br />
shares much of what today’s world has to offer.<br />
The e-book is available to purchase from Amazon.<br />
SPITFIRE SECRETS
14<br />
OA News<br />
15<br />
TAKING IT UP A GEAR<br />
Tipped off by Nigel WoodSmith about<br />
Andrew Grant’s (Headmaster 1993-<br />
2014) recent successes on the bike, we<br />
found out more about the record breaking<br />
feats Andrew has accomplished with his club,<br />
Cambridge CC.<br />
When I retired, among other projects for<br />
which I now had time, was a resumption of<br />
a cycle-racing career interrupted by the need<br />
to work for a living, forty years after I last led<br />
Cambridge to victory in the Varsity Match.<br />
My club, Cambridge CC, has a formidable<br />
veterans team, some of whom I used to ride<br />
with forty years ago, so, having accrued<br />
five national records and four national<br />
championships at various distances in the past<br />
five years, as well as contributing to numerous<br />
national team wins, I had high hopes of the<br />
BOB WILLIS<br />
Trophy<br />
In August, George Scott (OA 2014) was part of<br />
the Gloucestershire team to take on Warwickshire<br />
in the Bob Willis Trophy. After a couple of weeks,<br />
training, the team started the 5-game series of 4-day<br />
matches in the modified tournament. After missing<br />
the first match against Worcestershire with a side<br />
strain, Scott was lucky enough to play the remaining<br />
games, fulfilling the role of an all-rounder.<br />
“Having moved from Middlesex at the end of<br />
last season, it was very fulfilling to be given this<br />
backed run in the Gloucestershire side, and to<br />
make meaningful contributions. Our win against<br />
Warwickshire, bowling them out on the last day, was<br />
about as much fun as I’ve had on a cricket pitch!”<br />
2020 season until Covid-19 scuppered it.<br />
The East District 50-mile Championship, based<br />
at Attleborough, was one of the survivors as the<br />
season struggled back to life after lockdown and<br />
the 50-mile record was one I’d already identified<br />
as vulnerable.<br />
On the day, there was a constant threat – amply<br />
fulfilled – of heavy showers, but pressure was<br />
low and winds were light, making for very<br />
fast conditions for those who avoided coming<br />
to grief at any of the 14 roundabouts made<br />
greasy by the rain. I managed to stay upright<br />
and finished in 1:45:56. which took almost five<br />
minutes off the previous national veteran record<br />
and was good enough for 12th place in the open<br />
event against the youngsters as well as winning<br />
the veterans’ competition – one of five such wins<br />
I’ve had in this ragged end of a ravaged season.<br />
RECONSTRUCTING<br />
Abbot John<br />
In 2017, the remains of Abbot John of Wheathampstead<br />
were unearthed, dating over 500 years old. He is<br />
recognised as one of the most powerful and significant<br />
figures within the Benedictine monastery. Fortunately,<br />
Abbot John’s skull is well preserved, and a visual<br />
representation of what his face may have looked like all<br />
those years ago has been constructed. The Dean of St<br />
Albans, the Very Reverend Dr Jeffrey John comments:<br />
“The reconstruction of Abbot<br />
John of Wheathampstead’s face<br />
brings him startlingly to life,<br />
and immediately invites us to<br />
read his character from his<br />
features. He has an impish look,<br />
but also looks like a man who<br />
was not to be trifled with – as<br />
befits one of the most powerful<br />
ecclesiastical fixers of his day.<br />
I hope that seeing him in his<br />
human reality will raise interest<br />
in his life, and in the central role<br />
St Albans Abbey has played in<br />
this country’s history.”<br />
PHOTO BY: LIVERPOOL JOHN MOORES UNIVERSITY/FACELAB.<br />
PUSHING ON<br />
It was almost a year ago that Ed Marsh (OA 2015) found out<br />
he would be running the London Marathon for Hospice UK.<br />
Sadly, his vision of running round the streets of London with<br />
cheering crowds didn’t come to pass.<br />
After five months of training I was in great shape and ready for<br />
the challenge. I even managed to run 20 miles in preparation.<br />
Sadly it was in vain, as on 13th March the event was cancelled.<br />
The cancellation, after all the time that I had put in to building<br />
up my fitness, was extremely demoralising.<br />
In mid-August, the virtual event was announced and while<br />
unsure of my fitness due to the short notice, the incentive of<br />
supporting Hospice UK proved enough motivation. I set off on<br />
Sunday 4th October, not to the cheer of crowds lining the route<br />
in Greenwich Park but instead to the noise of the howling wind<br />
in my ears, running up the deserted A5. I was able to make it<br />
to the finish line in 4 hours 36 minutes. I ran up the final hill<br />
watched on by my former St Albans School running coach,<br />
George Harrison, as would have been the scene 13 years before.<br />
If you would like to support Hospice UK, please go to Ed’s<br />
fundraising page: justgiving.com/fundraising/edward-marsh2<br />
CAPTAIN<br />
SWAN<br />
by Max Swan (OA 2018)<br />
Currently in his third year at the University<br />
of Manchester studying Politics, Philosophy<br />
and Economics, Max Swan (OA 2018) is now<br />
embarking on the role of 1st team football captain.<br />
Being able to play university football was a real blessing.<br />
It provided a solid structure to my week, helping me<br />
settle into a routine that often goes out the window at<br />
university. After my first year, I was appointed Social<br />
Secretary allowing me to get to know everyone in the<br />
Club even better, which has given me a good grounding<br />
for the role of 1st team captain this year. Finding the<br />
balance between authority and friendship has been the<br />
biggest challenge so far.<br />
Sport at university can be demanding, physically and<br />
mentally, but it has shaped my character and has been a<br />
unique and memorable experience.<br />
TOLAJI BOLA<br />
Rochdale FC<br />
Congratulations go to left-back Tolaji Bola (OA 2015),<br />
who has been signed on loan from Arsenal Football Club<br />
to Rochdale Football Club from October 2020 to January<br />
2021. Good luck, Tolaji!<br />
CRICKET<br />
at Lords<br />
After missing his last season of cricket at St Albans<br />
School due to lockdown, Hugh Craig (OA 2020) picked<br />
up where he left off playing competitive cricket.<br />
“It was amazing to be able to play competitive<br />
cricket at Redbourn this season and get to the final<br />
of the National Village Cup at Lords. Playing at<br />
Lords had been something I’d always dreamt of and<br />
although we didn’t lift the trophy this year, it was an<br />
incredible experience and I hope we will have the<br />
opportunity to play again on the hallowed turf!”
16<br />
17<br />
A VENTURE INTO<br />
POST-WAR EUROPE<br />
ASK THE ARCHIVIST<br />
As the Coronavirus pandemic continues across the nation, it would be enlightening to know how St Albans<br />
School coped with the Spanish Influenza which lasted from February 1918 – April 1920<br />
The party was organised by Major ‘Dido’ Davies who, having<br />
recently returned from active service, arrived at St Albans<br />
School to teach French and decided where better to learn the<br />
language than in France and when better, than now?!<br />
That Easter we set off on a long and tedious Channel crossing<br />
and rail journey through countryside still bearing the scars of<br />
war-ruined buildings and vehicles in the fields. As we pulled<br />
into Paris, the station archways held children begging for food<br />
to whom we gave what we had, including sweets that we had<br />
brought with us.<br />
Our accommodation was the Ecole des Jeunes Gens at<br />
Boulogne sur Seine, a boarding school then on holiday.<br />
The accommodation was basic with the lavatories in the<br />
middle of the school yard, totally exposed to the weather and<br />
ridicule. Food, of course, was not plentiful and included an<br />
introduction to horse meat.<br />
Daily visits were made to the Louvre and other famous<br />
landmarks but of more interest was the visit to Napoleon’s<br />
Tomb, where we found ourselves walking on wooden planking.<br />
This was left from the Occupation to prevent German Jack<br />
boots treading on sacred ground. Whilst at Sainte-Chapelle, its<br />
famous stained glass had been removed and we stood in the<br />
pouring rain, inside, to look at the architecture. Another visit<br />
was to the Comédie Française to see a Molière production,<br />
probably remembered more for the amount of spit produced<br />
by the overacting rather than the story itself! Evening meals<br />
were brightened by visits to a restaurant where the proprietor<br />
had known Dido Davies in the war and so we got more than a<br />
warm welcome and great food.<br />
by Robin Ollington (OA 1947)<br />
In the Easter of 1947, a party of 42 boys from the School made a historic visit to war-torn Europe, which is believed<br />
to be one of, if not the first visit of its kind following the end of hostilities. The following recollections are by one who<br />
was fortunate enough to have been on the trip some 73 years ago, in the hope they may be of interest to today’s<br />
generation whose travel experiences, though covering wider fields, are very different to the ones they encountered…<br />
Part of our trip included a visit to the family of Mr Garnier,<br />
who also taught French at the School and had not seen his<br />
family since the outbreak. We were able to take greetings,<br />
sugar and other foodstuffs for them to enjoy, together with<br />
news of him and his family.<br />
Our trip continued into Brussels and Bruges where again<br />
Dido was recognised and we were given another great<br />
welcome, including two Civic Receptions. In Brussels we<br />
basked in the luxury of the Hotel Splendide Suisse with real<br />
steak and fries. Whilst in Bruges the Hotel Lowyck received<br />
us with open arms. Dido knew the proprietor and was<br />
remembered for taking part in the German surrender, so he<br />
was very popular, as you can imagine.<br />
Mr Lowyck, the owner of the hotel, was also an art<br />
connoisseur and each day he would take us to different<br />
galleries and with the help of a huge magnifying glass,<br />
introduced us to the work of Hans Memling and the other<br />
great painters, whose work remains with me still.<br />
I remember evenings in the hotel when Mr Lowyck and his<br />
family told of their life during the Occupation and the effect it<br />
had on their lives, especially working with the Resistance.<br />
Something a little happier was the farewell party on the last night<br />
when we all had to do a turn in a great conga finale around the<br />
square with everybody, including the staff, taking part.<br />
It may have been a short visit but one that had a profound<br />
effect on all of us, having taken place so immediately after the<br />
War. The trip has coloured mine and others’ lives ever since<br />
as a unique experience to be remembered, particularly for the<br />
man who organised it.<br />
‘Spanish Flu’ is a somewhat misleading nickname, as the first<br />
reported cases came to light in France, Germany and Britain,<br />
where a media blackout was imposed so as not to affect morale<br />
of the country during the World War i . The country that<br />
publicly identified its cases was Spain; hence the name stuck.<br />
The outbreak hit Britain in a series of waves, starting in the<br />
summer of 1918, which saw a low mortality rate. The autumn<br />
saw an intermediate rate, then the winter and spring of 1919<br />
saw a higher mortality rate ii . Unlike the current Covid -19<br />
pandemic, it appeared to proportionally affect young children<br />
around the age of five, young adults between 20-30 years old<br />
and those over 65 years old.<br />
At this time, the School’s Headmaster was Edgar Montague<br />
Jones whose specialist subjects were in Mathematics, Physics<br />
and Chemistry. Letters and notations written by him to the<br />
Home Office and the Education Board of Hertfordshire show<br />
that he had a deep understanding of infectious diseases. In<br />
1903, he informed the Government of the day that tuberculosis<br />
could be halted if the “anti-social behaviour of spitting”<br />
was banned and he pushed for laws to be passed. His aim at<br />
getting a full Government Act passed was somewhat watered<br />
down to a byelaw which was implemented in the areas most<br />
affected by this disease. In 1919 when the Spanish Influenza<br />
was increasing, Jones wrote again advising on how to contain<br />
it: “sneezing and coughing into a handkerchief then washing<br />
hands and spitting of any form should be refrained but again if<br />
this must be done then into a handkerchief.” iii<br />
In the early summer of 1919 the local Education Board had<br />
asked if they could borrow masters to teach in the state sector<br />
because the pandemic was seeing a huge rise in cases within<br />
Hertfordshire and thus, the need for teachers was becoming<br />
a problem. This first offer was declined but by July 1919, the<br />
Board insisted and the School seconded its masters to local<br />
schools. iv This left the School struggling to cope and often<br />
classes were combined. Those who were on secondment often<br />
came back to teach at the School in the evenings.<br />
The Headmaster insisted that hygiene and health should be<br />
paramount and extra staff were employed “as both caretakers<br />
and for the well-being of the pupils to keep fit and thus ward off<br />
the Influenza” v . Basic hygiene was to be adhered to including<br />
hand washing and “…not sharing personal washing water, [and]<br />
the need to disinfect twice daily, communal toiletry areas.” vi<br />
Failure to adhere to hand washing resulted in the boys being,<br />
“gated”, for the remainder of the term. Anybody caught spitting<br />
i Information taken from the Government Health Report for England 1920<br />
ii LCC/ CL / GP/1/35 – spitting – anti social behaviour National Archives<br />
iii Hertfordshire School Admissions Logs HALS/ HEd & St Albans School Governor<br />
Records 1917-1922<br />
iv St Albans School Governor Records 1917-1922<br />
v St Albans School Governor Records 1917-1922<br />
vi St Albans School Governor Records 1917-1922<br />
within the premises of the School was punished heavily and<br />
repeated acts led to the offender being expelled. The constant<br />
cleaning with strong disinfectant for over two years required the<br />
replacement of floors and equipment. The wooden floor in the<br />
Masters’ Common Room was covered with “sanitary linoleum”<br />
and the students cupboards needed to be replaced with “a more<br />
sanitary material with a matter of urgency.” vii<br />
Fewer day pupils were enlisted to the School during the<br />
year 1919-1920 and those that boarded were confined to the<br />
School’s premises. Children who were ill were sent home to be<br />
home-schooled. Spring and autumn half term holidays were<br />
cancelled, with the boarders remaining onsite and only sent<br />
home for Christmas and summer.<br />
The School’s biggest decision was made in the winter of 1919,<br />
when it temporary leased its playing fields (which were then<br />
based on Hatfield Road) to The Hertfordshire Public Health<br />
Trust. viii A temporary Infectious Diseases Hospital was built,<br />
which helped to limit the spread of the infection within the<br />
poorer areas of the City.<br />
On 1st September 1918 the new A Level courses were<br />
introduced. The examinations were to be taken after a two-year<br />
course in Science and Mathematics. However, the first recipients<br />
of these awards were denied as their examinations were curtailed<br />
in spring 1920 due to “the Influenza Situation”. The results were<br />
gained via aptitude tests and a formal mock examination which<br />
had been set throughout the two-year course. The grade was<br />
then ratified by the examination board. The Governors’ Record<br />
on 30th September shows that most of the students did not suffer<br />
and were able to proceed onto their next stage of life. Those that<br />
did not succeed were readmitted for a further six months to<br />
allow for the taking of “the examinations in the formal manner”.<br />
A note in the Hertfordshire Record Office reads: “It is the<br />
foresight of the Headmaster Mr Edgar Montague Jones, who<br />
ensured the safety of his pupils and staff by shielding them<br />
from areas of St Albans where this dreadful influenza presides<br />
in earnest. It should be noted for future situations of how The St<br />
Albans Grammar School had undertaken such tasks to combat<br />
this disease in an affective and timely manner.” ix<br />
Jones’ scientific understanding of how viruses reacted within<br />
the community had the Government taking note and his<br />
stringent acts of cleanliness saw him advise the local Health<br />
Board with regards to public health. It is evident that his<br />
foresight and actions helped save the School community.<br />
vii This Trust was set up in response to the Ministry of Health Act which had been<br />
passed in 1919 and allowed more of the population to have access to health services.<br />
Previously this had relied upon the Poor Laws of 1839 and The Health Act of 1911,<br />
neither of which helped contain the Spanish Influenza Virus<br />
viii St Albans School Governor Records 1917-1922<br />
ix Hertfordshire Health Report 1920 – Index of Schools HALS/ Hed
18<br />
MEET THE OA<br />
ASSOCIATION<br />
Committee Members<br />
In 1891, the Old Boys’ Club was founded, later to be renamed the Old Albanian Club in 1919 and again in 2018 to the Old<br />
Albanian Association. The aims of the Association are to promote the interests of St Albans School and to “provide a bond of<br />
union between members”. The management of the Association is in the hands of the committee, many of whom you hear from<br />
via their sports reports in <strong>Versa</strong>. However, there are other committee members who assist with the running of the Association. Here<br />
is a selection of profiles to introduce you to a few committee members...<br />
Alan Philpott<br />
Class of: 1962<br />
Career: International<br />
Banking<br />
Date you joined the<br />
Association: 1962.<br />
My main reason was<br />
to play cricket for the<br />
OAs!<br />
Favourite School<br />
memory: My six-a-side cricket team. I recall it<br />
comprised of two Smiths, two Hopkins, Oakhill<br />
and me. We were a successful team, although I do<br />
not remember any trophies. The year after I left,<br />
the younger members continued the team under<br />
the name ‘Philpott’s Six’.<br />
Favourite OA memory: I must say being President<br />
of the OA Club (now, OA Association). This was<br />
a real honour, particularly attending the various<br />
annual events and seeing the workings of the<br />
School. However, I would say being in the role<br />
at a time of a change in Headmasters was an<br />
occurrence which does not befall many Presidents.<br />
Organising farewell events for Andrew Grant and<br />
welcoming Jonathan Gillespie were huge privileges.<br />
Sports representation: I played for the OAs some<br />
600 times and I have captained all four XI teams. I<br />
hold the Club record for 1st XI victims (over 300)<br />
and have held the offices of President, Secretary,<br />
Chairman, Treasurer, Fixture Secretary and Team<br />
Secretary!<br />
Stephen Burgess<br />
Also known at school as Sid.<br />
This name was bestowed on<br />
me to distinguish me from my<br />
cousin Jeremy who started in the<br />
same form as me. We could not<br />
be referred to by our Christian<br />
names, so I was Sid and Jeremy<br />
was Joe. The names stuck<br />
throughout our school years.<br />
Class of: 1962<br />
Career: My career was in Investment Management. My last<br />
15 years were spent with Newton Investments where I was<br />
an Investment Director looking after corporate pension<br />
schemes. We were top ranked in the UK for the 1990s as a<br />
whole and top ranked in three individual years.<br />
Date you joined the Association: 1963. I had already joined<br />
the Rugby Club and I felt I should join the main Club.<br />
Favourite School memory: Becoming ‘School-mile’<br />
champion in the Fifth Form when I was not then part of the<br />
athletic setup.<br />
Favourite OA memory: Employing The Zombies at an OA<br />
dance for £20 when they had the top ten hit ‘She’s Not There’,<br />
soon to be a massive hit in US.<br />
Sports representation: I represented the School at<br />
cricket (1st XI), Rugby (1st XV), Cross Country and<br />
Athletics. I had full colours for Rugby, Cross Country and<br />
Athletics and 2nd XI colours in Cricket. I played rugby and<br />
cricket for the OAs and spent some ten seasons running for<br />
St Albans AC and Verlea AC, alongside Archie McDonald<br />
(OA 1958) and Mike Palmer (OA 1954). I then took up<br />
cycling and have been a member of Verulam CC ever since.<br />
Archie McDonald<br />
Class of: 1958<br />
Career: Chartered Civil<br />
Engineer<br />
Date you joined the<br />
Association: I joined about six<br />
years ago. I was in the Scouts<br />
and at school with Pete Dredge<br />
(OA 1960) and Don Carnell<br />
(OA 1954) and I knew them<br />
both for many years. When Don died, Pete asked me to<br />
replace him on the OA Committee, which I quickly<br />
agreed to.<br />
Favourite School memory: Being Captain of the School<br />
athletics team and holding four school records. I held the<br />
100yds (10.0 secs), 220yds (22.2 secs), 440yds (52.6 secs)<br />
and high jump (5 feet 10 inches). I also remember Steven<br />
Hawking who was two years below me.<br />
Favourite OA memory: Winning the OA Golf Cup about<br />
10 years ago.<br />
Sports representation: I represented the County,<br />
British Universities and Scotland as a sprinter. I ran for<br />
Hertfordshire in the Inter-Counties Championships and<br />
the British University Championships. I then entered the<br />
World Student Games in Turin. I was the Scottish 220yds<br />
Champion in 1962 and ran for Scotland three times.<br />
Anna Philpott<br />
Class of: 1993<br />
Career: Teacher<br />
Date you joined the<br />
Association: Genuinely can’t<br />
remember the year! I have<br />
been involved with the OAs<br />
all my life, when I actually<br />
became an OA myself, I was<br />
already institutionalised!<br />
Favourite School memory:<br />
I’m guessing you don’t mean the pub/party memories of<br />
which there are many! One of my favourite memories<br />
was a heated discussion with the Head of Sixth Form<br />
regarding the classification of culottes as a trouser or a<br />
skirt! Ladies were only allowed to wear skirts back in<br />
the day and I loved pushing boundaries. Apologies Mr<br />
Talbot! As a teacher I now spend a significant amount of<br />
time debating uniform rules myself, what goes around!<br />
Favourite OA memory: Representing the OAs by<br />
speaking at the Upper Sixth graduation evening. I love<br />
welcoming the new recruits.<br />
Sports representation: As the first year of girls we had<br />
quite limited options but we did start a netball team. I<br />
don’t believe we won any games though!<br />
David Buxton<br />
Class of: 1963 (left in 1961)<br />
Career: initially accountancy<br />
but that didn’t suit me, so went<br />
into industries as a Product<br />
Development Manager (plastics<br />
and medical dressings), to<br />
Export Manager (construction<br />
chemicals), then engineering<br />
and petroleum equipment and<br />
spares, finally sports safety equipment.<br />
Date you joined the Association: 1965<br />
Favourite School memory: I genuinely loved my time at<br />
school, I wish I had studied harder! It was an enjoyable<br />
period in my life and I’ve always been proud of my school<br />
association. We had some wonderful masters such as<br />
Sawyer, Jenkins, Heather and Bloxham. I loved Geography,<br />
History, English, French, Rugby, Shooting and the Corps of<br />
Drums. I remember marching through the town, playing<br />
a solo drum roll in the Abbey at the Civic Remembrance<br />
Service, prior to the last post being played on a bugle.<br />
Favourite OA memory: Having been an active member<br />
of the OA Rugby, Shooting, Fishing and Cricket teams,<br />
I have so many memories, all combining to give me 57<br />
years of comradeship and fun.<br />
Sports representation: I was selected to represent<br />
Hertfordshire in a shooting match against the<br />
Metropolitan Police. I achieved the top score of the<br />
competition and received a medal in recognition.<br />
P. Nick Barnes<br />
Also nicknamed “Binnie”<br />
by Mr “Joey” Webb, after an<br />
American actress.<br />
Class of: 1966<br />
Career: Solicitor and Notary<br />
Public<br />
Date you joined the<br />
Association: Autumn 1966 as<br />
I lived locally and wanted to<br />
play rugby.<br />
Favourite School memory: Going on School organised<br />
holidays to the Isle of Wight, Deauville and Venice<br />
which were all great fun.<br />
Favourite OA memory: The Saturday night dances<br />
at Beech Bottom. There was always a live group, the<br />
noise was ear splitting, the air was hot and smokey, the<br />
floors were awash with beer and the walls were dripping<br />
with condensation. I loved those dances, they were the<br />
highlight of the week!<br />
Sports representation: 1st XV rugby, 1st XI hockey<br />
and 1st VI tennis. The highlight was being a member of<br />
the President's hockey team which went a whole season<br />
unbeaten.
20 Bursaries OA Sports<br />
21<br />
GIVE THE GIFT OF<br />
EDUCATION<br />
this Christmas<br />
As a former Direct Grant School, we have always<br />
remained focused on our bursary provision. In the<br />
absence of any state support, the Bursary Fund is vital<br />
in offering transformational opportunities and to preserving<br />
the mixture of academic and co-curricular excellence with<br />
social diversity that is so central a part of St Albans School's<br />
historic mission and character.<br />
There are many Old Albanians who have received a St<br />
Albans School education at little or no parental expense and<br />
we are eager to continue this tradition, particularly in these<br />
turbulent times.<br />
If you would like more information about how you<br />
can transform a young life such as Seun’s or Ellen’s<br />
through the power of education, please visit<br />
www.st-albans.herts.sch.uk/foundation/bursary-fund/ or<br />
contact development@st-albans.herts.sch.uk<br />
MAKING A SINGLE GIFT<br />
I would like to make a single gift of £<br />
I enclose a cheque made payable to St Albans School Foundation<br />
I enclose a Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) voucher<br />
Please debit my: Visa / Delta MasterCard UK Maestro<br />
as follows:<br />
Name on card:<br />
Card number :<br />
Start Date / <strong>Issue</strong> No. (if applicable)<br />
Expiry Date:<br />
Security Code:<br />
(3 digit code on the back of the card)<br />
Signature:<br />
Date:<br />
“St Albans School gave me a top class education and set me<br />
on a path to achieve my full potential. I developed in more<br />
ways than just academia and the co-curricular activities<br />
sowed the seeds of my confi dence and social abilities.”<br />
Seun Adekoya (OA 2015)<br />
“The key benefi t I gained from attending St Albans School<br />
was having the opportunity to be around students who were<br />
genuinely interested in learning. It was so refreshing to be in<br />
an atmosphere that valued aspiration and success”.<br />
GIFT AID<br />
Ellen Piercy (OA 2015)<br />
Please gift aid your donation to make it worth an<br />
extra 25% to the School at no extra cost to yourself.<br />
I am a UK taxpayer, and would like St Albans<br />
School to treat this donation (and any other<br />
donations I may make from the date of this<br />
declaration until I notify you otherwise) as a Gift<br />
Aid donation*<br />
Name:<br />
Address:<br />
Signature:<br />
Date:<br />
*NB I am a UK taxpayer and understand that if I pay less Income Tax<br />
and/or Capital Gains Tax in the current tax year than the amount of<br />
Gift Aid claimed on all my donations it is my responsibility to pay any<br />
difference. I will notify the Charity if I wish to cancel my donation,<br />
change my name or address or if I no longer pay sufficient tax<br />
PLEASE RETURN THIS FORM TO: St Albans School Development Office, Abbey Gateway, St Albans AL3 4HB.<br />
Registered Charity Number 1092932<br />
BREAKING RECORDS<br />
To provide some context to those unfamiliar, the Old<br />
Albanian Football Club solely consists of former OAs<br />
who have previously studied at the School. Matches are<br />
held within the Arthurian League and played against other<br />
independent schools across the South East.<br />
Following the rebirth of the Club in 2017 and with the<br />
backing of the School, over 150 former students have now<br />
represented the team, a stat we are excited to increase over the<br />
coming years.<br />
Like many sports clubs over the past few months, play was<br />
prematurely suspended leading to the season being cut short.<br />
DON MILLS (OA 1970)<br />
RECEIVING THE OA CUP<br />
OA Football Club<br />
by Nick Jackson (OA 2005)<br />
Ever since the restart after lockdown, the<br />
guidelines set down by England Golf<br />
on how to implement the limitations<br />
imposed by the pandemic have been<br />
interpreted in different ways by local clubs.<br />
In addition, throughout the summer we<br />
lived with the constant threat of reimposed<br />
restrictions should the pandemic become<br />
worse. Thus, the final meeting of the season<br />
was cancelled by the host club and right up<br />
to the eleventh hour the Society’s tour to<br />
Lakeside Lodge was in some doubt. The tour<br />
did go ahead, albeit with reduced numbers<br />
due to self-isolation and fortunately, an<br />
alternative venue was found for the final<br />
meeting, so all’s well that ends well.<br />
However, as the 2020/21 campaign kicks off, at the time of<br />
writing OAFC currently sit top of the division and are on<br />
an unbeaten run of three matches – with back to back wins<br />
against Bancrofts, Merchant Taylors and most notably Old<br />
Brentwood with an Arthurian record breaking win of 19-0!<br />
For ‘fly on the wall’ access, team releases and behind the<br />
scenes action, we’d encourage those interested to follow<br />
@oa_football on Instagram.<br />
During these uncertain times, the OA Football Club would<br />
like to wish Old Albanians and the School community all<br />
the very best.<br />
SWINGIN’ IN THE RAIN<br />
OA Golf Club<br />
by Kevin O’Donoghue (OA 1959)<br />
The three days’ golf at Lakeside Lodge were<br />
played in bright sunshine for the most part.<br />
Three different formats were tried and despite<br />
initial misgivings, they worked out well.<br />
Most participants managed a prize on at least<br />
one day and, of course, the usual suspects<br />
managed it on all three days. Most consistent<br />
throughout the tour was Tony Clarke (OA<br />
1961) who retained the Tour Trophy.<br />
In the dining room, the group had to follow<br />
the ‘rule of six’. We compared our experiences<br />
of school, among other things, concentrating<br />
principally on our failures and lapses of<br />
discipline rather than any academic success.<br />
It was decided unanimously that we should<br />
Continue <br />
OAFC, PHOTO TAKEN PRE-LOCKDOWN
22<br />
OA Sports<br />
23<br />
Swingin’ In The Rain … Continued <br />
return next year and a provisional reservation has already<br />
been made.<br />
Twenty members arrived at Whipsnade Park for the<br />
final meeting of the year in bright sunshine and in the<br />
knowledge that the prospects were favourable for a fine<br />
afternoon’s golf. On this occasion, however, meteorological<br />
forecasting was well wide of the mark. By mid-afternoon we<br />
were all thoroughly drenched and the ground conditions<br />
were somewhat heavy. That affected the scoring drastically<br />
but, in such circumstances, class tells. Thus, it was that Don<br />
“IS THIS A BLANK I SEE BEFORE ME”<br />
OR “MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING”<br />
Sitting in front of this once blank computer screen and trying<br />
to report our activities, I was reminded of the absent results<br />
that traditionally punctuate our shooting calendar. There is<br />
little we can do about that of course but I suspect several trophies<br />
will bear the engraving ‘Covid-19’ in lieu of this year’s result.<br />
Lockdown stopped all shoulder-to-shoulder and postal<br />
competitions, following the closure of ranges. A situation that,<br />
until recently, has remained largely unchanged with summer<br />
season shooting being abandoned on block. As restrictions<br />
eased in the summer, there were initiatives by the NSRA<br />
and county associations to extend shoot-by dates, in a drive<br />
to close out last winter’s competitions, many of which were<br />
nearing completion. This was tricky as indoor ranges were<br />
not yet Covid-19 safe due to changing restrictions, however,<br />
a few individuals did manage to complete their competitions.<br />
Well done. The move did draw a line under the 2019-2020<br />
season and enabled results to be recorded. Not that I have any<br />
to recount here as end dates have only recently passed and<br />
scoring needs to be completed and results published.<br />
In July – despite outdoor ranges being allowed to reopen in<br />
a Covid-19 safe format – there remained an understandable<br />
reluctance to start shooting again. The absence of competition<br />
did not help encourage shooters. Those with outdoor smallbore<br />
ranges were definitely at an advantage at this time.<br />
We used to consider Bisley as our home range. Unfortunately,<br />
the NRA’s attempt to re-start shooting was in a format that did<br />
not lend itself to our competitions. So, following consultations<br />
among club secretaries, it was decided to scrap all shooting<br />
for 2020 and start anew in summer 2021. Ominously, recent<br />
increases in Covid-19 case numbers put even that in doubt<br />
but we live in hope. There is a real chance the Arnold Cup will<br />
become one of those trophies to bear a “Covid-19” inscription<br />
for 2020. Let us hope 2021 does not do the same.<br />
OA Rifle Club<br />
by Andrew Wilkie (OA 1965)<br />
Mills (OA 1970) retained the OA Cup that he won on his<br />
own course at Harpenden last year. Second was John Cox<br />
(OA 1974) and third Tony Clarke (OA 1961). The winning<br />
Antelope was Simon Cooper. The secretary reported that<br />
the bank balance was healthy so subscriptions for 2021<br />
would be held at £10, as they have been since before the<br />
turn of the century.<br />
The Society has members of all abilities and is always<br />
pleased to welcome golfing OAs particularly those who<br />
would help to reduce the average age of its membership.<br />
At the start of lockdown, a learned small-bore colleague<br />
suggested we should all don our gear once a week and<br />
partake in lounge carpet shooting (no bullets!). The idea<br />
being to maintain muscle memory or in my case, remind<br />
the grey cells what was expected! I for one failed to heed<br />
that recommendation so when I tried 100yds small-bore<br />
in August, a few minor positional settings felt awkward.<br />
I took the view that when shooting regularly, one makes<br />
unconscious allowances for these issues, meaning they were<br />
unseen but randomly caused point losses during lapses in<br />
concentration. I have now made some adjustments and time<br />
will tell if that works. Have others found the same I wonder?<br />
Congratulations to Andy Moore (OA 1970) who will be<br />
shooting for Somerset county small-bore team this winter<br />
season. Martin Warr and I hope to continue our county level<br />
careers as well. Our AGM this year was also a casualty of<br />
the virus so by exchange of emails the committee members<br />
agreed to remain in post until next year. Andy reports that<br />
finances are sufficiently healthy at present.<br />
Owen Simmons (OA 1960) recently reminded me of the dates<br />
the current OA R+PC officers took up post which reads like this:<br />
President OL Simmons 1989<br />
Chairman OL Simmons 1988<br />
Secretary OL Simmons 1964<br />
Treasurer AQS Moore 1977<br />
Captain AWB Wilkie 1971<br />
I think we could all do with a change. Any volunteers to take<br />
over or help out!? Despite everything, we all remain optimistic.<br />
Entries for the winter are going in and competition calendars<br />
for Bisley 2021 are being put together. More information will<br />
follow but, in the meantime, keep shooting, consider how you<br />
might be able to help, and above all, keep safe.<br />
TRYING TIMES<br />
We continue to lead the way as a top community<br />
rugby club, not only in Hertfordshire but nationally.<br />
As a club, we are particularly lucky to have so many<br />
dedicated, talented and passionate people who give their time<br />
and energy freely to see our plans through to completion.<br />
The club remains in a strong position with four senior men’s<br />
teams, two senior women’s teams and minis & juniors playing<br />
almost every week of the season. This means Woollams is a<br />
busy place most weekends, offering rugby to anyone whatever<br />
their gender, standard or level of experience. It has been a<br />
challenging season for many reasons. Firstly, the weather<br />
cancelled a lot of fixtures and then Coronavirus cut the season<br />
short, but with what is going on in the world right now, we as<br />
a rugby club and a community know we must and will do our<br />
part by keeping to the Covid-19 guidelines.<br />
When we look back at 2019/20, inevitably it is not going to be<br />
remembered for events on the pitch. Nonetheless, 25 games of<br />
the scheduled 30 were completed in our second season back in<br />
National League Two South and we finished 10th.<br />
It’s fair to say that while the club underachieved, it could so<br />
easily have been different. Of the 16 matches lost during the<br />
season, losing bonus points were secured in 10 of them, the<br />
most of any team in at least the top six divisions in England.<br />
A huge number of injuries tested the medical team to the full,<br />
with over 45 players appearing for the 1st XV, including seven<br />
former Junior players and one current Colt.<br />
The Old Albanian Saints have been training<br />
since August and are getting into the swing of<br />
the new rules. While we could not train together<br />
over the summer, we wanted the players to stay<br />
connected and active, and so, the OA-lympics was<br />
born. The squad was split into groups, with each<br />
group aiming to gain as many points as possible<br />
by following our strength and conditioning plan.<br />
Challenges saw one Saint hold a wall-sit for seven<br />
minutes and another handstand for two and a<br />
half minutes!<br />
We also started the Calorie Challenge which<br />
pitted teams against each other to see who could<br />
burn the most calories collectively in one day,<br />
while raising money for charity. The Saints had<br />
a brilliant turn out, winning one challenge as a<br />
OA Rugby Club<br />
by Rory Davis, Chairman<br />
SAINTS<br />
by Steph Plunkett, Captain<br />
Our 2nd XV, the Romans, had a decent start to the season<br />
but unfortunately were unable to play more than a handful<br />
of matches with injuries, then weather and finally a global<br />
pandemic seeing limited action.<br />
The 3rd XV, the Gladiators, continued their strong seasons with<br />
another league title secured in HMMT #2. Congratulations to<br />
Rob Fenton and all involved in a memorable season.<br />
The Grizzlies had a tough season ended early with no chance of<br />
silverware, finally ending up 6th in HMMT Merit 4 SW. This is<br />
definitely a transition period and we know the Grizzlies are in a<br />
good place and will come back fighting next season.<br />
In the National Colts U18 Cup we had another fantastic run.<br />
We started off with a walkover at Old Colfeians in October<br />
followed by a 41-7 win at Westcliff in November. We then<br />
beat Dartfordians 40-5 before defeating Chelmsford 15-5 at<br />
Woollams in February. In March, we travelled to <strong>Seven</strong>oaks for<br />
the quarter final and recorded a fantastic win by 17-13. We were<br />
in the semi-finals for the third time in seven seasons. However,<br />
the season was declared over by the RFU and that was that.<br />
So, what does the future hold for us? Simple: We will carry on<br />
doing what we are doing!<br />
We will continue to ensure we maintain the values of the Old<br />
Albanian RFC and to uphold the policy not to pursue 1st team<br />
progression at the detriment of the rest of the club, offering<br />
young players a platform to express themselves when they<br />
reach senior rugby at whatever level they might achieve.<br />
team and producing some outstanding individual<br />
performances.<br />
The squad is working hard to keep their fitness up<br />
and we’re starting to gel as a team. This year sees<br />
the return of Sarah McKenna as Head Coach with<br />
a new appointment of Charlotte Fredrickson as<br />
Assistant Coach while Dale Baines continues to<br />
lead the newly re-formed development team. Our<br />
development squad look forward to competing<br />
in a league while the 1st XV are excited to defend<br />
their title in the Championship 1 South. As things<br />
stand, we will not be playing games until January<br />
2021 at the earliest but right now we are enjoying<br />
training and are continuously pushing to get<br />
fitter, faster and stronger.