OSAmag97_yumpu

No 97 / July 2023 

The Old Stationer 

Number 97 - July 2023

Tony Mash, Old Stationer, is to become Master of the Stationers’ Company 

at a ceremony in the Hall on July 4th. Congratulations from the OSA committee.

T h e O l d S t a t i o n e r - N o 9 7 

The Old Stationer 

NUMBER 97 - JULY 2023 

OLD STATIONERS’ ASSOCIATION 

LIST OF COMMITTEE MEMBERS 2023/2024 

President 

Robin Baker 

07939 059139 

bakersilverfox@ aol.com 

Honorary Secretary 

Peter R Thomas 

01438 722870 

peterthomas561@outlook.com 

Honorary Editor 

Tim Westbrook 

07770 381070 

tim@timwestbrook.co.uk 

Ordinary Members 

Andreas Christou 

07722 117481 

andreashchristou@yahoo.com 

Nigel Adams 

07939 140013 

nigeladams2023@gmail.com 

Tony Hemmings 

01992 638535 

hemmingsac43@gmail.com 

Stephen Collins 

07802 157044 

spc@woodhaven.me.uk 

Publishing Adviser 

Tim Westbrook 

Details as above 

Vice-President 

Kevin Waller 

07581 034778 

dangerfielddevelopmentsltd@gmail.com 

Honorary Treasurer 

Peter Winter 

07795 450863 

prcwinter1@btinternet.com 

Honorary Archivist 

David D Turner 

01707 656414 

daviddanielturner63@gmail.com 

Honorary Auditors 

Chris Langford 

Dave Cox 

CLUBS & SOCIETIES 

Football Club 

Ian Meyrick 

ian.meyrick1@gmail.com 

Golf Society 

Roger Rufey 

07780 450369 

rrufey@gmail.com 

Apostles Club 

Stuart H Behn 

01923 243546 

stuartbehn@hotmail.com 

MAGAZINE 

Design & Print Preparation 

Ian Moore 

07833 331865 

ian@outhaus.biz 

Past President 

Daniel Bone 

07770 431060 

dan.bone@civix.org.uk 

Membership Secretary 

Roger Engledow 

07817 111642 

osamembers@gmail.com 

Event Managers 

Roger Melling 

020 8449 2283 

rmelling76@gmail.com 

Peter A Sandell 

07917 693523 

peter.sandell@hotmail.co.uk 

SC School Lodge no.7460 

Michael Pinfield 

020 8422 4699 

07956 931174 

secretary7460ugle@gmail.com 

WEBSITE 

Content Manager 

Josh Beadon 

01392 422007 

joshbeadon@toucandesign.co.uk 

Back End Manager 

Ian Moore (Details below) 

Printed by 

Orchard Press 

Cheltenham Ltd 

CONTENTS 

Regular features 

Dates for the Diary 4 

Editorial 4 

Correspondence 33 

Special features 

OSA AGM/Lunch 2022 5 

May Lunch 12 

A Company Silver Medal revisited 

over 80 years after it was awarded 12 

History of the Stationers' Company's 

School 1858-1983 13 

Tony Hemming's 80th 19 

RogFest 80 23 

A previous refurbishment of 

Stationers' Hall 26 

Some memories before and after my time 

at Stationers' Company's School 28 

Geologist's'Association Presidential Medal 

recipient 2022: Dr Liam Gallagher 31 

Our archive returns to the hall 32 

Gus notes 1964 36 

Me & My Motors: My Mustang 37 

A walk in Hertfordshire 37 

Book reviews 39 

Clubs & Societies 

OS Golf Society 19 

OSFC Report 2022/23 20 

Reunions 

Reunion for post 1967 pupils 21 

Class of 1965 with wives 22 

Varia 

Puzzle Corner 43 

Membership Secretary's report 43 

Website update 43 

Photography competition - “Weather” 55 

Obituaries 

Bob Patten 44 

Dudley Jones 46 

Tony McKeer 48 

Bereavement notices 

Ron Balaam 48 

Ellen North 49 

Roger Smith 49 

Roy Simmons 49 

OSA AGM 2022 

Minutes 50 

President's address 51 

Honorary Treasurer's report 52 

Financial statements 53 

Supplying items for publication 

Text: Please supply as Word or typed documents if 

possible. Images: Supply as original images or hi-res 

(300dpi) digital files in tiff, jpeg or eps format. 

Post or email to the Honorary Editor, Tim 

Westbrook. See Committee list for address details. 

3


EDITORIAL 

As I write this we are 

recovering from yesterday’s 

busy and productive 

reunion for younger ex 

Stationers’ at the old lower 

school building and later, at 

the Queens pub in Crouch 

End. 

The day started with an 

unscheduled event when a 

large tree fell down blocking 

Mayfield Road and crushing two cars. We had 36 

attendees including 16 non OSA members so hopefully a 

number of these “newbys” will sign up to join the OSA 

and move our membership up to the 500 mark. 

Talking of reunions, the class of 1965 set a precedent by 

inviting partners to their latest reunion which proved to 

be very successful and I expect other years may wish to 

follow suite. 

Two special birthdays occurred in the last month, Tony 

Hemmings and Roger 

Engledow (insets right), 

both 80 and both 

seemed to enjoy the 

events held in 

celebration. 

Another important 

event due to take place on July 4th at the Hall is the 

installation of Tony Mash as the new Master of the 

Stationers’ Company. The committee congratulates Tony 

on his appointment. 

The new “Book Review” section launched in the last issue 

by Tony Moffat has encouraged other members to promote 

their own published literature and if we can squeeze all 

four new reviews into this issue you will be able to 

familiarise yourselves with the published work of Stephen 

Platten, Bob Patten, Steve Trew and Brian Cranwell. 

And finally, I hope you enjoy Stephen Collins precis of 

Robert Baynes “History of the School” recently published 

in the Bulletin of the Hornsey Historical Society. 

Tim 

DATES for the DIARY 

PRESIDENT’S DAY 

Sunday 27th August 

SEPTEMBER LUNCH 

Wednesday 13th September 

CHRISTMAS LUNCH 

Friday 1st December at the Hall 

AGM & ANNUAL LUNCH 

Friday 22nd March 2024 at the Hall 

ONLINE MAGAZINE ARCHIVE 

Every school and OSA magazine since 1884 is accessible in the Library on the OSA web site. Have a look and see 

what was happening in your school days. Password: 0335OS-wwwOSA 

4


AGM & ANNUAL LUNCH, MARCH 2023 

The tables are set for lunch 

Guest speaker 

PEREGRINE BRYANT - ARCHITECT TO THE 

STATIONERS’ COMPANY RECONFIGURING 

THE STATIONERS’ HALL 

Guest Speaker Perigrine Bryant 

I was honoured to be asked by your President to attend the Old 

Stationers’ Lunch on 31st March and to talk about our 

involvement in the recent alterations of the Stationers’’ Hall. 

Here follows a shortened version of my talk. 

Livery Halls are a building type specific to the City of London. 

Sometimes they were largely built at one time. However, the 

majority, including the Stationers’ Hall, comprise a series of 

connected buildings and spaces, which vary in terms of age and 

architectural significance. 

Apart from the Roman wall, which runs past the west end of the 

site, and is still visible at the end of the vault adjacent to the St 

Martin within Ludgate the oldest building on the site is what is 

now the Tokefield centre. This is one of the few buildings remaining 

in the city which largely survived the Fire of London, which 

destroyed completely the majority of the City’s Company Halls. 

After the fire, The Great Hall was constructed in 1670-74. It is 

of high significance and is the direct successor to the medieval 

hall and is probably the most important room both architecturally 

and in the life of the Stationers’ Company. Its significance 

extends to the entire exterior, including the refined east front by 

Robert William Mylne, a little known architect practising in the 

5


mid 19th century, and the 17TH century west front (see below), 

now obscured by a rather drab cement render. 

Internally, the fine seventeenth century panelling still survives. 

The roof to the Great Hall and the Court Room are both post 

war and incorporate steel trusses. 

On the other side of the Great Hall was the 1950s link block, 

reconstructed following bomb damage and containing the old 

Ante Room with a plain, sensitively designed Neo Georgian 

exterior. Inside, the travertine-lined stair and the classically treated 

Ante Room were of interest, although functionally if the ante room 

was in use, it prevented access through it to the Court Room. 

The Court Room block is, largely, a 1950s replica of the building 

that was damaged during the Second World War. Internally, the 

1950s interior is a scholarly recreation of the 1757 interior, with 

its fine rococo plasterwork, which was carefully salvaged by the 

then architects. The adjoining Card Room is the principal 

survivor of W. C. Mylne’s work in 1825 and is significant for its 

decorative and spatial qualities including the octagonal lantern. 

Above these rooms were the archive and library, which were of 

little merit architecturally, and inconveniently located. 

So that was the building as it was when we came to it – and 

largely still is. 

The scheme we executed was the end of a long journey to make 

the Stationers Hall more accessible as well as to allow separate 

functions to take place in the Hall at the same time. 

The first action agreed with the Company was to adapt the 

building now called the Tokefield Centre to house the archive 

and library, previously housed over the Court Room, and release 

that space for other uses. That was completed and opened in 

2018. 

There was some debate about where the other uses should be 

located. For instance, it was proposed for the Company’s 

administration offices to be moved to the Tokefield Centre with 

the Kitchen shifting to the undercroft below the Hall (where it 

had indeed been located in the 17th century – subsequently 

removed thence because of the steam and smells permeating into 

the Hall!) 

As so often with buildings that have developed over time we 

were dealing with an assembly of buildings whose levels were all 

over the shop. The location we first identified for a lift and 

revised circulation was in the ‘link building’ which had been 

rebuilt after the war as a result of the bomb damage which also 

severely damaged the Court Room. But it quickly became 

apparent, as we developed our proposals further, for the Great 

Hall and western section, that in order to get the building to 

work we would have to take down the whole of the 1950s link 

building, retaining just the rear wall facing on to Amen Court. 

This would allow us to rebuild it so as to provide a new 

independent entrance from the garden, a reconfigured stair, lift 

and lavatories whilst maintaining access from a refurbished 

ground floor kitchen to the Great Hall. We also needed to 

incorporate a new ante room for small gatherings at first floor 

level to replace the one that was in the demolished building. 

This really was a sort of Rubik’s cube - where every centimetre 

had to be made to work hard. The trickiest part was really the 

staircase where we were incredibly tight for space, needing to 

The Great Hall as rebuilt after the Great Fire (now obscured by render) 

6


President with Guest Speaker 

give adequate headroom over the stair up from the Kitchen to 

the Great Hall as well as for the flights of stairs above. This led 

to the choice of a folded steel stair with solid steel balustrades, 

finished in bronze, which winds round the new lift, serving 

Court Room and Hall levels as well as to an interim level with 

ladies and gents lavatories and up to the old Library space on the 

top floor which now houses a series of meeting rooms separated 

by sliding folding acoustic glass screens which can be slid back to 

allow one big space for larger gatherings. 

At Ground floor is a new entrance from the courtyard which 

gives level access to the lift and also allows a separate function to 

take place in the Court Room simultaneously with one In the 

Great Hall. A small finishing kitchen for the Court Room has 

been installed in what was a small meeting room over the 

Tokefield Centre. 

The decision on the external form of the building was also tricky. 

One question was whether broadly to follow the form and style 

of the rebuilt Court Room building or to design a building which 

would contrast with both it and the adjoining Hall and be clearly 

of the 21st century. After close consultation with the City of 

London and Historic England the latter course was chosen. The 

triangular prow was partly born out of the need not to obscure 

the Cranmer window in the Hall whilst still providing space for 

the new Ante Room with views across the garden to the 

magnificent plane tree and St Martin’s within Ludgate – which 

can also be viewed from the new terrace at third floor level. The 

material used for the outside of the building was a brick that 

would blend with, but not be identical to, the Court Room 

building. It was also built in stretcher bond to contrast with the 

Flemish bond of the adjoining building. 

Before work commenced, trial holes were dug which found 

nothing of archaeological significance. However, the moment 

the former building came down and we started excavating, we 

found the site awash with old and not so old structures, though 

alas no Roman sarcophagi….. The discoveries were enough 

however to delay work on the building for nearly three months. 

We did find some probably medieval paving slabs below the 

kitchen which we have been able to incorporate into the paving 

in the garden. 

The other major works we carried out include: 

• a complete refitting and refurbishment of the Kitchen under 

the Court Room the ventilation for which was fiendishly 

complicated as we had a very low ceiling height. It’s not quite 

a question of tall chefs need not apply – but it’s tight! 

• The re-arrangement of the old Stationers’ offices in the 

undercroft below the Great Hall including loos, shower and 

a mini kitchen. 

• Finding a new way through to the ground floor of the east 

side, with a small stair and wheelchair lift to accommodate 

the change in level from one side to the other. This corridor 

incorporates display cupboards. 

• And of course, one really important element was the 

replacement of the gas fired boilers with air source heat 

pumps which provide both cooling in the summer (a facility 

the Company did not have before) and heating in the winter. 

The air distribution units around the walls here, which 

replace the old radiator casings, have been seamlessly fitted in 

with the panelling, thanks to the skill of the joiners and 

polisher. Consent was obtained for the heat pumps which sit 

on a flat roof, in spite of some opposition from the flats on 

Ludgate Hill overlooking the site. I believe since 

commissioning there have been no complaints…They are 

predicted to reduce the Company’s carbon emissions by some 

80%. 

You can imagine that this was not an easy site to manage for all 

materials had to come to site through the passage from the front 

courtyard. A tower crane in the front was considered but 

concerns over the risk of damage to the Great Hall or its roof 

ruled this out. 

In spite of all the ups and downs, including delays caused by 

Covid, I am pleased that, with the help of our clients and the 

contractor, we got through it and have a result we can be proud 

of and I hope will serve the Company well for years to come. 

These works have amply demonstrated that the Stationers do 

not remain stationary! So, in conclusion I would like to thank the 

Stationers’ Company for turning to us to work with them on the 

recent works. 

PRESIDENT’S ADDRESS 

Peregrine, Master, Clerk, fellow Old Stationers… 

Well, that year went quickly. Just when I was getting used to 

being your President and the number of speeches, I’m leaving the 

stage! My predecessor, Stephen Collins, navigated the pandemic 

and deftly changed how and where we met in those strange 

times, keeping us together both on zoom and at Cutlers’ Hall. In 

contrast, my year has had fewer dramatic surprises -thankfully 

It truly has been an honour to serve as your President, and doubly 

so as we are all meeting here again in this Great Hall which 

provides the best of convivial surroundings. 

So, this is an appropriate time to thank the man responsible for 

the Hall’s changes and improvements as well as proposing the 

toast to the OSA and the Stationers’ Company. Thank you, 

Peregrine. 

Over the past couple of years, I’ve reflected on the breadth of 

Peregrine’s endeavours in my articles for The Old Stationer 

magazine. But nothing is better than hearing from the man 

7


Dan recalls his year in office 

himself so I thank you Peregrine for your illuminating remarks. 

In particular, the extraordinarily detailed account of your 

commitment to make the historic Stationers’ Estate, with all its 

quirks, twist and turns, fit to meet the challenges of the 21st 

century. 

Now, at the risk of being controversial, I’ll say that architects are 

a curious and often misunderstood bunch – at least among their 

clients. They are sometimes praised but also criticised. The latter, 

I’d like to think only occasionally… Even some luminaries in the 

profession recognise that the crafting of architecture can be 

contentious and sometimes even disastrous. Frank Lloyd 

Wright, perhaps the greatest American architect of all time, 

reflected on how architecture whether good or bad touches us all, 

when he wrote “A doctor can bury his mistakes, but an architect 

can only advise his clients to plant vines”. Think about it! 

Thankfully, and I’ve checked, Peregrine has never had to resort 

to error-hiding plant camouflage. 

Closer to home, the most decorated British architect living today, 

Lord Norman Foster, sums up what we in the game recognise to 

be the defining qualities of architects of great buildings, historic 

or contemporary, when he says: “It takes a lot of effort to make a 

building look effortless.” When I think of Peregrine’s work here 

at Stationers’ Hall, I marvel at the dexterity of his design, 

melding the old with the new while at the same time improving 

our wellbeing and adapting the building so deftly to meet the 

demands of our changing climate. 

There are decidedly few Old Stationers who became architects 

- there have been just three of us in the post war era: Michael 

Brady here today, hello Michael; Neil Parkyn, now living in 

France and yours truly. 

I’m often been asked what motivated me to become an architect. 

Well, the student life was attractive and there was lots of it – 5 

years of university and 2 years in practice. Of course, I had no 

idea about the length and depth of study when I first realised 

that I was attracted to designing and making things. Surprisingly, 

this revelation came in a geography lesson with one of our 

schoolmasters that many here will remember. He was Stan, or as 

we called him, Sam Read. Our task was to make a drawing of the 

classroom using a ruler, pencil and paper. 

The idea that the classroom could be drawn in the abstract, 

showing walls, windows and desks, was a ‘light-bulb’ moment for 

me. It made me wonder, how did a room become this place where 

we were sitting and learning? I realised that this is what architects 

do; they create spaces for different purposes and so they need to 

think in three dimensions. So, for me, it was Sam Read who 

stimulated my interest in architecture, albeit unintentionally. 

And perhaps it is that fondly remembered stimulation that keeps 

us all so interested in the Old Stationers and in the connections 

that we come across. For example, we discovered at our 

September lunch that Moira has a direct link to the Old 

Stationers. She studied at Wisbech Grammar School, the very 

school that received evacuated masters and pupils from Stationers. 

This change of place was to prove a rewarding experience for the 

young Londoners billeted in the rural town. We are very pleased 

to have you with us again Moira and thank you for your speech 

on behalf of the Company. 

Let’s quickly remind ourselves of the highlights of the past year: 

the Annual Lunch in April at Cutlers’ Hall; in May, the first 

reunion of OS from the Comprehensive generation organised by 

Andreas Christou with support from Messrs Sandell, Thomas 

and Westbrook; the return to our normal May lunch at the Royal 

National Hotel; the celebration of the 50th anniversary of 

President’s Day cricket match at Botany Bay, established by the 

late Bob Patten - we lost, badly; the September lunch at the 

Royal again and the well-attended Christmas lunch, our first 

such gathering back in the Hall for three years. 

Otherwise, our focus has been on being reunited with our 

archives and the start of the video memories initiative. The 

archive boxes were moved to storage in Northampton just as the 

Hall’s renovations works began in early 2021. I am grateful to 

Nick Henwood for providing the temporary storage. Nick was to 

be with us today but unfortunately he tested positive for Covid 

yesterday. We send him our best wishes for a swift recovery. 

With the reopening of the Hall in summer 2022 we had the 

opportunity to return our archive. My thanks to Liveryman and 

Old Stationer Martin Lawrence and Upper Warden Tony Mash, 

the Clerk and the Company Archivist, for their behind-thescenes 

time and energy, ensuring that our archive is now in the 

best possible place at the Hall sharing the Company’s 

incomparably air-conditioned Tokefield Centre. Incidentally, 

this small building is the oldest book warehouse still standing in 

London and as noted by Peregrine, the first part of his conversion 

work at the Hall. Of course, huge thanks are also due to our 

intrepid archive subcommittee for bringing it all home - 

captained by David Turner with Tim Westbrook and Peter 

Thomas in support. 

The introduction of the video memories initiative has seen the 

emergence of budding movie makers. Robin Baker, Stephen 

Collins and Mark Templeman vividly told their memories of Mr 

Bartlett, Mr Davis and Mr Thomas. In the most recent video, 

8


Paul Bateman tells the captivating story of French teacher 

Francis Evans, now 87. His boundless energy providing the 

school’s young musicians with the delight of the best classical 

concerts London had to offer. In production is Tony Mash’s 

highlights of the school choir’s achievements, those same young 

musicians and their legendary music teachers. 

You won’t be surprised to hear that sorting through the archive 

boxes I came across some real treasures, including a memorial 

essay to Joe Symons written by Headmaster Robert Baynes. All 

our teachers played a valuable part in our educational development 

but I think Joe was probably the only one who influenced most 

of us who are here today. 

Joe was described by Mr Baynes as an astonishingly good allround 

school-master adding “The true praise of schoolmasters is 

from the mouths of their pupils”. 

In my time at the school, Joe was Deputy Head but his 

relationship with the school goes back to 1923 as a boy and then 

as a teacher from 1946 when he became a lynchpin of the 

school’s teaching staff until retirement in 1975. A video memory 

of Joe would be a great addition to those already produced, so do 

consider him for a subject if you’ve yet to do yours. And, I’m 

confident that future videos will cover stories of the sporting 

achievements for which the school excelled. What about the 

experiences shared on overseas trips and in particular with the 

Struer Gymnasium, Denmark? A compilation of the Danish 

exchanges from several individuals would surely be hard to beat. 

I’ll be continuing with the video memories project for the 

coming year and would love to hear from anyone thinking of 

making a video memory. 

Finally, I want to take this opportunity to thank the many people 

who have helped make today the highpoint of my year: 

• Moira and Peregrine for sharing their thoughts in such 

memorable speeches 

• The Company for granting the Association the enjoyment of 

this great establishment and all at the Hall who make us so 

welcome 

• Giles Fagan for his eloquent Grace 

• Fellow OSA Committee members for their friendship and 

hard work 

• Peter Sandell and Roger Melling for excellence in everything 

lunches 

and caterers Searcys for today’s splendid feast 

• Peter Bothwick for his efficient management of proceedings, 

in his usual exuberant style 

And to the future: 

• wishing Robin Baker and Kevin Waller all the best for their 

upcoming years as President and Vice President 

• wishing Tony Mash a masterful year as Master. How proud 

we are to have a second Master from our number. Be assured 

Tony you have the support of the Committee and Association 

And finally 

• thanking you all for coming today and maintaining the close 

friendships that we hold so dear... 

Daniel Bone President 2022-23 

The new President Robin addresses the members 

THE MASTER MOIRA SLEIGHT SPEECH 

You are all very welcome here at Stationers’ Hall. It is always 

good to see the old boys of the Stationers’ School here. 

2023 is a very special year for the Worshipful Company of 

Stationers and Newspaper Makers. 

Firstly, it is the 350th anniversary of the opening of our Hall after 

our previous one was burnt down in the Great of Fire of London 

and we are celebrating this milestone throughout the year. 

The anniversary is made even sweeter in that as you know we 

recently carried out two years of major building work and so we 

now have a wonderful suite of premises that we hope will set us 

up for the next 350 years. 

I’m sure you will all be as delighted as we are about how splendid 

our Hall is looking after our redevelopment work to make it 

more accessible, more flexible and more sustainable. 

We are very grateful to you old boys, both individually and 

through your networks, for the donations that have been made to 

the Stationers’ Hall Charity to help support this beautiful hall. 

We have recently launched a “Sponsor a Brick” campaign as we 

need to finish paying for the work that has been carried out and 

also, and very importantly, secure the Hall for future generations. 

The campaign seeks to raise money for the Stationers’ Hall 

Charity. Those sponsoring a brick will have their name – or the 

name of whomever they choose to dedicate the brick to – 

inscribed in a leather book to be kept in the Hall forever. The 

suggested donation is £100 a brick and you can sponsor as many 

bricks as you like. 

9


Moira with Robin 

Our archivist, Dr Ruth Frendo, tells me that the earliest date we 

can prove for material in our archive is 1557. So our sponsor 

book will be part of records stretching back for nearly five 

centuries. It is an opportunity for everyone to have a direct 

connection to the living history of our Hall and their name or the 

name of a loved one to be part of Stationers’ heritage. 

If any of you are interested in sponsoring a brick, you will find 

leaflets about it around the building or do ask one of us Stationers 

about it afterwards. 

Secondly, 2023 marks the 400th anniversary of the publication of 

Shakespeare’s First Folio and therefore the 400th anniversary of 

its registration at Stationers’ Hall. 

The First Folio is the first collected edition of William 

Shakespeare’s plays, collated and published in 1623, seven years 

after his death. Without the First Folio, we could have lost 

forever Twelfth Night, Measure for Measure, Macbeth, Julius 

Caesar and The Tempest. 

These two anniversaries are just two examples of our amazing 

history and heritage. Yet, of course the Worshipful Company of 

Stationers and Newspaper Makers is not just a 620-year-old 

Company, but a modern organisation seeking to serve the 

communications and content 

industries in today’s world. 

As part of this commitment to be 

relevant, last month we held a 

signing ceremony for the 

Stationers’ Diversity Pledge, 

which commits us to endeavour 

to attract new members of all 

backgrounds from within our 

industries, reaching out actively 

to individuals and groups who 

are under-represented, and to 

seek to ensure that members of 

all backgrounds are encouraged 

to participate fully in the life of 

the Company. 

We are enjoying our present and 

looking forward to our future 

while never forgetting our past. 

The Stationers’ Company values 

its links with the old boys of 

Stationers’ School and I’m pleased to share with you some 

current developments that reflect our shared history, combining 

our past and our present. 

As you know, during the Second World War your school was 

evacuated to Wisbech, where the boys had their lessons at 

Wisbech Grammar School, my old school. 

I’m sure you’ll be delighted to learn that at the Stationers’ service 

at the beginning of Lent in St Faith’s Chapel in St Paul’s 

Cathedral a choir and musicians from Wisbech Grammar 

School travelled down to take part in the service and afterwards 

partook of refreshments at the Hall, re-establishing a link forged 

so many decades ago. Their musical contribution to our service 

was inspiring. 

And next month, as part of a trip to the Fens, the Stationers’ 

Court will visit Wisbech Grammar School and have lunch there 

and be given a tour. The school is on a different site now but one 

that would have been known to the Stationers’ boys as it used to 

house the Girls’ High School and there were certainly some 

romances between the Stationers and the High School girls! 

When we are there, we will present a plaque marking our visit 

and expressing our gratitude for the hospitality offered to the 

London boys. 

So these are two ways in which our Stationers’ connections from 

our shared history are flourishing. 

It is a source of delight that we current Stationers and you old 

boys have such ongoing bonds and the Clerk and I are grateful 

for the invitation to be with you here today. It is good to be 

among friends. 

In concluding my speech, I cannot put it better than some words 

from your school song: 

“What is the Word that endureth for ever? Friendship! Till Time 

shall bring all of us home!” 

Stationers treasure our friendship with you and look forward to 

welcoming you back again in future years. 

Thank you. 

Moira Sleight 

Oldies at annual lunch in Hall 

10


OUR NEW PRESIDENT 

PRESIDENT’S DAY 

SUNDAY 27TH AUGUST 2023 

I would like to invite you, your family and friends to the 

traditional Old Stationers’ President’s Cricket Match on 

Sunday 27th August. 

As usual, the match is being played in the beautiful setting 

of the Botany Bay Cricket Club, East Lodge Lane, Enfield, 

Middx EN2 8HS. 

Richard Slatford is selecting the President’s Team to 

represent the OSA to play against the Botany Bay Cricket 

Club. The match will commence at 2.00pm, finishing at 

around 7.30pm. The bar will be open from 11.45am and 

lunch will be served at 12.30pm. 

If you wish to have lunch, the cost as been held at £30 per 

head; please pay online to Peter Sandell; account: P 

Sandell. Sort code: 20-29-81, account no: 93600653 at the 

earliest opportunity and certainly no later than 14th 

August. 

Alternatively, you can send Peter a cheque for £30 (made 

payable to P Sandell) to 11 Maplecroft Lane, Nazeing. 

Essex. EN9 2NR. 

Many thanks and I look forward to meeting as many of you 

as possible on the day. 

Kind regards 

Robin Baker President 

Old Stationers, 

It is my great pleasure to be writing this as your President. Last 

year under the expert guidance of Dan Bone and Peter Thomas 

I watched first hand your Committee in action, as I said at the 

installation meeting we are very lucky to have such a dedicated 

group looking after our interests. I would personally like to thank 

Dan Bone for leading me through the minefield, now for the 

next 12 months I shall be steering the ship. 

Not quite sure how I got here, I think I owe most of this to 

David Hudson and Bob Watts who on a sunny afternoon in the 

pub after one of our Old Boys lunches at the National they 

caught me “overserved” and with my guard down, and persuaded 

me to become Dan’s VP. 

But fair play to them I am glad they did persuade me. 

I would ask you to please support Peter and Roger by attending 

the lunches, they are great value, great fun and I shall endeavour 

to make them entertaining (no pressure). 

Also for those who play the most frustrating game in the world, 

please support the golf days run brilliantly by Roger Rufey - 

there should be details in this magazine. My main focus will be 

on wresting the bragging rights from Botany Bay at the 

Presidents Day cricket match, I am working on a few “ringers “ 

for our team! I have many cricket contacts and I hope to acquire 

a couple of special guests for the day. 

I would just like to extend my best wishes to Tony Mash, in the 

words of the Spurs fans “he is one of our own”who will become 

Master of the Company this year. If there is one word in our song 

that is synonymous with Stationers it is “friendship” and so it 

should be. 

Robin Baker 

President 

11

28 Members gathered for lunch at the Royal National on May 

16th 2023. 

Attendees: 

Malcolm Abbott 

Robin Baker 

Granville Barand 

Don Bewick 

Geoff Blackmore 

Michael Brady 

Terry Butler 

MAY LUNCH 2023 


Geoff Dent 


Michael Facey 

Doug Fussell 

Phil Geering 

Mike Hasler 

Tony Hemmings 

David Hudson 

Brian Humphreys 

David Metcalf 

Mike Mote 

John Partridge 

Steve Presland 


Roger Rufey 

Peter Sandell 

Peter Thomas 

David Turner 

Kevin Waller 

John Welch 

Chris Wilkins 

A COMPANY SILVER MEDAL REVISITED OVER 80 YEARS AFTER IT WAS AWARDED 

In the dark days of September 1939, students from the Stationers’ 

Company’s School got on a train at Kings Cross as part of the 

evacuation of school children from London. They along with 

their teachers and parents had no idea where they were heading. 

Eventually, they were told by the guard on the train that they 

were heading for Wisbech in the Fens region of Norfolk to keep 

them out of harms way. On arrival, they were billeted with local 

families and had afternoon lessons at Wisbech Grammar School. 

They stayed for 3 years. 

The Stationers’ Company was very grateful to the Borough of 

Wisbech for taking on the students from its school and, in a 

ceremony in the Town Hall in May of 1940, the then Master of 

the Company, (Sir Edgar Waterlow) presented the Borough with 

its prestigious Silver Medal ‘for valuable services rendered in the 

Company’s interests’. This award is recognised on the board to 

the right of the Caxton window in Stationers’ Hall and there are 

plaques at Wisbech Grammar School which reflect the close 

relationship that grew between the two schools and the Company 

from this evacuation process. 

At a recent visit by members of the Court of the Stationers’ 

Company to the Town Hall in Wisbech, the Borough displayed 

with pride the silver medal it had received in 1940. The Master, 

Moira Sleight, is pictured holding the medal alongside myself 

acting as both Upper Warden of the Company and a Past 

President of the Old Stationers’ Association. 

Tony Mash 

Tony Mash & Moira Sleight with the Medal 

12


HISTORY OF THE STATIONERS’ COMPANY’S SCHOOL 1858–1983 

This article was originally published in the Bulletin of the Hornsey Historical Society (No 64, 2023, 

and is reprinted with the permission of the Society. 

The School seen from the third terrace 

Lying between Ridge Road and Weston Park, N8 run two 

parallel roads, Mayfield and Denton, and between them is a 

small play area known as Stationers Park. It is so named because 

the Stationers’ Company’s School stood on that site between 

1893 and1983, though you might not have known that until the 

installation of a small plaque in 2020 on a remaining outer wall 

of the School playground. This article traces the proud history of 

that School and its sad demise. 

the centuries many Livery Companies accumulated substantial 

charitable funds in support of their members and trades, and the 

Stationers’ Company was no exception. And this is where our 

story begins. 

The School owed its origin to investigations prompted by the 

1829 report of the Parliamentary Commission on the Charities 

of the City Companies. Whilst most of the 23 charities 

administered by the Worshipful Company of Stationers were 

being administered satisfactorily, five were called into question. 

When the idea of meeting the criticisms by establishing 

almshouses was aired, interventions by the Master of the Rolls 

and the Attorney General in 1852 prompted the alternative 

suggestion of setting up a school. The idea of establishing a 

school “for educating the children of Freemen and Liverymen” 

was rapidly accepted by the Court of the Company, and in about 

1856 it was agreed to set up a ‘Lower Class School’3. It was to 

be situated no more than a mile and a half from St Paul’s on the 

north side of the river A site was eventually purchased in Bolt 

Court, just north of Fleet Street and in the heart of the 

publishing world. This was next to Gough Square, site of Dr 

Samuel Johnson’s House; and, in fact, the Headmaster’s house, 

also purchased, was an earlier residence of Dr Johnson. 

Memorial plaque in Mayfield Road 

Much of the historical material is taken directly from Robert 

Baynes’s A History of the Stationers’ Company’s School, 1858-19831. 

I have taken the liberty of quoting directly from it at certain points 

as well as paraphrasing other parts. In addition, included (in italics) 

are some reminiscences of 1960’s pupils of the School which 

illustrate the significance that good teachers can have for the rest 

of their students’ lives, and did have in the case of Stationers’. 

ORIGINS 

Livery companies in the City of London were essentially trade 

guilds. Members were either Freemen or (more senior) 

Liverymen, and this gave them the right to practise their trade. 

The Worshipful Company of Stationers began as a Guild in 

1403 and was granted Livery Company status in 1559. It 

encompassed the publishing and book-selling trade which in 

medieval times was centred on St Paul’s Churchyard in the City2 

– hence to this day Stationers’ Hall is located just a couple of 

hundred yards from St Paul’s Cathedral, off Ludgate Hill. Over 

1 Published by the Worshipful Company of Stationers and Newspaper Makers in 

1987. Robert Baynes was Headmaster in 1962-82. Thanks are also due to Daniel 

Bone for assistance with the images. 

Plaque commemorating original School in Bolt Court 

The School was begun in 1858. The first Headmaster was 

Andrew Isbister, the successful candidate out of 91 applicants, 

and the first pupils were accepted on 15th March 1861. Whilst 

the pupils were generally to be sons of Freemen and Liverymen, 

others were admitted, at a higher fee, and known as ‘aliens’. 

Originally called The Stationers’ School, the name was changed 

to The Stationers’ Company’s School in 1887. There was an 

express link to the doctrines of the Church of England, in relation 

to both the nature of religious education and the allegiance of the 

Headmaster. Isbister appears to have been very capable and 

rapidly won the confidence of the Governors. Over six feet in 

height and a devotee of the hookah, no portrait of him exists. 

Being established as a ‘Lower Class’ school limited the range of 

subjects that could be taught. Under Isbister’s influence, however, 

2 Interestingly, the name ‘Stationer’ came about because the booksellers had fixed 

stations by St Paul’s; hence they were stationary and sold what in those days was 

called stationery. 

3 At that time, schools were either Classical (Grammar) Schools, Middle Class and 

Commercial Schools or Lower Class Schools. The references to ‘class’ were 

unashamedly social in meaning. 

13


it de facto transitioned to being a ‘Middle Class’ school, although 

the Master of the Rolls had not acceded to the application of the 

Company so to do. The Bolt Court premises were adequate for 

the original 66 pupils, but by 1877 the total had increased to over 

180. Numbers had been boosted by the wholesale transfer of 

pupils from the Joint Choir Schools of the Temple and Lincoln’s 

Inn, along with an endowment. One observer said that the 

School’s education was as excellent as that of any school in the 

country, not excluding Eton and Winchester. The Governors 

were considering a move to more spacious surroundings. Isbister, 

however, retired with a pension in 1880 before any such move 

could be made, and died three years later. He had endowed a 

prize which remained in existence until the closure of the School 

exactly one hundred years after his demise. 

THE MOVE TO HORNSEY 

Isbister’s successor was Henry Chettle, under whose Headship a 

search for larger premises was begun in earnest. The hope was to 

remain within a mile and a half of St Paul’s to facilitate continued 

recruitment of sons of Stationers and to meet the needs of the 

chorister pupils to be near their respective chapels. An architect 

produced a preliminary sketch for a building to house at least 250 

pupils in Fetter Lane, but property prices proved prohibitive. A 

wider search was then commenced. Under guidance from the 

Charity Commission, it was focused on north and north-west 

London where a dearth of educational establishments had been 

identified4. Chettle, having previously been Headmaster of 

Tottenham County School, was ideally placed to guide the 

Governors, and eventually a site in Ferme Park was identified. 

The School in Bolt Court closed on 21st July 1893, after which all 

the Temple and Lincoln’s Inn Choristers left. In fact, only twenty 

boys transferred from Bolt Court to Hornsey, given the distance 

involved. It re-opened on 18th September in temporary premises 

on the corner of Denton and Ridge Roads, Stroud Green. 

Original permanent School building 

A DIP IN FORTUNES 

By 1906 there were 350 pupils, but this number had fallen to 259 

by 1910, despite the avowed intention of the Governors that it 

should become the leading boys’ Grammar School of the area. 

The Inspectors commented that it had failed to build up a Sixth 

Form of any size and that “the School can in no sense be 

regarded as a School of the First Grade”. This may have owed 

something to the fact that the School offered generous 

scholarships that may have facilitated entry of the abler boys to 

more prestigious schools elsewhere, in effect leading to the 

School being treated as a preparatory school. 

Meanwhile, the 1902 Education Act had introduced Local 

Education Authorities. In 1909 it was established that the 

Governors would comprise six from the Middlesex County 

Council, five from Hornsey Borough Council and eight from the 

Stationers’ Company, meaning that the latter did not have a 

Entrance hall 

Painting of temporary School building by G. Carpenter, 

hanging in Stationers’ Hall 

New permanent premises were built on the same site the 

following year. The new location meant that fewer pupils had 

any connection with the printing and publishing trades: they 

were predominantly ‘aliens’. Thus the School’s identity evolved 

into being a ‘neighbourhood school’ drawing pupils from a wide 

area of north London. This included much of Hornsey, but also 

extended as far as Barnet, Southgate and Potters Bar. 

4 This reflected relatively rapid urbanisation as the middle classes deserted the centre, 

and the School’s relocation is characteristic of a trend in the late 19th and early 

20th centuries for schools to move out to the suburbs from the City and Westminster. 

Main staircase 

14


majority. The Company was insistent, however, that it was still 

the predominant force, and that, with the help of the other 

parties, the School would be of a class equivalent to University 

College School (which itself had transitioned from Gower Street 

to Hampstead in 1907). In fact, Middlesex and Hornsey agreed 

to meet the costs of a new extension from public funds, providing 

accommodation for 100 more pupils (up to 400) as well as 

establishing scholarships for at least twenty boys otherwise 

unable to afford the fees. But at that moment, an inspection 

provided a very downbeat view of the School’s performance, as 

evidenced by the falling rolls. This was partly responsible for 

Chettle’s retirement as Headmaster, though he was already nearly 

65. He had been a good Headmaster, liked and respected, but 

without the vision of his predecessor. (His name is commemorated 

by Chettle Court, a 1969 block of council flats in Ridge Road.) 

A NEW VISION 

EXPANSION PLANS 

More important, of course, was the need for additional 

accommodation. The 1929 slump had put paid to immediate 

expansion plans. One possible sticking plaster would have been 

to close the preparatory department (for children aged 7 and 

upwards). But Huck believed, from an earlier period of closure, 

that this would have a deleterious effect on recruitment at later 

ages. Fortunately, the Middlesex Education Committee made 

available a former Domestic Science Centre in Oakfield Road 

and from 1932 this could accommodate 75-80 boys. 

Huck retired in 1936 and was succeeded by S C Nunn, a 

Cambridge mathematics graduate. The building extension was 

finally achieved in 1938, but no sooner was it occupied than 

preparations for evacuation had to begin. 

The ’vision thing’ was remedied by the appointment in 1913 of 

John Huck, aged only 41, who had a first in natural sciences from 

Cambridge. His particular skill was his ability to select good 

assistant staff. Sadly, the outbreak of war, and his call to the 

colours, interrupted his early prime years. In Huck’s absence, A 

E Newsome ran the School as Acting Headmaster, trying to 

maintain as much ‘business as usual’ as possible. Meanwhile, by 

1918 133 Old Stationers had been killed out of 800 enlisted 

men. In due course a Memorial Organ was installed in the 

assembly hall in 1922 together with boards naming Old 

Stationers who lost their lives in the war. 

School Memorial Organ 

Major Huck OBE had returned to his post at the beginning of 

1919. By the autumn, pupil numbers had reached 440 with a 

waiting list of 78, and there were 515 pupils by 1921. The School 

was designated a ‘First Grade Secondary School’, fulfilling the 

purpose for which the Governors had appointed Huck. But 

funds for expansion were not available. 

Sports and games were played on the sloping ground below the 

school building. A favourite game was a version of cricket 

known as Yarder, which had probably been played in Bolt Court 

and apparently resembled a game called Asphalt Cricket played 

at Christ’s Hospital. The playground was inhospitable, and was 

eventually replaced by four terraces, connected by flights of stairs. 

Further progress was made in 1934 when Middlesex County 

Council offered to purchase a playing field for the School. After 

some initial reluctance, the Stationers’ Company agreed to 

contribute, and in 1938 the ground belonging to St Bartholomew’s 

Hospital Rugby Club in Winchmore Hill was purchased. 

1938 extension to the School 

A year’s grace was bought with the Munich agreement, but in 

September 1939 the School was evacuated to Wisbech Grammar 

School in Cambridgeshire5 (although not all pupils made the 

move). The School returned to Hornsey by the summer of 1942. 

They were able to take advantage of the new wing, the major 

feature being the new Hall, which extended for the height of two 

floors. Thus appeared the L-shaped building which will have 

been familiar to most local residents before the School’s eventual 

physical destruction in 1985. The School was fortunate not to 

be damaged (other than a cycle shed at the bottom of the 

playground) by bombing during the Blitz in 1941 or V1 and V2 

rockets towards the end of the War – despite Hornsey being a 

prime target because of the railway lines that ran through it. But 

119 Old Stationers were killed out of 1221 who served in the 

Armed Forces. A Memorial Window was accordingly dedicated 

in 1950 in the assembly hall. 

Beaky, or Beak, Davis was a legend at Stationers’. He joined the 

school no later than 1931, when he was appointed to head the 

preparatory department, so when I joined in 1962 he had already 

been there well over 30 years. He was bald by then and always wore 

a gown. The origin of his nickname is obscure. It may be because his 

nose was rather beak-like in shape, or because ‘beak’ is a common 

nickname for a teacher, or simply because his initial was ‘B’, which I 

believe stood for Berthold. 

His subject was French, which he taught with old-fashioned repetitive 

rigour, drumming verb conjugations into us by rote. He would 

5 By a curious coincidence the Master of the Stationers’ Company at the time of 

writing is a former pupil of Wisbech Grammar School (obviously long after the 

Stationers’ sojourn there!). The link to Wisbech resonates with the First World War 

experience when sixty pupils volunteered for farm work in East Anglia in the 

school holidays. 

15


invariably enter the room by exclaiming “Bonjour, mes élèves”, to 

which we all responded “Bonjour Monsieur”. “Avez-vous faits vos 

devoirs pour aujourd’hui?”, he would ask; if we said “Oui, monsieur” 

he would ask “Devoirs orals ou devoirs écrits?”, and if the former an 

oral test would follow. If, however, the answer was “Non, monsieur” 

there would come the unforgettable “Quel dommage!” 

Other aphorisms would come thick and fast. Running his hand over 

his bald scalp, he would warn against “splitting hairs”. You would be 

grown-up when “your feet touched the ground when you stood up”. 

Although it’s a long time since then, “time flies: you can’t, they go too 

fast”. When you make a mistake, you’re being “Sally Slapdash”. You 

had to try to avoid speaking “bilge, barge, balderdash, poppycock and 

piffle”, but there were times when you realised that you were suffering 

from “inspissated crassitude”. He would say that “common sense is a 

very uncommon commodity”, and he would point out, when faced 

with schoolboy trickery, that “I’m not as green as I’m cabbage-looking”. 

If a boy was playing with his ruler, he would be told that “the last boy 

who did that died by inches”. And, “bless my soul and liver”, who can 

forget that a “cedilla is the submarine sign because it’s under the C”? 

All in all, Beaky Davis was an unforgettable man and teacher. 

THE POST-WAR SETTLEMENT 

Change was afoot following the 1944 Education Act, but it was 

a long time coming. At first the Governors expressed a preference 

for Voluntary Controlled status (whereby the local authority had 

two-thirds of the Governors and the Company only one-third) 

and classification as a ‘Comprehensive School’. With years of 

inaction for one reason or another, by 1952 the decision was to go 

for Voluntary Aided status (the inverse voting ratios to those of 

Controlled status) and to be a ‘Grammar School’. And that is the 

status that was enacted and pertained for the following 15 years 

until Comprehensive reorganisation became a reality. 

The School came into its own in the 1950’s and ‘60’s. The 

previous drain of pupils to independent schools through the 

Middlesex Scholarship system, which had inhibited the growth 

of the Sixth Form since the days of Chettle, gradually dried up. 

Together with the quality of teachers, the expansion of University 

provision, and the increased financial support available from local 

authorities, this led to significant numbers of students going to 

University from the Sixth Form, including many Open Awards to 

Oxford and Cambridge. There was also, of course, a prefectorial 

system, though, in contrast to Tom Brown’s Schooldays, the worst 

punishment that could be inflicted was a ‘detention’. 

J H (‘Gus’) Thomas taught English. He was not an easy man to like: 

he was quite austere and he demanded respect. He was strict. But he 

didn’t rule a class by cruelty or humiliation or favouritism. You didn’t 

mess with Gus; in fact, you’d learn from him. One of his other duties 

was detention master. Detentions would be recorded; but if you got a 

detention direct from Gus, it did not appear on your record: it was 

between you and him. He had a genuine love for English literature. 

He hated certain words. ‘Decimate’ was a military term meaning one 

in ten; it didn’t mean catastrophe. Another bête noire was ‘nice’; it was 

used willy nilly but in fact had a very precise meaning. I looked it up: 

it means precise or accurate. I wrote an essay using nice in the proper 

way and got an A+ -- the best mark I got for any essay. Another time 

he embarked on reading a poem. There was a low murmur from the 

class. He exclaimed: ‘Don’t be ridiculous, if you don’t know poetry how 

are you going to impress a young lady?’ 

The School also had a strong reputation on the sports field, 

particularly in football (rugby was not played until very close to 

the School’s demise) and cricket. Competition with other 

schools was enhanced by intra-House competitions. School 

Houses (not literally residential, of course) had been established 

at the end of the First World War. There were five of them, four 

named after former luminaries of the Stationers’ Company 

(Bishop, Hodgson, Meredith, Norton) and one after the founder 

of printing (Caxton); and one more was added to accommodate 

increased numbers when the School became comprehensive in 

1967 (Rivington). The winner of the intra-House football 

competition was awarded the Cock House Cup. 

The centenary of the School in 1958 was celebrated by a performance 

of a musical, Cakes and Ale⁶, based on a play written by S C Nunn 

called The Master of the Company. The musical itself was written by 

D J O’Connell, a sixth-form history teacher of long standing. 

Nunn retired as Headmaster in 1962, being succeeded by Robert 

Baynes (who began his tenure on the same day that I arrived in 

the School as a nervous 11-year-old). Among others retiring at 

the same time were O’Connell and Frank Bray, who had joined 

the School in 1907 as a small boy, been School Captain, Assistant 

Master, President of the Old Boys’ Association and Deputy 

Head in turn, spanning 55 years, a longer period of direct 

association with the School than anyone else in its history. 

There were significant investments of a technological nature in 

the 1960s, in particular, early computer facilities – putting the 

School in the forefront of computer education in the country – 

and a language laboratory. But further funds were required to 

enhance the facilities, and the Stationers’ Company, still recovering 

from the hit to its finances arising from the War and its aftermath, 

did not feel able to rise to the challenge. Thus it was that in 1964 

it was decided to move the School from Voluntary Aided to 

Voluntary Controlled status. This would mean that the local 

authority would meet the full cost of extensions, but the balance 

of the Governing Body would move to two-thirds local authority 

and only one-third Stationers’ Company. But, as Robert Baynes 

put it in his book (p 97), “A high price was paid for goods that 

were, as events fell out, never supplied.” 

The first day we were there, it was really a day that changed my life 

in effect. We were sitting in our class and in walked a very small man, 

with a very, very big reputation. His name was Mr Bartlett and he 

was the mathematics teacher. He walked in and he had a brown 

chalk-striped double-breasted suit on, slicked-back brylcreemed hair 

and shoes so shiny you could see your face in them. And quite honestly, 

he was frightening despite his size. His face never changed from 

when he came through the door, to when he left; from placing his bag 

on the table to when he turned and looked at us, his face was 

impassive. I always remember he had high cheek bones, and he opened 

his mouth and said, “Gentlemen, I am Mr Bartlett and I am here to 

teach you mathematics. There is no such word as maths. The word is 

mathematics, and you will learn mathematics.” And you know what, 

he was right, I did….I think his nickname was Peanut because he was 

so small. But as I said, small in stature but a very big man in my life. 

COMPREHENSIVISATION 

How so? Two developments had occurred which overtook the 

Governors’ plans. First, the new Labour Government of 1964 

published proposals for the reorganisation of Secondary Education 

6 The name was inspired by a ceremony that takes place in the Stationers’ Company 

every Shrove Tuesday at the bequest of Alderman John Norton, who was the 

Master of the Company in 1607, 1611, and 1612. It is followed by a special 

service in the Chapel of St Faith in the Crypt of St Paul’s Cathedral. The phrase 

itself comes from Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. 

16


on comprehensive lines; and, second, the London Government 

Act of 1963 had replaced Middlesex County Council by nine 

successor boroughs, one of which, the London Borough of 

Haringey, was to become the School’s new Local Education 

Authority from 1965. With a new Labour Council, the 

Government’s proposals for secondary education were rapidly 

adopted – speed reflecting the Council’s desire for reorganisation 

to have reached an irreversible point within three years before the 

next Borough elections. This meant that the plans were not well 

thought through. The School was merged with a local Secondary 

Modern School in Priory Road, Hornsey (Priory Vale School). It 

would keep the name Stationers’ Company’s School and remain 

Voluntary Controlled. (Thus, when the new School came into 

being in 1967, it paradoxically had exactly the status that the 

Company had originally opted for in the immediate aftermath of 

the 1944 Education Act before changing its mind.) 

Accommodation was haphazard, with prefabricated huts on the 

playground and first year pupils housed in Falkland Road. The 

plan was that the girls’ school at the bottom of Mayfield Road, 

Hornsey High School, would be rehoused elsewhere and 

Stationers’ would inherit that building. Although this eventually 

transpired, the complex was never suitable for a Comprehensive 

School with new needs. 

Meanwhile, the composition of the student body was evolving in 

line both with that of the Borough but also because the 

Comprehensive model inevitably implied a more representative 

student population than that which had characterised a selective 

Grammar School. In 1966, the last year of the Grammar School, 

only 4.5% were from recent immigrant families; this proportion 

reached 25% in 1973 and 69% by 1979. These embraced at least 

25 distinct mother tongues. 

THE BEGINNING OF THE END 

Underlying these changes were demographic shifts in Haringey. 

Pupil numbers had actually grown well, rising from 800 in 1967 to 

1300 in 1974. But in the Borough as a whole it was predicted that 

the secondary school population would begin to decline after 1977. 

There was a parallel fall in numbers of pupils from outside the 

Borough. Some schools were slated for closure under various 

options tabled in 1977 – and Stationers’ had no future in any of the 

five options under consideration. Schools scheduled for closure 

under all five plans were former single sex Grammar Schools. 

This set in train a vicious cycle for the School, especially as there 

was hostility from the left-wing Borough administration to a 

school with links to a City Livery Company. Stationers’ was 

Portraits of Headmasters now hanging in Stationers’ Hall 

accordingly seen as vulnerable; so, in turn, parents were reluctant 

to send their children there. As a result, First Year admissions fell 

disastrously from 267 in 1974 to 174 in 1978, a more marked fall 

than for other schools in the Borough. Thus the Secretary of 

State for Education and Science was persuaded in 1982 -- 

following much debate, and despite a vigorous campaign 

involving the Governors, the Company, Old Boys, neighbours 

and the local MP, and a 25,000-strong petition -- that Stationers’ 

should be closed because its intake had fallen more markedly 

than other schools’ rolls. The Council also decided that 

Voluntary Controlled status for the successor school was not 

desirable, and that it should become a Maintained School, thus 

terminating the Company’s association with the School. 

SIC TRANSIT... 

The School was accordingly merged with William Forster 

School on a site in Tottenham on 1 September 1983 to create a 

mixed sex school to be called Langham School. Stanley Read (a 

long-standing geography teacher) was appointed Acting 

Headmaster for the last two terms of the School’s existence, 

Baynes having signalled some years earlier that he wished to 

retire. And so ended 125 years of history, of which 90 years had 

been spent in Hornsey. The School buildings themselves were 

demolished in 1985. 

Mr Read, Sam as we called him, was an inspiration to me. Our 

geography teacher, I loved the way he introduced us to the world 

around us, both the physical and the human. He helped us make sense 

of how our lives are shaped by many factors that overlap with history 

and economics but are concentrated on location and climate. I became 

fascinated with how places are formed and how they evolve to survive. 

It was an exercise that Sam gave us in our first year that became a 

touchstone for me. We were tasked with making a plan of the 

classroom. We had rulers, pencils and paper and were told to get on 

with it. Is this geography we wondered? Surely not. I recall us 

climbing over each other to measure the width and length of the room, 

gauge size and location of the door, windows and desks. Yes, this is 

where I sit. We then had to draw what we’d recorded on a piece of 

paper. We were thus introduced to the idea of site and scale. Reading 

an Ordnance Survey map now made sense. 

This exercise also gave me my first experience of modelling a threedimensional 

reality as an abstract plan. From that day on I wanted to 

study architecture and town planning and it all began with Sam Read, 

the most brilliant teacher. 

There are some remnants of the old School still in existence 

elsewhere. The Centenary Window which had been placed in the 

School Library in 1958 has been re-erected in the Stock Room of 

Stationers’ Hall where the Governing Body used to meet. 

The War Memorial Window, originally in the Hall, is now in 

Hornsey Parish Church, Cranley Gardens. 

Although the panels listing names of the fallen were criminally 

burnt when the School was demolished, the names have been 

inscribed in a Book of Remembrance in the church. And the 

School Organ, installed as a memorial of the First World War, 

was reinstalled in the chapel of Upper Chine Girls’ School in 

Shanklin, Isle of Wight (although I understand that it has since 

been demolished). 

Finally, the Old Stationers’ Association, originally established as 

the Stationers’ Old Boys Association in 1895, is still going strong 

with close to 500 members. Although it no longer has the sports 

17


Centenary Window, now in Stationers’ Hall 

club facilities it used to run in Barnet Lane and does not field nine 

football teams each week as it used to, it remains vibrant, and 

retains a close connection with the Stationers’ Company. The Old 

Stationer magazine, an excellent read, is produced twice a year. 

Meanwhile, the Stationers’ Company, enriched by the sale of the 

School site and having transferred the former charitable funds 

supporting the School into a new Educational Charity, established 

the Stationers’ Crown Woods Academy, a mixed sex school in 

south London. And so life goes on, but no longer in Hornsey. 

Some distinguished Old Stationers (*deceased) 

In alphabetical order: 

Memorial Window in Hornsey Parish Church 

Laurence Bains* CBE, chairman of the Greater London Council 

Paul Bateman, conductor 

Colin Chapman*, designer of Lotus cars 

Frank Dickens*, cartoonist (Bristow) 

Lord Evans of Hungershall*, 

Provost of University College, London 

Eric Hosking*, ornithologist 

Professor Sir David Metcalf 

CBE, economist 

Rt Rev Stephen Platten, former 

Bishop of Wakef ield, first OS 

to become Master of the 

Stationers’ Company 

Sir John Sparrow*, banker, 

member of Central Policy 

Review Staff 

Barry Took*, comedian, scriptwriter 

Lord Triesman, Labour politician, 

former chairman of the Football 

Association 


Stationers’ 1962-69 

1966 staff photograph 

18


OSA GOLF SOCIETY 

On Friday May 26th we held our first meeting of the year at 

Aldenham Golf Club and all enjoyed the full English breakfast 

to boost our protein levels for the day’s activity. We were playing 

for the prestigious “Pairs Trophy”, first presented to the Society 

in 2008 by Peter Bonner. Appropriately, the silverware was won 

for the first time by Peter and Tim Westbrook with a total of 43 

points. Runners up were Colin Watkins and John Taylor. The 

best individual score on the day was Mike Brooks with 36 points 

and he also won the nearest the pin in two. Newby Nick Simons 

won the nearest the pin in one. The weather was warm and dry 

and the course was in great condition although the deep rough 

swallowed many wayward balls. 

Our Director of Golf, Roger Rufey was smitten by a mobility 

issue (not breakfast related) and had to withdraw from the 

competition but seemed to enjoy cruising around the course in 

his buggy giving advice and constructive criticism to all the 

players. 

Our next fixture is at West Kent on Friday 23rd June when we 

are playing against the Company to retain the team trophy for the 

third year running. 

Tim 

Pairs Champions Peter and Tim 

Mike Brooks 

Nick Simons 

TONY HEMMINGS' 80th 

Tony Hemmings enjoyed his 80th birthday at Botany Bay 

and was joined by Peter Jarvis, Roger Rufey and Keith 

Hacker to complete the gaggle of OSA goalkeepers. 

19


OSFC 2022/23 END OF SEASON REPORT 

Unfortunately, due to a backlog of fixtures, caused mainly by our 

slightly more successful than usual cup campaigns, we spent 

much of the second half of the season playing catch-up towards 

the lower end of the League. Games in hand are fine but 

ultimately you have to pick up the points. 

Fortunately a deserved 2-1 victory in our last league game 

away at Old Meadonians, saw us eventually finish a credible 8th 

out of 12 clubs and only 7 points off 4th place, in a very 

competitive SAL Senior Division 2. This was actually our 

highest placed finish for 20 odd years, having spent the majority 

of that time in Division 3! 

In the AFA Senior Cup we lost to Nottsborough, who were 

runners up.... we lost in extra-time in the Q/F of the SAL Senior 

Cup to Actonians the eventual winners.... and we lost 0-1 in the 

Old Boys Senior Cup to Bealonians, who went on to lift the 

trophy.... so not the kindest draws! 

Special mentions should go to, James Keenan who skippered the 

side, washed the kit, often unlocked and locked up, sorted out the 

team, collected the subs etc... (note, for those with long memories, 

cutting oranges is no longer a requirement), and to Sean Friel our 

goalkeeper who became the first OS player to be selected for the 

SAL Rep side for many years, and well deserved it was. 

Also congratulations to James Elsey who was presented with the 

Player of the Season and Goal of the Season Awards at the end 

of season get together. 

The players are already raring to go and looking forward to 

continuing the improved performances next season. 

Finally, please keep an eye out for news of the ever popular 

Annual OSFC Ex-Players Reunion Day which we hope to hold 

again in early October 2023. Details will appear on the Football 

Club website at www.oldstationersfc.co.uk and hopefully on the 

OSA website in the first few weeks of next season. 

Anyone requiring information, news about the club/matches/ 

events etc please get in touch with me. 

Ian Meyrick 


Back Row (L-R)….Will Cottrill (Chairman) Sean Friel (injured) Jacob Roche, 

James Keenan (Capt) Ben Jackson, Steve Watts, Matt Hennigan, Ciaran Power, 

Sean Derrick, James Chalk, 

Crouching (L-R)…Ronan Cromwell, James Elsey, James Phillips and Dave 

Ansell (lying) 

Other regulars not in the photo…Tom Jackson, Marcus Archer, Niall Redguard, 

Gianluca Raimato, Jack Reed and Michael Walsh 

20


REUNIONS 

REUNION FOR POST 1967 PUPILS 

During 1978-1983 I would walk down to the bus stop outside 

my grandparents to get the W3 bus to school. 

For our recent comprehensive school reunion I did the same and 

got off on Ferme Park Road before the hill and walked up 

Weston Park passing a trendy coffee bar which used to be a 

bakery – you know the one, you get a warm buttered loaf at 

lunchtime (and if you could afford it, have ham with it) before 

arriving on Mayfield Road and entering the now-Hornsey Vale 

community centre. 

This was the second annual event which would see almost 40 

former Stationers’ gather with memories and laughter. 

We had roamed back from afar (Devon) and near (Wood Green) 

– some had attended last year’s, others hearing about the event 

and not yet OSA members coming for the first time. Joining us 

were other older Stationers’ with their memories including the 

current and past OSA Presidents and committee members. We 

were also joined by former teacher Mr ( John) Leeming who 

rightly took control of the group photo session. 

As we gathered for light refreshments in the hall some went out 

through the fire exit to see the original entrance to the old 

21


famous last school staff photo outside the entrance to the Upper 

School building. 

Then some formality as our OSA President, Robin Baker, gave a 

welcome to all assembled and detailed the benefits of being an OSA 

member including our newsletters, the lunches and sporting events. 

With phone numbers and e-mails exchanged it was time to go 

to the Queen’s Head pub with more memories of those who 

would “visit” Hornsey School for Girls or go further afield for 

chips and a smoke. I was never that naughty!! 

Thanks must go to Andreas for again organising and arranging. 

Now we’re looking forward to the 2024 event – please come 

along next time and bring your old school photos too. 

Alan Dobbie 1978-83 

changing rooms and sports hall – at least these parts of the old 

school are still standing whilst others went up the road to see the 

plaque, taking individual and group photos. 

Extra excitement ensued as a huge tree suddenly collapsed onto 

a car and landed right across the road. Now I’m here to tell you 

that this was not the action of any old Stationer but who’s to say 

it wasn’t some fiendish foe from Highgate Wood or St David’s 

and St Katherine’s trying to dampen our day? 

Back in the hall as laughter continued, thoughts also turned to 

those no longer with us and we remembered Mr Zarb who 

passed away a short while back. 

We were trying to figure out who had been given the slipper by 

Mr Fitch… and why!? Others remembered the journey to 

Winchmore Hill playing fields and those long cross-country 

runs and the excuses we could use to avoid them. 

Old Stationer magazines were available along with some school 

entrance lists and looking at old photos which included the 

1965 INTAKE LUNCH WITH WIVES 

On Friday 24th March, a number of the 1965 intake arranged a 

lunch at the Millstream pub in Hertford which is managed by 

Pete Clark, also from 1965 intake, and his wife Nikki. 

Wives and other halves were invited to join the boys and the 

following attended: John & Ann Baldwin, Paul Bateman, John & 

Kay Berwick, Geoff & Angie Blackmore, Jim & Sarah Buckland, 

Alan & Annie Campbell, Jim Clarke, Muna Dawoodi, Bob Fry, 

Richard & Madeleine Harman, Eric Orros, Peter & Lesley 

Sandell, Terry & Sandra White. 

Unfortunately, Mick & Brady and Pam Orros were ill on the day 

and had to miss the festivities. 

An excellent lunch was consumed and conversation carried on 

throughout a most enjoyable afternoon. It was quite a unique 

event and it worked very well and it is planned to repeat the 

occasion again. 

Peter Sandell 

1965 intake with wives 

22


ROGFEST 80 

This is the name Roger Engledow’s daughter Fiona came up 

with when he told her his plans for his 80th celebration. Not a 

World cruise but an invitation to three dozen family and friends 

(with wives) to Bourton-on-the-Water in the Cotswolds for the 

2023 Easter Weekend as his guests: a festival of Roger if you will. 

The name caught on so RogFest was born. Unfortunately his 

brother, Peter, could not join us because of illness. 

And like any good festival, there had to be merchandise. Roger 

provided each guest with a water bottle and, at the end, an 

embroidered RogFest handkerchief as a “team prize”. There were 

also sightings of RogFest beer mats and hoodies as the weekend 

progressed. A poster board of 44 photographs of Roger was put on 

display in the Hall to show Roger through the years (we lost count 

of how many Bob Townsend appeared in as well). Roger is 

infamously difficult to capture on film, so this was a rare achievement 

and wonderful for the guests to see him at different points in his life. 

Harrington House in Bourton-on-the Water is one of HF 

Holidays’ centres specialising in walking tours and Roger, as a 

member, booked the whole house for our exclusive use. Bourtonon-the-Water 

is known as the Venice of the Cotswolds because 

the sparkling waters of the River Windrush flow through the 

centre of the charming village with five low bridges where you 

can play Pooh Sticks and dip your toes in the water. Its traditional 

honey-coloured stone buildings make it a picture postcard 

village. There is plenty to do: Cotswold Motoring and Toy 

Museum, Birdland Park and Gardens, a Model Village which is 

a scale replica of the village (including a model village in it), a 

Maze as well as attractive walks. 

The weekend started on Good Friday when we gathered at 

Harrington House for afternoon tea and scones. There followed a 

walk around Bourton-on-the-Water led by Peter Dunkley, an HF 

Leader and friend of Roger’s cousin Derek, who was our guide and 

Gamesmaster for the weekend. It was the first sunny weekend of 

the year and wandering around the idyllic setting, everyone was in 

good spirits. Roger then took it upon himself to welcome everyone 

with a series of questionable (and inappropriate) jokes disguised as 

stories about his children and friends. We were divided into six 

teams (each with its own colour) to bring out the competitive spirit 

in us all and each team sat together for the evening buffet meal to 

get to know each other. After dinner, we all played skittles in our 

teams in the lounge. The competitive spirit was obvious as the rest 

of a team yelled at their member on the alley to encourage them. 

Ages of attendees ranged from 17 – 80, which did not get in the 

way of the camaraderie and bonds formed. 

The free bar was open for the weekend, including a polypin of 

Cotswold Gold (ABV 4.0%) from the local Donnington’s 

Brewery in Stow-on-the-Wold. Anyone who has attended a pub 

with Roger will know he considers a dimple mug an essential, so 

he made these available for those similarly inclined. 

After breakfast on Saturday, we got into our teams for the first of 

a series of quizzes. This one was a cryptic quiz on football teams 

which involved a lot of head scratching and sneaky listening to 

other teams. At the end of the quiz, the sun was shining in a 

beautiful blue sky so it was shorts weather. Perfect conditions for 

the first walk of about six miles for those up for such an activity, 

whilst others, less mobile, started to explore the alternative 

options in the village. 

Leaving Bourton-on-the-Water, we travelled on Monarch’s Way 

to Lower Slaughter. It only took until 11 am to be diverted into 

the beautiful Slaughter Country Inn for a quick mid-walk pint. 

The bad news was that the cask ales were off because the fridge 

had “blown up”. The good news was that the Shipyard American 

The River Windrush flowing through Bourton-on-the-Water 

23


Having a pint at The Slaughters Country Inn. Left to right: Roger Engledow, 

Tony Moffat, Bob Harris and Phil Benke 

Pale Ale (4.5%) was on, although Roger did not like it as it was 

cold, fizzy and served in a straight glass. But we drank it anyway 

- sitting in the sunshine in the pub’s garden. From the pub, we 

took Warden’s Way to Upper Slaughter where we ate our picnic 

lunch provided by Harrington House. Off then via Macmillan 

Way to the River Windrush returning to the House by Windrush 

Way. Time for another refreshing pint. The walkers were now 

able to join the others with indoor and outdoor games to play (or 

join the throngs of sightseers). In addition, there was a 1000 

piece jigsaw puzzle of Bourton-on-the-Water to complete before 

Monday - we failed, but valiantly as both young and old were 

seen with heads down at different times. 

At 4 pm, Peter Dunkley gave us three team quizzes on General 

Knowledge. Then time to put on our glad rags for dinner. 

Afterwards there were Photo Calls for the teams and one of all 

the Old Stationers’ present. This was followed by a Barn Dance 

with Peter Dunkley acting as Caller. This was many of the 

younger guests' first experience of barn dancing, but they 

embraced it enthusiastically, if not always accurately. The first 

dance was Strip the Willow where people went every which way 

and not all in time with the music. But it got better and by the 

last dance it was pretty good. Anyway, everyone enjoyed 

themselves which was what it was all about. There was not much 

time for any 50’s/60’s music and Derek and Jan were the only 

ones with enough energy left to enjoy a slow dance. 

Sunday started with an Easter Egg Hunt and we weren’t let into 

breakfast until we had found one, with varying degrees of 

success. Another team quiz after breakfast - on Pop Music. The 

walk again was about six miles to The Rissingtons with warm but 

cloudy weather and including a picnic lunch again. The early 

afternoon was spent playing Pooh Sticks with sticks in team 

colours provided by Roger; games at Harrington House, including 

boules & jenga, or just walking around the village. 

When everybody was in the lounge, Roger thanked Sarah, Fiona 

and Lucy (his three daughters) for their help in organising the 

weekend and gave them bouquets of flowers. He said that when 

he was young, there were three things in his life: beer, women and 

football - not necessarily in that order. Now he enjoys three 

other things: planning and organising an event, the event itself 

and the memories of the event. He didn’t say whether these three 

were replacing the first three or in addition! 

Then the match between Arsenal and Liverpool at 4.30 pm in 

the lounge (via SkyGo on Roger’s laptop connected to the House 

TV). The Arsenal were soon 2-0 up; some considered Poohsticks 

might be a good idea but others were very noisy! It was 2:1 to 

Arsenal at half time. Then Salah missed a penalty for Liverpool, 

but they equalised at 87 minutes with an exciting 6 minutes of 

extra time to be played. At the end no-one was truly satisfied but 

The 8 Old Stationers who attended. Dave Fuller, Jim Mulley, Dave Hudson, Bob Harris, Roger Engledow, Martin Brown, Tony Moffat & Bob Townsend 

24


Roger admiring his Birthday Cake with his eldest daughter Sarah 

the banter between the Arsenal & Spurs fans was as good as ever! 

David Hudson, a “well-known Liverpool supporter”, was given a 

size 11/12 child’s Liverpool shirt by Roger as a joke. But David 

bravely put it on – even though he could hardly breathe in it. 

Well done David. Later though, David, as OS’s king of games 

and quizzes, met his match by losing chess matches to both Will 

and Matt, Roger’s grandsons. 

A bit later, with everybody now in the lounge, Roger’s Birthday 

Cake was brought in and Phil Benke (Roger’s son-in-law) gave 

a vote of thanks to Roger for arranging a super weekend. The 

Gala Dinner was six courses, plus plenty of wine finishing with 

coffee in the lounge. 

Then Bob Harris and Bob Townsend showed an 11 minute 

video comprising clips contributed by Roger’s friends and 

relations – including R I P walking football club singing happy 

birthday, many of his OSA colleagues together with contributions 

from former Arsenal players George Graham and Frank 

McLintock, in recognition of Roger’s lifelong support of Arsenal. 

The most cryptic of messages was from a woman who asked 

“have you still got the t-shirt, Roger?” which led to a few raised 

eyebrows from Roger’s daughters. After the video, Roger told the 

story of his squash playing days and the woman in question, 

Lynne Owen who was famously underestimated and happily 

beat many men at his then squash club. Not content with the 

bragging rights, when Roger managed to secure a victory, he also 

decided to make a celebratory t-shirt stating “I’ve beaten Lynne 

Owen” and wear it around the clubhouse. He proved that he did 

still have it by sending us all a photo when he got home. 

In addition, there was a book of the front pages of the Daily 

Telegraph on 10th April every year from 1943 (not one of which 

Roger had read before!). Then came an interesting quiz prepared 

by Sarah about Roger’s life. Of the many answers, a few are 

worth noting. Firstly, at the age of 12, his favourite singer was 

Ruby Murray – the first person he fell in love with. Secondly, he 

had visited all 92 different Football League Club Grounds but 

now is short of three as a result of new entrants from the 

National League. And lastly, he did NOT share a bed with the 

landlord’s daughter aged 18 on his trip to Jersey, that honour 

went to Bob Harris! 

Roger reminded everybody that there were two outstanding 

competitions to enter. The first was to make up a Limerick, the 

second was to write a sentence of 26 words each beginning with 

the next letter of the alphabet - the content of both to be relevant 

to the weekend. He also explained that his next project in life 

will be walking a marathon in September in aid of Prostate 

Cancer UK. He suggested that we might all like to donate via: 

www.justgiving.com/fundraising/jeff-stellings-footballmarch-2023-31956 

The whole Group outside Harrington House 

25


Monday was Roger’s actual Birthday so everybody wished him 

Happy Birthday during breakfast. He had laid out the entries for 

the Limerick and Sentence Competitions in an adjoining room 

and we were invited to vote for our favourite by putting money 

on them. The money raised was to go to the HF Pathways Fund 

which, with other organisations keeps walking paths fit to use 

e.g. by repairing stiles and also provides assisted holidays to those 

who could not otherwise afford one. 

The winning Limerick was: 

A man from Barnet called Roger 

Could have become an old codger 

But he took up walking 

Instead of just talking 

And now he plays walking soccer. 

The favoured long sentence was: 

A birthday celebration's definitely exciting 

Friends gathered here inebriated 

Just keep laughing, making noise 

Optimistic people quietly radiate sunshine 

Try unwinding, vibrate 

When X-rayed you're zingy 

Anon 

Anon 

A total of £55.20 was collected for the Pathways Fund. 

Which team won? We will never know, but as each “prize” was 

the same small memento in team colours, no-one cared. 

The food and service had been excellent all weekend; they even 

coped with Nishat’s fasting requirement for Ramadan, serving 

her a delicious plate bang on sun down each evening. This, 

despite being short staffed because of an outbreak of COVID 

the day before we arrived. Fiona and Sarah arranged for 

everyone to sign a birthday book for Roger to look back on. 

Most people left soon after breakfast as it was raining, but the 

hardened of us stayed to visit the Cotswold Motoring and Toy 

Museum and other local attractions. Then, time to drive home 

safely having had a very enjoyable weekend. The intergenerational 

friendships and camaraderie of the weekend is something that 

will stay with the guests for a long time. It is not often you get to 

enjoy such an experience and learn about someone's life from the 

people who love them. The weather helped, too! 

Thanks Roger, you’re not the only one who has plenty of 

memories of the weekend to look back on. 

Tony Moffat and Fiona Engledow 

A PREVIOUS “REFURBISHMENT” OF STATIONERS’ HALL 

This year marks the 350th anniversary of the present Stationers’ 

Hall in Ave Maria Lane, although a previous Hall had existed on 

the same site until 1666 when it was completely destroyed 

during the Great Fire of London. 

My first visit last December since the recent refurbishment 

brought to mind a previous restoration, within the lifetimes of 

the Old Boys at that Christmas Lunch. This was necessitated by 

the bombing campaigns of the Nazi regime during the Second 

World War. The greatest amounts of damage, including that to 

Stationers’ Hall, occurred during The Blitz of 1940-41. 

I make reference in this short article to a book of maps stored in 

the London Metropolitan Archives reproduced in Bomb 

Damage Maps by Laurence Ward and a collection of photographs 

taken by two City of London Constables, P.C.s Cross and Tibbs, 

who were based at Bishopsgate Police Station during the war as 

well as the documents and photographs provided by Dr. Ruth 

Frendo, the Archivist at the Worshipful Company of Stationers 

and Newspaper Makers. 

The part of central London I have greatest familiarity with is 

WC1, broadly speaking, Holborn, a district I worked in for a 

number of year so these were the first maps I viewed. However 

it wasn’t long before my eyes were drawn eastwards to the City 

of London and, inevitably, Stationers’ Hall. 

It would seem from the evidence recorded by the London 

County Council draughtsmen, working on Ordnance Survey 

maps, that Stationers’ Hall must have been protected from more 

serious damage by the buildings on the western side of Warwick 

Lane, which were either deemed to be “damaged beyond repair” 

or subject to “total destruction”. Almost every building between 

Warwick Lane and St. Paul’s Cathedral had to be completely 

levelled such was the extent of the damage. The Bishopsgate 

constables photographed the scene from the Golden Gallery of 

St. Paul’s Cathedral, showing a vast swathe of land including 

Paternoster Row, Paternoster Square and Warwick Lane to be 

entirely flattened. Cutlers’ Hall, our hosts during the recent 

modernisation, suffered damage described as “seriously damaged 

– doubtful if repairable”, according to the L.C.C. cartographers. 

By contrast, Stationers’ Hall, protected from the blast which 

flattened buildings along and East of Warwick Lane, suffered 

damage described as “general blast damage – not structural”. 

Despite the above assessment, the damage during the Blitz to the 

Hall was not inconsiderable. By the account of the architects and 

surveyors Henry Dawson and Son, of Ludgate Hill (16/7/1943), 

the attack on the night of October 14-15th 1940 brought an 

incendiary bomb to lodge into the roof at the North end of the 

Banqueting Hall, destroying one third of the roof and ceiling 

despite the best efforts of the Fire Service. The lobby and end of 

the Court Room also had their roofs destroyed. The attacks in 

September and October 1940 at the start of The Blitz have been 

referred to as the “great attack”. Worse, however, was to come, 

although Stationers’ Hall appears to have got off lightly. 

The attack by the Luftwaffe on the night of the 29th December 

1940 is described by Laurence Ward in the editorial text 

The South Wall of the Court Room, supported by temporary wooden 

buttresses following bomb damage on 15/10/1940. 

26


View from the Court Room through to the ante room, bomb damage, 15/10/1940 

accompanying the maps as: 

“..the most devastating, concentrated attacks of the war, setting 

the Square Mile ablaze as fires from incendiary bombs raged 

around St Paul’s, engulfing streets and buildings... on the night 

of the great conflagration newspapers, could, by the light of the 

fires, be easily read in the suburbs.” 

This incendiary attack brought further roof damage to the South 

end of the Hall and both the roof and the ceiling were destroyed 

by the flames. 

Into 1941, the Luftwaffe would appear to have turned its 

attention to the east of the City of London – to the docklands 

and the East End. There were two further relatively small 

incidents which affected Stationers’ Hall. An incendiary bomb 

fell on the concrete gutter over the Court Room on the night of 

27th April but this failed to ignite. On the night of the 10th May 

an explosive bomb landed at the corner of Warwick Lane and 

Amen Corner, throwing up debris which caused some roof 

damage to the Hall. This last attack is generally considered to be 

the end date of ‘The Blitz’. 

Compared to the surrounding area, Stationers’ Hall survived 

relatively intact though the Company lost a great deal of valuable 

possessions through fire – books, furniture and oil paintings as 

well as ceremonial gowns. The renovations following the damage 

caused during the war were completed by 1957 giving us the 

Stationers’ Hall we all have grown to know and love over the 

subsequent years prior to the recent ‘refurbishment’. 

Richard Forty 

Court Room showing damage from 15/10/1940 

View to the South East from Ave Maria Lane to St Paul’s Cathedral 

showing bomb damage to Paternoster Row 

Bomb damage believed to be to Paternoster Square. 

27


SOME MEMORIES BEFORE AND AFTER MY TIME 

AT STATIONERS’ COMPANY’S SCHOOL 

I was never a pupil at Stationers’ but joined the teaching staff in 

1967 when the comprehensive system started. 

My secondary education started in the Isle of Wight for one year 

during the war and continued from 1942 to 1946 at Highbury 

County Grammar School when I returned from private 

evacuation from the Island, starting in year 2. The main school 

returned from Somerset a year later. 

The school was situated near Highbury Corner and not far from 

the Arsenal Stadium and Finsbury Park. When I started teaching 

P.E. in 1954 I was at Stroud Green Secondary Modern School, 

just the other side of Finsbury Park and not that far from 

Stationers’ as the crow flies. I played for Highbury at cricket and 

football, but because the school was in Islington and Stationers’ 

was in Hornsey (later Haringey) we never met on the sport’s 

field. When Stroud Green moved to a new site on Crouch End 

Playing Fields and was renamed Bishopswood (later Highgate 

Wood) we were much closer to Stationers’. 

I recall one incident during my time at Highbury which proved 

significant. In 1944, because there was still some bombing in 

London, we were sometimes told not to come in the next day for 

certain reasons. My close mates (with whom I have had several 

reunions since the 90s, but nearly all have died now) and I were 

in the habit of walking round to Highbury Corner to buy a large 

crusty bread roll at Lyons Corner House, no doubt to supplement 

our school dinner. We always arrived there at 1 p.m. and always 

made a hole in the roll and pulled the inside out first as we 

casually drifted back to school. One Tuesday we had been told 

not to come in and on that day a bomb landed on Highbury 

Corner precisely at 1pm. Who knows what might have been our 

fate had we stuck to our usual routine? Our French teacher, Mr 

Lay, had been having a meal at Lyons and was badly injured. We 

heard some weeks later that he wrote to Lyons and apologised 

for not paying his bill! 

On leaving school in 1946 I started work in a local hospital (now 

Whittington). The war had just ended and there was no way we 

could go on to further education 

as times were hard. I joined 

North London Cricket Club at 

Crouch End Playing Fields. I 

never reached the heights of the 

1stXI, the standard of most of 

those local Clubs being very 

high, but I did play alongside 

George Copus, who I didn’t 

know then was an Old Stationer 

and, later, had an outstanding 

career as was recently mentioned 

in his obituary in the OS 

Magazine. He was a very good 

bowler and he reminded me of 

the Kent and England fast bowler 

with a flailing arms action - 

D.V.P. Wright - who had been 

quite successful ‘down under.’ 

At 16, I also joined Crouch End 

Vampires Football Club. Starting 

with the 4th XI, I progressed up 

to the first XI where, on a special occasion I met the Old 

Stationers’ team for the first time (not to be the last!). It was the 

occasion of the opening of the Vampires new pavilion, so the 

Mayor of Hornsey was there and a sizable crowd on a very hot 

day before the start of the season. The ground was very hard, and 

it was not long before two of our players went down with cramp 

and took no further part. This was in the days when no 

substitutes were allowed. Stationers’ took full advantage of this 

and were soon two goals up. In the 2nd half the Vampires 

managed to claw two goals back and the game ended in a draw. 

I wonder if any of our readers were there in about 1951. 

Playing with the first XI later, I was picked to play for the 

Southern Amateur League against Oxford University and 

remember a Stationer playing on the left wing - Owers or 

Wingrove I think? We lost 3-2 but playing later for the League 

against the Midland League on the Bank of England ground we 

won 8-0 with our centre forward scoring six! 

Starting my PE teaching career at 24, I was placed in an old 

building where PE was taken in the school hall with classroom 

windows adjoining – not the best set-up. In 1961 we moved to a 

new building on Crouch End Playing fields. (The school was 

renamed Bishopswood, later to Highgate Wood). In my first year 

I was appointed Secretary of the Hornsey Schools Athletics. 

This came about because our Headmaster was very keen to make 

the school known. In this capacity I soon became in touch with 

Stationers’ Games master, Sid Holmes, who provided some 

excellent athletes to represent Hornsey in the County Athletics 

at the White City. Of course, other schools were represented too. 

From that meeting we provided a few for the County to compete 

in the All-England Games. I remember the Geering brothers, 

one of whom excelled in the long jump. The same system 

occurred in the winter when the cross-country run was held. 

Tollington Grammar School produced some excellent 

competitors as did Marsden Hubbard’s Crouch End School. Our 

school did well in the girl’s events. 

In 1967 when the Borough introduced the Comprehensive 

28


system, I applied for the post of Head of R.E. at Stationers’ 

Company School. The first time I went through the front door 

to meet Mr. Baynes, I heard the school choir rehearsing for 

something and the sounds of their singing as I walked in seemed 

heavenly, with the deep accompaniment of the lovely organ. (I 

soon discovered that not all the boys could be likened to angels!) 

Being a games teacher too, I was given an afternoon helping 

Marsden at Winchmore Hill. I enjoyed the R.E. lessons taking 

all classes up to 5th form for one lesson a week. The subject 

opened up questions of life, more relevant than others, and I was 

not constricted by preparing for exams. 

Later, I was appointed as a Pastoral Head of a Year group and 

also as House Master of the newly formed Rivington House. 

Later, as Master in Charge of the Lower Building (being the 

vacated Hornsey Girls’ School) I saw a great need to do 

something about the mob-like scramble for the dinner queue. 

With the help of Prefects we established a ticket system so that 

those boys who arrived first were not pushed out by bigger boys 

arriving after them. However, I am sure that some seemed to 

bribe their teacher to let them out a few minutes before 12 when 

the bell went! 

Mike Fitch and I developed a system whereby, using a 

synchronised pincer movement, we would 

trap boys who were ‘having a drag’ behind 

the kitchens. I still remember the looks of 

dismay when we confronted them, but I 

don’t suppose they realised we were doing 

it for their health’s sake. I also developed a 

viewing point upstairs where I watched the 

dash for the sweet shop at break time. How 

could I possibly be so cruel as to stop this 

little treat, but some would run around the 

local roads to avoid being captured. One 

boy, I remember, had not paid and I was 

able to catch him to return the goods and 

apologise. 

From 1967 for a short time the lower forms 

would have classes at the old North 

Harringay School. I took some lessons 

there and discovered two table-tennis 

tables and invited boys to come there after 

school to play. I soon realised there were 

some excellent players and formed a team 

to compete in the County Championships 

at Harlow. Martin Wells and his brother, 

David, and Bobby McClavin were top 

players and we did well. Many years later I 

heard that David Wells was in the men’s 

national team, rated 4th in the country. 

One day I was called to the top building by 

Mr. Baynes to take a small boy down to the 

lower building for protection. He had 

borrowed (?) a small radio from a senior 

boy and Mr. Baynes was trying to sort out 

the problem of returning it because the 

older boy was beside himself with fury. As 

I walked the young boy down the top 

playground, the older boy, who was quite 

tall, tracked us down with malicious intent 

and, for a while I had to fend him off. It 

must have looked a strange sight – rather 

like a dervish dance, while many pupils looked on from their 

classrooms – work couldn’t go on with this excitement. Arriving 

half-way down, near the prefab classrooms, the older boy was so 

incensed that he picked up a rock and a bottle and faced me. I 

told the young boy to run for it. I tried to calm him down, and 

this somehow worked, because he hurled his weapons at my feet, 

fortunately, not my face. By this time someone had alerted Mr. 

Baynes who took him away. Faces at many windows turned back 

having enjoyed a diversion from boring work. I never did find out 

if the radio was returned. Just one of the joys of being a school 

teacher! 

Not many may remember Jack Barnetson who taught in the 

Lower School. He was 99 when he died last year (2022). He 

always wanted to reach 100 but didn’t quite make it. I found out 

many years after the school closed that he had fought with the 

Eighth Army across North Africa, in the Second World War, 

then over to Sicily and on to Italy. He was a brave man to endure 

all that, but we never knew about it. One day he had trouble with 

a boy in his maths lesson and, unfortunately, gave him a little 

push. (How many times were all staff tempted to give more than 

a push!). The boy’s mother appeared the next day and met Jack 

in the office. She expressed her anger in words then picked up 

29


John Young, Geraint Pritchard, Martim Harris & Reg Bailey 

the nearest thing which happened to be a flower vase and 

brought it down on Jacks’s head. I don’t think he was badly hurt 

and nothing was done about it. Again – just one of the joys of 

being a school teacher. 

When Geraint Pritchard was proving himself a powerful force in 

the school, he invited me to join one of his famous Three Peaks 

trips to Malham. Innocently, I said I would help in any way. It 

turned out to be a cold, wet miserable day, but we all trudged on 

and, as far as I know, all achieved the target to reach all three 

peaks in 24 hours. I have kept my badge and tie to prove to 

friends ever since, that I did do it. 

I knew nearly all the staff mentioned by John Leeming’s report 

in an earlier edition of this magazine. Sadly, as he wrote, many 

have died. Some used to come to visit my home in Wigginton, 

near Tring (I am still here). Geraint was a regular, welcome 

visitor - what a man! Another who came was Ian Paterson who 

used to produce wonderful plays at the end of the school year. 

We paid a visit to the next village, Aldbury, a tourist site, and I 

managed to get him to sit in the ancient stocks by the village 

pond. I can’t imagine what tales those stocks could tell of what 

happened in the past. Certainly, in the 19th century they 

wouldn’t have had a smile on their face like Ian. (For golfers with 

plenty of money, there is a golf course called ‘Stocks’ further 

along in the village). 

I still keep in touch with Reg Bailey and Jim Andrews; we were 

all members of Cholmeley church at Highgate and they left 

Stationers’ in 1967 just before I joined the teaching staff. Reg 

went to be a national spokesman for Safeguarding Children and 

was once summoned by the then Prime Minister, David 

Cameron, to go to Downing Street to discuss what was being 

done. Jim became a doctor and went out to troubled areas of the 

world to help, including South Sudan. He then had a spell at 

Broadmoor which he found very interesting. Other Stationers’ 

boys I am still meeting on occasion are Geoff Aanonson and 

Martin Harris who is now Dean of Harlow. 

Other boys who I remember came to my Covenanter Boys’ Club 

John Young at the 2021 reunion 

in the Archway Road on Thursday evenings for three hours, and 

also to my Holiday Clubs and Camps in the South West. 

I have many happy memories of my time at Stationers’. A recent 

visit to the site during the reunion in 2021 enabled me to see the 

enormous changes that have been made. It was lovely to see some 

of the old boys and one or two of us few remaining teachers on 

that occasion. Although never a boy at the school I would join in 

and sing the School Song. I am so glad to have so much 

information about the past and present in this O.S. Magazine 

and applaud those who work hard to produce it. 

John Young 1967-1983 

RE Teacher and Head of the Lower School 

30


GEOLOGISTS’ ASSOCIATION PRESIDENTIAL MEDAL 

RECIPIENT 2022 : DR LIAM T GALLAGHER 

In May 2022 Liam was awarded the Geologists' Association 

President's Medal in recognition of all his work for the 

Geologists' Association. The Geologists' Association is an 

amateur body that anyone with an interest in geology can join, 

but many of its Members like Liam are professional geologists, 

and through the GA are able to share their skills , expertise and 

enthusiasm for all things geological. 

As a professional geologist Liam has amongst other things, spent 

20+ years offshore in the Norwegian Oil fields, over 8 years 

helping to establish and then teaching on Birmingham 

University’s MSc course and been a member of the Geologists’ 

Association. 

His 15 years as a member of the Geologists’ Association 

including 10+ years on Council and a year as Vice President has 

been rewarded with this rather nice award… 

The Geologists’ Association President’s Medal 2022: 

Liam’s ‘geological’ interests 

were supported to a great 

extent at School by Geraint 

Pritchard who then continued 

to follow his career in the 

subject with great interest; he 

would have been pleased to 

see this recognition I think, 

and been very proud of his 

pupil – as am I. 

Photographs: Cathy Gallagher 

31


OUR ARCHIVE RETURNS TO THE HALL 

In March, a small posse of Committee members descended upon 

Northampton to gather the OSA archive from its temporary 

storage in preparation for its return to Stationers’ Hall. Our 

archive has spent the past three years, stored in an industrial unit 

on the outskirts of the town whilst the Hall underwent a major 

refurbishment programme. 

The refurbishment of Stationers’ Hall heralds a new era in its 

350year history with a new link building to improve access to 

each floor, the addition of new meeting rooms, and the 

replacement of heating and cooling systems to improve thermal 

comfort in the Main Hall for large events. The refurbishment 

programme began in 2017 with the creation of a state-of-the-art 

archive facility, The Tokefield Centre. Named in commemoration 

of the then Clerk, George Tokefield, who in 1666 transported 

the Company’s records in a wheelbarrow out beyond the reaches 

of the Great Fire of London thus saving them. The centre claims 

to be the oldest book warehouse in London, but don’t let that and 

its exterior deceive you, inside is a bright, modern, and efficient 

facility. At its hub stands, The Carfax Room, a climate-controlled 

archive storeroom, which is fire proofed, secure, and constantly 

monitored. A rolling shelving system provides efficient storage 

allowing the bookshelves to be rolled to one end of the room on 

tracks, revealing just a single path between the shelves. 

The OSA’s archive is an aggregate of school records and 

documents, photographs, ephemera, and silverware amassed 

throughout the School’s history. The archive is complemented 

with the addition of documents relating to the OSA and its 

events since the closure of the School. 

The Company has generously donated space inside the room for 

us to store our archive. To maximise the efficiency of the space 

and ensure the long-term preservation of our documents, we 

have invested in acid-free archive storage boxes and magazine 

files conforming to National Archive standards. These will allow 

us to curate our archive in a single location and sit beside the 

Company’s impressive collection of records and documents 

dating back to 1554. A dedicated team of Committee members 

including, David Turner, Tim Westbrook, Dan Bone and Peter 

Thomas, have worked hard over the past three years to ensure the 

safe return of our archive to the Hall. However, this would have 

not been possible without the important work behind the scenes 

by Martin Lawrence to secure our place in the Tokefield Centre. 

The final stage of preparation 

will be to catalogue the contents 

to assist in accessing the archive. 

If you would like to see our 

archive or need help with 

researching school history, please 

contact our Archivist, David 

Turner, (contact details on page 3). 

Peter Thomas 

Dan, Tim and Peter in the Tokefield Centre 

32

Dear Tim, 

21 January 2023 

Congratulations on yet another very 

readable OS magazine. I have reached the 

age where only one name has any meaning 

for me, that of Peter Bothwick, who I have 

never met but whose brother John 

(considerably older than Peter) was a 

contemporary of mine at Stationers and at 

the Ferme Park Youth Club. 

I am not sure as to whether you want only 

video memories and I do not have a smart 

phone. I have put together some anecdotes, 

attached, recalling Charlie Halls, and you 

can decide whether they are worth 

publishing. I can send you a picture of 

myself if you wish, as there may be one or 

two still alive who knew me. 

I am sending details of one or two books 

of mine to Tony Moffat. Good idea to 

have such a facility. 

Best wishes for 2023 

Brian Cranwell Class of ’44, Entered ’45 

MEMORIES OF AN ECCENTRIC 

The master I viewed as the most eccentric 

when I joined Stationers’ in 1945 was 

Major “Charlie” Halls. 

I believe Charlie had no training as a 

teacher and he frequently stood in for 

other staff who were off for any reason. He 

ran the Army Cadet Corps and on the last 

period on Friday afternoons he could be 

heard quite clearly shouting drill orders to 

the cadets in the playground, and then 

when school finished he could be seen 

marching down to a barber at the foot of 

Mayfield Road for a trim to his military 

style short back and sides. 

I believe Charlie taught some history 

occasionally, but whatever subject he was 

standing in about we could be sure of at 

least ten minutes on some aspect of 

regimental histories, mergers or renaming. 

Charlie had the reputation of doing 

everything by numbers. He never walked, 

he marched. On one occasion I was 

running down a corridor when a door 

opened in front of me and Charlie stepped 

out, so I was about to run into him. His 

response was classic and swift. 

1. Right foot forward 

2. Raised right arm, bent, with elbow 

at front. 

3. Lean forward 

So I ran into his elbow, then received a 

telling off for running in the corridor. 


CORRESPONDENCE 

But my most vivid memory of Charlie 

occurred one afternoon when he turned up 

at our class to stand in for another staff 

member who was due to take us for RE. 

He marched in, sat down on the dais, and 

said “Open your bibles page 1067 Book of 

Daniel Chapter 1. Starting here at the 

front with the first verse each read one 

verse, going round the class”. 

The first boy read then after about three 

verses I put my hand up. “What is it?” 

asked Charlie irritably. “Please sir, what is 

a eunuch” I asked. I genuinely had no idea. 

As I watched, Charlie’s neck became red 

and this spread up to his face which 

became redder and redder until almost 

purple. Then he snapped “Carry on 

reading” he said, looking down at his desk. 

The reading continued. The chap next to 

me whispered “What was that about?” 

“I’ve no idea” I whispered back, and had 

forgotten about it by the end of the period, 

but as we were processing out of the room 

Charlie was standing by the door and 

grabbed my right ear as I was passing him 

and said “Don’t ask questions to which 

you already know the answers”. I said 

nothing but then went to the library and 

looked up the word in a dictionary. It said 

“Eunuch- an emasculated male.”. I went 

away no wiser. 

Thanks Tim, herewith my pic taken a few 

years ago now but I still have hair the 

same colour! 

I’m afraid London reunions are out of my 

range now due to mobility problems, but I 

cannot relate anyone on your list except 

John Miles. 

One of the last reunions I attended had 

only six out of the following but cannot 

recall which were not there, except I know 

Sir John Sparrow and John Sheen had 

both died. The others were Brian Kill, 

Stanley Ward, Gordon Rose, John Miles, 

and Bill Croydon. We decided the last one 

with 5/6 of us there was to be our last. 

I had a strange coincidence a few years 

ago. I was talking to another retired 

clergyman, Rev John Colley in Sheffield. I 

mentioned Stationers and he said he went 

to Highgate but suddenly recalled “My 

father taught music at Stationers for 

several years”. I recalled that he was the 

music master who ran the choir that I was 

in also, and he took us to St Paul’s on the 

first Shrove Tuesday post WWII (1946) 

in the crypt at St Paul’s to sing for the 

annual service for the Stationer’s Company. 

When John died I attended his funeral 

where his grandson and granddaughter 

played a violin/piano duet composed by 

John’s father, so their great grandfather. 

When I told them afterwards at a 

reception that I knew him and had been 

in his choir they must have thought I was 

as old as Methusala! 

Mr Colley was a very gentle man whose 

lessons we did not always make easy but 

he remained a Gent throughout. His 

reputation was something of a byword in 

Sheffield for rapping the knuckles of 

clergy he did not agree with. 

Best wishes 

Brian Cranwell 

stokes_brian@hotmail.com 

3 February 2023 

OSA ANNUAL LUNCH & AGM, 

FRIDAY 31ST MARCH 

Peter - first, I should mention that I was 

diagnosed with Dementia about 6 months 

ago but my GP has been fabulous and got 

me on to tablets immediately. The local 

NHS sent a team to test me and I passed 

with flying colours so no problems there. 

Getting back to Normandy in 1946 - I 

was in 1b - your first year was alphabetical 

but, thereafter, there was promotion and 

demotion depending on the Summer 

Exam Results - I went into 2a and then 3, 

the top class where I stayed i.e. 4 and 5 

until I left in 1951 after taking the first 

year of the GCSE examination. Our trip 

to the Normandy Beaches in 1946 was by 

coach and across the Channel by boat 

from Portsmouth to Le Havre, and then 

by Coach to Courcelle sur Mere - we were 

near the Beaches where the Allies had 

made the D-Day landings and the 

remnants of war were everywhere 

including the Mulberry Harbour which 

the Allies had used to bring their heavy 

Artillery and tanks ashore. As children, 

who had lived through war it was nothing 

new for any us, just part of life. Mr Davies 

(known as" Beaky") gave us very good 

coach trips to various local destinations 

including bomb ridden Caen - hardly a 

building standing. The school where we 

stayed had some orphan French boys from 

Paris staying there - the object being they 

learnt English and we learnt French. The 

local women did not like us because the 

Allied troops had killed their German 

boyfriends so they threw stones at us and 

33

we had to go out, thereafter, under Teacher 

protection. The local Wine shops were 

happy to sell us Liqueurs/Spirits or 

whatever Alcohol they had, so I brought a 

bottle back for my parents. Trust, this 

gives you enough background nature on 

this trip for an article in the Old Boys 

Mag. but please let me know if you want 

more detail. 

Brian Stokes 

JOHN YOUNG UPDATE 

Good morning Gentlemen, 

Andreas and I received the following 

message from John Young’s daughter, 

Hilary, this morning. 

I thought those of you who remember 

John might be interested in the following. 

John Young joined the School in 1967 and 

taught Religious Instruction, PE, and 

organised after-school clubs and summer 

camp. I believe he remained at the school 

until its closure. 

John came to our Comprehensive Reunion 

last May and was a very popular figure, 

with Old Boys queueing up to have their 

photograph taken with him! An amazing 

man who will be 93 this year!! 

Hi Peter / Andreas - happy new year to 

you both! 

I just thought I’d give a quick update on 

Dad - John Young. He was so delighted to 

come to the reunion last May. You may recall 

he was struggling then with a horrible cough. 

Unfortunately, just a few weeks later his 

health deteriorated rapidly and we thought 

we were losing him at the end of July / 

beginning of August. He has lived with heart 

failure since 2016 and this condition 

worsened. He was referred to the Hospice at 

Home team who were wonderful. Thankfully 

however, a few tweaks of his medication, and 

he has somewhat miraculously bounced back!! 

Amazing us all


you’re able to use it. 

I taught for 19 years and then left teaching 

to set up my Personal Best Fitness 

Company. I’ve worked with Northern 

telecom, Centrica Gas, Price Waterhouse, 

Johnson and Johnson among others and 

have had personal clients including the 

Honorable Sir Rocco Forte and Melanie 

Chisholm from the Spice Girls 

Now living down in Poole, Dorset, moved 

from London three and a half years back 

and absolutely love it! 

If anyone is interested in my book, very 

happy to send post free for £10. 

Tony, if you’d like a copy of the novel to 

peruse, very happy to get it in the post to 

you straightaway if you let me have your 

address. 

Many thanks, Steve Trew 

About the author 

Steve Trew taught for 19 years in North 

London. 

He swum and ran at national and 

International level and won three AAA’s 

Championship medals. In Triathlon, Steve 

represented Great Britain and England in 

Triathlon from 1984 to 1992; he was 

European champion in 1986 and was 10th in 

the World Championships in 1989 in his age 

group division. 

Steve has had vast experience in International 

Sport and was Great Britain Coach at the 

2000 Sydney Olympics and Wales Team 

Manager at the 2006 Commonwealth 

Games, Melbourne. 

Steve has been at six Olympic and 

Commonwealth Games as coach, team 

manager, and/or commentator for triathlon, 

race walking, swimming and open water 

swimming. Steve was involved in the 2012 

London Olympic Games in the sports of 

triathlon, marathon swimming, and race 

walking. He was track and field stadium 

commentator for the London 2012 Paralympics. 

Steve has also provided live commentary at the 

London Marathon, the Great Swim series, 

and the Big City 10k and 5k runs as well as 

the London 10,000m and the London 

Westminster miles. He was previously Director 

of Coaching and National Coach for Great 

Britain Triathlon (a long time ago now!) 

Hi Tim, 

I am pleased that you feel my article is 

worth squeezing into the July issue. 

I attach two photographs. The first shows 

me as I now am at age 95. For comparison 

with myself at age 11, I offer the group 

photo of Form 1A wherein I can be seen 

3rd from the right up in the back row. In 

the second row Hewett is 5th from the left 

and Haynes 6th, two lads "of short stature" 

mentioned in my text. 

May I draw your attention to the Feb 2013 

No 76 issue in which were contributions 

concerning Wisbech. On page 15 is a 

letter from me. On the preceding page are 

two newspaper pictures I provided, 

together with my own captioning (which 

mentions my sister). On page 16 there is a 

copy of the list of boys at the school in 

Wisbech in Dec 1939. Those in Form IIA 

had been with me in 1A the year before. 

Incidentally, my sister Mary, who is still 

living at almost age 93, attended Hornsey 

High School. In 1945 she and another girl, 

a couple of exceptional students, were sent 

once a week to Stationers for some higher 

level maths tuition that their teachers 

could not provide. She recalls that they 

were very popular with the boys! 

John Bathurst 

35


Thanks to Simon Westbrook for fishing this out of his attic to remind us the debt we owe 

to Gus Thomas for this education in the English Language. 

GUS NOTES - STATIONERS 1964 

1. SIMILE 

This occurs when two things are compared and introduced by the 

word like or as 

a. The Assyrian came down like the wolf on the fold. 

b. I wondered lonely as a cloud. 

2. METAPHOR 

This occurs when, owing to some resemblance between two objects 

or the functions they perform, one is for the time being actually 

identified with the other. 

a. Here you charter your camel, the ship of the desert. 

b. He is skating on-thin ice. 

3. EUPHEMISM 

The presentation of something unpleasant or offensive in a softened 

form. 

a. I am afraid something has happened to him. 

b. What he told us was not the unvarnished truth. 

4. METONOMY 

The designation of a thing or person by something closely associated 

with it. 

a. The bottle has been his downfall. 

b. The boxes showed their appreciation by clapping, the gallery 

by shouting. 

5. SYNECDOCHE 

A part is used to represent the whole, or the whole a part. 

a. The factory, which was a very large one, employed two thousand 

hands. 

b. England won the test match. 

6. RHETORICAL QUESTION 

A question which is in reality a forcible way of putting a statement 

and therefore requires no answer, or a questions that the speaker 

proceeds to answer himself. 

"Breathes there the man with soul so dead :J 

Who never to himself has said, This is my own my native land?" 

7. HYPERBOLE 

A statement deliberately exaggerated in order to add force emphasis. 

They lifted the roof with their shouting. 

8. LITOTES 

The opposite of hyperbole. An understatement of fact. 

a. The concert was not at all bad. 

b. I rather like this book 

c. I am a citizen of no mean city. 

9. ZEUGMA 

This occurs when one adjective or one verb is made to serve a double 

purpose, but is not repeated. 

Wrapped in his greatcoat and silence, he journeyed on. 

10. PERSONIFICATION 

A thing (frequently an abstract noun) is treated as a person or given 

human attributes. 

a. Peace hath her victories no less renowned than war. 

b. Youth at the prow and pleasure at the helm. 

11. BATHOS (ANTI-CLIMAX) 

This is employed when an author leads us to imagine that he is 

working up to a climax and then quite unexpectedly drops us down 

to the conmonplace. 

a. When I had resided at college seven years, my father died and 

left me - his blessing. 

12. APOSTROPHE 

An invocation to an inanimate object, a quality, or to someone who 

is not present. 

a. Milton! Thou shouldst be living at this hour. 

b. Sweet Auburn, loveliest village of the plain! 

c. O Friendship, thou fond soother of the human breast! 

13. OXYMORON 

An apparent contradiction between an adjective and its noun or an 

adverb and the word it modifies. 

a. Faith unfaithful kept him falsely true. 

b. She loved occasionally to indulge herself in a fit of pleasing 

melancholy. 

14. PARADOX 

A statement, which on the face of it, seems absurd, yet when examined 

is found to be true. 

a. The child is father to the man. 

b. The first shall be last, and the last first. 

c. Cowards die many times before their death. 

15. ONOMATOPOEIA 

Where the sound represents the sense, you have an onomatopoeic 

word or sentence. 

a. Ping-pong 

b. The murmuring of innumerable bees. 

16. ALLITERATION 

Consists of the employment in close succession of two or more 

words with the same initial sound. 

a. Apt alliteration's artful aid. 

b. Dissolute, depraved, degenerate, decrepit. 

17. ANTITHESIS 

This is the figure of speech in which a striking opposition or contrast 

or words is made in the same sentence. 

a. Man proposes, God disposes. 

b. fu order that Frederick of Prussia might rob a neighbour 

whom he had promised to defend, black men fought on the 

coast of Coromandel while red men scalped each other by the 

Great Lakes of North America. 

18. CLIMAX 

This consists in the building-up of fact upon fact, each fact being of 

greater significance than the one which precedes it, the climax coming 

with the last of the facts given. 

"Many a time and oft 

Have you climbed up to walls and battlements, 

To towers and windows, yea, to chimney tops, 

Your infants in your arms, and there have sat 

The live-long day with patient expectation, 

To see great Pompey pass the streets of Rome." 

19. EPIGRAM 

This is a brief pointed saying, frequently introducing antithetical ideas. 

Translations are like women: if they are beautiful they are not faithful; 

if they are faithful they are not beautiful. 

20. IRONY 

In irony, language is employed to suggest an impression different from 

that which would result from a literal interpretation of the words. 

"Here under leave of Brutus and the rest 

(For Brutus is an honourable men 

So are they all, all honourable men) 

Come to speak in Caesar's funeral .. 

He was my friend, faithful and just to me, 

But Brutus said he was ambitious 

And Brutus is an honourable man" 

36


ME & MY MOTORS 

MY MUSTANG 

I was intrigued to read Tony Moffat’s excellent piece about his 

Ford Mustang and your postscript Tim in The Old Stationer No 

96 and I was reminded of the one I bought in Miami at about the 

same time. I never saw it before purchase but simply paid for it. 

It’s a long story…. 

I had left school after one term in the lower sixth, having realised 

belatedly that I did not need ‘A’ levels to study architecture at the 

Northern Polytechnic. Remarkably, back then I needed just 

English and Maths at ‘O’ level for entry unlike the experience of 

my own two children who ended up looking for three ‘A*s and 

AAB respectively at ‘A’ level. By June 1965 I had passed my Finals 

and had my passport – a Diploma in Architecture with Honours 

and following a year working, obtained my Associateship of the 

RIBA. 

Just married with no children, it seemed the perfect time to 

adventure abroad and I found a job in Bermuda moving there in 

November 1966. Life was good with yacht racing on our 

Landlord’s 36 foot cruiser ‘Gunner’ in the Great Sound on 

Thursday afternoons and weekends, and an enjoyable competitive 

squash league as well as interesting work and the other delights of 

a tax free expat life. 

Back then there was a triangular annual squash tournament and I 

was selected to join the team of eight to play for Bermuda against 

representative teams from Jamaica and the Bahamas in Nassau 

that summer. I set off little realising that destiny had stepped in. 

Irrespective of the result of the squash I found a world of 

architectural opportunity in Nassau as there had been a massive 

change of political power with the predominantly black PLP 

(Progressive Labour Party) winning power from the predominantly 

white UBP (United Bahamian Party). The latter known as The 

Bay Street Boys, owned most of the prized real estate and suddenly 

their confidence was shaken and there was a rush to liquidate. 

Simultaneously, in the UK, Callaghan was Chancellor in Wilson’s 

Labour Government and UK property contacts were looking for 

profits outside the UK and I became their man in the Bahamas. 

But coming back to the Mustang…. A friend from the Northern 

Poly was working unhappily for a firm of architects in Nassau and 

I persuaded him to run an office I set up in Miami, and he 

persuaded me to buy the Mustang! 

All went well but gradually the bubble burst. As often happens 

with changes in political control the new boys enjoy grabbing the 

levers of power but don’t always know whether to push them or 

pull them. The development climate changed and it seemed a 

good time to close down the offices in Miami and Nassau and 

head home. The Mustang was worth more to me than anyone else 

so I brought it home complete with it’s New Providence number 

plate to Hertfordshire. 

Like Tony, I kept the car for a while not wanting to pay import 

duty and though being LHD, overtaking was sometimes difficult, 

it was fun. Happy days! 

Footnote: I moved on to one of the earliest Range Rovers – the 

one with the plastic seats, after that I have remained in love with 

that make more or less ever since, now enjoying a Range Rover 

Velar but am undecided about when to go electric, The Mustang 

Mach-E could be a candidate? 

Michael Brady 

37


A WALK IN HERTFORDSHIRE 

THE HOPE MANSELL ROUND 

In recent OS magazines there have been a number of articles 

about favourite walks in Hertfordshire. As someone who has 

always liked to explore, on foot, the byways and footpaths of the 

country around my home, I was agreeably surprised when, some 

twenty-one years ago, on moving to Herefordshire to discover a 

multiplicity of walks right on my doorstep. Of all the local walks 

there is one I return to time after time, the Hope Mansell Round, 

a walk of approximately 4½ miles and good for a morning stroll. 

To reach the starting point we turn off the Gloucester – Ross 

section of the A40, between the villages of Lee and Westonunder-Penyard, 

onto a wide lane clearly signposted to Drybrook 

and Cinderford. After a few minutes’ drive we pass through the 

tiny hamlet of Lee Baily End and then, immediately to our right 

and opposite the junction with a small lane, we see an opening 

into the woods with road side parking for some 7 or 8 vehicles. 

(Grid Reference: SO643195. The What 3 words //windmills. 

sunflower.lunge.) 

Harechurch Wood while on our right the land falls away into a 

deep valley. While we pause to admire the view we can also 

listen to the silence. No white noise – no heavy road traffic, no 

trains, no aircraft – only the distant barking of a farm dog that 

comes to us through the still, crystal clear air. 

Finally, we emerge onto a road, turning right down the hill, 

passing the driveway to a house with the delightful name of 

Cuckoo Patch! After some hundred yards we reach a T-junction 

where we turn left, towards Ruardean. Starting out flat the lane 

soon stiffens to a steepish climb. However, after about half a 

mile we reach a bench seat where we can rest for refreshment and 

admire the distant views over Hope Mansell, towards the bulk of 

Chase Hill, a northern outlier of the Dean, overlooking Ross-on- 

Wye. This is really rural England at its best. 

Two hundred yards on we reach the top of the hill, where, at a 

T-junction, we start to bear right. As we do, immediately on our 

right we find a five-bar metal gate with an adjacent stile. Cross 

the stile into the field, going forward and slightly diagonally to 

Cross the stile into the wood. Go straight forward for twenty 

yards and then take the narrow track on your left which runs 

parallel with the road. Follow this faint track for approximately 

100 meters as it zigzags between the trees, until you emerge onto 

a gravel drive. Turn right down the drive. 

As you do so you will see, to the front of you, a road bridge and 

cutting of the disused Mitcheldean Road and Forest of Dean 

Junction Railway, construction of which began in 1874. The early 

rail system in the Forest of Dean was not directly connected to 

the national system and took the form of a horseshoe with both 

ends terminating at wharves on the banks of the Severn Estuary. 

The MR & FoD J R, which left this system at Cinderford, was 

intended to provide a link to the national system. However, 

before its completion, in1880, ownership of the line passed to the 

GWR. The line was never commissioned since the GWR had 

also acquired a line, from Chepstow to Gloucester, along the 

river’s northern flood plain and which proved to be a far better 

link to the national network than the heavily graded MR and 

FoD Junction line. 

Now back to the walk. Some three quarters of a mile from our 

start we reach Home Grove Farm, now a private dwelling. To 

your left a powerful spring emerges from under the hedge, 

tumbles down into a gulley and under the farm yard to reappear 

in the field below. Our gravel track finishes at a farm gate shortly 

beyond the farm and our route continues straight forward along 

a narrow track between two high hedges. To our left is 

our left. Initially on the flat but then down a slope to reach a 

galvanised metal gate. Through the gate and continue downhill, 

on the same line, to a second galvanised gate. From this gate we 

walk straight ahead keeping close to the fence on our left. On my 

last visit here the wood to our left was carpeted with bluebells 

and white wood anemones which made a pretty display in the 

spring sunshine. Passing through another metal gate we 

continue downhill this time keep close to the hedge on our right. 

We are now on a promontory with steep drops on either side. 

Pausing once more to view the scene set out below us, we then 

38


go through the metal farm gate to our front and walk downhill 

towards the bottom right-hand corner of the field passing to the 

right of the lone oak tree to reach our next gate. The farmer here 

seems to delight in setting us small puzzles as every gate seems 

to have a different closure device. This particular gate has a chain 

and a climbing carabiner twist lock which is opened by screwing 

the yellow sleeve right to the top of its thread. Exit onto the lane, 

locking the gate behind you to keep the sheep from straying, and 

turn left. 

A short stroll brings us into the hamlet of Hope Mansell 

[mentioned in the Domesday Book] and to the small parish 

church of St Michael, c14 with c12 remains. Its open fronted 

porch, with its walls lined with bench seating, make it a popular 

refreshment stop in all weathers. A short distance on from the 

church, opposite Moat Farm, we turn right up a cul-de-sac 

towards the village hall and then straight forward up the steps 

and over a slightly difficult stile. We then cross the field, again 

going slightly to our left, up the slope. After a short distance, on 

the skyline in front of us, another galvanised gate comes into 

view. From this gate we descend a steep slope towards the 

bottom right-hand corner of the field. Cross the bridge over the 

stream, which we first met flowing from under the hedge in the 

early part of the walk, and go straight ahead, keeping close to the 

hedge on our left, to a second bridge and stile. Cross the stile 

and follow the path up passed Baily Brook Cottage to emerge 

onto their front drive. Turn left and follow the drive up to a lane. 

On reaching the road we turn left, up a short, but steep, hill. At 

the point where, at the top of the hill, the road curves to the left, 

opposite the driveway to Tump Cottage, we take the path to our 

right passing between two low mounds. This path soon merges 

with a forest road and we continue straight on until we reach a 

“cross road” junction with a wide, well-trodden, path. Turn right, 

downhill, and follow this wide path, ignoring another that goes 

off to the right, and after a short while the car park will be seen 

through the trees ahead. 

Seeking refreshments, a short drive away, on the cross roads in 

Weston-under-Penyard, we find the Weston Cross Inn (01989 

562759). This two-hundred-year-old stone-built building is a 

very popular local eatery, with restaurant and large beer garden. 

The pub has been in the same hands for over twenty-five years 

with mum and dad working front of house and daughter, a 

qualified chef, in charge of the kitchen. The pub is open Tuesday 

to Sunday and such is its popularity that it is best to give them a 

call before visiting. 

Lucian Perry 

BOOK REVIEWS 

This new section of the magazine has four reviews in this 

edition. The idea is to inform readers about books written 

by Old Stationers' that they might like to read. If you have 

written a book that you would like reviewed in The Old 

Stationer, please email Tony Moffat at: a.moffat@ucl.ac.uk. 

Tony Moffat 

Brian with his book 

WHERE’S MY MUM NOW? 

BY REV BRIAN CRANWELL 

The full title of the book is, “Where’s My Mum Now?: Children's 

Perspectives on Helps and Hindrances to Their Grief ”, by Rev 

Brian Cranwell, Class year of 1944, although he did not join 

Stationers’ until 1945. As a parish priest, Brian was very involved 

in grief counselling and the ways in which families handled a 

death. He recognised that adults thought that they knew best 

when a child was faced with the death of a parent. Children were 

often excluded from funerals and were “protected” by adults from 

the bereavement process because the adults had fears about 

telling the truth and what effect it might have on the child. Brian 

therefore undertook a research project to find out from bereaved 

children what they thought, resulting in this book and an MPhil 

degree from Sheffield Hallam University. It is a salutary fact that 

some 20,000 children a year lose a parent due to death, separation 

or desertion. 

The main thrust of the book is the search for children’s views as 

to what helped or hindered them prior to and following the death 

of a parent. It is all about understanding the child’s needs and the 

most useful ways of helping them by listening to what they have 

to say. Children want to be told the truth about what is happening 

and adults should not put their perspectives on them. It should be 

the child’s choice as to how much they want to be involved in the 

process of death. 

39


With a Foreword by the Rt Hon David Blunkett, the book 

comprises 13 chapters, each describing a different aspect of a 

child’s views of the bereavement process and what adults can do 

to assist the child get through it successfully. The ways in which 

family members, teachers and peers can help in their different 

ways is carefully described. 

The topics covered include: the language to use, giving bad news, 

viewing the body, going to the funeral, going back to school, help 

from outside the family and overprotection. Each chapter has a 

helpful Conclusions and Recommendations section as well as a 

Summary. Quotes from the children are interspersed throughout 

and add immensely to the impact of what Brian has written. For 

example, on whether or not to go to a funeral and its rituals, one 

girl said, “I thought like, it was for my dad, and for me to go to 

the funeral rather than not go… because then like, a couple of 

years later I probably think, why I did not go to the funeral?” 

There is a useful list of organisations and their web sites that 

provide publications to help children understand the concept of 

death and what they might feel and experience before and after 

the death of someone close. Also, a list of 34 references cited in 

the book. 

In summary, the book says: Don’t think what is best for you as an 

adult, think about what is best for the child because they need 

openness, honesty and inclusion in decision making between 

them and the surviving parents and grandparents. Or, as one child 

put it, “Adults don’t help when they don’t listen to children’s 

opinions. They make decisions for them when they don’t know.” 

If you are in the process of helping a child deal with a bereavement, 

this is a book you should read. 

“Where’s My Mum Now?: Children's Perspectives on Helps and 

Hindrances to Their Grief ”, by Brian Cranwell, Author House 

UK Ltd, Milton Keynes, 2010, 87 pages, Copies available from 

Amazon at various prices ranging from £40 or £13 + postage, or 

from brian.cranwell@btinternet.com for £8.50 including postage. 

Also, by Brian are: “Hillsborough: Profit before people” and 

“From the Diaries of an Urban Rev. Faith and Functions, 

Vicarages and Vandalism”. 

Brian has contributed to The Old Stationer over the years and an 

autobiography is in Issue 93, pages 16-17, but a brief biography 

follows. He left Stationers’ in 1949, and after a year spent three 

years in the RAF. In 1953, he went to Kenya to join their police 

force for three years. Following that, he joined the Brooke Bond 

Group with responsibilities in East Africa involving recruiting 

and training young Africans to take over from expatriate 

managers as the countries became independent. In total he spent 

19 years in both Kenya and Malawi. He had the status of 

Associate Lecturer at Malawi University and by 1972 he wanted 

a recognised qualification and enrolled at Sheffield Polytechnic 

(now Sheffield Hallam University) for a Masters course in 

Organisational Development. He obtained his Masters in 1976 

and for 12 years was a management consultant travelling the 

world. 

He was a lay preacher in Kenya and had thought about a change 

in career for many years. So he decided to take a Certificate in 

Theology and Ministry at Durham University in 1981. He was 

subsequently ordained and was a parish priest in Sheffield for 15 

years. Brian retired in 1999. 

Tony Moffat 

NORTHUMBERLAND - A GUIDE 

BY STEPHEN PLATTEN 

Those of you who watch the TV programme “Vera” on ITV will 

know that Northumberland is a very beautiful county with a 

remarkable and rich landscape, even if it is also the least populated 

county in England and Wales. If you are going to visit 

Northumberland, you should take a copy of this book with you. It 

was written by the Rt Revd Dr Stephen Platten (Class years 

1958-66)) and is a comprehensive guide of 225 pages following 

the style of the old Shell County Guides. It contains over 240 

photographs, 40% of which were taken by Stephen. 

There are three introductory chapters detailing various aspects of 

the county. The first concerns the “Land” with descriptions of the 

“Cinemascope” county’s stunning scenery, geology, rocks, rivers 

and railways. It was in Northumberland that the railways were 

born. There follows the “Story” including the history of settlements 

dating back to 10,000 BC, Hadrian’s frontier barrier some 76 

miles long, with battles and castles described in abundance. More 

modern industries of coal, shipbuilding and heavy engineering are 

also described. The third chapter is about the “People” of 

Northumberland where songwriters and painters abound. Tales of 

famous people included are: George and Robert Stephenson 

(railways), William Armstrong (hydroelectricity), Charles Parsons 

(steam turbine), Joseph Swan (light bulb) and not to forget 

Newcastle United FC in the regional capital of Northumberland. 

There follows a Gazetteer of 150 pages giving an alphabetical 

listing of all the notable and famous features in the county. There 

are excellent descriptions of what is there together with suggested 

walking routes so that you don’t miss anything. Photographs are 

everywhere and add immeasurably to the detailed descriptions in 

the text. If you like castles, there are over 70 sites for you with 

Bamburgh and Alnwick perhaps the most famous. Alnwick 

Castle is the second largest inhabited castle in the UK and has 

been the home of the Percy Family for 700 years. Accounts of 

battles, events and locations involved in the Wars of the Roses 

appear in many places in the book which gives a strong contrast 

to the descriptions of the beauty of the countryside. The Holy 

Island of Lindisfarne has a great entry giving its history as one of 

Stephen relaxing by the quay walls on the River Tweed near where he lives. 

40


the most important centres of early English Christianity. There is 

also a photograph in colour on the book cover of the Pilgrim 

Poles marking out the walkers’ pathway to the island across the 

sands at low tide. By the way, another castle was built on the 

island ca. 1549. 

There are also: a Glossary; Bibliography; and Index of places, 

people and other subjects to enable you to find anything you want 

in Northumbria. Three maps of the county complete the book. It 

is a marvellous collection of information and a great companion 

if you visit Northumberland. 

Stephen came to write it because his wife, Rosslie, was born in 

Northumbria and they had a cottage there to which they went for 

30 years. They had a good knowledge of the county, but wanted 

to know more and explored most corners of it in a series of 

ancient Land Rovers. He had most of the Shell Guides to the UK 

counties but, since they stopped publication, he started a trust to 

update the series. He decide to update the one on Northumberland 

with Rosslie’s help as they had the time during the COVID 

pandemic. The most difficult part was getting the digital images 

of the photographs. 

The details of the book are: “Northumberland - A Guide”, 

Stephen Platten, Sacristy Press, Durham, 2022, Hardcover, 224 

pages, £ 27.69. 

Stephen is probably best known for being the Dean of Norwich 

(from 1995) and Bishop of Wakefield (from 2003). It is 

worthwhile noting, that amongst his other degrees, he was 

awarded a Batchelor of Divinity (BD) degree at Trinity College 

Oxford in 2003 and became an Honorary Doctor of Letters 

(Hon DLitt) from the University of East Anglia in 2003, and an 

Honorary Doctor of the University (DUniv) from the University 

of Huddersfield in 2012. An excellent biography of Stephen is in 

The Old Stationer no. 91 as well as several photographs of him – 

one with the Queen. 

He had been involved in publishing books for many years and was 

the first Old Stationer to become Master of the Stationers’ 

Company (2020-21). As Master, he gave a speech at the OSA 

Lunch in June 2021. This was reported with lots of photographs 

in The Old Stationer no. 93, pages 5 -10 where he narrates that his 

all time favourite breakfast is toast, spread very thickly with 

Marmite with which he always eats a fresh banana. That 

combination caused his eldest granddaughter to describe him as 

“an alien”. 

When he was Bishop of Wakefield he unveiled a new plaque and 

rededicated the War Memorial Window in the Hornsey Parish 

Church of St Mary with St George in 2003. The window was 

previously in the School Hall commemorating all the Old 

Stationers’ who had died in the Boer War, First World War and 

Second World War. It was moved to the Parish Church when the 

School closed in 1983. There is a description and many 

photographs of the occasion in The Old Stationer, no. 59, pages 

12-18. 

Stephen retired in 2014 and now lives in Berwick-Upon-Tweed 

in Northumberland. However, he has visited the Stationers’ 

Crown Woods Academy and was the Chairman of the Stationers’ 

Foundation for some years. The Company appoints some of the 

School’s Governors as well as providing mentors for the students. 

It is heart-warming to see that the name of Stationers’ Company’s 

School lives on. 

Tony Moffat 

Pat and Bob on their 40th Wedding Anniversary 2020 

RETIREMENT OF A REPROBATE 

BY BOB PATTEN 

This was written by Bob Patten (School years 1948-53) who 

sadly died in January this year. There is an Obituary and 

testimonials from people who knew him later in this issue of The 

Old Stationer and information about him is therefore not 

included here except how he came to write the book. 

The book is an interesting and enjoyable read. The hero, Joe 

Morrison an expatriate in Nigeria, loses his pension and gets 

involved in the theft of 80 gold bars weighing two thousand 

pounds and worth $ 50 million. However, the Governor of the 

Central Bank of Nigeria from whom they were stolen wants 

them back without the theft being discovered to cover his back. 

So begins a cat and mouse game with Joe being pursued by the 

bank as well as by a bounty hunter and hit men from the 

Chicago mafia. Travels to Miami, Reno, Chicago and return trips 

to Lagos all add a travelogue to the adventure. 

The plot is interspersed with interesting information about how 

and why the price of gold rises and falls on the global market 

and how the USA economy is so dependent on its borrowing. 

This explains why some of the actions in the book take place. 

I won’t tell you much more except that it is an exciting tale. As 

you might expect, Joe is triumphant at the end of his Odyssey by 

using Zig Ziglar’s philosophy, “You can get anything you want by 

helping enough people get what they want”. To quote the last 

line in the book, “He fell into a deep and untroubled sleep and 

was soon dreaming of kangaroos and shrimps on the barbie”. 

What’s not to like? But you will have to read the book yourself 

to fill in the gaps. 

How he came to write the book is best described by his wife Pat. 

“This was the only book he wrote, which he did in about 42 days. 

He had prostate cancer. He decided that every day after his 

radiation treatment, of which there were 42, he would come 

home and write. However, before beginning, he calculated the 

exact number of words the book was to be (80,000) and how 

much he had to write every day to finish it at the same time as 

his treatment ended. He never missed a day. He also calculated 

the number of words or percentage of the total of the exact places 

in the manuscript that certain events had to happen to make it a 

good book. He followed to the letter the guidelines laid out in a 

book called Story Engineering by Larry Brooks. Bob was always 

41


interested in watching the price of gold and this played a huge 

part in the plot. He spent 3 years in Nigeria and so he had the 

background of the place which enabled him to accurately 

describe life in Lagos, Nigeria.” 

If you want to get a copy the details are: “Retirement of a 

Reprobate”, by Robert Patten, independently published, 2017, 

237 pages, £ 6.18 in paperback and £ 2.32 for the Kindle edition 

both from Amazon. 

Although Bob did not write any other books, he did write a short 

story, “An American Odyssey in 1963” which is on his and Pat’s 

blog: www.hereandtherewithpatandbob.com 

The blog contains about 100 other items about his and Pat’s 

travels as they journed through continents, countries, towns and 

villages, making new friends and gathering up history along the 

way and is well worth a look. 

Enjoy 

Tony Moffat 

TRIATHLON: A MOMENT OF 

SUFFERING BY STEVE TREW 

If you like books on sport, this is one for you. Steve Trew (Class 

years 1958-66) wrote this novel as a sequel to his first book 

“Triathlon. A Long Day’s Dying”. It naturally concerns the 

Triathlon multisport race (sequentially: swimming, cycling and 

then running) which is reputedly the toughest sport in the World 

- the ultimate endurance challenge pushing the body to its 

extreme. 

The story revolves around two English professional athletes 

(Gerry; and Odette known as Roo) as they train and compete in 

various Triathlons around the world culminating in the 2000 

Olympic Games held in Sydney. That was where the Triathlon 

was added to the Olympic programme as a medal winning event. 

By the way, it is a love story as well. 

Steve explains in excruciating detail the pain, agony, suffering, 

exhaustion, hurting limbs, empty lungs not to mention the 

mental and emotional pain involved whilst competing. The need 

for good tactics and excellent pace judgement throughout the 

event is graphically illustrated in the accounts of the nine races 

in the book. A good transition between the three sports is crucial 

and in one race is brilliantly described as one team comes a 

cropper. Although an event for individuals, the teamwork in 

pacing each other comes over strongly. He describes the races so 

well that you get the thrill and feeling that you are there watching 

the athletes as they compete with each other for that first place. 

Naturally there are tragedies along the way, but the racing Gods, 

who are continuously watching, take pity on Roo and her 

problems are overcome with time. The story builds up to the 

thrilling climax at the Mens’ and Women’ Triathlons at the 2000 

0lympics in Sydney when everything comes together - the good 

guys get what they deserve and the bad boy who takes drugs gets 

his comeuppance. I loved the story so much that I have just 

bought Steve’s first book to continue my enjoyment of the 

characters’ tribulations. 

If you want a copy it is: “Triathlon. A moment of Suffering,” 

Steve Trew, Wednesday Press Limited, Southend, 2001, 

paperback, 296 pages. You can get it directly from Steve, post 

free for £ 10. Email: trew@personalbest.ndonet.com. 

Steve told me that he wrote the novels after lapping up the 

stories in the boys’ papers like Hotspur and the Wizard in his 

younger days. After an injury, he had time on his hands and 

started to write short fictional sports stories himself. He had 

some published and then went on to write the two full length 

novels mentioned here, and is writing a third now. 

Apart from the two novels Steve has written, he has also written 

a dozen or so books on training methods for the Triathlon and 

other sporting events. An autobiography of Steve is in The Old 

Stationer No. 89, pages 31-32, but a shorter version written by 

Steve is: “I taught for 19 years and then left teaching to set up 

my Personal Best Fitness Company. I’ve worked with Northern 

Telecom, Centrica Gas, Price Waterhouse, Johnson & Johnson 

among others and have had personal clients including the 

Honorable Sir Rocco Forte and Melanie Chisholm from the 

Spice Girls.” In addition, Steve writes: “He swum and ran at 

national and International level and won three AAA’s 

Championship medals. In Triathlon Steve represented Great 

Britain and England in Triathlon from 1984 to 1992; he was 

European champion in 1986 and was 10thin the World 

Championships in 1989 in his age group division. Steve has had 

vast experience in International Sport and was Great Britain 

Coach at 2000 Sydney Olympics and Wales Team Manager at 

2006 Commonwealth Games, Melbourne. Steve has been at six 

Olympic and Commonwealth Games as coach, team manager, 

and/or commentator for triathlon, race walking, swimming and 

open water swimming. Steve was involved in the 2012 London 

Olympic Games in the sports of triathlon, marathon swimming, 

and race walking. He was track and field stadium commentator 

for the London 2012 Paralympics. Steve has also provided live 

commentary at the London Marathon, the Great Swim series, 

and the Big City 10k and 5k runs as well as the London 10,000m 

and the London Westminster miles. He was previously Director 

of Coaching and National Coach for Great Britain Triathlon (a 

long time ago now!).Now living down in Poole, Dorset, moved 

from London three and a half years back and absolutely love it!” 

Tony Moffat 

Steve Trew and his book "Triathlon - A moment of suffering" 

42


PUZZLE CORNER 

WORD SEARCH – ENGLISH FOOTBALL LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP TEAMS 

BURNLEY SHEFFIELD UNITED LUTON TOWN BLACKBURN ROVERS COVENTRY CITY 

MILLWALL SUNDERLAND WEST BROMWICH ALBION MIDDLESBROUGH SWANSEA CITY 

MEMBERSHIP 

SECRETARY’S REPORT 

Since last report To date 

Paying members at 1st Jan 2022 487 

Life member 1 

Honorary members 7 

New members 2 2 

Deaths (6) (6) 

Re-instalments/Resignations 

Deletions 

TOTAL (4) 491 

New members 

Roberto Petrucci and Granville Barrand. 

Deaths 

Ronald Balaam, Dudley Jones, MA (Tony) 

McKeer, Bob Patten, Ernest Russell & 

Charles Zarb. 

A new membership form has been 

introduced that asks the applicant to set up 

a regular payment to the OSA’s bank 

account with the first payment being 

immediate and subsequent payments to be 

annual on 1st January; thus avoiding the 

paper work involved with standing order 

mandates. 

Roger Engledow June 2023 

SUDOKU 

WEB SITE UPDATE 

1. HENPECKED DOLLS 

Ancient coloured fowl (3,8,3) 

2. BAR BROMIDE 

4. WARBONNETS CLEW 

Up North’s drink (9,5) 

5. BOB HOLING 

To solve the Sudoku 

Puzzle, fill the grid so that 

every column, every row 

and every 3 x 3 box 

contains the numbers 

1 to 9. 

ANAGRAMS 

The following are all 

anagrams of English beers. 

The figures in brackets 

give the number of letters 

in the word(s). See if you 

can find one of your 

favourite beers. 

8. DARN DOLL 

To whom you pay rent (8) 

9. BRUTE IT 

www.oldstationers.co.uk 

We have suffered from some technical 

gremlins in the last few months but the 

site seems to be returning to normal 

service. If you visit the site now you can 

view our new “YouTube“ link which 

displays video memories from Tony 

Moffat, Tony Mash, Dan Bone, Robin 

Baker, Stephen Collins and Mark 

Templeman. 

If you wish to add your school memories 

on video, contact Dan Bone who is 

orchestrating this new content 

development. 

I would like to convey my thanks to Josh 

Beadon who has been helping us with the 

site content updating and incorporation of 

the YouTube link. 

Tim 

The Dam Busters had these 

Nasty creature (9) 

Tax (7) 

(10) 

6. BAD MOOR 

10. PRECLUDE OIL 

3. NODDLE PRION 

Treacherous sandbank (4,3) 

Weird and ancient (3,8) 

Capital’s satisfaction (6,5) 

7. FRIES TIP 

Flown by the few (8) 

43


OBITUARIES 

BOB PATTEN 

School years 1948-53 

Bob Patten has died at his home in 

Jacksonville, Florida on January 21, 2023 

at the age of 85. His father was a 

policeman, who spent the Second World 

War moving his family around Inner 

London, dependent upon where the police 

sent him. Stationers became Bob’s destiny, 

when his father was posted to Hornsey 

Police Station in Tottenham Lane, where 

the family moved into the flat above the 

station. Bob attended St Mary’s Infants 

and Junior schools. His bedroom was 

located immediately above the police cells. 

As the years passed, interruptions to his 

sweet dreams gradually changed from the 

explosion of Nazi rockets to the noisy 

protests of the local drunks, as they were 

locked up beneath him overnight. In 1948, 

Bob won a place at Stationers, which 

involved a walk to school of only a mile. 

When he left Stationers in 1953, he was 

hired as a clerk by a firm of West End 

solicitors. By the age of 21, he had himself 

qualified as a solicitor. He was then 

appointed legal adviser by United Bank for 

Africa and based in Lagos, Nigeria, where 

he was also called to the Nigerian Bar. 

Some years later, Bob decided to leave 

Nigeria at the time of the Biafran Civil 

War, during which Lagos itself was 

attacked by air. Having as a small child 

lived in London during the World War 

Two blitz and subsequent rocket attacks, 

Bob was anxious to avoid a tropical repeat 

20 years later. The New World seemed a 

safer bet, so he said farewell to Africa and 

travelled as a tourist over 10,000 miles by 

road throughout the United States. Alas, 

he did not avoid violence entirely, since he 

was in Texas at the time of the Kennedy 

assassination. Returning to London in 

1964, Bob accepted a partnership in the 

City law firm of Adlers, established in the 

19th century, and he practiced law with 

them until his emigration to the United 

States in the 1980s. 

Bob served as OSFC Team Secretary in 

1956, Secretary in 1965 and Chairman 

from 1969 to 1973. He was also OSA 

President in 1972. On the playing side, he 

had a couple of dozen first eleven games 

over the years, but he was never worth a 

first team place. Instead, he was much 

more effective as third eleven centreforward, 

where his record 50 goals in 

season 1964/65 helped win the AFA 

Minor Cup, the first AFA Cup win in the 

club’s history. Yet it was as an ideas man on 

the administrative side that Bob really 

flourished. Some of his projects failed to 

take off, but some succeeded and still 

thrive over a half a century later. He 

combined his ideas with the ability to 

recruit good people to do the hard work 

needed for his projects to survive long 

term. For example, with Frank Abbott in 

1969, he founded The Apostles Club. In 

1972, he started President’s Day with its 

lunch and cricket match. In 1966, he 

arranged and personally guaranteed the 

financing to double the size of the Barnet 

Lane pavilion. Then he slightly shrank the 

width of each football pitch to leave room 

for an OSCC cricket square close to the 

enlarged pavilion. He played for the lower 

OSFC teams well into his forties but 

withdrew from the admin in 1973. He 

continued his habit of finding good people 

to do the hard work, when he was 

succeeded in the OSFC chairmanship by 

Bob Patten with Stuart Behn and Gordon Rose 

the long and highly successful chairmanship 

of Gordon Rose. 

In the 1970s, Bob served as a Justice of the 

Peace for Inner London and turned his 

attention to politics. He ran as a 

Conservative candidate for Westminster 

City Council and Greater London 

Council. Then he ran as a Conservative 

parliamentary candidate in the general 

elections of 1974 and 1979. Despite being 

a confident and fluent public speaker and 

investing a huge amount of time, Bob lost 

every election in which he stood. During 

these years, Bob lived with his first wife 

and daughter next to Lord’s Cricket 

Ground in Cavendish Avenue, St Johns 

Wood, opposite Beatle Paul Macartney. 

This famous neighbour would give Bob’s 

daughter something to boast about at 

school by personally greeting her when 

passing. Bob’s MCC membership and 

home driveway led to Test match boxes at 

Lords and convenient parking for fellow 

Stationers. He had never been so popular. 

However, in 1977, Bob’s first marriage 

ended in divorce after eleven years. Bob 

re-married in 1980 to Pat Lally, an 

American from Kansas City, serving in the 

US Navy and based in Grosvenor Square. 

They set up home on the upper floors of a 

house in Harley Street, otherwise filled 

with practicing doctors, and they celebrated 

their wedding day with a memorable party 

there attended by many Stationers. Pat 

soon left the US Navy and gave birth in 

London to daughters in 1981 and 1982. 

Shortly thereafter, still suffering from 

44


voter rejection, Bob moved his family, 

including Bob’s teenage daughter from his 

first marriage to the United States where 

they settled in Orlando, Florida. The baby 

daughters never had the time before 

leaving London to acquire British accents. 

Bob with daughters,Tara, Anna, and Emma 

In the United States, Bob worked in the 

mortgage business until 2009, when the 

collapse of the US mortgage industry 

suggested that it might be a good time to 

retire. During the previous quarter of a 

century, the family had lived and worked 

in Florida, Georgia and Maryland, while 

Bob returned to London to celebrate the 

100th anniversary dinner of the OSFC in 

2006, the 40th anniversary lunch of The 

Apostles Club in 2009 and the 40th OSA 

President’s Day cricket match in 2012. 

Meanwhile, Bob’s public speaking skills 

were needed only as father of the bride at 

daughters’ wedding receptions. In 

retirement, Bob and Pat were much into 

travel and writing. To those ends, they 

spent 2009 and 2010 living in Germany, 

based in the pretty Bavarian town of 

Bamberg, from which they motored to 

countries all over Europe. They spent 

2011 and 2012 living high in the mountains 

on the border of Arizona and Mexico, 

which proved to be an ideal base for seeing 

something of Hawaii, Mexico, and 

California as well as the US south-west. 

Their website... 

www.hereandtherewithpatandbob.com 

... records many of these adventures. Yet, by 

late 2012, Bob and Pat had returned to 

Florida, never again to live elsewhere. Their 

interest in writing continued and Bob 

celebrated his 80th birthday in 2017 with 

the publication of his first novel, “Retirement 

of a Reprobate”, which is set in Nigeria, 

Florida and Nevada and is still available for 

purchase on Amazon. The book earned 

some good reviews but, a few days after 

publication, Hurricane Irma gave her own 

opinion to the contrary by uprooting a large 

tree and flinging it down through Bob’s 

roof at the height of the storm. 

Other interests in a busy retirement 

included watching on his giant TV screen 

all the English Premiership Football 

League games and those of Spurs in 

particular. Bob had first visited White 

Hart Lane to see Spurs in the wartime 

league in 1944 and was devoted to Spurs 

ever after. More recently, he joined OSA 

Zoom meetings, traded stock options and 

closely followed US & UK politics with 

growing frustration. He also added to and 

enjoyed his extensive library. 

At the time of his death, Bob and Pat were 

living in Jacksonville, Florida, close to 

family who deposited his ashes into the 

Atlantic Ocean from the end of Jacksonville 

Beach Pier. This would put to the test 

Bob’s theory that his ashes would be 

picked up by the Gulf Stream and carried 

home to Cornwall, from whence came his 

ancestors. Bob’s life was blessed by a very 

happy second marriage of 42 years and he 

is survived by Pat and three daughters, 

along with four grandchildren. He retained 

his mental sharpness until the end, helped 

by playing a lot of online chess. His final 

OSA idea came during the recent 

pandemic, when he lobbied for the creation 

of an online OSA Chess tournament, 

which he planned to win. Like so many of 

his other ideas, it came to nothing. Perhaps 

he is now working on the next idea. 

Bob’s family 

Hello Peter, 

I write to tell you that my husband, Bob 

Patten, has died at our home on Saturday 

January 21st in Jacksonville, Florida, at the 

age of 85. 

Before his death, the family put together a 

couple of pages of obituary which you may 

find useful and which you must feel free to 

edit. 

We obtained many of these details from 

Bob shortly before his death. As you will 

see it is heavily oriented toward OSA 

activities. 

I have his OSA tie which he had for many 

years but only wore a couple of times and 

is in perfect condition. I wondered if a 

member of the OSA would like to have it. 

If so please let me know and I’ll bring it 

with me to England when I come in April 

of this year. 

I have attached two family photos that I 

thought might be of interest to you. One is 

of Bob and me. The second one is with our 

daughters, (L-R) Tara, Anna, and Emma. 

I hope you will be pleased with the 

obituary. Let me know if you have any 

questions. 

With all good wishes, 

Pat Patten 

Dear Pat, 

Letter from an Old Stationer 

I write somewhat belatedly (following a 

protracted viral infection) to let you know 

how saddened I was to hear that Bob 

passed away in January and to introduce 

myself as one of many young 1960s 

footballers who were very grateful for his 

unstinting work on their behalves as they 

tried to establish themselves with the Old 

Stationers Football Club and the Old 

Boys’ Association. 

I think I first met Bob in 1965-6 when I 

was about 14/15 years old and still in the 

fourth year at the School. As a member of 

the school team, I had played against the 

Old Boys in a traditional Boxing Day 

fixture and subsequently was asked to turn 

out for them on what later became a 

regular basis. This was a prospect which 

both delighted and alarmed me, not yet 

really knowing any of the fully adult 

playing membership. 

I need not have concerned myself: all were 

most welcoming and two in particular, 

Bob himself and Gordon Rose, (who as 

you will see below, I now know you met), 

45


made absolutely sure that even if a young 

player over-indulged himself a bit in the 

bar after a game, there was always someone 

available at the end of an evening to 

(metaphorically speaking) “pour him back 

through his own letter-box”! 

It was this type of “in loco parentis” 

attention to detail which helped to shape 

and has sustained the Association to this 

day despite the sad closure of the School in 

the mid eighties. I am now approaching 72 

and as one who continued playing for as 

long as possible (and who still enjoys 

strong links with the football club and the 

Association) I also truly appreciate the 

huge amount of background / behind the 

scenes administrative work which the likes 

of Bob and Gordon contributed. 

Sadly, I pretty much lost touch with Bob 

after he moved to the States, catching up 

only during some of his visits to England 

in later years. However, last year I had the 

great pleasure of becoming a member of 

the Apostles group (of which I am sure 

you know Bob was an original member) 

and had occasion to write to Bob in that 

connection in December. We exchanged 

several most enjoyable messages and 

reminiscences and, of course, Bob was 

more than capable of answering my 

enquiries about the Apostles. I am so very 

glad I wrote – and even more so that Bob 

recalled me! 

I understand that you are intending a visit 

to England in April and that the 

Association is hoping to assist you in 

arranging a gathering to celebrate Bob’s 

life: and I very much hope to meet you in 

person should that go ahead. I also imagine 

that the next edition of The Old Stationer 

magazine will include many references to 

Bob and in that connection I would 

mention another recent coincidental 

occurrence. 

Only this week I was contacted by Gordon 

Rose’s daughter, Pauline. Her mother Eve, 

now 93, recently moved from Cuffley to a 

nursing home in Pinner, near her son 

Andrew (whose wife works at the nursing 

home). Eve’s departure is a sad loss to 

Cuffley but a good move for her, I think, 

and she is evidently very happy indeed to 

be there. Anyway, Pauline sought my 

assistance with the various piles of 

OS-related paperwork Gordon had 

accumulated over many years and, since 

there is much to do before the house can 

be sold, I offered to take it all and I have 

been trawling through it since. 

Among these papers I have found a letter 

of 14/11/2014 from Bob to Gordon 

concerning your visit with him to Botany 

Bay Cricket Club, complete with a 

photograph of the four of you enjoying the 

evening. It occurs to me this might make a 

suitable item for inclusion in the O.S. 

magazine provided, of course, firstly that 

you have no objection and secondly that 

the somewhat faded photograph can be 

satisfactorily reproduced. Perhaps you 

could let me have your thoughts in due 

course? 

Please accept my sincerest condolences on 

your loss. Bob was a great man; a great 

friend to many; and a joy to be with on 

many happy occasions. 

Yours sincerely, 

Peter Jarvis 

DUDLEY JONES 

TRIBUTE TO DAD 

So much to say, yet so little time to say it. 

Kind, gentle, generous, witty, thoughtful, 

modest, intelligent, calm, successful, 

professional, respected, dedicated, 

unflappable, a true gentleman – these are 

just some of the words that have been used 

to describe dad in the last couple of weeks. 

He was all these things and more besides. 

Above all though he was a loving and 

devoted family man. 

Though born in Perth on July 30th 1928 

to a Scottish mum, Catherine, and a Welsh 

dad, Thomas, one of 4 brothers, he was 

very much a London boy and grew up 

there with his sister Eunice. However, the 

Welsh identity was deeply engrained 

through the family’s connection to the 

dairy business there, where one of his 

uncles ran a dairy on the Caledonian Road 

which had originally been set up by his 

grandparents who had moved to London 

from Cardiganshire. Indeed, as we have 

already heard, that Welsh connection is 

very much part of our shared family history. 

We believe he was an outstanding pupil at 

the Stationers Grammar school in 

Hornsey, loved cricket and football as all 

young lads do but inexplicably pledged his 

support to Arsenal, the Gunners, 

something I never really understood. This 

education was interrupted for a short 

period when he was evacuated with Eunice 

during the Blitz to a village in 

Northamptonshire. Having left school and 

following the end of the war he was called 

up to do his national service which it 

appears he seemed to quite enjoy if the 

stories he told were anything to go by and 

found himself in Berlin in an administrative 

role during the airlift in the late 40s – a 

position which possibly gave him access to 

extra rations of cigarettes and chocolate. 

Though he never said! 

It was at the London Welsh club in the 

Greys Inn Road, the social centre for the 

Welsh diaspora in London along with the 

chapel and the pub across the road, where 

Elizabeth Beryl Davies, the blacksmith’s 

daughter from the Welsh valleys, caught 

his eye. They were married on June 13th 

1959 at the Welsh chapel on Radnor walk 

in Chelsea and spent 55 happy and fulfilled 

years together until mum passed away in 

2014. 

By this time dad had begun what became 

a stellar career at Noble Lowndes becoming 

an expert in the field of pensions and 

employee benefits with a particular 

specialism in advising international 

organisations in Europe and beyond. He 

travelled extensively, notably in our 

memory, to Sierra Leone, cue need for a 

safari suit and Japan a market that Noble 

Lowndes was keen to break into. A former 

colleague remarked on dad’s uncanny and 

annoying ability to sleep soundly on 

overnight international flights waking up 

on arrival as fresh as a daisy ready for the 

working day. No red eye for him! And it 

was so nice that he kept in touch with so 

many of his former colleagues through 

their regular lunch get togethers. 

I guess it was during this time that 

something happened that gave us kids our 

first real insight into the sort of man dad 

was. He was due to get a new company car 

and arrived home one evening in a Jaguar 

XJ12 that he was trying out, you know the 

one with the twin chrome petrol caps. We 

all went out in it over the weekend and of 

46


course Tim and I were thrilled beyond 

belief. Wow Dad! Is this really your car? 

Imagine our disappointment when he 

returned it because, we think, he felt it was 

a bit too ostentatious and not really him. 

So we had to make do with the Rover or 

worse still, the Austin Princess! 

On dad’s retirement he continued 

consulting and writing articles and found 

more time to spend on tending to the 

lovely garden he had established at their 

house in Oxted where they now lived. 

Perhaps more importantly, with the stresses 

of work and parenthood behind them, dad 

and mum embarked on some seriously 

adventurous travel including India, China 

and the Far East, New Zealand, South 

America and the Amazon, Canada, Jordan 

and Egypt to name a few, interspersed 

with regular, more leisurely visits to the 

sunshine of Lanzarote. 

Apart from the garden and travel, dad was 

fascinated by pretty much anything, had 

incredibly broad interests and was up for 

trying pretty much anything. He 

appreciated beauty in all its manifestations 

– from buildings and architecture to the 

ballet, opera (NL apparently had a box at 

the ROH), theatre and classical music. He 

loved Joan Sutherland, Beethoven and the 

magic and majesty of a Welsh male voice 

choir. 

Always an avid reader in more recent years, 

he re-discovered a love for 19th century 

English literature and even attended a 

local course. He would talk passionately 

about the language in Wuthering Heights 

or the characterisation in a Dickens’ novel 

or even the story telling craft of Richard 

Harris. He loved history and art and had a 

particular fondness for Breughal. After 

mum died, Jayne and I would take dad on 

a trip somewhere in Europe every year 

visiting amazing sights and galleries and 

enjoying great food and wine in places like 

Berlin, Ravenna, the Netherlands and St 

Emilion. 

In Vienna we spent the morning at one of 

the great galleries there enjoying the 

collection of the great Dutch 17th century 

masters and then in the afternoon found 

ourselves face to face with the raw and 

unsettling imagery of 20th century Egon 

Schiele, which I had tried to warn him 

about, but he was completely unphased – 

in fact, as Jayne reminded me, he said it 

was the most interesting part of the day. 

Dad had a keen intellect, was always 

abreast of current affairs and took a 

position on pretty much everything which 

he would communicate in his measured 

and well-argued way. His razor sharp mind 

meant he could knock off the Telegraph’s 

cryptic crossword by elevenses so he could 

get on with a host of other things in the 

day. One thing about dad, he was always 

busy! I remember he picked up a paper in 

which I had been doing the crossword and 

couldn’t for the life of him fathom how I 

had got to the answer until I had to 

sheepishly explain that I was doing the 

other, simpleton’s, general knowledge 

version of the same crossword. 

Like all children with their parents, it took 

us a while, I think, to acquire the wisdom 

to understand him fully but when we did, 

we realised we loved and admired him 

more than words can say. Dad had an 

enormous generosity of spirit, very often 

putting others before himself. He didn’t 

have a negative bone in his body, a bad 

word to say about anyone and always saw 

the positives. He was a loving and devoted 

husband, father and grandfather, a kind, 

generous and loyal friend, a respected and 

admired colleague. His values, his 

principles, his decency and honesty and 

approach to life set an example to us all. 

As many have said in the past couple of 

weeks - he was a good man. 

Dad always had a very close relationship 

with his grandchildren from the moment 

they were born. He and mum were always 

on hand for babysitting duties and would 

often make the trip from Oxted to 

Cambridge to help out. Whilst Dad always 

took great delight in his grandchildren and 

was prepared to do anything to keep them 

entertained, he drew the line at changing 

nappies – I suspect that that may also have 

been true when Al and I were very young. 

In 2002, he and Mum moved to Gt. 

Chesterford to be nearer their 

grandchildren and to help out as they went 

through primary school and spent many 

an afternoon entertaining them and their 

little friends after school – crawling around 

after them on the floor and joining in their 

make believe games. He was always kind 

and very, very patient. As the children grew 

older, he remained a source of constant 

support, advice and moral guidance 

instilling a sense of right and wrong in his 

grandchildren in much the same way as he 

had his children. He always took great 

delight and pride in their achievements, 

whether it be the latest Irish dancing 

trophy or success in an exam. He would 

always be aware of what was happening in 

their lives and always made a point of 

asking them how things went. This was 

the case even during his recent illness. 

In their spare time from helping out with 

the family, Mum and Dad spent a lot of 

time together visiting houses and gardens 

throughout East Anglia and making daytrips 

to the coast. Dad also spent endless 

hours taking Mum around various 

boutique clothes shops spread across the 

length and breadth of the East of England 

in a vain attempt to find Mum new clothes 

that she thought suitable. This is just 

another example of his endless patience. 

After the loss of Mum in 2014, whilst he 

spent more time with us in Babraham, 

conversely he also became fiercely 

independent. He was determined to 

continue living his life as before and 

continuing with his daily routines to the 

extent that he would cook his food using 

Mum’s recipes, whilst also trying out new 

ones, and baking the cakes that Mum used 

to make for him. He even continued 

making marmalade, producing far more 

than could be used but with the benefit 

that the excess went into making a delicious 

marmalade cake. 

As before, Monday was always the day for 

washing, Wednesday for ironing and 

cleaning, and Friday was food shopping 

day. He kept this routine until relatively 

recently when he agreed to have a cleaner 

and someone to help with the ironing. 

Although he stopped driving just over a 

year ago (after a small mishap in writing 

off four cars!) he continued to do his own 

supermarket shop; he just needed a 

chauffeur to take him to and from! His 

garden in Great Chesterford, as in Oxted, 

was also a source of great joy and pride for 

him and he still was able to do the less 

strenuous activities whilst he was lucky to 

have June do the hard yards. Runner beans 

were an annual tradition, although more 

recently he did concede that he needed 

help in putting up the canes after an 

incident with a sharp knife and a cut hand. 

My work would be inspected and routinely 

found to be severely wanting. After 

re-tying several joints there would 

eventually be a grudging: ‘That’ll do I 

suppose’. He was a bit of a perfectionist! 

We also involved him more in our activities, 

whether it be a day out on a bank holiday 

or trips to see the girls at university. Even 

in his late eighties he seemed to have 

limitless energy and would have no 

difficulties with walking for distances 

remarkable for his age or staying on his 

feet for long periods of time. I remember 

on one occasion whilst visiting Aine in 

Cardiff, the girls had gone shopping so he 

and I took the opportunity to wander 

round the castle. After having visited the 

47


castle rooms, we walked up to the keep and 

he insisted on climbing to the top, firstly 

up several flights of stairs and then up 

wooden steps, barely much more than a 

ladder, with me watching nervously as I 

climbed behind him, prepared to try and 

catch him if he fell. We made it up – and 

back down again having been rewarded 

with the impressive views even though it 

was cold and very blustery. When he made 

up his mind to do something, he would do 

it – a constant theme throughout his life. 

We continued to play golf once a week, 

well into his eighties; although he couldn’t 

hit the ball as far as me, he was somewhat 

more accurate with the result that he 

usually won comfortably. Golfing was only 

curtailed because his hips wore out before 

he did and he had both replaced over the 

winter of 2017/18. He did his daily 

exercises religiously and insisted on looking 

after himself –as a result, his recovery was 

faster and more complete than would be 

expected for people much younger than 

him. 

In writing to Dad’s GP after the initial 

assessment prior to surgery, his consultant 

started his letter with ‘This terrific elderly 

Gentleman’ – he was not wrong. His 

determination to keep going was 

particularly evident through a few health 

issues he had in later life although he had 

a remarkable capacity for recovery. 

He also enjoyed a pint in the pub – real ale 

obviously – whether that be after a round 

of golf or early evening before supper. It 

was a pleasure just to be able to sit down 

with him and have a bit of a chat. 

He had slowed down more recently, 

however he was still remarkably fit for his 

age. Our post-Sunday lunch walks had 

gradually shortened in the previous few 

years (although they still seemed to take 

the same amount of time) and he had 

resorted to using a walking stick to aid his 

balance – although he did seem to carry it 

quite a lot without actually using it! 

He was always able to live independently 

at home, more recently with some help 

from cleaners and someone to do his 

ironing. He recently expressed a desire to 

stay in his home for as long as possible. 

Perhaps a blessing that he never had to 

suffer the indignity of being totally reliant 

on other people, something that would 

have been anathema to his independent 

spirit. 

Dad’s qualities can perhaps best be 

summed up by Robert Burns’ ‘Epitaph On 

My Own Friend’: 

An honest man here lies at rest, 

As e’er God with His image blest: 

The friend of man, the friend of truth; 

The friend of age, and guide of youth: 

Few hearts like his, with virtue warm’d, 

Few heads with knowledge so inform’d: 

If there’s another world, he lives in bliss; 

If there is none, he made the best of this. 

Alastair Jones (Dudley’s son) 

TONY MCKEER 

BRIEF OBITS 

Michael Anthony McKeer, always called 

Tony, or Mac of course, became a Stationers’ 

schoolboy in 1954 like myself and we 

formed a lifelong friendship from then, 

cemented by our support for Tottenham 

Hotspur FC. We regularly stood on the 

corner at the Park Lane end of the stadium, 

in company with his dad, Graham Ling, 

David Turner and other friends although, 

on one occasion in October 1958, we got 

two tickets to sit in the East Stand for a 

game against Everton – Bill Nicholson’s 

first match as Spurs’ manager – and 

witnessed a memorable 10-4 victory. We 

watched Spurs complete the 1960-61 

‘Double’ with victory over Leicester City 

in the Cup Final at Wembley and win the 

cup again the following year against 

Burnley. In 1966, Mac successfully applied 

for a block of tickets for our usual crowd to 

attend all the World Cup matches at 

Wembley, which included England’s 

historic win in the Final against West 

Germany. 

On leaving School I worked for Friern 

Barnet Council, whose offices were a five 

minute walk from the McKeer’s home 

opposite Friary Park and I frequently 

popped-in on the family. In 1964 we 

formed a small group of OS to spend a 

week at Yelland’s Holiday Camp on the 

west coast of the Isle of Wight but, after 

Mac and his wife Anne moved down to 

the south coast to be nearer family, our 

meetings were restricted to ‘Year of ’54 

Reunions’ and to OSA Carol Services at 

Hornsey Parish Church, at both of which 

he was a regular attender despite increasing 

infirmity, until covid lockdown restrictions 

intervened. However, telephone contact 

was maintained whenever the desire for a 

catch-up arose. 

Mac died on 28th April 2023, his 80th 

birthday, and Roger Engledow, Roger 

Melling, my wife Carole and I attended his 

funeral service at the United Reformed 

Church in Broadstone near Poole during 

which we obeyed his command by singing 

the composite verse of the School Song. 

Friendship – till time shall bring all of us 

home. 

Tony Hemmings 

Tony died on his 80th birthday. He 

certainly understood the meaning of 

"friendship". He was a Spurs supporter 

who, when he retired, moved to the 

Bournemouth area and took up watching 

Bournemouth AFC. 

He came to the 1954 reunions for as long 

as his health allowed him. Sometimes 

being driven up by his wife Anne and then 

coming on National Express with his 

daughter as well. On two occasions he 

offered me a ticket for Bournemouth v 

Arsenal, because he thought I would be 

interested; and I was. The 2nd time I went 

as his carer because he had a disabled 

persons season ticket and his usual "carer" 

was not available for that match. As I was 

able to get in for free I was delighted to 

pay for a taxi to take him home after the 

match. 

For a Spurs supporter to do that for an 

Arsenal supporter shows that friendship 

was the real winner. 


DEATH NOTICES 

RON BALAAM 

I have been informed that the above died 

in September last year. His wife contacted 

me as the magazine had just arrived. His 

standing order did not pay at the beginning 

of the year. 


48


ELLEN NORTH 

Dear Old Stationers cricketers of a certain 

vintage especially tourers, Old Stationers 

footballers of a similar vintage, great 

Avondale FC players of the same vintage 

and even old friends, some of which might 

all apply to you. 

It is my sad duty to advise you that Bobby 

North's wife Ellen sadly passed away 

peacefully yesterday afternoon. She had 

been suffering from emphysema for some 

years. This was a serious lung condition 

which badly affected her breathing and in 

consequence her mobility. You may have 

last seen her at the OSA Presidents’ Day 

cricket last august, or even seen Bobby at 

the OSFC reunion in October. Bobby is 

naturally very upset and his sons are 

comforting him. My wife Sandra has 

telephoned Ellen’s close college mates 

directly all of whom are married to 

Avondale players. Please feel free to advise 

any one else you feel should know. Does 

anyone have contact details for Andy Rose 

or Chris Moore, if so please let me know. 

Regards to all. 

David Hudson 

ROGER SMITH 

14 Feb 2023 


Gents, FYI we have received the following 

message via the OSFC website (forwarded 

to me by the guys that now look after the 

site) 

Not sure if anyone is still around from the 

1960's but sadly Roger Smith passed away 

last week. He had had kidney problems for 

a while but it was still a bit of a shock 

Kind regards 

Derek Smith (brother) 

I don’t think I recall Roger Smith but 

thought you might remember him and 

perhaps know if he was an OSA member? 

Please pass on the sad news to anyone else 

who you think may have known him. 

Regards 

Ian Meyrick 

All 

geoffreyblackmore@yahoo.com 

Here’s what I’ve found so far. 

The oldest Newsletter I have includes 

match reports for games played on 31st 

October 1970 and teams selected for 

games to be played on 7th November 

2nd XI 1964/65 - SAL Reserve Team Section Division II Champions, 

Old Boys' Cup Winners and AFA Cup Riunners Up 

Back row: J Ridding, B Key, S Behn, J Noah, A Hemmings, D Hall, W Viall, R Adcock 

Front row: R Smith, R Margree, W Griffiths, D Cox, J Taylor 

1970. Roger Smith was selected for the 

2nd XI to play Winchmore Hill with Tony 

Hemmings, Dave Lincoln, Terry Butler, 

Steve Young, Dave Cox, Tish Allen, Colin 

Munday, Con Lowth, Tony Taylor and 

Graham Eldridge. I cc’d any of that side 

for whom I had an email address. 

The previous week, the 2nd XI had beaten 

Mayfield 4-1 in the AFA Intermediate 

Cup, and whilst Roger did not score, his 

pinpoint cross led to the forth goal scored 

by Con Lowth. Roger was also selected for 

the 2nd XI in the only other Newsletter I 

have for the 70/71 season, on 15th April- 

1971 against Old Parkonians. 

Finally, according to Liam's Book ‘As Far 

As You Roam’, Roger made forty-four 1st 

XI appearances, and they included games 

away at Civil Service and at home to Old 

Parks in the 1971/72 season, intermingled 

with 2nd XI games. At the end of the 

1971/72 season I made my 1st XI debut, 

with Roger back in the 2nd XI. I’m 

guessing Roger’s 1st XI games were in the 

mid/late 60s. 

Roger continued to play in 1972/73 - and 

scored “…a brilliant goal…” for the 2nd XI 

against Leyton County Old Boys in the 

AFA Cup. In November 1972 Roger “... 

hammered home...” a cross from yours 

truly, in the 2nd XI against Lensbury on a 

day when Steve Presland and Alan Neill 

were in the 3rd XI and Ian Meyrick in the 

4th XI. 

Roger also played in the 1972/73 Final, 

and the replay, of the Old Boys Junior Cup 

(for 2nd XI), in which we beat Old Parks 

2-1, courtesy of yours truly and the 

incumbent, OSA President, Danny Bone. 

The following season, 1973/74, Roger was 

one of three Smith’s in the 5th XI, along 

with Jim and Chris, but he doesn’t appear 

to have played past Xmas. 

Finally, in the Review of the 1972/73 

season, Dave Cox, the 2nd XI captain 

wrote “...Roger always has a quick one 

before an away game and arrives looking 

pale and drawn. Perhaps the food doesn’t 

agree with him”. 

RIP Roger Smith. 


Ian 

geoffreyblackmore@yahoo.com 

If he’s the one I think, Roger Smith was a 

right-winger and played for the 2nd XI in 

my early days at the club; approx. 1970 to 

1972. 

Will search Newsletters/End of Season 

Reports for further info. 


ROY SIMMONS 

It is my sad duty to inform you that Roy 

Simmons (1942-47) died on 18th June. 

Many of you will have known Roy very 

well and until recently, he regularly 

attended President's Day. 

We do not have the funeral details, as yet, 

but as soon as we do, a further email will 

be sent. 

At this stage I would be grateful if you do 

not send any unnecessary correspondence 

to his wife, as that may well upset her even 

more. 

Peter Sandell 

49


MINUTES OF THE 2023 AGM OF THE OLD STATIONERS’ ASSOCIATION 

Present: Dan Bone (President) in the chair, 

Peter Thomas (Hon. Secretary), 

Chris Langford 

Together with 9 other Officers, Committee members and 31 ordinary members. 

The meeting was called to order at 12.00pm on 31st March 2023. 

1. Minutes of the AGM held on Thursday 14th April 2022 (circulated to all members in ‘The Old Stationer’ 

Magazine No. 95 – Summer 2022 edition). 

The minutes of the AGM held on Thursday 14th April 2022 were approved on a vote taken on the proposal 

of Tony Hemmings, seconded by David Hudson. 

2. President’s Address See attached report. 

3. Hon Treasurers Report See attached report. 

(In absentia) The report was read by Chris Langford (see attached report). It was proposed by David Turner and 

seconded by Roger Melling and resolved that the report and audited accounts for the year ending 31st December 

2022 be approved. 

4. Election of Officers and Committee 

Nominations were invited for the Association’s Officers and Committee for 2023/2024. The following 

members were duly proposed, seconded, and elected: 

50

T he e Oll d S t a tii o nee r -- N o 9975 

Elected Proposer Seconder 

President Robin Baker Dan Bone Peter Thomas 

Vice-President Kevin Waller Robin Baker Peter Thomas 

Hon Secretary Peter Thomas Tony Hemmings Roger Engledow 

Hon Treasurer Peter Winter Robin Baker Peter Sandell 

Hon Membership Secretary Roger Engledow Tony Hemmings David Turner 

Hon Editor Tim Westbrook Robin Baker Andreas Christou 

Events Managers 

Peter Sandell 

Roger Melling 


Robin Baker 

Hon Archivist David Turner Tim Westbrook Roger Engledow 

Ordinary Members 

Nigel Adams 

Andreas Christou 


Tony Hemmings 

Dan Bone 

Peter Thomas 

5. Election of Honorary Auditors 

It was proposed by David Turner, seconded by Peter Jarvis, and resolved that David Cox and Chris Langford 

be elected as Honorary Auditors for 2023. 

6. Any other urgent business 

There being no further business, the Annual General Meeting closed at 12.18pm. 

Fellow Old Stationers, 

PRESIDENT’S ADDRESS AT AGM, 31st MARCH 2023 

As previously mentioned, we are missing our Treasurer Peter Winter today due to illness. We wish Peter a speedy 

recovery and are grateful that honorary treasurer Chris Langford is here to report on the Association’s finances. 

Thanks to Stephen Collins’ unwavering commitment during the two difficult years of the pandemic, my year has given 

me the opportunity to reconnect in person with old chums and to meet members new to me. It’s been an honour to 

have been your President - a rewarding experience that I shall cherish. 

My year started with a rush as we established a new calendar event. The hard-to-reach Comprehensive generation 

were the target and the drive to find them was masterminded by Andreas Christou and Peter Sandell. Meeting in the 

old Gym at the bottom of Mayfield Road and later the Queens, Crouch End, there were 70 plus with over a third 

joining the Association. In the planning is a repeat event this coming June. The year continued with the reinstatement 

of our May lunch at the Royal National Hotel. 

The annual President’s Day cricket match saw 60 of us cram into Botany Bay Cricket Clubhouse for lunch. 50 years 

after its inauguration by Bob Patten, 13 past presidents came together to watch us lose to a strong Botany Bay team. 

Watch out this year, as today’s president hopeful, Robin Baker, has promised to turn things around. All in all, it was 

a very successful social gathering and I’m confident of a similar turn out this coming August Bank Holiday. 

Our September Lunch at the Royal gave me the opportunity to welcome the new Master, Moira Sleight. Moira spoke 

inspiringly of her school days at Wisbech Grammar and the connection with Old Stationers during WWII. 

As you will hear from Chris Langford our finances remain healthy. Membership has fallen to 491 as 1 March 2023 

giving us the impetus to enrol new members at the June reunion. A small subsidy for this reunion and the return of 

the archive to the Hall are necessary additional costs. We are grateful to have been given space for our archive alongside 

the Company’s own records in the Tokefield Centre – testament to the efforts of Martin Lawrence and Tony Mash. 

This year I started a new initiative - the Video Memories. We’ve created our own YouTube Channel linked to the 

OSA website. I’d like to encourage members to take a look and think what short story they could create. I’ll be 

continuing to run the Video Memories initiative for the coming year. Please get in touch with me if you need support. 

I’m continually impressed with the committee’s team work, very much inspired by our school years. Inevitably we have 

a top scorer. Our team relies on Secretary Peter Thomas for his well-timed runs and many assists. 

I particularly want to thank Peter Bothwick for his committee service. Peter’s stepping down today but will continue 

to be our MC at annual lunches. 

51


ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 

Please also show your appreciation for our hard working committee. 

And finally, on behalf of the committee I would like to congratulate Tony Mash on becoming Master of the Company. 

We send our very best wishes for his coming term in office. 

Thank you for your attention. 

Daniel Bone 

President 2022/23 

HONORARY TREASURER’S REPORT 

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31st DECEMBER 2022 

Attached are the audited 2022 accounts. Our Association remains a going concern with a healthy bank balance of 

approximately four year’s subscription income, about half of which is the result of two generous bequests during the 

last two years. 

Significant points to note on changes from 2021 are: 

Increased Costs/Reduced Income: 

• The inexorable 1% reduction in subscription income 

• A successful recruitment programme aimed at post 1967 old boys (£1518) 

• Increased archiving activity at £173 (£101 in 2021) 

Offset by: 

• Reversion to the 48 page magazines that were normal prior to the lockdown period. 

• Reductions in per magazine printing and postage costs. 

• The receipt of a generous bequest of £5,000 from the estate of Peter Sargent and a donation of £220 for a surplus 

OSA table. £1,518 has been transferred from this Bequest Fund to the Accumulated Fund to offset the costs of a 

recruitment programme aimed at post 1967 old boys. 

• Reduced website costs at £281 (£1382 in 2021) 

• Reduced Presidents Day expenses at £150 (£216 in 2021) 

• Small overall surplus on the four 2022 lunch events of £52 

Giving an outcome of: 

• Increased surplus on Ordinary Activities of £732 (£186 loss in 2021) 

• Overall loss of £1570 on OSA Activities 

• Total reserves up £4381. 

We have used BACS for all payments in 2022, which has made the management of the accounts quicker and cheaper. 

The Company has offered us very acceptable terms for our OSA events in the Hall, following the completion of the 

refurbishment. The tie and badge stock has been replenished. 

It is likely we will be operating at a small, but affordable, deficit in 2023 as we are subject to the inflationary pressures 

seen throughout the economy. 

Once again we are grateful to Chris Langford and David Cox who have acted as Honorary Auditors. 

Recommendations 

1 The 2022 Accounts are accepted 

2 The subscription level for 2023 remains unchanged at £15 per annum. 

Peter Winter 

Honorary Treasurer 

21 February 2023 

52


As at 31st December 2022 

ASSETS 

REPRESENTED BY: 

31.12.22 31.12.21 

£ £ £ £ 

Cash at bank on current account 520 2,205 

Cash on deposit account 28,063 23,004 

Total cash at bank 28,583 25,209 

Stock of ties & badges 2,145 1,165 

Stock of books and programmes 338 396 

The Carpenter Painting 1,077 1,077 

Display Cabinet 200 200 

3,760 2,837 

Debtors 

Payment in advance magazine 94 0 480 

Less Creditors 

Christmas lunch 0 (682) 

2022 subscriptions in advance (275) (158) 

Treasurer’s expenses 0 0 

(275) (360) 

32,068 27,687 

Memorial Fund (Embleton) 1,701 1,701 

Accumulated General Fund 16,677 15,998 

Contingencies Reserve (note 2) 1,809 1,809 

Bequest Fund (note 3) 11,881 8,179 

32,068 27,687 

NOTES 

1 Regaila and Cups 

The OSA also has in its possession a number of items of regalia and cups. It is not proposed to 

show these on the face of the accounts, but the value for insurance purposes is £2,950. 

2 Contingencies reserve 

This was created from past provisions for luncheon and annual dinner costs no longer required. It 

is to be used to subsidise these events this year (Nil) and in future years. 

3 Bequest Fund 

The OSA has received a bequest of £5000 from Peter Sargent and a further donation of£220 for a 

surplus OSA table. £1518 has been transfered to the Accumulated Fund to cover the cost of new 

member recruitment. 

Peter Winter Treasurer 

BALANCE SHEET 

AUDITORS REPORT 

In our opinion the above Balance sheet and related Statements of Income and Expenditure, Accumulated Fund 

and Memorial Fund present a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the Old Stationers’ Association as at 

31st December 2022 and of the surplus of income over expenditure for the year. 

C Langford, D Cox 

53


FUNDS SUMMARY 

Year ended 31st December 2022 31.12.22 31.12.21 

£ £ 

MEMORIAL FUND 1,701 1,701 

Accumulated Surplus on Memorial Fund 1,701 1,701 

ACCUMULATED GENERAL FUND 

Balance per Accounts 31.12.21 b/fwd 15,998 16,077 

Add surplus on Ordinary Activities 732 (1,864) 

Add Surplus/Deduct Deficit on other activities (1,570) (35) 

Add Transfer from contingencies reserve & Bequests Funds 1,518 1,821 

(52) 1,785 

Accumulated Surplus on ordinary activities 16,677 15,998 

CONTINGENCIES RESERVE (note 2) 

Balance per accounts 31st December 2021 b/fwd 1,809 1,809 

Transfer to General Fund, re Dinner and Lunches 0 0 

Total Contingencies Reserve 1,809 1,809 

BEQUESTS FUND (note 3) 

Balance per accounts 31st December 2020 b/fwd 8,179 0 

Bequests Received 5,220 10,000 

Transfer to General Fund, re Recruitment costs 1,518 1,821 

Total Bequests Fund 11,881 8,179 

TOTAL OSA FUNDS AT 31.12.2022 32,068 27,687 

Income & Expenditure Account Year ended 31st December 2022 

31.12.22 31.12.21 

ORDINARY ACTIVITIES £ £ £ £ 

Income 

Member Subscriptions 7,164 7,244 

Bank interest 59 2 

Expenditure 

GENERAL FUND 

7,223 7,246 

Magazine costs 5,918 7,431 

Website & Admin costs 574 1,680 

6,492 9,110 

Surplus on Ordinary Activities 731 (1,864) 

OTHER ACTIVITIES 

Tie, scarves and blazer badge sales net-profit. 80 32 

Past President’s badge and tie at cost (34) 0 

Tie for Master at cost 0 17 

Net Surplus on dinner and luncheon club 52 166 

President’s Day expenses (150) (216) 

Surplus on other activities (1,570) (35) 

Bequest and donations received 5,220 10,000 

SURPLUS INCOME OVER (EXPENDITURE) FOR YEAR 4,381 8,100 

54

OSA PHOTOGRAPHIC COMPETITION 2023 – “WEATHER” 

This is the fifth time that we have run the competition and 

it gets more and more entries each year. Last year we had 50 

entries from 24 Old Stationers which had as its topic 

“Water”. This was a great response. So, whether you are an 

experienced photographer, or just one who takes the 

occasional photograph with your mobile phone, this is the 

photographic competition for you. Any OSA member can 

enter up to three photographs which they should have taken. 

The theme this time is “Weather”. We are looking for an 

unusual view of weather. Something caught in the moment 

of time, eg cloud formations, action shot of rainfall, sunny 

reflections, natural frost or snow formations. They can 

include people, animals or pets. We are only limited by our 

imagination. 

To Enter: Each photograph should have an “interesting” 

title, relevant to the theme, and preferably accompanied by a 

bit of a story of how the photograph came to be taken and 

what it shows. It should also be accompanied by the sender’s 

name, postal address and telephone number. 

Send your digital or scanned photographs 

(colour or black and white – or 

even sepia), as a 300 DPI JPEG file, to 

Tony Moffat at: a.moffat@ucl.ac.uk 

For those of the “old school” without 

access to a scanner; send hard copy 

photographs, which will be scanned 

and then returned to you, to: Tony 

Moffat, 22 Pig Lane, St Ives, PE27 

5NL. Please use a piece of cardboard in 

the envelope to protect the photographs. 

Closing date: 31st October 2023. 

Entries will be acknowledged by email, telephone or post. 

Image editing: Images may be digitally enhanced to optimise 

a photograph, remove scratches etc, but significant elements 

of the picture should not be added or removed. 

Judging: Judging will be carried out by a panel of judges who 

will be using the following criteria: composition, originality, 

interpretation of the theme, technical quality and most 

importantly – how does your entry stand out from the 

crowd. Like referees’ decisions, some people may disagree 

with the judges’ decision, but their decision is final. 

Prizes: The winner will be announced in the January 2024 

edition of The Old Stationer and will receive a bottle of 

champagne at the AGM in March 2024 when some of the 

entries will be displayed. 

Publication of Entries: By submitting an entry, you agree 

that the photograph(s) may be published in The Old 

Stationer and on the OSA web site. 

Queries: Any queries, please contact 

Tony Moffat at the email address above 

or by telephone on 01480 764285. 

Go on - have a go. Looking through 

your old photographs will be fun 

anyway. If you don’t have anything 

suitable, why not go out and take some. 

Tony Moffat & Peter Thomas 

PUZZLE SOLUTIONS 

SUDOKU 

WORD SEARCH 

ANAGRAMS 

1. OLD SPECKLED HEN 

2. BOMBARDIER 

3. LONDON PRIDE 

4. NEWCASTLE BROWN 

5. HOBGOBLIN 

6. DOOM BAR 

7. SPITFIRE 

8. LANDLORD 

9. TRIBUTE 

10. OLD PECULIER

The Old Stationers’ Association

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