OSAmag96-yumpu

No 96 / January 2023 

The Old Stationer 

Number 96 - January 2023 

This one was caught!

OSA VIDEO MEMORIES 

We’re off to a flying start with our Memories Project .. mini 

stories captured on smart phones by Robin Baker, Stephen 

Collins and Mark Templeman have been edited together to form 

our first video memories compilation. 

Robin’s start in life owed much to Mr Bartlett (Peanut) and his 

gift for teaching mathematics. Stephen’s enjoyment of learning 

French by rote taught by Beak(y) Davis was as educational as his 

quirky aphorisms Stephen remembers to this day. 

Mark’s memory is misty when it comes to leaving school but ever 

so clear when describing Mr ‘Gus’ Thomas’s influence on his 

time there. 

Gus’s considered approach to teaching English language and 

literature are explored with remarkable clarity. Matched only too 

well are his reminiscences as a frequent attender of Gus’s 

detention class. 

These video stories will be available for viewing on the OS 

website from January 2023. I hope it inspires many OS to tell 

your own tales of time at Mayfield Road. It’s easier than you 

think. Write a story of 300 or so words, print off and film 

yourself glancing at the words with your camera phone in 

horizontal position. Please get in touch with me for help. 

dan.bone@civix.org.uk. 

Daniel Bone

T h e O l d S t a t i o n e r - N o 9 6 

The Old Stationer 

NUMBER 96 - JANUARY 2023 

OLD STATIONERS’ ASSOCIATION 

LIST OF COMMITTEE MEMBERS 2022/2023 

President 

Daniel Bone 

56 Union Street, High Barnet, 

EN5 4HZ ✆ 07770 431060 

: dan.bone@civix.org.uk 

Vice-President 

Robin Baker 

40 Crossbow Road, Chigwell, 

Essex, IG7 4EZ ✆ 07939 059139 

: bakersilverfox@ aol.com 

Past President 

Stephen P Collins 

85 Love Lane, Pinner, Middx. 

HA5 3EY ✆ 07802 157044 

: spc@woodhaven.me.uk 

Honorary Secretary 

Peter R Thomas 

107 Jackdaw Close, Stevenage, 

Herts. SG2 9DB ✆ 01438 722870 

: peterthomas561@outlook.com 

Honorary Treasurer 

Peter Winter 

5 Oakways, Warrington, WA4 5HD 

07795 450863 

: prcwinter1@btinternet.com 

Membership Secretary 

Roger Engledow 

118 Hertswood Court, 

Hillside Gardens, Barnet, EN5 4AU 

07817 111642 

: osamembers@gmail.com 

Honorary Editor 

Tim Westbrook 

7 Goodyers Avenue, Radlett, 

Herts. WD7 8AY 

✆ mobile 07770 381070 

: tim@timwestbrook.co.uk 

Honorary Archivist 

David D Turner 

63 Brookmans Avenue, Brookmans 

Park, Herts. AL9 7QG 

✆ 01707 656414 

: daviddanielturner63@gmail.com 

Event Managers 

Roger Melling 

43 Holyrood Road, New Barnet, 

Herts. EN5 1DQ ✆ 020 8449 2283 

: rmelling76@gmail.com 

Peter A Sandell 

11 Maplecroft Lane, Nazeing, Essex, 

EN9 2NR ✆ 07917 693523 

: peter.sandell@hotmail.co.uk 

Honorary Auditors 

Chris Langford, Dave Cox 

Ordinary Members 

Andreas H Christou 

22 Woodgrange Avenue, Bush Hill 

Park, Enfield EN1 1EW 

07722 117481 

: andreashchristou@yahoo.com 

Peter Bothwick 

52 Hither Green Lane, Abbey Park, 

Redditch, Worcs. B98 9BW 

✆ 01527 62059 

: pedrotres@hotmail.co.uk 

Tony C Hemmings 

5 The Mount, Cheshunt, 

Herts. EN7 6RF 

01992 638535 

: hemmingsac43@gmail.com 

CLUBS & SOCIETIES 

Football Club 

Ian Meyrick 

: ian.meyrick1@gmail.com 

Golf Society 

Roger Rufey 

07780 450369 

: rrufey@gmail.com 

Apostles Club 

Stuart H Behn 

l67 Hempstead Road, Watford, 

Herts. WD17 3HF 

✆ 01923 243546 

: stuartbehn@hotmail.com 

Luncheon Club 

Roger Melling 

Details as previous column 

SC School Lodge no. 7460 

Michael D Pinfield 

63 Lynton Road, Harrow, 

Middx. HA2 9NJ 

✆ 020 8422 4699 07956 931174 

: secretary7460ugle@gmail.com 

MAGAZINE 

Publishing Adviser 

Tim Westbrook 

Details as previous column 

Design & Website Manager 

Ian Moore 

Homecroft, Princes Gate, 

Pembs. SA67 8TG 

✆ 07833 331865 

: ian@outhaus.biz 

Printed by 

Orchard Press Cheltenham Ltd 

CONTENTS 

Regular features 

Editorial 4 

Dates for the Diary 6 

Correspondence 36 

Special features 

OSA Video Memories 2 

Christmas Lunch 2022 5 

September Lunch 2022 8 

President's Day 2022 10 

One hundred years ago... 13 

The best laid plans... 22 

A memory of Stationers’ School 25 

Tales from the detention room 27 

Historic pubs south of the river 29 

Who was who in Hornsey 30 

A history of Postman’s Park 33 

Me & my motors 38 

The Moffat Mustang 40 

My Passion 41 

From balls to wheels 41 

Clubs & Societies 

OSA Golf Society 14 

OSFC 2022/23 update 15 

Reunions 

Class of ’51 16 






Varia 

Book review 34 

Puzzle Corner 45 

Membership Secretary's report 45 

Photography competition - ‘Water’ 46 

Obituaries 

Adrian Constable 42 

Captain Peter Hames 43 

Keith Woodley 44 

Bereavement notice 

Peter Redman 44 

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 

It has been a difficult and 

challenging year for all of 

us dealing with escalating 

energy prices, double digit 

inflation, industrial action 

across the public sector, an 

under resourced health 

service and a continuation 

of the Covid threat. 

Against this back drop it 

is reassuring that we have 

been able to sustain our 

traditional social calendar and to return to our refurbished 

Hall for a bumper Christmas lunch event on December 

2nd. Our President, Dan Bone has been keeping an 

architectural eye on the building works and has submitted 

a review of the project’s success. One of the benefits of the 

refurbishment programme is that we will shortly be able 

to move our OSA archive back to the Tokefield Centre 

where it will be secure and accessible to members. 

The “memories” project initiated this year by Dan now 

has three video clips submitted by Mark Templeman, 

Stephen Collins and Robin Baker each reminiscing about 

teachers during their time at Stationers. These will be 

uploaded to a “You Tube” link on our web site by the time 

you read this edition of the magazine. Details of how you 

can contribute videos of your school memories appear in 

Dan’s article on the inside front cover. 

On the subject of magazine content I would like to thank 

all those members who have contributed to this issue but 

I would urge those who have yet to put pen to paper to 

make a new year’s resolution to submit an article, an 

observation, a comment, an anecdote, a photograph, a 

confession, or just a miscellaneous thought that you 

would like to share with other members. 

Tony Moffat, one of our most prolific contributors has 

initiated a new topic in this issue aiming to highlight 

members who have had a book published. Tony has 

reviewed Martin Brown’s novel, “George” published 

under the pen name of James H Russell. It is available in 

paperback on Amazon for £11.99. If you have had a book 

published or even one that was rejected, contact Tony and 

he will be happy to promote it in our next issue. 

Finally, you will see that there are several reports of 

reunions that have taken place this year including my 

class of 62 which celebrated the 60th anniversary of our 

first day at Stationer’s. If your year group has not yet 

initiated a reunion and you would like to do so I can give 

you the contact details of OSA members from your year 

which is a good place to start. 

Let’s hope that 2023 is less challenging than this year 

and I look forward to seeing as many of you as possible 

at one of our 

events. 

The refurbished hall 

Martin Brown 

Happy New Year. 

Tim 

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


CHRISTMAS LUNCH 

It gives me great pleasure to 

welcome you all to this, our 

annual, Christmas lunch. It’s 

a fabulous celebration in so 

many ways. 

Celebration No 1 - It’s great 

to be back together in our 

spiritual home after too many 

years away. And what a joy it 

is to see the Hall in such fine 

fettle after the programme of 

renovations during the Covid 

lockdown. The Stationers’ Company decided to upgrade the Hall 

to better meet 21st Century requirements for disabled access, 

sustainable energy consumption and to up its hospitality 

offering… which we have just enjoyed. If you have not yet seen 

the new link building between the Great Hall and the Court 

Room go take a look before you leave. Uncompromisingly 

modern in design but remarkably appropriate for the needs of 

the Hall and of our times (see p22 for a full report). 

Celebration No 2 - It’s great to see so many of you. We were 

hoping to hit 100 old school chums here today and yes, we have 

made it! And this year’s award for best year attendees go to…. in 

reverse order (opens envelope). In third place we have 12 from 

the year of 1962 (small cheer, as it’s my own year), and in second 

place – and oh, the judges have conferred and there’s been a 

recount and for the first time we have a joint first place. So, tying 

for first place are the 13 youngsters from the 1965 intake and the 

13 octogenarians from the year of 1954. Both tables please take 

a bow. (applause) 

There are other important mentions too. We are particularly 

pleased to see John Miles from the intake of 1945, thank you for 

joining us today. And we welcome the coming together of the 

year of 1972, with 7 old chums celebrating 50 years since first 

marching up to the top of the hill to join the growing throng of 

Stationers boys attending Mayfield Road. At this point I’d like to 

mention Kelvin Kift from 1972. Tony Moffat, our chair of the 

judging panel wrote: “Last year’s OSA Photographic Competition 

had as its theme “Animals”. There was a total of 48 entries from 

20 different Old Stationers which was the highest number of 

entries for the competition so far. The winner was Kelvin Kift 

for his entry, “Rush Hour” showing the migration of a herd of 

wildebeest in the Masai Mara prior to attempting a river 

crossing, which was published in this year’s January edition of 

The Old Stationer". 

Unfortunately, Kelvin can’t be with us today. I’d like to invite 

Charles Traylan from his year to accept the bottle of champagne 

prize on Kelvin’s behalf. 

It would be remiss of me to not mention the oldest serving OSA 

Committee member. David Turner is 83 years young today. 

Cheers David! 

Celebration No 3 – It’s great to be keeping those school memories 

alive. I count myself the luckiest president with so many joining 

the annual President’s Day Botany Bay cricket match. Most 

Class of ’62 

5


enlivening this year were the 15 OS from the year of 56, 

organised by Colin Munday, who used the occasion to celebrate 

their own year reunion. This innovation was a welcome addition 

– celebrating two traditions in one day. Unfortunately, the 

cricket score could not be celebrated. I’ll leave that discussion for 

when we take possession of the Cockpit …. 

Our Video Memories project is well underway and your 

recollections of schooldays are becoming a resource of which we 

can all be proud. The first compilation video will be available for 

viewing in January on the OSA Website. Be sure to get the 

grandkids to film you chatting if you need a festive season 

project. I’m grateful to Josh Beadon for his help with our website 

upgrade. And my thanks also to Stephen Collins for answering a 

request from the Hornsey Historical Society to write a feature 

article on the history of the school for the Society’s annual 

Bulletin. We anticipate that the article will also appear in July’s 

Old Stationer. And another thank you is necessary here, and it 

goes to Tim Westbrook for his editorship of the magazine. I 

think you’ll agree with me that the magazine goes from strength 

to strength under his direction. 

The OSA Archive - another great repository of memories – is 

coming home to the Hall, hooray! Thanks to Nick Henwood for 

accommodating the collection during the renovation of the Hall. 

And many thanks are due to the Company too, for giving us 

valuable space in their humidity and temperature controlled 

archive room in the Tokefield Centre. 

The final celebration is the glorious oak table that was presented 

to the Stationers Old Boys’ Association in 1927 by the pupils of 

the Second Master, Mr J W Jones. With the completion of the 

renovations of Stationers’ Hall this piece of historic furniture is 

now surplus to requirements and needs a new home. Members 

are invited to make an offer by email to Secretary Peter Thomas 

by 12.00 Friday 9 December. The winning offer will be 

announced to bidders by Monday 12 December. Your offer must 

cover for collecting the table and its removal from the Hall. All 

of you should have received an email from Peter Sandell in the 

past couple of days giving the necessary details, but if you have 

any queries let me know. The table can be viewed in the lobby 

opposite the cloakroom just off the Hall entrance. 

DATES for the DIARY 

AGM & LUNCH 2023 

Friday 31st March 2023 at Stationers’ Hall. 

Contact: Roger Melling 

MAY LUNCH 

Tuesday 16th May 2023 at The Royal National Hotel. 

Contact: Peter Sandell. 

PRESIDENT’S DAY 

Sunday 27th August 2023 at Botany Bay. 

Contact: Peter Sandell. 

CHRISTMAS LUNCH 

Friday 1st or 8th December 2023 

To be confirmed in July's issue of the magazine. 

Contact: Roger Melling. 

All in all, the Association remains in good health with 

membership numbers maintained at around 500, having had 28 

new members to count after the May Comprehensive Years 

reunion. We still need more of that cohort to join the Association 

and the committee is actively looking at ways to make this 

happen. Our finances remain strong, buttressed by the bequests 

from Sir John Sparrow and Peter Sargent. Your committee is 

looking forward to 2023 with great enthusiasm. A note for your 

diaries: Our next event is the AGM and Annual Lunch at 

Stationers’ Hall on 31 March 2023, commencing 12.15pm. 

Celebration No 4 - And the final, final hoorah. As always, I 

extend the membership’s thanks to our outstanding committee. 

I really shouldn’t single out individuals, but I will. First up, our 

youngest member Andreas Christou for enthusiastically pressing 

the younger OS to reunite in May. The much appreciated 

enterprise and effort put into running the committee by Peters 

Thomas and Sandell, and the two Rogers - Engledow and 

Melling - the latter being the brains and organiser behind this 

afternoon’s extravaganza. It would be wrong not to mention 

Peter Bothwick, winner of master of ceremonies of the year 

award for as long as anyone can remember and yet another Peter 

- Winter this time - our treasurer, who is not in the least 

Scrooge-like and Sage of Sages, our father figure, the man who’s 

seen it all before, ‘Lord’ Tony Hemmings. Next year our vice 

president will chrysalis-like morph into your new President…get 

ready for a rock and roll year with Robin Baker in charge! 

Thanks too, to Tony Moffat for running the photographic 

competition again this year…he tells me this year’s winning entry 

will appear in January’s Old Stationer.. 

Please show your appreciation for these stalwarts of our 

Association. 

And finally, thank you to all of you for coming today and 

supporting this annual event. Please be upstanding and raise your 

glasses. The toast is ‘the members of the Association.’ Have a 

Happy Christmas and as prosperous a New Year as the 

Chancellor will allow you…. I look forward to seeing many of 

you in the Cockpit. 

Dan Bone 

Dan addresses the Christmas diners 

6



Stuart Behn and friends 


The Hall from the balcony 

3 of our younger members but no badges Nigel Wade arriving in the new lift Tony Hemmings 

Chris Wilkins, Chris Langford, Dave Cox, David Metcalf, David Turner 

Legends of OSFC - Nigel Clark, Jim Townsend,Dick Hersey, Liam Gallagher, 

Micky Wood, Ian Meyrick, Jim Mulley, Bob Chambers, ?? and Dave Deane 

7


SEPTEMBER LUNCH 

President’s speech OSA Lunch 14 September 2022 

Master, Upper Warden, OSA Past Presidents, fellow Old 

Stationers, thank you for attending our September luncheon 

club. Today, we are honoured to be joined by the Master of the 

Stationers’ Company as our guest. Moira, we know how busy 

your schedule is, particularly at this time in our history, and with 

your multiple City duties to perform. But hearing about the 

Master’s life and career is a highlight of this yearly lunch and we 

are grateful to you for joining us and continuing this tradition. 

But before formally introducing the Master I have a few Parish 

Notices: 

We will rejoice at returning to The Stationer’s Hall for our 

Christmas get together. We are hoping for a record turnout this 

year to celebrate the homecoming. The date to ink in your diary 

is Friday 2nd Dec. As usual, Messrs Melling and Sandell will 

combine to make this year an unmissable event. ….Bring on the 

plum puddings… 

Another diary date is 31st March 2023 for the AGM and Lunch 

at Stationers’ Hall. This is the annual review of OSA affairs over 

the previous 12 months and the passing of the baton to our Vice 

President Robin Baker. 

And finally, your committee seeks your active participation in the 

OSA Memories Project. These are short video recollections of 

your time at the school. They will be edited together to update and 

modernise our historical archives. You’ll find my note in the July 

issue of our magazine. Please get in touch with me if you have any 

queries and wish to take part alongside your fellow Old Stationers. 

And whilst mentioning the importance of our archives, Peter 

Thomas has uncovered an interesting story from the school 

magazine from the year of the Queen’s coronation. The Master, 

Wardens and Court presented each boy with an inscribed and 

bound book entitled ‘Notes on the Origin and History of the 

Company’. This is a job for me to reach out to members at school 

in the early 50s and include their stories in our Memories Project. 

Lastly, I hope you are all in good voice today. We will close 

proceedings with the National Anthem, 3 cheers for King 

Charles and the school song. We will be led by former Stationers’ 

school chorister, our very own Upper Warden, Tony Mash. 

Finally, let’s show our thanks, to Peter Sandell for all he has done 

to pull together today’s lunch. 

Dan and Moira 

Moira Sleight 

Right, on with the main event. The Master, Mora Sleight, is the 

second female Master in the history of the Company. She has 

been a Liveryman since 2005, on the Court since 2014 and a 

stalwart member of the Company’s many committees as well as 

a distinguished board member of the Society of Editors and 

London Press Club. She became the youngest and first female 

editor of the Methodist Recorder, overseeing the full 

computerisation of its production. I think it is fair to say, she is 

the very embodiment of the modern day Stationer. 

MOIRA SLEIGHT SPEECH 

When it is a time of deep national sadness and change such as 

we are now living through, it is good to gather with old friends 

and I thank you for your invitation for me to join you. 

It is a pleasure to be here and bring greetings from the Stationers’ 

Company. 

I know that my predecessor as Master spoke to you about the 

major work we were doing on Stationer’s Hall to make it fit for 

the 21st century. I’m delighted to tell you that we are now finally 

open again and while there is still some work to be done, not 

least the snagging, the premises are now accessible because of our 

new lift, more pleasant because of our new air cooling system and 

looking better than ever. 

We are still fundraising to cover the cost and to replenish our 

funds so we can continue to care for the treasure that is our Hall. 

All donations and legacies for the Hall Fund Charity are very 

welcome indeed. Do contact us if you would like to contribute. 

The Stationers’ Company truly values its links with the Old 

Stationers. In fact I should use the Company’s full name – the 

Worshipful Company of Stationers and Newspaper Makers – as 

the world of newspapers is my background. 

I’m Editor and Publisher of the Methodist Recorder weekly, 

national newspaper and was first introduced to our livery 

8


Company by the late Sir Ray Tindle when he arranged for the 

Newspaper Society Council of which I was a member to hold a 

meeting and lunch there. Several of us newspaper folk attending 

that meeting joined as freemen following that introduction. 

I became a liveryman in 2005 and joined the Court in 2013 and 

am now the second woman Master since 1403. 

During my time at Stationers I have served on many committees, 

including chairing the Membership committee, where I was 

delighted that we managed to raise the proportion of women 

members to 20 per cent of the Company. 

My journalistic career began while still at school when I got a 

part-time job on my local town’s newspaper as a village 

correspondent. 

I always made sure that I was very diligent in covering the 

Women’s Institute in particular as they had a regular tombola 

and therefore I got to list all the names of the winners and we 

were paid by the word. 

The job gave me a taste of journalism and I knew that was what 

I wanted to do. It was good training too. You learnt the 

importance of speaking with people directly and of attending 

events and meetings rather than relying on the accounts of 

others. 

Parish council meetings, for example, could be a very boring way 

of spending an evening but you soon learnt that, amid the 

animated discussions over whether the village hall needed new 

kettles, would be gems of real interest that you would not have 

known about had you not been sitting there as no one would 

have told you. 

Nowadays when too many of the large newspaper group’s local 

papers have stopped covering parish and town council meetings 

because they can’t or won’t staff them – and perhaps equally 

worryingly local courts often don’t have a journalist there for the 

same reason of cost – there is a worrying effect on democracy and 

the public’s right to know. 

I am a member of the Board of the Society of Editors and access 

to the courts and council meetings is one of the issues that 

concerns it, among many other pressing matters. 

My time as a village correspondent came to an end when I left 

for university but it had confirmed in me my determination to 

make journalism my career, and I’m so glad it did! It is a great 

blessing to enjoy your working life. 

So it was because of my links with newspapers that I became a 

Stationer. But do I have any links with the OLD Stationers? Yes. 

I do. I know my predecessor but one, Bishop Stephen Platten, 

was an old boy and our Upper Warden, Tony Mash, is an old boy, 

but I have a rather different link. 

The school I went to when I was a teenager was Wisbech 

Grammar School and this of course was the school that 

welcomed the pupils of the Stationers’ Company’s School when 

they were evacuated to the Fens from London during the Second 

World War. 

My late father was a pupil at Wisbech Grammar School and I 

remember him telling me about how at that time he only had 

classes for half a day as the other half of the day the classrooms 

and laboratories were being used by the London boys. So he 

would have known some the Old Stationers of previous years. 

Even when I was at Wisbech Grammar School so many years 

later there was still a link with you as there was a cup presented 

to the Grammar School by the Stationers’ Company’s School in 

appreciation of its help that was awarded to the winner of the 

overall House Challenge competition every year, in which I 

competed in my house’s victorious table tennis team. 

So I feel as a Wisbech-born and bred Stationer I have a special 

link with your old school and thus I am delighted to have been 

with you today and enjoyed your hospitality. 

Thank you. 

Moira Sleight 

Master of the Company 

Top table 

Dave, John, John and Terry 

9


PRESIDENT'S DAY 

On a sunny August Bank Holiday Sunday 

Dan’s select President’s XI met at Botany Bay 

to play in our 50th anniversary annual cricket 

fixture against the Bay. 

Batting first we amassed a creditable 128 runs 

off our allotted 25 overs. It all went down-hill 

after that. One of their openers presented a 

dolly catch which was fumbled by Tim 

Westbrook at short mid wicket and they 

proceeded to build a steady score. When the 

Bay were on 83, captain Richard Slatford made 

a bowling change which resulted in a 

catastrophic 46 runs off the over, mostly in ‘no 

balls’ which meant we conceded the match. 

Nevertheless, the social aspect of the afternoon 

was brilliant as was the catering. Our thanks to 

Botany Bay for hosting the afternoon. A full report will follow 

when Richard recovers from the traumas of the day. 

TW 

THE PRESIDENT’S SPEECH 

Well, what a fabulous turn out today. Welcome to you all. 

Firstly, I want to thank the people who’ve made today happen. 

• Thanks to our guests here from Botany Bay Cricket Club - 

Stuart Haynes, John Jarvis and John Dent. Huge appreciation 

for continuing to host President’s Day 

• Equal gratitude too, to all the bar staff and Miriam and her 

team of caterers – we always look forward to the food here 

• And of course, the particular efforts put in by Old Stationers 

Peters Sandell, Thomas and Jarvis for getting 

all the details on the day right. 

Secondly, thank you... 

• To 12 past presidents for adding the necessary 

grandeur and gravitas that the occasion deserves 

• To the class of 1956 and their reunion today led 

by Colin Munday. This idea of Colin’s is a 

welcome addition to this event 

• To the cricketers, their manager, Richard 

Slatford, some well-known old stagers and the 

sons and sons of sons of Old Stationers whose 

combined ages have ensured the average age of 

the team is a magic 50, miraculously appropriate 

for today, don’t you think? I’m particularly 

grateful to my Form 1 classmate, Steve 

Chaudoir, for travelling up from Somerset where he is a 

regular for the County’s Over 70’s eleven. 

• My thanks also too to umpire(s) Geoff Blackmore and Dick 

Hersey 

• And finally, we’re all very happy to have the Rose family with 

us again. 

Today marks an important anniversary: the 50th OSA President’s 

Day cricket match and I’m most honoured to have such an 

illustrious XI playing. My school cricket involvement was shorter 

than a Jimmy Anderson innings, thanks to hay fever my summers 

as a teenager were more nose running than run scoring. But I’ve 

always enjoyed watching the game and with the help of television 

coverage have become an armchair authority…like so many of us 

here I expect.. 

Class of 56 and Keith knight 

10


50, it’s a good number. We 

shall be looking to our handpicked 

eleven to give us 

several of these this afternoon. 

Half a century is a very 

healthy innings for us too. 

Back in the 1860s when 

cricket was first formally 

organised life expectancy was 

just 41. Now it’s practically 

double that.. 

On this special 50th 

celebration day I thought it 

would be fun to look at the 

way cricket has been portrayed. 

You may be surprised that 

Steve Chadoir 

cricket was a vital element in 

Anglo-Saxon culture with 

Manchester University academics opining that cricket as a game 

may have been invented by children living in the Weald during 

Saxon times. Fast forward and cricket became an established 

sport in the 18th century. But it was in Victorian times that 

cricket took off and largely became the game we know today. 

Although I have to admit much of my research has been aided 

by Messrs Brin & Page at Google, I have also referred to the 

important writings of Mr Peter Tinniswood, in his book “Tales 

from a Long Room” which includes the following reminiscences of 

his friend, the late Brigadier: 

“It is a fact not generally known that in her youth Queen Victoria 

had the makings of a cricketer of considerable stature. 

Indeed it is the opinion of many historians of the ‘summer game’ 

that but for the cares of state and the burdens of excessive 

childbearing, she could well have reached Test match standard. 

Contemporary records reveal that the young Victoria was 

endowed with an excess of cricketing virtues – the athletic grace of 

a Frank Woolley, the snow white teeth of a Learie Constantine, the 

combative pugnacity of a Freddie Truman, the dark, hairy legs of 

a WG Grace.” 

Well, who would have a thought? 

Now, you may well be wondering how the President’s Day match 

fits with this decidedly unusual interlude? I’m grateful that Past 

President, my old 1st form chum, Peter Jarvis is here. Peter was 

the giant of our year, in every sense, and has kindly offered to 

remind us of the Old Stationers and others who helped make 

this day a memorable part of the President’s year… 

Over to you Peter… 

Peter Jarvis: 

Thank you, Daniel and good afternoon Honoured Guests, 

Ladies and Gentlemen. 

I’m delighted to oblige my old school-friend Daniel who has 

kindly allowed me to combine a few reflections upon this special 

occasion, and upon our hosts, with the toast to “Absent Friends”. 

In its magazine of August, 1884, the School announced the 

forming of The Stationers’ School Cricket Club – but it wasn’t 

until 1950 that a group of Old Boys, including Roger Andrews 

and Peter Sargent, followed suit. 

Today marks another milestone: it being now 50 years since 

in1972 Bob Patten inaugurated OS President’s Day cricket 

games at our former HQ in Barnet. How pleasing for Bob to 

know his idea sparked the enduring sporting and social legacy we 

celebrate today. Barnet, coincidentally, is where in my own year 

as President we held a final game on that hallowed but by then 

The past Presidents 

11


irreparable wicket. (In fact by then, thanks to the efforts of 

Barnet Council it was more “hollowed” than “hallowed”)! 

That was in 1992; and in 1993 my successor, Geoff Blackmore, 

was fortunate enough to be the first OS President to stage his 

“big day” at this lovely location. Happily, Geoff ’s son Ross, 

together, I understand with his partial namesake Ross Angelini 

and Johnny Munday, (Grandson of Colin, possibly the most 

elegant of our footballers), are just three of a quintet of Stationers’ 

relatives who will be playing in today’s game. Well done, Ross, 

Ross and Johnny! 

Well, along the years we’ve had games cancelled through bad 

weather; shortages; and Covid but hey, that’s cricket for you! And 

a great positive to note is that next year will mark a full 30 years 

of being hosted here. Quite remarkable. 

Stationers’ Hall; the school; and our former playing fields at 

Winchmore Hill and Barnet may always be uppermost in our 

minds: but our strong links with Botany Bay Cricket Club have 

thus sustained Presidents’ Days in the post school-closure years. 

Our warmest thanks are therefore due, as always, to all members 

here at Botany Bay for enabling this fixture and in particular for 

the unstinting support of our guests, Past Chairman John Dent; 

current Chairman Stuart Haynes; and Cricket Chairman John 

Jarvis, the latter having played a significant part in today’s 

preparations. 

I hope you will join me by thanking them in the usual manner. 

When we toast absent friends we think, of course, of all former 

Old Stationers, sadly now including Past President Peter 

Redman, a very recent loss. Today we might also reflect 

particularly on the following, whose interests and involvement 

here first established the connection which so benefits us all. 

Past President Roger Andrews: One of the OSCC founding 

group; a colourful character whose umpiring knowledge and 

skills proved as valuable to BBCC as to Stationers. 

Bernie Kelly: late Captain of Barnet Town F.C. and Old 

Stationers 1st X1, Bernie was our own equivalent of Captain 

James Cook when (as I recall it) he navigated a thirsty group of 

Old Stationers to “a very nice cricket club where my son Adam 

plays for Botany Bay Colts”. 

(In another familial link: it’s great to know Adam is opting for 

the RIGHT team all these years later!) 

Inevitably, and inimitably, Past President Gordon Rose: Here, he 

was an extremely precise umpire: (if Rose said you were out, you 

were out!); erstwhile Chairman of the BB Jazz Club; and later, 

President of Botany Bay itself. 

(And as an aside, it’s wonderful to see the Queen of the Rose Ball 

Evelyn here again today, with their son Andrew: who better to 

complete today’s group of FIVE playing relatives of Old 

Stationers, even if, as he tells me, his preference is for opening the 

wine rather than the bowling). 

The list goes on……. John Dickens; Chris Shoring; Ivor Evans; 

John Mote; Geoff Slipper; Barry McRae; another OSCC 

inaugurator, Peter Sargent; and others who are sadly no longer 

with us. They all played their parts in cementing the fine 

relationship we continue to share with this place and so I ask you 

please to stand if you are able, but in any event to join me in a 

toast: “To Absent Friends” . 

Peter Jarvis 

Dan Bone: 

Thank you, Peter, for that great summary of the history of today’s 

important fixture. 

Looking back has made me ask if previous Old Stationers, who 

made cricket a focal point of the President’s year, were inspired 

by contemporary commentators and players? 

Perhaps John Arlott who felt: 

"Cricket is a most precarious profession; it is called a team game 

but, in fact, no one is so lonely as a batsman facing a bowler 

supported by ten fieldsmen and observed by two umpires to ensure 

that his error does not go unpunished." 

A little harsh perhaps, but a fair commentary nevertheless. 

Whereas, Benjamin, 3rd Baron Mancroft ambiguously wrote: 

"Cricket, a game which the English, not being a spiritual people, have 

invented in order to give themselves some conception of eternity." 

And George Bernard Shaw in true Irish style felt: "Baseball has 

the great advantage over cricket of being sooner ended." 

And just to check that no one has dozed off, you have to hand it 

to Harold Pinter to strike the right note… 

"I tend to think that cricket is the greatest thing that God ever 

created on earth – certainly greater than sex, although sex isn’t too 

bad either." 

I think these comments about what the summer game and 

working together mean, can be seen as a metaphor for the many 

hours and days we Old Stationers spent at school, playing in 

teams, singing in choirs, acting in school plays, star jumping in 

the gym for Sid and of course, creating mayhem in the classroom. 

There’s a theme emerging here, one of reminiscences and 

reminders of people, places and things. Because aside from 

cheering on the cricketers today, as with all our get-togethers, we’ll 

be exchanging memories and reliving (mostly) happy moments. 

Which is why I’ve wanted to find a way of capturing these 

reminiscences to add to the Stationers archive on our website 

and, how the idea of an oral and video history initiative was born. 

I have launched the OSA Memories Project this month as part 

of my presidency, with a short piece in the July issue of the 

magazine on page 25. 

As Captain James Cook said, "Memory doesn’t erase. The recall 

ability fails". It’s the stories we share when we meet up that help 

us frame our personal histories and in turn the history of the 

school. They are the glue that binds us and the OSA together, 

and I hope that you will all join in this celebration of school day 

recollections, that haven’t been recorded in any way so far, and 

join with me to make the OSA Memories Project a success. Do 

speak to me later or Robin Baker, our vice president, who has 

created an excellent memory of his first day at school. 

But before we finish our splendid lunch for the start of the 

match, I’ll leave you with one last thought from Paul Hogan, aka 

Crocodile Dundee, 

"Cricket needs brightening up a bit. My solution is to let the players 

drink at the beginning of the game, not after… always an option 

here at Botany Bay!" 

Once again, thank you all for coming today. Please enjoy the 

match and the rest of the afternoon. 

Dan Bone 

12


Good morning All, 

PRESIDENT’S DAY STUFF 

Many thanks to those of you - especially the President, 

Richard Slatford and Peter Sandell - who made Sunday’s 

event most enjoyable. 

During the day, I spoke to a number of people (some of 

whom have been copied in on this email) regarding whether 

any of those who attended on Sunday had participated in 

the first OSA President’s XI game in 1972. As we suspected, 

only Tim Westbrook played in both games; albeit in 1972 

he injured his finger taking a ’stunning catch’ at short extracover, 

whilst this year failed to take a simple catch at short 

mid-wicket!! 

Three others played in 1972 and were present on Sunday; 

Steve Young & Dave Cox, both of whom played for the 

President’s XI, and Mike Hasler, who joined Tim in the 

Old Stationers’ CC XI. Others who were present Sunday, 

and had played in other President’s XI games in the 1970’s, 

included Peter Engledow, Dick Hersey, Tony Hemmings, 

Ian Meyrick and Geoff Blackmore, whilst Richard Slatford 

and Andrew Rose first played in the fixture in 1980. 

Finally, as most of you will be aware, I produced a brochure 

for the fortieth anniversary fixture in 2012, and Tony 

Hemmings asked me if I could produce an update / 

addendum, to cover the last ten years for inclusion in a 

future magazine. As my last game ‘in charge’ was in 2017, I 

have all the records I need for years forty-one to forty-five, 

but am a little short on detail (indeed memories) on the last 

five years. 

Of those five years: 

1. The game was rained off in 2018, but I do know who 

was in the team selected, as I have an email from Richard 

Slatford with the names, 

2. In 2019, the game was played, and there is a team 

photo in the magazine. Richard - do you have the 

scoresheet, if so, can you let me have a copy? 

3. There was no game in 2020 due to COVID, 

4. In 2021, Botany Bay ‘withdrew’ five days before the 

game. Richard - are you able to tell me who was in our 

selected XI? 

5. I took a photo of Sunday’s score-book, so I have all the 

details I need, other than P Cresswell’s first name - 

Richard - can you help? 

Finally, one bit of trivia, 

Dave Hudson’s 21 ball 

over in 2019, which cost 

34 runs, was beaten on 

Sunday, as the aforementioned 

P Cresswell’s 

twenty-four ball over 

went for 46 runs!! 

Geoff Blackmore 

ONE HUNDRED YEARS AGO... 

The December 1923 issue of ‘The Stationers’ Magazine reported 

on the origin of the ‘President’s Badge’ also known as the 

President’s Jewel, which was generously donated by a Past 

Master of the Stationers’ Company. Each year, the badge is 

passed on to the newly elected President at the Spring Lunch. In 

return, the immediate Past President receives a cloisonné enamel 

lapel badge and tie. 

Peter Thomas 

13


OSA GOLF SOCIETY 2022 

In July we played the Company at 

Abridge Golf Club. The Society 

retained the cup in a close match. Old 

Stationers’ 222 pts v Stationers’ 

Company 216 pts. 

Best scores on the day were Tony 

Barker with 40 pts, Colin Watkins 

also with 40 pts and Mandy Barker 

with 33 pts. 

In August we met at Dyrham Park 

for the second round of the stableford 

cup, where Robin Baker won the event with 38 pts, and Peter 

Bennett came second on the back 

nine count back having 34 pts along 

with Tim Westbrook. 

Nearest the pin in one was Roger 

Rufey, and nearest the pin in two was 

Bob Watts. 

In September we met at Millbrook 

Golf Club for the third round of the 

Stableford cup, where Bruce 

Robin Baker Kitchener won the event with 36 pts, 

Ray Humphries came second with 34 

pts and Peter Bennett came third with 33 pts 

Nearest the pin in one was Ray 

Humphries, and nearest the pin in 

two was Peter Bennett who also won 

the longest drive prize 

As a result of the best two scores out 

of three the Cup was shared by Peter 

Bennett & Bruce Kitchener who both 

had 72 pts. In third place was Colin 

Watkins with 60 pts. 

In October we met at Brickendon 

Grange for the three ball cup. This 

Cup was won by Peter Bennett, Phil 

Mike Kerlogue smiling in 

defeat. 

Peter Bennett & 

Bruce Kitchener 

Hibberd & Tony Mash with 71 pts and the runners up were Tim 

Westbrook, Robin Baker & John Champion with 69 pts 

Nearest the pin in one was Bob Watts, nearest the pin in two was 

Peter Bennett, and the longest drive was Phil Hibberd. 

My comments on the year 2022 

This was the best attended year we have had for a long time for 

which I am very grateful since it made organising easier, and as 

a society we are more attractive to courses generally. We had the 

inclusion of 4 new OS members this year, along with 5 guests 

who have now joined the society. We were able for the first time 

in several years to put out in excess of 12 members on every 

course we played on and, with the commitment of at least 

another 3 promised OS members next year, that should increase 

to 14 or more. 

We were blessed with good weather for nearly all our meetings, 

and it was also a special season for our oldest playing member 

Roy Saunders. Roy has been a member of the society since it’s 

inception and we commemorated it at our last meeting of the 

year with a presentation from the Society. We are as a society 

getting older and some of our meetings end up sounding like a 

hospital waiting room as the current state of our health is now 

clouding the sporting achievements of our youth. Having said 

that, the quality of shared stories, memories and experiences 

combined with a lot of humour make all of our meetings very 

enjoyable regardless of what happens on the golf course. 

One final point we have to address before next year is our 

playing speed. I will be reviewing this next year to see what we 

can all agree to ensure we do not hold up others playing on the 

course. Given that the best golfers are still winning 

the competitions, it would appear that our current society 

handicap system is working so we can continue with it next year, 

subject to you all agreeing. Also since we are a society, there is no 

need to adjust handicaps to the course slope because the only 

measurement is against ourselves. 

I will send out a list of proposed courses for next year and if 

anyone is interested in suggesting new courses, please let me 

know before the end of 2022. 

Looking forward to 2023 

Roger Rufey 

Phil Hibberd, Tony Mash & Peter Bennett 

Roy Saunders receives his long service award 

14


OSFC 2022/23 EARLY SEASON UPDATE 

The Annual OSFC Ex-Players Reunion Day took place on 29th 

October, a few weeks later than normal and a fine sunny day I’m 

sure helped produce a bumper turn out. As is usual, the following 

day, through a self inflicted fuzzy haze I attempted to list those 

that attended, apologies to any I’ve omitted and any I’ve 

included that weren’t actually there... it was a long day! 

My best recollections of attendees are as follows... Keith Allen, 

Max Bartram, Pete Bennett, Geoff Blackmore, Danny Bone, Terry 

Butler, Paul Cane, Bob Chambers, Nigel Clarke, Chris Davenport, 

Dave Deane, Peter Derrick, Dave Edwards, Rudi Ellis, Roger 

Engledow, Liam Gallagher, Graham Hawkins, Tony Hemmings, 

Dick Hersey, Harry Houldsworth, Ray Houldsworth, Dave Hudson, 

Brian Humphreys, John Jackson, Pete Jarvis, Richard Jenkins, Tony 

Joyce, Mike Kassie, Chris Langford, Ian Meyrick, Michael Michael, 

Eddie Naughton, Bobby North, Roger Rufey, Harry Shacallis, Dave 

Sheath, Kevin Spence, Keith Southam, Mark Tansley, John Taylor, 

Matt Taylor, Tony Theodoulou, Vince Wallace, Derek Williamson, 

Pete Wilson and Mike Wood. There were also quite a few who I 

know had intended to come but for various reasons couldn’t. 

As you will no doubt agree, the above represents a good cross 

section of ages, abilities and waistlines! 

Unfortunately we lost (which seems to be a common occurrence 

on Reunion Day) 1-2 to NU Oilers FC in SAL Senior Division 

2. An unfamiliar opposition to many, NU refers to Nottingham 

University (ex-students) who joined the SAL in 2013. 

At the time of writing, in mid-November the Club (nowadays 

it’s just the 1st XI) has had a fairly positive start to the season. 

Winning two and losing two in the League but in the Cups we 

have progressed in the Old Boys Senior Cup, defeating local 

rivals and holders Old Finchleians 2-1 and in the SAL Cup we 

have beaten two fellow Division 2 clubs, HSBC and Old 

Parmiterians to reach the last 16. 

In the AFA Senior Cup we had the misfortune to be drawn away 

to the current holders and Division 1 side Nottsborough 

(ex-students of Loughborough and Nottingham... again! 

Universities). In a close fought game and trailing 1-2 in the 

closing minutes, we had a penalty saved and they proceeded to 

break away and add a third! However it was a very creditable 

performance against one of the stronger teams in the SAL. 

Still early days, but our aim this season must be to continue the 

positive progress we’ve made in the last few years and 

consolidate our position in Division 2... Cup runs would be a 

nice bonus. 

Finally please check out our website www.oldstationersfc.co.uk 

for details of fixtures, results etc and if you are really stuck for 

something to do on a Saturday afternoon pop along to watch a 

game, the bar is open and there are usually a few old stalwarts in 

attendance. 

Ian Meyrick 

Football reunion after-match drinks and the gallery of athletes from yesteryear 

15


REUNIONS 

CLASS OF ’51 

This was once again held at the Old Manor, Potters Bar on 31st 

October 2022 and was attended by Dick Hersey, Michael Facey, 

Manfred Evans, Don Bewick, Michael Brady, John Taylor, David 

Turner and John Partridge 

Nigel Wade was expected to attend and it was a relief to find out 

later that he had just made an error in the date. Richard Wilson 

was also a late cry-off on health grounds. 

My day started with an early telephone call from David Turner, 

who lives not much more than a mile away, asking for a lift and 

only too happy to oblige remembering not so long ago, when I was 

so glad of those lifts home in style in one of his rather nice Jags 

driven by Jan following DT’s call from the Cockpit quite late on. 

On arrival, as in previous years, we found Manfred Evans, all the 

way by train from Exeter, had long since made himself comfortable 

and kindly offered us a drink, but we decided this time to have a 

Tab - with ever increasing drink prices, this seems the fairest 

way. Several strengths of Youngs Bitter were available and even 

the weakest which I of course had, was excellent. We were 

sometime awaiting everyone - but none of us other than 

Manfred and, of course, Michael Brady had much of a journey- 

John Taylor being just walking distance away. In my case I was 

intending not to drive as I could use my bus pass almost door to 

door - but it did make a change driving and so glad to have a 

little car as so easy to park - and no road tax - although I do at 

times miss my old Honda - which I got rid of a year or so ago 

when it had its catalytic converter nicked - these rogues just stole 

up our drive and did the evil deed in apparently just a few 

minutes, old Hondas being a particular target. Mine dated from 

2002 and ran beautifully, having only done 40,000 mile. 

Sometimes I do miss it, of course, but in other ways I’m glad of 

the change. 

Apologies were received from Bill Houldsworth, Dave Cowling, 

David Davies, Ian Moore, Michael Davis and Rev David 

Sochon. Also I phoned Alan Marshall and spoke to his wife, 

Marion. Sadly he is no better after his stroke a couple of years 

ago but does get out on a regular basis. 

Don Bewick 

OSA Ottawa Chapter 


This year, we managed three meetings in Ottawa, at the 

Carleton Tavern, a new venue. Former lunchtime haunt for 

Ottawa public servants, this place has suffered from the 

COVID work at home initiative. This year. we never had any 

difficulty finding a table. 

Art Morewood, John Bathurst and myself attended, but as the 

other two are not joiners they get their OS news second hand. 

Art spends winters in Florida and his last trip, with wife Dawn, 

involved driving an electric Mustang the 1500 miles. It was an 

interesting trip, especially when the car broke down in North 

Carolina. Perhaps Art could be persuaded to write it up for the 

OS. He’s off to Florida now, so our meetings will number just 

two until Art returns in the spring. 

In the meantime Art has brought copies of certificates won at 

school swimming events. As he was at school for only three 

years, he has little recollection of classmates. Perhaps the 

swimming certificates will trigger a memory for someone. 

OS Toronto Chapter 

Well not really, but I’ve been in touch with Russel Plumley and 

Oliver Manton on a recent visit to Toronto. We spent a couple 

of days enjoying fall sunshine on the Scarboro beaches, drinks 

at Castro’s on Queen Street and a bike ride up the Leslie Spit 

in Lake Ontario. 

Talk focussed on our mutual cycling experiences with the 

Norion Cycling Club in ’57-’58. Johnny Powell got us all started 

with that club but he dropped out soon after. We enjoyed many 

l to r: Dick Hersey, Michael Facey, Manfred Evans, Don Bewick, Michael Brady, John Taylor, David Turner and John Partridge 

16


Beach Boardwalk 

Les, John and Art at Carleton 

memorable club runs in Essex, Herts and Bucks. Oliver showed 

us his prize collection of bikes from that era including a Condor, 

Hetchins and Ephgrave, all in immaculate condition. Regrettably, 

we didn’t have time for a spin - maybe next visit ! 

Victoria Stakes 

Tony’s visit to the Victoria Stakes evokes memories of a time 

when it was the Friday night hangout for members of the 

Finsbury Park Cycling Club. 

At that time there was no dining room. In fact, what was then 

the gents was located in the yard. Little more than a tarred wall, 

a drain and a sprinkler, the whole thing was fed from an overhead 

tank, boxed and lagged to prevent freezing. 

At a moment when attention should have been focussed on the 

job in hand (so to speak), an upward glance in the direction of 

the tank would reveal a faded card stuck inside a gap in the box. 

The card must have dated back half a century. It proclaimed in 

bold caps the words : AMEN PILLS FOR LADIES , with an 

address in Balls Pond Rd. I doubt if the outdoor john survived 

the upgrade of Victoria Hotel to Victoria Stakes but I’m sure 

that if Tony had occasion to 

visit the gents, the card 

wouldn’t have escaped his 

notice. 

Tony’s Jag - Afterthought 

Mention of the Finsbury 

Park Cycling Club harks 

back to the time that a much 

younger and fitter Les set out 

to Sandy, in Bedfordshire to 

ride a 12 hour time trial. 

Les with Russel Plumley 

Oliver Manton with Condor Superb 

I don’t remember much about the ride itself other than the fact 

that the weather was perfect, so perfect in fact that I had to stop 

at a pub before the finish to quench a raging thirst. 

The most memorable aspect of the day was when brother Ray 

showed up in the aforementioned Jag, now somewhat damaged 

by an earlier T-bone accident. Mum & Dad had been lured out 

in the car with a promise not to exceed 30 mph. Mum watched 

that clock like a hawk all the way back, while Ray did his best to 

obscure her vision and avoid her all too frequent admonishments. 

My 226 mileage failed to earn me a BAR certificate and that was 

my one and only attempt at that distance. Bill Saberton was the 

only OS I knew to have joined FPCC but he wasn’t active at that 

time. 

Les Humphreys 

Canada 

Les, Oliver and Russel 


Another year passes and another excellent turnout at the 

Artillery Arms in Bunhill Row EC1. There were 16 of us in 

total enjoying a sustaining portion of mainly fish & chips. 

Graham Ling’s recovery from his knee operations sadly prevented 

him joining us (hope to see you next year Graham). 

In numbers we are going in the right direction: 14 last year and 

12 even in the Covid year – two strictly separated groups of six, 

in accordance with Boris’ firm instructions (ha ha!) So just like 

the Windmill Theatre in WW2, we never closed! 

As usual we were well looked after by our hostess Amelie and 

Laurie although her Pub Grub was not available. However, a local 

Chippy was pressed into service and Roger Engledow did an expert 

job in meeting the various requests with all the right condiments. 

17


Item one on the informal agenda for discussion was, of course, 

the result of the North London derby the previous weekend – 

with the red half regaining bragging rights. We then discussed 

the assorted medical conditions and remedies and who has to 

resort to golf trollies and/or carts, who can still hit a snooker ball 

reasonably well despite double vision etc. etc. 

Having got all that out of the way, there was much reminiscing 

about the various masters and the quality of their wisdom that 

they tried to drum into us. John Gore and his Latin set usually 

crops up, being a masterclass in achieving the best results with 

the least time and effort on his part. One of his many foibles that 

stick in my brain for some peculiar reason is that he delighted in 

calling Richard Phillippo the “lover of horses” from the Greek, 

and Richard Mavro-Michaelis “black Michael”. Richard M-M 

explained where the name came from. He descended from a 

Greek family in Cyprus but his great grandfather was dark 

skinned and he acquired the addition to his family name. Early 

racism?? 

Personally speaking and in hindsight I look back on my time at 

Stationers with great satisfaction and gratitude; not just forcing 

me through sufficient O-levels but instilling me with a degree of 

intellectual pragmatism and - dare I say – elitism, which stood 

me in good stead in the real World. Doc O’Connell’s oft 

repeated maxim: Get your heads down boys and get on with the 

work – it will be “money in your pocket” - and you must read a 

quality newspaper: the Sunday Times if nothing else. I reported 

this at home and out went the News of the World (that filthy rag 

bought just for the football). We had the Sunday Express as well 

but it was then joined by the Sunday Times for evermore. 

The reunions are a wonderful concept; in the company of these 

somewhat wizened faces we are taken back to our fresh faced 

youth of more than 60 years ago and revel in the fact that most 

of us are “still standing after all these years”. We look surprisingly 

spry in the photograph above but this was obviously towards the 

end of the afternoon with help from alcoholic stimulation 

producing a nice colour in the cheeks. 

The attenders left to right were: Richard Phillippo, Richard 

Mavro-Michaelis, Bob Townsend, Alan Williams, Ray Humphreys 

(sunglasses), Ken Saunders, Tony Hemmings, Andy Wick (seated), 

Bob Harris, Ron Johnson (seated), Roger Melling, Paul Edwards, 

Roger Engledow, Doug Fussell (seated) and Tony Moffat. As the 

best looking amongst us Roy Stephenson had decided he needed 

to leave before cameras were remembered! 

Apologies were received from: Geoff Dawes, Ian Smith, Martin 

Brown, Peter Weeks, Tony McKeer, Mike Weatherley & David 

Hartwell – so we might have one or two more next year? 

Gratifyingly Roger was able to state no losses from the 1954 

cohort reported this year! David Hartwell keeps in touch but he 

left these shores sometime in the 60s or 70s but has never 

returned. He is the epitome of “still you are Stationers far as you 

roam”. Perhaps when he finally retires from his Real Estate 

business in Canada, he will come and join us. 

Long may it continue and long may Roger keep us organised so 

well – you’ve got the job for life old chap… 

Alan Williams 

PS: (Not so much of the “old”)! 

Our next reunion has been booked 

with Amelie at the Artillery Arms 

for Tuesday 3rd October 2023. 

As you can see from the photo of 

Amelie (left) and her very helpful 

assistant Laurie we may need to 

offer our best baby-sitting services 

next year. 


Below please find 2 photographs of the latest reunion of the 1955 

intake. The first shows Adrian Andrusier our "official" photographer 

who is absent from the second photo since he took it!!! 

The 10, from left to right, are 

[left hand side] David Sheath, 

Mike Mote, Frank Pearce, Roger 

Edmonston and [right hand 

side] Alan Hunt, me, Peter 

Bonner Brian Howlett*, Trevor 

Fenner and Mike Geering. 

We sent our best wishes to 

Greg Levitt who was unwell 

18


PRESIDENT’S WELCOME SPEECH 

and thus prevented from attending. Geoff Gascoigne had a prior 

golf engagement and David Triesman is preparing for government 

- again! 

* Winner of the Mrs Joyful Prize for longest distance travelled in 

the day - 450 miles!!!! 

Let me know if you need anything. 

Best wishes, Keith Knight 


REUNION AND 60th ANNIVERSARY 

On Tuesday September 6th the class of 1962 convened to 

celebrate the 60th anniversary of our first day at Stationers’ 

school. The venue was The Globe at Moorgate where we had an 

upstairs private room with dedicated bar staff and waitresses to 

look after our food and drink requirements. Dan produced a 

video slide show which played on a big screen capturing 

memories from previous reunions and Colin produced a 

comprehensive year book containing 192 pages of our shared 

history. 

Historically we have been meeting every 5 years (2012, 2017, 

2022) mainly due to the organisational effort required to produce 

such an event but the consensus on the day was to move to future 

reunions every 2 years which is partly due to our hedonistic 

instincts and partly as a fatalistic recognition that our numbers 

will decline as the years pass by. 

The good news is that we had £400 left in the beer kitty which 

will give us a running start to funding our next reunion in 2024. 

Welcome to the 60th year reunion of the class of 62. Exactly 60 

years ago to the day we started at the school. It was a Tuesday 

and the 6th day of the month. (A post Reunion Day inquest was 

completed in less than 24 hours by our past President and 

declared an alternative fact for our post truth times – the fact: 6th 

September 1962 was a Thursday) 

And welcome to our guests, our sage teachers Clive and John. So 

good to have you with us again.Think of it, 60 years older and 

wiser. In those 60 years I’m sure we’ve all grown wiser…. but I 

fear many of us have also grown wider. (opens jacket) 

I’d firstly like to thank Tim. The effort he has expended to pull 

off this event again is extraordinary, many thanks Tim – applause. 

Thanks too, to Colin Williams for his work updating our 

Yearbook (waves book). Unfortunately, Colin has a medical 

engagement and can’t be with us. Nothing too concerning he 

assures us. We wish him well. (post Reunion Day update, Colin 

made it on the day and we are delighted he was able to be with 

us – he remains one of our tallest former classmates) 

Colin’s researches have created a treasure trove of facts…. and 

even more near-truths… 

The word exceptionalism has been largely discredited by our last 

Prime Minister but I believe it’s particularly appropriate when 

reviewing the exploits of our year …. who would have thought 

that we would number in our midst a bed knob maker and a 

Central Banker…. 

Some of us have roamed and worked afar – to California to study, 

to Singapore and Washington to, well, err…. bank, to Madrid to 

teach English and one, to get as far away as he could from blighty 

to New Zealand, to keep aeroplanes flying in the air….. but only 

one of us took the Magic Bus to India where he made a successful 

career making bed knobs.. 

Other surprises include managing the showy band of the 70s, 

Showaddywaddy, another has lawfully dispensed sleepy drugs 

and another used his misspent youth in the Prefect’s room 

training to become a Bridge Master. 

One of my favourites is, and I quote “70 is the new 60” and as the 

T-shirt says “we may be old but we got to see all the good 

bands”… which must lead me to the nearest of near truths, our 

school year created one hugely successfully Rod Stewart 

impersonator – where is he today, no doubt double-booked and 

crooning in a club in South Yorkshire? 

I won’t name names, but you know who you are… and you are all 

now in detention! 

Memories of friends made and friends reunited. That’s what 

today is about. And I want to get sober for a moment - yes Tim 

and I have been tucking it away since 10 this morning. 

Most of you will have read page 25 of the July issue of the OSA 

Magazine, no 95. Of course, you did. I’d recommend it, it’s a classy 

piece written by me… those who were at the President’s Day 

Cricket adventure a week ago will recognise what comes next... you 

can talk amongst yourselves... the rest of you pay attention... 

What unites us is this desire to get together and remember those 

formative years. And this is why I’ve wanted to find a way of 

capturing those reminiscences to add to the Stationers’ archive 

on our website and, how the idea of the oral and video history 

initiative was born. I launched the OSA Memories Project as 

19


part of my Presidency with that short piece in the July magazine. 

It’s the stories we share when we meet up that help us frame our 

personal histories and in turn the history of the school. They are 

the glue that binds us and the OSA together, and I hope that you 

will all help with this celebration of school day recollections and 

join with me to make the OSA Memories Project a success. And 

this include our teachers who are fully encouraged to join in. Do 

speak to me later…. I am your helpdesk assistant or email me. 

Thank you all for coming today and I look forward to working 

with you to produce the first full-feature video for the OSA 

website made by the class of 62.. 

And finally, we are all proud Stationers and five of us from our 

year are, or have been, presidents of the OSA, a record for a 

single year I believe. Who will be the sixth I wonder? 

Danny Bone 

Charlie Webster-Smith 

TIM’S WELCOME SPEECH 

Dave Hudson 

The class of 1962 is a remarkable year group, indeed, a record 

breaking year group. 

In 2012 for our 50th anniversary reunion we had 42 attendees 

– a record that will never be beaten. 

In 2017 for our 55th anniversary reunion we had 37 attendees 

– a record that will never be beaten. 

This year for our 60th anniversary we have 30 attendees, and yes, 

it is yet another record! 

When you think about it, it’s almost unbelievable that a third of 

pupils that joined Stationers in 1962 are here today reminiscing 

about school life together and the different paths we have taken 

since saying farewell to Mayfield Road for the last time. 

Although our numbers are slowly declining I have only been 

notified of one death since we last met, Dereck Allum had a 

serious stroke and died 3 years ago. 

As Dan has mentioned, Colin Williams has refreshed our year 

book with updated profiles and photos now filling 190 pages. A 

couple of printed copies are here for you to browse this afternoon 

but we will add the 2022 60th anniversary group photo from 

today and send you a link so you can view the content at your 

leisure. 

Another record we hold is being the class with the most members 

in the Old Stationers Association. From a membership universe 

of 500 ex pupils, 31 are from our year. If you have not previously 

considered joining the OSA, now is a good time to do so. For the 

price of a beer and a cheese sandwich (£15 in real money) you get 

two magazines a year which you can contribute to, plus 

invitations to our four London based lunches. With Dan as our 

President this year, I am sure he will welcome your participation 

in the OSA. Membership forms are available on our web site at 

www.oldstationers.co.uk. 

Before concluding, I would like to give a special welcome to our 

guests Clive Blenkinsop and John Leeming conveniently 

bridging the Arts and Sciences divide and thereby being able to 

answer any lingering academic questions you might have had on 

your mind for the last 60 years! 

Enjoy the rest of the afternoon. 

Tim 

Simon Green & Tim Westbrook 

Attendees at the Class of 1962 60th Anniversary Reunion 

Simon Attar 

John Banwell 

Dan Bone 

Clive Blenkinsop 

Peter Bothwick 

Stephen Collins 

Geoff Dent 

David Ford 

Dave Gamester 

Simon Green 

John Gray 

Graham Hobbs 

Dave Hudson 

Terry Jaggers 

Peter Jarvis 

John Lambert 

John Leeming 

Robert Pizzey 

Peter Prazsky 

Graham Rawlings 

Brian Shade 

David Shaw 

Barry Soames 

Mark Templeman 

Ross Thompson 

Michael Boscoe 

Roger Turkington 

Charlie Webster-Smith 

John Welch 

Tim Westbrook 

Terry Wyld 

Geoff Dent, John Lambert and Graham Rawlings 

20


Stationers’ had taken it upon themselves to carry Martin 

Lawrence down to the Beck with the intention of throwing him 

in! We never discovered what he had done. 

Terry Jaggers 


On Wednesday 27th October 2022 at around midday eleven Old 

Stationers from the Class of ’63 met at The Parcel Yard, King’s 

Cross, for their sixth reunion in recent years, although the first 

since 2019. Nigel Adams made his usual grand entrance 

(disgracefully late), but was unusually well behaved - for him - 

throughout the meal. Once again a good time was had by all. 

Old Boys assembled from Wellingborough to 

Warrington, Sussex to St Albans, and 

Broxbourne to Bradford-on-Avon. It is a matter 

of regret that we have contact with about 45% of 

our year group, but the majority either remain 

elusive or choose to be absent. Next year is the 

60th anniversary of our arrival at the School – 

and we aim to do better! 

As usual a few well-chosen pints loosened tongues 

and reminiscences were bounced back and forth 

across our long table in the “Ladies Waiting 

Room”. “Neddie” Segall finally admitted that he 

refused to climb the waterfall in Gordale Scar on 

the 1969 Geology Field Trip, fleeing the scene 

with the immortal words: “Not worth an O-level”. 

Ned’s memory of that trip was remarkable given 

that it happened over 50 years ago and that, for 

most of us participating, we were experiencing the 

effects of alcohol for the first time! He still bears 

Tony Little a grudge for leading us astray on our 

hike around Ingleborough and Pen-y-Ghent. 

Tony was something impressive in the Air 

Training Corps (he later went to Cranwell and 

became an RAF officer), and took charge of the 

map reading. As a result our group almost fell 

down Gaping Ghyll, an infamous local sink hole; 

and Steve and Ned both remember scrabbling 

about in the mist on the Ingleborough rocks, 

accompanied by a million sheep, trying to find the 

path down to Horton-in-Ribblesdale. By a 

miracle we found the café at Horton and later 

returned to our camp at Malham – although 

some of us were detained playing bar billiards in 

the Horton pub. Many of us regretted the sad 

demise of that erstwhile favourite game! 

Relaxing at our camp that evening a ruckus 

revealed that two campers not attached to 

Terry Wyld 

Other reminiscences included the prominence that Bridge 

played in our school lives. Apparently Jon Stern taught us the 

game during Form business in the 3rd Form. Many of our year 

group became accomplished players. There were inter-school 

events and weekend conventions at Steve Boulton’s palatial 

house in Whetstone. Ollie Bradley, probably the cleverest boy in 

our year, considered any other leisure activity as “a waste of 

valuable bridge-playing time”. As a reaction to this some 

iconoclasts in the Lower Sixth Arts Form (probably led by me!) 

set up the Snap club for lunchtime amusement. The idea was 

that our loud cries of “snap” and general squabbling would be 

more fun than the serious business going on around other groups 

of desks. It might be expected that we had matured somewhat 

since those days. Thankfully behaviour at the reunion suggested 

otherwise – and long may that continue! 

Attendees were (clockwise from front in photo below): Bob 

“Neddie” Segall, Alan Burgess, Frank Clapp, Clive Jackson, Jon Stern, 

Nigel Adams, Keith Hacker, Peter Winter, Chris Bell. Not in the 

picture: Nigel Dant and Steve Bensley. 

Steve Bensley 

21


THE BEST LAID PLANS…. 

… how the Stationers’ Hall has been revitalised for generations 

to come. 

My previous articles (OSA 94 and 95) explored the opportunities 

and constraints in executing important improvements to the 

functioning of Stationers’ Hall. My focus was on the requirements 

of the Stationers’ Company to remodel their Grade 1 Listed 

Building to ensure its fitness for purpose to meet environmental 

targets and 21st century business challenges. 

The upgrade of the Hall has been a long time in the planning. 

Great enterprise and energy have been demonstrated by 

Company members, starting with client briefings and working 

through to the detailed contributions from a number of 

committees and supported throughout by the Hall’s staff during 

design and construction programmes. 

This article surveys the outcomes of the project from the 

perspective of the Clerk, Giles Fagan, and the observations of 

Old Stationers. 

Architectural projects are typically characterised as being ‘oneoff 

’ actions which test clients, 

architects and builders in 

equal measure. To those 

challenges add the tasks and 

responsibilities facing the 

group of players, as custodians 

of protected historic 

structures, and you have 

complex administrative and 

functional building changes 

to be navigated. Change can 

be unsettling, but it can also 

provide a revival of motivation 

and ambition. 

Giles Fagan 

22


The Apostles christen the new dining facility. 

I recently met with Giles 

Fagan and asked him whether 

the changes to the organisation 

and functioning of the 

Hall had been as successful as 

anticipated. “We’ve succeeded 

in giving it a life beyond what 

it already had. Cast your mind 

back to what the Hall was like 

before. With 18 different levels 

it was only accessible to certain 

people.” 

“The heating system was archaic - big iron radiators and big boilers 

to heat them. We’ve definitely improved the efficiency of the heating 

system, which now cools as well.” Did the Hall work well in the hot 

summer weather? “Yes, as soon as we were open the weather was 

really hot, we had a heat wave and we put it on and it was 

fantastic…you saw the immediate improvement and it really did 

work well for the events, making the Hall a much more comfortable 

place to be in the sweltering heat.” 

The subtle incorporation of this new technology was 

enthusiastically valued by many and best summed up by Peter 

Jarvis. “We were all impressed by the seamless integration of airconditioning 

into what were formerly mere radiator/heating outlets 

23


in the Hall. It really was pretty much impossible to see any exterior 

change from their original state.” 

I was particularly interested to understand how the Link 

Building had been received as a modern architectural intervention, 

providing wheelchair access for the first time between the Court 

Room and the Hall. Giles has received “Lots of feedback that the 

modern bit and the old bit integrates really well”. 

In addition, the old library room (above the Court Room) has 

been redesigned as part of a new offer of conference and meeting 

rooms to improve the commercial functioning of the Estate. 

Giles is delighted with this new commercial facility, “The third 

floor conference space is doing better than we imagined. People really 

like it and the AV equipment is top quality. The floor can be used as 

one big space or divided into smaller ones. And you can’t hear adjacent 

events due to very good sound insulation between rooms.” said Giles. 

Chris Langford was also impressed. “I would imagine it offers an 

ideal and flexible opportunity for people coming into the City for 

meetings, City companies that wish to have refreshments as well as 

the use of small seminar rooms”. 

And the centre piece of the Link Building – the Charter Room 

– was applauded widely. 

“The consensus view was that the room suited a group of this size 

admirably. Everyone appreciated the décor and the magnificent view 

of the Hall Garden. The catering and service were also deemed to be 

of a high order, prompting the satisfied customers to discuss returning 

to the Hall in the New Year.” said Tony Mash, speaking of the 

Apostle’s September Lunch, being the first external event held in the 

room. “A very comfortable and attractive room ideal for groups of up 

to 12 dining. Great view from full-height wall-to-wall windows of 

the Company's famous London Plane tree and its garden.” added 

Peter Jarvis. 

And the food and booze were highly prized too. Mike Mote, 

emoted, “The food was excellent and a lovely room looking out on the 

garden. Oh, and the wine wasn’t bad either!” 

Our Secretary, Peter Thomas - the man who employs architects 

- summed up the achievement of the Hall renovations experienced 

by all at the Christmas lunch: “I was most impressed with the new 

Link Building’s clean lines and timeless design, used sympathetically 

to dovetail the new with the old. I came away with a strong belief 

that its design will still look fresh in 100 years’ time. Whilst in the 

Hall, one cannot help but marvel at the clever array of concealed 

technical and engineering solutions employed to create a more 

comfortable environment.” 

I concluded my discussion with Giles by asking him about the 

response from his members to the changes. “We’ve had a lot of 

Liverymen and Freeman when they first came back saying that it 

surpasses expectations. They weren’t expecting so much… and it is 

fantastic. ” 

I then asked, what were the highlights and the low lights for him 

of the past two and half years? 

“The reopening, the effect the cooling system has had - meant to be 

80% more efficient – with a real positive step in the right direction 

for a historic building. Low lights - probably finding archaeology, 

although wonderful to find archaeology it was four months lost, 

putting a strain on time and money, and then we had to rush the 

reopening in order to open by that date. So, instead of having 

practical completion on one day we had sectional completions which 

wasn’t ideal but we got it open and you learn lots of lessons from here.” 

All in all, you are a happy chappy, I said, “overall very happy” Giles 

replied. 

Daniel Bone 

24


A MEMORY OF STATIONERS SCHOOL 

I should probably never have been a pupil at Stationers’ School. 

My older brother Simon was a hard working swot who was 

recovering from polio when he passed his eleven plus to gain a 

place at the best grammar school in Hornsey. He astutely 

concluded that with a damaged lung and flat feet, he wasn’t going 

to be successful at sport so he set about his studies with a diligent 

focus that earned him promotion to the top academic stream and 

subsequently, an entry to university at Trinity, Cambridge. I am 

not sure I passed the eleven plus but I suspect the sibling 

connection must have played a large part in securing a place at 

Stationers to follow in Simon’s footsteps. 

In September of 1962 I got the W7 bus from Muswell Hill with 

Peter Bodington and Victor Truss, class mates from primary 

school, and then walked along Weston Park, up Mayfield Road 

and entered Stationers’ School for the first time. It was a 

daunting experience, both in terms of the massive building and 

the sheer number of pupils massing on the top terrace to find 

their newly designated class rooms. My class room was room 10, 

allocated to S-Z surname first year’s, classified as form 1B which 

we shared with the stick insects in a giant glass cabinet. I never 

did find out what they were doing there. The room was unique 

in that it had a series of steps upon which the 30 desks were 

placed, providing an uninterrupted, banked view of the twin 

black boards at the front where our form master, Norman 

Rimmer would conduct the roll call. We were given a timetable 

for all our chosen lessons and the names of the teachers who 

would be in charge. It didn’t take me more than a month to 

realise that Maths, Physics, Chemistry, Latin, and Geography 

were not subjects that I would excel at. Woodwork had the 

attraction of at least being practical. I remember the ship and the 

School building 

egg rack which I gave to my parents for Christmas. Buoyed by 

this early success we graduated to a more challenging task 

altogether, a coffee table. This was assembled with a garish slab 

of “Fablon” supported by 4 legs connected to cross members 

joined through a mortis joint. Each week Mr Sloggit the 

woodwork teacher would come around and offer his judgement 

on our progress. I remember my good friend Victor Truss racing 

ahead with his construction and was one of the first to declare he 

had completed the task but Mr Sloggit disagreed. He put his 

hand on the table top and it wobbled about sufficiently to 

dislodge a cup of coffee (it was a coffee table after all). He advised 

Victor to spend time levelling off the legs which he did for the 

next 3 weeks! Eventually, an exasperated Mr Sloggit suggested to 

him that he used the final 3 weeks of term dispensing with the 

legs and turning it into a tea tray! 

My only memory of physics was the very first lesson with Mr 

Holly. The physics lab was on the top floor with a fabulous view 

North across the valley to Alexandra Palace. Lesson one was to do 

with magnetism. Mr Holly explained that a freely suspended bar 

magnet would always point due North. To illustrate the point he 

picked up a bar magnet with the word “North” painted at one end 

in bright orange letters, climbed on a chair and suspended it from 

a drawing pin in the ceiling. There followed guffaws of laughter 

as the magnet twizzled around with North pointing in the 

opposite direction to the Palace and resolutely stayed there 

irrespective of Mr Holly’s prodding and coaxing. If only the 

subsequent years of attendance in the physics lab had been 

equally amusing I might have stuck with it and become a scientist. 

Thankfully a visit to the school playing fields in Winchmore Hill 

provided a welcome respite from the drudgery of academia. 3 

football pitches, a cricket square, tennis courts, long jump and 

high jump pits plus an athletic track gave me the opportunity to 

excel and restore a semblance of self-esteem. Saturday morning 

football fixtures, representing the school were the highlight of 

my week and I am indebted to my dad who along with Mr Bone 

and Mr Copleston, were regular supporters on the touchline 

come rain or shine. 

One other amusing memory was in the 5th year when I had been 

given a detention following a particularly hostile exchange with 

the geography teacher, Mr Topley. Gus Thomas called out the 

names of those who should have been in the detention room and 

they then confirmed their presence. He got to Harrison Phillips, 

a newbie from the sub-continent who had just joined the school 

from Priory Vale. There was no reply. After a deathly hush of 5 

seconds Gus asked Peter Prazsky ( a stalwart of the detention 

Room 10 

High jump 

25


School football team 

The hall with exam desks laid out 

room) to stand up and said, “ 

Prazsky, if you can scour the 

building, find Harrison 

Phillips and bring him here, 

you may go home with your 

detention expunged from the 

records.” Peter marched off 

down the corridor and after 5 

minutes we could hear the 

sound of scuffling and 

The elusive badge whining followed by Harrison 

Phillips being manhandled 

into the detention room. It may well have been inappropriate but 

a ripple of applause broke out in recognition of Prazsky’s success. 

Even Gus showed a wry smile as he gave Prazsky permission to 

leave. 

I continued representing the school at football, cricket and 

athletics through to the 6th form, winning the Victor Ludorum 

champion athlete trophy which is still pride of place on my 

bookshelf. But at the end of the lower 6th, I was compelled to 

take a Saturday morning job to fund my social life and was 

unable to continue playing for the school, and instead signed up 

to play for the Old Stationers in the afternoons. In an 

unprecedented act of spite the school ‘powers that be’ decided to 

punish me by ensuring that of all the upper 6th pupils, I was the 

only one not made a prefect and unsurprisingly this has 

detrimentally coloured my 

judgement of the school and 

those teachers complicit in 

this mean-hearted action. 

I had no regrets about leaving 

the school premises after 

sitting my A levels and 

assumed that would be the 

last time I crossed the threshhold. 

But I was wrong. Three 

years later I decided to apply 

to Warwick University as a 

“mature” student (thereby 

receiving a full grant) but 

needed to re-sit my Economics A level. I revisited the school and 

spoke to Joe Symons who generously arranged for me to sit the 

exam in the school hall with all the 6th form pupils of 1972. He 

also lent me a copy of the Lipsey text book and told me what 

questions were likely to crop up. I got the grades, went to 

Warwick and graduated in 1975. 

I have kept in touch with many of my class mates from Stationers 

and 60 years exactly from my first day at school, we had an 

anniversary reunion in London attended by 30 pupils from the 

class of 1962. 

Tim Westbrook October 2022 

26


TALES FROM THE DETENTION ROOM 

HOGWARTS PERSONIFIED? 

I had lived in Allison Road in Harringay (as it was then spelt) all 

of my eleven years when, in September 1962, I had to make the 

journey to the Stationers’ School for the first time. A great deal 

of fuss had ensued after my parents learned I had somehow 

passed my 11 plus (the exciting visit to Keevans outfitters to 

purchase uniform and other necessaries remains one vivid 

memory as for many other boys). Additionally, by virtue of his 

earlier attendance there from 1952 and his emergence apparently 

unscathed, my older brother John had, albeit unawares, convinced 

me all would be well. Indeed, knowing and admiring his close 

group of firm friends (including Geoff Slipper; Terry Comerford 

and Tony Cole), part of me was looking forward to it all. After 

all, everyone I knew said it was a Very Good School. 

The other part of me, however, was rather less positive; and what 

greeted me when I finally walked up the hill from Harringay 

Station, along Quernmore, Oakfield and Ridge Roads to descend 

Denton Road and gain access did nothing to assuage the doubts! 

In those days Harry Potter and his almer mater Hogwarts hadn’t 

been thought or heard of so I couldn’t draw that particular 

comparison: but after my much smaller Infant and Junior schools 

in St Ann’s Road, Tottenham, this building was vastly impressive 

from outside and being at the top of a hill had outdoor playing 

areas on no less than FOUR terraces descending to a rough field. 

Despite it being declared “Out of Bounds” I would explore the 

latter a little more in times to come after discovering the school 

beyond it was Hornsey High School for Girls. 

Awe began to replace earlier confidence almost immediately as 

“new boys” had to assemble on the top terrace. Names were read 

out in alphabetical order as each of us were assigned to one of 3 

forms: but my main concern was that the names before mine, 

(two Hudsons), were apparently far more advanced educationally 

than anything I could offer, since they BOTH already had letters 

after their names! 

Hudson DC and Hudson DTC. How would I possibly keep up? 

Inside the building my apprehension only increased as I tried to 

take in the wonderful central staircase, the beautiful Assembly 

Hall; Honour Roll and pipe organ. As days turned into weeks I 

became better acquainted with other marvellous facilities: the 

fully equipped gymnasium; the woodwork and metalwork room; 

the canteen; the Chemistry and Physics labs; even some of the 

basic classrooms were to become old friends in time (especially, 

I regret to say, Room 15). Best of all in my view, were the playing 

fields at Winchmore Hill. Three football pitches; the best cricket 

square in North London; an athletics track; tennis courts; and 

above all a superb pavilion with changing facilities/showers 

upstairs and a Tuck Shop below. 

To reach this Utopia necessitated collection of a half-fare bus 

ticket each week from the Office of Commander Cutler, the 

School Secretary. Unfortunately, being larger than the average 

school pupil it wasn’t long before, in addition to hitting my head 

on the roof of the upper deck (which we all tended to prefer), I 

was being refused access to the bus because the conductors 

thought I was old enough to pay full fare: a problem my Mother 

overcame by the simple provision of a copy of my Birth 

Certificate. Whether that would convince bus drivers today I 

sincerely doubt: but this was long before everything in life fell 

into the realm of the bean counters. 

A MISSPENT CHILDHOOD 

My talents soon began to develop. Unfortunately they were very 

clearly NOT academic (much to my Father’s evident regret on 

those horrible days when I had to carry home the dreaded School 

Report with all my secrets revealed. “Could do better” was a rare 

compliment with regard to anything like Physics or Chemistry. 

More frequently such reports amounted to “Couldn’t do much worse”. 

French, German, Geography, History and Maths might produce an 

“Average” here or there, perhaps even an occasional “Good”. 

In English Language and English Literature (under Gus 

Thomas) I could claim some reasonable ability, although I still 

wake sometimes at night sweating at remembrance of one 

occasion when I should really have just kept quiet. Gus Thomas 

had announced in his inimitable way that he wanted us to listen, 

that evening, to a particular programme which was to be 

broadcast at a particular time on the “steam radio” and then to 

write an essay upon it as our homework. My objection, on the 

basis that at home we had only an electric radio, produced 

considerable laughter at my expense, to which I think Gus added 

(yet another) “See me in Detention this evening” – hence the 

reference to Room 15 above. 

Gus had his regular habits: and I had mine. Over the years, 

therefore, we got along pretty well on the whole. His two most 

memorable habits were to take the Detention class most evenings 

and usually to arrive smelling of Bovril. (In later years I began to 

suspect the Bovril was used to mask the aroma of Gin). My most 

regular habit was to be there to greet him. His role as Doyen of 

the Detention Room did, however, seem to suit his dry sense of 

humour. On one occasion in my later years at the school I had 

the temerity, (I cannot recall why), to arrive after him and 

entered the room to find everyone already scrawling their lines. 

As I struggled to dream up a credible apology he glanced up at a 

small first former in a corner of the back row and, pointing at 

him, snarled “Get out of that seat, boy: that’s where Jarvis sits!” 

In fact it was a project set by Gus Thomas (to write about 

something of particular interest – in my case guitars) which led 

to one of my few legitimate uses of the wonderful library; an 

unusually high mark; and helped steer me further away from the 

paths of academe. 

My talents, such as they were, seemed unfortunately to be more 

practical than academic in nature. Woodworking; metal working; 

and Engineering Drawing taught by those two incredibly named 

masters, Naylor and Slogget, all received fairly sound marks even 

if they were not exceptional; and my enthusiasm for football and 

cricket was rewarded with a consistent presence in the School 

and House Teams for both sports. Lastly, to complete the finest 

possible recipe for misspent childhood, it was the ’60s and music 

succeeded in distracting me entirely from anything as mundane 

as Homework. 

I was going to form or join a band. That, though, is another story. 

For the moment, almost all the effort which should have gone 

into study went instead into football and other sports, including 

many hours in training in the gym and cycling “as far as I 

roamed”. Why? I enjoyed it, yes, but I also realised I needed to 

control my weight. I wasn’t a natural athlete and ate far too much 

sugar so tended toward excess weight. (Tended? My rotund 

shape at Junior school had landed me with the nickname “Jaffa” 

Jarvis – after a well-known brand of large round orange). 

27


It must have worked to a degree at least because as well as 

thriving in the school sports teams, at some stage in 1966 I was 

one of four boys (myself, Tim Westbrook, Danny Bone and Dave 

Hudson) packed off to Roehampton during the Summer 

holidays for a fortnight where we were to train and compete for 

a place in the England Schoolboys side. 

My training and competing was unfortunately curtailed by injury 

in the first week. In those days, I tried to emulate that great 

Arsenal goalkeeper Jack Kelsey whose game was all about setting 

your own position at the correct angle to the opposing forward, 

so as to minimise his target area. Accordingly, when a forward was 

approaching, I would advance with the aim of spreading virtually 

horizontal as I met him in order to take the ball (or him, which 

sadly would not be allowed nowadays!). Unfortunately the coach 

of my particular squad believed a goalkeeper had to dive head first 

toward the ball, landing on his preferred 

shoulder – which seemed ridiculous to 

me: why give the opponent so 

comparatively small an obstruction and 

so large a target area beyond? 

Regardless, I was put in goal and told 

to face the rest of the squad (21 players) Pete in action 

who were all lined up across the edge of 

the area, each with a ball. In quick succession, they were to 

dribble into the area and score. My job was to stop each of them 

using the coach’s “headfirst dive onto my preferred (left) 

shoulder” and then take on the next. 

I should have refused. Had I done so, as my doctor told me later, 

I might have played for the whole of the imminent season. 

Instead, of course, I tried to do as asked (as was expected then) 

and paid the price. 

When I finally made it back to the changing rooms, it took (I 

think) between four and six of my squad to help ease my jersey 

off. I certainly could not do it unaided and whilst I was 

generously told by our “coach” that I could still attend for the rest 

of the fortnight, (which I did), the experience was merely as a 

bystander. 

The whole arm (shoulder to wrist) turned wonderful deep 

shades of blues, purples, reds and greens over ensuing days and I 

was out of football for weeks, never to know whether I might 

have made the final squad (though I have my doubts as there 

were some very good ‘keepers’ there). Nonetheless, it was a great 

experience, which reached a wonderful pinnacle (I think on the 

last day) when Bobby Moore, George Cohen and one other 

(Alan Ball?) from the England squad came out to meet us: a 

couple of weeks later they had won the World Cup. 

Eventually, football at school was resumed and much enjoyed 

under Sid Holmes, Langdon, and the wonderful Welshman, 

Marsden Hubbard whose great encouragement enthused me to 

play for many years afterward for Old Stationers FC. 

Peter Jarvis 

Having consulted those two well-known oracles of OSFC 

(Ian Meyrick and Dave Hudson), to confirm 3 names I was 

unsure of, I can advise as follows: 

Ian M believes this to be the very first appearance of an OS 

Mega Vets side (minimum 35 years of age) and was 

organised by Marsden. Ian was playing on the adjacent 

pitch for OS Vets v O Finch’s. David believes it would have 

been around 1986, based on the fact that he was something 

of a "ringer" at just under 35. If that is so, (since he and I 

share the same birthdate), then I too was not officially 

supposed to be playing! Can’t recall the score - something 

like 2 or 3 - nil to OS I think, so given our unofficial status 

I suppose to be absolutely fair to Old Finch, we should 

organise a replay! 

Back row L to R: 

Charlie Cruden; Dave Hudson; Dave Cox; Jim Townsend; 

Peter Bennett; Mike Mote; Chris Langford; ??; Self 

Front row L to R: 

Tony Pigden; Pete Clydesdale; Marsden Hubbard; Jim Mulley; 

Mick Evans; Keith Allen; Mike Weatherly 

28


HISTORIC PUBS SOUTH OF THE RIVER THAMES 

Pubs overlooking the River Thames have an attractive outlook, 

so the intrepid four Old Stationers’ pub explorers (Roger 

Engledow, Bob Harris, Roger Melling and I) decided to find 

some. Bob Harris suggested that pubs south of the Thames were 

very historic, so off we went. 

view of the Thames. There were quite small, dark rooms which 

were very atmospheric. The pub offers a real ale, Mayflower 

Scurvy Ale (ABV 3.9%), which is specially brewed for them by 

Greene King. It is a tasty amber ale and we enjoyed it a lot as it 

was the first drink of the day. Bob Harris was heard to say, “Give 

me bit of scurvy please”. Strange request! 

One last thing. They are the only pub licenced to sell UK and US 

postage stamps. So I bought a UK first class stamp just because 

I could. Our next stop was The Ship just up the road. 

THE SHIP 

The Mayflower. Left to right: a very thirsty Roger Engledow, 

Bob Harris and Roger Melling 

The pub is in the District of Rotherhithe, situated in the London 

Borough of Southwark. The name Rotherhithe is Saxon for 

“sailors’ haven” and at one time, most of the parish of Rotherhithe 

was covered by marshland and sailors would have been glad to 

have arrived there from their worldly travels needing food and 

drink. Rotherhithe was also famous for its ship building industry 

during the 17th century. 

The Ship used to be a Young’s pub until recently when it was 

bought by Punch together with 36 other pubs. Young’s started out 

as a brewery in the 1831 in Wandsworth when they bought the 

Ram Brewery which dated from 1576. Young’s still have over 200 

pubs in London and the South East. In 2006 it announced that 

the Wandsworth brewery was to close and all the brewing was to 

be carried out at the Eagle Brewery in Bedford then owned by 

Charles Wells. Today, The Eagle Brewery is owned by Marston’s. 

The interior of the pub has a central serving area and a horseshoe 

seating area around it. It also has a pretty garden at the back and 

seating in the front, but it was a bit too cold for that. They had 

three real ales available of which one was Young’s London 

Original (another amber ale, 3.7%), so we had a pint of that. 

THE MAYFLOWER 

Our first drinking hole was The Mayflower. This is one of the 

most historic pubs in London and the oldest on the River 

Thames; part of the Black Dog Pub Company. There was a pub 

on the same site named The Ship that dates back to around 

1550, subsequently rebuilt as the Spread Eagle and Crown in 

1780 and finally re-named The Mayflower in 1957 to honour its 

connection with the ship that transported the colonists who 

would become the first permanent settlers of the land we know 

today as the USA. 

It was at the nearby landing where the Pilgrim Fathers set sail 

aboard the Mayflower ship in 1620. It took the 102 passengers 

and crew of about 30, 10 weeks to make the crossing to Cape 

Cod, Massachusetts with severe delays which meant they landed 

in December to face a hard winter with many subsequently 

dying. The next year, the 53 survivors celebrated the colony’s first 

harvest with the first USA Thanksgiving. There are an estimated 

28 million Americans living today who can trace their genealogy 

back to one of the 23 families on board The Mayflower. There is 

a book in the pub “The Mayflower Descendants Book” listing all 

those passengers on The Mayflower. People from all over the 

USA who are descendants of those pilgrims come to see the 

book and sign their names in it. 

We sat in a covered terrace literally over the Thames with the 

water clearly visible between the wooden decking with a great 

In The Ship. Left to right: Roger Engledow, Roger Melling. 

Tony Moffat and Bob Harris. 

THE ANGEL 

This was to be our first port of call on our plan, but it was shut 

at 12.00 which is why we went to The Mayflower first. The 

Angel was in existence in the 17th century and re-built about 

1837 and has the oldest tavern sign in Rotherhithe. It was 

originally alongside the moat of Edward III’s (1312-1377) 

Manor House, the remains of which are still visible today. The 

Manor House was pretty much on an island at that time, 

surrounded by a moat on three sides and open to the Thames on 

29


Bob Harris and the view of the Thames from outside The Angel. 

the North side which allowed the King to arrive by boat. It was 

where the King practiced his falconry because he had a good 

view of them flying across the flat marshland. By the end of the 

16th century, the Thames waterfront had been pushed northwards 

by land reclamation and a road had been built along the new 

river embankment (today known as Bermondsey Wall). 

There was no chef that day, so the Manager, Nicky, being on her 

own had to do everything. She had Organic Wheat Beer (5%) 

and said, “It’s not that bad”, so Roger Engledow had a pint of 

that. We were told it was an unfiltered organic wheat beer with 

a champagne-like effervescence and well-defined citrus-aroma. 

What a mouthful! The rest of us had Sovereign Bitter (4.1%) as 

it was a Samuel Smith’s pub which was “satisfying, refreshing and 

easy to drink”, just what it said in the advert. Nicky then provided 

us with sausage rolls, cheese and pickle sandwiches, and chips – a 

meal fit for a king. There was also a great view of the Thames 

from the pub. Onward to the next one. 

THE DEAN SWIFT 

This a freehold pub, owned by a local man who also owned 

another pub in Balham. Most of the beers The Dean Swift sold 

were brewed in The Bermondsey Beer Mile which is a loose 

Mia, assistant manager of The Dean Swift next to her array of 20 beer taps. 

amalgamation of brewery bars and bottle shops, located along a 

stretch of railway arch that’s closer to two miles long nowadays. 

The locals say that it has grown organically, just like the beers. 

The Dean Swift had an impressive array of 20 beer taps which 

Mia, the assistant manager, told me poured the freshest tasting 

draft beer from the UK and around the world. Quite a boast. 

We had a pint of Hophead (3.8%) which is brewed by Dark Star 

- a golden ale which was had a taste of elderflower and was very 

hoppy – no surprise there. Dark Star is an interesting new 

brewery. They say: “Historically, we’ve never made things easy for 

ourselves. We started life back in 1994 in the cellar of a pub in 

Brighton with a brew kit marginally bigger than that used by an 

enthusiastic home brewer. Our love of American hops has 

shaped the beers we’ve become known for, started when one of 

our founders returned from a business trip across the pond with 

a suitcase full of hops – he did well to get through customs 

frankly. We’re a bit bigger than that now and use a few more 

hops, but our free spirited and experimental nature, still very 

much holds true.” 

So ended our trip to the other side of the Thames. 

Tony Moffat 

WHO WAS WHO IN HORNSEY 

Article originally published in the Hornsey Historical Society Journal 

c1960 and forwarded by member Peter Lack. 

Author - Frank Dash 

Ronald Englefield, Schoolmaster and Philosopher 1891-1975 

I first met Englefield in January 1928. I had just been appointed 

Assistant Master to teach French at the Stationers’ Company’s 

School in Mayfield Road, Hornsey, after an unfavourable report 

by H.M. Inspectors had resulted in the departure of the Head of 

the Modern Language Department and one of his colleagues. At 

the first meeting of the Modern languages staff that I attended 

we sat round the big table which almost filled the small room 

known as the Reference Library. Apart from myself, a brash 

newcomer who having spent a whole year teaching English in 

France knew all the answers, there was Mr. Jefferson, an elderly 

Chips-like figure suitably clad in his academic gown - a man 

weary with many years of teaching elementary French - and, in 

striking contrast, a colleague whom I will call Mr. Samson, eaglenosed 

and fiery-eyed, qualified as I learned later in Arabic. His 

contributions to the discussion were scathing and dogmatic. 

Between this Baron Corvo - like person and Englefield the 

contrast again could hardly have been greater. The latter was big, 

pale - ‘po-faced’ as an old pupil recently described him to me - 

soft spoken and so diffident as to suggest that being himself 

inexperienced in the art of teaching he was anxious to learn from 

the skills which we others undoubtedly possessed. 

As the weeks passed I became aware that apart from the usual 

duties of teaching, correcting exercises and other scholastic 

chores my colleague was involved in a wide variety of activities. 

Every Friday afternoon, for example, he presided at the meeting 

of his own Natural History Society, known to boys and masters 

alike as the ‘Bug Club’ and destined to have a long and 

distinguished life. 

In those early days my wife and I were sometimes invited to 

supper at the flat in St. Thomas Mansions, near St. Thomas’s 

Hospital, where Englefield lived with his mother and his sisters 

Cicely and Mavis. In 1930, when the family had moved to 

30


Muswell Hill, l often cycled home after school with him, 

stopping off occasionally for tea at the house in Wood Vale. At 

weekends my wife and I often went to No.75 to work in what 

was to become a highly productive garden. Here, as at Stationers’ 

there was visible evidence of Englefield’s overriding interest. 

Between the rows of scarlet runners and the fence of the Crouch 

End playing fields stood two home-made structures -the lizard 

house and the alligator house, inhabited at various times, I 

remember, by two small but growing alligators, a chameleon, 

lizards and tree-frogs. 

Although my teaching duties at Stationers’ were confined to 

French, Englefield soon discovered that I was learning German 

on my own and urged me to spend my summer holidays in 

Germany and to improve my knowledge of the language in the 

hope that one day it might be possible for me to share in the 

teaching of German. This I was able to do. 

In his efforts to improve the effectiveness of language teaching 

in the School, Englefield did not confine his attentions to textbooks 

and classroom practice. To popularize the study of the two 

languages he turned his literary and linguistic ability to the 

production of plays and pantomimes in French and German. 

After a modest start with a ready-made German play he wrote 

the scripts himself and supervised every detail from costume to 

the scenery, much of which he made in his garage-workshop in 

Wood Vale. Jagderfolge, produced in 1930, was a simple little 

German comedy about the humours of the hunt. Aladin was an 

original play in three acts with a ballet and a cast of 25 boys 

including those playing the roles of the beautiful Princesse Badrel-Budur 

and her two Dames d’Honneur. "Stationers’ Boys Frolic 

-Aladdin, played in French” announced the Hornsey Journal. 

Of all the plays and pantomimes the one which made the 

greatest impression on me was Der Treue Johannes, a three act 

play written by Englefield in German blank verse and based on 

a fairy story by the brothers Grimm. The action included a storm 

at sea with two seagulls screeching from the rigging of the ship 

against a background of suitable music. 

"Rodney Naylor and I", writes Alan Hewitt, "were entrusted with 

providing the incidental music in the form of gramophone records of 

Tchaikovsky’s 5th and 6th symphonies. The selection was made with 

typical Sacco (1) subtlety, each excerpt matching the changing mood of 

the play. How indeed could even the village idiot go wrong with a 

text so meticulously marked with Sacco’s beautifully 

neat script?”…I fear I am not doing justice to Sacco; 

it is very nearly impossible to convey to those who 

did not know him his rare gifts and remarkable 

personality. 

The task this remarkable man had set himself was 

to understand and demonstrate the nature of Man; 

to acquire and to apply a vast store of knowledge 

and to make his discoveries known. Only when this 

knowledge was readily available, he believed, could 

legislation and social reform be built on sure 

foundations and the lot of mankind improved. The 

frustrations from a sense of failure were 

correspondingly great. In one letter (written in 

German), he congratulates my wife and my self on 

our diligence and continues: 

"When I look back at my own achievements during this 

past month I find little ground for complacency. l have 

busied myself with trifles. I have messed about in the 

garden and work shop, I have dabbled in Physics, but in the end 1 

have produced nothing. l have consistently neglected my proper work. 

The fire that once burned in me is now extinguished. I have lost my 

energy and my courage. When l think of the tiny fraction of my work 

and what it was meant to be, I am in despair. I have squandered my 

strength and my health. And now that I have dug fairly deep in to the 

understanding of the human soul, I lack the necessary strength to 

exploit the mine that l have discovered, Am I capable of pulling myself 

together to finish the second, greater part of my work? I don’t know. I 

must get out into the sunshine. Here in my room it is dark and dismal 

and I am surrounded by the ruins of my insane resolves and plans. 

What a mad thing is life which causes so many tears and yet is so 

frivolous and so ridiculous. I must get out into the garden and let the 

smell of the earth refresh me and drive away these gloomy ghosts." 

The letter continues later: " I feel a bit better. The garden is really 

wonderful. Everything there is lush and living. Our sweat has 

fertilised the soil. It is a joy to look down on this green abundance 

and to feel once more the invincible power of everlasting life. 

There is after all no sense in complaining about a barren life. 

Summer comes again and will come again and what we have not 

done, another will do, But one day life itself will be extinguished, 

and who will enquire then into the more or less? And yet we have 

certain instincts, and endless brooding is no help. We do not 

want to die before having accomplished something memorable. 

That someone at the end can stand by our grave and say: “He was 

a friend of man”, is a thought that allows us to be less afraid of the 

loneliness of death. 

This unassuming perfectionist admitted to being a Juggins. From 

the construction of a box to house the radio in the village hall at 

Winterborne Zelston, to the exacting work entailed in his search 

for the secrets of human behaviour, every detail had to be as near 

perfection as was humanly possible. One old pupil remembers 

the meticulous care with which "Sacco" cut, stained and mounted 

microscopic sections of a mouse’s brain. 

He was at the same time precise and lavish in giving others the 

benefit of his wisdom and experience. The index of the letters I 

received from him between 1929 and 1974 shows something of 

the range of his interests: from Abyssinia to atheism, Christianity, 

classical education, Dante, Gandhi, Goethe, Hitler and Hume, 

Jehovah, Kant, Marx, Moses, Mussolini, mysticism, Peter the 

Great, Dennis Potter, Sartre, Schiller, sex education, vivisection, 

Juggins – A character in Stephen Leacock’s 

Behind the beyond. 

31


Voltaire, Wittgenstein, Wells GA, Wells, HG, Zeus and the 

Zoroastrians. But breadth did not exclude depth: a reference by 

me to the charge frequently levelled against unbelievers that 

their criticisms of accepted beliefs were merely ‘destructive’ 

brought back 13 absorbing pages on the history of atheism. I 

remember being stopped in the middle corridor by a 13- year-old 

who asked: “Please sir, how many languages can Mr. Englefield 

speak?” Had I known it at the time I could have answered that in 

addition to the two languages he taught he had a knowledge of 

Latin and Greek and was familiar with Italian, Spanish and 

Russian. (He was the only man I knew who bought and read 

Pravda). 

A wartime caricature of Englefield . The original watercolour 

(13” x 11”), now in the possession of Miss Mavis Englefield, 

shows the poet-scholar gazing with blue eyes on the creatures of 

his waking dreams; around him his favourite reading Leopardi, 

Russian poems, a Russian dictionary, and manuscripts - his own 

brain children. The picture is dedicated: 

"To Engle - with apologies 

From his admirers 

And fellow-sufferers 

Richard Cooper Gailes 1916" 

In reply to my enquiries his sister Mavis wrote: "Ronald never 

talked about his accomplishments. I knew he had a degree at 

Cambridge and that was about all. He had what he called a rabbit 

hood and gown." After mentioning his entry in 1903 to Mill Hill, his 

pre-war stays in France and Germany she added: "After Cambridge 

he went to Bowden in Cheshire about 1912-13 and on the outbreak 

of war he joined up with the 16th Middlesex. Public Schools 

Battalion. He went to France towards the end of 1915. I believe he 

was home on leave when his father died in February 1916. He went 

back to France but put in for a commission and went to Gailes in 

Scotland [see Cooper's cartoon] some time that year, from where he 

was posted to Salonika. He had a dreadful carbuncle and was in 

hospital at Ras-el-Tin in Egypt for some time and improved his 

knowledge of languages!" 

In a tribute entitled "The amazing Mr. Englefield" Alan 

Anderson wrote: 

"On Monday 6th January 1975 F.R.M. Englefield died. He was 

nearly 85 and twenty years retired from the school to which he gave 

30 years of his life ... Yes, of his life ... To those who shared his 

interest, he spared no effort and was prodigal with his time .... We 

started to know him as a teacher of languages, but it was not long 

before we were off into the fields of etymology and philology, 

probing the very philosophy of language and, as we progressed 

through the School, we discovered that this man was equally erudite 

in zoology, music entomology, photography and carpentry ...." 

In September 1939 Stationers’ was evacuated to Wisbech. Many 

of the older teachers had joined the Local Defence Volunteers 

and later exchanged their L.D.V. armbands for Home Guard 

uniforms. I joined the cycle corps organized by Lieut. Englefield 

and I have painful memories of my endeavours to balance a 

Lewis gun on the handlebars of my borrowed bicycle. But my 

mind boggles when I try to picture the interview which must 

have taken place between the imaginative Lieut. and the fenland 

Captain Mainwaring (who, like his prototype in ‘Dad’s Army’ 

was a bank manager) before such a revolutionary step as the 

formation of a cycle corps could have been countenanced. One 

memorable moment. During a demonstration of anti-tank 

warfare Molotov cocktails were being hurled at the "enemy 

tank”. All went according to plan until the uniform of one man 

caught fire. Out from the ranks of observers dashed Lieut. 

Englefield who smartly beat out the flames before most of us 

realized what had happened. 

In 1942 we returned from Wisbech to join the home portion of 

the School in Mayfield Road. We now saw for the first time the 

alterations to the building which had been started shortly before 

the out break. of war. The old Hall had been transformed into a 

magnificent new library, complete with oak shelves. But there 

were no books on the shelves nor any plans to provide them. The 

creation of a library now became one of Englefield’s main 

objectives. Saturday mornings were devoted to visiting Foyle’s 

educational department with which he appeared to enjoy a 

special relationship. Another source of supply was the Southwood 

Book Store in Archway Road. At length there was a respectable 

selection of books on the 

shelves. What is more, an 

enthusiastic and efficient 

team of librarians worked 

throughout every dinner 

hour cataloguing, 

receiving and lending out 

books. 

In 1961 Ronald and his 

sisters left Muswell Hill 

for Winterborne Zelston 

where the three naturalists 

could enjoy the Dorset 

countryside they knew 

and loved. Life continued 

to be full of activity, but 

not immune from illhealth. 

Both Cecily and 

Ronald suffering from 

glaucoma. “We go on 

Sacco – Englefield’s nickname dripping drops into our eyes 

and hoping that things will 

grow no worse”, reports a 

letter in 1962. Ronald was beginning to feel his age. “Please thank 

Naylor, Thomas and Topley (colleagues) for their kind enquiries and 

tell them that I have reached the stage of the slippered pantaloon.” 

In July 1968 he writes from the Royal Eye Infirmary, Weymouth: 

"As I am virtually in solitary confinement, you may imagine how 

welcome letters are. Every day I look forward to the two hours 

when Cicely and Mavis come to call on me. But those two hours 

pass like ten minutes in any other part of the day. On my arrival I 

was asked to name my religion. l think I may have denied any 

connection with any religion a little too emphatically and I felt 

that for the first two days they were treating me with reserve and 

caution. But as I have not attempted to rape any of the nurses or 

strangle any of the other patients they seem to be treating me as 

harmless and deluded rather than dangerous. But solitude 

encourages fantasies of all kinds." 

The letters I received during the last ten years of his life were as 

varied in content as ever. There was the added interest of gossip 

from the local scene at Zelston: modern sanitation for the 

Village Hall, the progress of Robin, the golden labrador, (“Robin 

is delighted you are coming. He doesn’t seem to grow old”), the 

beauty and failings of Daniel the cat, who frequently brought live 

rabbits into the cottage. 

32


But references to the book are gloomy: “My book, Language and 

Thought, is now in cold storage... If I could meet somebody who would 

take an interest in the subject of the work I would be satisfied. But 

this is a perverse and crooked generation.” However, another letter 

announces: “During the last 12 months Tony [his nephew] has had 

my book and has been reading it gradually. He has been since his 

father died as good as a son to me and C&M and he has used his 

leisure to give a great deal of thought to my book and its publication. 

Last autumn he was here at the same time as David Oppenheimer. I 

suppose the subject of my book came up. Anyway David took my 

second copy home with him. He became enthusiastic and was soon in 

communication with Tony about a project for editing it, or rather 

condensing it into a form which might be acceptable to a publisher. 

Geo. Wells was soon brought in and with their cooperation I am going 

to see if a shorter and more acceptable work can be made.” 

Englefield did not have the satisfaction of seeing his work in 

print. But on 12th March 1977 a group of his friends and former 

pupils met for lunch at Barts Hospital at the invitation of Mr I 

M Hill, Senior Surgeon and ex-member of the “Bug Club” to 

celebrate the publication by Elek/Pemberton of “Language, its 

Origin and its Relation to Thought”. Mr A D Englefield (Tony) 

gave his support to a suggestion that a biographical sketch of his 

uncle should be written. I understand that David Oppenheimer’s 

“Engy - a Portrait of Ronald Englefield” is now in the hands of a 

publisher. I look forward with great pleasure to reading it. 

Peter Lack 

Notes: Sources This article is based mainly on the Author’s personal 

reminiscences and the un-published letters from Ronald Englefield in 

his possession. 

A HISTORY OF “POSTMAN’S PARK” 

London has many public parks and some are very well-known 

such as Hyde Park and Regent’s Park but the City of London 

isn’t graced with such large green areas. However, if you care to 

look around, there are parks but far more modest in area although 

that doesn’t mean that they lack history. There is one small one 

in the City that is so tucked away that many people who work in 

the area are unaware of its presence. 

I’m talking about Postman’s Park and, despite its comparatively 

small footprint, is actually one of the largest open spaces within 

the City of London. Just a few minutes walk from St. 

Paul’s Cathedral, so easily reached from Stationers’ Hall if you 

are up for a stroll around whilst in the area. 

The name might seem a little odd until you realise that one 

entrance to the park is on the other side of King Edward Street, 

just North of the former HQ of the GPO so presumably a 

popular lunch spot for the postal workers in the past. There is a 

statue of Rowland Hill of postage stamp fame outside the old 

post office building so, find him and you’ve found the park. 

Before the area became a public park in 1880, it had been the site 

of no less than three burial grounds and even some housing 

which is remarkable bearing in mind the size of the park in its 

present form. In true City tradition, the ownership of the ground 

was the subject of much legal argument with various parties 

making their respective claims. 

When one considers the area covered by the City of London, it 

doesn’t take much imagination to work out that an everincreasing 

population, along with the continual demise of residents, 

was going to lead to problems at some point. Burial grounds were 

filling up and “up” was a relevant word as, with more and more 

bodies being put into small areas, the ground levels began to rise. 

A classic example is Bunhill Fields, not too far away. So many 

bodies were being stacked on each other with very little soil 

covering that it became a “bone hill”, later “Bunhill”. 

Only one of the three churches involved with the land now 

occupied by the park still exists, namely St.Botolph’s without 

Aldersgate located by the East entrance although the original 

was destroyed in 1666 and subsequently rebuilt after the Great 

Fire. Another one had been destroyed in the Great Fire and left 

as a ruin and the third, Christchurch Greyfriars, was not actually 

on the plot but some way to the South near St.Paul’s. The latter 

has also become a small park within the ruins of the church after 

it suffered at the hands of the Luftwaffe back in WWII. 

Changing the burial grounds to a public park presented a major 

problem, namely the "occupants" of the original church land. 

Apparently, the relatives of those dear departed were contacted 

and informed of the plans to alter the use of the ground currently 

occupied by human remains. One can only imagine how relatives 

felt on being informed of the plans and told that they could pay 

to have the bodies exhumed plus a further fee if the gravestones 

were to be moved as well. Assuming that re-interment would 

involve even more expense it may be that a considerable number 

of the City’s past inhabitants are still in the park... 

The development of the site as a public park took some time as 

the three burial grounds were “cleared” in turn, a process which 

Rowland Hill statue Postman’s Park Graves 

33


Memorial Plaque 

involved the adjustment of ground levels for reasons which you 

can probably work out for yourselves... The whole project took 

from 1880 to 1890. 

After a few years, it was proposed to use part of the park as a 

memorial to ordinary people who had perished whilst trying to 

save the lives of others. The idea came from a well-known 

Victorian artist, George Frederic Watts (1817 – 1904), to 

commemorate Queen Victoria’s Jubilee. 

Watts is probably one of those Victorian painters whose work is 

often seen "in the background", unlike more recognised names 

such as Leighton and Burne-Jones who get the star billing. 

However, during his lifetime, he was well-known particularly for 

his paintings of allegorical subjects and famous people and had 

some involvement in the murals in the Houses of Parliament. 

For the purposes of this article, I have had a look through a 

catalogue of his paintings and must confess that I only recognised 

one which probably doesn’t say much for my artistic knowledge. 

Initially, there was little interest and when the loggia/cloister 

structure that had been constructed on one side of the park was 

opened there were only four memorial tablets in place as opposed 

to the 120 planned. Another 9 were added between the park’s 

opening and Watts’ death in 1904 when his wife, Mary, took over 

the project. She had another 35 of the tablets put in place but she 

seems to have become distracted by other projects not helped by 

her dissatisfaction with the new manufacturer of the memorials 

and the whole thing appears 

to have drifted into a state of 

limbo for several decades. 

Fast forward to 1972 when 

interest in this most unusual 

monument was reignited and 

it became listed, a short space 

of 72 years after the park and 

memorial had been unveiled 

by the Lord Mayor of 

London on the 30th July 

1900... The Park’s appearance 

in the 2004 film "Closer" 

seem to have generated some 

Christchurch Garden 

interest but it was another 5 

years before consideration was given to the addition of another 

tablet, the first in 78 years. 

It is probably not unreasonable to say that this little park has 

become a forgotten corner of London which is a pity because it 

is probably unique. The 54 tablets now forming the monument 

are tucked away under a protective roof in a corner and they are 

virtually the only reminders of those acts of bravery which, today, 

would generate tv and press coverage. The earliest memorial 

dates to January 24th 1863 when Sarah Smith, a pantomime 

performer at the Princes Theatre, was fatally injured whilst 

trying to save the life of a companion whose dress had caught 

fire. The most recent was that unveiled in 2009 relating to the 

death of Leigh Pitt aged 30. He had tried to save a boy who had 

fallen into a canal in Thamesmead in June 2007 and despite 

ensuring the child’s safety had then drowned. The ages of those 

represented go from 8 to 61 years. 

There is plenty of available information concerning those 

commemorated at Postman’s Park for those who may wish to 

look into this City oddity in more detail. However, before I leave 

the subject, I would suggest that anybody visiting the memorial 

go to the far end where, stacked against the wall, are a number of 

very old gravestones, the only reminders of a few residents of the 

City whose bones were and, possibly still are, part of this quirky 

but fascinating little area. 

Geoff Dent 

BOOK REVIEW 

This is a new section of The Old Stationer 

reviewing books written by Old Stationers. 

The idea is to inform readers about books 

that they might like to read. Each review 

would give a resume of the book's content - 

without giving away any important secrets; 

information about the author - when at 

school and a short history of their career; 

why and how they came to write the book; 

how they got it published; information 

about cost and how to buy it. If you have 

written a book or novel and would like to 

have it reviewed in The Old Stationer, 

please contact Tony Moffat at: a.moffat@ 

ucl.ac.uk or with a friendly phone call on 

07717520667. 

“GEORGE” 

A NOVEL BY JAMES H RUSSELL 

This novel is worth bringing to your attention 

because, not only is it an interesting read, but 

also because it was written by an Old 

Stationer. 

Without giving away any important secrets, I 

can tell you that it is an adventure story. After 

being inspired by a school speech day guest 

speaker, our narrator, James, takes his family 

on an adventure holiday to Kenya. Trekking 

through a rain forest one day he has an 

accident which leads to the discovery of a 

mysterious and obviously alien artefact. On 

returning back home to England, further 

examination suggests that this object may 

34


carry with it information which might give us clues about our 

origins. Later on in the story, it also becomes apparent that this 

new find may have some interest not only in our past, but in our 

future as well. 

The story is in two parts, covering two different periods of time: 

the end of the 20th century and then some way into the 22nd 

century, giving the author the opportunity to make various 

predictions as to how life might pan out one hundred years from 

now. I won’t tell you any more of the story for fear of spoiling it, 

except to quote a passage from the author’s introduction: 

“..... is only one small example of the many ways in which we have 

come to exploit the world around us. Maybe there is a hidden 

purpose to these seemingly destructive actions: a purpose leading to 

some sort of end result that as yet we are unable to visualise. 

Perhaps that purpose is already written into our DNA, stealthily 

motivating us and controlling everything that we do in its 

preconceived mandate to take us on to our destiny?” 

The message of the story is that, come what may in the perilous 

process of human survival, we instinctively know that there will 

always be an answer. We just have to work out what that answer 

is. But the big question 

remains, “How did we acquire 

this uniquely human instinct 

in the first place, and from 

where?” 

Martin having a pint in the 

Hamilton Hall 

James H Russell is a pen name 

of Martin Brown who was at 

Stationers between 1954 and 

1961 (Figure 2). He studied 

Biology, Physics and 

Chemistry at A-level and went 

on to study dentistry at the 

Royal Dental School in 

Leicester Square. There was a 

practical test as part of the 

entrance interview, which he 

passed easily because it was 

always his job to peel the 

potatoes at home, an activity 

which helped to hone his 

dexterity somewhat. After four and a half years’ study, he 

qualified and joined a practice in St John’s Wood in 1966. In 

1968 he moved to Wanstead and later that year joined a practice 

in Leyton. To make life more exciting, in 1971 he had a go 

working in South Africa but, after much soul searching, returned 

to England where they had kept the family house in Wanstead. 

After a few locum positions, he bought a practice in Stoke 

Newington in 1974. But, as the practice went into overload, it 

was no longer fun. So in 1980 he bought a much smaller, oneman 

practice in Ilford that was more his style; which also 

coincided with getting remarried. The practice was relocated to 

Hainault in 1984. Meanwhile, they had moved to Palmers Green 

to live which was the family home until 2018. Enjoying the 

adventurous life, he also had a sabbatical in 1988 in New South 

Wales for two years, subsequently returning to the Hainault 

practice. He sold up the practice in 2000, but continued to work 

freelance at several other practices - a phase of his career he 

enjoyed more than any other, thanks to the reduced responsibilities. 

He retired completely in 2018. 

Martin dedicated the book to his wife Julie; his four children - 

Alex (now sadly departed), Elizabeth, Robert and Richard; and 

three grandsons – Daniel, Joshua and Liam. He now lives in 

Great Dunmow in Essex. 

I asked Martin how he came to write the novel and he told me 

the following: 

“My epiphany moment happened in a Winchmore Hill pub one 

evening after a beery session with old friends, where as usual we 

had tried our best to put the world to rights. As closing time 

approached, a staff member came round to collect the empty glasses 

and began wiping the glass table top. Maybe it was the alcohol 

talking, but suddenly I was seeing everyday objects in a completely 

different way. How very uniquely human is a flat surface. Even 

straight lines are unusual in nature, and right angles even more so. 

And, as I looked around that bar room, I realised something else: 

that many of the materials in there were man made and did not 

exist anywhere else on this planet. Plastic (an alien material if 

there ever was one) in its various forms is a human invention and 

beyond nature’s comprehension. Its birthplace was inside our heads. 

There and then I put two and two together and came up with the 

idea for the book”. 

Martin’s impetus to write the novel coincided in 1992 with a swap 

in dental practices with an Australian in New South Wales. 

Martin had the bit between his teeth then (an obvious thing for a 

dentist) and, after developing the theme of the novel in his mind 

for a few years, wrote the first draft of the novel during 1992-3. 

In 1993, he tried to get it published, but only received rejection. 

So he put it away and only got it out again during the COVID 

lockdown as he had plenty of time on his hands. Wanting to get 

it published, but not wanting to get it rejected again, he decided 

to publish it himself for a bit of fun. He used Grosvenor House 

Publishing, who specialise in self-publishing, because they had 

favourable reviews and their pricing structure seemed reasonable. 

The project was managed throughout by one person at Grosvenor 

House Publishing and included basic proof reading. Martin also 

employed a freelance artist to help design the book cover. His 

total outlay for the complete project was around £1,500 for 20 

copies of the book. The publishers did put forward various 

marketing recommendations which Martin did not take up, but 

they did arrange for the book to be marketed via Amazon and 

other retail outlets. 

Martin has been asked several times why he used a pen name. 

His main reason for this was to try and deceive the reader into 

believing that part one of the book might be a true story. Perhaps 

it is - you’ll have to ask him. 

If you would like to buy a copy, the details are: “George” by James 

H Russell, ISBN978-1-83975-615-3, published as a paperback 

by Grosvenor House Publishing Ltd, Tolworth, 2021. Available 

from Amazon for £11.99 and as a Kindle edition for £4.99. 

I have a personal reason to thank Martin, as it was he and David 

Hartwell (also in the School year of 1954) who introduced me to 

drinking beer. We three used to go to the Northern Polytechnic 

on a Thursday evening to study A-level Zoology to top up what 

WACR Reece used to teach us at School. On the way home to 

Holloway Underground Station, we stopped off for a few beers 

at the local pub – and that is how I started my beer experiences. 

One last thought from page 140, “Nobody needs a shaky 

dentist”- and Martin should know. 

Tony Moffat 

(with help from James H Russell, aka Martin Brown) 

35

Dear Tim, 

Tony Moffat’s story about the Jaguar Mk 

Vll in the last issue brought back fond 

memories. I was a friend of Ray’s (and 

hope I still am after this appears!) when he 

had sole ownership of the car some time 

after the Italian jaunt. It was a bit ragged 

by then, but if he put his foot down in 

second leaving the lights, it could still blow 

Mini Coopers into the weeds. 

The problem was that, on his own, Ray 

couldn’t afford the petrol it guzzled, and 

this meant he was always running out of 

it, despite the so-called reserve tank. We 

would tramp off to a garage and borrow a 

can to carry a gallon back to the car. 

However, the pipes into the tanks were 

awkwardly placed half way down each 

swooping rear wing, and Ray never got 

round to buying a funnel, so putting the 

fuel in was rather hit and miss. 

Holding the can above the wing he would 

aim the precious liquid in the general 

direction of the pipe. I said to him on one 

such occasion: "Be careful Ray, you are 

spilling some." I distinctly remember his 

nonchalant reply, because it shows the 

incomparable logic that has informed his 

judgement from that day to this: "At 17 

miles per gallon, it doesn’t make a lot of 

difference." 

BTW, he now drives a Tesla. 

Regards, 

Russell Plumley (56’er) 

Hi Tim, 

Jaguar Mk 7 RKP 519 

Some of the attendees at the September 

lunch will recall that I displayed my 

rebellious side by turning up not wearing 

my OSA tie. I don’t really do anarchy that 

well and actually went for nonconfrontational 

compromise by wearing 


CORRESPONDENCE 

my original school tie. 

My wife Kathryn and I have been looking 

to downsize our place in the UK which has 

involved the occasional burst of an activity 

called "getting rid of clutter". This is not 

really my scene and normally ends up with 

me finding something from my past which 

then absorbs my attention for the next few 

hours... 

One such exploration brought to light 

some old school bits, including the two ties 

purchased at great cost from the outfitters 

prior to my first day. 

As part of my diversion from the 

de-cluttering task, I tried tying a tie which 

clearly wasn’t going to work unless used in 

an Oliver Hardy tribute act. As there were 

two ties I wondered if they could be turned 

into one and asked Kathryn what she 

thought. Since any rearrangement of the 

material involved completely dismantling 

both ties, it was made clear to me that if it 

all went horribly wrong I was not to moan 

and complain (as if I would!). 

Fortunately, after considerable effort and 

general complicated stitching and folding 

by my wife, a larger tie appeared and made 

its debut at the September lunch. The end 

of the tie, which I believe is called the back 

blade, is rather short due to the limited 

material available so tying is slightly 

difficult. It can be done but I will respect 

the age of the ties and my wife’s hard work 

by limiting her creation’s outings. I suspect 

that Kathryn will not be looking for 

further tie making commissions! 

Regards, 

Geoff Dent 

Geoff Dent’s bodged tie 

Dear Tim, 

Richard Farrington and I are both ’51 

starters and were both in church choirs. 

He recruited me from St Pauls in Harringay 

to St George in Priory Road Hornsey 

and the vicar paid my travelling expenses. 

This church was later demolished and 

replaced by the church that now houses 

our Memorial Window. Many will 

remember him playing the organ at school 

and he has only recently given up being a 

church organist. Our friendship cemented 

for me what has become a lifelong passion 

for classical music. From school he went to 

Trinity College of Music and then had a 

varied career including teaching. He came 

with me to a couple of English Chamber 

Orchestra concerts with me around 2004 

but he then moved from Sidcup to 

Chepstow and we only maintained 

occasional telephone contact. 

He was at the first 51 reunion in 2011 but, 

unfortunately, I was on an ECO Cruise 

with Pinchas Zuckerman. I planned to 

visit him in my Motorhome but we never 

managed it. I am a Founder and Director 

of Ceremonies of Nomadic a caravan 

Lodge and in May we arranged to carry 

out a meeting in St Austell. This was the 

ideal opportunity to divert and meet up 

but I called him only to find that he was 

booked for the Dart Hotel in Dartmouth. 

I came home that way and together with 

his wife Jan and my Lis we had a brilliant 

day as his guest. We intend for me to visit 

them at home but my unexpected workload 

with the ECO has curtailed many of my 

activities in the short term and I am 

determined to go early in the new year. 

Michael Facey 

Hi Tim 

Richard Farrington at the Class of ’51 

reunion in 2011 

I was just putting away my issue 94 

following arrival of latest when I noticed 

36


the request in the obit page 47 for the 

date that Alan Berwick started school. In 

case no one has responded Alan was 2 

years ahead of me which means he would 

have started in 1947. The same years as 

Stu Behn and Bob Patten among others 

Regards 

Brian Humphreys 

Dear Tim, 

27th July 2022 

Further to our recent conversation, I have 

my own copy of that black and white photo 

shown on page 38 and can give you more 

information about Geoff Richmond’s 

"mystery" team mates. 

It must have been taken at the Old 

Winchmore Hill school playing field of 

the, then, first eleven school team during 

the 1970/1971 season (I left July 1971 to 

go to Leeds University). 

I think these are his team mates (with their 

team positions) plus two Hornsey High 

School for Girls “original WAGS”!! 

back row (from the left) 

Keith Southam (bending) (right back) 

Steven Presland (centre back) 

Mick Brady (centre forward) 

Huw Williams (centre back) 

Pete Clark(e) (midfield) 

Jon Champion (centre back) 

Martin Phillips (winger) 

Chris Lucas (left back) 

Heather Phillips 

(both a supporter + martin’s sister) 

Keith Hacker (goalkeeper) 

Jane Clark (?) (supporter + friend of 

Heather Phillips) 

front row (from the left) 

Geoff Richmond (midfield) 

Valdy (Valdemar) Lenk (winger) 

I remember playing in most of the football 

teams during my school years from 1964 

to 1971 (having played previously for 

Rokesley Junior School team). 

I would be interested to know who 

recognises themselves some fifty years 

after that photo was taken! 

Keith Southam 

Year 6 at Muswell Hill Primary - Jenni Mote circled. 

peter.lack@blueyonder.co.uk 

22nd July 2022 

Re: Issue 95 (p26) Hornsey High Sixth 

Form December Dances 

Dear Tim 

I suspect the first was in 1952, under the 

aegis of Nunn and Miss Milverton; the 

latter was as fiercely protective of her girls’ 

virtue as the quoted Miss Curtis. I 

contrived to attend three (1952-1954), 

thanks to the Oxbridge entrance exams in 

the third December. 

I can assure Jenni Mote that we boys were 

as enthusiastic for this annual event, but in 

that first year only Alex Boksenberg of our 

dozen could actually dance, so the girls had 

to initiate our tuition. 

Peter Lack 

Geoff Richmond’s 

"mystery" team 

37


ME & MY MOTORS 

ULLO JOHN! GOTTA NEW MOTOR! 

I learnt to drive in the family Standard Eight. It was the first car 

we owned and cost £508 new including 50% Purchase Tax and 

optional extras of a passenger windscreen wiper and heater. To 

cut manufacturing costs there was no boot lid – everything had 

to be loaded from the inside after folding down the rear seats. 

There was no ignition key but a simple knob to turn. Very 

helpfully for the criminal fraternity the spare door key was 

housed in the number plate light and could be accessed by 

removing two small screws. 

The 803cc engine produced 26bhp which gave a top speed of 

61 mph and acceleration from 0–50 mph in 26.5 seconds. It is 

amazing that it used to take five people and a boot full of 

camping gear on regular holidays to the New Forest. When it 

was hot it always ground to a halt on the hill just outside Romsey. 

This was because the petrol evaporated in the fuel pipes - after a 

short wait to let the engine cool we could continue the journey. 

The photograph shows me aged 17, when I was in the Lower 

Sixth standing by the car. 

David Vicary and the Standard Eight 

I have enjoyed reading memories of first and loved cars in recent 

magazines. These stories have got me reminiscing about my 

experiences of working in the motor trade during two summers 

in the early Sixties. 

After leaving Stationers’ in the summer of 1962 and before 

starting at Exeter University in October I worked as a car 

cleaner at a used car sales/repair garage in Shaftesbury Road 

almost at the junction with Hornsey Rise. I suspect that the 

owner was the inspiration for Arthur Daley. 

Cars were sold with a one month guarantee and I was soon 

promoted to ‘battery restorer’. When a customer returned with a 

flat battery my job was to give it a fast charge, paint it black and 

fit six new stoppers. The customer was told he had been supplied 

with a reconditioned battery. 

The cars were often obtained from unusual sources. There was a 

fleet of six grey Morris Minor GPO vans which had extremely 

high mileages as you might expect. I cleaned them with T-cut to 

restore some semblance of a shine to the heavily weathered paint 

work. After covering the carburettor and air filter I applied 

liberal quantities of Gunk and hosed down the engines. As well 

as being cosmetic the purpose of this was to hide any evidence of 

oil leaks. Nearly all the vans had damaged gearboxes with 

missing gears. One of the mechanics stripped the gear boxes 

down and replaced any broken cogs. Another important 

presentation point was, of course, to ‘correct’ the recorded 

mileage. They sold very quickly as one-owner vans with a 

reasonable mileage. 

One day a chicken farmer rushed in to say that he was on his way 

back from Kent with a van load of chicks but had broken down. 

He had to get to his farm near Nottingham before they died. He 

was sold a Hillman Minx estate that was due to be scrapped. It 

had a chunk of wood wired to the underneath that was holding 

something together and if the mat from the passenger footwell 

was removed the road was visible. I often wondered if he made it 

back to Nottingham but he never contacted the garage again. 

There were three Ford Zephyr Estates covered in Peter Stuyvesant 

advertising which had been sales cars and had an enormous 

mileage on the clocks. I had my first experience driving an 

automatic car when manoeuvring one of these on a chilly 

September morning The engine hesitated so I blipped the 

throttle which made the car leap forward and hit the car in front 

– that was a lesson well learnt. 

However that turned out to be a good day for me because after 

the owner had berated me for driving on a public road I told him 

I had a Driving Licence and I started being sent out to pick up 

and deliver cars. 

There was an elderly (probably much younger than I am now!) 

part time Scottish driver inevitably called Jock by everyone. We 

sometimes used to be sent out together to collect or deliver cars. 

If we were given money for fares we would stand by the road 

holding our trade plates and hitch a lift so that Jock could pocket 

the money. 

Inevitably there was a pecking order - I always got the short 

straw and had to drive the least roadworthy or glamourous car. 

Jock enjoyed a tipple and often he would pull up outside a pub 

for a lunchtime drink or two. My job was to wait outside and 

look after the cars. 

He lived a few hundred yards from the garage and whenever we 

picked up cars we would stop outside his house so that he could 

take out anything that was removable that he thought he could 

sell. He always took the seats apart looking for loose change. 

The owner of the garage seemed to know a few ‘celebrities’ and 

we had some interesting visitors. Billy Walker, the heavyweight 

boxer, arrived one day in an almost new Jaguar. It didn’t sound 

very good because he had driven to Italy on holiday and the 

engine hadn’t been run-in (do you remember those days?). 

38


Another day a very softly spoken, polite and huge man came in 

- I was told afterwards he was Doctor Death the famous wrestler 

who used to fight in a mask. 

The owner also knew Billy Wright the former England captain 

and then Arsenal manager whose wife was Joy of the Beverley 

Sisters. She was just finishing the summer season in Llandudno 

and wasn’t keen on driving back to London so I was sent to 

collect her car. I took the train to Llandudno – she was genuinely 

worried that I was too young to drive back. I drove her Hillman 

Minx back with part of the journey along a deserted M1 and I 

drove the fastest I had ever driven at that time – 75 mph! I got 

back to Billy’s house opposite Friary Park at about 9 o’clock. He 

gave me a £5 tip which was the same as my weekly wage! 

My second encounter with the motor trade was between my 

second and third years at Exeter. In early 1963 my parents moved 

to Billericay in Essex (without consulting me first!) and that was 

the reason why I lost contact with many of my school friends. 

Anyway in the summer of 1964, I took a summer job at a garage 

in Billericay which sold petrol, repaired/serviced cars and sold 

new and used cars. 

They could supply new BMC (British Motor Corporation) cars 

that had to be collected from the main dealer in Southend. In 

those days cars had to be scrupulously run-in which involved 

keeping below 40 mph for the first 1,000 miles. If two new cars 

were being collected I was instructed to keep right behind my 

colleague on the way back to Billericay. This often involved 

driving at 70 mph on the Southend Arterial Road (A127) in a 

brand new Mini. 

The car salesman was about 25 years old and had a very active 

social life and to impress his latest date he would stay late and 

take the most prestigious car from the available stock. He would 

disconnect the speedometer cable before driving off and reconnect 

it when the car was returned the next morning. The recorded 

mileage therefore stayed the same! Going to such lengths seemed 

ironic in view of what happened to almost every used car on the 

first day it arrived. The manager would look over the car and the 

first words were invariably “no one will believe the car has done 

that many miles – Peter drive it backwards for … miles” 

Again cars were sourced from imaginative places. There was a 

Ford Zephyr taxi with over 100,000 miles on the clock. The 

speedometer was wound back and the taxi sign was removed 

from the roof, the resultant holes filled and sprayed. Then a new 

driver’s seat, door panel and carpet were fitted and the car was 

sold as “one owner low mileage in good condition” 

Another lucrative source of stock was British soldiers who had 

been posted in Germany as part of BFPO. At the beginning of 

their tour they often took British right hand drive cars with 

them. When they were due to return to UK the cars were 

virtually worthless in Germany and it was expensive to ship them 

back. The manager would go to Germany, buy the cars and 

transport them back by rail with sometimes 20 or 30 cars arriving 

at Billericay railway sidings. During the train journey most 

things that were removable such as wipers, wing mirrors hub caps 

and aerials had been stolen. However there was still plenty of 

profit to be made. 

One morning a nearly new Mini was brought out of the 

showroom ready for the new owner to collect it. The garage was 

on a slope and unfortunately the salesman hadn’t put the 

handbrake on properly. The car rolled down the slope and hit a 

steel girder that was supporting the roof leaving a large dent in 

the front wing. The car was rushed to the workshop where the 

dent was knocked out, filled and sprayed in about two hours. It 

was picked up by a happy new owner with no idea that the car 

had just been repaired and the paint barely dry. 

One advantage of these summer jobs is that I got to drive a 

variety of cars including pre-war models such as Austin 7, 

Standard 10, Morris 8 and Vauxhall 14. I drove virtually every 

popular car of the time and a few more unusual ones including 

Ford Consul (Mk 1 & 2), Popular, Prefect, V8 Pilot, Anglia, 

Zephyr, Zodiac, Austin A35, A40, Cambridge, Metropolitan, 

Westminster, Hillman Husky, Minx, Jaguar Mk2, MG Magnette, 

Morris Oxford, Minor, Mini, NSU Prinz, Riley Elf, Pathfinder 

Singer Gazelle, Standard Ten, Vanguard, Triumph Mayflower, 

Herald, Vanden-Plas Princess, Vauxhall Wyvern, Velox, Cresta, 

Victor... 

One of the challenges in stepping into a different car was 

working out the configuration of the gear change. Many of them 

had bench seats with column changes. Some had 3 speed and 

others 4 speed gearboxes. There was no standard gear shift layout 

with first gear towards the driver and down or away from the 

driver and up – it was always a particular challenge trying to find 

reverse! 

When I started my first ‘proper’ job in 1965 I had a 40 mile 

round trip each day between Billericay and Barking. I had to rush 

to buy a car but ended up with a Thames 5 cwt 100E van costing 

£80. It had three gears and took 25 seconds to get up to 60mph. 

There was no heater so in the winter I had to wear an overcoat, 

scarf and gloves. I bought, from Woolworths, a small bar heater 

which attached to the windscreen with rubber suckers to help 

stop ice forming on the inside of the windscreen as I was driving. 

The windscreen wipers suffered from the problem mentioned in 

these pages before – when accelerating they slowed to a standstill. 

This was not very helpful when you were on a dual carriageway 

trying to overtake a lorry throwing up copious amounts of spray. 

On deceleration they went so fast I was always waiting for them 

to fly off. 

The Thames served me well for a year before I had saved enough 

to buy an almost new Mini (which I didn’t buy from the garage 

I had worked at two summers previously!). 

Unfortunately the Mini only lasted 18 months because I 

managed to roll it, hit a fence post and tree and write it off – 

that’s another story! 

Dave Vicary 1955-62 

39

It was in 1969 that my wife, Margaret, and I went to Houston, 

Texas where I took up the appointment of Assistant Professor of 

Biochemistry at Baylor College of Medicine. Naturally we 

needed a car and I bought a Ford Mustang from a Japanese postdoctoral 

fellow who was returning to Japan. It only cost me $900 

as they were plentiful on the second-hand market even though it 

was one of the most iconic cars ever. 

The Ford Mustang first made its appearance on the USA market 

as a compact car in 1964. It was the first in a line of ‘pony cars’ 

which were designed as compact, affordable sporty cars which 

came as coupés or convertibles. They had rear wheel drive and a 

characteristic long hood (bonnet to us). It was mass produced by 

Ford using parts common to their other models, but owners 

could have their car individualised using multiple options. Ford’s 

first generation of the Mustang was manufactured until 1973, 

when it was followed by many revisions. 

My Mustang was a 1966 model, in white, with a straight-6, 200 

cubic inch engine (3 litres to us), developing 120bhp and had a 

top speed of 100mph. It had two doors, four bucket seats and a 

manual gear shift and was great fun to drive. It also had airconditioning 

which was essential in Houston as it had 90:90 

weather pretty much all year round (90°F and 90% humidity). If 

you poured some water on the ground in the morning, it was still 

there in the evening, it simply didn’t evaporate. 

I had to pass a Texas Driving Test, which was simple compared 

to our UK one at that time. I therefore had a Texas Driving 

Licence, which was also useful as my ID whenever I had to prove 

who I was. It was also handy to prove that I was over 21 when I 

went to buy beer in a bar. 

In the 1960s, all vehicles in Texas had to be re-licensed every year 

by buying a new number plate which had to be fixed to the rear of 

the car. The front plate could be anything you liked, but most 

Texans either had a Texas or Confederate flag to show their 

allegiance. Each year, the colour and design of the plates changed so 

that the police could easily see if a car was currently licensed or not. 

The registration plates were made in the Huntsville State Prison, 70 

miles South of Houston. That was where they imprisoned the 

“lifers” who had nothing better to do than to stamp out vehicle 

number plates. The number plates were $12.50 a pair in 1969, but 

for $15 you could have a personalised pair of plates comprising six 

numbers or letters. So, I 

decided to have “MOFFAT” as 

my number plates. 

My Texas driving licence 

My Mustang and I on Galveston beach 


THE MOFFAT MUSTANG 

The only two downsides were, 

firstly, that if you committed a 

moving traffic offence in the 

sight of a policeman, they 

weren’t going to forget the 

registration easily. Secondly, 

when we booked into an outof-state 

hotel and they asked 

for my car registration, it was 

difficult to explain that it was 

also my surname. 

We travelled extensively in the USA. Lots of weekends in 

Mexico, which was only 300 miles away; a vacation to Florida 

and the Keys; another to the West Coast; and a trip to 

Indianapolis to see the famous Indy 500 automobile race. One 

trip I vividly remember was driving to New Orleans to 

experience Mardi Gras. 

We only had one day’s holiday left that year, so we decided to do 

the round trip in one day. We left Houston at midnight on the 

Monday with two friends and drove the 400 miles to New 

Orleans, arriving at about 7am on the Tuesday for breakfast at a 

Walgreens pharmacy. The parades started at 9am and we enjoyed 

the parades with their massive floats, bands and carnival 

atmosphere until 5pm when we started home. Sharing the 

driving, we arrived back in Houston at half past midnight, having 

driven 800 miles in 24½ hours. Very enjoyable, but very tiring. 

Our final trip in the USA was the drive up to New York City 

via Niagara Falls to bring the car home on the QE2. Interestingly, 

it cost more on the QE2 than for me as a passenger and the car 

didn’t eat anything. The Captain’s Steward on the QE2 was 

Brian Smith, an old Stationer whom I knew and also a friend 

from Maurice Jay’s School of Dancing days. He used to bring 

part full bottles of champagne and “goodies” which were surplus 

to requirements from the Captain’s table to our cabin at the end 

of the day for late night feasts. 

When we arrived home, I had to keep the Mustang for 12 months 

before I could sell it, otherwise I would have had to pay UK 

import duty. At the end of the year, I advertised it for sale in the 

Exchange and Mart for £620, which was the sterling equivalent 

of the $900 I originally paid for it. A chap came up from 

Southampton to Newbury where we were living at that time and 

tried to negotiate with me. But, since he was wearing cowboy 

boots and a Stetson, I reckoned he would pay my price - and he 

did. So, after three years use of the car, I sold it for what it cost me. 

The Mustang is still in production today and can be bought 

with a petrol 5.0 litre V8 engine or as an all-electric SUV – the 

Ford MUSTANG MACH-E. What’s not to like? 

Tony Moffat 

Hi Tony, 

Many thanks for your Ford Mustang article which makes great 

reading. Coincidentally in 1969, I was also driving a white 

Mustang! I was 18 and still at school but had a Saturday job working 

for a house cleaning agency. I had a regular booking with an American 

family in East Finchley. The husband was a big cheese in the US navy 

and was never there but his car was parked in the drive and as his 

wife was always squiffy with vodka I persuaded them to let me give 

the Mustang a regular run out. It was a dream to drive but made the 

next 12 cars I owned, rather disappointing! Morris Oxford, Austin 

Devon, Ford Consul, Austin Cambridge, Morris Minor, etc, etc. 

Regards Tim 

What my number plate looked like 

40

I got involved with owning racehorses in the late 80s when a 

friend and I decided to buy a horse and persuaded 8 others to 

join us. The horse was called Beau Charm and he won some nice 

races for us. The trainer was the legendary Josh Gifford. 

In the 90s my wife and I had 5 horses; each one was a winner on 

at least one occasion and a young filly called Belle de Fontenay 

won 5! These were all national hunt horses, ie: jumpers! 

Now I run two syndicates and am involved in another 3. I am 

currently involved in 5 horses, the jewel in the crown being Up 

The Straight who since October 2019 has won £77,000 in prize 

money. They are magnificent beasts. I love to be at stables with 

them and it is still a rush to watch them race as I write this, the 

season for jumping. 

Robin Baker 


MY PASSION 

FROM BALLS TO WHEELS 

Well, there I was at the Stationers’ 60 Year Reunion of the Class 

of ’62 recently, chatting to former classmate and Old Stationer 

editor Tim Westbrook. 

I happened to mention to Tim that two days earlier I had ridden 

in a big cycling event in the Chiltern Hills. “You must write an 

article about it for the magazine” said Tim, at his most 

persuasive. So here we go… 

Why the title ‘From Balls to Wheels’ then, you may ask? Well, I 

thought that rather than just describe what happened while I 

was turning the pedals of my bike roughly 24,000 times during 

the ride event, I would broaden the context and briefly trace 

back the story to my time at Stationers’. 

1964 - Football Team (X of XI) 

John Copleston, Chris Lucas, Brian Cutts, David Shaw, Steve Smith, Peter 

Jarvis, Dave Gamester, Robert Sloma, Dave Hudson, Tim Westbrook 

You see, it’s football that has always been my all-consuming 

sport. Some of you may remember having previously seen this 

informal picture of our Stationers’ team from 1964, shivering in 

the mud before a match at Winchmore Hill. 

Weedy little winger Shaw being towered over by the boymountain 

that was Peter Jarvis and the strapping athlete Tim 

Westbrook. In those days my dad had to work on Saturdays so I 

cycled to both home and away matches from our house in 

distant Tottenham, and a basis for my cycling in later life must 

have been laid then. 

Around the time I left Stationers’ aged 15 during my Lower 6th 

year in 1968 (having stupidly not taken my education there very 

seriously), I shot up to a height over 6 feet tall. This resulted in 

the little chap stuck on the wing transforming into a classic 

centre half stopper. 

In that defensive role I moved my football career rapidly through 

youth football to senior non-Football League clubs. Initially, in 

my teens, with Enfield prior to their appearance in the last ever 

FA Amateur Cup Final at Wembley (before football went 

aa-open and amateur status was abolished). I didn’t make the 

team and we lost 1-0 to Hendon. Boo on both counts! 

After playing for a handful of senior clubs, such as Hayes, my last 

stop was at Wycombe Wanderers in my mid-thirties. This was 

just before Wycombe made it into the Football League where 

they now play in Division One. Did he give up then? Oh no he 

didn’t! I played on in local football for Old Challoners (Dr 

Challoners Grammar School in Amersham) and only gave up 

aged 64 due to suddenly losing my hearing as the result of an 

accident. Looking back, I regret never having played for Old 

Stationers as so many of the Class of ’62 did. 

So that’s “Balls” dealt with, now on to “Wheels”. From the time 

I cycled all those miles to Stationers’ football matches, I didn’t 

cycle at all until I was in my late 50s. At that time I followed my 

son in his junior rugby years and his manager and coaches began 

cycling for a short while before Sunday morning rugby matches. 

I joined in on an old borrowed bike and 3 months later my wife 

bought me my first road bike of the current era. For the cycling 

cognoscenti I will mention the names of some of the kit – my 

first bike was an entry-level Specialized Allez. 

Junior rugby soon moved on to Colts level and matches started 

later at 1pm. So the cycle rides beforehand became longer and a 

few other dads joined in, as well as some friends. Thus was born 

Old Bucks Cycling (so named because we’re all old and live in 

Buckinghamshire). 

From the jersey (page 42), you can see our distinctive logo and over 

the pockets are printed the flags of our members of the group, some 

of which are easy to name but one in particular seems to catch most 

people out. Also, people often ask, “What is Rule 5?”. I won’t answer 

that question here but for those who are interested, you’ll have to 

visit this cycling website www.velominati.com of the self-styled 

Keepers of the Cog. It’s an amusing and informative read. 

41


We’ve never been a formalised cycling club, just a group 

of chaps linked on a WhatsApp group. We cycle 

around 50-60 miles every Sunday morning 

around the Chilterns, Thames Valley and 

Oxfordshire, averaging 16-17 mph. 

Though our club is not formally organised, 

we’ve always competed in various cycling 

sportives and events in the UK and elsewhere 

in the world. My first event was a 64-mile 

charity ride to honour a cycling friend who died 

of cancer aged only 40. We still hold this event 

every year, now on Year 12. Some of you may be 

familiar with other events I’ve ridden including 

the Chiltern Hundred (over 100 miles with 29 

categorised climbs) and now renamed L’Etape 

UK, Ride London 100 miles, Princes Risborough 

St Georges 80 miles and there are many others. 

I still have my original Specialized Allez, which is an aluminiumframed 

bike. I’ve added mudguards and it still works hard as my 

winter bike. About 10 years ago, approaching a London-to- 

Brighton event I’d entered, I bought a wonderful Focus Cayo 

carbon fibre road bike which I loved and cherished. To my anger 

and disgust, this bike was 

stolen 2 years ago from 

outside a Costa coffee shop. 

Cue for a new bike. I wanted 

a British built and framed 

bike so bought an Orro 

Venturi carbon fibre aero 

bike and I’m delighted with 

it. Has all the bells and 

whistles such as electronic 

gear changing, hydraulic disc 

brakes and tubeless tyres. 

Very fast and climbs 

beautifully. 

What, then, of the event 

from this September 2022 

which Tim asked me to write about? It was the Marlow 

Red Kite event, a ride I usually take part in every 

September (if you’re interested to know more 

about it, like routes, gradient profiles or to 

enter for next year, here is a link: https:// 

marlowredkiteride.co.uk). 

On this lovely event, you cycle through 

some of the most picturesque parts of the 

Chilterns. This is the land of “Midsomer 

Murders”, “The Vicar of Dibley”, “Lewis”, “Miss 

Marple”, “Jonathan Creek” and countless TV 

commercials. But it is also great cycling territory. 

I count myself very fortunate to have the Chiltern 

Hills on my doorstep, although the operative 

word ‘hills’ makes for lots of toil climbing up 

gradients. 

Here I am crossing the finish line and not looking too 

bedraggled for once. Obviously I must have left other contestants 

gasping in my wake at my final sprint before turning in to cross 

the line! 

And how did I do in the Marlow Red Kite event this time? 

Sadly, in this age of political correctness and data privacy, the 

organisers can no longer publish named lists of the 500+ 

participants, their age cohort and timings achieved. It used to be 

one of the fun aspects to comb the list after the ride to see how 

all your mates had done and to spot who else you know that had 

ridden. Now they just list rider number, age group, distance and 

time so you have to wade through manually to gather a few 

morsels of data. I discovered that there were only 9 riders in my 

70+ age cohort. Annoyingly, one of these posted a marginally 

faster time than me. As the automatic timing devices measure 

elapsed time rather than time actually ridden on the road, I 

concluded that despite having ridden hard I must have lost too 

much time scoffing bananas and flapjacks at the feeding stations! 

Next year I’m determined to spend less time at food stops and 

to be the top 70+ rider. Well, we should always have goals to aim 

for, shouldn’t we…? 

Dave Shaw 

OBITUARIES 

ADRIAN CONSTABLE 

1936-2022 

Adrian Constable passed away in January 

2022, aged 86. 

Born in Lewisham, Adrian Constable 

(ACC) lived in Harrow during most of his 

24 years at Stationers'. Following the 

school’s closure, he had a few short-term 

placements in schools in and around the 

North of England after which he relocated 

from Great Ayton, North Yorkshire to 

Kendal in Cumbria where he retired early 

in 1987, at the age of 52. 

Northern Europe was the family holiday 

destination of choice for many years where 

ACC had ample opportunity to dazzle the 

family with his spoken French and German 

and more rarely Russian. He was still 

doing occasional teaching and lectures into 

his 70s, until he moved to Cambridge (his 

alma mater) in 2013. For the last 3 years or 

so, he was suffering from Alzheimer's and 

living in a care home near his son in 

Surrey. Nevertheless, he still retained his 

love of languages even during his time in 

care, occasionally using the odd Russian 

phrase to playfully berate Anne and 

sometimes even conversing with the Polish 

staff in Russian! He is survived by his wife 

Anne, who is living in the same care home, 

his 4 sons - Steven, Timothy, Jonathan and 

James - and his 11 grandchildren. 

Adrian Constable was an inspirational 

languages teacher. He was also backed by 

the very latest technology of the time - a 

fully equipped reel-to-reel language 

laboratory with individual booths for each 

headphoned student – enabling intensive 

42


and accelerated learning of French, 

German and Russian. In 1965 he 

established an exchange visit programme 

with a school in Kassel Germany that 

received a commendation from the Mayor 

of Haringey, no less. ACC ran the 

European Society for several years, 

broadening students’ horizons to provide 

fascinating insights into European culture 

and he also ran the Chess Club. He was a 

man of high moral and intellectual fibre, 

but in many ways he was also reticent and 

certainly not effusive about his past 

achievements. Two examples of the fruit of 

his knowledge and skills as a linguist 

provide a little more insight into the man. 

The first example is ACC’s private 

translation into English of Thomas Mann’s 

The Magic Mountain (Der Zauberberg) 

- widely considered to be one of the most 

influential works of twentieth-century 

German literature. He undoubtedly 

realised that the original 1927 translation 

by Mann’s nominated translator was 

littered with elementary errors, omissions, 

distortions and inaccuracies and laboured 

over his own painstaking translation for a 

number of years. Mann’s German is 

especially difficult to render in English 

and this was certainly ACC’s magnum 

opus. While he never spoke much about 

this himself, apparently the BBC heard 

about it and expressed an interest in using 

it as the basis for an English dramatisation 

of the story. Regrettably, either his modesty 

or perhaps lack of the publisher’s 

permission, prevented this from 

proceeding. However, it was something he 

was personally very proud of and remains 

a lasting legacy of his passion for modern 

languages. 

While he inspired many boys with this 

passion at Stationers’, the second example 

is the inspiration his son James took in 

pursuing his own linguistic interests, as 

explained by James Constable: 

“When I was aged 11, my parents took the 

decision to send me to preparatory school 

for two years, where I would study Latin 

for the first time. This was a little daunting 

for me to say the least, but having an 

accomplished linguist and teacher in the 

family paid great dividends. Dad gave me 

a number of Latin lessons in the summer 

prior to my first term, as well as some top 

up teaching at home after I joined, and I 

placed top of the class in the Latin exam 

after my first term at the school. This was 

the beginning of my own adventure as a 

linguist (admittedly shorter than Dad’s 

journey) which led me to study Latin and 

Ancient Greek at GCSE and A-Level at 

grammar school, to achieve first class 

honours in Classics at the University of 

Newcastle upon Tyne, and subsequently to 

earn an MPhil in Ancient Greek linguistics 

at Cambridge University. For these 

achievements I owe a great deal to Dad for 

introducing me to Latin, for the support 

he gave me throughout my studies and 

undoubtedly for a linguistic aptitude I am 

certain I inherited from him.” 

All language students at Stationers’ would 

echo those words of appreciation for the 

same level of care and dedicated devotion 

shown towards them. 

Colin Williams 

CAPTAIN PETER HAMES 

RN - CLERK 

1984-1996 

SOME REFLECTIONS 

FROM TOM CORRIGAN 

Before I was Master 

Peter Hames, having retired from the 

Navy, was appointed Clerk to the Company 

in 1984, succeeding Col Sacha Rubens. 

Peter joined at a propitious time in the 

Company’s evolution: there was a strong 

desire and need for change in its operation 

and activities. Led by Master Lawrence 

Viney, Peter Hames interpreted and 

executed the changes and thus deserves 

the major credit for the highly successful 

improvement in the Company’s fortunes. 

Most of the City livery companies in those 

days had very few events apart from Civic 

and Charter Dinners. Those with Halls 

rarely hired them out. Stationers were no 

exception. Finances were tight and Hall 

maintenance had been neglected for some 

years. 

One of the first of Peter’s initiatives was to 

start letting the Hall commercially to 

outsiders, including other liveries without 

halls and for weddings, private parties, 

company AGMs, investment presentations 

and other suitable events. Thus began 

what has become a significant revenue 

stream for the Company. To succeed in 

this required considerable expenditure and 

a planned maintenance programme to 

ensure the Hall was attractive to hirers was 

instigated by Peter, with help from one or 

two on the Court. 

Peter Hames ran a tight ship as Clerk, and 

was a strict disciplinarian. At one Civic 

Dinner, a member of the Court, who is no 

longer with us and shall be nameless, fell 

asleep and half slid down his seat, under 

the nose of the Lord Mayor! The following 

morning Hames demanded and received, 

his immediate resignation from the Court 

and Livery. I never discovered whether the 

Master of the time had been consulted. 

One curious feature of Peter’s first Court 

meeting was to signify acceptance of the 

Master’s directions by saying “aye, aye, Sir”! 

This rather startled the Court. Peter asked 

if that was acceptable and to the 

astonishment of some, most, reluctantly, 

accepted it and this practice continued 

throughout his term in office! 

As a member of the Court from 1981, I 

worked on several of the projects which 

had been set in motion. Peter was 

throughout this time very committed and 

keen to harness the talents in various 

disciplines within the livery. 

My year as Master 

When I was Master July 1990/91, I got to 

know Peter Hames very well. We held 

briefings once a week which I found most 

helpful. At our first meeting I said I 

wished to see all mail, invitations and other 

communications addressed to the Master. 

(I had become aware that clerks of other 

companies, particularly the Great Twelve, 

routinely suppressed mail, deciding 

whether their master should attend a 

company which was regarded unsuitable!) 

Peter readily agreed to this. Many interlivery 

invitations are to the Master and 

Clerk and Peter was excellent at briefing 

on this, telling me what to expect from 

each company. 

At the time the Stationers were ‘in 

communion’ with some 20 companies, 

43


most had Masters’ and Clerks’ Dinners. 

Stationers held no such event and invited 

these Masters to our livery dinners or 

lunches. Peter proposed and I readily 

agreed that we should start a dedicated 

Masters and Clerks’ Dinner in my year. 

The first was held in February 1991 and 

was a great success. We managed to attract 

six of the Great Twelve. The event is now a 

major date in the Stationers’ Court year 

and one which is keenly anticipated by 

Masters and Clerks with whom we are ‘in 

communion’. 

One curious discovery early on was that 

Peter did not regard responsibility for the 

financial results of the Company as his! 

That was the Treasurer’s job! Despite my 

pointing out that he was the most senior 

employee and effectively running the show, 

he would not be shifted. Shortly after this 

I proposed that the ladies’ cloakroom near 

the front entrance be refurbished as it was 

in poor state and compared unfavourably 

with other halls. Peter agreed but, on 

consulting the Treasurer, encountered 

refusal on the grounds it would turn a 

profitable outcome for the year into a 

deficit. After some strong exchanges, I 

solved the dilemma by explaining that the 

expenditure was an improvement and thus 

could be capitalised and depreciated 

annually. The Treasurer apologised and 

Peter and I were satisfied. 

Peter did listen to and act on advice. After 

some three months, I had observed that at 

our briefing meetings, he would call in his 

secretary after each point of action we had 

agreed. Following the fourth such call, I 

gently suggested he accumulated the 

matters for the secretary to note at the end, 

rather than repeatedly calling her in and 

disrupting her work. To his credit he 

seemed to accept this modest advice. 

An excellent innovation introduced by 

Peter was a Masters’ Book in which each 

Master was invited to enter a short note of 

each event they attended during their year. 

This could include the date, venue, dress 

code, quality of event including type of 

welcome and hospitality received and 

mentioning any special feature, whether 

ladies and/or clerk invited. This was a 

valuable guide for one’s successors. 

I made a point of showing Peter drafts of 

all my speeches. He was most helpful in 

his suggestions and was not afraid to 

comment on areas of improvements in 

delivery. 

All in all, Peter was to become a trusted 

friend and advisor. 

After my time as Master 

One of the most significant achievements 

of Peter was the time and trouble he took 

to get to know new liverymen and to 

provide them with a thorough briefing on 

the livery movement and their part in it, 

particularly as Stationers. This policy paid 

dividends all round as the “new boys and 

girls” felt a genuine personal welcome and 

were known to Peter from the outset. 

Likewise, when Old Stationers, who were 

already entitled to become Freemen, were 

later eligible to apply for advancement to 

the Livery, Peter ensured they all received 

the same induction as all other new 

liverymen. This resulted in a great affection 

by the Old Stationers for Peter and on his 

retirement they elected him as an Honorary 

Old Stationer. 

Peter was a great fan of sea songs and 

introduced them at certain events. Some of 

us, I included, were not so keen on this 

idea but a majority were clearly in favour 

and so they continued! At his last Masters 

and Clerks’ Dinner, Peter played a fast one 

on Alan Brooker and me, as the principal 

opposers of songs. Without any prior 

warning he announced there would be a 

duet comprising the two of us. We accepted 

our fate with due humility! Our efforts 

were not entirely flawless but everyone 

seemed to enjoy them! 

It is worth noting that when Peter started, 

the staff comprised four people: the Clerk, 

assistant Clerk (Major John Moon), a 

secretary and a Hall Keeper. Admittedly, as 

explained above, there was little activity 

and most of the limited events were 

organised by the Livery Committee. 

Through Peter’s efforts to grow the 

activities of the Company, we now employ 

ten members of staff and have greater 

engagement within the membership. 

When his term expired, Peter requested a 

two-year extension in order to accept an 

invitation to serve a similar term on the 

City of London Livery Committee, an 

important honour recognising his 

achievements at Stationers. After some 

discussion, this was agreed. 

Peter’s record at the Stationers’ Company 

was exceptional. He quickly made a 

transfer from service life to a completely 

different scene and soon understood the 

peculiarities of livery companies. He was 

an outstanding success and largely 

responsible for the status of the Company 

today and the huge changes for the better 

he helped to bring to fruition. He brought 

the best of his Service experience to the 

benefit of the Company. 

On retirement Peter was rightly made a 

Liveryman of the Company. For many 

years he continued to attend events and 

meet his many Stationer friends. 

Throughout his time at Stationers, Peter 

was loyally supported by his wife Angela. 

We all mourn his passing and offer our 

deepest condolences to Angela and their 

four daughters. 

PM Tom Corrigan 

KEITH WOODLEY 

Hello Gentlemen, 

Perhaps you have already heard of the sad 

death of Keith Woodley who was of course 

in our year. Michael I think you knew him 

quite well and Don you will of course need 

to amend your list of members for the re 

unions. 

I got to know him because we travelled 

together on the same train each day from 

Palmers Green to Harringay West along 

with Roger Shadbolt and Ernie Wilkins. 

Often saw him around later on at the 

Saturday evening late teen age dances and 

then we lost touch for about 30 years. 

Suddenly he came out of the blue as the 

President of the Institute of Chartered 

Accountants. There may be an obit in the 

press in the next few days so watch this 

space. 

David Turner 

PETER REDMAN 

Good morning gentlemen, 

On behalf of Sylvia, Peter’s wife and their 

family, it is with great sadness that I advise 

you that Peter died on Saturday 6th August 

2022. 

Peter had been ill for a while and up until 

a few days before he died he had been in 

Barnet General Hospital. Given his state 

of health, Sylvia and the family were able to 

have him moved to his home where he 

died peacefully with his family around him. 

Peter was President of OSA in 1999 and 

his school years, I believe, were 1953-1960. 

Peter was a close friend living in the next 

road to me in Potters Bar and we would 

attend OSA lunches together. We are both 

members of Potters Bar Rotary Club and 

Potters Bar 41 Club. 

Kindest regards to you all. 

Doug Fussell 

44


MEMBERSHIP 

SECRETARY'S REPORT 

The small minority of members who 

do not pay their subscription by bank 

standing order mandate, and who 

have not paid in advance for 2023 

should treat this magazine as their 

“invoice” and send their cheque, or 

make a bank transfer, before I start to 

chase for out-standing items. 

Please! 

PUZZLE CORNER 

WORD SEARCH – SCOTCH BLENDED WHISKY BRANDS 

BALLANTINES BELLS CUTTY SARK CHIVAS REGAL DEWARS 

DIMPLE FAMOUS GROUSE JOHNNIE WALKER TEACHERS WHITE HORSE 

since last report 

to date 

Paying members at 1st Jan 2022 471 

Life member 1 

Honorary members (2) 8 

New members 4 34 

Deaths (7) (13) 

Re-instalments/Resignations (1) (2) 

Deletions (1) (3) 

TOTAL (7) 496 

New members 

Joe Aiello, Simon Green, Chris Mattey 

and Alan Campbell. 

Deaths 

Peter Hawkins, Rod Dennison, Eric 

Bowman, Peter Redmond, Reg Eccles, 

Brother Don Green, Keith Woodley. 

Graham Stacy has effectively 

resigned as he has been moved into a 

care home with dementia sufficient 

to prevent him from enjoying the 

magazines. 

Honorary members 

A review of members granted 

membership with no obligation to 

pay a subscription has identified a 

number who are no longer at the 

address on the database, were not 

specifically “members” or are known 

to have died. Some anomalies arise 

because the Database is mainly to do 

with producing address labels for the 

magazines. I keep an entirely 

separate spreadsheet to record 

subscriptions received and due. 

Anomalies include Wisbech School 

and the Stationers’ News (a 

publication from the Company) are 

“members” but the Master and Clerk 

of the Company are not. The two 

separate spreadsheets are reconciled 

on an occasional basis. 

Roger Engledow 

December 2022 

1 TABLE BOA (5, 3) A drink for the leader of monks 

2 EIDER PEG (8) All expensive dogs have one of these 

3 HOOD YOKEL (3, 6) Peter Pan’s adversary 

4 PROBES FISHING (7, 6) A mitred digit 

5 BEAR FELLOWSHIPS (7, 8) A mitred bye bye 

SUDOKU 

To solve the Sukoku 

Puzzle, fill the grid so that 

every column, every row 

and every 3x3 box contains 

the numbers 1 to 9. The 

puzzle is rated Difficult. 

ANAGRAMS (below) 

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 your 

favourite beer. 

6 FATTEN LOGO (10) Twisted bottom of leg 

7 HIGH POSTS (5, 4) Spectral vessel 

8 SIDEBOARD (9) Fire all the cannons 

9 CREDITORS (9) They run the company 

10 SHOULD TWO (9) Suffolk coastal town 

45


PHOTOGRAPHIC COMPETITION 2022 - "WATER" 

The fourth OSA Photographic Competition had as its theme 

“Water”. We suggested that the photograph could be of static 

water such as ponds and lakes; moving water such as rivers, seas, 

waves, waterfalls etc; birds drinking; dogs shaking off water after 

being in it; or anything else that looks interesting and attractive. 

Wherever your imagination took you. 

We were really pleased to receive a total of 50 entries for the 

competition. These came from 24 different Old Stationers’, four 

more competitors than last year. The competition has obviously 

taken off and also become an international event as we had 

entries from Canada, USA and Germany as well as the UK. 

A number of competitors suggested that we should show a 

number of the entries rather than just the winner. So, with Tim 

Westbrook’s permission, we can now display photographs from 

the winner and three runners up. The winner is to get a bottle of 

champagne, presented to him at the AGM in March 2023, 

where it is our intention to display some of the entries. 

We used the following criteria to choose the winner: composition, 

originality, interpretation of the theme, technical quality and 

most importantly – how 

did an entry stand out 

from the crowd. 

There were many really 

super entries that were 

worthy of being used as 

holiday postcards - 

beautiful sunsets, dogs in 

the water, swimmers, 

cyclist fording a stream 

and even a bottle of wine. 

One of the cheekiest 

entries was a photograph 

of a steam engine, “Water 

Power Anorak Heaven”. 

However, the winner was 

Malcolm Abbott with “Early Morning” (opposite). We thought 

that it was truly atmospheric, with water as both liquid in the 

river and as a mist in the early morning. The trees are reflected 

in the water and also frame the upper part of the photograph. 

The rays of the sun are shining through the trees to give the 

photograph more depth and the boats give it even more character. 

The three we chose as runners up all had water as the main theme 

of the photographs. They are, in no particular order: “The 

Moonshine’s Watery Beams”, of a nearly full moon over the 

Atlantic, (Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, iv, 53) from that 

English scholar Stephen Collins; and “Natures’ Abstract” from 

Hugh Grist who took it whilst hiking the Matukituke River on the 

South Island of New Zealand; and “Time to Reflect in Scotland” 

from Graham Eldridge who says that it demonstrates how water 

can create a mirror and enhance the coastal scene at Mallaig. 

Thanks to all the Old Stationers’ who sent in entries. A great 

competition. So, watch out for the next one in the July edition of 

The Old Stationer. 

Tony Moffat and Peter Thomas 

46

PHOTOGRAPHIC COMPETITION WINNER 

“Early Morning” by Malcolm Abbott 

Opposite page: 

“The Moonshine’s Watery Beams” by Stephen Collins; “Natures’ Abstract” by Hugh Grist; 

“Time to Reflect in Scotland” by Graham Eldridge. 

PUZZLE SOLUTIONS 

CHEMICAL SUDOKU 

WORD SEARCH 

ANAGRAMS 

1. ABBOT ALE 

2. PEDIGREE 

3. OLD HOOKEY 

4. BISHOPS FINGER 

5. BISHOPS FAREWELL 

6. TANGLEFOOT 

7. GHOST SHIP 

8. BROADSIDE 

9. DIRECTORS 

10. SOUTHWOLD

The Old Stationers’ Association

OSAmag96-yumpu

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