A. R. D. Wright Headmaster 1963-1975 Winter 2012 Issue No. 151

Transcript

A. R. D. WRIGHT Headmaster 1963-1975 WINTER 2012 ISSUE No. 151 School News EDITOR Richard Hudson Churchill’s Hall Shrewsbury School Shrewsbury SY3 7AT Tel: 01743 280630 [email protected] ASSISTANT EDITOR Annabel Warburg OBITUARIES EDITOR Hugh Ramsbotham Old salopian club Alex Baxter (Director) Miriam Walton (Administrator) Old Salopian Club The Schools Shrewsbury SY3 7BA Tel: 01743 280891 (Director) 01743 280892 (Administrator) E D I TOR I A L High the vanes of Shrewsbury gleam Islanded in Severn stream With the happy coincidence of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and London Olympics it has been a momentous year. There will be a particular sense of relief in the Old Salopian community that at long last the Queen’s Terrace, already dank and decaying when I left Shrewsbury in 1972, has been restored to pristine glory. The ground staff have done their usual magnificent job; once again the terrace is a worthy platform from which to contemplate the view over the town so memorably described by A. E. Housman in A Shropshire Lad. The life of A. R. D. Wright, arguably the 20th century’s greatest reforming headmaster, is justly commemorated in historian Laurence Le Quesne’s appreciation and Roger Sainsbury’s obituary. Bishop Roger Sainsbury talks of the huge influence which ‘The Shewsy’ had on Wright – and vice versa – inaugurating the social studies courses which continue to this day, an important reminder, to those privileged to attend and work at Shrewsbury School, of the reality of life for so many outside its walls. For us schoolboys, the Wright reforms, at 2 least those we were aware of, swept away many of what we considered the outdated traditions of traditional public school life: detachable collars; compulsory daily chapel; compulsory singing of the school song; and house ‘feeding’ (as it was inelegantly known). As the late Michael Charlesworth wrote in his autobiography Behind the Headlines, Wright in his early years particularly seemed to possess an instinctive feel for the spirit of the age. These were turbulent years of student revolt, filtering down into schools and memorably satirised in Lindsay Anderson’s film If which seems so outlandish now, even if, to our impressionable and rebellious minds, it didn’t seem so at the time. Thankfully we have now moved into a different era of reforms which are less concerned with dealing with potential revolution than changing and modernising the school to meet its future challenges; and the charitable outreach of the School is burgeoning as never before, as can be seen in this issue of The Salopian. But if one thing is certain, it will be that the vanes of Shrewsbury which have stood proud since the middle ages, will continue to gleam, islanded in Severn stream, serene and unruffled. School News A ROYAL VISIT 1952 This was followed by a tour of the Moser Building where the Queen was presented with a copy of Shrewsbury School Library Bindings, bound in school colours. The Royal party then visited the Darwin buildings, where exhibitions of science, art and photography were on display. “The Hunt started their run – in future known as the Queen’s Run – as the Royal party passed. Plenty of boys were playing Fives; and 1st Game soccer, in which I took part, was also in action, a goal being scored – not by me, I would like to add! – at the time of the arrival of royalty. The Royal couple went round one of the boarding houses [Oldham’s], lunched in School House and ended the day with a memorable service in the Chapel where, it was noted, ‘... the singing was all that had been hoped for, and those near Her Majesty could see that she was deeply moved by the singing of the National Anthem’.” Sixty years ago, the School marked its fourth centenary with an extensive programme of events and celebrations that involved Salopians both past and current. One major highlight of these celebrations took place on Friday 24th October 1952, when the School was honoured by a visit of Her Majesty The Queen and H.R.H. The Duke of Edinburgh. The 1952 visit is entertainingly described by Michael Charlesworth in his book ‘Behind the Headlines’. The royal couple had expressed a desire to see the School on a normal working day. As Michael recalls, it took many hours of debate and discussion to organise 'a normal day' for the visit, which ended up being "a mad scramble as boys appeared and reappeared, as soldiers, as gymnasts, as fives players, as runners, in order to be discovered being normal". “Altogether it was a memorable day ... There was dignity but also light-heartedness; as the Queen walked down the high staircase of the School House after lunch, she accurately 'bombed' her husband, standing in the hall below, with her gloves.” We are very grateful to David Longrigg (Ch 1949-54), grandfather of current Salopians Charles Gillow and Arthur Bowen, who has sent us his recollections of the day: “I was fortunate enough to be a boy aged sixteen when the Queen, in the first year of her reign, and the Duke of Edinburgh, visited the School to celebrate its fourth centenary. It was meant to be a so-called normal day but, of course, it was anything but that. I was one of 558 boys in a mass PT display, organised and rehearsed, daily for weeks, it seemed, by our main PT instructor, retired Regimental Sergeant Major Joyce. There was a Guard of Honour; what became known as the Queen’s Terrace was opened; and the Headmaster, J.M. Peterson, introduced three previous headmasters, the Governors and officers of the Old Salopian Club. 3 School News efficiency of everything which they saw, and particularly perhaps, by the smartness of the Guard of Honour and the spirited playing of the Band and the remarkable co-ordination of the mass display of Physical Training. What impressed Her Majesty most, however, was the obvious happiness and the naturalness of the boys, shown, among other things, by their rousing singing in the Chapel; and she was very glad to be able to meet several of them. The Queen finally wishes me to thank you personally for the your hospitality and for a visit to which both Her Majesty and The Duke of Edinburgh look back with particular pleasure. Yours sincerely, Edward Ford The Queen and Duke had spent the previous night on board the royal train at a cutting near Much Wenlock a few miles from the School, and as the royal Daimler slowly departed from the School, two boys at the gates did their best to thumb a lift, much to the amusement of the Royal party!” The Headmaster later received the following letter: My Dear Headmaster, Both Her Majesty and the Duke of Edinburgh very much enjoyed their day at the School and were much impressed with the tone and 4 School News 2012: THE RE-OPENING OF THE QUEEN’S TERRACE will shortly be retiring from his position as Governor, having been in the post since 2006 when he was elected by the Headmaster and Assistant Masters of the School. Just as the speeches were coming to an end, a double rainbow appeared behind the speakers, investing the occasion with cosmic significance! In celebration of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Year and to mark the 60th anniversary of the Royal Visit to the School, the Queen’s Terrace has been refurbished. The north-facing lawn had always been something of a challenge and it has now been replaced with local Shropshire stone and some formal planting. The original paving stones have also been taken up and re-laid. We were delighted to welcome back a number of former members of staff for the official re-opening on 14th October. Two of the guests had attended the original opening by the young Queen Elizabeth in 1952: Old Salopian, Robin Moulsdale (I 1942-46) taught English here from 1951 to 1981 and was Housemaster of Moser's; Adrian Struvé was in the Modern Languages faculty from 1950 to 1986, and was Housemaster of Churchill's and Headroom (when it was half of School House) during this time. In slight drizzle, the Headmaster stood next to the commemorational plaque, perched high up above the Severn (mentions of risk assessments caused much amusement) as he addressed the hundred or so guests gathered on the newly refurbished terrace. Guest of honour Lt Col Stephen Caney MBE (Staff 1983-99; Second Master 1993-99) spoke afterwards. Stephen The Headmaster and Lt Col Stephen Caney The plaque records the original inauguration: HANC GESTATIONEM ANNO SCHOLAE FUNDATAE QUADRINGENTESIMO EXTRACTAM PRIMA INGRESSA EST ELIZABETH II REGINA AD IX KAL NOV MCMLII (Queen Elizabeth was the first to walk upon this terrace constructed in the 400th year since the foundation of the school on 24th October 1952) There then follows a verse written by D.S. Colman (OS and Master) with the translation: UNDE TRAHAM NOMEN MOLES RUDIS, ADVENA, QUAERIS. DISCE OLIM DOMINAE ME TETIGISSE PEDES. TUM VERA INCESSU PATUIT REGINA. QUIS UMQUAM. CONTEMNET TITULOS ABSTULERITVE MEOS? (Stranger, you ask whence I, a mere mass of earth derive my name. Learn that once my mistress's foot and I met. Then she walked as a true queen. Who will ever despise or steal away my claim to honour?) 5 School News A.R.D.WRIGHT HEADMASTER (1963-1975) of the twentieth century, and this is true both in terms of bricks ad mortar and of the changes that he introduced in almost every area of school life: if Jack Peterson had been halcyon, Donald was a storm petrel. Of the changes that he introduced, many were overdue and most have lasted: they included the abolition of first lesson and after twelves, the end of douling and monitorial privileges, the radical revision of the school curriculum including the replacement of the side system in the sixth form with the block system, the end of the old privileged status of the classics and the major advance of science, the building of Kingsland Hall and the introduction of central feeding, the expansion of music and art in the life of the School, and the removal of the old barrier that kept school and town so far apart by greater freedoms to go into town, the easing of clothing regulations, and the multiplication of trips away from the Site, to dances, to plays, to Talargerwyn, and on half term exeats. It is true that not all these changes were due to Donald; some had begun under Jack Peterson, others were initiated by the changing attitudes of sixth formers who would no longer tolerate pettifogging restrictions on their clothing and the length of their hair, and many originated with the professional architects and educational and financial advisers whom Donald was always eager to consult; and the spirit of the age played a large part in many of them, for this was the Sixties. The winds of change were blowing strong, most of them hostile to the authority of the elderly and the weight of tradition, and favouring greater liberty and opportunity for the young to do their own thing. But Donald was himself sympathetic to the spirit of the age and helped to propagate it by inviting many of its leading figures down to talk to the staff, or to preach in the chapel pulpit. Donald’s first reaction to the school was that it was a cramped and intensely introverted community (and few who remember the Site in the 50s would challenge that judgement) and all the more so because social life was confined to the boarding houses and dominated by the house monitors; privacy was almost entirely lacking, the provision of music and art and spare time activities in general was quite inadequate, and although work in specialist subjects was of high quality, there was no scope for broader intellectual life, and no proper school library to nourish it. It was these impressions that were chiefly responsible for shaping his earliest proposals for change, and they can still be recognised as major themes of these proposals – most striking in the transformation of the Moser building and the improvement of facilities for art and music: indeed, of all the features of present-day Shrewsbury that can be traced back to ARDW’s reforms, the ones that most strongly reflect his own ideas are surely the extraordinary developments in art, music and drama that have taken place, culminating in the public sphere, at the Edinburgh Festival, the concerts at St John’s Smith Square, Birmingham and elsewhere. As time went by, though, these times were to an extent diverted and overtaken by urgent calls for action in other areas which had not been foreseen at the time of Donald’s appointment. The first was an alarming crisis in the School’s finances, which threatened to put a veto at the outset on any of the major building projects which his proposed reforms necessitated. The crisis was met, and effectively overcome, by the appointment of a new Bursar and a new financial I am not sure if there is such as thing as a common run of Shrewsbury headmasters; but if there is, Donald Wright was not a member of it, and this was obvious even before his arrival on the Site in September 1963. For one thing, all Shrewsbury’s other twentieth century headmasters have been appointed either from headmasterships elsewhere, or from housemasterships at Eton (no doubt implying a rough equivalence between the two categories). A. R. D. Wright (‘Arthur Ronald Donald’, as he was sometimes referred to in Common Room when derision was intended) was neither; he was only (implied, if not expressed) a housemaster at Marlborough. Nor was this the only departure from the norm of Shrewsbury headmasters. Unlike all his predecessors, ARDW was not a classical scholar – indeed he made no pretence of being either. Nor was he a product of the traditional public school world – his own school was Bryanston, from the far left liberal fringes of public schooldom, and his early teaching experience was at University College School (a day school) and Leighton Park (a Quaker school). You did not have to be a very penetrating reader between the lines to suspect that the governors had decided that Shrewsbury was due for a shake-up, and it is not very surprising that his advent on the Site was awaited, especially by the Salopian establishment, with a mixture of curiosity, alarm and eager expectation. Nor were they left in any doubt for long about what the new headmaster was like. He was, for one thing, a tall and imposing figure, in immediate contrast with his predecessor, Jack Peterson. But it was not his physical presence that made the biggest impression on the Site, but his energy. Suddenly, after twelve quiet years of Jack Peterson’s reign, change was in the air. It was very evident that the new headmaster was a man of action who believed in making things happen, and obstacles were apt to be impatiently swept aside. A notice went up on the Common Room board whose first words were ‘There will be a hut’ – it turned out to be nothing more than a brisk list of much-needed reforms of the traditional method of ordering books, but the tone would not have been out of place in the first chapter of the book of Genesis. This was a man who, when he saw something that needed to be done, saw no point in not doing it immediately; and he soon saw a number of things that needed to be done. Impatient energy crackled in the air around him – an energy which might occasionally seem disproportionate and which some might feel to be misdirected, but which made the Common Room a vastly more stimulating and exhilarating place to be in than it had ben in living memory – indeed, since the days of Alington – and which, if it alarmed some, evoked the enthusiastic support of many others. He was an idealist who believed that ancient idols should be swept aside without much ado if they had outlived their usefulness and stood in the way of something better. He opened his first masters’ meeting with a prayer and, addressing the whole school in the Alington Hall at the end of his first term, started by playing a piano solo. He drove a fast car, fast. Jack Peterson had always ridden a bicycle. This was clearly a man who was going to change things, and in the twelve years which followed he amply lived up to the expectations that he had created. There can be no question that he introduced more changes at the School than any other headmaster 6 School News decade of urgent and exciting change at Shrewsbury, as in the wider public world, and there had been little doubt that its thrust was optimistic and progressive; but it soon became apparent that the 1970s were to be a darker decade. On the Site too, although ARDW’s reforms continued (most notably in the erection of the new Science Building) he found himself confronted by a series of problems: soaring inflation following the tripling of oil prices; the unforeseen necessity of a problematic and expensive reconstruction of The School House; a series of disciplinary problems with rebellious sixth formers involving issues such as drinks, drugs and sex and the right to discuss them in the school magazine; and the growing demands for the provision of outboarding arrangements, for bed-sitters, and for the release of sixth formers from school discipline in general. Donald had the difficult task of finding the right mixture of resistance and concessions, the latter notably including the foundation of the Tudor Court bar, the first official admission of alcohol to the Site; but it was hard to avoid the impression that the initiative had shifted from ARDW to the protesters. It was unfortunate that Donald’s twelve years at Shrewsbury thus ended in something of a downbeat, and I think it is true that this fact has tended to colour the image of him in the Salopian memory. This image is unfair to a remarkable man and implies a serious misjudgement of his achievement at Shrewsbury. It overlooks the astonishing dynamism of his early years at the School, based on a deeply rooted Christian faith and a liberal idealism, together with a readiness to seek the help and advice of men with more technical knowledge and professional experience than himself, which enabled him to transform Shrewsbury from a conservative and oldfashioned school running gently downhill to a school with a reputation as one of the most liberal and adventurous public schools in the country. It is true that in doing this, he was only to a limited extent an innovator – he was spreading his sails to the trade winds of his time. But he did it with a vigour and a conviction that at the time took Shrewsbury to the front of the convoy, and in some fields at least that lead has been lasting. One of these is the field of cultural and artistic achievement, and this is entirely fitting, for this was in many ways the central feature of the vision of the new Shrewsbury that he hoped to create when he set out on his headmastership. He was sometimes misunderstood, but he generated admiration and affection in many of his boys and a great many of his staff, some of whom remember especially that, in spite of the high pace he drove himself, his cars, and all those around him, he was prepared to set aside time and consideration for their personal problems even if they made life awkward for him. If he never won acceptance by that strange entity the Salopian Establishment as a pukka Salopian, he should nevertheless be recognised by them and by the rest of us as what he was, a good and generous man, and as the headmaster who changed Shrewsbury more than any other headmaster of the twentieth century – and moreover – let us admit it, if with a wry smile – changed it very much for the better. Lightly lie the turf upon him. Laurence Le Quesne director, and a thorough overhaul of the School’s whole financial system, giving the Bursary complete control over all expenditure. This was an important change in itself; but in addition, these financial reforms lay at the root of the introduction of central feeding and the rapid expansion of Dayboy numbers, since the former made possible a major reduction in the cost of catering from the old days, when it was controlled by the eight housemasters separately, and the latter made possible a substantial increase in fee income without needing to provide more boarding accommodation. This is a good example of the way in which reform in one sphere – in this instance, finance – led on to other reforms in different areas. It is also a good example of the way ARDW’s reform programme viewed as a whole, included a number of changes which had not figured among his original intentions. Nevertheless, they only took place because ARDW was convinced of their necessity by able financial advisers whose judgement he respected; and what was even more important, because they were in accordance with the changes he did desire to see in the school – in these instances, the diminution of the boarding houses as separate identities, the introduction of a wider and stronger sense of school identity, and the broadening of contacts between the School and the town. The pace of change was heady in the first five or six years of ARDW’s rule, and the urgent spread of it – which was as characteristic at his desk as behind the wheel of his car – did involve mistakes which were not always avoided, such as the destruction of Bishop Butler’s statue. Nevertheless, the spirit of the time was one of confidence and progress. Under Donald’s leadership, the news of what was happening at Shrewsbury attracted much interest and much admiration in the educational world, and ARDW himself became a well-known figure in that world – Shrewsbury was even referred to on occasions as ‘Mr Wright’s School’, not much to its pleasure – and the climax was reached with his election as Chairman of the Headmasters’ Conference in 1970. As such one of his main tasks was to lead the HMC’s successful rearguard action against the fumbling attempts of the labour government to incorporate the public schools in the state system. There was a deep irony in this, for Donald, throughout his years at Shrewsbury, was keenly interested in seeking some means by which public schools might open their doors to children whose parents could not afford public school fees, and was commissioned by the HMC to make an approach to the Education minister of the new Conservative government and try and secure her support for an ambitious scheme of state scholarships. Unfortunately the minister was none other than Margaret Thatcher, who rejected the proposal because of its formidable financial implications. Donald had driven himself very hard ever since his arrival at Shrewsbury and, given the additional burdens of his chairmanship of HMC, it is no wonder that at the end of his term in the chair, he was a very tired man indeed, and the governors at Shrewsbury persuaded him to take a sabbatical before taking the reins into his own hands again on the Site. Nor was it for ARDW only that the early 1970s stood out as something of a watershed, for they marked the point at which the Sixties turned sour. They had been a 7 School News A CADEMIC NEWS Exam success We congratulate our leavers of 2012 on an excellent set of A level and Pre-U results. More than 78% of the exams were awarded A*, A or B grades, and seven pupils achieved A* in all their subjects. Particular congratulations to Jack Flowers, who not only gained an A* in both English and Latin but also achieved the highest mark in the country in the Cambridge French Pre-U Principal Course. Jack will be continuing his French studies at Brasenose College, Oxford. The Cambridge Pre-U Board also acknowledged the achievement of Mark Li, who was awarded the top grade of D1 in Pre-U Physics. He will be reading Natural Sciences at Caius College, Cambridge. Honorary Scholarships were awarded to seven pupils (left to right): Ting Wong, Rory Fraser, Derek Law, Sophia Pelling, Harry Fox, Mark Huang, Alexander Walker, Pictured (left to right) are Howard Stringer, Megan Cherrington, Dave Beeston and Tom Cousins. Tom gained three A*s and Howard gained three A*s and an A – both are now heading to Medical School at Birmingham. Megan has accepted a place on KPMG’s sixyear school leavers’ programme, after which she will have a degree from Birmingham University, as well as her accounting qualifications. Dave Beeston’s three A*s and one A grade confirmed his place at London’s Royal Veterinary College. Cambridge Chemisty Challenge 2012 After a busy AS exam schedule, a group of Lower 6th Formers took part in the Cambridge Chemistry Challenge 2012. Between them, they achieved an impressive set of results: gold medals were awarded to Ratanon Suemanothom, Fiona Lau and Harry Cox (pictured, left to right); silver medals were awarded to Tom Bland, Varis Chirayus and Judah Rand; and a further nine pupils won copper medals The AS results from our Lower 6th pupils were also extremely impressive. Despite widespread reports in the media of tougher GCSEs and lower grades this year, our 5th Form pupils achieved the best set of GCSE results the School has ever recorded. An outstanding 44% of exams were awarded the top A* grade and 73% were either A* or A grade. 41 boys achieved either A* or A in all of their subjects. In the top two English sets 46 out of 48 boys achieved A* grades in English Literature. International Young Physicists Tournament For the eighth time in ten years, Shrewsbury represented the UK in the International Young Physicists’ Tournament, which this summer was hosted by Germany. Competing against teams from 27 other countries, Alex Facey (captain), Ratanon Suemanothom, Ed Elcock, James Brent and Alistair spent a challenging and inspiring week presenting and defending solutions to challenging open-ended research problems that had been set ten months earlier. 8 School News Meanwhile, behind the scenes, John Balcombe presented the UK’s bid to host the 2014 IYPT in Britain. The bid was accepted, so it is with great excitement that we now look forward to hosting the world’s foremost annual physics competition – commonly known as the ‘Physics World Cup’ – at Shrewsbury School. Classics Prize Rosie Parr (EDH UVI) was awarded first prize in the national Omnibus Gladstone Competition – the UK’s premier essay prize in Classics – for her essay Country life versus urban living in ancient Rome. This follows on from Rosie’s Certificate of Commendation last term from Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge, for her essay on Women in the Ancient World. This is the third consecutive year that a Salopian pupil has won the first prize in the Gladstone Competition, and in each of the last six years one of our pupils has managed either to win the first prize or the runner-up position. Last year, Salopians won both the first and second prizes. Rosie will receive £200 prize money and her winning essay will be published in the next edition of Omnibus. Max Emmerich science and mathematics and captained the UK International Young Physicists’ Team, leading them to a bronze medal place in the 2009 tournament in China – the UK’s highest ever position. Max Emmerich arrived in Shrewsbury in 2008 and during his two years at the School, he won a host of top science and mathematics prizes. In 2011 he won a place at Trinity College Cambridge to read Medicine. In part 1A of his Tripos Max was ranked in the top 5% of his year and in part 1B in the top 2%. He has won a variety of prizes whilst at university and is now a Senior Scholar of Trinity College. He is currently researching stem cell technology. It is noteworthy that collectively all three of these outstanding academics have been praised for their modesty, quest for knowledge and pursuit of excellence in their chosen subjects. Sidney Gold Medal winners Three OS winners of the prestigious Sidney Gold Medal returned to the School earlier this term to receive their awards. The Gold Medal is given to the most outstanding academic pupil in the view of the School’s Heads of Faculties. It is not unusual for there to be no recipient of the award in some years, while in others the prize has been shared. The most recent recipients include Hugh Williams (Rb 2003-08) for Physics, Philipp Legner (O 2007-09) for Mathematics and Max Emmerich (Rt 2008-10) for Biology. Philipp and Hugh received their awards on OS Day, 22nd September, and Max Philipp Legner (left) and Hugh was presented with his medal WIlliams by the Headmaster during the rededication of the Queen’s Terrace on Saturday 13th October. As well as being a multiple prize winner in mathematics and science when he was at Shrewsbury, Hugh Williams also led the Salopian team to the national final of the Particle Physics competition at Birmingham University, where the team successfully explained how the Large Hadron Collider works to young school pupils. Hugh went on to read Engineering at Magdalene College, Cambridge. Philipp Legner is currently studying mathematics at St John’s College Cambridge. Whilst at School he won numerous prizes in A Short History of the Sidney Gold Medal The Sidney Gold Medal was instituted in 1838 and was awarded to the best Classical Scholar going to either Oxford or Cambridge. The Medal originally came with a purse of fifty sovereigns, but this payment only lasted for five years! The prize was paid for by Trustees and individual subscriptions. The Trustees commissioned Sir Edward Thomason to cut the original die and the image was based on a miniature painted by George Perfect Harding and owned by Dr Kennedy (now in the School collection). After Thomason’s death, the business was continued by G R Collis of Birmingham who supplied all medals after 1845. The medal was discontinued in 1855 when the stocks were exhausted, but was revived again in 1899. In 1980 the Salopian Club decided that the Medal should be open to all disciplines and not purely the Classics. Since that time the majority of recipients have excelled in the sciences. Steve Adams 9 School News A VE Chloé Delpy has been appointed Bordeaux Fellow 2012-13. Chloé has a degree in Criminal Law from the University of Montesquieu Bordeaux IV and has recently completed her second year of a Master’s degree in Legal Disputes. Her interests include French boxing; gymnastics; French, English and American literature; and music. Grace Ansell has been appointed as a teacher of EAL (English as an Additional Language). Grace has already been helping with conversational Chinese at the School and has also been teaching EAL and Chinese at Ellesmere College since 2009. Prior to that, she spent six years on the staff at Concord College. Lionel Barré joins the Faculty of Languages as a Teacher of French and Spanish from Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar School in Blackburn, where he taught languages from 2006. Lionel is a native of Paris and went to school in Sceaux, famed for its beautiful château and connections with the French philosopher Voltaire. After graduating in English from the University of Paris X Nanterre, Lionel worked as a French assistant at West Kirby Grammar School in Wirral. He subsequently completed his teacher training at the University of Manchester and taught French and Spanish for five years in York. Lionel is passionate about languages and has loved leading school trips to France, Belgium and Spain. He is also a keen gardener and is delighted to have the opportunity of establishing a sustainability club at Shrewsbury School. Lionel is married to Claire, who is a teacher of French and English. They have two children, Thomas, six, and Rosie, who is four. Caroline Farris has been appointed as Graduate Sports Coach (Girls’ Games), having been covering for maternity leave, since January 2012, at Moreton Hall. Prior to that, she spent two years teaching at Casterton School. Caroline has a degree in Physical Education and Dance with QTS from John Moores University, Liverpool. Athol Hundermark has joined the School as the new Director of Rowing and Teacher of Geography. He has spent the last seven years as Master in Charge of Rowing at Abingdon School. He has a BSc and PGCE from Rhodes University, South Africa. Athol previously taught in South Africa and spent four years as Master in Charge of Rowing and teaching Geography at Shiplake College. Athol is married to Nina and they have a son Hayden and daughter Kara. Jacob Lloyd has been appointed to the English faculty as temporary cover for Michael Schutzer-Weissmann. Jacob was educated at Latymer Upper School in Hammersmith, London, Jesus College, Oxford and the University of Bristol, where he completed his MA with a thesis on the poetry of Samuel Taylor Coleridge. He has previously been providing private tuition to students ranging in age from 12 to 19 and is now looking forward to his first classroom experience. His interests include drama and debating. Sabrina Bottai has been appointed as our first Hispanic Fellow. Sabrina graduated as a teacher from our exchange partner school, Colegio San Bartolome in Rosario, Argentina. Her main duties will be helping the Sixth Form students prepare for their AS and A2 oral exams, but there will, she hopes, plenty of additional time for relaxed hispanic chat, as well as regular contact with Lower School pupils as they start their Spanish careers. Sabrina has teaching experience ranging from primary school to adult learners. She is currently studying towards an English degree from the Universidad Nacional del Litoral in Santa Fe. Her interests include sport and outdoor pursuits. Kevin Lloyd has been appointed Head of the Faculty of Design & Technology. For the last ten years, Kevin has been developing a successful and thriving department as Head of Design at The King’s School, Chester. Kevin’s aim is to bring a fresh approach to D&T at Shrewsbury. Having an interest in all things digital, he is a computer-aided product modelling and manufacturing specialist, and a strong advocate of new technologies in product design, process and education. Kevin initially graduated with a First Class Industrial Design & Technology Degree from Loughborough University, before achieving an MA in Industrial Design at the internationally prestigious Central St Martin’s College of Art & Design in London. Before moving into teaching, Kevin ‘designed’ his way around Australia, working on, amongst other things, the Olympic Torch & Cauldron for the Sydney 2000 Games. He is married to Sarah and they have two young daughters, Madeleine and Matilda. Alongside fatherhood and his conspicuous consumption of the well-designed product, he is an outdoor enthusiast, and can often be seen precariously perched on the mountains of North Wales. Although now at Shrewsbury, he may even be tempted by the more tame peaks of England. Dr Matthew Clark has joined the History Faculty. He was formerly a Fellow and College Lecturer in History at Pembroke College, Cambridge, and has a PhD in History from King’s College, Cambridge. He has a deep interest in modern politics and looks forward to helping pupils hone their debating skills. He is particularly keen to participate in the school’s cultural life and is also enthusiastic about food and cooking. Matthew is married with a young child. . David Cooke has been appointed as Graduate Sports Coach (Rowing). David has a first class degree in Sport and Exercise Science from Leeds Metropolitan University and has just completed his QTS in Secondary PE at Sheffield University. Tom Corbett has joined the Chemistry Faculty. Tom is an Old Salopian (Rigg’s 1996-2001) and obtained a BSc in Chemistry from the University of Bristol. He was a member of the Royal Marines Reserve for four years, and is keen to undertake CCF duties. Tom has spent the last two years teaching Chemistry at Moreton Hall. He is a qualified Mountain Leader and a Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme. His sporting interests include cross-country running and football. He is a keen Aston Villa and Shrewsbury Town supporter. Prior to joining Shrewsbury as Director of Drama, Brian Parsons was Professor of Theatre and Director of Undergraduate Acting at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. He has held 10 School News Anna’s interests include a wide range of sports and she has coaching experience in many of them. She is also a keen outdoor enthusiast and has Grade 8 singing and flute. Anna and her partner, Simon, have two young daughters, Clemmy and Willow. full-time faculty positions at the Central School of Speech and Drama and the University of Hull. Adjunct positions include teaching at New York University, Rose Bruford College, Mountview Academy, LIPA, Italia Conti, Arden School, Northumbria University, Lincoln Center Institute (New York) and Carroll College. As a theatre director, he has worked at the Bristol Old Vic, Royal Court, Royal National Theatre and for Aquila Theatre Company in New York, for whom he is a now a board member. Brian has won numerous national awards for his theatre directing and has published on the subject of Greek Tragedy. He was external examiner for the University of Hertfordshire Humanities Division and is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy of England. A keen rugby player and coach, he has played and coached at Hull RFC, Hessle, Old Alleynians, Hatfield, Marist Rugby, Racal Decca, Gosport and Fareham, Los Angeles Rugby Club and USC. Brian’s wife Dana is a film producer and professional photographer. Rebecca Weatherstone has been appointed to the French faculty. She was educated at Somerville College, Oxford and then worked as a Graduate Teacher at Old Swinford Hospital School. Rebecca is looking forward to supporting pupils in their applications to read Modern Languages at Oxbridge, drawing upon her recent experiences there. She is also excited about the opportunity of organising and participating in trips in the Languages department. Her interests include going to the theatre, as well as French cinema and literature. STAFF BABIES Colm and Lucy Kealy are delighted to announce the safe arrival of Ruairi Thomas James on 7th July. In anticipation of the move towards full co-education at Shrewsbury, Peter and Jenna Middleton are delighted to announce that Rigg’s Hall welcomes a ‘new girl’ to join her sister Isla. Sophia Louise was born on 19th July. Anna Peak has taken over from Sara Hankin as Housemistress of Mary Sidney Hall and has also joined the Geography Faculty. Anna was educated at Gresham’s School, Norfolk and is a graduate of Exeter University. She was previously Head of Geography and a House Tutor at Loretto School in Edinburgh. She has also taught at Garden International School in Thailand, and at Epsom College. V ALE Senior staff leavers (left to right): Dr David Gee (again!), David Nicklaus, Robin Case, Peter Fanning and Matthew Mostyn 11 School News Robin Case passion, and a deep understanding of the School – its richness, scholarship, individuality, all of which he prized so much – to each parental encounter. During this final period of his career Robin made himself a considerable specialist in prep schools and the overseas students market. With Old Salopians and current and past parents in Hong Kong, he has built up The Friends of Shrewsbury, the Articles of Association for which the Headmaster signed in October. Throughout his time at Shrewsbury – in the classroom or theatre, as Housemaster, and as Registrar, Robin’s love for the School lay at the core of his achievement. We will miss him and Alex, as they begin their retirement, with Roddy their dog, but a few minutes away, among the woods and pastures of Annscroft. Richard Hudson Robin and Alex came to Shrewsbury with their elder son, Richard – now an established teacher in the Biology Department - in 1980 to teach English, as Master in Charge of Drama and to tutor in Churchill’s. Although Robin was a reasonable squash and rugby player (coaching the 3rd XV with Richard Raven – an unlikely but happy combination) and a good cricketer, for a while coaching the U16s with Robin Trimby, the world of drama soon took over, and left very little time for sports. Robin found the worlds of performing arts and sports at Shrewsbury a galaxy apart, and the drama scene rather esoteric. Determined to change things, his first production, involving over a hundred boys (and girls for the first time) in the draughty Alington Hall, was a robust and coherent Tamburlaine, to be followed soon after by the first production outside London or New York of the RSC’s Nicholas Nickleby, putting the seal on drama as a community enterprise within the School and also drawing heavily upon other schools and local dramatic societies. Those who knew Robin from this period recall the intensity of his teaching, often aiming to hit the target but starting from a tangent; perceptive and passionate readings of texts, punctuated by song and the occasional raid on the classrooms of other and wholly unsuspecting teachers. In 1984 Robin was responsible for the launch of the Ashton Theatre, and with the bursar and architect, for its style and design which has remained so versatile and effective over the years. There followed halcyon days for the Ashton Theatre: House and School plays benefited enormously from the new facility, workshop drama flourished, and Robin introduced drama into the Third Form Curriculum on Thursday afternoons. Later, when James Marshall was Head of English, he added Theatre Studies to the A Level curriculum, popular then as now. In 1988 Simon Langdale invited Robin to take over Ingram’s, and he still recalls the horrified silence and gale of laughter when the announcement was made in break in the Common Room. But these were to be the happiest and most productive years for the Case family. Robin and Alex loved Ingram’s and did their very best to include the boys as part of their family, and relationships, conversations, pastoral care and career planning were all conducted with love. During this period Ted Maidment asked Robin to travel to Thailand – the School’s first foray into marketing overseas. Robin and Alex represented the School together, did the business with the agents, refreshed old contacts in the Thai Royal Palace, and established the Vajiravudh Scholarship, which flourishes to this day. On Robin’s retirement from Ingram’s in 2001, after 13 hugely successful years, Jeremy Goulding kept him occupied with the 450th Anniversary History, which still makes good reading today. But a far greater challenge soon presented itself. In 2003 the governors at Adcote School asked him to become Headmaster. Hoping to drive a good school which was losing money onto the broad sunny uplands of educational value and financial security, he was disappointed when the governors decided to close the school within a year. Fighting closure with the parents and a new Chairman, Adcote fought on, but he returned to Shrewsbury in 2005. Robin became Shrewsbury’s second ever registrar in 2006, an office to which he brought the same individual style and energy as he had brought to housemastering. The office light was on late at night and most weekends to maintain the Third Form roll at about 120, which he did with enormous success, bringing humour, Peter Fanning Another giant of the recent Shrewsbury School hagiography, Peter Fanning, Senior Master, has retired after 30 years at the Schools. Arriving at the school in 1982 as Head of English, Peter had previously taught at Latymer Upper School, and before that been the founder and director of the Spectrum Theatre Company. At the time Peter took over the English department, Lower School English was still largely ‘Form teacher’ based, with all form teachers teaching English, whatever their specialism. Peter’s period of tenure began the gradual professionalisation of the department as English specialists gradually began to be appointed. But to its staff, and one would hope pupils, it always retained, and still retains, its reputation as the ‘Faculty of Fun’, in no small measure due to the presence of energetic and passionate academic humorists such as Peter Fanning and Robin Case were. Starting out his Salopian life as a tutor in Moser’s under Peter Cox and in School House under Hugh Ramsbotham, Peter’s housemasterly qualities could not long remain unexploited, and within six years he found himself appointed the founding housemaster of The Grove, with 30 students, this parvenue excrescence from the Salopian soil quickly branded as ‘Botany Bay’ by the older established houses, possibly with some initial justification. Over the next 15 years Peter moulded The Grove into a spectacularly successful house community, good at all the conventional public school endeavours, but always retaining a slightly ‘Left Bank’ feel. Peter had himself narrowly escaped arrest at the notorious Garden House Riot in Cambridge in 1970, the legal ramifications of which have found their way into the criminal law textbooks. From The Grove there issued fourth a seemingly endless stream of House Singing triumphs and cutting edge dramatic productions, and, although the House won its full quota of sporting trophies, it is for its theatrical prowess – sometimes in the broadest sense – that this initial period in The Grove’s short history will perhaps be most remembered, reflecting Peter’s lifelong love affair with the stage and indeed his first career as a travelling player with his own theatre company. Countless plays of every conceivable genre have made it to the stage under Peter’s unique direction, and many of his former thesps now have budding professional careers of their own. But for many the last 20 years of the Fanning era will be chiefly remembered for one thing above all: the unique director/composer association with director of music John Moore which brought no fewer than eight musicals to the Edinburgh Fringe, many of which won top awards. It says much about the stamina and drive of this lifelong runner that 12 School News he was also acting head of marketing and communications during a period when all schools had to start professionalising their marketing operation in the great battle to survive and prosper. By his side throughout his time at Shrewsbury stood the calm, unruffled, wise presence of his wife Jane, always ready to play the fullest possible part as housemaster’s wife, brow-mopper at the Edinburgh Fringe, dinner party hostess to nervous new staff, and EFL teacher to generations of overseas students. Peter and Jane’s retirement to Oxfordshire via the sunnier banks of the Chow Paraya river in Bangkok will rob the Severn of far more than a friend and colleague. Richard Hudson more than half of these productions took place while Peter was fulfilling his demanding duties as housemaster. After a brief period running the Foundation, Peter was appointed Senior Master in 2003. In many ways a thankless role, with duties ranging from organising speech day to match teas, from chapel seating arrangements to balancing powerful interest groups, not to mention egos, in the Fasti committee, a job which involves being part the ‘Heineken factor’, part fall guy. Fiddly, inevitably unacknowledged much of the time with little glamour and a great deal of hard graft, Peter performed this role with incessant good cheer, energy and an constant sense of the primacy of the school’s rich heritage and spirit over internal politics. For much of this period MY FAVOURITE MISSABLE THINGS SMT meetings that drone on for hours Losing my bike, when it’s pouring with showers Finding no spoons down at lunch isn’t bliss These are a few of the things I won’t miss Biking to lessons on grey Monday mornings Friday pm when the kids are all yawning Saturday cover for staff coaching sport Now other people are going to be caught Common Room fruit that is only green apples Pupils who text during Wednesdays in Chapel Coping with students in Quod who are pissed These are a few of the things I won’t miss Dark Sunday evenings in middle November Missing the meetings I ought to remember Ten drafts of coursework purloined from the Net These are the things that I’d like to forget Housemasters whingeing with rancorous emails Colleagues complaining there’s too many females Teabags for parents – who take match teas in Quod These are the things I’m escaping – thank God A level tables attempting to rank you Colleagues for dinner who never say thank-you OFSTED Inspectors with box ticking lists These are the things I’m delighted to miss When the sunsets When we’re homeless Or we’re feeling sad We simply remember the things we won’t miss And then we don’t feel so bad Though you’ve made here An Arcadia If we’re feeling sad We’ll simply start listing the things we won’t miss And then we won’t feel too bad Peter Fanning Matthew Mostyn heavenwards, but to the next best thing: to Stoneyhurst College in Lancashire (‘I want to be nearer Devon’, he had said – luckily he is not a geography teacher). Matthew is a veteran now of so many areas of life at Shrewsbury. Academically he has been an outstanding teacher, with many excellent exam results, relishing the challenge of lower-middle sets whose heart is not always utterly committed to French. He approached his teaching with impressive efficiency, and as colleagues who taught within a few hundred metres of his room would testify, massive and loud enthusiasm. As one colleague put it, ‘he really delivers the goods; lesson after lesson he puts the show on, it must take a lot out of him.’ Matthew may not be a fan of faculty meetings, but made up for this with his much-loved fountain pen, author of many a paper on future plans, or some aspect of school life. His contribution to the faculty team by leading French trips, or organising language days for St Richard’s where he is a governor, won him the respect of MFL colleagues as he was always supportive and ready with helpful comments. His rapport with pupils was legendary, allowing Matthew to engage in a few minutes banter at the start of each lesson, followed by a serious teaching point (sorry, ‘learning objective’) in the middle, interspersed with comments regretting the demise of chalk (but not talk), the odd nostalgic reminiscence of ‘when I was at Downside’ or moment of panic as he wondered if the dog was left locked in all morning. In 2000, Matthew joined what was then a young and enterprising Modern Languages Faculty as a French and German teacher. Matthew immediately threw himself into Shrewsbury life, teaching two languages, coaching rowing to J15s, tutoring in Ridgemount and marching with the CCF. It was hard to keep Matthew’s talents hidden in the languages faculty for long, and he was rapidly promoted to become the youngest ever housemaster – of the oldest boarding house at Shrewsbury, Rigg’s Hall. Matthew certainly made his mark in Riggs: though he never did clear out the garage for stabling, he did run two cars, the four-by-four to get to his rustic dwelling in Devon; the aubergine ‘love machine’ for attracting attention. I’m not sure the more recent pose – coaching his J15 A crew from his electric bike (he moved incongruously fast, though the legs were hardly moving at all) was the best way to get the weight off; Matthew’s diets were legendary, and frequent.) He was a consummate musician, notably as a keyboard player, as was seen in many house singing competitions, soirées and musical plays. He capped his time in Rigg’s by finally winning the triple (house football, cricket and bumpers – “What else matters?”). Rigg’s still survives, no-one died of the dog bites, the parents survived the many glasses of port; Matthew survived the many attempts by the mummies to get him married off - and Matthew has now moved upwards, not yet 13 School News then headmaster, who had the foresight to invite Todd to coach and develop the club; a Henley win, a hatful of national medals, a new boathouse and four new Empachers later (one boat, appropriately, named after the Gouldings), his wisdom is self-evident. Success and investment follow a winning reputation, and RSSBC is deeply grateful to everyone concerned for all three. During the 1960s and 70s the East German national squad was nigh invincible. Undeterred, a young Jesdale set about to study their methods and, together with a small band of fellow devotees in America, designed the winning style (yes, it IS a style!) which has stood the test of time for the last fifty years or so. Its success is readily apparent from the number of winning coaches in the highperformance programs in the US who were either coached by Todd and now propagate a close derivative of his method or were not but have adopted it (and there is a growing band of UK coaches in the latter category too). A small diversion illustrates this well: while in the US on tour two years ago and coaching RSSBC on Lake Mercer, Todd stopped the VIII and invited them to study a local crew and examine their style. “They row like us” was his comment. It was the top US National women’s boat, coached then by the same man who produced their Olympic success this year. However, coaching the style is not without its difficulties. When Nick Henderson spent an interim two years at Shrewsbury coaching the first two boats, he remarked how hard it was to inculcate the whole method at schoolboy level, successful though he was in doing so; for it goes far beyond a good training program and a mechanical response to instructions on posture, vital as those are. It demands a lifestyle based on an apparently un-necessary pair of words which, on closer examination, are fundamental, for they produce the race winners. Integrity and Courage. To train with integrity is to commit fully with your entire being to the crew unit and the coach. To race with courage is to face the fear of losing and to find a positive response in your spirit. Generations of successful, thinking athletes have emerged from Todd’s program, for whom the pain of losing is greater than the pain of winning, and the thrust, cut, parry and riposte of a race is food and drink. As well as teaching his crews how to race, Todd thoroughly applied his formidable grasp of the vast technical side of the sport. Despite keeping the same fundamental rig in terms of TD and inboard (because he found nothing better, yet) annual discussion around emerging ideas and materials was standard procedure: oar length, blade curvature, vortex tips, pitch and shoe inserts all come in this list. Some progressive ideas were included and others discarded all in favour of speed, likewise new hull shapes, methodically tested. As a scientist I, of course, approve, yet simultaneously perceive that the old empirical methods remain vital to this dynamic system; to whit, that the same eight crew members arranged in a different order change the boat speed and the choice of each particular crew member for his suitability to a particular seat is fundamental. “He’s a 6 man”, for example. This in part explains some of the unusual rigging choices over the years: if the 6 man and 5 man were both, say, bow-siders (sorry, starboard), then what more natural than to put two riggers on the same side of the boat in adjacent seats? Todd’s insight in this respect was almost uncanny – as was his grasp of mood during an outing: lighter moments for the crew during an otherwise heavy outing were often introduced via a conversation on passages from Beowulf, although I sometimes had a little difficulty in discerning which was the leaven and which was the lump, here. Shakespeare – maybe! Small wonder, given Todd’s commanding use of language and ideas, his knowledge and perceptive insight into character, that he is an excellent sometime teacher of English literature. He also has a wry sense of humour Matthew is a genuine linguist, who has taken up writing translations of literary works in all that spare time, most recently on a sun bed in the south of France. In class, this has been seen in his love of grammar, surely shared by all his French and German pupils; and his love of Literature (‘Sack of Bile’ being the favourite – poor Joffo!). An odd combination of utter seriousness of purpose and moments creased up with laughter seem to me to characterise Matthew. Good luck and keep in touch! Tim Whitehead David Nickolaus David Nickolaus joined the staff in 1982, taking over from the famous, if not infamous, Ted Barber at a time when CDT lacked the “C” for computer (or does it stand for ‘craft’?) and was known as plain DT, an increasingly upmarket version of what we used to describe as woodwork. During the three decades of his tenure, the scope and ambit of his operation changed out of all recognition as six generations of Salopians passed through his hands. During this time too, Design has become a serious and popular GCSE and A level option, due in no small measure to the inspirational leadership, patience and passion for detail which were the hallmarks of David’s style. In the school context, CDT staff too easily be seen as living on the margins of society, left in peace to develop their cutting edge skills in shrink wrapped technology and four dimensional designs. In a quiet but determined way, David ensured that this was not the case at Shrewsbury. Nevertheless, acutely conscious of the many different directions in which the most talented and active of pupils can be pulled, many of whom were important customers of his, he was also the most accommodating of Faculty Heads and a popular member of the Common Room with whom it was impossible not to get along. Perhaps as an antidote to the long hours at the workbench, on Thursday afternoons David took the skies, mounting the clouds over the Long Mynd with the Gliding Club, another area in which he inspired many generations of boys. David and Pam now plan to divide their time between Shrewsbury, Wales and France, where no doubt he will spend a good deal of his time up a ladder embroiled in those useful activities which most senior citizens pretend to know about, but he will actually know about, like wiring a house, unblocking the drains and building extensions. RIchard Hudson Todd Jesdale “One thing you can always say about Shrewsbury oarsmen when they join your club is that they certainly know how to race”. This recent accolade from a prominent coach at a top UK rowing University must surely be laid at the feet of one man: Todd Jesdale. Todd joined Shrewsbury School in 2005. In the seven years since then he built on the solid foundations he inherited to produce a sequence of race wins almost without parallel in the club’s history; in doing so he undoubtedly raised the bar for other UK schools. It was Jeremy Goulding, the 14 School News classes. His enthusiasm for language (and its social and cultural importance ) both in the curriculum, and more broadly in a life-skill sense, was nothing short of inspirational. He was happy teaching all ages and abilities : from nurturing new students as beginners on their language journey, to working with the top end of A2 courses teaching literature with passion and understated expertise preparing many for what lies ahead at university. He would quietly and generously give extra time and practice for students of all abilities outside the timetable – and keep smiling even through the occasional pain and drudgery of GCSE oral preparation ! Richard’s passion for travel and his anecdotes about Latin America (and India where he works with a children’s charity ) must surely have planted seeds in the minds of his students that will grow into future adventures. Indeed Richard has a story for every occasion … it seems most of them true ! Richard tutored successfully in Ingram’s and participated in school football and tennis. At a personal level I am greatly indebted to him for all his efforts and support – it was a genuine pleasure to work with him for the year. We all wish Richard and his wife Ana well for the future as they both move to work at Oundle School. I hope to see them back at Shrewsbury one day. ! and a lively sense of spontaneity! In typical fashion Todd completely eschewed all public attention in the run up to his departure, preferring our focus to remain on his athletes and his, undistracted, to remain on preparation for the racing. So wherever you are now, may I invite you to raise a toast of thanks to Todd as you read this? Todd: on behalf of RSSBC and its Coaches, and on behalf of the Parents of the athletes you have coached since 2005, and most importantly on behalf of those Athletes themselves to whom you have dedicated your entire considerable ability, I offer a profound thank-you. They have been fortunate indeed to experience such a top quality of coaching and we have been fortunate to watch you, the artist, at work. We wish you and Natalie every happiness back home in ‘the fall’ as the leaves change in your beloved Vermont, and we trust that the Maltese Cross on its blue background will fly periodically from the flagstaff you have in your yard as you think back to some great racing at Shrewsbury. Philip Lapage James Brydon Shortly after Shropshire lad, James Brydon, arrived at Shrewsbury from Oxford University, his doctoral thesis was recommended for publication, and Dr James Brydon emerged to receive his final honour to cap two previous firsts from Oxford. James’ impeccable academic credentials have never needed explaining to his pupils: every pupil in his classes has immediately recognised his calibre as a linguist and a teacher of ambition for his pupils’ success. James rapidly became involved in our Frogsbridge preparation tutorials, organising the regular series of Friday Seminars (talks by staff or pupils on language-related topics), and encouraging several pupils to a successful Oxbridge application. One might expect that such a teacher would not be in his comfort zone in the realm of the lower set, but in fact James has coached two set 4s to record results at GCSE, which they were very happy about! And his pupils’ Cambridge Pre-U results have been outstanding. James is not known for praising mediocrity: his pupils soon learn that only when they have learnt the lesson’s objectives will there be a chance of a light-hearted conversation. James’ French sets all outperformed expectation on results days: it is not easy to replace such an effective teacher. James kept busy outside the classroom: he helped run two Montpellier trips, was a fully committed tutor in Severn Hill, refereed football, ‘coached’ 3rd Form drama and was a willing participant in numerous week-end trips (wearing a look of resignation). We wish James and his wife, Danica, all the best for their future as they have recently become parents to Sophie and move up to London; James will teach at Highgate School. Tim Whitehead Ron Williams (Assistant Groundsman, Gardener) writes: ‘I came to Shrewsbury School in May 1985 for a period of ten weeks; previously I had worked for the local Parks department and was at the point of going self employed, when a lady I knew, who worked in the accounts office at the School, said there was a short term vacancy and asked if I would be interested. To be honest I was not, but thought I would at least take a look, and that same week met the then head grounds man Ken Spiby. He explained that he did not need a gardener but someone to assist in preparing the playing fields and surrounds ready for games and various events. I have to say, I had only ever looked up at the School from the Quarry Park, seeing the main school building, the boat house, the Chapel and, now as I know it, Ridgemount, little realising the life that went on up there. I was told there were 110 acres (with two more at the end of each day, ie my legs... sorry that’s achers)! There were groundsmen based at Ashton Road and gardeners based at Severn Hill. After my talk with Ken, I agreed to start the following Monday and my first introduction to the grounds work was to go out with Ken on to the main cricket square and help prepare it. Ken left me with instructions to ‘mow out’ while he went back to the sheds to fetch a besom. I ran the mower up and then down, thinking I would now be in trouble for taking all the green growth off, leaving what looked like bare earth, but Ken seemed quite pleased with my efforts saying he was more interested in the root for bounce not the green for appearance (phew)! Richard Charters Richard joined us to cover maternity for Paola Wright for one year. In that short time he had a wonderfully positive influence on the teaching of Spanish and the learning experience of those in his 15 School News equally important because the frame enhances the picture.” It came time for Ken to retire and Alan Lewis took over. Alan, knowing I had an interest in the horticultural side, asked me if I would like to work on Ashton Road, tending the Headmasters, Ingram’s, Churchill’s, Moser’s, Rigg’s and the Sanatorium gardens and anything in-between. I accepted and for the next ten years enjoyed the responsibility under Alan of mowing, edging, weeding, hedge cutting and – you guessed – blowing, in preparation for parents, new boys’ teas, leaving parties, occasional special events and of course Speech Day. Apart from the odd disagreement, I found that the grounds and garden departments worked well together and under Ken and Alan we were encouraged to assist other departments where necessary. Standards were high and phone calls, letters and word of mouth proved this. It was our job and I feel we all did our best in assisting those responsible. When Alan Lewis left, the responsibility of the department rested for a short while in the hands of deputy head groundsman Mark Preece and with Speech Day looming, we wondered how on earth we were going to be ready. I have to say the day was perfect. Changes to the department came over the next five years, with Bursars, Head groundsmen and colleagues leaving. For me, medical tests and an operation followed and I felt the time for me to leave had come, not an easy decision. I have, over the past 26 years, endeavoured to do my job with good humour and to encourage those alongside me. I have known, come to know and still have good relationships with, Masters, staff, boys, girls, parents and visitors and I feel that my life has been enhanced by my time at the School. It was a great privilege to be made an Honorary Old Salopian and although a little reluctant to do so, I accepted the honour. By the way, have you heard the one about....’ I soon got to know the other groundsmen and gardeners and I would assist where needed but my orders always came from Ken or, in his absence, his deputy. One day we were down on the running track and I was asked to dig, rake and prepare the long jump. This I considered to be a waste of time but Ken’s reply was that even if it was for one boy, (their parents, after all, pay our wages) we should give them the best of any thing and everything we do. Such was the emphasis in those days. My first impression of the school was that it seemed well cared for and managed; the grounds in particular. The pitches were probably the best I had ever seen and with this in mind, my ten weeks came to an end. The reason for being asked to assist initially was that Ken had one of his men off sick and unfortunately he never returned. I remember the morning when, down at the kicking horse (now Mary Sidney), while doing something with the cricket covers, Ken came to me and said he would like me to stay. To be honest I did not know whether to laugh or cry or if I really wanted grounds work instead of gardening. I was often asked what was the difference between a groundsman and a gardener and my reply was about £4 a week (sorry)! I thought about what Ken had asked and agreed to stay a little longer, in fact 26 years to November 2011. For the next ten years my duties were to assist Ken and his men, as well as tidying and edging the site wherever needed – another thankless task, I thought, until one day when I was helping prepare for an Old Salopian day I was approached by an elderly gentleman (I wish I had remembered his name) who told me he had been at the school in the war years. His masters were all elderly as all the young masters were at war. What he said next has remained with me and gave me a real incentive to carry on. He saw that I was edging by the Chapel and said “Young man,” (which I was then) “you see those pitches and grounds out there? They are all very nice and well cared for and it is a credit to all responsible but what you are doing is 16 School News S T MARY ’S SERVICE another soul. English is not the only linguistic method of experiencing the world. Other languages, French, Greek, Chinese, categorise nouns, adjectives, verbs and feelings differently. Learning someone else’s history, you open yourself to experience that is not yours. While you learn about other you also gain the power of com-passion, of “feeling with.” Compassion is another Latin root. The Greek equivalent is sum-pathein, “to suffer with”, from which we get sympathize. To sympathize with the other whom the New Testament often calls your “neighbour” and whom the Old Testament often calls the “foreigner” or “stranger”. The faiths that created Western civilization made generosity to the stranger central to their vision of society. Individuals often fell short of the ideal of course, but the ideal was there in both Athens and Jerusalem. In archaic Greek, the word xenos (from which we get xenophobia, “fear of strangers”) meant not only “foreigner” but also a “guest-friend”: someone you had an obligation to welcome. There were myths of people being rewarded for their hospitality because the “strangers” were gods in disguise. Xeniteia was the experience of exile, of being a stranger in someone else’s land. Everyone knew how vulnerable that made you. The pre-Socratic philosopher Empedocles said man was “a wanderer and fugitive, driven by decrees and laws of gods”. Mediaeval Christianity saw human life as a journey: we are homo viator, “man the pilgrim”, strangers in this world, searching for the spiritual homeland to which we once belonged. We weren’t meant to be here – we were put in a garden, in Eden. But that went wrong. So now we are wanderers between two worlds, wayfarers on the via, the ‘way’, of life. Judaism too is full of exhortations to help the stranger, ‘If any of your fellow Israelites become poor and unable to support themselves,’ orders Leviticus, ‘help them as you would help a foreigner and stranger.’ ‘I was a father to the needy, I took up the case of the stranger,’ says Job. ‘No stranger had to spend the night in the street; my door was always open to the traveller.’ ‘Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers,’ Paul reminds the Hebrews. “Help the poor, treat them fair, just as you would a stranger, for you were a stranger too.” There is always, in Judaism as in Greek myth, the possibility that the stranger may also be god. “Many have entertained an angel unaware.” Learning too is opening your home, the house of yourself, to the stranger, welcoming the other in – and opening up to wonder. Central to Darwin’s science was his rampant sense of wonder, and his sheer delight in the appreciation of all life-forms. “I used to like to hear him admire the beauty of a flower,” wrote his son Frances, who helped him in botanic experiments. “It was a kind of gratitude to the flower itself, and a personal love for its delicate form & colour. I seem to remember him gently touching a flower he delighted in. This sounds sentimental but it was the same simple admiration a The annual service in St Mary’s took place this year on 9th September. The address was give by Ruth Padel, poet and novelist, great-great granddaughter of Charles Darwin. The word “education” come from Latin e-ducere, “to lead out”. What you will be doing this year is being led out – out of the self to pay attention to other, the world outside yourself. To other people’s experience, other people’s history, land, language and thought; to the other of nature, the physical world and the patterns of mathematics. When Charles Darwin was old and distinguished, one evening in the 1870s, he and his wife entertained his friend George Romanes at home. Over the fire they talked about what the nineteenth century called “the sublime:” that sense of a presence greater and outside yourself. Darwin said he felt it most, during his five year voyage on the Beagle, on the summits of the Andes, looking at "the magnificent prospect all around." They went to bed. Romanes fell comfortably asleep but at one in the morning he heard a tap on his door and Darwin appeared in his dressing gown and slippers. "I have been thinking over our conversation," he said. "I was wrong in telling you I felt most of the sublime on top of the Cordillera. I am quite sure I felt it even more in the forests of Brazil. I am sure now, that I felt most sublime in the forests." Go back forty years and Darwin is 23, writing about having that feeling in his Journal of the Voyage of the Beagle. “Primeval forests undefaced by the hand of man,” he says, are “temples filled with the varied productions of the God of Nature. No one can stand unmoved in these solitudes without feeling there is more in man than the mere breath of his body.” Go back another fifteen years and he is a boy of eight, attending the funeral of his mother, Susanna Darwin, nee Wedgewood. He suffered this great loss at an early age and became a solitary little boy, studying nature on long walks alone. He gave his attention to botany, zoology, geology. He longed to know the provenance of every stone in the gravel of his father’s drive. At ten, taken on holiday to Barmouth where he studied beetles “not found in Shropshire,” he wondered why every gentleman does “not become an ornithologist.” A modern parallel to the way in which the other – nature, the physical world outside him – sustained that little boy in his grief, is the British space scientist Maggie Aderin-Pocock. She was a second generation immigrant: her parents came from Nigeria. They separated, the little girl went to thirteen different schools, she was diagnosed as dyslexic. But from the age of three, she was in love with outer space. She watched Star Trek, was entranced by an astronaut on the cover of a library book, saved up to buy a telescope from Argos. It didn’t work so at 15 she went to a telescope-making class and made her own. She went on to do science, maths and astronomy at Imperial College. ‘Outer space saw me through,” she has said. If education is a leading out, you can’t get “led out” much further than outer space. At the heart of the ikon of the Resurrection is the image of an open door. Christ comes down to the underworld to open the gate of hell, let out the dead, and lead them into new life. Another leading out; another image of someone who helps you open yourself to the world. For the oddity of learning, its mystery and alchemy, is that by attending to other you grow, emotionally and spiritually, yourself. To possess another language, for example, is to possess 17 School News own growth via that word which lies at the heart of all education or “leadings out”: understanding. It is a privilege and honour for me to be associated with the school, and to address you today, and I’ll finish with a poem by the poet priest George Herbert, whose climax is that magic word, understanding. Those among you who are poets will watch how Herbert homes in on his central concept – the title-word, “Prayer” – by going out: by leaping into metaphor. This is a sonnet, a string of metaphors, a necklace of bright images, for what he is talking about. Prayer becomes a sequence of reachings out to beautiful things, to the other, which also nourishes the inner, the self. child might have. It ran through all his relation to natural things — a most keen feeling of their aliveness.” In response to that enjoyment of and wonder at the other, comes the great gifts to the self of imagination and creativity, and Darwin felt that imagination, too, was crucial to science. “You can understand the true conditions of life,” he wrote in On the Origin of Species, “only if you use your imagination to hold on to a sense of the ruthlessness of the natural forces that could waste the bright surface.” So here is a bit of new zoology to enjoy and wonder, which I think can also give us an image of what learning does for us We find it in the eye of a dog. In all mammal eyes, rods and cones make electrical activity out of light waves by means of changes in pigment in the cells. This action takes a morsel of a second but while it’s happening, the cell is busy processing the light and can’t take more light in. So there are gaps in the process and that’s how we see: we take in a sequence of snapshots of the world. The rate at which we do this is our “flicker fusion rate”. Human eyes take in sixty snapshots, sixty still images, a second. But just as different languages see and divide the world differently, so different species have different flicker fusion rates. Dogs have a higher rate than us: they take in seventy or eighty images a second. This is why many dogs don’t react to TV: television is geared to the human flicker fusion rate. So every second, dogs see a little bit more world than we do. This is the image I’d like to offer you at the start of this new academic year: this image – the idea of trying to be open or alive to a little bit more world every second. And, because self’s growth happens via attention to the other, of using the extra imagination such openness can bring, not only to fuel your own creativity, which I am sure it will do – but to fuel your compassion: your power to feel with the other. There are now 7 billion people in the world. By the time you are the age of people teaching you, there will be billions more. That’s an awful lot to hold yourself open to! But society needs us to try. Attention to other people’s experience comes to be the basis of our PRAYER The Churches banquet, Angels age, God’s breath in man returning to his birth, The soul in paraphrase, heart in pilgrimage, The Christian plummet sounding heav’n and earth ; Engine against th’ Almightie, sinner’s towre, Reversed thunder, Christ-side-piercing spear, The six daies world-transposing in an houre, A kinde of tune, which all things heare and fear ; Softnesse, and peace, and joy, and love, and blisse, Exalted Manna, gladnesse of the best, Heaven in ordinarie, man well drest, The milkie way, the bird of Paradise, Church-bells beyond the stars heard, the soul’s bloud, The land of spices, something understood. Ruth Padel’s most recent book is The Mara Crossing, a mix of prose and poems on the subject of migration – cellular, animal and human. See www.ruthpadel.com C HARLES D ICKENS OF S HREWSBURY A D IVERTIMENTO should note that Dickens singled out this building as the particular target of his satirical antipathy for the Classical style in architecture: “… a very hideous church with four towers at four corners, generally resembling some petrified monster, frightful and gigantic, on its back with its legs in the air.”(Our Mutual Friend, 1865) As George Orwell remarked in his famous essay on Dickens (1940), “he is all fragments, all details – rotten architecture, but wonderful gargoyles”. So his predilection for the Gothic may account for his choice of Shrewsbury as a setting for A Christmas Carol, that gothic fantasy which so affected Robert Louis Stevenson that he sobbed and said, “I shall do good and lose no time – I want to go out and comfort someone – I shall give money.” I beg your pardon, sir (you naturally ask), was not A Christmas Carol set in London? Did not Scrooge have lodgings hard by his counting-house in the City and did not his clerk, Bob Cratchit, live in Camden Town? So it might appear – for London in 1842 was, like Shrewsbury, a medieval town. No, as I said at the outset, Dickens is in Shrewsbury to this day. Go to the old churchyard next to St Chad’s. There you will find it – a little worn and cracked across the middle, but still clearly legible – the stone that marks the spot where Charles Dickens came to Shrewsbury in 1858; he is still here today. Of the Lion Hotel, where he stayed during one of his reading tours, he wrote to his daughter: “we have the strangest little rooms, the ceilings of which I can touch with my hand. The windows bulge out over the street, as if they were little stern windows in a ship and a door opens out of the sitting room on to a little open gallery with plants in it where one leans over a queer old rail and looks all down hill and slantwise at the crookedest old black and yellow houses.” The irregularity of his lodgings perhaps inspired his description of Bleak House, the ironically named home of John Jarndyce, the epitome of childless paternity that marks Dickens’ stock-figure of middle-aged, philanthropic virtue: “It was one of those delightfully irregular houses where you go up and down steps out of one room into another, and where you come upon more rooms when you think you have seen all there are, and where there is a bountiful provision of little halls and passages, and where you find still older cottage rooms in unexpected places with lattice windows and green growth pressing through them. Salopians, accustomed to frequenting the Classical regularities of St John’s Smith Square for the School’s annual orchestral concert, 18 School News particularly when we learn that this patina of indifference conceals an acute perception and a sensitive heart: rest the mortal remains of Scrooge. I trust I am no Gradgrind, but these are hard facts, not the fumes of literary fancy. Besides, there’s further evidence. Scrooge’s house was on Belmont: there’s a photograph to prove it. The prize turkey he bought and sent to Bob Cratchit on Christmas Day hung outside the poulterers in the Market Square: there’s a photograph that shows it. The boys made their snow-slide (see “Stave One: Marley’s Ghost”) on the Parade; there’s a photograph of them at it. And – yes! I have it somewhere … There! Tiny Tim himself, carried on his father’s arm, as plain and bright as sixpence! And unmistakably Salopian! “Yet, this Mr. Carton took in more of the details of the scene than he appeared to take in; for now, when Miss Manette's head dropped upon her father's breast, he was the first to see it, and to say audibly: ‘Officer! look to that young lady. Help the gentleman to take her out. Don't you see she will fall!’” Bohemian in dress and manners, insouciant of his own interest and advantage, yet ever alert to alleviate the distress of others (particularly when they are attractive young ladies) – is not Sydney Carton the archetypical Salopian, both of the past and living among us today? That mercurial character, source of so many triumphs and frustrations; that independence of mind and spirit, which is our boast and occasionally our apology, are strongly marked in Sydney Carton: "The old Sydney Carton of old Shrewsbury School," said Stryver, nodding his head over him as he reviewed him in the present and the past, "the old seesaw Sydney. Up one minute and down the next; now in spirits and now in despondency!" "Ah!" returned the other, sighing: "yes! The same Sydney, with the same luck. Even then, I did exercises for other boys, and seldom did my own." "And why not?" "God knows. It was my way, I suppose." He sat, with his hands in his pockets and his legs stretched out before him, looking at the fire. "Carton," said his friend, squaring himself at him with a bullying air, as if the fire-grate had been the furnace in which sustained endeavour was forged, and the one delicate thing to be done for the old Sydney Carton of old Shrewsbury School was to shoulder him into it, "your way is, and always was, a lame way. You summon no energy and purpose. Look at me." "Oh, botheration!" returned Sydney, with a lighter and more good-humoured laugh, "don't you be moral! ... But it's not worth your while to apostrophise me, or the air, about it; what you want to do, you do. You were always in the front rank, and I was always behind.” Dickens, whose own education was somewhat informal, sent his eldest son to Eton. An addict himself of theatrical performance, he might have done better to send him to Shrewsbury School, the destination of Anthony Walters who, as a six year-old, played Tiny Tim in Clive Donner’s 1984 film of A Christmas Carol. But Dickens did send one of his children to Shrewsbury School. In 1864, at a dinner to mark the tercentenary of Shakespeare’s birth, Dickens announced to the company: “We meet on this day to celebrate the birthday of a vast army of living men and women who will live forever with an actuality greater than the men and women whose external forms we see around us ...” He meant, of course, Hamlet and Prince Hal, Bottom and Falstaff. He meant also, no doubt, Oliver Twist and the Artful Dodger, Little Nell and Miss Havisham. And surely, too, this child of his fancy: In a reversal of the usual relationship between the two beasts, it is Carton, the Jackal, who serves up “a compact repast” for Stryver, the Lion; meaning, in this context, that Carton goes through all the law-books and precedents to provide Stryver with the winning hand that he will lay out with success and aplomb in court. But doing “exercises for other boys”, as Carton clearly continues to do in adult life, is a habit he could easily have learned in other schools. We have it on authority from Tom Brown, one of Rugby’s most famous pupils, that cribbing was a way of life among the noblest scions of Albion: “... one man sat leaning back, with his torn gown half off him, his untidy wig put on just as it had happened to light on his head after its removal, his hands in his pockets, and his eyes on the ceiling as they had been all day. Something especially reckless in his demeanour, not only gave him a disreputable look ...” “... it will not be wondered that the masters gave the same subjects sometimes over again after a certain lapse of time. To meet and rebuke this bad habit of the masters, the schoolboy mind, with its accustomed ingenuity, had invented an elaborate Even were we not informed a few pages further on that Sydney Carton, this young man of “careless, slovenly if not debauched appearance”, were not a Salopian we should surely guess it – 19 School News reforming headmaster of Rugby, belonged more properly to our own Samuel Butler (headmaster from 1798 to 1836). It was Butler, “whose achievements and organisation became models for Eton and Harrow, as Hawtrey, headmaster of Eton from 1834 to 1853, generously acknowledged to Butler himself.”1 He initiated the system whereby a select band of senior boys – “praepostors” (lit. one who goes before) – aided the headmaster in the organisation and discipline of the School (although beating the other boys was not one of their privileges). Butler also instituted Private Study, the system much beloved by generations of Salopians whereby they enjoy devoting much of their free time to academic study. It is highly likely, moreover, that Dickens was well aware of the opinion that Lord Ashley Cooper (7th Earl of Shaftesbury, the great social reformer commemorated by the statue in the middle of Piccadilly Circus known as Eros) confided to his diary on November 21st 1844: “I fear Eton ... it makes admirable gentlemen and finished scholars ... fits a man for the dining-room, the Club, St James’s Street, and all the mysteries of social elegance; but it does not make the man required for the coming generation. We must have nobler, deeper and sterner stuff; less of refinement and more of truth; more of the inward, not so much of the outward gentleman.” The Lion and the Jackal system of tradition. Almost every boy kept his own vulgus written out in a book, and these books were duly handed down from boy to boy.” We know that Tom’s father did not intend his son to be either a true or a false scholar, for we have his thoughts as he contemplates his son’s departure for Rugby: So it had to be Shrewsbury, best nursery of the inward gentleman. Look around you on the site. And if you see some who appear on the outward to be like Sydney Carton, “idlest and most unpromising of men”, believe of them as Lucy Manette believed of Sydney Carton, that they are “capable of good things, gentle things, even magnanimous things.” And believe, too, that there may be one among them who is capable of the ultimate sacrifice, of giving up his life for another – who, like Sydney Carton “had wandered and struggled and got lost, but who at length struck into his road and saw its end”, that he might justly claim, “It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known.” “Shall I tell him to mind his work, and say he's sent to school to make himself a good scholar? Well but he isn't sent to school for that—at any rate, not for that mainly. I don't care a straw for Greek particles or the digamma; no more does his mother ... If he'll only turn out a brave, helpful, truth-telling Englishman and a gentleman and a Christian, that's all I want.” Two years after Thomas Hughes sent Tom Brown to Rugby, Dickens sent Carton to Shrewsbury. He knew what he was doing. Seven years earlier, he had sent another dissolute character, Richard Carstone, to Winchester, and he came to a bad end. He must have known, too, that the fame fastened on to the shoulders of Dr Arnold, 1 J. W. Adamson, Cambridge History of English and American Literature Michael Schutzer-Weissmann J UNIOR SCHOOL PLAY – B ILLY L IAR different fiancées, while trying to connect with his one true love, Liz. Sir Walter Scott put it so well; ‘Oh what a tangled web we weave when first we practise to deceive.’ This was never truer than for William Fisher, whose sobriquet creates the title of the play, as his world comes crumbling around him over the course of three acts. This play was ambitious material for juniors to pull off. But they did just that. On a remarkably professional set, Joe Bell took on the responsibility of the lead role. To play Billy just for laughs is to miss the point. Yes, it was a funny play, with many moments of laughter. The older audience on the final night certainly appreciated the more sophisticated humour. But as Billy’s excuses, lies and tall tales turn on him, we see a young man who’s desperate for something better in his life; a young man who cannot see what he has already got; a young man whose dissatisfaction is to be pitied, as well as laughed For those of a certain vintage, the name ‘Billy Liar’ evokes images of a young Julie Christie in her black and white, photogenic prime, all cheek bones, pouting lips, and smoky eye make-up, and an innocent looking, somewhat bewildered Tom Courtney. For others too young (or too old) to remember the 1960s John Schlesinger film which launched the celluloid careers of this magical pairing, the Junior School Play in July, adapted and directed by Paul Fitzgerald, afforded the opportunity to see the original stage play on which the film was based, this time spiced up with the insertion of black and white video vignettes to represent the daydream sequences. The play spotlights one day in the life of William Fisher, a bored undertaker’s clerk who escapes the humdrum reality of his drab life through daydreaming; but more than that, he lies. He lies to his parents, he lies to his employers, and he lies to his two, very 20 School News at. Joe Bell was both funny and evoked our pathos. He played the role with a softly spoken naivety which complemented his blustering father who loves yet is frustrated by his son. Ollie Murray clearly relished playing this part, and he did so to perfection, his flawless Yorkshire accent a wonderful pastiche which the audience delighted in. Theo Simmons played Billy’s mother, Alice; playing a female role is not easy, and the pitfalls are legion. This was in essence a serious part, but it could so easily have degenerated into a junior version of Danny La Rue on a bad day. I am delighted to report Theo played the part of the protective mother with real sensitivity. If you find yourself forgetting the character on stage is really a boy, that must be a sign that the actor has truly succeeded in suspending your disbelief. Supporting cast members were all strong. Thomas Barthen as Billy’s best friend Arthur, finally frustrated by the avalanche of lies, provided an effective foil to Joe Bell; Jamie Nugent as Billy’s elderly grandmother, shocked by her grandson’s shocking attitude to ‘free love’ (it is the 1960s, after all) delivered his flat northern vowels with the creakily thin voice of an octogenarian convincing the audience she would not be long for this world. (At a stroke, she wasn’t); and Liz, Billy’s real love, paced and projected with clarity and astonishing maturity by Martha Pownall from Shrewsbury High School; she made us want to believe that the couple would live ‘happily ever after’. The bitter ending, acted out so eloquently with no dialogue whatsoever, told us it was not to be. The video inserts were real crowd-pleasers, too. As director, Paul Fitzgerald’s idea to use a different medium, shot in monochrome and treated with a crackly, old film quality, as the means for portraying another world was spot on, and the ‘screen actors’ – Charlie Duckworth, Will Bayliss, Jack Nelson, Ben Smith and Dominic Dootson clearly enjoyed the filming process while the audience lapped up the light relief they provided on screen. Nobody, I think, stole the show, but two actors came mighty close. No-one will quickly forget the gloriously surreal catfight between Billy’s homely fiancée Barbara, wonderfully underplayed by Guy Cabral, and the force of nature topped with a peroxide blonde beehive that was Rita, his other fiancée, wonderfully overplayed by Dan Edwards. Backstage crew too all delivered on the two night run, Andrew Humpish and James London behind the scenes, with Greg Bunting, Rory Dootson and Nick Watkins on sound and lights; mention must also go to Mrs Bovill and Dr Samworth for costume and make-up, Alex Davies, Will Allott and team for a set which has surely raised the bar for future productions, and Miss Woo as the ever-calm producer. Kenneth Tynan Soul weight In micro chips and memory cards hides no secret life nor any life at all, for one cannot imagine weathered leather hands like hers slipping over touch screens or keys to type one last message to the world, Hers was a realm of paper, inviting blank pulp waiting for hands to form with mud, blood and ink what took God six days. In cold ceramic pots and uniform draws hides no secret life, nor any life at all, for one cannot imagine scientists measuring a body like hers, a body so like before before dancing strip lights, sleepless nurses and one telephone call Now her soul has become science, one single gram, and laboratories bright temples, and me religious, me religious while I can. Theo Simmons (Ch, 4th form) 21 School News M EDIC M ALAWI COMMUNITY SERVICE EXPEDITION The expedition team wrote a blog, which gives a vivid account of their day-to-day activities and their reflections on their experiences. A few extracts are included here and the full blog can be found on the School website at http://www.shrewsburymedicmalawi.blogspot.co.uk/. The photos on these pages were taken by Andrew Spicer (Lower Sixth). A mother in Africa is visited by a reporter from the UK. She is seriously ill, with pulmonary pneumonia. He asks her if she has any medicine. “Yes,” she replies, “I travelled by ox cart for a day to the nearest hospital, and they gave me these.” “But why haven’t you taken any of them?” asks the reporter. “Because they have to be taken with food,” she explains. “I only have enough food for my two small children.” “But what will happen to them without you?” he gently asks. She turns away. This is a true story, and several things need to happen to stop it taking place over and over again in the poorest countries in Africa. This mother needed a new, nearer hospital. She needed enough food for herself and her children when there was an emergency, and she needed to know that if anything happened to her, her children would be cared for. In July 2012, eighteen Fifth and Lower Sixth Formers, together with six members of staff, helped to keep those three essentials happening in a rural area of Malawi. Malawi is one of the seven poorest countries in the world, where there are, on average, three nurses for every 10,000 people (compared to 103 in the UK). The 18 Salopians helped at an orphanage, which keeps 60 children safe, educated and fed. They also took supplies to a new hospital, St Andrew’s Hospital, which means 100,000 people have less far to travel, and they helped out at the Nutrition Centre, which supplies food in times of crisis. All these are supported by the charity Medic Malawi. In the months before they set off, the pupils organised a major fund-raising campaign and raised £10,000 for the day-to-day running of the hospital and to put towards a much-needed eye clinic, which the next generation of Shrewsbury students will be able to see for themselves on the next visit, in 2014. DAY 4: A TEACHING DAY…. Amy Steventon and Grace Pilsbury: After first seeing around 20 children waiting for us, we were astounded to be told that there were actually 106 pupils who had voluntarily come to the primary school to be taught by us during their free time, as they are also on their summer holidays. We started by singing Kookaburra and after a few attempts managed to get it into a round with four parts. We then moved outside into the sun to do the Hokey Kokey and sing Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes, which the children loved. This led to us all dancing into the Macarena and a game which consisted of all of the children running to various sides of the courtyard while Will shouted ‘North, South, East or West’. Lastly, we sat in a big circle all singing songs while Will played his ukulele. After three incredibly fun but long hours, we took a well deserved trip to the tuck shop before having a packed lunch back in the church. DAY 6… DISCOVERING INVENTIONS Matt Davies: Our tour of the area surrounding St Andrew’s village was expertly led by our translator, Brickson, and over twenty sets of data were collected for the hydrology survey, an important ongoing project. Flow rates of bore holes, depths of wells, co-ordinates and names were all recorded from every site we visited, providing a good set of data to be sent to Chris Leek of Water Aid, our boss in the UK. We trekked all morning, through the dust and the heat, from what felt like Land’s End to John O’Groats, but was in reality only about 7km. Some of the people I’ve met have to journey over 12km just to get checked out by the doctor. Although some travel by foot, the ‘bicycle taxi’ is a common sight! You pay according to the distance, and sit on a padded seat behind the driver, while he cycles along the pothole-ridden dirt roads to your destination. If the bicycle breaks down, you could take it to a professional welder, or for less money and more entertainment, to a man we visited who has no welding kit yet can fix a bicycle within an hour using only an old broken wheel, a car radiator embedded in concrete, charcoal and some lead. I’ll leave you to your own imagination and brilliance to figure out how that works... DAY 17… PAINTING AND GIFTS George Fowler: As we worked on the world map, Seb’s iPod blaring in the background, I was tapped on the shoulder by Felix, a good friend from the orphanage, clasping a stick of sugarcane in one hand and a present for me in the other. It was a necklace, a wooden carving of a fish with ‘Felix’ inscribed on one side, “to remember me by” he said. It was a touching and generous gift, even more so because he had made it. I spent the afternoon giving piano lessons on an out-of-tune instrument, giving a somewhat unintentional honkey-tonk theme to Mozart’s ‘Ode to Joy’. Nevertheless, it was challenging and very rewarding to see that these bright, receptive children pick 22 School News something up so quickly. As I was winding up the lesson with Doreen (my prodigy), a tall middle-aged gentleman walked through the church doors.”Beethoven?” he asked. He was charming, as are most people I have met here, and for that reason, I hope it won’t be too long before I return. DAY 18… FOOD AND MORE FOOD…. Will Heyes: I’m getting a reputation for having green fingers but it’s more like brown feet, as in Malawi we go bare foot in the soil, mud and slime, as I set to work in the vegetable garden with Fred. Fortunately today’s gardening was very simple and all I had to do was watering. Fred invited me to have some tea with him and had prepared a plate piled high with sweet potatoes. I admire him a lot. He is a busy volunteer who has been with the orphanage for four years. Lunch seemed to be a medley of all our meals so far: rice, chips, chicken, chewy beef and coleslaw. But we all needed the energy for the afternoon ahead; we had organised to have the whole orphanage round to Kamuzu Academy for a sports-based party. Oh and it was hectic! There was football for the older lads, while the others set up games such as musical chairs and statues, the sack race and the three-legged race. At about 3 o’clock the screaming horde emerged. They loved it! Each game prompted cheering and laughing. Some of the very small children were a little hesitant, so Matron had to run around with them to give them a helping hand. After a solid hour of games, we had an early dinner of: rice, chips, chicken, chewy beef and coleslaw. With huge smiles and full bellies they said their goodbyes and left. They had a really good time. Then we swept, stacked and wiped the hall down. After an inspirational talk by Mr Conway, we were left by ourselves to pack (and play poker.) Then retiring to bed, sleeping under a mosquito net for the last time, my mind started thinking of the long trip home. It has been a long and emotional trip, full of its highs and lows, satisfying and definitely worthwhile. Marking out the position of the new eye clinic Photos by Andrew Spicer (M LVI) THE FUTURE: 80% of blindness in Malawi is preventable or curable. The expeditioners in 2012 raised £5,000, which paid for over a month’s running costs of St Andrew’s Hospital. They raised another £5,000 to put towards an Eye Clinic so that cataracts and trachoma can be treated. By the time the next expedition visits, in 2014, we are aiming to have raised enough to finish and equip it. 23 School News YOUNG ENGINEERS WIN BEST ENGINEERED CAR AWARD Against all the odds the Young Engineers Group had their best season in the Greenpower Formula 24 Competition. An offer of a sheet of lightweight alloy material from a parent gave us the opportunity to build a new lighter car with a monocoque construction together with an improved 7 gear drive-train. With the support of local companies Quest 88 and RMJ Mouldings, the boys started to learn new skills and worked to a high level of accuracy to complete the car by the end of March. This year the number of teams entering the Greenpower competition rose to 250 from the north of Scotland down to Cornwall. The first race of the 2012 season at Silverstone at the end of April saw atrocious weather conditions and we reluctantly withdrew our entry. So it was at the test day at Mallory Park in May that the team had their first opportunity to see how the new car performed. The car ran all day without a hitch and the boys started to hone their circuit driving skills. Back in the workshops minor tweeks were made to the gear ratios ready for the next race. Having missed the Midlands Heat in mid July, it was not until September that we were able to compete in a full four-hour race in a field of 32 cars from across the country at the North West Heat at Aintree. For most of the race the boys maintained a top ten position, but we eventually slipped to 14th place. During the day all of the cars were inspected and some of the boys were Left to right: Edward Jones, George Whitehead, Mischa Manser, Hector Kaye (in spoken to by a member of ImechE ( Institute of car) and Johnny Jones Mechanical Engineering ). At the end of the race meeting our team were presented with the Award for the “Best Engineered Car”. National Finals as one of three wild card entries.” We had one more race at the Castle Combe circuit in late The team Edward Jones, George Whitehead, Mischa Manser, September to qualify for the Goodwood National Finals. Hector Kaye and Johnny Jones were boosted by this Invitation, but Unfortunately this clashed with Coach Weekend. unfortunately we were again unable to accept this offer to race The following week we were contacted by Jeremy Way, Director against the best cars in the country. So now it’s back to the of Greenpower workshop to improve the car for next season and, we hope, look “Having won the award for Best Engineered car at Aintree, and forward to more success. having witnessed the inspiring enthusiasm of your team of young John Holloway engineers, we have great pleasure in inviting you to attend the SHREWSBURY HOUSE Sixth formers, Roger and Donald took leading parts in the building of the new Shrewsbury House opened in 1974. Donald and Helen kept in touch with the club and were always delighted that the Shewsy was still flourishing. The future will not be easy for the Everton area as the cuts begin to bite deeply, but the Shewsy is in good heart and the support from Old Salopians and from such ventures as the School’s sponsored walk are much appreciated and needed. The regeneration of Great Homer Street should finally be happening over the next few years, Notre Dame High School is moving to Great Homer Street nearer the club, Everton Park is being developed around its magnificent view across the city, and the Shewsy will continue to make a vital contribution to Everton’s regeneration. Henry Corbett “A great place... the staff, children and helpers care so much about the Shewsy... the sessions in the evenings were great...the music facilities are excellent... keep up the good work...” are all comments from the feedback sheets from the Social Studies course visiting the Shewsy in November. The Social Studies courses were started when Donald Wright was Headmaster. Bishop Roger Sainsbury, Missioner at the Shewsy in the 1960s, writes that Donald had first travelled up with his wife Helen to Liverpool in 1963 “with the thought of closing down the Shewsy as a hangover from the Victorian era, but when he saw our engagement in Christian mission in one of the most socially disadvantaged communities in England, it led to him becoming an outstanding supporter of our work and he later described his journey to the Shewsy as his Damascus-road conversion.” In addition to the Social Studies courses for School 24 School News S OUNDS OF S UMMER OPEN-AIR CONCERT Taylor (O 5) warmed the crowd up, Will Hargreaves (SH 4) and Julian Chesshire (SH 3) showed that there is talent to look forward to in future years, and Daisy McConnell and Sienna Holmes (both EDH L6) showed how much talent the 2011 Sixth Form intake has. Ali Webb (S L6) was typically superb, and Charlie Straw (S U6) ‘got the crowd pulsating’ - according to Mr Bell. A great way to go out! The evening raised more than £500 for the pupils’ chosen charity, Motor Neurone Disease Association. The universal view on summer’s open-air concert was that, despite the soggy weather, it was one of the best in recent times. The concert is almost entirely pupil-led - not only are all the performers students, but so are all the sound/lighting/technical crew. The programme is put together and publicised by the pupils, and it is entirely down to them to rehearse and organise themselves for the evening. As in previous years, performances were from pupils across the year groups. Sam Morris (G 5), Tom Lloyd (Rt 5) and Ed Shawe- INSTRUMENTALISTS WIN PLACES IN NATIONAL ORCHESTRAS Third Former Joshua Himsworth, double-bass player and holder of both a Burney music and a Butler academic scholarship, began his first term at Shrewsbury fresh from the National Youth Orchestra of Wales summer tour, where he was thrilled to receive the ‘Most Promising String Player’ Award. Also taking part in the tour were cellist Jacob Owen (L6) and new 6th Form Entrant Awen Blandford. Henry Thomas (4th Form) had a busy summer playing trumpet with the National Children’s Orchestra. His account of that week is on the School website, together with his description of a hectic five days in June when he not only played solo trumpet in front of the Queen, spent three days rehearsing with the NCO and performed in his House Soirée, but also helped the J14A crew to a tremendous win at the Henry Thomas National Schools’ Regatta. www.shrewsbury.org.uk/page/latest-music-news/ Congratulations to Henry Kennedy (L6), who has been awarded a place to play saxophone in the National Youth Wind Orchestra of Great Britain. He has also been accepted into the Youth Orchestra of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra to play clarinet and bass clarinet. Henry Kennedy Photos by Andrew Spicer (M LVI) 25 School News H OUSE S INGING C OMPETITION 2012 In an exhausting but memorable finale to the first half of the Michaelmas Term, the House Singing Competition took place just hours after the Tucks. With mud-splattered faces scrubbed clean and running vests hastily swapped for glad-rags, there was no hint of the weariness many probably felt, as each House took to the stage and sang their hearts out to a large and appreciative audience gathered in the Alington Hall and – via a live video link – in the Ashton Theatre. Winners of the Overall Prize in the House Singing Competition 2012 were Severn Hill. Their unison song was a reprise of ‘Deep in the Dark’ from the School musical The Bubble, while their part song was a triple combo of Abba, Take That and Coldplay, ‘Does your mother know how to fix your shine’ was very entertaining with an array of coloured waistcoats and crafty choreographing. Back from their Hawaiian training camp, Churchill’s produced a well-nigh impeccable rendition of the Beach Boys’ ‘Get Around’ and claimed the Part Song Prize, neatly reversing with Severn Hill last year's Overall/Part Song result. School House’s much anticipated ‘Hallelujah Chorus’ turned out to be Ken Dodd’s ‘Happiness’ with a plethora of tickle dusters and the customary goofy teeth; not only did this give them fourth place in the Unison but earned the coveted Entertainment Prize. Emma Darwin Hall was awarded the Unison Song Prize with their energetic homage to the late Amy Winehouse. ‘Valerie’ had the entire house bopping to an on stage band, ordered so no member could hide and dilute the enthusiasm. 26 School News M ODEL U NITED N ATIONS delivering some excellent speeches. Kim Jong-Un will be delighted that – in rhetoric at least – his ambassador served him well and imperialists were well and truly smashed! At the end of the conference, our Azerbaijani team were awarded the top prize, the Distinguished Delegation Award (alongside Haberdashers’ Askes’, Herts and Terenure College, Dublin) and I was delighted that our Israeli team picked up a Highly Commended Delegation Award, too. In addition, the following won Distinguished Delegate awards for their work in their committees: Ben Gould, Sam Ansloos, Ed Elcock, Alfie Rius, Rory Fraser, Toby Harvey-Scholes and Guy Cabral (an extraordinary achievement for a Fourth Former). Following on from his success on the first day, James Humpish won two Distinguished Delegate awards; one for his work in the Human Rights committee and one for his contribution to a special Crisis Committee, which was set up on the second day of the conference to resolve the fallout of a fictitious terrorist attack on the UN. In addition, Shrewsbury had three of the 16 entries for the MUN XFactor. Alex Moore sang and played guitar in a complex and moody Ben Howard number ‘Everything'. Sam Ansloos then delivered a soaring rendition of Tom Petty’s ‘Free Falling’. However, it was Shrewsbury’s very own waist-coated boy band, ‘Ed and the Other People’, who somehow danced and beat-boxed their way to victory with an original and hilarious, if wobbly, mash-up of Gotye’s ‘Somebody that I Used to Know’ and ‘Gangnam Style’. Speaking to the MUN Press afterwards, Ed Elcock announced that his band were donating the £150 X-Factor prize money to the ‘Shewsy’ youth club in Everton. Overall, it was a great experience for all, and we are very much looking forward to the Paris MUN in December. Huw Peach On the first day of half term, Miss Burge and Mr Peach, five Azerbaijanis, five Israelis, five North Koreans, and one budding journalist, Hugo Wright, set off to Croydon for the 31st Royal Russell Model United Nations conference. Perhaps carried by the momentum of the Tucks, or lifted by the vertiginous highs of the House Singing Competition – or was it that bacon butty at breakfast from KH? – the team got ‘stuck in’ in true Salopian style from the outset and returned four days later with a brace of awards. As always, it was an intense, dramatic, emotionally-charged, fun and exhausting few days of internationalism, idealism, Machiavellianism, and intelligent debate and oratory, with the odd reference to Harry Potter or Korean YouTube hits thrown in. What makes the Royal Russell conference stand out is the friendly and welcoming atmosphere of the school’s staff and pupils, the high standard of the debates, the international feel (with schools from Ireland, the USA, Japan, Germany, Italy, Greece and Turkey) and the sheer range and breadth of the other features of the weekend like the MUN Press Corps (this year with a Salopian journalist working in it), MUN-TV, the MUN chapel service, the fancydress discos and this year’s remarkably ambitious, big-screen, outdoor X-Factor (of which more anon). James Humpish, the Israeli ambassador, made the first big impression. His opening address to the General Assembly, which was loosely based on Blake’s Jerusalem, was chosen as the best opening speech. And he certainly got the ball rolling for the team. On the following morning Salopians were in the thick of the debates in committees, and – as usual – showed their staying power, as the debate moved to the General Assembly on the last two days. North Korean ambassador, Daniel Edwards, stood out in General Assembly, taking the podium more than any other Salopian, and There must be a metaphor in here somewhere! 27 School News CCF ROYAL MARINES – THE PRINGLE TROPHY quickly showed off our ammunition loading skills and our well-tuned stoppage and loading drills. An easy start to warm up the day. Having speed-marched down, the battle exercise (Battle-Ex) gave us our first stance of blank firing, and we were ready to make some noise. Our mission was to find and secure a fallen RAF jet pilot with a leg injury and bring him out of enemy territory. After the briefing and loading up, we patrolled off into the common. Within a few minutes, a white smoke grenade went off, as we were briefed the fallen captain would do when he spotted our patrol. Unfortunately this spooked one L Cpl. who started to fire on the casualty, but after a very loud call of ‘CEASE FIRE!’ the extraction was began. While ‘Charlie’ section prepared the casualty, ‘Delta’ section (including me) came under fire from a hidden enemy waiting in ambush. When he gave his position away, thunderous rounds went down as we covered Cpl Wilson carrying the pilot on his shoulders back to the extraction point. Mission completed and successful. By 0930 we had started the First Aid stance. Run by Naval medics (who will not stand for errors!) there was no room for mistakes. Patrolling up through an area that 45 Commando troops had cleared of enemies, it was our detachment’s job to search for and collect the casualties of the recent ambush. Quickly we found a man with a chest wound lying in the gorse and hastily got to work securing his wounds, when from behind us shouting from a bund line was another marine in a state of shock calling for help. Sgt Young and I and ‘Delta’ section met this call, only to find the restless marine going mad in shock, after removing his shirt to try and extract his friend with a head injury; Sgt Young could only get him in a head lock and force him to calm down. His friend had a large gash to his head and was very quickly fading into unconsciousness. I found myself desperately trying to keep him talking by having a conversation with him about his favourite kind of The Pringle Trophy competition is a two-day, gruelling event in which teams from the nineteen schools across the UK with Royal Marines CCF Detachments compete at the infamous Commando Training Centre RM (CTCRM) at Lympstone. The competition pushes the cadets' stamina, determination and teamwork to the limit, but it is a unique opportunity for them to experience what commando training entails. Directed by a team of Royal Marine Instructors, who set a ruthless pace and look for similar levels of proficiency and purpose to those of regular Commandos, the first day is spent being assessed on different military skills including navigation, weapon handling, camouflage and concealment, sniper stalk, battle skills and combat medicine. The second day starts with tests on turnout, drill and knowledge of the history and traditions of the Royal Marines. The final and most demanding challenge is the infamous Commando assault course. This test of physical fitness, strength and sheer grit involves a punishing combination of ropes, ditches, walls and tunnels. It also includes the notorious ‘regain ropes’ suspended high above an icy tank of water – an ultimate test of strength and tenacity. Cpl Will Heyes’ graphic account of the experience of taking part is on the School website. The following extract describes the first day of the competition. “At 0530, while most Shrewsbury School students were still tucked up in bed, the Pringle teams woke for breakfast in the Galley at 0600 and after a mad rush to gather webbing, bergens, bag rations, magazines and rifles, we were deployed onto Woodbury common by 0700 as the sun was rising. Our first stance of the day was relaxed as it was simple weapons handling tests; thanks to Lt Corbett’s intensive weapons training on the previous Thursday, we “Cam and Com” (Camouflage and Concealment) 28 School News cake (it did the job) and after all marines’ wounds were patched up, they were carried to the ambulance and extracted for the hospital. We had high hopes after that stance, a major boost to morale! Camouflage and concealment was next on the sync matrix. We were given ten minutes to cut down the local vegetation and shove it down webbing pouches, in loops in hats and elastics on arms and webbing. Then we tried to break our human figures and blend into the surrounding area. None of us were spotted during this stance, either because of our amazing hiding abilities or our poor spotting abilities, as it was our own team looking for our hidden comrades. The next stance was the stalk. Still in head-to-toe camouflage, we were given one single round to take a sniper shot at an enemy OP (observation point) without being spotted. Ten seconds to get into a starting position, we split up suddenly into the gorse foliage. I cannot give any account of the stalk apart from my own. I ran as far forward as I could to get the best head start. It went very quickly and I think I recall pushing one of our lance corporals over during the start in my obsessive sprint to the front line. Finding paths through the gorse I crawled for ten minutes, eyes fixed on the trees that labelled the enemy territory. Conscious of telegraphing (the act of wobbling the base of plants so they shake massively at the top and hence the main reason snipers would get spotted) I moved forward as quickly as I could. By the time I reached enemy territory I was not in any position to be able to fire a shot at the OP, as the gorse was about three feet off the ground, so I crawled further in. When I heard the five-minute call go I felt it was my only chance to score points for my team especially when I hadn’t heard any other shots from my friends. I plucked up the courage to kneel up, slowly so as not to shake the grass on my jungle hat too much, and spotted the OP through the gauze bushes and fired a single shot. My job was done and all I could do was stay absolutely still and hope I wouldn’t get spotted. The radio of the YO (young officer) went mad as the OP tried to direct him to try and find my figure. They failed, and luckily they stopped looking when three other shots went off during the last minute, as my friends took their shots at the enemy. L Cpl Plaut and I both scored points for our team during the stalk, but it was not enough to secure first place. After half a day of hard work, cadets start to get tired and make a few mistakes. On the way to the Leadership stance, I became navigationally challenged. I led the team speed-marching into a wood. We recognised it as being part of the RM endurance course... so we weren’t in the right place at all. We speed-marched for the whole half-hour of the changeover time and arrived just in time for the stance. And with our training of leadership tasks, we set to work and completed as much as we could to the best of our abilities, despite our exhausted state after yomping the last half hour. Inspirational words came from Cpl Wilson’s tongue on the way to section attacks. It had been the section attack demonstration, from that year’s winning Pringle team, during the Fourth Form recruits’ nitex, which had inspired Willow and myself to join the Marines section. It was the most important stance to us and we had to win it. Bombing up two mags each, we were briefed by Sgt Young: we had trained on many occasions for section attacks and for our Marines they are now second nature. Patrolling forward through the thickest Woodbury gorse, Cpl Wilson at the point of our arrow-head formation, it all happened very quickly; Cpl Wilson – “CONTACT FRONT!!” (Everyone hits the deck and starts to fire.) Sgt Young – “SECTION, TEN METRES TO YOUR FRONT, TWO TIMES ENEMY GUNNERS, RAPID FIRE!!” (The fire increases massively.) Sgt Henry Young attempting a Regain Sgt Young – “THREE I/C TAKE OVER, TWO I/C ON ME!!” (I leap to my feet and hurdle over to Henry in the gorse; he briefs me on the battle plan and I sprint back to my section.) Cpl Heyes – “DELTA SECTION, PREPARE FOR RIGHT FLANKING MANOUEVRE UNDER COVER OF SMOKE!!” And with that the plan of attack began, ‘Charlie’ section giving covering fire while ‘Delta’ moved forward, pivoted and assaulted the enemy position through the smoke. Struggling with magazine changes and stoppages, the section fought through the enemy digout and reformed a bound away, where L Cpl Dempsey and I were sent to check the dead bodies. Jumping into the ditch where the enemy had concealed themselves, John face-planted into a gorse bush. He shook it off and covered my descent into the ditch in an equally uncomfortable manner. Bodies checked, we checked our men for ammunition and wounds. The end of a very successful exercise. The day in the field ended in much more relaxed style, with easy Observation stance and map reading stance. Back at CTCRM we quickly cleaned the rifles and squared them away in the armoury, got some scoff from the galley, and some last minute drill practice before getting our heads down to clear our head for the final day of Pringle.” Cpl Will Heyes RM (Ch UVI) 29 School News 3 1 2 4 5 6 FIELD DAY Pupils took part in a vast array of different activities on Field Day this October. Will Heyes' account of competing in the Royal Marines Pringle Trophy is on page 28. The photos on this page give a flavour of what four other groups got up to. Photos 1 and 2: Third Form boys spent half the day in a very hands-on first aid session, and the other half of the day in a workshop run by professional actors on the subject of bullying. Photo 3: Thirty-eight Fourth Formers and six Lower Sixth pupils took part in a paralympic-themed day, including wheelchair basketball workshop run by an ex-GB basketball player. Photo 4: Eight writers spent most of the day putting together the second issue of Public Nose. Photo 5: CCF cadets preparing to march on their stomachs. Photo 6: Nine senior boys, two recent Old Salopians and a guest rider from Moreton Hall (aspiring professional) all took part in a mountain bike training day using a notorious track nick-named 'The Wobbler' at Crogen, near Bala. 30 School News F ASHION S HOW The annual Quod Fashion Show was hosted this year by TV personality Carol Smillie. and raised more than £2,000 for the Teenage Cancer. The event was organised by a group of Sixth Form girls, who worked with local boutiques to select a collection of clothes, arranged tickets, publicity, models (Sixth Form girls and boys), and planned the show itself. Shrewsbury boutiques who participated included Wysteria Lane, Hayley J, Carol Grant, Monsoon, Chequers and Rackhams, as well as Mansers and The Looking Glass – a vintage shop in Bridgnorth. Participants and organisers of the Summer Open Air Concert and the Quod Fashion Show presented a cheque for £3,480 to Adam Johnson from The Teenage Cancer Trust, when he came to give a talk to the Lower Sixth on Teenage Cancer. Left to right: Tom Lloyd, Ed Shawe-Taylor, Christie Knight, Sam Morris, Adam Johnson (from the Teenage Cancer Trust), Cressida Adams Carol Smillie with two of the organisers, her daughter Christie Knight (left) and Cressida Adams (right) 31 School News C RICKET U16 and U15 boys, will hopefully underpin a similar run in 2013. Mr Greetham ensured that the U15 XI again played well above expectations. They lost , narrowly and early, in the Lord’s Taverners Competition to the eventual winners, Denstone College, but gained revenge in the later rounds of the T20 as they went on to reach the ESCA/ECB T20 finals day. Here they came unstuck against, the eventual winners, Bolton School, despite an outstanding first innings batting display. As you can see from this table the school did very well overall, if you consider wins (76%) to be the priority. We are obviously satisfied with these figures, and feel that they reflect well on all the squads, but take much more comfort from the continual progress and development of our players. This is not as easy to measure but as ‘headline measures’ of the progress I would like to highlight three important facts. – Since 2008 we have produced seven professionally contracted cricketers. – The Saracens XI, who won the Cricketer Cup this season for the first time since 1987, contained seven 1st XI players from teams since 2008 and three 1st XI players from this season. – We now offer more hours of cricket coaching to Shrewsbury School boys, of all abilities, than ever before. ALL SCHOOL TEAMS RECORDS 2012 P W L A/C 1st XI 50/50 20/20 Pre-season Total 10 8 3 21 10 7 2 19 0 1 10 2 7 0 2nd XI 3rd XI 7 5 6 4 1 1 9 4 U17 5 4 1 0 U16A U16B 4 4 3 2 1 1 6 1 U15A U15B U15C 18 8 5 13 6 2 3 2 3 2 2 U14A U14B U14C 14 10 7 10 5 7 3 3 0 6 2 6 Total 129 100 23 52 7 1st XI 1st XI Results: Played 22, Won, 19 Lost 2, Drew 1, Abandoned/Cancelled 7 Pre Season: Played 3, Won 2, Lost 1 T20 Matches: Played 8, Won 7, Lost 1 50/over Matches: Played 10, Won 10, Lost 0, Abandoned/Cancelled 7 Despite the worst summer weather on record, Shrewsbury School cricket flourished throughout the spring, and summer months, right up to the U15 ESCA T20 finals at Arundel and the U17 National 40 over final in Oxfordshire in September. In another outstanding year of achievement Shrewsbury School continued to provide the sternest opposition for all domestic and overseas teams. The reputation of our cricket continues to grow, but will be severely challenged in the season to come following the departure of our most successful 1st XI ever. Reputations take along time to be established, but can easily be eroded and undermined therefore; it goes without saying that our developing players and teams have a huge challenge ahead in 2013. The forthcoming tour to South Africa this December marks the exciting beginning of a new cricket era at school and a great opportunity for all involved. The 1st XI squad, containing many of the team that won the U15 ESCA/ECB T20 in 2009 & the U18 HMC T20 in 2011, played with positive intent and maturity throughout the season, but were eventually frustrated as their time at school drew to a close. Another T20 semi-final defeat at the hands of Millfield School and a washed out Silk Trophy was scant reward for a team that has provided the school with outstanding success, a great number of role models, excellent standards of play and at least two more professional cricketers. As an example of the dominance of this departing squad, here is their playing record since December 2010. An early April start saw the team once again hard at it in our annual Pre-season festival. As in the previous year two wins against Worksop College and Worcestershire Academy still did not provide the 1st XI with enough confidence to master Millfield School who would also prove to be too good for us later in the season at Arundel. From that loss in April until the beginning of July, the 1st XI performed excellently well and looked a very good bet to retain their HMC T20 title and go on to win the Silk Trophy for the third time, but one poor batting display and some poor weather put paid to their ambitions. Henry Lewis captained the team for the second season with real authority and vision. He once again opened the innings on a regular basis and this season scored a good number of important runs. His back foot play was more assured and he often dominated the early exchanges of matches. His off spin bowling proved less fruitful in the 50 over matches, but still remained a real threat in our T20 campaign. He has been an outstanding captain and leader during the past two seasons. He will be a very hard act to follow. Stephen Leach had another excellent season and scored a great number of important runs. He was not as prolific as he was last year, but as a cricketer he has grown up a great deal and has a real passion for the game that I know will take him a long way towards fulfilling his dream of becoming a 1st class professional cricketer. His grand total of 2704 runs (485 (2012) +1,051 (2011) + Played 55 Won 50 Lost 4 Drew 1 Abandoned 8 In addition our newly formed U17s worked well with their coach Mr Hughes in progressing to the National Final but eventually lost narrowly to an excellent Gillingham School. The exposure and experienced gained by this squad, containing a greater number of 32 School News Alistair Pollock returned to service with real desire to bat and bowl with equal authority. He achieved both comfortably, but I sense, not to the level of satisfaction he desired. He remains for me our most competitive all-rounder in recent years and he cannot in anyway be faulted for his tireless commitment on the field. It was fitting and pleasing for me to see him play such a major role in the success of the Saracens winning team this summer. He has been an excellent player for the past two years. Jamie Board as our first choice wicketkeeper did much to sharpen our fielding skills throughout the season. He worked hard at his concentration and technique during the past two years and leaves a much better player. As he improved his technique, his body language and his enthusiasm rubbed off on his team mates and they became an efficient fielding unit around him. He has been a key factor in the successes of this team and will now be seeking to further improve his cricket with a gap year in Western Australia. Mark Prescott provided the essential grounding for the team this year. Despite his lack of consistent opportunities he never complained once but continued to support the team in every way possible. He not only sustained his position in the squad but grew in stature as the season wore on. He was a key ingredient underpinning the multi talented squad. As the season drew on he remained in contention as a bowler and a batter and finished the season with the ball as strongly as any in the squad. His commitment and contributions over his career in the 1st XI singles him out for praise but more satisfying than this were his good grace, growing maturity and sensitivity to others. James Aston to his great credit moved his career forward and become one of our very best T20 bowlers in 2012. In total he took some 27 wickets, in all formats of the game, but could easily have got more if some of our close catching had been better. His improved ground fielding helped the team out, but it was his everpresent consistency that made him such a valuable team member. He leaves with a high quality record and an encouragement from me to continue the work he has done to date. Edward Pollock had a dynamic and positive impact on the team. His stroke play is exciting to watch and brought him a harvest of 642 runs in all formats of the game. As he contemplates the forthcoming tour and next season he will surely wish to better his record. I think if he reflects, for just a short period, on one or two of his shot selections throughout the season he will be able to map his own progress and surely achieve that an improved record. His bowling did not offer control for the team or himself but I know that he will be working hard throughout the winter to bring this skill back in line and make a more significant major contribution with the ball in the future. Henry Blofield made a significant impact in the first half of term but faded a little as the summer drew on. His contribution to the 1st XI and the U17s was still significant but I know full well that he will be seeking to offer greater control and penetration as the South African tour and the 2013 season occur. A return of 17 wickets is encouraging during his first full season. His position in the 1st XI rarely opened up batting opportunities of real significance but the grit and discipline he showed against Millfield last April give me greater encouragement for the future. I know that he desperately wishes to contribute more with the bat and some winter work on his technique will greatly help him achieve that goal. Matthew Gregson, Charlie Farqhuar and Will Mason for various reasons did not play a full part the squad in 2012 but I wish to put on record their contribution to the development and standards achieved. They played their part in the success and the first two (who will be in the U6) have much more to offer next season. Henry Lewis 673 (2010) +411(2009) +84(2008)) in five years as a 1st XI player speaks volumes for his contribution. He has been the backbone of the team and made real progress throughout his time. He has worked hard at all aspects of his game and I wish him luck as he sets out on his road to professionalism with a stint in Australia this winter. Jack Hudson-Williams, despite offering his bowling to the captain, rarely dominated with the ball, but took great comfort in taking on more responsibility with the bat. His batting average of over 54 in our 50 over matches indicated his greater maturity and willingness to take on responsibility. He has been a player in the 1st XI for the past three seasons and set the highest standards of fielding I can remember. His fielding performance in the T20 semi final loss to Millfield was simply the best I have seen. He is now living, studying and developing his cricket in Western Australia. Just over 250 runs in all formats of the game for Jack Bailey this season hardly seems enough but his willingness to work harder and occupy the crease often set up winning situations for the team. His game really progressed and he can be rightly proud of all he has achieved in the 1st XI. I am confident to say he is one of our most accomplished batsmen of this century but unsure that he will continue to play the game despite being blessed with so much natural talent. I must further congratulate him on his ability in the field and a number of outstanding catches during his career. Ruadrhi Smith took his bowling to the highest level and consistently unsettled our opponents even on the flattest surfaces. His twenty wickets, most often taken with the new ball, made life easier for the other bowlers and again enabled him to stand out as one of the most exciting seam bowlers on our circuit. His dynamic and athletic fielding greatly improved our team performance time and again. His batting in 50 over matches was too fragile throughout the season and this is where he will need to focus his attention if he is to break into the Glamorgan 1st XI in years to come. By contrast he proved to be most valuable in scoring over 200 runs in our T20 campaign with his strong stroke play and athletic running between the wickets. 33 School News Stephen Leach and Jack Hudson-Williams 1st XI Results – 50-over matches 11th April Worksop College (h) Shrewsbury won by 7 wickets Worksop 204 for 5, Shrewsbury 207 for 3 (S. G. Leach 106 no) 12th April Worcester Academy (h) Shrewsbury won by 77 runs Shrewsbury 188 for 7 (E. Pollock 53), Worcester Academy 111 for 7 13th April Millfield (h) Shrewsbury 121 all out, Millfield 126 for 6 21st April King Edwards Birmingham (a) Shrewsbury won by 9 wickets KES 83 all out ( J. Aston 4 for 17 , H. Blofield 3 for 18) Shrewsbury 87 for 1 25th April Shropshire U21s (h) Cancelled Waterlogged Pitches 29th April MCC (h) Cancelled Waterlogged Pitches 5th May Trent College (a) Shrewsbury won by 118 runs Shrewsbury 253 for 5 (J. Hudson-Williams 70) Trent 135 all out (R. Smith 4 for 9) 9th May Wrekin College (40 overs match) (h) Match Abandoned, Rain Shrewsbury 246 for 6 (M. Prescott 64, A. Styles 63, R.Smith 63), Wrekin 7 for 1 (2 overs) 12th May Repton (h) Shrewsbury won by 9 wickets Repton 102 all out (R. Smith 5 for 24), Shrewsbury 103 for 1 ( H. Lewis 52 no) 19th May Sedbergh (h) Shrewsbury won by 23 runs Shrewsbury 161 for 9 (S. Leach 51) Sedbergh 138 all out 26th May Malvern (a) Shrewsbury won by 8 wickets Malvern 180 all out Shrewsbury 180 for 2 (S. Leach 71 no, H. Lewis 71) 30th May Myerscough College (40 overs) (h) Shrewsbury won by 5 wickets Myerscough College 143 for 7 Shrewsbury 145 for 5 16th June Manchester Grammar School (40 overs) (h) Match Abandoned, Rain Shrewsbury 208 for 5 (H. Lewis 73, E. Pollock 66), Manchester 101 for 5 (30 0vers)( H. Blofield 3 for 16) 23rd June Warwick (a) Shrewsbury won by 141 runs Shrewsbury 327 for 8 ( E. Pollock 73, J. Hudson-Williams 96, A. Pollock 83), Warwick 186 all out Millfield won by 4 wickets 34 School News 27th June Uppingham (a) Shrewsbury won by 75 runs Shrewsbury 229 for 6 (H. Lewis 83, J. Hudson-Williams 89), Uppingham 156 all out (A. Pollock 4 for 29) 30th June Denstone (a) Cancelled Waterlogged Pitches 2nd July Oundle (Silk) (h) Shrewsbury 131 for 1 23 overs Match Abandoned, Rain 3rd July Bishops (Silk) (45 overs) (h) Shrewsbury won by 9 wickets Bishops 173 for 8, Shrewsbury 174 for 1 (S. Leach 75 no, E.Pollock 85 no) 4th July Eton College(Silk) (h) Cancelled Waterlogged Pitches 6th July Saracens (h) Cancelled Waterlogged Pitches 1st XI T20 Season Results 6th May Adams Grammar/Oswestry School & Ellesmere College Adams 43 all out (18 overs) (E. Pollock 4 for 3, H. Blofield 3 for 5), Shrewsbury 44 for 0 (3 overs) Shrewsbury won by 10 wickets Ellesmere 36 all out (18.4 overs) (M. Prescott 2 for 1, R. Smith 2 for 1), Shrewsbury 44 for 2 Shrewsbury won by 8 wickets Shrewsbury 212 for 8 (J. Bailey 94), Oswestry 69 for 8 (A.Pollock 3 for 10) Shrewsbury won by 143 runs 20th May Denstone Denstone 97 for 6, Shrewsbury 99 for 4 Shrewsbury won by 6 wickets 20th June Shifnal CC (Friendly) Shrewsbury won by 8 wickets Shifnal CC 99 all out (J. Aston 4 for 10), Shrewsbury 102 for 2 26th June Felsted (at Bedford) Quarter Final Shrewsbury won by 5 wickets Felsted 123 for 8 (H. Lewis 5 for 20), Shrewsbury 127 for 3 (R. Smith 54) 28th June Millfield (at Arundel) Semi-Final Shrewsbury lost by 19 runs Millfield 115 for 7 (M. Prescott 4 for 14), Shrewsbury 96 all out tight bowling aided by some exceptional fielding ensured that Millfield never scored a boundary in the final quarter of their innings. Mark Prescott finished with the exceptional figures of 4-14 off his 4 overs and Shrewsbury were highly satisfied that Millfield had been restricted to 115-7 off their allotted 20 overs. Shrewsbury’s reply never really got going; the loss of 4 wickets in the power play being a blow they never really recovered from. Only 3 batsmen (and extras) got into double figures and although Alistair Pollock hung around at one end, the big hitters missed out and it was left to the lower order to try and rescue the innings. Millfield, to their credit, bowled well and set effective run-saving fields that strangled Shrewsbury’s supply of runs. Shrewsbury were finally all out when Alistair Pollock skied one to mid-off with 10 balls remaining. Shrewsbury failed once again to overcome Millfield at this stage of the competition, though to be fair, on the day they were a better side and Shrewsbury will go away looking to rebuild with nine of their side leaving this year (this particular year group were also Under 15 ESCA National Champions in the T20 format). However, an Under 17 side composed of mainly 4th and 5th formers have reached the semi-finals of the National Under 17 competition and they are optimistic that they can challenge the best schools in the country once again next year. Shrewsbury vs Millfield Semi-Final With an air of confidence, Shrewsbury looked to defend their title won less than 300 days ago on the same Arundel Castle ground. After an unbeaten run of 17 games in T20 games spread over 2 seasons and with nine of last year’s victorious side selected to play, Shrewsbury looked to challenge Millfield on the third occasion that the two sides had met at this stage of the competition. Glorious weather greeted us this time in stark contrast to the damp, early autumn conditions last year. The ground looked a picture, a stage good enough to host the four best schools in the country in the shortest format of the game. After Millfield had won the toss and decided to bat, they set about the Shrewsbury attack with relish; Smith was often wayward in his length and though Aston was a little more consistent, he paid the price for bowling too full at times. The power play yielded 46 runs and gave Millfield the first advantage. The introduction of Henry Lewis saw the pace taken off the ball and with it, he took a very sharp caught and bowled (his 7th of the season) to remove Will Jenkins with the score on 53. The introduction of the slow bowlers, Blofield, Prescott and Lewis put a brake on the Millfield run rate as 8 runs an over quickly fell to below 6 and Millfield started to lose wickets, Lewis removed Will Sobzcak, courtesy of a well judged catch in the deep by Steve Leach and Mark Prescott was chipping away at the Park End. Three very athletic catches by Jack Hudson-Williams all off Prescott’s bowling reduced Millfield to 93-5 at the end of the 15th. The onslaught in the final 5 overs never came about, as some A full report on the 2012 cricket season is on the School website: www.shrewsbury.org.uk/page/2012-cricket-report 35 School News Wisden 1st XI Report and Averages Season 2012 Batting (100+ only) Inn N.O. Runs HS 100s Av S. G. Leach 12 4 485 106* 1 60.62 J. G. Hudson-Williams 8 3 273 93 54.60 E. J. Pollock 12 4 427 82* 53.37 H. G.Lewis* 11 2 356 83 39.55 A. W. Pollock 8 3 161 83 32.20 J. F. Bailey 6 1 129 46 25.80 M. R. J. Prescott 5 1 101 64 25.25 R. A. J. Smith 7 0 128 64 18.28 Ov M Runs Wkts BB Av R. A. J. Smith 75.3 16 183 20 5-24 9.15 H. G. Lewis* 41 2 134 9 3-23 14.88 E. J. Pollock 40.2 6 157 9 3-23 17.44 J. N. Aston 87 12 270 15 4-17 18.00 H. C. Blofield 80 9 269 14 3-16 19.21 M. R. J. Prescott 51.3 3 167 8 2-13 20.87 A. W. Pollock 74.2 8 254 9 4-29 28.22 Bowling (7+ only) *Captain Presentation of the ESCA Midlands Trophy to U15A XI captain George Lewis 36 School News T ENNIS The appalling weather in the Summer of 2012 was not enough to dampen what for me was a terrific term of tennis. The 1st VI in particular were the most committed and determined boys I have coached in my five years at Shrewsbury and I have no doubt that next year the level will be ratcheted up again. The main highlights for me were the 1st VI win over Uppingham and the performance of the 1st IV at the Youll Cup in Eton. The win over Uppingham was Shrewsbury’s first in 18 years at 1st VI level. Whilst our 3rd pair of Will Milligan-Manby and Dom Gibbons fought hard throughout the season and made significant improvements in their game they were unable to win any sets at 1st VI level. The second pairing of Jack Hodges and Michael Cheung (both 5th formers) were inspirational on this day winning all four of their sets and by winning their final two sets the first pair of Harry Bromley-Davenport and Will Phillips were able to clinch the victory 5-4. This win injected huge confidence through Shrewsbury tennis. I had grown fed up with hearing excuses for losing and even overhearing our opponents make reference to a lack of fight in our performances in previous years. On this occasion and at the Youll Cup there was overwhelming evidence of a change in our boys character shown by a willingness to fight. I would go as far as to say that if I were picking a composite 1st VI from the last five years at Shrewsbury then Will Phillips, Harry Bromley-Davenport, Michael Cheung and Jack Hodges would make the team. At Eton the senior boys lost in the first round to Warwick after hitting a net cord on match point. They then battled through to the quarter finals of the Clark trophy losing to the eventual finalists Epsom once more after having a match point. In every match I was so proud of the level of play and the level of commitment and courage shown. In one match tie break vs Merchant Taylor’s, Michael Cheung and Jack Hodges found themselves 6-2 down. Michael Cheung then played the most brilliant tennis winning seven points in a row with clean winners – fantastic self belief shown to win the match at such a critical juncture. The junior pairing of Tom Robinson and Lisle Gannon were inspired by the senior boys and produced some magic of their own. In the quarters of the plate they played versus Rugby winning the first set 6-3 before going down 6-1 in the second to a pair who were more experienced and technically more proficient. Tom led the pair really well in the deciding tie break and the Shrewsbury pair walked about the court as if the previous set had never happened winning the match tie break 10-5. Tom and Lisle then lost to Reed’s in the semi finals who went on to win the tournament. Tom and Lisle certainly showed me that they were made of the right stuff. All in all there is much to be encouraged about Shrewsbury Tennis at present. The U15A and U14A teams both had winning seasons suggesting that there is enough talent coming through to feed through into the senior teams of the future. The new 3rd form also look to be a strong bunch. The House tennis matches continue to be of a much higher standard than in years gone by with Oldham’s beating The Grove in the Senior House Tournament and Ridgemount beating Port Hill in the Junior House Competition. At the annual tennis dinner awards were given to Jack Hodges for player of the season, Tom Robinson and Henry Clay for U15 players of the season, Will Schofield for the most improved player and to Will Milligan-Manby for his outstanding effort and commitment to his tennis. Next year I have decided to end U16A and U16B matches so that the school can run four senior teams instead of two with the top 3 years competing for places in the teams. The main thrust of this idea is to increase the level of inter year competition and to accelerate boys progress up the school teams as fast as possible. Below Top Squad (for 1st VI and future 1st VI players from all year groups), there will be a new squad for 5th and 6th form team players. I am confident that the level in this second tier of players will consequently rise in the future due to the extra inter year competition. It has certainly been the case with Top Squad. Tennis is about so much more than nice looking technical shots and by promoting boys with the necessary character, Shrewsbury Tennis should be ready to move forward to new heights. 1st Tennis squad 2012 – back row (left to right): M. J. Harding, J. Hodges, C. Cheung, D. N. Gibbons; front row: W. A. MilliganManby, H. N. Bromley-Davenport, W. A. Phillips, W. A. M. Norman 1st VI Tennis squad 2012 – back row (left to right): I. Z. Atkins, K. M. E. Williams, R. E. Home; front row: E. N. Murphy, H. V. Harris, A. R. Paul 37 School News RSSH track sessions, and individual guidance and encouragement to all of our runners. All of this was invaluable in terms of experience, and we are hugely grateful to the Old Salopian former Huntsman who financed the trip and made it possible. It was certainly a hectic schedule for Coach, who worked alongside over a hundred runners including prep school athletes from Packwood and Birchfield, and some of our talented female athletes. There was also something of a media frenzy surrounding Coach’s visit, with a BBC crew hastily making their way to the School to produce a piece about the Hunt’s experience with Coach, interviews with Radio Shropshire, press releases in the local papers and running magazines, and countless photo shoots. No wonder, of course, given Coach’s credentials; amongst his former charges, he can include the great Bekele brothers, triple Olympic medallist Tirunesh Dibaba, and his protégé Derartu Tulu, who became the very first African female athlete to win Olympic gold. We really were in the midst of a legend of the sport, and I have no doubt that his visit will have a lasting impact on all who were a part of the week. We as coaches have learned a huge amount, and certainly count ourselves extremely fortunate to have been a part of this once in a lifetime opportunity. We very much hope that this won’t be the end of the relationship, however, and indeed, Coach returns to Bekoji with a suitcase full of running spikes and kit, partly donated by the Hunt and the running store Up & Running in Shrewsbury, all of which will benefit Coach’s next generation of athletes, some of whom may go on to be future Olympians. And who knows, perhaps the boys and girls who experienced the coaching of Sentayehu here last week may end up in Bekoji one day for the return visit... Peter Middleton COACH IN RESIDENCE WEEK Writing this report summarising our very first Coach in Residence week, it doesn’t quite seem real that we have just experienced the inspiring coaching and training from one of the world’s leading coaches - Ethiopia’s Sentayehu Eshetu - who has discovered and developed multiple Olympic champions and world record holders. ‘Coach’ as he likes to be known, made the long journey from East Africa, widely regarded as the ‘home’ of distance running, to Shropshire and to The Hunt, whose history dates back to 1831, and can therefore also lay claim to being the ‘home’ of running. The union seemed fitting, and as we welcomed Coach just hours after touching down from Addis Addiba, we already sensed that we were in for a very special week. Having only ever been out of his native Ethiopia once before, no doubt the bracing cold winds of Shropshire will have been a shock to Coach, but having had a good look around the School during his first day here, he felt more than at home once the afternoon Benjies session got underway on the first Monday and he was given charge of the sixty or so boys signed up for the run. As we walked down Central, the heads turned as the boys waited by the Darwin Statue curious to catch a glimpse of the great man, resplendent in his yellow, green and red Ethiopian national tracksuit top. I can’t say such reverence and awe is afforded to us normally as coaches when we make our way towards the Benjies sessions, but then we haven’t coached any Olympians (yet!). After a brief introduction, Coach took charge of the warm-up routine, where he spent 15 minutes preparing the boys in exactly the same way as he would his own athletes in the small town of Bekoji. The routine was certainly different, but a very interesting insight into the great man’s methods. Indeed, much of the week saw such innovative coaching techniques, not least the unforgettable ‘tree’ session on the Friday afternoon (a session that four days on I for one am still aching from!) and the highly technical hill work undertaken on the school bank midweek. There was the unique experience of early morning training, with a brave handful rising at 5.30am to undertake a speedwork session as the sun gently crept over horizon, tough The week also included a screening of ‘Town of Runners’ in Quod. Released last year, the film features Coach and two young girls from Bekoji as they attempt to 'make it' as athletes. Although it is predominately a film about running, it also gives an interesting and inspiring insight into Ethiopian life. For more information, visit www.townofrunners.com/run-with-us/Education/Shrewsbury_School NEW BOYS’ RACE On the first Saturday of term, the entire 3rd Form competed in the annual New Boys’ Race, a tough little 2.3km cross-country route made all the more challenging this year by the hot conditions. Not only is this an opportunity for early bragging rights among the boys, but it’s also very much a team event and the terrific camaraderie on display by all the new House cohorts was a real treat to witness. After Ed Mallett, this year’s Huntsman, performed his first ceremonial duties of the year by starting the event with the traditional rallying cry and toot on the ancient bugle, 120-odd boys dashed off across Central chasing the ‘hare’ of the event, Senior Whip Seb Blake. Both Mr Middleton and Mr Haworth were very excited about the potential of talent it was believed existed in this new collection of Salopians, and they were not disappointed. A blistering early pace was set by Freddie Huxley-Fielding which at one point may have made our hare wish he’d done a little more pre-season training! As the leading runners darted round Top Common and down Oldham’s Gap, it was clear that this was going to be a very fast race indeed. Tension built over the next five minutes as the boys made their way round the rest of the course, only for the leader to pop up in front of Chapel for the finishing straight long before anyone (with the 38 School News second place was Port Hill, with a very creditable 102 points, while Oldham’s – something of a dark horse of a team – clutched third, with 130 points. Well done to all who ran, and thanks to everyone who supported this hugely enjoyable event. Ian Haworth possible exception of Mr Middleton, though more on that shortly) had predicted. The early pace-setter, Freddie Huxley-Fielding of Rigg’s, had managed to lengthen his lead and crossed the line in an astonishing 7.59, smashing last year’s record-breaking time set by Oscar Dickens by a full 17 seconds. To put this into context, the School’s current fastest runner, Huntsman Ed Mallett, completed the course in the same race four years ago in a winning time of 9.01. Mr Middleton, Freddie’s Housemaster, looked slightly less than dignified in punching the air several times, but then not only had he seen his charge win the race, but he had correctly predicted his time to the second! In second position came Charlie Tait-Harris of Port Hill, in an extremely strong time of 8.39, closely followed by William Hayward of Rigg’s in 8.45. Six runners managed to complete the course in under nine minutes, which is an exceptional athletic achievement at this early stage in these boys’ running careers. Indeed what was perhaps most encouraging for the Hunt coaches was not just Freddie’s incredibly quick time, but the strength in depth on show among this year group, promising great things in years to come. The race was not all about the very quick, however; further down the field there were some impressively gutsy performances from boys who were not used to running, and who nevertheless gave their all in the unforgiving late-summer sunshine to do themselves and their Housemasters extremely proud. Everyone who completed the course can look back with a real sense of achievement, and the Headmaster’s words of congratulations after the race were certainly richly deserved. To the team event: the first six finishers from each House scored points for their team, with the lowest points total winning. It was unsurprising perhaps that Rigg’s, with their Housemaster also Master in Charge of the Hunt, should take the honours. Their domination, though, was less predictable; their sixth finisher placed 31st, making a team total of just 70 too strong for anyone else. In Freddie Huxley-Fielding 39 School News RSSBC Henley 2012 The First VIII Meeting Monmouth in the first round was not as easy as some might think, although as it happened this shake down round was exactly what the crew needed to steady the inevitable nerves. Monmouth shot off the start, “front-loading the race”, as their coach commented, “so as to probe any weaknesses in the Shrewsbury crew. Unfortunately there were none!” Shrewsbury quickly recovered a canvas deficit and steadily overpowered a tough crew with a reputation of never giving up. So to face Ridley College, the Canadian National Champions. Perhaps the memory of a resounding victory last year on the Thursday against St Joseph’s (USA) helped, for “Shrewsbury made a Selected crew look like novices” was the comment of one Member. Shrewsbury’s start was fast, but so was Ridley’s; then, having settled to race pace, an early, therefore risky and surprising, strong push saw the Shrewsbury boat almost lift itself out of the water to take the lead by a length. It is possible, following a race, to pin it down to within a stroke or two when a crew member cracks under pressure; one can only speculate here, but the headwind conditions somehow seemed to affect Shrewsbury far less than Ridley from about this point of the race. Shrewsbury romped home in style to a two and a quarter length victory. Thus was the Shrewsbury-Radley Friday rivalry propagated for the third consecutive year with the score at one-all from the previous two. In the event Radley were simply faster. To be heavier by almost a stone a man into a strong headwind has a certain ring to it! The crew valiantly raced and, in typical fashion, did not crack; typical also that the emotion after the race was highly coloured by the sense of having let down the coach simply through not winning, but Todd’s post-race talk was cathartic. Most of the departing U6 from this crew have raced in the first VIII at Henley for the last three years and under Todd they have never been less than quarter-finalists. Todd has been an inspirational – and challenging – coach, and there have been some memorable victories over talented crews along the way. But this is an annual competition, and the remaining squad is forward looking and there is a job to do over the next year or so. We wish Athol Hundermark, the newly appointed coach, every success as he takes over in September. Philip Lapage (River Master) The striking view of the blue and white striped boat tent across the river, which, for competitors, is that adrenaline-pumping sight as one rounds the corner in Henley at the first approach, was softened and colourfully complemented this year by the presence of the newly built Gloriana, the pageant-leading 18-oared Royal barge. Proudly adorned from stem to stern with no fewer than ten large National, Royal and House flags streaming out to their full extent in the wind (which cruelly blew relentlessly straight down the course against the crews for the full five days) she graced the Regatta in many ways. The wind combined with the current this year to slow all the crews down considerably, a fact which drew comment from the Regatta Chairman in his address at the presentation ceremony: the winning time in the Grand this year was about 50 seconds slower than that of last year. Think of what that means next time you try a 2k ergo: put the brakes on the flywheel and draw the effort out by nearly a minute! But then, the Henley course is even longer, at 2112m (or, for the traditionalists, 1 mile 550 yards – the longest straight course attainable when the regatta started in 1839). It was, as the Chairman also commented, a tough regatta. Olympic medallist Matt Langridge was one of the guests of honour at the Boathouse Opening. He is pictured opposite with Salopian rowers (left to right): Bridget Lapage (Girls’ Captain of Boats), Isobel Diment, Peter Gadsden with Matt’s Beijing 2008 silver medal, Max Kimpton-Smith (Captain of Boats), Cesca Molyneux with Matt's London 2012 bronze medal, and Charlotte Harris. 40 School News Junior World Rowing Championships, Plovdiv, Bulgaria, August 2012 Tom Marshall (SH) and Harry Lonergan (O) looked as if they would have a chance at being selected for the Junior GB Worlds team from the beginning of 2012: at all the long distance trials they were always in the top five crews in the UK. However, things are never sealed until after the exhausting fiveday trial in July at Holme Pierrepont, Nottingham. Harry had a reasonably easy time of it by producing a great pair of seat races on the first day. These placed him in the top group of athletes immediately and his place in the top World IV was sealed. However, Tom’s experience was at the other end of the scale, race after race every day. However, success on the last morning and huge relief that Tom had secured a place in the Worlds VIII! The championships were late in August this year, meaning a long training camp for both Salopians at the GB training facility at Caversham, where they were able to rub shoulders with athletes preparing for the Olympics. Tom was now stroking the GB VIII – not bad for a boy who had once stroked the RSSBC J15 B VIII! So off to Plovdiv, Bulgaria where on Sunday 19th August, in 30-degree heat, Tom stroked the Junior VIII to a bronze medal Tom Marshall GB Junior VIII – Tom Marshall is in the back row, second from right in the final, just being pipped by Germany by a canvas. Italy won the gold. Later in the day, Harry rowed in the junior men’s coxless four, but finished just outside the medals in fourth position. Junior Home Internationals, Cardiff, July 2012 Bridget Lapage was selected to represent Wales in the girls’ junior quad. Rowing at 2 on a beautifully sunny day in Cardiff, the crew was last off the start, having had unexpected contact with a buoy. However, from the halfway mark they surged forward with an immense effort and came through to the silver position, only narrowly missing the gold. The new ergo room in the Yale Boathouse 41 School News F OOTBALL Thomas Telford recently only nine went on tour at the start of the season. The remaining squads are working hard in training and having mixed results in their school matches. The inter-house League programme is drawing to a close as the House knock-out competition is about to start. At the time of writing, there are only two weeks of the term left and over 200 school matches have been played. I must thank Andy Richards and his team of groundsmen who have provided excellent pitches for all our footballing needs. Steve Biggins Master-in-Charge of Football The School Football programme began in Portugal at the end of August. The Under 15 and 1st XI squads travelled to Lisbon for a week in the sun to begin a warm weather pre-season programme at the Jamor National Sports Centre. Each squad trained for seven days and played three matches against highly talented Portuguese teams. This was an ideal start to the busy term ahead. At the time of going to press, both the Under 15s and the 1st XIs are still in their Cup competitions. The Under 15s have beaten Wolverhampton Grammar and Bolton School in earlier rounds and now proceed to round 4 in the ISFA Investec Cup, travelling to St Bede's Manchester. The 1st XI have progressed well in the ESFA Schools Trophy, beating St Thomas More School, Walsall and Idsall School, Shifnal to set up the annual 5th round tie away at Thomas Telford School. In the ISFA Boodles Cup they have a 4th round tie at home to Bolton School. In the previous rounds they beat Highgate, Royal Russell School and Latymer Upper School, which involved matches with three tough London schools. The Latymer Upper School game was a tense affair as the opponents took a 2-1 lead with three minutes to play. Ben Gould, the 1st XI goalkeeper went into the opponents’ penalty area for a last minute corner and scored! He then saved three penalties in the resulting shoot-out. It was a remarkable end to a very hard fought contest. The 2nd XI are having much success in their Shropshire League matches and these are perfect preparation for 2nd XI players to be promoted into the 1st team when needed. In recent weeks, no fewer than five players have been moved up to the 1st XI squad incurring a few problems following injuries, illness and suspensions. From the squad of 14 players who were due to play against 1st XI captain Ed Lloyd (left) and Tim Atkins (right) 1st XI Squad 42 School News 1st XI goalkeeper Ben Gould on the offensive in the dying seconds of ISFA cup tie versus Latymer Upper U15A Squad 43 Old salopian News L ETTER FROM THE D IRECTOR volunteered to support careers talks at the School, we have grown the “Headlines” (careers assistance) group by over one third (now just under 400-strong). We also received notifications of interest in assisting with the administration of professional bodies and serving on the careers sub-committee. Nevertheless, we believe there is still much to do in developing an effective careers offering, and putting the right structure in place. (One of our major considerations is to avoid oversaturation of some of the professions represented within the “Headlines” population). We are extremely keen to enlist the services of as many parents as we can, as research reveals that similar, successful careers support programmes at other schools enjoy a much higher proportion of parental support. Over the past year we have received over 70 requests for help (careers advice, work experience and gap year assistance) from young Old Salopians and current pupils. Those seeking help tend to be realistic on the whole, and understand that the service is not intended as a “job placement programme”. Initial responses to a recent users’ feedback questionnaire reveal that we are making a difference. We have received some very positive replies, including some good suggestions for improving the service. If you are able to help in any way, please write to me, Alex Baxter, Director of the Salopian Club, via email at [email protected]. I look forward to hearing from you In recent months our sports clubs have enjoyed significant success. The Saracens won the Cricketer Cup competition during the summer and the Yacht Club secured the Charterhouse Bowl, whilst participating in the Arrow Trophy Regatta in October. During late September we held a successful Old Salopian Day, featuring football, fives and cross-country sporting fixtures against School teams as well as the opening of the Yale Boat-house. At this event, two Old Salopians collected Sidney Gold medals (Shrewsbury’s highest academic award) and another OId Salopian received the award during the rededication of the Queen’s Terrace in October. The Michaelmas term has been very busy for us socially, with events in Yorkshire and Somerset, the traditional “City Drinks” in London and various Christmas drinks parties in Birmingham and Shrewsbury. Having fired the opening salvo of the careers initiative in the summer edition of the magazine, I feel a short update is in order. The Club was delighted to welcome David Chance (0 1970-75) as the Chair of the careers committee in August and following a meeting with him various targets have been set, including:




establishing a School Careers Fair in the Lent term (now confirmed for 14 March 2013) continuing the series of Club-sponsored careers talks and dinners with current pupils establishing professional networks comprising OS and parents growing the membership of the current “Headlines” group forming university networks to promote the careers services to young Old Salopians. Our biggest challenge is to develop an effective network of professional groups comprising individuals willing to guide young Old Salopians who are trying to kick-start their working lives. We emailed over 4000 Old Salopians and parents in mid-September, seeking help with this initiative, and received just over 100 replies. By combining these responses with people who had previously N EWS OF OLD SALOPIANS 1950-1959 1960-1979 Philip Phillips (DB, 1951-56) has been awarded a Jubilee Medal by British Rowing. To mark the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Year, sixty medals were awarded to people who, through their dedication, have helped to lay down a legacy for future generations of rowers. Phil Phillips was a member of the 1955 crew that won the Princess Elizabeth Cup – the first major win the RSSBC had had in many years. He went on to win numerous other trophies as an oarsman and rowed in a well-known four from Derby Rowing Club (including Mike Sweeney, current Chairman of the Henley Royal Regatta), who achieved the requirements to qualify for the Olympics,. He later became a GB selector and a highly successful coach and was an active multi-lane umpire until his retirement. In his medal citation, Phillip is described as a major catalyst at Derby Rowing Club: “His enthusiasm, dedication and sheer hard work as a club official and coach over the last 50 years leaves a legacy clearly identified. Without his input, the Club would not be what it is today.” Professor Michael Proctor (O 1963-67) has been pre-elected as Provost of King’s College, Cambridge. He will take up office in the next academic year. Adrian Morris (O 1977-1982) has been appointed as Prep School Leader at Harrow’s new International School in Hong Kong, which opened in September 2012. Max Kinnings (PH 1979-84), novelist and screenwriter, has recently been appointed Head of Creative Writing at Brunel University, working alongside novelists such as Fay Weldon and Will Self. Max’s new novel, Baptism, is published by Quercus (see Publications, page 60). Further details of Max’s work can be found at www.maxkinnings.com 1980-1989 Patrick Ellwood (O 1980-85) writes: “After living in Turkey for seven years, my wife and I decided it was time to move on to somewhere 44 Old salopian News new. In March 2012, we purchased 35,000m2 (8+ acres) of land in Portugal and then set about selling the house, the house contents, the car, the motorbike and the business we had in Turkey. In May we flew to Portugal and bought a Land Rover and caravan and drove them back to Turkey – 4,000 km (six days of travelling). Then on 4th August, we loaded up all of our possessions and animals and set off for Portugal. world, including the North Ridge of Everest in 2004, Richard now runs his own architecture practice, studioEAST, based in Perth (Scotland). In total, the journey took us 16 days, travelling for up to 12 hours a day and sleeping in the caravan with all the animals every night. Along the way, we saw the Greek Army on manoeuvres, tasted some great wine in Italy, and paid a fortune in tolls to get across France. The police in Cannes moved us on one night telling to be careful because of ‘robbers’ in the area. Spain was straight roads and finally in Portugal we had a great BBQ chicken meal (frango) with a small drop of port. What an adventure! We are now in the process of turning our smallholding near Carroqueiro, Monsanto in Portugal into a tourist ‘glamping’ (glamorous camping) retreat.” 2000-2012 Jack Travers (I 2000-05) recently completed the Berlin Marathon after cycling to Berlin from Amsterdam - all in a week! Jack says: ‘On the face of it - a big challenge. In reality it was exactly that, although it was far more enjoyable than I could have imagined. It was wonderful to complete personally but more important was to raise money for the Alex Wilson Appeal, which is such a wonderful cause.” They have raised almost £2,000 in aid of the Alex Wilson Appeal. If anyone would like to sponsor them retrospectively, please go to http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/JackTravers Michael North (M 1989-94) married Anita Leirvik in Oslo in January 2012. Andrew Zino (M 1989-94) married Joana in 2004. They live in Madeira and now have three children aged five, three and two. Andrew has purchased a travel agency www.naturemeetings.com, a specialist in guided walking on Madeira. James Crellin (Ch 1990-95) and Victoria are delighted to announce the birth of their son, Oscar Louis, born in February 2012. 1990-1999 Daniel Simon (G 1991-96) and his wife, Melora and two-year-old son Nathaniel have moved to Palo Alto. Daniel has joined Onyx Pharmaceuticals as Director, Corporate Strategy & Innovation. James Nichols (S 1994-99) and his wife Jennifer are delighted to announce the birth of their son, Jack Louis Charles, born on 3rd October 2012, a brother for Jessica. Alastair McKeever (PH 1999-2003) married Megan Shute in March 2012 in St Petersburg, Florida. They are currently living in New York. In August 2012, Will Loxton (R 2001-06) and his friend Christian Layton-Hannam set off to cycle from the north to the south of America, then from the west coast to the east coast – a total of over 4,600 miles. Their aim was to raise £10,000 for the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families Association (SSAFA) and Livestrong charities Richard Taylor (O 1994-99) married Inge Husselbee at Dunkeld Cathedral, Perthshire in May 2011. Their son, Riley Richard, was born in February 2012. After years of climbing trips across the 45 Old salopian News Graham White Organ Prize. He was a Praepostor and an active participant in numerous societies. He was also founder and editor of The Falopian, which no doubt was useful experience for him when he co-founded and edited the online magazine The Alligator, which was shortlisted for the Guardian Student Publication of the Year in 2010. Michael is now pursuing postgraduate studies in politics and economics at MIT. and to try and set a new Guinness World Record, by completing the journey in under 44 days, 1 minute and 26 seconds. James (‘Jimmy’) Taylor (R 2003-08) (pictured below) made a very good start to his Test career in the 2nd Investec Test match against South Africa at Headingly on 2 - 6 August, scoring 34 runs against fierce South African bowling in a strong partnership with Kevin Petersen and contributing well to the England fielding. He also played in the Lord’s Test Match on 16 – 30 August We were delighted that Jimmy found the time to return in July to play for the Saracens in the Third Round of the Cricketer Cup, and to help them on their way to the Final. Jimmy has also been working hard to raise support and funds for the new Sixth Form scholarship award, in memory of his great friend Alex Wilson (Rb 2003-08). Will Loxton and Christian Layton-Hannam at the Grand Canyon Will writes: “On our final day, ten miles outside New York, I was having some big issues with my bike. That day we rang Guinness World Records enquiring about the specifications for the person to witness us finishing at the New York City Hall (the official finishing point). After telling us that we were allowed to use any resident of the city, they told us that someone had already beaten the record we had set out to beat, having completing the ride in 39 days. As we were on our 38th day, we had to finish that night – which we did. We have sent off all the evidence to be verified and hope to be featured in the 2014 Guinness Book of Records.” Fergus Macleod (Rt 2001-06) has won the coveted Conducting Fellowship at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. Fergus was a violinist in the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain during his time at Shrewsbury. He went on to Cambridge to study music and made his professional conducting debut in 2009 with the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra. Will Hedley (Rt 2003-08) has been awarded the David McLintock prize in Germanic Philology. Will read German at St Hilda’s College, Oxford. This prize is awarded, if there is a candidate of sufficient merit, to the candidate whose final papers in Old High German the examiners judge to be the best. Warwick Brennand (O 2005-08) has just started Law School in London, having graduated from LSE this summer. He won School or Departmental Prizes in each of his three years of study. In his first/second year 2009-11 he won the LSE100 Prize for best performance in the examination, and he followed this by winning the Goodwin Prize in 2010-11 for best Year 2 examination performance. In 2011-12 he won the BSc IR Year 3 Examination Prize. Michael Webb (S 2003-08) was awarded the top First in Economics in his final exams in PPE this year at the University of Oxford, where he was at Balliol College. Michael was also awarded the Hicks and Webb Medley Prize for best overall performance in Economics Finals, and the John Hicks Foundation Prize for best performance in Quantitative Economics. During his undergraduate years, Michael spent time in Afghanistan and Pakistan as a freelance correspondent, having previously learnt one of the local languages, Dari. His three-part series on the region was published by The Economist in March 2010, and he has since advised British Military Intelligence. Michael has held several other advisory and intern positions, mainly for MPs and the UK Government. Michael was a distinguished Salopian, and during his five years at the School he was awarded the Quinn History Prize, the Moss Prize for Classics, the Bentley Elocution Prize, the McEachran Prize, a Miles Clark Scholarship and the Marshall Travel Prize, the Senior Debating Prize, the Burney Prize, the Senior Piano Prize and the Joseph Allan (R 2005-10) has been made a Scholar at University College, Oxford after achieving a distinction at the end of his first year exams in English. He has been heavily involved in drama and has appeared in a number of productions, including two at the Oxford Playhouse. During the summer, he also went to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival with the OUDS production of Machinal. Calum Harvey Scholes (R 2005-10), who was awarded a scholarship to Magdalene College Cambridge, has now also been awarded a prize for his first year achievements in Linguistics. In his second term at Cambridge, Calum set up and captained the Cambridge dodgeball team in the inaugural Dodgeball Varsity 46 Old salopian News Christopher Hardman (SH 2007-12) has been accepted into the Hallé Youth Orchestra to play clarinet. Match. Taking on a well-established Oxford side, Calum’s fledgling Cambridge team (whose training consisted of a couple of screenings of the 2004 film Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story) put up a remarkable fight and eventually lost the match by 3 games to 4. Howard Stringer (PH 2010-2012) (pictured below) competed in the English Schools’ National Decathlon Championship Finals in September at Bedford International Athletics Stadium (Paula Radcliffe’s home track). He was competing against the country’s best young men all-rounders, many of whom already compete regularly at international level. Howard achieved many new personal best achievements and came 23rd out of 34 athletes after two hard days of competition. Howard is currently studying Medicine at Birmingham University. Tom Elliott (I 2006-11), currently studying French and English and Trinity College, Oxford, got the top marks in his first year French Literature exams, for which he was awarded a prize and £150. During the summer, Tom had a very successful run directing The Trinity Players in Noël Coward’s Tonight at 8.30 at the Edinburgh Fringe, having carried on the Salopian tradition of a one-night-only performance at the Ashton Theatre just before heading north to the Festival. His production earned several 4* reviews: “Production values, classy accents, music, costumes, drawing room set, sound effects, (especially the ringing telephone), it’s all directed by Tom Elliot with farcical pace and timing. The whole cast is terrific, especially Lucinda as Piggie, and Lucy [Rands, (MSH 2008-2010)] as Clare. Absolutely spiffing!” – Vivien Devlin, Edinburghguide.com. In the 2011 edition of The Ingramite, Ollie Nolan (then in the Third Form) said of Tom ‘Surely he will go on to great things at Oxford.’ Even Ollie might not have expected to have been proved right quite so quickly. WORKING FOR LOCOG grow at such a quick rate, has a hugely diverse group of client groups, suppliers and partners and of course the world’s biggest immovable deadline is going to provide an experience which will be hard to match. When I joined I was employee number seven hundred and something; by the time we reached July 2012 there were 200,000 people working on London 2012. Of course I’m biased – after two years of hard work – but I think the Games went rather well! As an organising committee you can’t make the Olympics the best ever – but you can put all the pieces in place and create the right environment for the spectators and the athletes to give you the greatest Games. And in London, as I had hoped, the spectators and athletes delivered. We are blessed to have some of the greatest ever Olympians competing at the moment. From Usain Bolt to Michael Phelps, Chris Hoy, Jessica Ennis, Katherine Grainger and Ben Ainslie the athletes turned in star performances that left mouths hanging open. But it was the spectators that were the true stars of London 2012. As the Australians had done in Sydney 2000, the British public truly embraced the Games! Yes we cheered loudest for Team GB, but we cheered for everybody else too. The stadiums were packed, the streets of London thronged with crowds, and the atmosphere created at those venues was beamed into the television sets of the country, and of course the whole world. If the Olympics are to stay relevant today they must inspire young people to take up sport. I believe that the London Olympic and Paralympic Games cannot have failed to have done just that. So if Athens was historic, Torino passionate, Beijing huge and Vancouver a great big party I think we can safely say that London was all of those things and more. For me, London was a truly Great Games and I feel humbled and privileged to have been a very small part of it.” Tom Hill (S 1997-2002) has been working for the London Organising Committee for the Olympic and Paralympics Games Ltd (LOCOG) for the last two years. He writes: “After completing my A Levels at Shrewsbury in 2002 I volunteered to be a volunteer at the Manchester Commonwealth Games that summer. It was one of the best experiences of my life. Being part of such a large event was an amazing experience. Seeing the city looking so impressive, the excitement on the spectators’ faces, the friendliness of the volunteers and the performances of the athletes was inspiring. As the Games came to a close I thought that if London was going to bid for the Olympics, then they would have a great chance of winning – and that if they won, I would want be involved again. Spool forward a decade, and I am writing this at the close of the Olympic and Paralympic Games in London – and my fifth Olympics. Manchester inspired me to visit Athens in 2004, Torino in 2006, Beijing in 2008 and Vancouver in 2010. There is something intoxicating about being in the place the world is looking at – and for those two weeks of the Olympics the world is looking at the host city. All those Games were memorable: Athens was historic, Torino passionate, Beijing enormous and Vancouver – well Vancouver just partied! I had enjoyed being a spectator – and in Beijing even a Radio reporter – but in Vancouver I was starting to get a tiny bit jealous. Jealous of all the guys in uniform who were wearing accreditation – they were involved in running this enormous event. I was more determined than ever that I would be helping London in 2012. So it was that in August 2010 I found my way to the Headquarters of the London Organising Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games to start a new job. And what a two years it has been. I don’t think I will ever again work in such a unique company. Any organisation which needs to 47 Old salopian News O LD C HURCHILIANS D INNER Nearly one hundred Old Churchillians, wives and partners, drawn of all vintages, gathered at Shrewsbury on Saturday 30th June for a reception and dinner to celebrate the first 137 years of the House’s existence – the foundation of which by the Revd C J S Churchill predates by seven years the construction of the current building in 1882. Since that time, of course, Churchill’s Hall has been repeatedly extended and modernised, but the essentials of the building remain the same. The latest enhancement is the new porch and stained glass window designed by James Wade of Arrol & Snell, and the evening began with a champagne reception in Churchill’s to dedicate the window to, and toast the memory of, the late legendary Michael ‘Fred’ Hall, wellknown to so many Churchillians as a beloved and eccentric tutor, brilliant mathematician and head of the loved or loathed Basic Year. A plaque commemorating this unique man was unveiled in the presence of Headmaster Mark Turner, Old Churchillian Chairman of Governors Richard Burbidge, and current Housemaster Richard Hudson whose speech of dedication included many personal reminiscences of Michael Hall. (In his previous career as a publisher, Richard published Michael Hall’s autobiography Around the World in Forty Years.) The company then moved on to Kingsland Hall for an excellent four-course dinner. Musical entertainment was provided by current Churchillians, including their Housemaster. Former housemasters Peter Owen (1977-83) and Philip Lapage (1994-2005) were also of the company. The older guests dutifully climbed into their carriages at 11(ish). The younger contingent partied far into the night, and indeed the next day. Floreant Churchilliana! Housemaster Richard Hudson with Old Churchillian Chairman of Governors Richard Burbidge 48 Old salopian News As President of the Salopian Club you may think it a little strange that I am writing this on behalf of Shrewsbury School Foundation. However, I have been involved with the Foundation for many years and, I have recently been re-elected as its Chairman. The Foundation has rarely communicated with its Alumni through The Salopian so I thought I would take this opportunity to bring you news of what has been happening and, in particular, of the great strides it is taking to raise much needed funds for the School. I am sure that many of you are already familiar with the Foundation, having generously supported its work over the years. However, for the benefit of those of you who might not be, allow me to fill you in on a little of its history. The Foundation is a separately run charity. It was established in 1965 to raise money to support bursaries and scholarships for exceptional pupils (who might not otherwise have been able to afford a Shrewsbury School education) and to fund a number of other prioritised projects, thus ensuring it remains one of the top schools in the UK. It is a fact that, with the cost of education increasing, the need for bursarial support is growing and independent schools like Shrewsbury are having to rely more and more on parents and alumni for philanthropic support. In the last year alone, the School has provided over 50 bursaries, towards which the Foundation has raised well over £500,000. This is thanks to the many Old Salopians and parents who gave through its Annual Programme. In addition to providing bursarial support, the Foundation has also been working with the School to raise £850,000 for the new boathouse which was officially opened in September during Old Salopians’ Day. Thanks to the generosity of Old Salopians Mark Yale and Peter Bowring, current parents Rupert and Elizabeth Lywood and many other Old Salopians and Sabrina Club members, the School now boasts one of the best rowing facilities in the country, far surpassing those of its rivals. My role as Chairman comes at a very exciting time for both the Foundation and the School. Over the coming months, the Foundation will be reviewing a number of opportunities to enhance the School’s teaching programme whilst, at the same time, ensuring it continues with its bursarial support, as this is the bedrock of the Foundation – and the School. All this, I hope to bring further news of in the next edition of the The Salopian. Being an Old Salopian myself, I look back with great fondness at the time I had here in the 1960s and the wonderful education it afforded me. Therefore, I want to give something back to my alma mater and help future generations of boys – and girls – to similarly benefit from, and enjoy, all that it has to offer. I hope you feel the same and, if you have not already done so, I encourage you to join me in supporting our school, and its aims, through the Annual Programme. As we draw close to Advent, on behalf of everyone at the Foundation, may I take this opportunity to wish you a very happy and joyous Christmas and a good 2013. Peter Worth Chairman, Shrewsbury School Foundation For further information about the Foundation contact: Shrewsbury School Foundation The Schools, Shrewsbury SY3 7BA Telephone: 01743 280890 Email: [email protected] Website: www.shrewsbury.org.uk FIRST EVER HISTORY OF ETON FIVES Richard Barber (SH 1955-60), President of the Eton Fives Association and immediate Past President of the Salopian Club, has written the foreword to the first ever history of Eton Fives, published in November: “As President of the Eton Fives Association I have been a tremendous advocate of the history of this remarkable game being written, because its origins are of great interest and known to few and today it has grown into a major sport in schools all over the country and indeed around the world.” The book has been written by two of the most knowledgeable and literary Fives players in the land, Dale Vargas being a former President of the EFA and Second Master at Harrow for many years. Thoroughly researched, pleasingly recounted and attractively presented with over 200 illustrations, the book is published in colour throughout. An appendix lists the names, with short notes, of the champion players and many coaches and administrators. Published by Quiller Press; ISBN 978-1-899163-98-4 Copies available from: JJG Publishing, Sparrow Hall, Hindringham, Fakenham, Norfolk NR21 0DP Tel: 01328 878198 or order by email to [email protected] 49 Old salopian News O LD S ALOPIAN DAY There was just time to squeeze in the Club’s AGM before a full sports programme got underway. Old Salopian sportsmen were in action on football pitches, the fives courts and on a “benjy” circuit. It was a fantastic day for the Old Salopian footballers who were undefeated in all five fixtures. The Old Salopian 1st XI won a thrilling contest 4-2, the 2nds overcame their opponents by a huge 12-1 margin and the 3rd XI drew 1-1. A big draw for those with a penchant for rowing was the opening of the Yale Boathouse (see report on page 51). Away from the sports theme, the School opened its doors to all Old Salopians affording them the opportunity to visit Houses, tour the Ancient Library and visit the Arts Centre. “It seemed to be a day with something for everyone and a thoroughly good time has been had by all,” as one Old Salopian put it. Alex Baxter Glorious sunshine greeted the three hundred or so Old Salopians and guests who participated in this year’s memorable Old Salopian Day on 22nd September. Proceedings started with a thanksgiving service in the Chapel for the life of Richard Raven (M 1945-50), featuring a moving and often humorous eulogy to RNER by his son Hugh (S 1985-90). Following the service a sandwich lunch was served in the Alington Hall during which the School awarded two Sidney Gold Medals to Old Salopians Philipp Legner (O 2007-09) and Hugh Williams (Rb 2003-08). The citations were read out by Mr Martin Cropper, Director of Studies and the medals were awarded by Mr Peter Worth (M 1965-70), President of the Salopian Club. The medals were instituted in 1838 and are awarded to the top academic student in a given year. A LEX W ILSON MEMORIAL FOOTBALL MATCH just before the final whistle, by Jack Brydon (O 1999-04) sealed the result for the OS side and the second Alex Wilson Memorial Match was over for another year. Afterwards a drinks reception was held in the Alington Hall, supported by Shrewsbury School Foundation, during which Henry Wilson announced that the Alex Wilson Scholarship Fund had reached the £60,000 milestone, which has allowed the Scholarship to be officially launched. Alex Wilson Squad: George Barker, Michael Barnard, Mike Williams, Ben Williams, James Franklin, Mark Tomley, Matt McKeever, Toyin Mustapha, Tom Kelly, Henry Wilson, Adam Parker, Ed Taylor, Raoul Alexis, Rhys Bevan, James Tucker, George WadeSmith, Steve Johanson, Ali Lloyd, Freddie Pragnell. OS Squad: Rich McGarry, Oli Harrison, Ben Freeman, Harry Fildes, Rob Hawkin, George Blakemore, Ben Alderson, Olly Heywood, Hamish McKenzie, Jack Brydon, Ben Cooke, Sam Roberston, Dave Cookson. Despite the chilly conditions, a large crowd of 180 supporters enjoyed an enthralling Alex Wilson Memorial match on 23rd September, which ended in a 3-1 win for the Old Salopian XI. Despite many of the players having played the previous day in the annual Old Salopian Day fixtures and a few nursing hangovers after a heavy night in Shrewsbury, the standard of play was exceptionally good. The action was thick and fast with both sides creating scoring chances. It was perhaps fitting that Henry Wilson scored the first goal of the match towards the end of the first half. Somehow the OS XI managed to get back into the game and against the run of play scored two goals in quick succession. The Alex Wilson XI pressed hard for most of the second half, dominating possession and very nearly getting the equalising goal. A late goal, Launch of Alex Wilson Scholarship We are delighted to announce that the Alex Wilson Scholarship was launched this summer. It aims to give a local boy the chance to benefit from the outstanding educational and sporting facilities in the School’s Sixth Form. Candidates are required to be state educated and to have achieved three A and three B grades at GCSE. They should be able to attain first team standard in two sports, preferably football, rugby or cricket, and to excel in one of these. We can no longer accept any applications for September 2013, but anyone interested in finding out more information about the Scholarship should contact the Director of Sport, Paul Greetham on 01743 280697 or email [email protected] 50 Old salopian News O PENING OF THE Y ALE B OATHOUSE 22nd September 2012 simultaneously with adjacent rooms with the expert technical assistance of Paul Manser (DB 1974-79, 1st VIII 1979). The new kitchen facilities are deliberately included to encourage Sabrina members to organise crew reunions and perhaps practise in a rowing eight or sculling boat. Other notable attendees to the day’s event included Gerry Lander, son of JGH Lander. JGHL stroked the 1st VIII to their first Ladies' Challenge Plate win at Henley Royal Regatta in 1924 (see The Salopian Summer 2012 edition). During the Sabrina Club AGM held later in a packed newly refurbished clubroom, Gerry presented his father’s miniature of the Ladies’ Challenge Plate vase, presented to him by the Club after their historic Henley win. Members of the Pugh family who attended were delighted to witness the opening of the Yale Boathouse and view the refurbished upper rooms of the Pugh Boathouse. Many coaches from previous years were among those attending and included Nick Bevan, Alan Laurie, David Gee and Bill Sayer. Jan Blomfield represented her late husband Roger who sadly died earlier this year. Roger had been the driving force behind the new Rowing Tank completed in 2002 and had given considerable encouragement to the new Yale Boathouse Project. The guest of honour at the Boathouse Opening was Matt Langridge, Olympic bronze medalist in the Men's Eight in London 2012 (and silver medalist in Beijing 2008) and gold medalist in past Junior and Senior World Rowing Championships. Matt generously spent time with many of the current pupils, talking to them about their training and his experiences of competing at the highest level, also allowing them to handle his Olympic Medals and try them on for size. Nick Randall After a week of indifferent weather culminating in torrential rain on Friday 21st September, Saturday dawned to bright sunshine, clear blue skies and a few fluffy white clouds – the sun really does shine on the righteous! Nick Randall, Captain of Sabrina Club, introduced the guest of honour, Matt Langridge. The Headmaster began by thanking providence for the fine weather and praising the successful appeal by the School Foundation Office, expressing his gratitude to all the generous donors including Sabrina Club members, Old Salopians and parents, who had made the project possible. The existing large Pugh Boathouse (opened in 1921) accommodates over forty racks in four bays for all sizes of boats. The new adjacent Yale Boathouse, which replaces the original small boathouse, built in 1860, can accommodate up to 20 eights in two bays. The cavernous room above is purpose-built to hold over 40 ergos. The two boathouses are linked by a bridge to the first floor providing a wonderful view for spectators watching Bumpers and other events throughout the year. There were three distinct parts to the project, all named after or in memory of the major benefactors – the Yale Boathouse; the Gifford Room (the ergo room on the first floor of the new boathouse), named by the Lywood family; and the Bowring Room (the Clubroom and associated facilities) in the Pugh Boathouse, named by the Bowring family. In his opening speech to over four hundred attendees, Mark Yale (SH 1976-81, 1st VIII 1980 and 1981) challenged today’s oarsmen to achieve the maximum potential possible, aided by the new facilities and the coaching staff. The ability to meet and overcome the challenges encountered in high level competitive rowing would form the basis of their ability to survive in the harsh world of industry and commerce awaiting them when they left school or university, and the companionship of rowing together as part of an interdependent team would stay with them for ever. After many decades of being utilised as a gym and ergo room and recent further fundraising spearheaded by the new Sabrina Club President Martin Slocock (Rt 1948-53), the original clubroom in the Pugh Boathouse has now been majestically restored Headmaster and Mark Yale 51 Old salopian News S ABRINA C LUB Henley Royal Regatta 2012 Using a professional caterer for the second year and holding the event over lunchtime, we also moved from Butler’s Field to the Henley Cricket Club ground. Overall, both the Wednesday and Saturday lunchtime drinks events were well supported and deemed to be a huge success. Ten Old Salopians were competing at Henley. It is a long and distinguished list and we apologise for any omissions or errors. Richard Hawley-Jones entered the Britannia Cup with Agecroft. Competitors in the Prince Albert Challenge Cup included Newly refurbished Clubroom of the Pugh Boathouse made possible by kind donations Camilla Aylwin coxing Edinburgh from Sabrina Club members University, Jack Lowrie for Durham University and Ben Spencer Sabrina AGM Jones for Imperial College. Ben, Captain of Boats at Imperial this The AGM was held on Saturday 22nd September on a gloriously year, reached the semi-finals. The Temple Challenge Cup saw Chris sunny autumn afternoon shortly after the opening of the new Yale Blake in a combined Pembroke College/Lady Margaret Hall crew Boathouse (see separate report). Martin Slocock, President of while the Thames Challenge Cup saw three Salopians: Will Gray Sabrina Club, presided over the meeting which was held in the rowed for Upper Thames RC, Tim Perera for City of Bristol, and newly refurbished Clubroom of the Pugh Boathouse. The President Will Robins for Thames RC. Will Robins was a finalist. welcomed the packed attendance and started with the retirement Medal winners included Fred Gill, of Cambridge Blue Boatand election of a new Honorary Secretary. The Club thanked winning fame, rowing at stroke for Molesey and Oxford Brookes in Malcolm Davies (R 1951-56), the retiring Honorary Secretary, for the Visitor’s Cup and Patrick Lapage of Harvard-Yale winning fame many years’ assiduous work for the Club. Rod Spiby (DB 1979-84) at stroke for the third consecutive year for Harvard University in the was elected as new Honorary Secretary. During his time at the Ladies’ Plate. Gill’s crew were not seriously pushed, their smallest School, Rod had held the position as Treasurer of the Boat Club, margin of win being two and a quarter lengths and their final won Head of Dayboys (also the first Head of Porthill when Dayboys split ‘easily’. into Porthill & Radbrook) and a member of the 1st VIII that won the The same cannot be said of Lapage and it is of some note that Special Race for Schools in 1984. this was his second hard-fought Henley medal won with a margin of Athol Hundermark, the new Head Coach, was invited to speak only one foot. Harvard came from over a length down at the mileand inform Sabrina Club of his plans for the School Boat Club. Athol post to storm through the enclosures at a rating of 40, rising to 42 is fresh from success at Abingdon School where he has developed for the last 20 strokes (yet still somehow covering) to snatch the a hugely successful boat club, which culminated in winning the smallest of margins in the nick of time for a win over Leander. It was Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup at Henley Royal Regatta in 2011 the fastest time of the day by three seconds. The crew unity under and 2012. stress was fabulous. “Thank goodness he’s got two feet now,” was Guest of honour to the AGM was Gerry Lander, who presented as the text from a family friend, one of his races having been won on a gift to Sabrina Club his father’s silver miniature of the 1924 Ladies Bucks station and the other on Berks! Challenge Plate. J. G. H. Lander stroked the School eight to win the event (please see 2012 Summer issue of the Salopian, pages 53Shrewsbury Room Leander Club available 54). Sabrina Club intends to encourage crew reunions in the newly during Henley Royal Regatta 2013 refurbished Clubroom, which includes facilities for dining to a high As usual, the Shrewsbury Room at Leander (room 11) will be standard. Although the Secretary will be contacting members in due available to Sabrina members for the duration of the Royal Regatta course, please feel free to contact him at [email protected] if in 2013. you wish to organise a reunion for your crew. Paul Manser will also Interested parties should contact Nick Randall on assist with the provision of boats for those who feel energetic, [email protected] and a draw will take place sufficiently early in nostalgic and able. 2013 for the unlucky losers to book other accommodation. Report compiled by: Nick Randall (Captain) tel: 01824 707953 or The winners of the draw will be expected to take the room for five email [email protected] nights (Tuesday to Saturday) at a cost of approximately £200 per Rod Spiby (Honorary Secretary) tel: 07970 283704 or email night (B&B for two people). [email protected] 52 Old salopian News S ARACENS was there for all to see, the unquestionable evidence in the flesh that the Sarries’ tour to Devon is in fact good for you! The end of innings boost had morale very much on the up as we had a sumptuous lunch before taking the field to defend what many in the crowd thought was only a par score. The intent from the Harrovian opening pair was clear from the off, as they went about trying to dismantle the Barnard brothers. The irony of this was that it was our very own version of the 'Mitchell Brothers' who had tried to dismantle themselves when squabbling over which end they were going to bowl from. Luckily it was resolved by over 2, when the one slightly more partial to sunburn was too quick for a Harrovian trying his second pull of the over. This wicket didn't stop the attacking nature of the batsmen, as a couple of shots and plenty of fresh air swipes followed. The next 6 overs proved to be the period in which the Saracens stamped their foot on the game and got one hand on the trophy. From one end Mike Barnard bowled with control and accuracy, Steve Barnard steamed in from the other with extreme pace and aggression. Mike took 1 and Steve took 5, and the Harrow top six were back in the pavilion before 10 overs had been completed; the game was as good as over. It was a supreme spell of bowling from Steve who deserved all the plaudits he received, but the role of his elder brother should not be forgotten. It was a while before the next wicket fell, as Harrow attempted to gain some level of respectability after the early collapse. The late night duo of Corbett and Blofield twirled away from either end, making it obvious why the batsmen had decided to try to score as many off the seamers as possible in the early stages. As it was, and had been in so many matches, it was the holding back of James Kidson which made the difference; he immediately got the wicket of the final dangerous Harrow batsman, as Jack Brydon continued his fine competition form with a tidy stumping. The following over saw an LBW swiftly followed by a fine low catch from Brydon off Blofield, to leave the Saracens only one wicket away from glory. Victory came in the very next over as a sharp chance at slip was taken by Chapman - to cue mass celebration on the pitch and huge cheers from the large band of Salopian supporters. The fans had been tremendous all day and their support was hugely appreciated by all the players. It was particularly fitting to see members of the 1987 winning side at the forefront of those passing congratulations on to the new Cricketer Cup champions. 2012 will go down in history for the Saracens and will be remembered by many for a long time to come. The squad for this year (including Linley Portsmouth, Matt McKeever, Joe Leach, Jimmy Taylor and Ben Williams) built up great camaraderie and respect for each other over five rounds, and this undoubtedly had a huge impact on the success that they achieved. There was great and deserved partying on the final evening. However, that is now forgotten, and the challenge is to repeat the feat next year, beginning away from home against the Marlborough Blues. Ben Chapman After a fine victory in the quarter-final of the Cricketer Cup over the Old Malvernians - winners of the trophy for the last two years - the Saracens were brimming with confidence for their semi-final against the Bradfield Waifs. This proved to be a tense and exciting match and Saracens' supporters were kept in suspense until the last over, when Tom Cox (Captain) hit the winning 4, taking the Saracens through to the final for the first time in 23 years. We would be facing our old foes, Harrow Wanderers. We arrived early at the beautiful Shenley ground, smartly kitted out by our generous sponsors, STC Packers. The regulation warmup took place before a ridiculous situation occurred when we had to have a photo with the trophy before the match had even started the superstitious in the side were not happy! The toss was won by the skipper and he chose to have a bat; though it should be noted that for the previous three hours he had reached a state of near delirium over the bat/bowl dilemma he faced. Thankfully he listened to the wise old heads in the team and the Sarries opened with Lewis and Leach fresh from receiving their A level results three days earlier. Both the youngsters got the Sarries off to a great start, showing caution and patience whilst compiling a useful 50 partnership before Lewis fell. Some dubious umpiring and poor shot selection meant that wickets were soon being lost at alarmingly regular intervals. There was even the regulation run-out involving a Leach (clearly runs in the family), ending a very impressive innings of 44 from Steve. The Sarries looked in a great deal of trouble at 105-5 with fewer than 20 overs remaining, when debutant Alastair Pollock joined the skipper at the crease. It should be noted that Pollock's late call-up to the side was entirely down to him coming on the Devon Tour the week before; had he avoided it, as he probably wished he had done after the Monday night, we would have been looking for alternative replacements. These two batted us back into the game and when the skipper was out with 5 overs to go, the platform was set for the Sarries to do what they do best and 'go big' at the end. GO BIG was exactly what Pollock did and projected us up to 199-7 with some mighty blows before falling to the final ball of the innings for a magnificent 49. It 53 Old salopian News OS Y ACHT C LUB Next year’s event will be held on the weekend of 12/13 October 2013 and we are keen to hear from any Salopian sailors who would like to join us, especially more recent leavers. Email [email protected] for more details or to register interest. David RIchards In the dark and a cold drizzle, with a falling tide in a narrow, patchilylit channel on the first Friday in October, two crews from the Old Salopian Yacht Club once again took to the water for the annual Arrow Trophy regatta at Cowes. Though facing the night with customary Salopian stoicism, few had high hopes for the weekend. But a few beers and a tasty on-board supper soon raised spirits on the cruise down the Solent, with landfall in the Pier View pub completing the transformation. What a difference the next morning: we awoke to glorious weather and the prospects of a hard day’s racing with twenty of Sunsail’s Benetteau 40s thrown around short inshore courses with the competitive fury of a dinghy race. Sadly for the adrenalin junkies, but happily for the insurance bill, the sunshine came with a down-side – light winds that made much of this year’s racing a more peaceful experience than previously, but one that favoured those with light-air sailing skills. Saturday evening once again saw an excellent dinner at the Royal Corinthian Yacht Club, leaving several crew members glad that the following day brought more sunshine and equally little wind. Despite the frustrations of low wind conditions, all on board enjoyed a great weekend. Whilst the Shrewsbury White crew did not quite have last year’s striking success, our Blue crew upheld the Club’s honour by once again winning the Charterhouse Bowl in the fleet racing. Once more being the only school to enter two crews, we were able to offer places to sailors of all abilities and ages and were delighted to have had three 18-year-old crew members on board. James Heaven looking optimistic Shrewsbury Blue making the most of the wind 54 Old salopian News OS H UNT Thanks go to Bob Parker (Hon OS) for his encouragement and also to Tim Morgan-Owen (I 1974-79), who kindly presented a wonderful collection of his grandfather's 19th century Hunt memorabilia to the History of the Hunt display in the new Hunt Gym (within the Stott Pavillion). Mark Mortimer once said that members of the Old Salopian Hunt are not members for life, but members for ever, dead or alive! There are some 200 of those members who have provided email addresses, which enables them to receive updates and news from the OSH. So, if any of you have never received an email from the OSH, then please get in touch with Peter Birch ([email protected]) , who will add you to the mailing list. Some of you will have been around the School site on Salopian Day recently, where the OSH also made an appearance. The Salopian Day event, on Saturday 22nd September, was blessed with warm sunny weather and a small select band of "old hounds", for the celebration of the Benjy, along with the New Huntsman, Ed Mallett (UVI S), Master-in-Charge, Peter Middleton and Athletics Master, Ian Haworth, as well as a group of able Hunt Members. Former Benjy Record Holder, Tim Bedell (S 1974-78), tested the course with determination and The Hon. Treasurer, David Thomas (Rt 1971-75), relished the run as training for his next Triathlon competition. The Chairman, Peter Birch (DB 1966-71, decided it was prudent to be “Whipper-in” at the rear! After the Benjy, it was felt that there was still enough energy to run to the English Bridge, on to Port Hill Bridge and back to the Drum, which certainly made the perspiration flow from the brow! PLANNED EVENTS FOR THE YEAR On Saturday, 15th December, The OSH will be entering a team in The Alumni Race, run over Wimbledon Common and organised by The Thames Hare & Hounds. Any age group is welcome to join in, but do get in touch with David Thomas (email [email protected] ) well before that date, to get your name down for entering the race. The OSH original tie and The OSH running vest are available from Peter Birch. The OSH website pages can be found at www.shrewsbury.org.uk/page/os-hunt, where more information and past reports and photos can be found. If anyone reading this has any photos of past Huntsmen taken in a group shot, do get in touch. It could be a photo taken at a dinner or some other gathering or occasion, where two or more Huntsmen happen to be snapped together. Peter Birch ([email protected]) OLD SALOPIAN RACE the trophy since 2002. Current Huntsman Ed Mallett was third, with RSSH coach and last year's winner Ian Haworth in third, impressive given he is returning from injury. The staff just managed to field a team again this year with help from the Headmaster who again showed fine form in running neck and neck with Severn Hill's DAGN, who whilst an Old Salopian himself, was claimed as a member of the staff team this year to make up the numbers. Slightly more dubious was our claim to David Blake as a staff team member. In reality, David came to take part in a unique day with four members of the Blake family taking part. David brought his sons Alex and Kris to give Senior Whip some competition. The four Blakes all looked strong with the three Blake sons all posting top ten placings, with their father David not far behind in 17th. The presentations were held after the race in the Stott Pavilion where there was an opportunity amidst the Hunt regalia and memorabilia to reminisce about past glories and fond memories. Those with stamina stayed on into the evening for the OS Dinner (following a gin-soaked Committee meeting!), where Dr David Gee was named as an honorary member of the OS Hunt and presented with his tie to go along with the 1st VIII tie he was presented two years ago to become an honorary member of The Hunt. David this year completed the Tucks for the 53rd year – an astonishing achievement! As ever, this was a terrific occasion, and one we always look forward to. This year didn't disappoint, and we already look ahead to next year's race with eager anticipation! Peter Middleton On Saturday 24th November as the deluge of rain transformed the school campus into a mudbath and swelled the Rea Brook to a raging torrent, a group of hardy enthusiastic runners congregated at the Darwin Statue for the annual Old Salopian Race where the RSSH are pitted against the OS Hunt. It always proves an enjoyable occasion, and we were particularly looking forward to what looked like a grueling test in such dreadful conditions (though perfect for cross-country running!). Whilst the Hunt have won this race for the past four years running, last year the race was much closer with a number of more recent Old Salopians returning (including former GB Universities runner Oli Mott, who placed 2nd last year). This year, too, saw the OS Hunt field a strong team, and although the Hunt retained the trophy, the gap was only 16 points, and looks to be very tight in future years! In the early stages of the race, a lead pack was formed with current Huntsman Ed Mallett at the helm, with Senior Whip Seb Blake, Rory Fraser, Ian Haworth, Peter Middleton and Old Salopian Oli Laws all grouping together and keeping the pace relatively steady. It was only with the more technical elements of the course coming into play (particularly the crossing of the waist-high Rea Brook river!) that the field began to string out and Mallett and Haworth pushed the pace on. Oli Laws looked to be struggling on the slippery downhills, but in the closing stages gave an impressive kick going up the hilly Ridgemount Lane, demonstrating some fine form that this year has seen him run the Great North Run halfmarathon in 69 minutes. Laws - who has in the past represented GB at cross-country - killed in the race, the first time he has taken 55 Old salopian News OSG OLFING S OCIETY It is worth noting that in the semi-final, Peter Worth and Andy Pollock were 5 down after 5 holes and won 1up. Shrewsbury’s cheerleader, Anthony Parsons, Hon Secretary to the G L Mellin Tournament, witnessed this heroic retrieval. This is the second victory in the G L Mellin for Shrewsbury in the first three years of the captaincy of Peter Worth, emulating the record of his distinguished predecessor, Christopher Wallace. In the Peter Burles Salver, (for over 65s) Shrewsbury lost 2-1 to Bradfield. Our team was: Peter Jeffrey and Robin Humble and Stephen Shaw and Robert Sentance, who made a promising debut. A second Salopian victory came in the Bunny Millard Salver (for over 75s). In the Final, Shrewsbury, represented by Robert Lanyon and John Smith, beat Lancing. Shrewsbury last won the Bunny Millard Salver in 2004, represented by Robert Walker and Robin Moulsdale. In the OSGS National Matchplay Championship for the 2012 Campion Trophy, amongst those who have reached the 5th round stand, Will Campion, arguably in pole position, Mark Ferguson, Gerald Smith, Lee Jones (the impertinent winner against the President), Malcom McMullan (with the scalps of Richard Barber, Jonty Campion and Ben Chesters under his belt) and Ben Alderson (with the scalps of Andy Pollock, Dan Graham and Mark Summers): impressive headhunting! The 16th Grand Scottish Tour attracted 24 members with glorious hospitality dispensed yet again by Robert and Andrew Lister at their home overlooking the 16th at North Berwick. The winners of meetings may be listed as follows: North Berwick: Gerald Woods (38 points) Muirfield: Robert Lister and Stephen Shaw retained the Lewis/Bell Quaich Gullane No 2: Hilary Ward and Fraser Higson (41 points) Sabrina Club at Huntercombe: Rob Hillman (former School Captain of Cricket) (37 points) New Zealand: John Bolton (34 points) Huntercombe: Winner of the Tony Duerr Salver: Nicky Renton (38 points) Worfield: Winner of the Todwick Tankard: Charles Hill (40 points) Trentham: Winner of the Tommy Hall Cup: Julian Mitchell (37 points) The first Triangular Schools Challenge comprising Shrewsbury, Tonbridge and Dulwich – the brainchild of Stephen Shaw – was played at Tandridge on 4th May. The OSGS team was: Malcom McMullan and Michael Smart (36 points) Richard Barber and Gerald Woods (36 points) William Hawksley and Nick Renton (40 points) John Bolton and Stephen Shaw (33points) (oops). The Old Alleynians were the victors with an aggregate of 148 pts, the Tonbridgians were runners-up with 147pts and OSGS were tailenders with 145 pts: some very creditable scoring. In the Public Schools Midlands meeting at Little Aston, Shrewsbury were joint runners-up with Harrow on 101 points to Wrekin (107 points). The scores were: James Mainwaring and Stefan Hindmarsh (37 points) Richard Bevan and Neil Crawford (33 points) Jonathan Hope and Tom Price (31 points) Martin Cars and Andy Pollock (30 points) Jonathon Mawdsley and Richard Jones (25 points). Our new President Anthony Smith (I 54-59) has had a purple start to his Presidency. At Blackwell Golf Club in June, he won the Eustace Storey Putter to become our Scratch Champion, not for the first time. At Royal Birkdale Golf Club on 1st August, he won the 2011 Campion Trophy to become our Matchplay Champion, defeating James Shaw (R 64-68) 4x3. In July, our President played in the OSGS team that won the G L Mellin Salver (for over 55s) at West Hill Golf Club. The results were as follows: Round 1: Shrewsbury beat Cranleigh 3-0 Peter Worth (Captain) and Andy Pollock won 2up Anthony Smith and Michael Brabner won 2x1 Will Painter and James Shaw won 2x1 Round 2: Shrewsbury beat Bradfield 2-1 Peter Worth and Andy Pollock won 4x2 Anthony Smith and Michael Brabner lost 2x1 Will Painter and James Shaw won 4x2 Semi-Final: Shrewsbury beat Sherborne 2½x½ Peter Worth and Andy Pollock won 1up Anthony Smith and Michael Brabner halved All Square Will Painter and James Shaw won 3x2 Final: Shrewsbury beat Oundle 2-1 Peter Worth and Andy Pollock lost 1down Anthony Smith and Michael Brabner won 3x2 Will Painter and James Shaw won 1up OSGS President Anthony Smith, winner of the Campion Trophy, with runner-up James Shaw (right) and Will Campion (centre) who refereed the match and presented the Campion Trophy, which his father Ian Campion donated to the Society to mark his years as President and the contribution of the Campion family over many years at the highest levels to Old Salopian golf 56 Old salopian News Three Salopian proprietors of golf clubs have generously offered to hold OSGS meetings in 2013 at Christian prices. At Worfield, near Bridgnorth in September, Oliver Eaton (Rt 1985-91) arranged a delightful visit for us – a challenging course, speedy greens, immaculate condition and delicious food. This attracted 28 players on the eve of the Salopian Day at The Schools. It is pleasing to report that 15 leavers joined OSGS in July 2012. OSGS membership stands at a record number of 373. I thank all members for their support and encouragement. The draft Fasti is taking shape as outlined below: those dates in italics have yet to be confirmed. Tim Lewis In the finals of the Grafton Morrish, OSGS beat Repton 2-1 but lost to Birkenhead, the holders, in the third round. OSGS was represented by Jonty Campion (Captain), Mark Ferguson, Michael Nettleton, William Painter, Simon Shepherd and Mike ThelwallJones. In the Queen Elizabeth Coronation Schools Trophy, played at Barnton, Edinburgh, Shrewsbury met Merchiston, midst shades of Bannockburn. The Salopian brave hearts included Mark Ferguson (Captain), Ben Chapman, Max Lilley, Stefan Hindmarsh, Ben Chesters and Ed Foster. It is unlikely that we will venture over the border again in the foreseeable future. FIXTURE DATES – 2013 Date MARCH Wed 9 Sat 16 Wed 20 Event Course Halford Hewitt AGM & Draw Halford Hewitt Get-Together Spring Meeting (South) East India Club tba Denham APRIL Fri pm 5 Thurs 11-Sun 14 Thurs 18 Fri pm 26 Grand National Meeting Halford Hewitt Cup* University Challenge Triangular Match Hoylake Sandwich/Deal Bransford Tandridge MAY Thurs 2 Wed 8 Thurs 9 Fri 10 Sat 11 Match v The Schools Scottish Tour Scottish Tour Scottish Tour Grafton Morrish Qualifying* Hawkstone Park North Berwick Muirfield Gullane 2 Olton (Solihull) JUNE Mon 3-Thur 6 Fri 14 Fri 21 June Wed 26 Fri 28 Schools Putting Tournament Match v Old Cholmeleians Summer Meeting Public Schools Midlands Meeting Pre-Speech Day Meeting Royal Wimbledon Hadley Wood Worplesdon Little Aston Arscott JULY Tues pm 2 Thurs 11-Sat 13 Thurs 11-Sat 13 Fri 12-Sat 13 Henley Regatta Meeting Peter Burles Salver (65 and over)* Bunny Millard Salver (75 and over)* G.L.Mellin Salver (55 and over)* Huntercombe West Hill West Hill West Hill AUGUST Sun pm 11 Mon am 12 Tues am 13 Sat 17 Mon 19 West Country Tour West Country Tour West Country Tour Match v. Old Reptonians (South) Old Schools' Competition Westward Ho! Saunton Saunton Worplesdon Trevose SEPTEMBER Thurs 12 Fri pm 20 Fri 27-Sat 28 University Challenge Shropshire Meeting Grafton Morrish Finals* Swindon Worfield Hunstanton/Brancaster OCTOBER Sun 6 Sun 13 Sun 27 President’s Meeting & AGM Match v. Old Malvernians OSGS Scratch Championship Trentham Blackwell Blackwell NOVEMBER Fri 1 Sat am 9 Winter Fourball Saturday Morning Foursomes Ashridge New Zealand Key: Italics mean to be confirmed Members are asked to contact the Organiser for any event in which they may wish to play 57 Old salopian News F OCUS ON THE A RTS visiting Machynlleth in mid-Wales to give concerts at The Tabernacle, an extraordinarily fine arts centre which has become renowned for attracting the finest musicians to perform in the auditorium – once a Wesleyan Chapel. Hugh Ramsbotham, ex-master, Housemaster of The School House, Secretary of the Salopian Club, and the 2010 President became involved in The Tabernacle when he retired from Shrewsbury. He was Chairman of the Machynlleth Tabernacle Trust for some years and continues as a Trustee. He invited John Moore to bring some musicians at the end of one term, and the Shrewsbury Musicians Concert has now become an annual event much enjoyed by an audience accustomed to hearing national and international musicians play, particularly during its annual Festival, directed by Julius Drake and held every August. The Tabernacle Arts Centre also includes MOMAWALES, a leading art gallery, which held an exhibition of John Alford's paintings of the Shropshire Hills during the A E Housman centenary in 1996. The late Sir Kyffin Williams (CWM 1932-35) was President of the Friends of the Tabernacle and his legacy to the Trust enabled it to start the creation of a new gallery, now almost completed. The School Music Scholars will perform in this remarkable venue once again on Thursday 7 February 2013 at 7.30pm. Salopians of every sort who can get there will be most welcome. The ticket price of £5 includes wine. For more details, check the Salopian Club website: http://www.shrewsbury.org.uk/page/os-events-0 For generations the Salopian Club has encouraged the continued involvement in sport that often started on the playing fields of Kingsland. The various Old Salopian sports clubs continue to flourish and Old Salopians have been key figures in keeping the sports facilities at the School up to a first-class standard. The Salopian Club has come to see that the same involvement in School and Club sport should be happening in the creative arts. Old Salopians are able to support both School arts activities and other Old Salopians active in the Arts. To that end the Salopian Arts and Activities Society has recently been formed under the Chairmanship of Nigel Davies (R 1983-88) with three specific aims:


To promote interest, support and participation in a wide range of activities among Old Salopians (both at the School and elsewhere). To encourage Old Salopians to continue such activities after School and to maintain links with the School in them. In particular, to promote and support all Old Salopian activity in Art, Music and Theatre (including advice with careers development) and to support the School Art, Music and Drama Departments. The first Arts and Activities trip took place on 8 November – to see Yes, Prime Minister at the Trafalgar Studios, London featuring Clive Hayward (SH 1978-83) playing the part of Bernard Woolley. There are many examples of how all three aims are being addressed, but one in particular is aimed at the first – to support arts activities by attending School events both at Kingsland and elsewhere. For some years now, the School musicians have been The Tabernacle Auditorium, Machynlleth Other forthcoming music events of particular interest to Old Salopians Saturday 12 January: Ali Webb (UVI, S) and friends, perform original and cover songs , Ashton Theatre Saturday 19 January: Shrewsbury School Music Scholars at Emmanuel Church, Didsbury Sunday 3 February: Shrewsbury School musicians in concert at the Warehouse, London followed by a reception Thursday 7 February: Music Scholars Recital at The Tabernacle, Machynlleth Sunday 24 February: Instrumental and Choral Concert, St Alkmund's Church, Shrewsbury Friday 1 March: School Big Band at The Edge, Wenlock Edge Wednesday 6 March: Chapel Choir sings Choral Evensong in Hereford Cathedral Saturday 20 April: Galin Ganchev, Music Scholar – piano recital, Shrewsbury School Saturday 27 – Sunday 28 April: Concert performance of Bizet’s ‘Carmen’, Shrewsbury School Wednesday 5, 12, 19 June: Organ recitals by Chapel Choirmaster Alex Mason and guests 58 Old salopian News P UBLICATIONS Robin Brooke-Smith, (S 1961-66, staff 1986-95, and stepson of Michael Charlesworth) ‘Horton’s work is subtle as well as beautiful and should be allowed to seep gradually into the well-springs of the soul. It derives much of its power from a commemoration of the unexpectedly ordinary – such as the rocks in an estuary, the winter skeleton of a tree or the foreground frieze of wildflowers overlooking a secluded river or harbour.’ Andrew Lambirth (Art Critic for The Spectator). Brian Horton (I 1947-52) is a landscape painter who can trace his roots back through the history of English art. In his new and Storm Warning: Riding the Crosswinds in the PakistanAfghan Borderlands Radcliffe Press/I.B. Tauris ISBN 978-1-780764085 Robin Brooke-Smith’s fascinating book provides a new perspective on Northwest Pakistan. In this first-hand account of his years as Principal of Edwardes College, Peshawar, from 1995 -2000, he traces the build-up to 9/11 and the upheavals that have followed. This is a compelling behind-the-scenes look into the heartlands of global jihad. The story begins and ends at Shrewsbury School and takes us on an intriguing adventure, with occasional echoes of Michael Charlesworth’s book on Shrewsbury School, Behind the Headlines. We are invited on a journey that will sometimes charm and sometimes horrify. We feel the tensions of the daily struggle in a difficult and often dangerous place. We relish many simple and amusing incidents and delightful encounters among the ordinary folk of the region. We are taken from Shrewsbury into the eye of the rising storm of global jihad in one of the most dangerous and fascinating cities on Earth. We see a new perspective on life and daily realities in Northwest Pakistan and the troubled borderlands between Afghanistan and Pakistan. The Afghan-Pakistan Borderlands are critical to international security. They are often dangerous and little explored by outsiders. Recounting his experiences as Principal of the prestigious Edwardes College in Peshawar (founded as a Church Mission College in 1900), Robin explores the creation and growing influence of the Taliban, and provides a unique and close-up view into this fascinating area. The College provides a cast of colourful characters and a long and illustrious history. Its alumni have included former Presidents, Ministers, Generals, and a host of remarkable individuals including Mohammed Najibullah, the last Soviet-era President of Afghanistan. Behind it all is the sinister drumbeat of a country and region lurching into a crisis and the dangerous conspiracies surrounding the author. Finally we are swept up into the global disaster of 9/11 and the troubled years that have followed. The story ends where it began, on the Queen’s Terrace back at Shrewsbury School following the Michael Charlesworth Memorial luncheon hosted at the School in March 2011 by the former Chief Secretary of the North West Frontier Province Government. A distinctive analysis of the state of the borderlands – and its possible future – this book is illuminating reading for all who are interested in Pakistan, Afghanistan and the turbulent recent history of the ‘Af-Pak’ region, and the strange and enduring links with Shrewsbury. Snowfall near Cockham, courtest of Messum’s revealing book on the artist, published to coincide with an exhibition of his work at Messum’s Gallery in London, Andrew Lambirth explores the great tradition of Romantic landscape painting in this country and the particular influences that have enabled Horton to progress from slightly awkward beginnings to develop an independent style and vision that mark him out as one of England’s most imaginative landscape painters. Like the artist himself, Brian Horton’s landscapes radiate a quiet power. His gouaches and oils present many-sided reflections of the British landscape, whether he is painting Scotland, Cornwall, the shores and hills of the Lake District, or the Cotswolds. Of his own work Horton says, “I like to try and engage with a hint of paradise that lurks in the back of the mind and, though based on reality, my pictures are not painted to imitate a photographic image, but from my own thoughts and feelings; perhaps a private vision, but one which I hope others might recognise.” After leaving Shrewsbury, Horton went on to Exeter College, Oxford. Following National Service, he enrolled at Cheltenham College of Art, where he met Sheila, his future wife. They married in 1957 and have three creative daughters: a sculptor, ceramicist and painter. Following a spell working for Lloyds in the City of London, and then taking over an interior design company with a friend on Lower Sloane Street, Horton returned to paintings in 1967. He worked as a painting restorer, finding time for his own paintings only Andrew Lambirth Brian Horton: Blue Remembered Hills Studio Publications, 2012 ISBN 978-1-908486-24-0 59 Old salopian News Max Kinnings (PH 1979-84) occasionally. These gradually took over, however, and he became a professional painter. Horton has exhibited at the Royal Academy, the Royal Watercolour Society and has had a regular series of solo shows with David Messum for more than two decades. Baptism Quercus, 2012 This is the first of a series of crime novels featuring blind hostage negotiator, Ed Mallory. When Christian fundamentalists hijack a Tube train on the Northern Line, the stage is set for a terrifying hostage situation... On July 22nd 2005, with London on high alert after the recent terrorist attacks and attempted bombings, Max Kinnings was trapped on a tube train just outside Stockwell Station unaware of what was taking place on the next train down the line. Inspired by the nerve-shredding psychological impact of this experience, Baptism explores the worst nightmares of the London Tube traveller. “A tense blockbuster with worryingly credible characters.” The Times Christopher Gill (Rt 1950-54) Cracking the Whip Bretwalda Books Ltd, 2012 ISBN: 978-1-780871813) ISBN: 978-1909099067 Review by Hugh Ramsbotham: It is perhaps fitting that as the relationship with Europe once again seems to bring alarm to the Conservative Party, Christopher Gill should publish the second volume of his memoirs, Cracking the Whip. After two years in the Navy, Christopher spent 30 years as a farmer and businessman before winning the Ludlow seat in the 1987 General Election. With that agricultural and business background, his arrival at Westminster coincided with issues that immediately brought him into conflict with the Tory policy - the poll tax, the fishing policy, the common agricultural policy, and more. The story of the Tory rebels is well known and is told in great detail in his first volume, Whips’ Nightmare. The second volume covers the years in opposition and Christopher’s increasing despair over policies affected by Europe, his involvement in the Freedom Association, and his discomfort in the official Tory Party, making his retirement from Parliament in 2001, and perhaps his eventual move to UKIP, inevitable. His account of political life in the last 25 years – through his own diaries and opinions – is fascinating, even if the role and behaviour of the Whips as described can only make the literal meaning of the name very apt. Presumably on the bookshelves of political students and historians for many years to come, it might also be wise reading for any aspiring member who thinks of taking the more traditional route into politics via experience of the real world first. And as the demands for a referendum and the question of EU membership once again fill the air, perhaps a faint sound of ‘I warned you’ might understandably be heard from the Ludlow hills. Martin Downer (DB 1944-49) The Tank Room Mardi Books (2012) ISBN 978-0-9571316-4-4 Matt, an undergraduate in 1950s Liverpool, moonlights in jazz bands for beer money and to meet girls. He becomes intimately involved with Yvette, sexy young city girl, and Harry, wayward daughter of landed gentry. The girls, Matt and their friends enter tangled relationships. Yvette or Harry? Eventually Matt must decide. Martin Downer with Admiral Nimitz’s telephone on the USS Missouri at Pearl Harbor M ENS AGITAT MOLEM In the summer issue of The Salopian, we included one of Eric Arthur Barber’s Latin translations of English poems and asked readers if anyone could identify the original. Hearty congratulations to Paul Taylor (Rt 1976-81) for his swift and correct reply. It is Tennyson’s The Miller’s Daughter: Yet fill my glass: give me one kiss: My own sweet Alice, we must die. There’s somewhat in this world amiss Shall be unriddled by and by. There’s somewhat flows to us in life, But more is taken quite away. Pray, Alice, pray, my darling wife, That we may die the self-same day. Sed mihi da calicem plenum, semel oscula iunge: Nos quoque mors, coniunx o mea cata, manet. Parte aliqua claudet rerum natura, sed olim Expediet causas, quae lafuere, deus. Non nihil in vita mortalibus adfluit; isdem Plura datis penitus demere fata solent. Tu memor assidue, coniunx dilecta, precare, Nos simul exstinctos auferat una dies. 60 Old salopian News OBITUARY C. H. A. Appleton (R 1939-43) C. N. Aspden (S 1966-71) The Hon Mr Justice E. de B. Bewley (Rt 1944-49) A. W. R. Brook (S (CWM) 1930-35) M. P. Birley (Staff 1947-50) R. H. Crawford* (Rt 1938-43) W. R. Cullimore (Ch 1932-37) R. B. Draper (Ch 1930-34) J. A. O. Evans (O 1941-45) Professor M. R. P. Hall (Rt 1935-40) E. Hancox (R 1945-50) Dr J. M. D. Hooper (M 1939-44) T. E. W. Jones (O 1952-57) J. Kemp (Rt 1958-63) J. M. Kirk (SH 1949-51) C. L. Mason (O 1947-51) Reverend A. R. McGlashan (R 1946-51) P. O’Connell* (M 1924-28) R. Parkin (DB 1967-71) S. W. Payne (I 1959-64) A. G. B. Randall (O 1940-43) G. L. Ridgway (DB 1943-47) F. D. Robinson* (O 1941-45) D. H. Shaw (M 1938-42) M. R. T. Sills (O 1950-54) D.M. Stewart (S 1963-67) P. B. D. Sutherland (SH 1938-43) C. G. N. Whittingham (Ch 1962-67) P. S. Willcocks* (I 1955-60) J. P. Williams (O 1941-43) M. B. Wedgwood* (R 1922-27) M. R. N. Wood (M 1940-44) L. P. Woodcock (DB 1972-76) A. R. D. Wright (Headmaster 1963-75) *an obituary will appear in the next edition E. de B Bewley (Rt 1944-49) Edward Bewley entered Ridgemount in 1944 after a childhood rather different from that of his contemporaries. Born in London while his parents were home on leave from the Colonial Service in Nigeria, he was brought up in his grandparents’ home in County Armagh essentially by Simpson the family retainer, as Nigeria was not considered a suitable place for children. When he was six his parents returned to Ireland and after a succession of boarding schools, he reached Ridgemount. It may be there that he became Tim – he was after all Irish – but certainly from then he was always Tim. He much enjoyed his five years on Kingsland, especially all the sport in which he excelled at House level, and it was natural that he then entered Trinity College Dublin to read Law. In the next five years he gained his BA, LL.B, Bar exams and was called at Gray’s Inn in 1956 Concern that income from the bar would not sustain him, the newly married Tim followed his father into the Colonial Service and was posted to Northern Rhodesia. This was a life he much enjoyed, but sadly his marriage did not survive it and he returned to practise at the Bar for two years, after which he was able to return to Africa as a Magistrate in Nyasaland. In 1964 he went to Hong Kong as Magistrate; 43 years later he moved from being the Senior Criminal Judge on the Supreme Court Bench to becoming a Commissioner on the Supreme Court of Brunei, from where he retired, now as The Hon Mr Justice Bewley, in 1996. Tim had met and married Mary in Hong Kong. She was a passionately Welsh teacher who had defied her family expectations of a quiet, rural domestic life in Caernarfon, and with their three daughters they lived a full and happy life in Hong Kong (where Mary founded the Welsh Society and later represented the Cymry ar Wasgar, the gathering of Welsh people from across the world, at the National Eisteddfod in her home town of Caernarfon). During his 22 years as a Judge in Hong Kong, Tim was involved in many legal dramas, including drug cartels, police corruption, people smuggling, Omega watch forgery, in fact the whole range of international crime. He loved it, and was a highly respected Judge, often having to decide on draconian laws, usually without a jury, but always with great fairness and wisdom. His hearing difficulties prevented him from accepting a seat on the Court of Appeal. It was perhaps inevitable therefore that the Bewleys retired to Anglesey, where Mary could rejoin her family and friends, where Tim’s friends in Ireland were within 61 easy reach, where there were fine golf courses, and from where he could easily reach Old Salopian gatherings which he much enjoyed, especially on Aberdovey Golf Course. He never lost his passion for sport, although non-Salopian activities in hockey (he played for Trinity College and for the next 42 seasons) and rugby existed alongside cricket, golf and racing. He is survived by Mary and his children and much missed by his very many friends. A. W. R. (Bill) Brook (CWM 1931-35) Bill Brook was a Yorkshireman through and through and apart from five years at Shrewsbury and the war years in the Duke of Wellington’s Regiment, he lived and worked in West Yorkshire. His father (Arthur Kenneth, SH 1906-07) was serving in the same regiment when Bill was born in 1917. At Shrewsbury he moved successfully through the School, though without any aim of going to university. He enjoyed rowing, was a Lance Corporal in the OTC and a very keen member of the Rovers, an association that kept him in contact with the School and the OS Club throughout his life. On leaving school, he became an apprentice wool sorter in Bradford and after two years moved to Jarmains, Wool Scourers, where he was in charge of wool sorting until the outbreak of war, when he joined the Royal Artillery in a Searchlight Regiment. In 1946, after service in France, he was demobilised. The wool trade was still under the wartime ‘wool control’ and he could not obtain a license to deal in wool until 1950. In the interim period he traded as a merchant with a former apprentice sorter and then with a license he formed his own company, Brook Wools Ltd in Milnsbridge, Huddersfield, which traded successfully until his retirement in 1980 when the business was wound up. Bill was an enthusiastic member of the TA as Lieutenant Colonel, in the Honourable Artillery Company and a loyal Secretary of the MacMillan Club for twenty years. He and his wife Bessie were enthusiastic gardeners and competitive bridge players, and devoted parents, grandparents and great-grandparents. W. R. (Rae) Cullimore (Ch 1932-37) W. R. Cullimore was in Churchills from 1932 to 1937 prior to going up to Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge. Always known as Rae, he was born in Fleet, Hampshire, where his father was in the Army working at the Royal Aircraft Establishment, the initials of which gave rise to the name Rae. Old salopian News Winner of the Bentley Elocution Prize and the Maths Prize, the law and business seemed inevitable; his Housemaster also described him early in his school career as “a sound gentleman to whom we should like to give an official post of responsibility” and described his last report as one that “makes an excellent ending to an increasing satisfactory record by a sound, sterling member who has contributed his share unostentatiously”. A report that was somehow prophetic. After qualifying as a solicitor, he joined the family firm in Chester which his grandfather had joined, followed by his son, Rae's father. The firm became Birch Cullimore and there were also three generations of the Birch family in the firm. Rae's practice was based largely in agriculture and agricultural estates, serving two and sometimes three generations of the same family as a genuine family solicitor. However, there was another side to his practice, which was of great value to his firm. Having inherited three businesses in Chester, he had the businessman's attitude to the law, often seeing a problem from that point of view as well as the strictly legal one. He was therefore in demand as a local company chairman, being at various times Chairman of the Chester Water Company, the Wrexham and East Denbighshire Water Company and the Blossoms Hotel, Chester and was on the board of the Cheshire Observer newspaper until taken over. Outside his strict legal practice, Rae was for over 30 years Legal Advisor to the Dean and Chapter of Chester Cathedral and for over 2O years served as Chapter Clerk, serving under three Deans latterly at a time of many changes in Cathedral administration. He was also, for many years, a deputy Under-Sheriff for Cheshire. Outside his practice, Rae was a past chairman of the Cheshire branch of the Country Landowners Association (as it then was). His father's family had originally come from Thornbury near Bristol and he took great interest in the family farm there, which is still in the family. After retiring, he and Stella moved to Sherston near Malmesbury to be near their daughter, Vivienne. Rae leaves Stella, who was the greatest support throughout his professional and other careers, daughter Vivienne and son John, six grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. His funeral took place at Sherston Parish Church and was attended by a large congregation representing the many interests in Rae's life. With thanks to Randal Hibbert R. B. Draper (Ch 1930-34) Bryan Draper came to Shrewsbury from Etonhurst Prep School. His school reports talk of a highly accomplished and enthusiastic violinist who did not shine academically but who reached the rank of Lance Corporal in the OTC before leaving school early, clearly to the disappointment of his Housemaster. His father and uncle had started a business, but when Bryan reached the Sixth Form they fell out and his uncle took all the patents with him to start a similar business on the other side of the road thus nearly causing the business to go under. Bryan had to leave, not going into the Forestry Commission as he had intended, but joining his father to try and rescue the family firm. This they did very successfully and by the start of the war they were supplying brake and clutch linings and woven asbestos materials to the military; this meant that he was in a reserved occupation and was not called up until quite late in the war. He joined the Royal Corps of Signals and served in France and then Germany before being demobbed. His proudest moment was probably when, as L/Cpl Draper, Chairman and Managing Director, he showed Queen Mary around the factory in August 1943. After the war the business continued to flourish and was floated on the Stock Exchange. Some years later, father and son acquired his uncle’s business, thus reuniting two branches of the family a generation after the original split, H. P. Trist Ltd becoming Trist, Draper Ltd. He retired in 1975. L/Cpl R. B. Draper, Chairman and Managing Director of English Asbestos Co. Ltd., explaining the carding of asbestos to Her Majesty Queen Mary, 16th August 1943 After the death of his wife Ina in 1984, he married Winifred and had 17 happy years enjoying the company of his two sons, two 62 grandsons and two great grand-daughters as well as two step children, six step grandchildren and several step great grandchildren. Bryan’s passion for music and the violin, encouraged at Shrewsbury, continued throughout his life. He was one of the founding members of the Bath Symphony Orchestra, playing both violin and viola at different times. He also played in the Trowbridge Symphony Orchestra and in many orchestras and groups for concerts and operas around Bath and Wells. He continued to play in the Trowbridge Symphony Orchestra until he was almost ninety, before his dementia meant he no longer had the concentration to keep his place in the music. He had maintained the love of music for so long, and always showed interest in its development at Shrewsbury, especially when his son Christopher followed him to Churchill’s in 1960-64. Dr J. M. B. Hooper (M 1939-44) John Hooper was the first of three brothers who were in Moser’s and he had an extremely successful School career. Clearly an excellent Praeposter, he also developed a love of – and skill in – rowing that was to last long. The VIII at Henley was followed by a place in his College VIII and in the winning Isis crew of 1945. His interest in science and in all that was going on around him made medicine a natural choice; his Housemaster’s last report talked of “an exceptionally full and successful climax to his School career having shown all the signs of doing good service to the community. He will be the right sort of doctor.” John qualified at Guy’s Hospital in 1950 and spent two years as a hospital resident, at the same time meeting and marrying Jill, who was nursing and working with a research team at St Mary’s Paddington Old salopian News studying new born babies (as they welcomed their first child Susan). Then came his deferred National Service and he was posted to Northern Ireland as Senior Physician. After two years there (and the arrival of their second child Jonathan), the Hoopers returned to England and John spent some time working as locum and looking for an opportunity to work in rural practice – something being sought after by very many applicants. The family was delighted when in 1957 he was the successful applicant in Cranbrook, Kent and after a few months in a caravan at the surgery, eventually the family home/surgery was created, two more children James and Elizabeth arrived, and a very happy and long career began. John was a totally committed family doctor and with Jill alongside as nurse and secretary, the Cranbrook practice was superbly served, and loved. He acted at Benenden School as Medical Officer, was very involved with the parish church and on the Parish Council; the little available recreation time was spent sailing or on wonderful camping and sailing holidays with his family. There was enough land round their home/surgery for smallholding activity and trees were planted and animals raised. John also much enjoyed his association in the City of London through the Coachmakers Livery Company and was so proud when at the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee she chose to travel on the state landau built by the Hooper Carriage Company. Retirement saw the surgery converted into a popular holiday let and John appointed as Churchwarden - and the occasional employment as Cruise Doctor with Swan Hellenic to provide annual trips to sea. Then illness intervened and his last years were not easy - but this did not stop him being totally absorbed in everything around him, watched over devotedly by Jill and Elizabeth. It seemed that the entire population of Cranbrook gathered for his funeral - and the words “kindness”, “dignity” and “grace” were much heard, and “it is no exaggeration to say that John has been one of those local saints in his own generation, that richly encourage and inspire all of us, all whose lives he touched”. His Housemaster had clearly got it right. John Hooper was “the right sort of doctor”. T. E. W. Jones (O 1952-57) Tim Jones was almost bound to be successful at Shrewsbury. Brought up on Merseyside by his Welsh parents, imbued from very early days with a love of sport and of the Welsh mountains and sea – it was as though Kingsland beckoned from the beginning. When he showed ability in the Classics as well, his cup was filled. Distinctions in Greek, Latin and Ancient History gained him a Scholarship and a place at Balliol College, Oxford. As Huntsman he joined his love of sport with his love of the countryside; his passion for football led him to captaining Oldham’s and gaining second XI colours – his Housemaster commented that he was perhaps rather small and too easily knocked off the ball for a secure place in the 1st XI. He was a much respected and liked House Monitor and Corporal in the CCF – his only sadness was that he was in his own mind probably the only Welshman who couldn’t sing and so, although he gained a love of music at School, his activity was limited to attending concerts rather than performing. A brief spell working in a factory in Rouen after School took him to Oxford proficient in French and Spanish and with an interest in languages that never left him. He captained the Balliol football side, continued crosscountry running and played cricket – whilst also gaining his degree in Law and the award of a Keasbey Bursary from the Keasbey Memorial Foundation. On graduation, he became articled to Robert Davies and Co in Warrington – allowing him to play football for the Liverpool Ramblers, to continue his dedicated support at Old Trafford and to walk the Welsh hills. But once qualified, in 1965, he moved to London and a year later married Ursula, whom he had met at the College of Law. He spent three years with Woodruffes and then for nearly 20 years he was Principal Solicitor at the British Waterways Board – a time that enabled him to explore with his family (now including two sons and a daughter) the canals throughout Britain. Tim’s career ended with eight years as 63 Group Solicitor with a local building company in his home town of Harpenden and five years carrying out property and parliamentary work for Luton Borough Council. In a full working life, Tim found time for his many interests, most of which he shared with his family. He loved travel, immersing himself in the literature and language of the places he visited; his love of sport and support for Welsh rugby, Manchester United and Cardiff City took up much time and energy – even when severely handicapped by Parkinson’s disease, he got to Wembley for the 2008 Cup Final with Cardiff. And at one match he received loud cheers from the Welsh supporters when he returned the ball to the pitch with a surprisingly strong kick from the disabled section. He was an enthusiastic gardener, an imaginative cook, a conqueror of the daily Times Crossword (once reaching the final) – and essentially a man who loved life and lived it to the full. He held a deep affection for Shrewsbury; and his life – full of scholarship, of energy, of responsibility, of sport, of the countryside, of his care for those around him, and of fun – clearly mirrored his five years as a schoolboy. He was much loved, and he will be much missed by his family and his very many friends. J. M. Kirk (SH 1949-51) John Kirk came to Shrewsbury from Pocklington School and Oaklands Prep School, both in Yorkshire, and soon discovered that sport was very much more interesting and enjoyable than the more classical education he found. So three years of sport, especially rugby and boxing, led to a decision to move on to a more technical education and experience. Aged 16, he gained an apprenticeship at Blackburn Aircraft in Hull and aged 20 he started three years’ military service with the Royal Engineers. This included a posting to Old salopian News the South Pacific to support the British Scientific team conducting Britain’s first Hydrogen Bomb tests on Malden island, Bikini Atoll. In 1958 John joined W&T Avery, the world’s largest weighing machine company, as a trainee salesman; he retired as a Director 33 years later, having worked in various parts of the UK, with Worcestershire being his final home. He married Moya in 1963 and his family – three children and five grandchildren – were a great source of pride and joy. His love of sport, developed at Shrewsbury, continued throughout his life; he boxed for his Regiment and he played rugby for Combined Services and numerous clubs as he moved round the country. When playing days were over, he found great joy watching his children and grandchildren follow in his sporting footsteps. His other interest was in the British Legion and he was privileged to be Treasurer and then President of his branch in Worcestershire. John discovered at the age of 72 that he was in fact only an Old Boy of Shrewsbury School rather than an Old Salopian, having left School early. This was immediately rectified and John continued to be a keen supporter of the School of which he was so proud. A. R. McGlashan (R 1946-51) Tim Lewis writes: Alastair Robin McGlashan was born in Plymouth on 16th March 1933, the son of Lieutenant Commander (E) Alexander Davidson McGlashan, RN, and Irene Margaret McGlashan (née Cooke) later of Midford, near Bath. He was to write later that, at the Annual Inspection of the CCF in 1947, he saw his father for the first time since 1942. In Michaelmas Term 1950, Rigg’s had four Praeposters - K A Masser, (Captain of Boats), P C Heal (Huntsman), J R Holt (later Head of School) and A R McGlashan, (School Captain of Boxing). A fifth House Monitor was T R Bell, an American from Choate, who propelled the rugby ball in torpedo style, to considerable advantage. The nickname for the Head of House was ‘Happy Holt’. The atmosphere in Rigg’s was untroubled and light-hearted. His cricketing friends remembered the Housemaster as ‘Batty’ Brooke. His eccentricities caught the imagination of most of us. Robin McGlashan, in all of this, was serious. He had been Head Boy at his preparatory school Carn Brae, winning the top scholarship to Shrewsbury in 1946. Robin would later admit that his academic reputation came mostly through dint of strenuous application. This was largely expended in slaving over homework in the evenings, to make sure that he handed in the very best work that he could turn out. For the classical scholars like him, homework took the form of translating bits of classical English prose and verse into corresponding forms of Greek and Latin, for example an extract from a speech of Edmund Burke into Greek rhetorical prose in the style of Demosthenes, or Herrick into Ovidian elegiac couplets. This required a deep knowledge of and sensitivity to the particular styles of Cicero, Sophocles and the rest of the classical authors, and to the nuances of metre and language. His compositions were handed in and marked, and the aim was to get as high a mark as he could, somewhere in the alpha bracket was usually attainable, with as few minuses as possible. As a House Monitor, he was a listener, who could fix you with the beadiest of stares: he was always fair and reasoned. He knew the value of silence. At the time, the Classical Upper Sixth was choc-a-block with scholars of formidable erudition, under the strict rule and teaching of Stacy Colman (Balliol, where else?). P.J. Ingrams (Ch 1949-54) called him ‘Colmanus igitur’. Butler, Kennedy, Moss beamed down upon them all. Within such company, McGlashan won an Open Exhibition to Christ Church, later to be awarded an Honorary Scholarship on account of his 1st Class Honours in Classical Moderations and taking a 2nd in Literae Humaniores. Robin was also a Boxing Blue at bantamweight. Small of stature, he packed a ferocious punch. After Oxford, he did his National Service in Cyprus, forgoing the rank of officer. At Ridley Hall, Cambridge, he read the New Testament section (Part 3) of the Theological Tripos at St John’s College, where he was an Honorary Scholar, taking 1st Class Honours. In 1959-60, Robin was ‘Archdeacon’ at Ridley Hall. This is the term used at Ridley to denote the Senior Student of his year, who is elected by his fellow students as 64 their representative and is the go-between the student body and the staff of the college. While at Ridley, he was also one of three Anglican students from the UK selected to attend a five-month graduate course at the World Council of Churches Conference Centre in Switzerland, at Bossey, near Geneva. His Principal of Ridley described Robin as “one of the ablest men both academically and practically that we have had in living memory”. While at Bossey, he met the Revd C. Selvamony, who was Principal of one of the South India Theological Colleges and who initiated an interest in India that was to become such a major strand in his life. Ordained in 1960, he was curate at St Helen’s Parish Church and at Ormskirk Parish Church. In 1963, the Church Missionary Society accepted Robin for a post in the Tamil medium theological college in Southern India. After an initial period studying Tamil, he insisted on living in a village to accommodate himself to non-academic Tamil, and in tune with a dictum of the then General Secretary of CMS Max Warren, to “sit where they sit” so as to understand the milieu of those with whom he would share his days. He taught New Testament Greek, and wrote a Greek grammar in Tamil that is still in use. He remained for 11 years with the Church Missionary Society, as a College Lecturer and as an Adviser in Religious Education. From 1974-75, he worked as Chaplain Intern, University of Chicago Hospitals in USA. He returned to UK as Curate at the Church of the Holy Redeemer in Lamorbey near in Sidcup. From 1977, he served for eight years as Chaplain to the West Park Hospital in Epsom. He began a new career as an Analytical Psychologist in private practice in 1987. As a Tamil scholar, Robin wrote a number of books in Tamil on New Testament books, under the name of Alastair McGlashan. His translation of the Periya Puranam (The History of the Holy Servants of the Lord Siva) – one of the great books of Saivite religious literature, published by Trafford Publishing in 2006 – received critical acclaim. He is survived by his wife, Margaret, whom he married in 1977, and by a daughter, Vivienne. C. L. Mason (O 1947-51) Christopher was identified at Shrewsbury as someone who would give everything to Old salopian News any chosen career and that it was likely to involve service to others. He was seen as an excellent House Monitor and Captain of Rugby, generally good at all games, and a doer rather than a typical ‘academic’. Seale Hayne Agricultural College was apparently inevitable since the age of eight, when he had read his first book abut farming. His first farming experience was in Scotland and was much affected by an 11week harvest stint as a student at Torrorie Farm, Dumfries. He soon became manager first of Southwick and then of Torrorie. After some years he was able to take over the tenancy and he spent 30 happy years there with his wife Jean and three children. He ‘gave everything’ to his farming but equally to the community, as Chairman of the Rugby Club, of the Young Farmers Club, of the Agricultural Show, of the Dumfries Academy School Board. and of the Young Offenders Prison Visiting Committee. He also served as a JP for 17 years. In 1998 he and his wife retired to the Glenkens where, whilst enjoying building their garden and exploring new technology of sources of energy, he again became involved in local affairs, especially as local Chairman of the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme and Director of the Glenkens Community and Arts Trust, which transformed the disused primary school into a Community Arts Centre. Clearly Christopher was someone who gave so much to those around him, giving an example in his work and in his service that inspired and encouraged all, especially the many young people whose lives he touched. R. A. C. Miller (I 1960-61) Andrew Miller passed through Shrewsbury perhaps without realising it. He entered Ingram’s in January 1960 “very much larger and more mature than his colleagues”, and he found the restrictions of boarding school life not easy. His size and speed helped in football where he was a good, fast and lively member of 1st House in his first Michaelmas term, and he was a very promising oarsman (though described by his Housemaster as “likeable, and a good keen and clumsy games player”). An appendix operation making him off changes for the Lent Term of 1961 did not help; and he was in love. On the second day of the Michaelmas Term 1961 he took himself home, and decided to take his ‘O’ levels at the Technical College in Shrewsbury. After College he travelled to America and worked in the music world in Texas until the possibility of the Vietnam draft brought him back to England, where he joined the International Entertainment Agency. Clearly a brilliant music promoter, he launched Andrew Miller Promotions in 1976 and never looked back as he promoted tours by Mike Oldfield, Gallaher and Lyle, Supertramp, Twiggy and Joan Armatrading. In 1976 he showed his customary dedication and commitment to the job when he called on Joan Armatrading, on the day she headlined the Royal Albert Hall, between his wedding reception and his departure on honeymoon, with his new wife Anna (who had also worked with International Entertainment Agency), still in her wedding dress. Andrew Miller was known as a gentleman operating in what can be a cut-throat world, often relying on a handshake as a contract. This was the case with Barry Manilow, whom he promoted for thirty years, and many others. He staged a memorable Manilow concert attended by 50,000 at Blenheim Palace and returned there with Van Morrison and Joan Armatrading in 2004 and Rod Stewart and Diana Ross in 2005. Held in high regard by his business peers and his long standing clients, Andrew was also greatly admired for his charity work on behalf of Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy. Together with Willie Robertson, who pioneered the introduction of insurance cover for performers, they raised funds to build a therapy centre in London, and inspired other countries to develop their own facilities. They went on to enable the building of a BRIT School of Performing Arts in Croydon. In 1990 he staged ‘Knebworth 90’ where Pink Floyd and Genesis featured, alongside Paul McCartney, Eric Clapton, Elton John, Jimmy Page and Robert Plant, Cliff Richard and the Shadows, Dire Straits, Status Quo and Tears for Fears. The stars appeared for free in front of 120,000 fans and millions watching on TV; and there are many stars of today - including Katie Melua, Adele, Imogen Heap, and Jessie J - who are undoubtedly indebted to him for their training at the BRIT school. In 1994 he and Robertson received the Music Industry Trust Award. Andrew married twice and had two daughters. “He was a very, very good man, very principled and good-hearted. The huge amounts of money he raised for Nordoff Robbins and BRIT was a wonderful thing, a terrific legacy.” 65 A. G. B. Randall (O 1940-43) Photo taken at The Schools in 1941: Brian Randall (left) and his brother Bernard (right) are both wearing Oldham’s boaters. Bernard was killed in the War. Seated in the car are their mother, Mrs E. Randall and their surviving brother, C. L. Randall (now aged 84) Brian Randall followed his brother Bernard into Oldham’s in 1940 from Merchant Taylors, Crosby, and immediately entered into all that Shrewsbury offered an enthusiastic sportsman, particularly on the river. There was not much in the traditional area of classics that attracted him but he flourished in the sciences; and with a touch of magisterial snobbery he was reported as being “more interested in his sport and his future career than in academics”. Be that as it may, Brian was disappointed when his father withdrew him and moved him into the family tanning business for two years before he was called up for National Service in 1945. He had always wanted to join the Fleet Air Arm but having lost his brother Bernard and a first cousin in the war, both of whom were flying, he agreed to do his service in the coalmines as a Bevin Boy though as he was involved in moving explosives around he was hardly out of danger. In 1948 he returned to the family Bootle Tanning Company, which comprised a number of tanneries in Liverpool manufacturing sole leather for shoes and boots. However, due to the advent of synthetic materials for footwear, the industry was in decline and in 1955 after 70 years manufacturing. the family made the decision to close the tanneries. After a brief spell with British Enka, Brian established a card and gift shop “Carolinas” (named after his three Old salopian News children) in Formby, where he loved being totally involved in village life, of which his shop soon became a centre. He managed his shop until well into his midseventies. He was a founder member of the Formby Rotary Club and became a life member after 40 years service. Brian’s two passions were sailing and travel. He was first Commodore and finally President of the West Lancashire Sailing Club and very many hours were spent in his beloved GP 14 or talking about it in the Clubhouse. Offshore sailing and overseas travel to less well known destinations were annual events, at first with his family and, as they grew older, with an old friend. Together, for example, they drove through Russia and the Eastern Block (before the Berlin Wall came down), travelled on the Siberian Express to Outer Mongolia, and were with the students in Tianamen Square. Proud of his family, it was a joy for him to see his son Nick follow him to Oldham’s (1972-76) and see him go further by being in the winning crew at Henley and the National Schools’ Regatta and going on to give sterling service to the Sabrina Club and as Chairman of the Old Salopian Club; and then his grandsons Philip (O 1999-2002) and Christian (O 2007-12). And he loved being with his daughters Carol and Linda; though never persuading them to join him sailing, many hours were spent with their horses when they were young; and then with all his six grandchildren. His beloved wife Beryl died in 1994 and his daughter Carol devoted her life to his care through a long illness, which he fought bravely and without complaint. D. H. Shaw (M 1938-42) It is perhaps extraordinary that one of the most outstanding amateur sportsmen of his time passed through Shrewsbury and left no record of any sporting involvement during his five years at School. In fact Darrell Shaw’s reports merely talk of a very quiet School career, showing little initiative or zeal, except perhaps for playing the cornet (without any lessons). His final report simply states that he was going into the army – as all his colleagues were – and it seems almost as though he was not expected to do anything noteworthy in his life. It is not so extraordinary that boys who do not perhaps shine in their teens, blossom once they have reached adulthood. On leaving Moser’s, Darrell did indeed join the army and served in India. After he returned in 1948, he joined the Shiloh Group of textile companies as a management trainee. He learned the basics of carding, spinning and winding on the mill floor, studied textile technology at Salford Technical College, and was appointed General Manager of Shiloh’s condenser spinning plant in 1955. He joined the board of the company in 1961 and modernised its spinning capacity to produce a unique range of yarns for customers, such as the Ladybird children’s clothing brand. But while spinning was his business passion, he saw the writing on the wall for the Lancashire industry and gradually shifted Shiloh into the more promising health care market. He became Chairman in 1970 of a newly formed subsidiary which manufactured incontinence products and work wear, and later specialised in sterilisation and de-contamination services. He retired from the Board of Shiloh in 2003 aged 79, a man much respected by his workforce and by his customers. The spinning business was sold off, and failed, but the health care prospered under a new owner, Synergy Group. However, it was in his sport that Darrell made a considerable mark. He was a gifted all-round sportsman but it was at tennis that he excelled. He represented Lancashire from 1949 to 1964, winning three county singles trophies. In 1959, partnering Alan Mills (later the longest serving Wimbledon referee) he won all three rubbers – 15 matches – in group 1 of the inter-county championships at Eastbourne, an achievement that has rarely been matched. As a result of this he was selected to play for England. Many of his sporting triumphs were achieved while he pursued his day job running the cotton mill. When he qualified for Wimbledon (1951-54), his father was reluctant to give him time off; so on the first Monday he went to Manchester Piccadilly Station, bought a newspaper, checked to see if he was playing that day and, as he wasn’t, he went back to the mill. As manager he was only allowed two weeks’ holiday a year, so the Wimbledon rounds could only be managed as day trips. He once took on the New Zealander Mark Otway in the Northern Tournament in his lunch hour. Officials were generally sympathetic, one Yorkshire referee announcing, “We’ll give young Darrell a 20-minute break between finals, he’s probably had a hard night at t’mill.” The essence of his playing style was captured 66 in a photograph of him mid-dive, horizontal, during a Wimbledon encounter with Herbie Flam in 1953; he was particularly thrilled when his uncle spotted the picture in a Rome railway bookstall on the cover of an Italian magazine. Besides his tennis, he played in goal for the Liverpool Ramblers and later enjoyed squash at a very high level. When age forced him off the squash court, he took to golf and played regularly, and well, until he reached 80. He then joined a small group who played pool at the Northern Club in Manchester. His other hobby was owning second-hand sports cars; he changed his car half a dozen times a year, and in one year 24 times – attracting the attention of the Inland Revenue, which assessed him as a car dealer despite his assurance that he lost money on every trade. He was eventually advised to see psychiatrists about what had become an obsession. The first two failed to help him, but he declared his third consultation to have been a complete success – because the psychiatrist went straight out and bought a second-hand car. Malcolm Gracie, a close friend who played tennis, squash and golf with him for very many years, writes, ”Darrell Shaw was a lovely character, if slightly eccentric, an excellent family man who was unlucky to lose his wife at an early time in life, a good father to his two daughters, and a first class all-round sportsman. His behaviour on the sports field as well as the social scene was exemplary and I have never met a single person who had anything other than good things to say about him. What was rather surprising was the modesty and indeed shyness that characterised him – when it was his time as Vice President to become President of the Lancashire County Tennis Association, he resigned rather than accept the office. I am proud to have known him.” Perhaps that modesty and shyness appeared, when he was at school, as the ‘lack of zeal or initiative’. The world of sport, and of business, is much relieved that neither of those was apparent in his long and full life. J. P. Williams (O 1941-43) At the beginning of the War, John Williams moved with his parents and brother Hugh from his bomb-damaged home in Blackheath to his grandfather’s country house in Shropshire. He arrived in Oldham’s in his fourth term of secondary education, having started at Dulwich College, whilst his brother Hugh started Old salopian News passions. He was an articulate writer – his auto-biography is a delight – and a story teller and conversationalist. He and Dierdre, together for 42 years, had very many friends who miss him tremendously. his first term at the same time. The late start at Shrewsbury proved to be a bit of a handicap at the beginning, but he was clearly flourishing by the end of his school career. Perhaps the ceasing of Latin to be replaced by Art was of importance; perhaps it was position of House Captain of Agriculture, a crucial role during those war years. Service with the Royal Marines followed, spent mainly in the Pacific, where he developed a love of the sea which was always with him; as a young man he would spend his summer weekends crewing with friends and taking part in ocean races. His interest in art led him to a degree at the London Polytechnic School of Architecture, but it was towards books and publishing that he moved and soon, with his wife Deirdre, he owned a printing and publishing company in Ludlow, specialising in Fine Art books, until in 1973 a disastrous explosion and fire destroyed all that they had, and very nearly their lives. Only John’s quick thinking and courage saved them both, but they were badly injured. After that he owned and ran a stationery and second-hand bookshop in Framlingham, of which he was very proud, printing for Time-Life magazine. In the early 1980s he became good friends with Sir Hugh Casson and, working together, they set up a watercolour facsimiles business, which eventually became the Watercolour Foundation, launched at the Royal Academy, of which he became Chairman. John’s interests and passions were wide – travel, music, especially the piano, all forms of transport including steam power, painting, political and military history, and philosophy – with engineering and architecture being particular Arthur Robert Donald Wright (Headmaster 1963-75) The Rt Revd Roger Sainsbury writes: Donald Wright, who died on 19 July, aged 89, had already made his mark as soldier and educator, most recently as a housemaster at Marlborough, when I first met him in November 1963. He had driven from Shrewsbury School to Liverpool with Helen, his wife, during his first term as Headmaster, to see the work of Shrewsbury House, the school’s Mission, founded in 1903. I had been appointed Missioner by the previous Headmaster, Jack Peterson, earlier in the year. We were told that Donald had come to Shrewsbury School “with fresh eyes and without traditional preconceptions”, and that he might suggest that Shrewsbury House should be closed, as it was a hangover from the Victorian era, like other public school missions. But, when he saw our engagement in Christian mission in one of the most socially disadvantaged communities in England, it led to his becoming an outstanding supporter of our work and that of the Beacon Group Ministry, of which Shrewsbury House was a partner. He later described this journey to Liverpool as his “Damascus-road conversion”. Together, we started social studies courses, based at Shrewsbury House, for boys from the school, which opened many eyes to the challenge of the inner city; and a number of those boys have since become important pioneers in various forms of work in urban areas. He took a leading part with the diocese of Liverpool in building a new Shrewsbury House, in partnership with a new St Peter’s Church, opened in July 1974 by Princess Anne. One of my abiding memories of Donald is at the gate of Shrewsbury School, at the end of a sponsored walk with boys from the school and boys and girls from the club. He asked one of the club boys as he approached the gate, “Are you last?” He received the angry reply: “I'm not last. I am just at the back,” as in Scouse “last” means “useless”. In fact, the club boy was at the back because he was helping a struggling schoolboy to finish the walk. Eddie Cartwright, a former club boy and 67 voluntary helper in the 1960s, who became a professionally qualified youth worker, Field Officer for the Merseyside Youth Association, and Reader in the diocese of Liverpool, commented: “Donald Wright always looked stern, but his heart was in the right place, and he loved Shrewsbury House and West Everton.” Henry Corbett, the present Warden of Shrewsbury House, says that the social studies courses are still going, and nearly 50 sixth formers from the school visit Everton over three days each year. Donald’s conversion to “the Shewsy”, and his vital support of the new Shewsy, are well remembered. Donald was the youngest boy of a Wolverhampton family described as “Church of England, but still touched by a Methodist past”. I also believe that he was touched by the Quaker tradition; for, as a boy, he went to a Quaker school, where he was taught by the young W. H. Auden; later, when he was a teacher, one of his first posts was at Leighton Park, a well-known Quaker school in Reading. Perhaps, however, his experience in the Second World War, when he was a captain in the Royal Artillery, involved in the landing in Normandy, and later stationed near the Russian line in the East, where he saw at first hand some of the horrors of modern warfare, also helped to shape the compassionate Christianity that so many in Shrewsbury School, Liverpool, and, during his retirement, Wiltshire appreciated. In a family tribute at the funeral, his son Patrick said: “Early in life, my father developed a sense of what education could and should be. His was a Christian idea, and also a liberal one. He was convinced that education was about finding and releasing potential in people, opening doors in minds, equipping people to make their own decisions in the future.” This understanding of education was to be very important in his time as Headmaster of Shrewsbury School, and in 1971 as Chairman of the Headmasters' Conference. One of his staff at the school emphasised that his primary concern was to revitalise the religious life of the school, and he invited a range of distinguished speakers to preach in the chapel, including Henry Chadwick, David Edwards, David Jenkins, Dennis Nineham, Harry Williams, Stuart Blanch, and Donald Coggan. Coggan later invited him to be Archbishop’s Patronage Secretary, and Secretary to the Crown Appointments Commission. Old salopian News When Coggan retired, according to Henry Carpenter’s biography of Robert Runcie, Donald played an important part in “consulting a wide range of people about the type of person who should be chosen as the next Archbishop of Canterbury”. He still held that position when, in 1983, Runcie appointed the Commission on Urban Priority Areas to “look into ways in which churches can more effectively help those who live and work in our inner cities”, a Commission that was to produce one of the most significant church reports of the past 50 years, Faith in the City. I believe that Donald, because of his experience at Shrewsbury House, may have had some involvement in the Archbishop’s very important initiative. During his time at Lambeth Palace, Donald also chaired the William Temple Foundation, and he shared Temple’s concern about the impact of unemployment: “The gravest evil and the bitterest injury of the unemployed is the spiritual grievance of being allowed no opportunity of contributing to the general life and welfare of the community.” Helen, whom he married in 1948, was a great supporter of his work, both at Shrewsbury School and Lambeth Palace. They enjoyed 20 years of retirement in Coulston, in Wiltshire, where he was a very active member of his parish church, and a campaigner for defending the local environment. He is survived by Helen and their children. This obituary was published in The Church Times in November 2012. C OMING E VENTS Thursday 7th February: Curry supper at ASHA’s, Newhall Street, Central Birmingham. Thursday 14th March: Careers Fair (U6th & OS students) at Shrewsbury School. Sunday 12th May: Sporting lunch for UVI pupils, Masters in Charge, Coaches and representatives from the Old Salopian Sports Committee; Guest Speaker, Tim Lamb (1966-71), Chief Executive of the Sport and Recreation Alliance. Friday 7 June: Old Salopian Birmingham and Midlands Branch Summer Reception at The Lord Leycester Hospital, Warwick. Wednesday 3rd-Sunday 7th July: Henley Royal Regatta (School reception on Wednesday 3rd July and Sabrina reception on Saturday 6th July). For more details, please visit: www.shrewsbury.org.uk/page/osevents Printed by Creative Digital Printing, Shrewsbury (01743) 263030 68