The Old Berkhamstedian 2024

THE OLD BERKHAMSTEDIAN 2024

The Old Berkhamstedian

Note from the Editor

Back for a surprise second stint like some kind of copy-editing David Tennant or –heaven forbid – Donald Trump, I find everything’s still in order. You’re all continuing to reunite, have babies, pick up awards, tussle for golf trophies and write gripping accounts of adventures and ancient misdeeds.

All that and more can be found within, and the process of gathering it all again starts now – so please send in your news, stories, memories, achievements, even editorial ideas, whenever you’re ready. Just don’t embed photos in articles. No one wants that.

Special thanks go to Lynne Oppenheimer for collecting and collating all of this, to Vicky Rees for chipping in when needed, and to Heather Blinco at Lavenham Press for making the magazine look so good, whatever ludicrous deadline I set her.

President’s Message

Welcome to our 2024 Old Berkhamstedian magazine! There has been a lot going on since we last went to press and I very much hope that you enjoy this year’s offering.

I would like to welcome two OBs back to our team. Firstly, Matthew Horton (Sw ’90), who has stepped back into his editorial role and, secondly, Andrew Bale (In ’75), who has very kindly returned to the Executive Committee of TOB as our new Treasurer. We are extremely grateful to them both and indeed to all those who give their time to help this alumni organisation operate as effectively and efficiently as possible. Thanks must also go to the many OBs have helped the School in a number of ways over the past year, including offering support as mentors not only to current OBs but also to Sixth Form pupils, attending School careers events, supporting students on the Young Enterprise Scheme and at the new Sixth Form Industry Networking event.

I would like to mention a few key points of news that may be of interest:

Our Connections website and social networking platform goes from strength to strength, with approaching 3,000 signed-up Old Berkhamstedians. If you have not yet signed up, I would encourage you to do so, as it really is the best way to keep abreast of all that is going on in the OB and School community.

I am especially pleased to report that the TOB VAT issue has been fully resolved and settled in summer 2023. With delays exacerbated by Covid, your OB Council are delighted to be able to draw a line under this matter.

You will read in this magazine of several new OB events that have taken place in the past year, including the A-level Art Evening, Old Girls’ 50+ Lunchtime Summer Reunion, the Rowing Club Reunion and a casual London Drinks event to name a few. We are also grateful to the School for inviting OBs each term to attend a day of ‘home’ School sports matches. All the above have been well received and we plan to repeat them in 2024. These are in addition to our regular reunions and events. In 2024 we also look forward to some new events and some old ones, but in a new format!

Our AGM on the evening of Tuesday 5th March will take place in hybrid format this year, rather than exclusively by Zoom. The short business part of the meeting will be followed by a social Cheese and Wine evening at the School to which all OBs and Hon OBs are welcome.

The Council has decided that we trial an OB Luncheon, to alternate with the traditional OB Annual Dinner, in the hope that it will be more accessible for some. On 16th March this luncheon in the Old Hall, Castle Campus, will follow a memorial service for former Headmaster, Jonty Driver (Hon), to be held in the School Chapel.

On 25th March, we are excited to welcome Cat Haigh (Re ‘13) to introduce and take questions after a viewing of her recent and very successful

film Women Behind the Wheel, which will be shown in Centenary Theatre. (See later article for more information on this).

Our special summer reunion this year is for those Old Boys and Girls who left Berkhamsted School 40-50 years ago (i.e. between 1973 and 1984) and will take place on Sunday 23rd June at the Berkhamsted Golf Club. So, if you fall within this group, please look out for notices nearer the time and gather your friends to join us.

Finally, a mention must be given to inform you of recent work carried out on our digital archives. In the past year, TOB has funded a complete upgrade of the functionality of our digitised School and OB magazines. These are all accessible directly via the Connections platform, and the various new features make searching across recent and old magazines much more speedy and comprehensive. The OB Trust Company has also funded the resurrection of the Archive website – BSArchive.org – which was relaunched at the end of 2023. The work of the School’s Archivist,

Principal’s Message

Lesley Koulouris (Hon), from a few years ago has now been brought back to life, affording everyone the opportunity to learn more about items held in the archives, and to follow new additions and contributions as they come in. Huge thanks to Lesley for all her work on this project and for the support we have received from SDS in bringing this facility up to date. This work is accessible via both the Connections and School websites.

My term as President is drawing to a close. It has been a huge privilege to meet and work together with so many OBs over the past three-and-a-half years, and to work so closely with the School. Thank you for entrusting me with this role. I hope that the work The Old Berkhamstedians’ Council has done over this time will stand us in good stead for the future. Thank you all for your support and special thanks to fellow Council members and to our hard-working staff Vicky and Sarah. I wish Peter Willson (Co ‘66) all the very best when he takes over the reins in March.

Dr Brigitta Case (Norris) (NS ‘80)

On the surface, 2022-23 was a year particularly dominated by some high-profile successes: netball players celebrated the 1st VII being National Champions twice, footballers celebrated reaching the quarter-finals of the ISFA cup (the furthest a Berkhamsted team has progressed in that tournament), and the DofE department celebrated taking 59 students to collect their Gold Awards on the same day.

Under the surface, this was a year in which the building of a new Sixth Form building finally cleared the last of the planning conditions (after a protracted battle involving the local council and the Environment Agency). In the planning stages, few of those involved could have imagined the nature of the delay that would be caused by an

old gasworks beneath the site. When this closed, in the early 1900s, the sludge caused by heating coal to make the gas which lit the town was left in situ. From then until now, it’s been possible for this to leak out. After protracted negotiation, the scientific means to lock this in, and stabilise the ground for a building, was agreed, and a historic hazard was averted.

In some ways, this seems to me to be an apt metaphor for the developments in education in recent years. Historic hazards have been excavated, analysed and are being made safe, so that pupils can go into a world in which their merit, not their colour, gender, background, sexuality or religion, determines whether or not they will succeed. That provides a healthier environment for aspirant young pupils.

And so it’s apt that it was also the year in which the largest number of our 100%-bursary pupils reached the end of their time in the School. These pupils came to us from a number of partner organisations, including the Royal National Children’s Springboard Bursary Foundation –serving inner-city children from all over the UK who deserved the breadth and depth of a boarding education here. Or they came to us from the Chiltern Learning Trust in Luton, of which Denbigh High School was our pioneering first partner. Others came via Hertfordshire Virtual Schools who oversee the education within the county of children in care, or fostered, or who are evacuees or refugees from other countries. Finally, through the HMC Eastern Projects team, we took boarders from Ukraine last year.

One of these students wrote to me as follows when they left:

‘Being given the opportunity to study at this amazing school and environment was like a light that appeared to me when I was in my darkest time of life. I am very thankful for the two amazing years I had in this school and for the amount of support everyone in the school gave me. I could never imagine how it would be without this support. So I wanted to say thank you for giving me this opportunity and trusting on me sir, this opportunity has opened the way to many other opportunities in my life and I am so grateful for it. I have learned so many important lessons from this school and teachers and members of staff that will help me forever in my life after Berkhamsted and I hope one day I make the school proud and return favour by helping others. Thank you so much.’

Of course, some of this work will be put at risk if, following an election, a government enacts legislation to apply VAT to school fees. Maintaining a diverse range of pupils in the School will become significantly more challenging in that context for those schools, like Berkhamsted, which fund almost all their bursary provision from current income. As ever, I would be delighted to speak with any former pupil who would like to support our bursary programme and help us sustain the long tradition of providing deserving young people from diverse backgrounds the chance to thrive at Berkhamsted alongside our full-fee-paying pupils.

Treasurer’s Report

The Old Berkhamstedians Limited

Following the sudden resignation of David Dodds (Lo ’75), I was approached by the Committee and asked if I would be prepared to take on the

Treasurer’s role for both The Old Berkhamstedians Limited and The Old Berkhamstedians Trust Company Limited that I previously held some nine years ago. As I have now retired from full-time

employment and have more time available, I was happy to take back the role. I am conscious that since my last involvement there have been a number of changes in the way we are funded and various other challenges, but the fundamental principles have not changed.

There were no accounts included in the 2023 edition of The Old Berkhamstedian but I am pleased that we have included the accounts this year with the comparative numbers for 2022 shown.

One change on the balance sheet of the accounts which I would like to highlight is the change of the name of the Life Subscription Fund, which has now been re-named as General Reserves. After discussion with our accountants and given the fundamental change in the way we are funded it was clearly no longer appropriate or correct to retain this name.

The VAT issue which has been around and a real concern to the Committee since it arose in 2020, has now finally been resolved and settlement has been reached with HMRC. We had provided for the expected liability and the final sum paid was less than our provision and the difference has been released.

The year has been a fairly active year, with continuing support for our affiliated clubs and a number of functions giving opportunities for Old Berkhamstedians to meet up again.

Our investments have performed reasonably well in the year. A number of holdings have been sold and reinvested. All the disposals bar one made a profit and the proceeds have been reinvested. The level of dividend income has risen in the year but still has some way to go to get back to pre-Covid levels. However, it is moving in the right direction. While the market value is lower at the end of 2023 than 2022 (but still 13% greater than cost), I am less concerned about this as global markets are still very volatile due to both geopolitical events and ongoing economic challenges. Our strategy in the medium to long-term is to grow both the level of income and the capital value, but this will take time.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Richard Case (Be ‘79) for the work he did maintaining the records following David Dodds’ resignation and prior to me coming back on board. It has certainly made my life easier in the relatively short time I have been involved. I would also like to thank our Administrator Vicky Rees (Hon) for her ongoing support and help.

The Old Berkhamstedians Trust Company Limited

In 2023 we made an increased level of Travel Grants and continued to support the Knox-Johnston Award. We also made payments to support the School Archive and will make a further payment in support in 2024.

Our investment income has increased in 2023, which is pleasing and should allow us to continue to offer Travel Grants and support the Knox-Johnston Award going forward.

As mentioned in the Treasurer’s report last year, a decision was made to increase the risk rating on our investments from level five to level six. One of the consequences of this was that our investment managers sold either part or all of a number of holdings to reinvest, with an intention of achieving higher growth and higher income in the medium to long-term. The disposals yielded a mixture of profits and losses but a net loss overall. The market value of our investments at the end of July 2023 is down by just under 6% in comparison to July 2022 but is still approximately 3% higher than cost. In contrast, our income has increased by just under 7% in the same period. As with the Old Berkhamstedians, the strategy is to achieve growth in both the Capital Value and income in the medium to long-term.

We will continue to carefully monitor how we spend the funds we have available, given the inability of TOB Ltd to support us as it used to and our reliance now on dividends and donations/ legacies as our only sources of income.

THE

The Old Berkhamstedians O ce

2023 has been an exciting year in the Office, with new events in the programme as well as the regular reunions. We have been working hard to bring stories to life through the Berkhamsted Connections website as well as working with the School Archive to develop a new website to display the heritage of the School. We are creeping closer to 3,000 people registered online to the Connections website, with the number of those in clubs and signing up as mentors continually growing. It’s a great way to keep in touch and up to date, so if you haven’t yet signed up, please do so.

New events this year included the A-level Art, Photography and Design & Technology Exhibition where more than 30 OBs gathered with current students and parents to view the exceptional work on display by Y12 and 13 students. Another new event was the London Drinks, which took place in September, the idea being an informal get-together for those based in or visiting London. This inaugural event proved very popular with 50 attendees signed up and feedback was very positive, so both this and the Art Exhibition will now become regular events in the Old Berkhamstedian calendar.

We were also in a position to help the School with one of their new events, The Employability and

Entrepreneurism Networking Dinner, where 20 OBs came back for an evening with current Y12 and 13 students, to offer help and advice on possible approaches to the world after education.

We continue to look at how we can improve the service we offer to all of our former pupils, so if there is something new you would like to see, please do get in touch. Equally if you would like to volunteer to become more involved, we would love to hear from you.

Sarah and I are based in the offices at Overton House on Berkhamsted High Street and are in the office every morning, so if we can be of any help at all, please drop us an email or give us a call.

The Old Berkhamstedians Trust funded this clock which overlooks the Grass Quad at the Girls’ School at Kings Campus, to ensure that both Campuses had something in place to mark this momentous milestone of our late Queen. The Friends of the School generously funded a similar clock at Castle Campus.

It has been positioned beautifully amongst the greenery over the covered playground and will hopefully mark the milestone for many decades to come.

Trustees

The Berkhamsted Society

Two major focuses for the Berkhamsted Society within the last academic year have been on the production of the first Annual Sustainability Report and the inaugural Community Impact Report.

We know that we play an important role in developing young people’s attitudes to sustainability, as well as in the performance of Berkhamsted School from a green perspective.

The School has a commitment to incorporating sustainability into its core activities of teaching, learning and operations. To guide us through the initial stages of our journey, we engaged with Orbis Advisory Ltd.

Orbis Advisory created an Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Roadmap to assist the School in progressing our sustainability agenda. The creation of the ESG Roadmap included a review of the School’s existing ESG documents, an analysis of stakeholder expectations and an evaluation of sector best practice. These were undertaken to understand the School’s current position and to develop key timelines and milestones for progression.

The Roadmap showed that we are already in a strong position with many ESG initiatives in place. We also have a number of exciting initiatives coming up over the next few years. With the

support of Orbis Advisory and by following the steps outlined in the Roadmap Report and the Annual Sustainability Report, the School is looking to be able to improve ESG performance further.

We were delighted to be able to share our first Annual Sustainability Report with the wider community. I hope that the steps we are taking will make a difference and will, perhaps, encourage others in the local and wider communities to start their own paths to a more sustainable future.

The Berkhamsted Society ties together the School’s interactions with several key groups of constituents including the Old Berkhamstedians, the Friends of Berkhamsted School, current and former parents, current and former pupils and the local community. The Society aims to strengthen relationships between people, building social capital and having an impact on the local and wider communities.

In considering the breadth of impact that Berkhamsted School has had and continues to have via the very much-valued partnerships it has developed, we were pleased to be able to share our first Community Impact Report with those in the local and wider communities.

Once again, the Society facilitated social interaction within the local community by hosting events throughout the academic year. These events included a Wine Tasting Evening held in Berkhamsted Town Hall, an Audience with the Reverend Richard Coles, a Spring Wreath Making Workshop and a Williams F1 Miami Grand Prix Race Experience Day. All these events proved to be extremely popular and successful.

During the Wine Tasting Evening, the guests were introduced to six wines from different countries around the world, learning about the different regions, grape varieties, tasting techniques and what to look for when choosing wines. A selection

of cheeses and bread accompanied the wines. Father Michael Eggleton, an accredited tutor with the Three Counties Wine School, was the guide for the evening.

We were absolutely delighted to welcome the Reverend Richard Coles to Centenary Theatre, Berkhamsted School, for what was a truly memorable evening. Richard spoke to a capacity community audience about his journey so far, and what a rich tapestry of a journey it has been. Through recollections of his pathway through the world of 1980s music to his life as a Reverend, Richard captured us all with his warmth, humility and humour. He will always be welcome in Berkhamsted.

We invited guests to a special Spring Wreath Making Workshop experience, and Laura and Sally guided them through each process from wiring moss and creating the base to adding the finishing touches using a mixture of fresh flowers and foliage. With all materials provided, each wreath was a unique creation. Before they knew it, guests were in full creative swing and on their way to having the sunniest door in their street. We said farewell to the winter months and welcomed in the lighter and longer days!

A coach-load of lucky guests enjoyed a Grand Prix Race Day at the Williams Experience Centre located at the home of the Williams Formula 1 team in Grove, Oxfordshire. The day included a review of qualifying with an exclusive live Q&A with one of the drivers, trackside links to the Williams control room and the live screening of the race itself. With a tour guide, guests visited the Williams Grand Prix Collection, the largest private collection of F1 cars in the world, housing more than 40 of the team’s seminal race cars, and tested their driving speed on the 20 F1-style driving simulators and supersize Scalextric track.

Please keep an eye out for our future events.

The Friends of Berkhamsted School

It was a good year for The Friends, filled with a variety of events, including the popular Quiz & Curry night and the magical Winter Ball at Ashridge, followed by a series of events in 2023 including the traditional and lively Burns Night, Local Coffee Mornings in Berkhamsted, Beaconsfield, Harpenden and Amersham, and the fabulous musical family event Proms in the Quad.

We successfully continued welcoming and connecting new Senior School parents through WhatsApp Groups and Facebook, as well as the pre-summer Transition Day Coffee Morning, making them feel part of the Berkhamsted parent community.

At the Prep School, more than 300 children danced the night away at the popular Spring Discos and the Pre-Prep hosted two super-successful events including the Summer and Christmas Fairs, both with record attendance.

The 2023/24 school year kicked off with an Induction Day Coffee Morning in Old Hall, welcoming those many new parents in Y7, 9 and 12.

The return of the Michaelmas Fayre

We were excited to bring back the Michaelmas Fayre after a five-year break. This whole-school event was a big success and Castle Campus was buzzing with around 2,000 people, including parents, grandparents, students (from Pre-Prep to Sixth Form), teachers, OBs and others. More than 150 parents volunteered throughout the day and a record £23,700 was raised through a host of fun House activities, parent-run stalls, a Christmas Market in Deans’ Hall, the ever-so-popular Santa’s Grotto and more. Proceeds will be used to fund projects that will benefit the students across the School, as well as two local charities – DENS and Toy Hub.

It is thanks to all those wonderful parent volunteers that The Friends are able to create such a thriving parent community at Berkhamsted School.

Acacia carvings at the Michaelmas Fayre

This display was set up at the Berkhamsted School Michaelmas Fayre. All the items are made from the acacia tree that stood in the main quad for more 150 years. The day proved very successful and £1,100 of sales were made. All the items were made during the past year. I never fail to be amazed by

the beauty of the wood. The tree contained a lot of burr with incredible patterns. It was pollarded many years ago and the new growth produces very nice little Christmas trees with a white touch like snow on the branches. I started producing just bowls but, with the help of YouTube, new ideas have developed and I now have about 10 varieties of finished items.

The money raised so far paid for the grave of a WWI VAD nurse to be refurbished. She worked at the Beeches and died from influenza just before

the end of the war and is buried in Rectory Lane Cemetery. It also assisted in purchasing the Medals of JEM Carvel (OB) who fought in WWI and, in the 1930s, secured the freedom of 300 Jews from Dachau. He was posthumously recognised as a British Hero of the Holocaust. The money raised at the Fayre is to be used to refurbish the grave of Millicent Nelson, who attended Berkhamsted School, and died aged 19 in 1900.

The Berkhamsted School Archive

Another year has flown by, with much research, many visitors and various packages of donated items.

The Remembrance services always bring requests for artefacts and stories about Old Boys and Girls and 2022-23 was no exception. Our departing Chaplain spoke of three sisters and the work they undertook, while their brothers were away fighting, and our Head of History based his recent assemblies around the Prefect’s book, whose annotations, written in red ink by Headmaster Charles Greene, record the fate of those killed or wounded; a task he found intolerable as the numbers grew.

A brief history of the School was requested, to accompany tours of the premises for our two incoming governors, and information that had

come to light led to the Head of Heatherton wondering if there was any connection between themselves and The Beacon School.

Old Berkhamstedian RWP MacKenzie, a 21-yearold Spitfire pilot, was the subject of a February enquiry. Making it back to Dover but losing height, he left it to the last moment to bail out of his badly damaged aircraft, directing it away from the houses below. His parachute became entangled in the plane and he died in the crash. He is one of 18 names commemorated on the Chesham Bois War Memorial.

Berkhamsted Cricket Club will celebrate its 150th anniversary in 2025 and is in the process of collating match information. The School played against the town on many an occasion.

Rugby School, which celebrates the bicentenary of the game of rugby football this year, got in touch requesting information about Berkhamsted’s rugby history. They have recently launched a website which will have a map documenting how rugby clubs and teams were started all over the world and they wanted to add as many schools as possible.

Records and artefacts from the archive were requested as part of the DofE presentation at Ashridge House, when the pupils and staff met with the Earl of Wessex to talk about their involvement in his late father’s project.

Research for books is a regular part of my working year and the authors are usually kind enough to donate their published works. Books written by or about Old Berkhamstedians are available to borrow.

A School Values induction film, schemes for a house refurb and a tea party for Swifts have all used information, articles and artefacts from the archive, and some enthusiastic Y8 English sets came across to look around the Exhibition Room, to help with their study of RC Sherriff’s Journey’s End.

Berkhamsted School for Girls was host to 256 pupils and 24 staff from South Hampstead High School for five years, due to evacuation during WWII. I’d received a lovely enquiry about this episode of school life from the granddaughter of a former pupil. Intrigued by Granny’s stories, she wanted to know more. I directed her to

the digitised School magazines, which she was going to share with her Granny, whose memory for past events was as sharp as ever –remembering that the train that was supposed to stop at Berkhamsted just steamed on through to Northampton! The evacuated girls and staff eventually arrived in Berkhamsted, three days later than expected.

Keeping with the Girls’ School and WWII, an American author contacted us recently to ask several questions about the School in the 1940s. His mother-in-law, a former pupil, had arrived as a refugee from Germany on the Kindertransport and spent five years as a member of the Beeches and School House. He is working on a screenplay and is using much of his mother-in-law’s actual life story, which includes her schooldays. Having been linked to the digital magazines, he emailed back to say that he’d just spent ‘half an hour browsing the 1940 magazine, and I feel as if I’ve been living in England during the war.’

Visitors this past year have travelled from as far away as New Zealand, British Columbia, Australia, Germany, Phoenix, Arizona and Bedford!

The Heritage Open Days crowd and the Graham Greene Festival are back into the swing of things and both enjoyed their weekend tours of the School.

You may remember that back in 2014, HRP Kensington Palace asked to borrow Peter the Wild Boy’s collar as part of the Glorious Georges exhibition. Ten years on and they have asked to borrow the collar and the part petition for another exhibition, which opens in 2024. Entitled Untold Stories, it puts the spotlight on those that lived and worked behind the scenes in the Royal households.

Donations and finds continue to come in by post, in person and from within the School cupboards! The latest are former Heads of Art-related – photographs, cine film and a script notebook from Brian Bennett’s family, plus an album full of photographs of sketches, drawn on a blackboard for her A-level students by Alma

Duncan Rafter. A selection of these sketches has been framed and displayed along the science corridor at Kings Campus.

Finally, the upgrade to the Archive pages, which includes embedding past stories from the defunct bsarchive.org site is now complete. It is hoped that the upgraded site will be much easier to navigate.

Koulouris (Hon)

A British Hero of the Holocaust

An auction lot came to the attention of the Old Berkhamstedians in early November 2023. Noonans Mayfair auction house were offering for sale a collection of medals, catalogued as historically important. They had been awarded to an OB,

who was posthumously recognised as a British Hero of the Holocaust. The sale was to take place on 8th November, so time was limited if we were to bid. Mike Horton (Sw ’64) was called upon to set the ball rolling and funds were gathered from the OBs, the School and the ever-giving acacia tree. The estimate price was exceeded – not by much, but enough to make it a close-run thing. Berkhamsted’s bid secured the lot. A vote of thanks must go to Mr S Hammond, a member of our Estates team for bringing the medals auction to the attention of the School community.

Read on to learn about the Holocaust hero.

John Eric Maclean Carvell

JEM Carvell was born on 12th August 1894 and was educated at Berkhamsted School – Uppers 1903-1912. He was commissioned Second Lieutenant on 9th September 1914 and was posted to the 16th (County of London) Battalion (Queen’s Westminster Rifles), London Regiment as temporary Lieutenant on 30th November 1914. He served with them during the Great War on the Western Front from 23rd January 1915 and was promoted Captain on 28th April 1917. Twice wounded (on the second occasion the bullet reputedly lodged between his heart and his lung), rather than take a discharge he took a posting as an Instructor to the Portuguese Army from 1917-18 and then as a Staff Captain, HQ London District, 1918-19. He transferred to the Territorial Force Reserve on 30th July 1919.

A career diplomat, Carvell had various postings. Firstly, as British Consul to the Republic of Haiti, at Port-au-Prince in 1920. This was followed by postings to Finistère in France, Munich in Bavaria, State of Rio Grande do Sul at Porto Alegre in Brazil and again to Munich in the late 1930s. He was appointed British Consul General at Algiers in 1942 and Arizona in 1946, then Envoy Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Quito, Equador in 1948 and Sofia, Bulgaria in 1951.

He retired from the Foreign Service in 1954 and died at Bungay in Suffolk on 29th April 1978.

As Consul General in Munich, Carvell used his position to issue certificates to 300 Jewish men imprisoned in Dachau concentration camp for ‘race defilement’ (marrying or having relationships with non-Jewish German women). These certificates enabled the men to leave camp and travel to British Mandated Palestine in 1937.

As a result of his and his colleagues’ efforts to aid the escape of Jews from Germany, a memorial plaque was unveiled at the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London.

The plaque reads: ‘To commemorate those British diplomats who by their personal endeavours helped to rescue victims of Nazi oppression’.

Carvell was posthumously awarded the title British Hero of the Holocaust in 2018, along with his counterpart in Lithuania, Sir Thomas Preston. The title is a special award given by the British Government to people who helped or rescued Jews and others facing Nazi persecution before and during the Second World War. It was created in 2009, following a campaign by the Holocaust Educational Trust to ensure that their actions were properly recognised. The first awards were given in 2010.

The story and the medals will be on display in the Exhibition Room at Castle Campus.

Lesley Koulouris (Hon)

24th Graham Greene International Festival

The 24th Festival was held in late September/ early October at the School. Despite a train strike, festival goers from across the country came, along with people from Holland, Germany, Spain, Austria, Iceland, Italy and the USA – and not forgetting the Canadian Festival Director, Richard Greene from Toronto.

Two films were shown:

Neil Jordan’s The End of the Affair (1999), and Joseph Mankiewicz’s The Quiet American (1958). Novelist Shirley Day discussed how Greene’s works were adapted for the screen and how he adapted the works of others. Greene collaborated on a screenplay for the 1940 film 21 Days, an adaptation of John Galsworthy’s The First and the Last, directed by Basil Dean. At that time the screenplay writer had to include a huge amount of cinematic detail. There seems no doubt that this training influenced Greene’s novel writing.

Professor Kevin Ruane gave an analysis of the background to Graham Greene’s 1955 Vietnam novel, The Quiet American, and the 1958 and 2002 film versions. In the 1958 film, produced, written and directed by Joseph Mankiewicz –a supporter of US policy in Vietnam – the American is wise and the Englishman is naïve: a complete reversal of Greene’s novel. Greene hated the film, regarding it as ‘treachery’. The ‘wise American’/naïve Englishman’ roles are reversed in the second film of the novel.

Eighty years ago, Graham was working at MI6. His boss and drinking companion was the double agent Kim Philby. Historian Scott Newton considered how the smiling villain of modern British history may be understood in a more nuanced and sympathetic way.

Since Graham died in 1991, the people alive who knew him are getting rarer. Jon Wise

interviewed Graham’s nephew and antiquarian bookseller Nick Dennys. When Nick’s mother, Graham’s beloved sister and assistant, Elisabeth, became ill, Graham wanted to provide for her by the sale of his archived material, so his nephew was tasked with finding a buyer – as it transpired, Boston College. Nick Dennys provided snippets related to his uncle’s writing. Greene’s play A House of Reputation, for instance, had its origins in marginal comments he made in his copy of a collection of Chekhov short stories. Jon Wise suggested Greene still acted for MI6 long after officially leaving the service. Nick’s opinion was that Graham could not be thought of as an agent, but, having ‘an extensive contact list’, remained an ‘adviser’ to the service. He described his uncle as ‘reticent in manner’, but ‘assertive.’ His failure to be the sort of husband that Vivien craved gave him a profound sense of guilt that never left him.

The novelist, biographer, and poet Jay Parini, suffering from Covid, delivered his talk via Zoom from Vermont. He is best known for the film of his novel, The Last Station, about the end of the life of Tolstoy. He first met Graham Greene at a lunch for mutual friends. It led to further meetings and Parini visited him in Antibes in the mid-1980s. Now he is writing a novel, Greene in Africa, and the festival was treated to a reading from it.

My Man in Antibes is the title of the new book by Michael Mewshaw, who knew Graham Greene for many years, having first met him in 1972 when he was 29 and Greene 68. During his friendship Michael observed the depressive nature of Greene. He gave us examples of amusing anecdotes during these meetings which showed either Greene’s joke-pulling or his serious side (Michael found it difficult to tell), including a ‘sculpture’ described as being a medical applicator.

Dr Beatriz Jiménez delivered a fascinating talk on how concerned Greene was with standards in journalism: his fiction shows a great awareness of and concern for the ethics of journalism. This includes the spread of disinformation; whether journalists should be detached or show

empathy; and whether the press should foster a critical attitude among the public towards the news they read.

Mike Hill considered the puzzle of the Nobel Prize in Literature never being awarded to Graham Greene. Greene was nominated in 17 of the 23 years between 1950 and 1972, achieving second place in 1961. Anders Österling, Nobel chairman from 1947 to 1970, was originally opposed to Greene’s candidacy because of his young age (46) in 1950, but became persuaded that the writer was observant, global and ‘a fully-fledged candidate’ by 1961. Other objections in 1950 included the claims of Per Hallström that The Power and the Glory was ‘dry and colourless’ and that Brighton Rock was ‘a detective novel’.

Matthew Butler from the University of Texas at Austin gave a detailed account of Father Macario Fernández Aguado, the Mexican priest who seems to have been the model for Greene’s ‘whisky priest’ in The Power and the Glory. There are some clear parallels – both were the last priest in their region, both were alcoholics – and some contrasts: Macario did not have an illegitimate child, and he was not executed. And there is one crucial contrast. The whisky priest’s background in the novel is very sketchy, but we know a great deal about Macario, not least because there is a rich store of clandestine correspondence from 1926 onwards.

Creina Mansfield and Mike Hill tried to explain why fellow Catholic author Anthony Burgess had such a problem with Graham Greene. Burgess placed Greene on a pedestal, and desperately wanted his literary acknowledgement. It seemed that Burgess must have snapped due to the lack of return praise and became quite bitter. In 1988, his jealousy was apparently too much for him. He said in an interview that he was offended by Greene’s

brand of Catholicism, his bizarre friendship with Kim Philby, his advanced age and especially by Greene’s ‘living arrangements’. But despite Greene’s attempt to tell his side of the story,

the bad-tempered Burgess, having lived longer than Greene, got the last word.

Giles Clark (Be ’72), Chair of the Graham Greene Birthplace Trust, and Mike Hill, Editor

The Festival was presented by the Graham Greene Birthplace Trust and supported by Berkhamsted School.

The Old Berkhamstedian Lodge

I had the pleasure of being Master of the Lodge in 2023, taking over from Rob Petrie and his successful tenure which saw us return to business as usual following the effects of Covid.

The Old Berkhamstedian Lodge is in the enviable position of all current officers going through their roles for the first time with several more waiting for their opportunity. With the support of the more experienced members of the Lodge and holding of regular ‘Lodges of Instruction’, our meetings continue to be well attended with members and visitors enjoying a high standard of ceremony and enjoyable festive boards on the grounds.

I would like to thank all our members and officers who have taken the time to assist this year and I look forward to our new Master Elect Tim Pemberton (Co ‘92) – who has already been busy lining up new members to join – taking over from me In February 2024.

Our continuing steady growth puts the Lodge in a healthy position at a time where some are handing in their warrants after the downturn from the Covid pandemic. This growth has also allowed us to field new roles, a dedicated Membership Officer and Assistant Charity Steward, both taken by our new members to help further grow the Lodge and allow Keith Goddard (Ad ‘62), our Charity Steward, to pass on his wealth of knowledge and talents.

We continue to seek new applicants who wish to join. The Old Berkhamstedian Lodge is open to those with links to the School including Old Boys, teachers and support staff, and parents and partners of those connected to the School.

We retain strong links with the School, meeting and dining on the grounds and supporting its members and the local community.

Charity is a core part of our Masonic activities; we fundraise and contribute to local causes as well as larger nationwide Masonic efforts. Our Charity Steward, Keith Goddard, continues to be active in presenting opportunities where the Lodge can assist with suggestions taken from any member. Causes we have helped with donations so far include the Willen Hospice, Westfield School and Room to Learn, which meets the educational needs of underprivileged children in India. We have also contributed to the School charity efforts, following discussions with their charity co-ordinator, with last year’s donation going towards bursaries for Afghan and Ukrainian students.

We have also contributed to larger provincial causes including the funding for a new Community Support Vehicle for St John’s Ambulance and an emergency donation to a provincial drive to raise £10,000 for five food banks in Hertfordshire. This drive exceeded expectations, raising £51,000 with match-funding from the Masonic Charity Foundation (MCF) enabling us to support a further three food banks.

Keith has also been busy at home, turning and selling various bowls from the wood from the acacia tree that had stood on the Gravel Quad, with the proceeds going to charitable causes. A fitting use of the remnants of such a well-known part of the School!

Berkhamsted School Highlights 2023

National Youth Orchestra success

For some, the 2022 Christmas holidays were a restful, calming period. For two Berkhamsted pupils, however, they were anything but. Maddie (Y11) and Freddie (Y13) were both part of the National Youth Orchestra (NYO), who embarked on a tour of Great Britain, playing concerts in four cities in some major musical venues, including the Barbican in London. The London performance received a five-star review in The Daily Telegraph. Maddie (who won Berkhamsted’s Young Musician of the Year competition in November) was straight into her GCSE mocks after Christmas, but we caught up with Freddie to hear all about the experience.

Freddie, who has played the cello since the age of five, is now into his second year in the orchestra. ‘I remember the first time I got into the orchestra and having such a great time meeting new people and playing great repertoire, so I would recommend it massively to anyone who wanted to get involved.’

On the tour, Freddie, along with Maddie and the rest of the NYO performed in ‘four locations: London, Nottingham, Warwick and Liverpool. Each one of these was as thrilling as the next, but with each different performance came a new colour in the music. This might not have been there in other concerts, and that stands out to me as something that makes playing with the NYO so special. Obviously, there were some nerves for each performance – what if I start to play in a rest, or accidentally pluck a string? – but these are what makes playing in any orchestral environment so exciting. The audiences were also a key part in creating a great concert and at each venue we were warmly received with lots of applause and standing ovations.’

Getting into the NYO is an achievement in itself. As Freddie explains: ‘NYO advertises that anyone

of Grade 6 standard upwards can audition for a place in the orchestra. A relatively good ability to sight-read helps too. You get your parts a month or two before the course, and when you’re in the orchestra it becomes a lot easier playing with everyone else.’

Congratulations again to both Freddie and Maddie on an amazing achievement.

Brains at Berkhamsted

Psychology A-level is an increasingly popular option for Sixth Formers at Berkhamsted, and after a fascinating ‘Brain Day’ led by Dr Guy Sutton, it is easy to see why. The day not only served as an introduction to university-style study for Y13 students, but also offered a taster of what is to come in their studies for our Y12 psychologists.

Dr Sutton is Founder and Director of Medical Biology Interactive, which offers seminars and tutorials in applied science and medicine to

schools and universities, as well as the health, legal and business sectors. We were delighted to welcome him back to Berkhamsted for what is now an annual event.

Dr Sutton ran two identical workshops in the morning and afternoon, meaning Y13s were able to study and engage in smaller groups. The workshops took in study of neuroscience and mental disorders and aimed to push pupils beyond their A-level syllabus into degree-level territory. The workshop was deliberately structured to be similar to university-style teaching, with a lecture followed by a practical workshop and another lecture to conclude.

It was evident that the pupils relished this opportunity, both as an academic challenge and as an opportunity to get a taster of university-style teaching. Plenty of questions were asked throughout the two lectures –‘A Neuroscience Tutorial’ and ‘The Shattered Mind’ – and at the end of the sessions too. These lectures bookended a practical session – the dissection of a sheep’s brain!

As pupils Archie and Joel explained, the chance to see the dissection of a sheep’s brain ‘meant that we could see practically what we had studied’. They also particularly enjoyed Dr Sutton’s openness to different ideas and concepts, which allowed for wide-ranging questions and discussions – meaning pupils could explore their own particular interests in detail.

Dr Sutton certainly made use of his time, with a lunchtime talk on ‘The Present and Future of the Brain’ given to all Y12 Psychology students in Centenary Theatre. Y11 and 10 girls interested in studying Psychology were also able to attend what proved to be a highly intriguing and engaging talk on what is happening in the world of neuroscience and where it could go in the future. It touched upon the moral and ethical questions that developments in neuroscience such as brain-computer interfaces raise, with these being discussed by pupils long after the talk had concluded.

Mr Barr, Head of Psychology, summarised:

‘The day has been an invaluable super-curricular opportunity for pupils to unravel the mysteries of the brain with a leading expert in his field. Where the brain’s concerned, science fiction really is becoming science fact.’

Brain Day highlighted not only what can be studied at Psychology A-level, but also gave a real insight into what study at degree-level might look like, as well as introducing pupils to developments in a highly important scientific field. A big thank you must go to Dr Sutton, and to Mr Barr and the Psychology Department for organising.

Netting the title

Congratulations to our Berkhamsted 1st VII Netball team, who were crowned National Schools Finals Champions 2023 on Saturday 11th March. They secured their title after a gruelling day of tournament play, against the best teams in the country. In their pool, they played against eight other schools, winning seven out of eight matches and beat Hartpury College, in a very close-run final, winning 11-10.

This is a phenomenal achievement for an incredible group of players. The girls endured two qualifying rounds to gain a place at the National Finals. Following the first round where they were undefeated against 10 other teams, they became County Champions and then went on to compete in the Regional Finals representing Hertfordshire. The icing on the cake was the team’s victory in the Sisters n Sport National Netball Cup for Schools, defeating Oldham’s Blue Coat School in the final.

Huge credit goes to this talented generation, coached and supported by ambitious and dedicated teachers, Mrs Wates, Mr Burgess, Mrs Holt and Mrs Costin. The hard work of staff and pupils has paid off and this title is so well deserved! This team of remarkable people have built their legacy and left their mark on Berkhamsted Netball forever.

Where the art is

On Thursday 22nd June 2023, OBs were invited to attend the annual exhibition of the current A-level Art, Photography and Design & Technology work. The evening was held in the Chadwick Centre at Castle Campus and other attendees included parents, students, staff and governors.

The artwork on display covered a variety of themes that have been chosen as part of the A-level course, and the quality was outstanding. It was very interesting to see the various interpretations of the briefs. The Y12 and Y13 photography was thought-provoking and showed great technical skill as well as creative talent. We were also fortunate enough to view several

projects from the A-level Design & Technology students, which showcased the skills required to take an idea from conception to fruition. The sheer amount of work and research that the students had put in was evident. Details were also given as to where the students will be going on to study once they leave Berkhamsted. It is testament to the School’s excellent Art, Photography and D&T departments that such a variety of universities, colleges and courses were featured.

A room was also devoted to the work of the current Artist-in-Residence at the School, Zoe Wilkinson, and it was interesting to hear about what motivates her and influences her work.

It was a great occasion for more recent OBs to re-connect with their teachers and plans are being made for some of those OBs to return to the School to work with the Y9 Art students. We were joined by more than 30 OBs, so are hoping this will now be an annual event as there is clearly interest.

Clare Edwards (Battye) (OS ’95)

Stalking the corridors of power

On the morning of Monday 12th June 2023, the A-level Politics department at Berkhamsted School had the pleasure of visiting the Houses of Parliament to see both Chambers and enhance our learning of the processes of both the House of Commons and House of Lords.

The trip began with a beam of optimism, almost as bright as the sweltering June sun of

Westminster, as students travelled into the capital looking forward to exploring some of Britain’s most historical institutions. Following the walk to the Houses led by the equally giddy Mr Findlay, we were shown a short clip by the tour guides about the history of Parliament and how our country’s government has evolved with the monarchy.

The guides split the group in four and embarked upon a tour of the Houses, giving us the opportunity to enter the hallowed Sovereign’s Entrance – a unique experience that all students relished and would reflect positively on at the end of the trip. The guides showed an abundance of knowledge about the artwork surrounding us and, with their words, painted a picture of history we could not have fathomed by ourselves. This part of the trip was thought to be a highlight by many as we entered both Chambers and were given the chance to stand in the same spots as many of our political heroes – an experience in which I concluded it would not be the last time I was stood at the Prime Minister’s bench in the House of Commons…

With the political juices flowing and a new wealth of knowledge in our brains, we had the pleasure of speaking with Steve Baker, MP for High Wycombe. This was a surreal moment for many of us as we had never interacted with someone of Mr Baker’s political importance, as seen in his involvement with the post-2019 Brexit government.

However, the introductions had only just begun, as we were lucky enough to have a vast Q+A session with many members of the Westminster cycle. This included an introduction to James Nation (Ch ‘08), who serves as a Special Adviser (SPAD) to PM, Rishi Sunak. This allowed behind-the-scenes access for all of us to see how high figures work and how Berkhamsted shapes the current government. Additionally, we had the opportunity to speak with three current sitting MPs. We first got to speak with Shaun Bailey, the MP for West Bromwich West, who opened our eyes to the role he has as an MP in an underprivileged

area and how difficult the job can be when winning a seat unexpectedly.

Following this, we interviewed Mark Fletcher, the new MP for Bolsover, who defeated the infamous Dennis Skinner in the 2019 General Election. This followed on from Mr Bailey’s talk by further illustrating the difficulties in making change in underprivileged regions of the UK. Furthermore, both interviews provided us with an interesting perspective on MPs who had recently opposed the party leadership of Boris Johnson.

We also had the chance to speak with Ruth Henig, who is a sitting member of the House of Lords. Her words were starkly different to the MPs we had been with and showed an eagerness to understand how our young minds saw the current state of the House of Lords. Baroness Henig was able to capture her career in a short time and give us serious insight into the processes of the House of Lords. Our morning was finished with a session with our MP, Gagan Mohindra. This gave us the opportunity to find out what actually happens within our constituency and see the tangible effects of an MP in a town such as Berkhamsted. Mr Mohindra was happy to answer our questions on his career and why he is proud to serve South-West Herts.

Overall, our morning in the Houses of Parliament was a unique experience that we will cherish for many years. The morning was considered by many to be the best part of the trip and possibly even of our Politics A-level so far!

On 12th June 2023, the Politics students of Berkhamsted had the opportunity to visit the Highest Court of Appeal in the UK – the Supreme Court. This is the same place where Boris Johnson’s attempt to prorogue Parliament was deemed ’unlawful.’ We had a detailed tour of this historic building, including the main court. We learned how it was designed differently to courts of lower appeals. Examples of this include the jury being placed on the same level as the barristers, solicitors and the accused. Seats are shaped in an oval layout to improve discussion. The prosecutors and defendants also sit on the bench to reinforce that it isn’t one against another.

Our guide gave us the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to re-create a court case! This was an honour and privilege for all of us. The case was R v Gnango on the presence of joint enterprise. This is a common law doctrine where an individual can be jointly convicted of a crime another committed if the court foresaw the other party was likely to commit that crime. I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to debate on behalf of the prosecution, issuing my points to the Lords and Ladies in front of me – my peers. They were then given the opportunity to make their own judgement. It was an honour not only for me but for everyone to speak and sit in the prestigious courtroom: a trip to remember, a trip to be carried on and most importantly a trip we all enjoyed.

Our special thanks go to Katy Craven (Altman) (Bu ‘82) who went above and beyond to organise the speakers for the group.

Hitting the right note

April 2023 saw pupils from across the Girls, Boys and Sixth give some wonderful musical performances at the Charity Music Concert in Castle Chapel.

The concert was raising money for the charity Music for All, which aims to enable better health, wellbeing and education across the UK through music-making. As well as raising money for Music for All through the generous donations of our school community, the concert also aimed to bring awareness to the importance of music-making beyond school and within communities. With performances from two visiting musicians (Annabell Pidduck and Sam Dolling), the concert demonstrated to the pupils involved where music might take them in the future and the opportunities it provides. It also provided a friendly, relaxed atmosphere for pupils to gain performance experience in.

As well as the exceptional and inspiring performances from the visiting musicians, the concert contained a wide range of musical instruments and styles, from the Star Wars theme tune to Tchaikovsky to pupils’ own original compositions. A unifying factor, however, was the talent and evident hard work of the pupils involved which really shone through in their performances. The concert was an excellent reminder of the confidence that music can build and the rewards that hard work can bring.

A big thank you must go to the visiting musicians Annabell and Sam, Miss Lay and Miss Masterton for organising, Mr Noithip and Mr Melling for accompaniment, and to catering for providing drinks and nibbles. Thank you also to all who attended and who generously donated to Music for All.

Sport at StoneX: Lacrosse and rugby take to the big stage

The StoneX in London; a state-of-the-art sports stadium home to Saracens Rugby Club and with a capacity of 10,500. Rather than Premiership rugby, however, Wednesday 19th October saw it host Berkhamsted’s Lacrosse 1st X and Rugby 1st XV in back-to-back games against St Catherine’s School and Clifton College respectively.

A match at the StoneX has been on the 1st XV’s fixture list for some years now, but this was the first time that they were joined by the Lacrosse 1st X.

‘Having the opportunity to play in such a big stadium in front of our friends and families was an honour and memory no one will ever forget. Being the first lacrosse team to compete at the StoneX was a privilege,’ said Ellie, 1st X captain. ‘I also think it was great for younger players to be able to watch the 1st team play and get an idea of what they could be aspiring to in the future.

‘One of the biggest highlights for me was being able to show people who had never seen lacrosse before what a great sport it is and prove that it is as important as any other sport, as well as showing all the hard work that the team had put into training to get us to where we are.’

The matches were watched by no less than six busloads of pupils and members of staff, along with a very healthy showing of parents and Old Berkhamstedians, which meant that despite the stadium being a neutral venue, the atmosphere was very much that of a home game. ‘The highlight of the game was when we first ran out with the

crowd roaring,’ said James, 1st XV captain. ‘It gave me goosebumps.’

The crowd were treated to two high-quality matches and the evening was a real celebration of school sport, providing an excellent opportunity for our rugby and lacrosse players to showcase their ability in front of peers, teachers and parents.

Once the matches were finished, it gave those involved a chance to reflect on what they had experienced. ‘We were all very happy with ourselves because of how we played together and how hard we worked,’ said Ellie, ‘and I really enjoyed watching everyone else play the sport they loved.’

‘It was such an amazing chance to play in a stadium like that in front of friends and family, as well as the chance to hopefully inspire other people to try out new sports,’ added James.

For those in Y13, the StoneX fixture also served as a pinnacle of their sporting careers at Berkhamsted, and a culmination of all they have learned from school sport. ‘I think Berkhamsted rugby has made me more confident and has helped me make a lot of friends,’ said James, while Ellie added, ‘Being part of such a great lacrosse team has taught me a lot: how to work with different people, and to show perseverance and diligence when it matters most.’

Both teams and their captains can be extremely proud of how they conducted themselves on and off the field, and they have taken a great deal from what was an unforgettable experience. Thanks must also be given to all at Saracens and the StoneX for hosting the matches, to staff involved in coaching the teams, and to all those who came along to support.

You’ve got to laugh

Lead Happiness Consultant is a title most people have never heard of before. However, that is the role of Dave Keeling from Laughology, who came to deliver an inspiring – and very funny – talk to our Y10 pupils on Friday 30th September 2023 as part of their Learning Pathways programme.

Laughology is a training and consulting organisation focused on the psychology of humour, laughter and happiness. Dave’s talk –titled ‘The Amazing Brain’ – was focused on giving the pupils an understanding of how their brains work and how to learn effectively. Dave spoke about how memory functions, the importance of sleep, and the role that emotions play in how and when we learn.

Dave then focused on the fact that learning is something that pupils will need to keep doing beyond their school years – we keep learning throughout our lives and beyond the focus of the classroom. Dave’s very amusing and quick-witted delivery meant that this message was delivered in a way that was engaging and memorable for the pupils involved.

This message dovetailed excellently with the Y10 Learning Pathways programme, now in its second year. Learning Pathways aims to build pupils’ critical thinking skills, communication, teamwork and creativity – vital tools that they will need in the world beyond the classroom.

Over the course of Y10, Learning Pathways pupils complete an online course, independently research a variety of sources in an area that interests them, deliver a talk to their class on their research, and produce a final ‘Showcase Piece’ –a mini project that could be anything from an essay or a short story to a piece of music or a series of photographs.

As Dave highlighted in his talk, most jobs in the future will fall into two categories: ‘social context’ (put simply, being good with people) and ‘creative application’ (being creative). The variety of tasks and experiences that Learning Pathways exposes pupils to is a useful tool in helping to prepare

pupils for these jobs and to help them thrive in the future.

Dave’s talk served as an excellent way to kick off the Learning Pathways programme and to get them thinking about the skills they will be developing over the course of the next year, and beyond that too. It was clear that the pupils enjoyed the humorous approach to the talk, and that they gained a clearer understanding of how their brain learns and what they can do to take care of it.

Thank you to Dave and Laughology, and to Mr Godman and Miss Dickson for organising.

The roar of the greasepaint

May 2023 saw Centenary Theatre treated to a wonderful performance of Beauty and the Beast, as the whole of Y6 brought the classic tale and accompanying songs to life. With rehearsals beginning in January, all involved, from Director Mrs Turnley to the cast and crew, were hard at work for quite some time. The performances clearly demonstrated the value of practice and perseverance and the rewards that these values can bring, as, across a dress rehearsal for local schools and two shows, the cast gave a fantastic, utterly committed performance. It was also obvious that those on stage, whether they were a principal role or part of the ensemble, were having a lot of fun too. The value of this in drama is not something that should be forgotten.

With principal roles played by a different pupil in each act and multiple whole-cast numbers, there was plenty of opportunity for a range of pupils to shine and display their acting and

performance skills. All of this took place against an incredible set, put together by Mr Cross, and was accompanied by the music of the band, led by Mr Melling and Mr Noithip. Meanwhile Miss Carr and Mrs Brown both worked incredibly hard as Musical Director and Choreographer respectively.

Whether it was sound, lighting or working backstage, the show was a great example of the power of collaboration, as staff and pupils from across the Prep School, Senior Schools and Sixth all contributed to the performance. Many of the costumes and props were put together by the talented parents of the pupils involved, making the show a truly group effort.

Mrs Turnley commented: ‘We were all blown away by the children’s energy and commitment during show week. They learnt a great deal about the discipline required both on and off stage. The songs are still being sung in the corridors by the Y6 children and will be remembered for a long time to come.’

The remarkable character and achievements of the 2023 cohort

Despite the Government return to the pre-pandemic grade boundaries of 2019, Berkhamsted students have performed admirably in their A-levels, with 89% of those who applied securing their place at their chosen university.

Alongside an array of achievements in aesthetic, athletic and adventurous activities we applaud the character of this year group refined through tough exposure in the pandemic, which shone through in the leadership of the pupil body, its ambition, innovation, and mutual care.

The last five years have represented a period of uncertainty, not least in the assessment of young people aged 18. At the same time as celebrating the achievements and flourishing of our leavers, we look forward to a period when all school leavers in the UK can rely on a predictable and fair system of assessment for entry into higher education or the workplace.

During their time at Berkhamsted, our leavers have gained so much more they can be proud of than exam grades, and skills that will be the foundations for their bright futures. We look forward to watching the development of our remarkable students as Old Berkhamstedians.

News of 2020s Leavers

After leaving school in 2021, Joseph Clayton (‘21) joined a Degree Apprentice Programme and has since made huge leaps. ‘I have been working for the Royal Household at Buckingham Palace since October 2022,’ Joseph tells us. ‘In July 2023 I was awarded a medal for the work I contributed to the King’s Coronation in May. It was a true honour to receive this in recognition.’

Jack Pemberton (‘22) and Gwydion Wiseman won the men’s Under 21s Eton Fives Championship in association with Advanta Wealth at Eton on

Sunday 24th January 2023. Eighteen pairs took to the start line on a freezing cold day at Eton, with a healthy contingent of Shrewsbury pairs, plus current school players from Mill Hill, Harrow and St Olave’s, as well as students from Oxford, Cambridge and players who learned their fives at Harrow, St Olave’s, Westway, Marlborough, Highgate, QEB, Alleyn’s and Berkhamsted.

News of 2010s Leavers

James Holroyd (SG ‘11) and his wife Hannah are delighted to announce the birth of their daughter Thea Marty Holroyd, born 22nd August 2023, weighing 8lb 12oz – and include a photo of their first outing as a family.

The future’s bright for Alex Nisbet (‘19) who has just graduated from York with a BSc in Mathematics.

Cameron Perry (Na ‘15) is now a film director whose work is defined by a focus on societal stories and an attention to human connections. In 2019, his short film Better Together found success, winning the UK Nespresso Talents and was consequently being screened at Cannes Film Festival that year. Cameron’s latest short film When the Clapping Stops is about the desperate state of the UK care sector. The film follows a young care worker who struggles to access support from his agency during the Covid-19 pandemic, while also caring for his terminally ill grandfather. To read more about Cameron’s work go to cameronperry.co.uk

Former Head Boy, Jed Thirkettle (SH ‘18) shares an inspiring story: ‘Growing up I was always slower, weaker and less physically developed than my peers. The doctors kept telling my parents that I would begin to catch up soon and that nothing was wrong, but this wasn’t the case. At the age of eight, I had a muscle biopsy, where we received the devastating news that I had Ullrich Congenital Muscular Dystrophy. The prognosis? I’d need a wheelchair within the next few years, I’d be on a ventilator by 14 and I’d be lucky to make it past 20. From that point forward, Team Jed was born.

‘Friends, family and groups of individuals from all over came together to raise money for Team Jed – a fund dedicated solely to raising money for research into Muscular Dystrophy. As a collective, we have raised more than £250,000 and don’t plan on stopping until those after us can live a life without physical limitations.

‘To mark 24 years of life, on the 4th and 5th November 2023 I will be working out for 24 hours straight while raising money and awareness for Muscular Dystrophy (not so clever now that the reality of this event has set in!)

‘Exercise has been a massive part of my life –it has helped keep me fit, mobile and healthy, both physically and mentally. It is not something I have the luxury of avoiding, but luckily I have grown to absolutely love going to the gym day-in-day-out for the past nine years (the first 14 years of life were spent absolutely despising physiotherapy!)

‘I am very fortunate that I am still mobile enough to exercise, but this is not the case for most people living with Ullrich Congenital Muscular Dystrophy, and many other muscle-wasting conditions. Out of pure appreciation for my circumstances, I wanted to use this freedom that I enjoy in the best way possible – fighting to raise money for those who are no longer able to.’

News of 2000s Leavers

Gwilym Batchelder (Re ‘01) tells us, ‘My wife, Emily, gave birth to twin boys on 18th May 2023 – Jesse and Noah Batchelder. Jesse weighed 7lbs while Noah wasn’t far behind at 6lbs 9oz. Both boys are doing well as is their mum. Dad is the hands of the operation! They are rarely empty with two!’

An update on the role played by Edd Colbert (Ch ’09) at the UK’s 1st Agroforestry Show:

‘2023 saw the UK’s first ever Agroforestry Show, an event organised by former Berkhamsted student Edd Colbert, that brought together more than 1,200 farmers and foresters to discuss ideas about integrating trees and farming.

‘Agroforestry is the intentional combination of trees and farming systems which can be achieved in a wide variety of designs, for example livestock-grazing woodlands or orchards or lines of fruit trees running through fields of cereals or vegetables (known as alley cropping). Hedgerows are also an example of agroforestry as they support biodiversity and provide shelter and protection to crops and animals. The benefits of these different practices are tremendous and range from mitigating flood and drought, increasing farm resilience to climate change, boosting biodiversity, improving animal welfare, and of course diversifying and enhancing farm income.

‘Edd – who runs his own consultancy business, agroforestrydesign.co.uk – works with farmers, foresters and funders to design and implement effective agroforestry systems. The idea of the Agroforestry Show first came to him while running training courses in the Cotswolds. He realised that for agroforestry to really become a mainstream practice the historic division of farming and forestry sectors had to be broken down to allow for new conversations and collaboration between those who work with trees, and those who work with farms. Farmers typically work in annual cycles dictated by crop rotations and animal life cycles,

yet arborists and foresters often have to think decades if not generations ahead to manage woodlands and trees. The latter group also have the skills, knowledge, and networks to manage, harvest and market tree products – something farmers are often not familiar with.

‘Working in partnership with the Woodland Trust and Soil Association, the Agroforestry Show was created to bring these two communities together through workshops, talks, farm walks and a night-time rave with DJ-turned-regenerative farmer Andy Cato (of Groove Armada fame). The event was supported by several major sponsors, including Sainsbury’s, Tilhill, the Forestry Commission, and Farmer’s Weekly, as well as 50 organisations exhibiting and showing their support for agroforestry. The two-day line-up was packed with 120 speakers from businesses, UK governments, and environmental groups across 40 different sessions – the audio recordings of which will be live at agroforestryshow.com soon.

‘The event was the first of its kind and the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, setting the stage for possible future events to celebrate and champion the UK’s growing agroforestry movement!’

Big news from Victoria Nicholson (Mellor) (Na ‘09): ‘I married my husband, Paul, on 8th July 2023 in the Cotswolds at Cripps Barn. There was a whole table of Berkhamsted School friends, as well as my brother and two cousins (Thomas and Joshua), who also went to Berkhamsted. Despite the rain, it was a glorious day! OBs at my wedding were:

Tom Mellor (Ch ‘08), Josh Mellor (Ch ‘11), Harry Mellor (Sp ‘12), Jess Charman (Mason) (Na ‘09), Tom Partridge (SH ‘08), Matt Griggs (Bu ‘09), Elliott Mears (Na ‘09),

Ed Burdett (Bu ‘09), Jake Collins (Na ‘09), Nick Colston (Bu ‘09), Nick Beaver (Bu ‘09), Ben Knop (Na ‘09) and Alexander Kaye (As ‘09).

Mark Oppenheimer (Na ‘02) and his wife Michelle would like to announce the birth of their son Archer on Friday 3rd February 2023, a brother for their daughter Riley.

Isabel Organ (née Steiner, of New York City) and Jack Organ (Ch ‘06) got married at Castello Tafuri, Portopalo di Capo Passero, Sicily, Italy on 20th May 2023. A number of Old Boys and Girls attended, including Mark Smith (Bu ‘06), James Boulter (Re ‘06) and Rob Jones (As ‘06) – who were all groomsmen –and Adam Eisenstadt (Ha ‘06), Lavinia Blogg (SH ‘06), Alicia Painter (SG ‘06), Marcus Hallan (Ha ‘06) and Georgie Haywood (Nicholls) (NS ‘87).

The School was delighted to welcome back James Rodwell (Fr ’02) to Berkhamsted last year, to coach the Senior and Sixth boys in rugby sevens.

James was part of the England national rugby sevens squad from 2008 to 2019 and held the

record of the world’s most capped sevens player, having played in the most consecutive tournaments and most tournaments in the World Rugby Sevens Series. He was an Olympic silver medallist in 2016 and won a bronze medal at the 2018 Commonwealth games. After retiring from professional rugby, James became the assistant coach for the men’s and women’s England sevens teams and finished as Head Coach with England women’s sevens. His coaching experience at the highest level was a huge benefit to Berkhamsted pupils.

James was at Berkhamsted between 1991 and 2002 in Fry’s and Hawks House, before leaving to go to Birmingham University. He was a first team rugby player as well as a first team hockey, cricket and fives player.

Reflecting on his rugby career, James commented, ‘To be successful, you need to be dedicated and work hard to achieve your best performance. While not being the most successful player at school, I continued to try and train hard before it all fell into place during an U16 training match at Chesham Fields, when I had a change of mindset. I decided to go in for a robust tackle, which gave me so much confidence and made me realise that I had potential for the game.

‘It was at that moment that I fell in love with the game and continued to improve through training at university and beyond.’

James took the Berkhamsted rugby sevens teams to the Herts County tournament where the U13s and U16s were victorious, and the QE Barnet tournament, where the U14s were finalists and U16s were plate finalists. The U14s played in Reigate, finishing as runners-up in the cup competition. The 1st VII team put on a fantastic performance at the National School Sevens Cup at Rosslyn Park, just losing in the semi-final to eventual winners Harrow School.

Mike Turner (Ch ‘07) remembers joining Berkhamsted in the Prep School before moving on to Swifts, where he was Head of House, and finally Churchill. He’s delighted to announce that ‘in July of 2023 I welcomed my first child, a baby boy named Charles, to the world. My wife Bex and I were thrilled and all are doing very well.’

News of 1990s Leavers

News from Richard Dawtrey (Co ‘94), now an investment specialist, who has recently been elected chairman of the prestigious 100 Property Club in London. Richard is partner and Head of Investment at national property consultancy Vail Williams and was introduced as the club’s new chairman at the organisation’s annual meeting and 78th club lunch, held at the RAF Club in Piccadilly, London.

Here’s Mehul Desai (SH ‘93): ‘My wife and I would like to announce the birth of our son, Jaiden, born on 20th July 2023. Amita Desai and I are now living in London (Shepherds Bush) and would love to reconnect with others – I do plan to attend more Berkhamsted events.’

News of 1980s Leavers

Alix Matthews (Blumsom) (NS ’83) brings news of a Blumsom family reunion. Over to Alix: ‘The Blumsom siblings, including Giles (Be ‘78), David (Gr ‘80), William (Gr ‘80), Alix and Lizzie (NS ‘84) recently got together for a long weekend in Bordeaux, to celebrate David’s 60th birthday. David and Lizzie both successfully completed the Marathon des Chateaux du Medoc, which, for the initiated, is a full 26.2-mile marathon, with mile-marker points serving a variety of food and wines from the local chateaux in and around Pauillac. Just to add to the occasion, they dressed as Barbie and Ken!

‘While they were running, the rest of the family visited Chateau Loudenne locally, where Giles spent two seasons (some 45 years ago!) helping with the vendange, sparking a lifelong deep appreciation for the merits of a good red wine!

‘It was a fabulous weekend and much fun was had by all. We’re now planning where to go for William’s 60th!’

News of 1970s Leavers

Richard Coupe (Sw ‘71) tells us, ‘Elizabeth and I have moved back to the Cotswolds, now the lockdowns have ceased, and may be contacted through the OB Connections facility. I have taken on the role of Co-ordinator of the Religious Education Network, linking RE providers across the UK to share news and resources via a single site. So, a busier retirement than imagined!’

Richard Eames (Be ’78) has recently retired in Luxembourg. After leaving the UK in 1990, he lived in Brussels for more than 20 years before moving to the Grand-Duchy in 2013.

Like many others post-pandemic, Richard travelled more last year and included a trip to New Zealand for sightseeing and cricket. As luck

would have it, he witnessed the ebbs and flows of 10 days’ hard-fought test cricket leading up to those two ultra-close finishes in Wellington and Christchurch. The photograph was taken near Aoraki (Mount Cook), an area Richard describes as a physical geographer’s paradise.

Richard has been an active cricket umpire for more than 15 years, officiating in 18 different jurisdictions along the way. His international record includes half a dozen recent T20Is in central Europe. He also enjoys hiking, often registering more than 2,000km a year, and he has participated in 20 marathons since 2016. He does, however, prefer not to mention his times.

Nicholas Sudbury (Co ‘74), who read Classics at Pembroke College, Oxford, brings news of his new book: ‘It is entitled Vir in Via and is a walking guidebook to Modern Rome, covering all the usual tourist haunts – but there is an “ancient twist”: the book contains much more emphasis than one normally finds on the ancient remains and traces that exist underneath the routes described as the walks proceed. I hope that it will appeal not just to any fellow Classicists, but also to general visitors who perhaps want to look beyond the obvious. It is published by Bradt Guides (Journey Books) and can be ordered at any normal bookstore outlet (including Blackwell’s and Waterstones), as well as being listed on Amazon.

News of 1960s Leavers

More book news from James Cannon (Lo ‘65):

‘Over the last year I have had two books published. The first by Routledge, entitled Toxic Cultures at Work, and the second by Austin Macauley, with my son, entitled Aha! – A User’s Guide to Creativity. They are both available on Amazon. This last book was a pleasant finale to my writings, as the first book I wrote, entitled The Nicky Line, The Story of the Hemel Hempstead to Harpenden Railway, was written with my father (an OB of the 1920s), and this last was with my son.

A fine achievement from Jane Gibson (Sloan) (Ho ‘60) who at time of writing was ‘just back from running the Chicago Marathon. First in my age group – Over 80s. This will be a surprise to those who remember me as being totally useless at sports.’

News of 1950s Leavers

in the final of the 100m Freestyle at the World Masters Aquatic Championships in Fukuoka, Japan.

John Williams (EJ Williams) (Be ’54) received a British Empire Medal (BEM) in the New Year Honours, for Services to Conservation and the Community in Rutland. He’s pictured with his wife Patricia Williams (Goodliffe) (NS ‘56), on the day he received the award.

News of 1940s Leavers

Colin Day (Ad ‘47) writes to tell us, ‘My wife and I celebrated our 70th wedding anniversary on 19th September 2023. We moved to the USA after our early years in Hertfordshire, and we have two sons, six grandsons and five great-grandchildren. We live in Illinois now after 40 years in Boston and watched the Coronation on television at 4am – unlike the previous one, which we watched from our office in London. We’re in reasonable health at 92. I remember all the years at Berkhamsted School.’

FROM ALL QUARTERS

The greatest story never told

In 1959 Ben-Hur was the must-see film, with its half-hour chariot race. However, in those days, major films did not go on general release for several years and the Odeon Leicester Square was the only place to see it.

So Roddy Griffin, Nick Hall and I (all Adders) decided we had to go! We chose a Chapel morning and hid in the changing rooms. When George Grace did his ‘sweep’, he only looked at the floor, so we hung from the hooks with our feet pulled up… He duly did his sweep, lit another Woodbine and left.

The tricky part was the walk back to the station. We did this individually and met at the downline waiting room, where we tried to look as inconspicuous as possible.

The journey to London went off without incident, and, having time to spare, we spent the morning in Soho – in those days a real den of iniquity. The best lunch, we had been told, was at the Guinea Piggy where you could eat as much as you liked. We did.

The film was a great success, and as well as the chariot race, one of the most memorable scenes was the pounding of the drums in the slave galley ships. I seem to remember we left early as it was a long film, and, arriving back at school unseen, collected our caps and went home.

We were never discovered and this is the first time the story has been told in public.

P.S. I went on to become a School Governor for 21 years – I believe the first ever from Adders!

Women Behind the Wheel

Cat Haigh (Re ‘13), together with best friend Hannah Congdon, planned, co-directed and filmed an incredible 3,000km- and three-month-long road trip along Central Asia’s Pamir Highway, through Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. An adventure on its own! But this was no simple student trek. Cat and Hannah were on a mission to discover more about the lives of women in these regions.

We witness stunning photography as they drive through the region, with sometimes treacherous roads, interspersed with encounters with more than 50 women of all ages and walks of life. It is a documentary about how women live in these parts of the world and how they assert themselves in many different ways in an often male-dominated culture.

The movie has been very well received, winning and being nominated for several awards.

It was shown at the Rex Cinema, Berkhamsted, in March 2023, appropriately close to International Women’s Day.

We are delighted to have secured the opportunity for a viewing of this remarkable film at the School’s Centenary Theatre on the evening of Monday 25th March 2024.

A beginner’s guide to Prounducks

How many are around now who were in Overton during the war, and probably afterwards, who remember playing Prounducks? (I don’t know where the name came from). Weather seemed to be much harsher in those days and there were times when we could not use the playing fields. We usually trekked up to the common to play.

Reggie Gulland had just joined Overton as Housemaster in 1942 and may have introduced the game, which is based on rounders but designed to keep more players active as players are not waiting their turn to bat.

All the equipment needed is a tennis ball and a wooden ‘bat’, which has a flat surface about three inches wide and about 30 in length. There is no fixed size to the internal playing area, but it’s around 20 yards wide by 25 to 30 yards long, usually marked by coats or string.

Honesty is essential as players must keep their own scores. A run is scored each time a player reaches one end or the other. All players start behind the baseline.

Let us assume there are 15 in each team. To start off, three could be chosen as batters. The remainder will be making runs. It is essential to ensure there is a least one person at base besides the batter in case all remaining players are left at the other end.

The ball is bowled in a similar way to rounders and the batter has three legal chances to hit it (the master in charge is referee). If the ball is caught without bouncing, the whole side is out.

Please do save the date – it will be an experience not to be missed and Cat will be there to field any questions you might have.

For more information, head to their website

catandhan.wixsite.com/womenbehindthewheel

Brigitta Case (Norris) (NS ‘80)

After one bounce the batter is out.

Once the ball is bowled, players can run if they want to. A player is out if hit by the ball thrown by a fielder. The ball can be flying in all directions as fielders try to hit the runners, and is live until players have stopped running. The fielding side will therefore need to back up all throws otherwise the ball could end up anywhere, thus allowing the batting side to accumulate runs. Quite often the most runs would be scored by the youngest insignificant boy, because the fielding side did not want to concede runs by failing to hit the boy, thus opening up the field for others to make runs. (Is young Marchant reading this?)

As each player is out, the batting side must continue to ensure there is someone to bat, so the captain must keep an eye on those left in the base area to make sure the players do not all finish up at the wrong end.

A player cannot turn back after starting a run.

Once the team is out the players give their scores to the referee.

Some innings may finish very quickly. It could be after just the first ball if it’s caught without bouncing. For that reason, there is an overall time limit and the match finishes when each team has played the same number of games. (At least I think it finished that way!)

Captains agree before the start as to how a match is decided. It can be on most runs accumulated from all games, or by the team winning most games.

Mike Horton

Mike Horton

(Sw ’64) is enjoying being settled in Berkhamsted with his wife Anne-Marie and spending time with friends and family after so many years working around the UK and on projects overseas. However, he is still involved in a number of ventures and organisations, including being a council member of the Old Berkhamstedians, a member of the Old Berkhamstedian Lodge and a Trustee of the Cranwellian Association.

Mike joined Berkhamsted Junior School in 1955 and remembers being quite shy when he moved into Swifts House in the Senior School. However, being involved in sports teams (he was in the 1st XV for three years) helped his confidence, as well as teaching him the importance of commitment and how to work as part of a team. As a pupil at Berkhamsted School, he was given leadership responsibilities through the then-School and House prefect system as well as through the CCF. He was a winner of the Pearkes Sword in 1964. He was inspired by his Housemaster Peter Gibbs, as well as Colin McDougall and George Pitman, who ran the CCF. He says it was those schoolmasters that helped develop the skills that enabled him to win a Scholarship to the RAF College, Cranwell, from where he graduated as an RAF officer and pilot in 1967.

As a child, Mike lived at RAF Halton where his father was a Warrant Officer Engineer in the Royal Air Force. This early introduction to service life and his love of his time in the CCF led to Mike wanting to become a pilot in the RAF, even though he had never actually flown in any plane! The RAF Scholarship included 30 hours’ flying training,

which he carried out in a Chipmunk aircraft at the Denham Flying School. After just six hours’ flying time, he was taking off for his first solo flight.

Three years later he graduated from the RAF College, married Anne-Marie and was posted to RAF Cottesmore in Rutland as a Vulcan co-pilot. He knew that just six months later both squadrons and their families would be posted to RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus. Two years in the sunshine!

However, while at RAF Cottesmore, the Vulcan Force was part of the Cold War effort operating in the nuclear bomber role. This meant that the Vulcan crews throughout the UK were on Quick Reaction Alert (QRA). In extreme times of tension, the Vulcans would have to be ready to scramble and be in the air within four minutes of a Ballistic Missile Early Warning call. The aircraft would be loaded with a nuclear bomb. With minutes to go, he would fire the engines, knowing that the route would take him up the Norwegian coast, from where, if no final instruction was sent, it would mean they could still abort and turn back – but the crews also knew that if the final instruction was sent, they would not be coming back. Without the excellent training they received, coping with such pressure would not have been possible.

The posting to Cyprus took those Cottesmore squadrons away from the Cold War effort to operate in the conventional role as part of the military alliance called the Central Treaty Organization (CENTO). While based in Cyprus, Mike remembers flying regular sorties into countries in the Middle East such as Iran and Oman.

In 1971, aged 26, he was appointed Captain of a Vulcan bomber operating from RAF Waddington in Lincolnshire. Training sorties took him to the USA, Goose Bay, Malta and Cyprus. The highlight of that tour was when his crew was one of four Vulcan crews selected to take part in a round-the-world four-week trip to train with the New Zealand and Australian air forces. Landing four Vulcans at Honolulu airport attracted some interest! Mike’s aircraft and extracts from his logbook about that trip are now in the RAF Cosford Museum.

After completing his time on Vulcans, he qualified as a Jet Provost flying instructor. In 1975 he was promoted to Squadron Leader and appointed as squadron commander of one of the flying training squadrons at the Royal Air Force College Cranwell. He recalls with pride

one of the key events of that tour was to mark the Queen’s Silver Jubilee in 1977 with the RAF’s Silver Jubilee Review, held at RAF Finningley in Yorkshire on 29th July 1977. The Queen, accompanied by Princes Philip, Charles and Edward, watched an extensive flypast including Hawk, C130 Hercules, Victor and Vulcan aircraft. Mike flew one of the Jet Provost aircraft in the figure of ‘25’ formation.

In 1982, on leaving the RAF, Mike and Anne-Marie decided to move to Berkhamsted so that their children, Joanna, Matthew, Eleanor and later, Tom, could be day pupils at the School. With ex-RAF colleagues Mike formed a flying and engineering training company set up to train Middle East air forces. In 1990 he accepted a directorship with BAE Systems working at Warton, near Preston, and then moved to GKN Defence focusing on new

business and training support, in a switch in his career from aircraft to armoured vehicles.

In 2000 he was head-hunted by Serco and appointed a Project Director on its RAF tanker aircraft replacement programme. In 2004 he brought Serco into a defence training consortium and successfully bid for a 30-year contract to design, build and operate a tri-service Technical College for the Omani Ministry of Defence. The seven copies of bid documentation filled seven Samsonite suitcases. He set a record in excess baggage charges!

Serco asked him to spend six months in Oman to set up a Serco company in Muscat to run negotiations. However, rather than six months, the process took four years. He returned to the UK in 2008 and worked with Serco until the age of 65 when he retired as an employee, but then spent two years as a consultant to the same company, managing a team with the task of turning around

Liz Richardson meets… Sue Wolstenholme OBE

Sue Wolstenholme OBE (Ho ’58) has always enjoyed all kinds of sports. Her love of tennis formed early on, and she was encouraged by her mother, who

a failed aviation company running an engineer training school in Bahrain.

In 2014, rapid progress was being made in drone technology and Mike found that his knowledge of UK CAA legislation, his experience as a pilot and his past record of setting up training colleges and programmes made him the ideal person to move into the drone business. As a consultant to Rheinmetall Defence he founded a training company called the Remote Unmanned Systems Training Academy (RUSTA), which was the second authorised drone training licence holder in the UK. RUSTA is now owned by Eagle Eye Innovations and trains civilians as well as members of the police force.

Mike may be enjoying life in Berkhamsted, but his CV and experiences suggest that he is not ready for his pipe and slippers yet! It will be interesting to see what his next venture will be.

played at Wimbledon as a junior. She moved from Yorkshire to Malvern and then to Berkhamsted aged nine. Sue enjoyed being part of the School lacrosse and House netball teams, as well as being a member of Berkhamsted Tennis Club, which gave her the opportunity to meet other youngsters. Sue remembers the club being very supportive and making great effort to nurture and encourage young people – a quality which is reflected in Sue’s own support of individual sportspeople and organisations over the years.

One of her first tennis partners at the club was Barbara Clements, a former Head of PE. Sue played in many junior tournaments including a very popular one run by the Evening News. However, in those days there was virtually no sponsorship nor funding so, for many, including Sue, competitions were often chosen near friends or family so she had somewhere to stay!

Sue’s tenacious and committed approach to her tennis resulted in her becoming an U18 Junior

and rising to number seven in the UK. Among her successes with her sister, Rosemary, was winning the National Girls’ Schools Doubles Championship at Queen’s Club and winning the Harpenden Schools Doubles, once with Rosemary and once with Molly Meacher (née Reid). At that time tournaments were arranged with lots of matches played one after the other, often over several days, so competitions were physically quite gruelling and emotionally exhausting.

Sue is grateful to Berkhamsted School for Girls for helping her to understand the importance of working hard – and the Headmistress, Miss Russell, was key to this ethos. Sue said that ‘whether you liked her or not, you always respected and looked up to her. She was one of the best public speakers I have ever heard and a great example to try and follow.’ Some abiding memories are swimming in the outdoor pool in the summer holidays –in those days you didn’t even need an adult present, let alone a qualified lifeguard. Another memory is the wonderful covered playground, marked out as a tennis court practice wall, in which she spent countless hours training hard for the forthcoming matches.

After leaving Berkhamsted, Sue went on to St Godric’s Secretarial College, Hampstead, learning shorthand, typing, bookkeeping and everything related to the office. At the same time, she was trying to continue to fit her tennis in around her work. She played in the qualifying rounds for Wimbledon, but unfortunately lost in the final round. At that time, no umpires were provided so the players had to do it themselves. Sue was spotted doing an excellent job and she was asked if she would like to officiate at Wimbledon.

Her first job was at the Central Council for Physical Recreation in Bedford Square (now known as the Sport and Recreation Alliance). Sue’s organisational skills were noticed, and she was soon helping to organise the Festival of Music and Dance at Wembley.

Sue continued to play competitive tennis but began to lose enthusiasm as most of the

tournaments meant sitting around for hours waiting to play, which became rather tedious, so she decided on a job and county and club competitions.

Over the next few years, Sue worked for around 63 companies, including ICI in Knightsbridge and the Daily Telegraph. However, she moved to work for an Account Director at the advertising agency J Walter Thompson, where she was asked to take on a new role organising all the entertaining. Sue’s organisational skills were well used through the 1960s, 70s and early 80s, a period she describes as ‘incredibly hard work but terrific fun.’ Those were the days of an exceptional era of lunches, dinners, parties and the occasional charity event.

She left the company in 1983 to build a private catering business, but her voluntary work in the tennis world was expanding and taking up a lot of time and energy. Since 1978 she had been the secretary for the Herts Lawn Tennis Association and represented the county on the Council of the Lawn Tennis Association.

In 1983, Sue was asked to become Chairman of the Development, Coaching and Schools Committee. When this role was coming to an end, the LTA decided to establish a charity for grassroots tennis and Sue was asked to be its first Executive Director. Their mandate was to inspire and improve lives through tennis. It was here that Sue began actively to promote inclusivity and diversity by liaising with the National Wheelchair Tennis Association. Working with Martin McElhatton and Noel McShane – the two pioneers of wheelchair tennis in Great Britain – both of whom had been patients in the Spinal Unit at Stoke Mandeville Hospital, Sue was integral as the game grew substantially over the years. Eventually, the International Tennis Federation took over the world game and then the opportunities for wheelchair tennis expanded into the programme it is today.

Sue has gone on to work with other disability groups, such as young people with learning impairments, as well as those with a hearing impairment. It’s clear she has a passionate belief that young people, especially those with a disability,

gain so much by being involved in sport at any level and also playing at competitive standard. She says it is wonderful to see the self-esteem grow in young people, especially when they have had a difficult start in life. One of the young deaf tennis players whom Sue took under her wing and supported was Dan Tunstall (brother of singer KT Tunstall) who has won multiple international and national medals including the National Deaf Singles and Doubles Championships. He is now director of the Blue Sky Tennis Foundation, which aims to provide tennis opportunities for everyone.

Sue’s advertising background enabled her to galvanise some excellent backing to gather funding and development opportunities to allow more disabled youngsters to be supported. The late Jim Cochrane (a former President of the LTA) and Sir Geoffrey Cass (former Chief Executive of Cambridge University Press) are among those who have worked with Sue to grow wheelchair tennis in the UK. She persuaded numerous organisations to become involved in sponsoring disability sport so that the funding could be more evenly spread.

When she retired, Sue set up and became the Chairperson of the Dan Maskell Tennis Trust, an organisation which raises funds to help disabled people to play tennis. Sue continues to campaign for the benefits of sport and physical activity and acceptance for disabled sports people.

Tenacity and resilience are two of Sue’s character traits and these helped her to persevere to get Wimbledon officials to include wheelchair tennis in the Championships even if, in the first few years, this meant Sue and others having to help get the chairs on and off the courts.

While it is vital that the best players receive as much support as possible, Sue firmly believes that it is essential that money and advocacy for disabled tennis players is provided at grassroots level to make sure there is a constant stream of new players coming through. Two of the world’s best wheelchair players started out at this level and they are now Great Britain’s greatest ambassadors for the sport – Gordon Reid and Alfie Hewett.

Sue is a Trustee of WheelPower, which provides opportunities for people with physical impairments to take part in sport based at Stoke Mandeville Stadium, the birthplace of the Paralympic movement. She became involved with WheelPower many years ago, again because of her strong belief in the importance of encouraging newly disabled people to participate in some kind of physical activity. There are now an increasing number of clubs and competitions both at Stoke Mandeville and across the country, like the WheelPower Inter Spinal Unit Games and the WheelPower National Junior Games, offering more opportunities.

The National Paralympic Heritage Trust’s aim is ‘to enlighten and inspire future generations’ by celebrating what has been achieved so far and continuing to broaden understanding of disability. The NPHT has achieved a huge amount since its inception in 2015 under the initial leadership of Paul Mainds (Ad ‘68) and there is now a small but excellent Heritage Centre in Stoke Mandeville Stadium. It is well worth a visit. Through her work with WheelPower, Sue became involved with this organisation and is an Honorary Vice President of the British Paralympic Association, reflecting her many years of dedication to the development of disability and Paralympic sport.

In 2007, Sue was awarded an OBE in recognition of her work for disability sport. However, she feels there is much more to do to support and offer disabled people the opportunity to develop, grow and achieve through their participation in sport – which is why she is still working hard in her various roles.

If you would like to become a volunteer and continue to build on the good work that is being done – there are numerous ways you can become involved; you would be made very welcome –just go to the websites wheelpower.org.uk or paralympicheritage.org.uk to see the ways in which you can support these organisations and make a difference.

Over the mountains and under the stars: Raising Liam

Life is not about being dealt a good hand: it’s about playing a bad hand as best you can.

My wife died from cancer eight months after our son, Liam, was born in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. I would now tick the box, ‘Single Parent’. Raising a child is the most important thing we will ever do, for it is the future of the world.

My daughter, Rebecca, was almost 16 when her mum died. In another year she would graduate and in another year be off to make her way in the world. Her brother and I would make our way too. We had moved to British Columbia for a couple of years before settling in the town of Jasper in Jasper National Park, Alberta in 1993.

I got a bike with a kid’s seat on the back. Single dad and kid joined at the hip, storytime on the trails as I pumped the pedals. At the time, I was writing for papers and magazines in Canada and the US. When Liam was asleep, I would write. When he was awake, we would hit the trails –mountain men (we didn’t know it at the time) on a mission.

One day, as if it had just popped up from the ground, I suddenly noticed Pyramid Mountain (2,763m) that backdrops the town. ‘Wow! Why don’t we have a go at climbing that, Liam?’ Yeah, let’s go for it, Dad. A little kid, would he say otherwise? Had his mother been alive she would have said in no uncertain terms, You’re taking him – WHERE? Are you nuts! I’ve never claimed to be firing on all cylinders. In all honesty, who does?

I rode the bike up the fire road to the base of the mountain then we scrambled the peak. We were ill-prepared for the weather on the summit, but then we were rookies. It was July and down in town it was the Tropic of Cancer; on top of Pyramid it was the Arctic Circle. Freezing clouds swathed the mountain, pockets of snow among the rocks, a fierce wind lashed the peak, nebulous hoarfrost covered the cables and iron gantry of the microwave tower (since removed), giving the place a science-fiction look. Our first mountain. We had made it. I was 48, Liam had just turned four. For the first time I felt the opiate tug of climbing mountains. Liam would come to the moon if that was where I said we were going. He just wanted to be with Dad.

As Liam got bigger so did the mountains. Before he started Grade 1 we had a crack at Mount Rainier (4,392m), the most heavily glaciated peak in the contiguous United States. We got crampons (Liam wore women’s; they don’t make crampons for little kids!), and for practice we tiptoed in them around the lawn outside Jasper’s library. We were ready.

Summit day was boiling hot, snow bridges on the glaciers were collapsing, and one little member of the team had constipation. When you’re caparisoned like a medieval knight, ropes trussing you up like a Christmas turkey, have you any idea how long it takes when you’ve got to go? And all of them false alarms? With all the delays we lost the summit. We had our excuse. Next year we came back and got a little higher.

Once we’d found our feet we were done with plain old hiking. Now our hikes were always with the objective of climbing another mountain.

We’d get to the top of one mountain and see another one we fancied climbing.

We camped every month of the year. In the winter we went on skis, mostly up frozen creeks, and camped on the edge of the trees so we could have fires and cook our grub. One night it hit -35C (air temperature not windchill), and one November day – after a breakfast so cold I used the saw to cut the loaf of bread – we had our coldest climb ever. On the summit ridge the wind was blowing at 140kph, with an air temperature of -30C – and we’d forgotten the goggles!

In 1999 on a rare blue-moon night in March –it was the second blue moon of the year; there had been two full moons that January – we were winter-camping on Pork Chop Hill when a pack of wolves came around our camp. Long shadows in the trees, the glistening snow. We held hands as we lay listening to the magic of their howling coming through the walls of the tent with the moonlight.

By the time Liam was 15 we had spent a total of three years in a tent in the mountains. There was no need for me to quit my job, as so many politicians and leaders of industry do to spend more time with the family (so they say). It could be said that there were probably times when we were sick of the sight of each other and needed a break!

We had a growing list on the bedroom wall of mountains we’d climbed. Many were remote, unnamed peaks that we named. We brought along glass jars covered in duct tape for registers that we left under cairns that we built. We didn’t rush, we’d sit at base camp watching hints of yellow

then orange then red as the sun woke up and the sky would be pink and salmon then gentle blue like a Monet painting and the pancakes would be ready and we’d pour on the homemade syrup and for the briefest of moments we would see the mountains standing in the limpid air of a brand new day. We seldom saw people. Just us and the animals. How lucky we were!

We watched Northern Lights and shooting stars and we smelt the beauty of alpine flowers. Our knees knocked when we came across fresh grizzly scat. We had the odd disaster, like the time we were playing double solitaire on the summit of a mountain and the Queen of Diamonds blew away, possibly landing on the head of a farmer from Iowa strolling around Lake Louise and who now believes diamonds his lucky suit and one to bet the farm on! We had two grizzly cubs put dripping paw prints on the fly of our tent and mamma grizzly punch a big hole in the roof. (We were out at the time.)

We skated by the seat of our pants. We had arguments on how to tie the rope knots when we were dangling on steep slab. ‘Well, look in the book, Liam! What does it say?’ We had brought along the climbers’ bible, The Freedom Of The Hills, in case we needed on-the-spot training.

We climbed hundreds of mountains in Canada, in Washington and Oregon, in Iceland, one of the Cullins on the Isle of Skye, one of the Glasshouse Mountains in Queensland, Australia. We even climbed part of the roof of the Sydney Opera House!

Then Liam attended the universities of British Columbia (UBC), Reykjavik, Iceland and UNIS

(University Centre in Svalbard), and my climbing partners changed. While Liam was taking the scenic route to an undergraduate degree – riding a bike around Iceland, hauling a toboggan up the King’s Trench on Mount Logan, Yukon (Canada’s highest mountain), training for the Boston Marathon in Svalbard with a rifle on his back in case he met a polar bear (Longyearbyen rules) – his old man was plodding up unnamed peaks in wilderness areas and dancing on the tips of the earth with two stuffed rabbits and a pink Himalayan duck.

In 2014 Liam and his school friend, Jake, walked out of their doors in Jasper with 100-pound packs and skied, snowshoed and hiked 5,407 kilometres along the spine of the Rocky Mountains, the Continental Divide, to Mexico. Along the way they climbed 100 mountains. I joined them three times. Twice in Banff National Park and in the Gila Wilderness, New Mexico.

They had left Jasper in April and it was now December. Although the rattlesnakes were buried and the Gila monster had gone into hiding, it wasn’t plain sailing. In five days of hiking the Gila Canyon we had to ford the river 205 times! There was ice on the banks, and at night it got down to -15C. (My feet still haven’t recovered!)

After the Mexico trip, Liam took a Master’s degree in Journalism at Carlton University in Ottawa. He’s now a reporter for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC).

I have laid my cards on the table as best I can. We’ve been climbing mountains together for 30 years. Father and son. We’ve never missed a year. He’s the one leading the climbs now, the one waiting for this tattered old man. I’m slower these days but I’m still raging against the dying of the light.

When I’m at the Home and nurse is tucking the tartan rug around my legs and wiping away the tapioca pudding dribbling down my chin and saying, ‘Mr Harrap’s gone again’ – I have; for I’ll be dreaming of all those mountains I climbed with my boy…

To my surprise, after my dad made multiple trips to the Chinese embassy, eventually my visa was approved, as was my contract to teach at Dongguan University of Technology. I left the UK for China in October 2019.

After communicating with the president of the university via a translator I was made aware that I was not qualified to teach as I had not yet completed my Master’s degree, hence no teaching timetable was issued. I was told to attend university on a daily basis until my Master’s degree was complete and was supported by various PhD academics.

At long last, after three years I completed my MSc by Research (which Middlesex University has now published). However, at the same time the pandemic broke out and the degree certificate got lost in the Chinese post. The university went into lockdown, but clubs, bars and restaurants were open as normal. Dongguan, where I was living, treated me well.

The university enforced a rule of either staying in dormitories at uni with no chance of exit until the pandemic was over or leaving campus entirely (they would deliver meals to you if you chose to stay inside). After working out the costs of alternative accommodation, it worked out cheaper for me to fly to Thailand and stay in a hostel, so I did that along with a few other expats from China.

Fast-forward two years and I have now returned to the UK and joined my dad’s property company. I also lecture one day a week at Middlesex University (and have reunited with my Head of Department and other old friends at the uni). In my spare time I also run a laser-cutting operation which you can view on Instagram @ajcutsshapes

This story could have been a book which perhaps one day I will write. Thanks for taking the time to read it.

I know you can do it

A grisly School mystery

Basil Hugh Garnons Williams in his splendid A History of Berkhamsted School (1980) records that John Bristowe, our seventh usher, was murdered on 14th November 1597 by John Winchester, a yeoman, who invaded his quarters at the east end of Old Hall. Garnons Williams notes that the coroner’s verdict records some gruesome details of the method of the murder but he does not elaborate further, to the disappointment no doubt of generations of pupils.

I have recently obtained the Hertfordshire Calendar of Assize Records under Elizabeth I (as below), which gives us further details so we can rectify this omission:

‘John Winchester, of Great Berkhamsted, yeoman, indicted for murder. By an inquisition held at Great Berkhamsted, on 19 Dec. 1597, before Henry Mayne, coroner, on the body of John Bristoe of Great Berkhamsted, gent., a jury (naming

The real G.G. Garth

Ghia Szwed-Truesdale here, class of 1979-1980, the English-Speaking Union merit scholar. Since my last correspondence with my dear Berkhamsted classmate, Brigitta Case, I have produced four new books: two historical fiction, two contemporary art non-fiction. These are published works for which I was the ‘Development Editor’ for the author during his journey, researching and developing the content, shaping the story, and – in the latter three of these four projects – curating the publishing deal itself.

When I first arrived at Berkhamsted School for Girls – a New England boarding schooler with dreams of becoming an author one day – I was soon

fourteen jurors) – found that on 14 Nov. Winchester attacked Bristoe as he lay in bed in his house at Great Berkhamsted and killed him by forcing a sheathed knife down his throat.

On 14 Nov. 1597 at Great Berkhamsted, Winchester, of Stanbridge, Beds, murdered John Bristoe, as above.

Hudnall, John, gent., Bristowe, Joan, wife of John Bristoe, deceased, and Tearle, Joan, wife of Robert Tearle, of Great Berkhamsted, are indicted as accessories before the fact.

Winchester confessed; to hang. Bristowe and Tearle found not guilty. Bill against Hudnall returned ignoramus.’

No motive is given for the murder of John Bristowe nor statements from John Winchester, Joan Bristowe, Joan or Robert Tearle. The method of murder is now explained but much else is still a mystery.

advised that the literary hotbed that is Hertfordshire has been home to a panoply of renowned authors, including, of course, Michael Dobbs (whom I had

the pleasure to meet at The English-Speaking Union lectures in Boston, Massachusetts, USA when I much later served as ESU Boston VP), Graham Greene (whom we all spotted as he loped through Berko, gaze askew, deep in thought), George Bernard Shaw, Frederick Forsyth, Barbara Cartland, Beatrix Potter – who earlier spent summers there – and countless more beloved storytellers. Given Hertfordshire’s climate of wordsmiths nearly outnumbering its litterarum amantes, Berko readers may enjoy learning about my latest contributions to literature after three decades publishing my own young adult adventure thrillers and romantic comedies under my pseudonym G.G. Garth, while ghostwriting and ‘development-editing’ for best-selling authors and polymath Alpha-types who are very talented in a range of industries:

Illyria: Imbalance of Power by Armin Shimerman (JumpMaster Press, 2022) is book three in the historical fiction Illyria trilogy by the actor who plays Quark on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and is also a Shakespeare prof at the University of Southern California. I loved development-editing the first two books in this bardologist’s trilogy.

Yet, to me, the third is most satisfying as it ties together all the conflicts and subplots the author seeded in the first two books around his central characters, 16-year-old William Shakespeare and the ‘aged’ 48-year-old Dr John Dee, who, in fact, was Elizabeth I’s ‘conjuror’ and tutor. For more information go to dailystartreknews.com/read/the-fina-volumein-armin-shimermans-illyria-trilogy-set-to-bereleased-in-january

Secrets of Mary Celeste by Steve Dahill (JumpMaster Press, 2023) is the first in the yachtsman author’s historical fiction Age of Sail trilogy. Even Arthur Conan Doyle tried to solve the unsolved mystery of the 19th century brig whose crew vanished inexplicably in the mid-Atlantic, and yet the ghost ship, Mary Celeste, sailed on. Here is a brief description and reviews: jumpmasterpress.com/product-page/ secrets-of-mary-celeste

Hunt Slonem: The Bigger Picture by Ted Vassilv (Scala Arts Publishers, London and New York, 2022) is my fifth of six hardcovers on contemporary fine art: scalapublishers.com/ hunt-slonem/

Halim A. Flowers: Love is the Vaccine by Ted Vassilev (Scala Arts Publishers, London and New York, 2023) is my sixth of six hardcovers on contemporary fine art: scalapublishers.com/ halim-flowers/

On a personal note, I remain happily seaside, south of Boston, Massachusetts, on a little peninsula where my writing desk faces the Atlantic Ocean. Neither the Library at Alexandria nor Google nor ChatGPT can ever replace the force of inspiration provided by that view. If any Berkhamstedians venture across The Pond to New England, I would be pleased to communicate and offer insights regarding my present stomping grounds.

EVENTS AND REUNIONS

60+ Years Reunion

We held a very merry 60+ years reunion in June of the teenage gang who used to dance (including Black Tie and Scottish dancing), play golf, ride ponies, play tennis and generally have a lot of fun together. Most of us had been to either the Boys’ or the Girls’ School, but we recruited extras from other schools in the holidays.

We shared memories of the first joint boys’ and girls’ performance of Princess Ida, shivering in the freezing cold changing rooms beside the BSG swimming pool, and the mystery boy who turned the girls’ pool a deep purple with potassium permanganate.

Old Girls’ 50+ Years Reunion

To celebrate the 135th anniversary of the founding of Berkhamsted School for Girls, more than 60 former pupils who left the School 50 or more years ago, arrived in the Nash-Harris Building on Sunday 25th June 2023 to mark this occasion. No one could believe that it was 10 years since the last reunion lunch for the 125th anniversary.

First on the agenda was a delicious glass of Pimm’s and then the obligatory group photo –there was so much chatter that this took a masterful organiser to get us all in place! The photo was taken just below the clock presented to the School by the Old Berkhamstedians to celebrate Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee.

Then it was back to a wonderful lunch, including the everlasting favourite of coronation chicken,

provided by the School caterers. It was a beautiful, hot and sunny day and we were very grateful for the air conditioning in the new building.

It was wonderful to see so many old friends and to meet up after a very lengthy gap. The noise was predictably loud and hundreds of stories of the times at school were remembered and laughed about – it always makes one realise just how much has changed! In the 70th anniversary year of the successful Mount Everest expedition, led by Sir John Hunt, it was particularly poignant to welcome his daughter, Sue, back to the School, fresh from celebrations in Nepal and the Himalayas of this most famous mountaineering feat.

The current Head of the Girls’ School, Emma Watson, welcomed everyone back to the School, as did Brigitta Case, the President of the Old Berkhamstedians. It was also wonderful to see former Heads of the Girls’ School – Ashley Clancy and Liz Richardson.

Emma Watson brought some Y10 girls with her and they took tours around the School which brought back even more memories. The girls were astounded to hear many of the comments and they could not believe what they heard about silence, lock-up and no visits to the cinema! Let alone talking to the boys!

A very welcome cup of tea and a slice of cake was on offer after the tours and many took the opportunity to talk to Emma Watson about life in the School in the 2020s. There was consensus that another such reunion should be held in about three years with the feedback at the end of the day being extremely positive.

From all those present our thanks go to Vicky Rees, Lynne Oppenheimer and Lesley Koulouris, the School Archivist, who put out so many displays covering the years represented, and the catering staff for making it such a happy and enjoyable day for everyone.

Old Boys’ 50+ Years Reunion

The ‘50+ Years’ group of male OBs, who left the School more than 50 years ago, held their annual lunch at Berkhamsted Golf Club on 10th May 2023. Richard Backhouse, Principal of the School, was guest of honour and spoke after lunch about the School today. Striking an optimistic note, he described the threats and opportunities.

Referring to the spectre of VAT being imposed by a Labour government, Mr Backhouse said such a move would make private schools the most highly regulated anywhere in the world except China.

It would mean a significant reduction in revenue to the UK private education sector as many parents would no longer be able to afford the rise in fees. Mr Backhouse said the School therefore needed to be cautious and not over-spend.

Pupil numbers across the group have already risen from 1,700 to 2,100 and this had put it in a very strong position both financially and socially. ‘We are incredibly well placed to face the challenges that lie ahead,’ he said.

Emphasising the School’s strategy of making itself indispensable to the community, he referred to its support for 46 local community groups and schools who share its facilities. ‘Imposition of VAT could jeopardise many of the benefits we offer to the community if we can no longer afford to offer them,’ he said.

Turning his attention to the outstanding strides made by students in the past year, Mr Backhouse paid tribute to the 60 who had been awarded a Gold Award in the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme, ‘a unique achievement.’ In addition, the School had won country-wide netball and gymnastics competitions, it excelled in the fields of music and drama, and its industry-leading IT department was even generating revenue by acting as paid consultants to other schools.

In a wide-ranging address, Mr Backhouse spoke of the ‘structural change and innovative way’ it prepares students for adult life and employment.

1973 Leavers’ 50-Year Reunion

12th August 2023

Nineteen attendees (listed at the end of this section) made it to the 50-Year Reunion for 1973’s leavers at the Rising Sun, Berkhamsted.

Berkhamsted is the first school to enroll the whole of its Sixth Form in the business social media platform LinkedIn, where online learning helps them discover and develop business, technology-related, and creative skills. ‘Where else would you find a sixth form where one student gains an apprenticeship at Elstree Film Studios while another gets a job at Arsenal Football Club!’

In response to a question about one change he would make to current UK education policy, Mr Backhouse revealed a desire to see the school calendar changed in a way that would bring it more into line with the work calendar and thus help working parents as well as its students.

‘I’m a strong advocate of having five terms of nine weeks, seven weeks of holiday and a four-day school week. This would not only make for a better learning regime but would attract more teachers and make a school more like the 47-week year of the working public.’

Concluding his address, Mr Backhouse said, ‘Berkhamsted is going well and for this I must thank the staff and governors who make such a big contribution. I am very optimistic about the future.’

Jonathan Culverhouse (Ad ‘63)

Diana Jervis Read (Hill) (NS ‘73) was also due to attend but, rather than meet up with us, selfishly decided to spend the day in A&E instead. I am informed all is now OK. Other spurious excuses came from Angus and Thor (living in Bangkok) Jill (in Australia), Sir Mark (playing cricket),

Mac (stuck in Edinburgh with some Yanks) etc, so it was just the hardcore intent on growing old disgracefully who made it.

The weather was mostly good and the catering from the Rising Sun was excellent, with so much food presented we ended up giving much of it away – and I can highly recommend the team at the Rising Sun for any future reunions.

Old friends were reacquainted with the sobering thought that as we all approach our three score and ten there could be fewer of us at the next reunion. Like many men of a certain age, I sometimes remember more about my youth than what I had for dinner yesterday, so I was able to amuse the gathering with some anecdotes from our shared past, such as how ‘Squealer’ Roberts got his nickname. I won’t repeat the story here, but it involved a broken leg. Oh, how we all laughed. Interesting to note also how the homicidal tendencies of Spinney Major (or the Beast of the Beacon as we now better know him) were evident even at the tender age of eight,

decades before he became a schoolteacher and had more suitable victims for his talents. I was also able to personally put Colonel Cameron right about a few points of military history for which he must have been grateful.

The OGs came with photos, and I was impressed with how important the School’s theatre productions had been to the girls. I was also impressed with what stunners they all were in the 1970s. Am I allowed to say that in these woke days? Tough if not.

All seemed to enjoy the afternoon – at least I did, which was the main thing. Rowan has suggested a five-year reunion and Steve an annual booze-up… sorry, I mean gathering. I’m up for these but will leave the organising to others.

As a final note, and I say this sincerely and from the depths of my soul, l enjoyed your company tremendously but I’m £15 down on the food bill, so somebody had better buy some of my books pronto (available on Amazon) before I send the bailiffs around.

2003 Leavers’ 20-Year Reunion

On 11th November 2023, the 2003 class congregated at Kings Campus for the 20-Year Reunion, organised for us by the Old Berkhamstedians. On walking onto the grounds, it was wonderful to see the old familiar buildings standing alongside the new and updated editions, even if some of the signage (‘the Old Dining Hall’) made us feel our age. The School has done an amazing job, it seems, of preserving the old while investing in spectacular new facilities for its students. A few of us mingled a little nervously outside the soaring new Nash-Harris Building with its beautiful glass and high ceilings. It seemed quite different to where we spent our lunchtimes in the Sixth Form common room on Kings Campus, a rather low unimposing building. But Vicky Rees quickly put us at ease and welcomed us in, and even though the building was different, the sense of something known and familiar crept back in. We saw familiar faces, caught the sound of a well-known laugh across the room, recognised the warmth of a former teacher, and generally delighted in being back. It certainly didn’t take long before we felt a sense of homecoming.

The evening began with a buzz at the drinks reception. We heard about some of the work

the Old Berkhamstedians are doing and different ways we could make new links with the School, whether that be OB sports events or contributing to the mentoring scheme for current Sixth Formers. We then sat down to dinner and Adam and Annie were reunited as Head Boy and Head Girl to welcome everyone to dinner. Adam spoke movingly about the friends no longer with us and we had some moments to remember them. We were then treated to a beautiful three-course dinner. The conversation (and the wine for some) flowed readily and I was struck by everyone’s warmth, humour and kindness. I wonder if it is fair to say that at 10 years post-school there was still so much to work out about who we were and what we wanted; by 20 years, not to say it’s all been worked out, but there was a certain ease in who we were and what we brought along to the evening. Time passed so quickly and goodbyes came around far too soon. I hear the night continued elsewhere for some!

A lot of us were already thinking about next time and wondering what treasures a 30-year reunion may bring. Thank you so much to Vicky Rees and the Old Berkhamstedians for organising the evening, and to all former students and teachers who attended.

2013 Leavers’ 10-Year Reunion

It’s often easy to think that time passes too quickly, but in the decade since departing Berkhamsted that’s included universities, entering the workplace, marriages and even babies, you would be forgiven for thinking it was a lifetime ago.

Ten years on from ‘Final Fling’, the class of 2013 found ourselves back in Berkhamsted, as if nothing had changed at all. Some hairstyles and hairlines(!) may have moved with the times, but it was clear as we descended upon the impressive Nash-Harris Building that the relationships we fostered over the years at Kings and Castle Campuses were just as they were. Those who have seen the modern and sleek complex, which was a great addition to the Girls’ School in our latter years at Berkhamsted, will know it takes a good number of people to get the acoustics firing. Yet within minutes, the room was ablaze with energy as former students and staff alike dived headfirst into current lives, the past 10 years and, unsurprisingly, treasured school memories. A refresher of our democratically

decided yearbook awards was an opportunity to remind us of the characters among our year group and to check if those winners aligned with the characters we see today! Our ‘most likely to be the best parent’ had gone to someone who had recently given birth to a lovely baby boy, our ‘least likely to live at Number 10’ reminded us that Berkhamsted could definitely give Westminster a run for its money, and our ‘most likely to win an Olympic medal’ is still firmly on course for just that, leading the England lacrosse outfit.

The reality is that although a lot has changed in the 10 years since we departed, what is clear is the friendships and bonds we OBs have with the School is unwavering. Perhaps the accuracy of our yearbook awards is testament to that. While the next decade will no doubt pass even quicker than the previous, finding ourselves back for the 20-year reunion, I suspect it will only be a few minutes past the hour before we’re again reminded of the great friendships we have among this fantastic year group.

OB Annual Dinner

On Friday 24th March 2023 we were delighted to welcome more than 70 people to Deans’ Hall for the Annual Old Berkhamstedians Dinner.

We were joined this year by Graham Burchnall, Patrick Cowie, Adrian Forster, Will and Steph Gunary, Martin Pett, and Dave and Liz Richardson, all of whom had retired the previous summer after

at least 20 years’ service at the School, as well as Gavin Laws who stood down in the summer as Chair of Governors. We were also delighted to be joined by Ant Theodossi leading up a table of fives players, ranging from those who left in 2020 all the way back to those who left in 1949 – our thanks to them for supporting the event.

Prosecco flowed and canapés abounded while old cinefilm footage played in the background, before everyone took their seats for dinner, presentations and speeches.

Brigitta Case thanked everyone for coming and explained her vision for the OBs, after which Richard Backhouse gave an update on the state of the School, its successes, constraints and future developments, all of which was gratefully received by the attendees.

Our thanks to everyone who attended the dinner, and we look forward to seeing you back this year.

OB Rowers’ Lunch

Leander Club, Henley-on-Thames, 22nd April 2023

As I drove through Henley town, ‘on the wrong side of the river’ (a term mentioned several times during lunch), the River Thames reflected the impressive home of Leander Club in its dark waters. The day ahead promised to be interesting. Never having been a rower, it was an honour to be invited to join the OB Rowers’ Group at this worldwide, most historic and prestigious of rowing clubs.

Rowing has been around for centuries, with its origins in ancient Egypt from 3000 BC. The Venetian Gondoliers are world famous. Rowing began as an Olympic sport in Athens in 1896 and continues today. The USA has consistently been one of the predominant national rowing teams in the world. Competition between clubs is legendary, especially the Oxford v Cambridge Boat Race, and Henley Royal Regatta is an important event in the social calendar. On the Olympic stage, rowing is one of Great Britain’s most successful sports with a collection of more than 63 medals since Paris 1900.

Leander Club is not a grassroots rowing club, nor is it the home of the GB squad. It runs development programmes and coaches rowers to challenge for a place in the GB Rowing National Squads and is committed to British Rowing’s World Class Performance Strategy. Everywhere one looks in Leander Club, there are historic photographs, statues, and memorabilia, all celebrating the magnificent dedication and rewards that the Club’s rowers have achieved.

Rowing was introduced to Berkhamsted School in 1960 by Colin McDougall and Tim Jolly, masters at the time. it was supported by Sir Humphrey Haslam, then Chairman of the Governors, and one of the first boats bought was named after him. This new activity quickly gathered about 40 boys keen to take to the water in preference to chasing balls around a pitch or court and most who joined

the Boat Club were keen to row competitively in Head of the River Races and Regattas at various venues within travelling distance of Berkhamsted.

Berkhamsted rowers trained on the Grand Union Canal and the Club soon established itself by producing competitive crews at events and often returned with silverware! On games afternoons they disappeared to New Ground halfway between Northchurch and Tring, and even on non-games days for additional training, such was their enthusiasm.

Evidently rowing has continued as an option at the School but is still a low-numbers activity.

Chris Wynne (Co ’64), when returning to OB events over the years, encountered other OBs who had rowed at school and were unanimous in the conclusion that rowing was the activity they enjoyed most. Accordingly, Chris, encouraged by David Webb (Sw ’62), one of the first intake in 1960, and Sam Mainds (Ad ’64), who rowed in the same IV as Chris, suggested to Brigitta Case (OB President) that they would like to encourage interest from other OBs who rowed at the School. Brigitta responded enthusiastically and so the first OB Rowers’ Lunch was arranged at Henley’s Leander Club, of which Chris, Sam and his brother Paul (Ad ’68) are members. Brigitta and Vicky Rees (OB Administrator) circulated details to the OBs and many responded positively, but several were unable to attend on the day.

Those who attended enjoyed a good lunch with views overlooking the Thames and Henley Bridge and Town, and two stayed with their wives for two nights at Leander, which offers hotel-standard accommodation as well.

After lunch, Brigitta Case and David Webb gave short speeches and Paul Mainds (Ad ‘68) – who went on to row at Durham University and was the first Director of the Rowing Museum when it was created in 1998 – gave an interesting talk about the significance of rowing in Henley, Henley Royal Regatta, Leander Club and of course the Rowing Museum.

Paul, Sam and Chris are still active rowers, demonstrating that increasing age is not an impediment. Paul was until recently a Committee Member of Leander. Sam is a Committee Member of Upper Thames Rowing Club, also located in Henley, and previously a Committee Member of London Rowing Club. Chris is a founder member of Bewl Bridge Rowing Club at Bewl Water on the Kent and Sussex border. He was the first Captain in 1979 and was invited to be Captain again last November. All three are still rowing, sometimes together too.

Those present enjoyed recounting memories of how their exploits on the water all began. There were tales of falling in, falling out and upside-downers and races which took every ounce of strength and aerobic capacity from the body. In an Olympic race, rowers maintain a straight course for 2,000 metres at a speed of approximately 14 miles per hour. Doesn’t that sound like six minutes of hell? But what stood out most of all was the fun, the joy, commitment, energy and enthusiasm shown for this hallowed sport. It was salutary!

Like the river, the wine flowed during a delicious lunch with more stories and adventures recounted. As local residents, I and another member discoursed on our knowledge of a foregone era when King Zog of Albania and his family were local residents in the War Years.

Conversation over lunch opened a whole new vocabulary for some. Cox, short for coxswain, sculling, sweep rowing, coxed IVs, coxless IVs, pairs and double sculls, VIIIs, and octuples, stretchers, riggers, places in the boat and the oarsmen/women numbered from bow to stroke – who is at the back, or should I say stern. They all sit looking backwards and go as fast as they can forwards, not easy in a coxless boat! Oars – 12ft long, pivoting on the riggers – look heavy but are now made of lightweight materials. It was fascinating to see oars used by Olympic oarsmen and women proudly displayed in Leander with details of the event they were used in and who rowed with them.

A much-needed cup of tea followed by a walk along the Thames Pathway helped me absorb this new language of rowing. Tucked away at the water’s edge, a plaque showing the finish line of the 1908 Olympic Games caught my eye.

Having met some old friends and made new acquaintances, this was an enjoyable event, leaving me with the determination to get on a rowing machine, and back in the water – but as a swimmer.

Afternoon Tea in Hong Kong

On Sunday 19th February 2023, as part of his trip to Hong Kong for the Britannia Fair, Chris Sutton (Head of International Admissions) brought together both Old Berkhamstedians and families of current and future students for an afternoon tea reception at the Shangri-La Hotel in Hong Kong.

With more than 30 in attendance, it was great to share updates about the School and to reminisce on Berkhamsted School life.

We were delighted that seven Old Berkhamstedians were able to join this gathering. These included

October Hong Kong Reunion

I hosted another successful event in Hong Kong, meeting prospective and current parents, as well as OBs. Those attending were Harvey Graham (‘20), Filipe Leung, Ricardo Leung (In ‘95), Michelle Wong and David Blumsom (Gr ‘80).

Chris and Harvey also enjoyed watching a rugby match together during his visit. Harvey is playing semi-pro rugby in the HK Premier League.

London Steak Dinner

Wednesday 6th December 2023

Despite the best efforts of the train drivers’ overtime ban, 10 Old Berkhamstedians sat down for the annual dinner at the Doubletrees by Hilton Hotel. From the level of noise generated by those intrepid souls present it would have been easy to believe there were many more present.

It was excellent to see a number of new faces had made the journey and it is always terrific to hear their stories and recollections of life at the School years ago. Some were horrified that once it was not uncommon for School Prefects to dish out beatings – although only at the Boys’ School. At the Girls’ School up in Kings Road this did not happen.

Although almost all the masters are remembered with great affection, dear old JAD (John Davison) and his antics are usually the first to be retold. From boys being thrown out of the window to his weekly Latin tests with a pass mark of 77 out of 80!

No one seemed to draw breath for more than three hours of laughter, except for refuelling with wine. There were a number of comments on how good the steaks were this year, but these only came briefly between yet more stories bringing back memories from half a century ago, making them seem just like yesterday. There were many simultaneous intakes of breath as we all shuddered remembering just how cold the swimming pool was. This prompted Corinna Whitfield, the only lady present, to comment that ‘at least the Boys’ School pool was indoors!’

All too quickly it was time to make our goodbyes and, on the way home, remember those other stories we wish we had told. They will just have to go into mental storage until next year. A super evening was had by all, with thanks to Vicky Rees for organising it and to Peter Willson for overseeing the evening.

London Drinks

Firstly, I would like to record my thanks to Vicky Rees, Sarah Cox, and Mr Thompson for all their organisation and assistance at the event.

Thirty-five Berkhamsted alumni descended on the Artillery Arms, Old Street, London to meet for the inaugural informal drinks in September 2023. It was wonderful to see such a spread of ages, ranging from leaving years of 1958 to 2018, representing 60 years.

The evening was a fantastic opportunity to reminisce with old friends, as well as share fond times spent at Berkhamsted.

Details of the next London drinks will be circulated via Berkhamsted Connections, for which we hope you can attend!

Attendees

60+ Years Reunion

Gillian Bargy (Lancaster) (Ho ‘64)

Christopher Pratt (SJ ‘71)

Vivien Scott (Fawcett) (Bu ‘65)

Elaine Steane (Fullard) (Ho ‘64)

Jane Timmis (NS ‘65)

Mark Wellby (Be ‘61)

Peter Wellby (Be ‘64)

Chris Wynne (Co ‘64)

Old Girls’ 50+ Years Reunion

Mynerva Altman (Smith) (Bu ‘56)

Deborah Banks (Giles) (Lx ’68)

Jenny Carey (Dick) (Ch ’71)

Susie Carpenter (Robinson) (OS ’64)

Brigitta Case (Norris) (NS ‘80)

Ashley Clancy (Hon)

Jonathan Culverhouse (Ad ’63)

Sue Cutts (Warrington) (SH ’72)

Elizabeth Dack (Bell) (Bu ’69)

Sarah Darby (Ho ’69)

Cerys Edwards (Howard) (Ch ’71)

Janet Evans (Hutcheson) (’70)

Rita Fantham (Woods) (NS ’57)

Evelyn Fergusson (Laing) (Ch ’70)

Margaret Filsell (Maddock) (Ho ’52)

Ernest Newhouse (Carer)

Julia Frimond (Carter) (Bu ’68)

Susan Furtney (Hudson) (SH ’66)

Jean Gates (Hon)

Jane Gibson (Sloan) (Ho ’61)

Marion Caroline Glenister (NS ’69)

Frankie Greenwood (Lief) (Ho ’53)

Maureen Grover (Carr) (OS ’47)

Jude (Judith) Harris (OS ’68)

Heather Hawkes (Smeal) (Lx ’57)

Gillian Holland (Harris) (OS ’53)

Janet Horton (Jones) (Ho ’70)

Susan James (Jackson) (SH ’69)

Gay Jarrad (Nightingirl) (SH ’61)

Jacqueline Khan (Rutherfurd) (Ho ’62)

Rosie King (Wolstenholme) (Ho ’60)

Lesley Koulouris (Hon)

Caroline Langlands (Hodson) (Lx ’67)

Susan Leyden (Hunt) (SH ’62)

Jill Maclaine (Jackson) (Lx ’69)

Margaret Maund (Harris) (OS ’49)

Sheena Morgan (McLennan) (Ch ’73)

Christine Nisbet (Guest)

Lynne Oppenheimer (Hon)

Barbara Oswald (McCarthy) (Ch ’73)

Rosemary Parkin (Harris) (OS ’64)

Jean Pritchard (MacKinnon) (FO ’53)

Cherry Ramseyer (Calnan) (OS ’70)

Liz Richardson (Hon)

Christine Roberts (Woods) (SH ’70)

Kay Roudaut (Warrington) (SH ’71)

Rosemary Stutely (Hayes) (Bu ’52)

Margaret Sylvester-Thorne (Addiscott) (Bu ’69)

Patricia Tate (Mitchell) (Lx ’57)

Jacqueline Teodorczyk (Short) (Bu ’69)

Geraldine (Gerry) Thomas (Lx ’65)

Sheila Thomas (Mason) (SH ’70)

Tessa Thompson (Taergett-Adams) (SH ’57)

Jane Timmis (NS ’65)

Elizabeth Tomlin (NS ’69)

Alison Townsend (Coupar) (Ho ’69)

Ann Vinden (Lx ’65)

Gill Watson (Summers) (SH ’67)

Corinna Whitfield (Drake) (SH ’68)

Lizzie Wickert (Bourne) (Ch ’69)

Joanna Willcox (Bu ’71)

Sue Wolstenholme OBE (Ho ’58)

Elizabeth Woodman (NS ’57)

Angela Woodman (NS ’60)

Old Boys’ 50+ Years Reunion

Richard Backhouse (Hon)

John Berry (Fr ’67)

Jonathan Culverhouse (Ad ’63)

John Fry (Sw ’56)

Gilbert Grace (Sw ’52)

Michael Harrison (Sw ’60)

John Hilsden (Ad ’62)

Bryan Hines (Be ’50)

Jeremy Hopkinson (Ad ’61)

Mike Horton (Sw ’64)

Peter Humphreys (Ad ’51)

Lance Kent (SJ ’57)

Peter King (Co ’60)

Michael Levitton (Sw ’56)

John Linton (Ad ’57)

Tony Lloyd (Ad ’53)

Brian Norris (Ad ’52)

John Prior (Ad ’57)

Steven Roberts (Ad ’73)

John Rush (Sw ’59)

Richard Smellie (In ’61)

Michael Webster (Be ’60)

David Weston (In ’62)

Derek Whitehead (Ad ’49)

Peter Williamson (Be ’66)

Tony Wolstenholme (Be ’57)

Kit Wright (In ’62)

Chris Wynne (Co ’64)

1973 Leavers’ 50-Year Reunion

Alastair Cameron (Sw ‘73)

Adrian Chant (Fr ‘73)

John Chesworth (Ad ‘73)

Giles Clark (Be ‘73)

Ian Cockerton (Sw ‘73)

Robin Godfrey (Ad ‘73)

Michael Harrison (Lo ‘73)

Peter Haslam (Up ‘73)

Rowan Hill (Co ‘73)

Sarah Jenkins (Bu ‘73)

Michael Johnson (Co ‘73)

John Moss (Ad ‘73)

Barbara Oswald (McCarthy) (Ch ‘73)

Steven Roberts (Ad ‘73)

Nick Shirley (Lo ‘73)

John Simister (Co ‘73)

Caroline Spinney (Ru ‘73)

Mike Spinney (Sw ‘73)

Lionel Zetter (Up ‘73)

2003 Leavers’ 20-Year Reunion

Clare Allen (SG ’03)

Richard Bartholomew (SH ’03)

Joanna Birkett (Bu ’03)

Katherine Bluck (Ch ’03)

Amanda Bunten (Douglas) (SH ’03)

Priscilla Chadwick (Hon)

Nicki Cooper (Akers) (’03)

Annie Connell (Peppiatt) (As ’03)

Patrick Cowie (Hon)

Kayleigh Curneen (SG ’03)

Kevin Ergin Kendridge (Na ’03)

Claire Eustace-Brown (Na ’03)

Steph Fleming (’03)

Sue Foster (Hon)

Sarah Gadsden (As ’03)

Jonathon Gardiner (Ha ’03)

Luca Garratt (Bu ’03)

Angus Glasser (As ’03)

Rebecca Goodacre (As ’03)

Louise Groom (SH ’03)

Sebastian Haire (Ha ’03)

Antonia Halker Mercandino (’03)

Beth Hannaway (’03)

Philippa Hardesty (Na ’03)

Cordelia Hennessey (As ’03)

Christiana Hinton (Sleath) (SH ’03)

Maria Hoite (Ha ’03)

Jessica Kay (Cooper) (Bu ’03)

Joanna Kent (SH ’03)

Ben Lanning (Ch ’03)

Richard Laybourne (SH ’03)

Nina Maclean (Goswamy) (Na ’03)

Jamie Maclean (Guest)

Emma Martin (’03)

Adam Mason (Na ’03)

Richard McIlwaine (Hon)

Jack McKee (’03)

Kieran Meckin (’03)

Charles Minors (Ch ’03)

Toby Morris (Bu ’03)

Chris Nicholls (Hon)

Victoria Nicholson (Bu ’03)

Arran Patel (As ’03)

Philippa Proctor (SG ’03)

Tim Rees (Na ’03)

Vicky Rees (Hon)

Ashley Register (Ch ’03)

Liz Roberts (Hon)

Jamie Ross (’03)

James Sansome (Na ’03)

Lucy Spencer (Ha ’03)

Andrew Tod (’03)

Charis Watkinson (Beaton) (Ch ’03)

Andrew Webb (Hon)

2013 Leavers’ 10-Year Reunion

Abigail Barnes (SH ’13)

Amy Barton (SG ’13)

Hannah Bower (Sp ’13)

Montana Brown (Ch ’13)

Freya Burgess (SG ’13)

Madalena Cardoso (Guest)

Conrad Cheng (SG ’13)

Ashley Clancy (Hon)

Emily Connolly (Douetil) (Sp ’13)

Lucy Cottle (SG ’13)

Hugo Davis (As ’13)

Ellie Eisenstadt (Ch ’13)

Molly Ferguson (Entrican) (Na ’13)

Rachel Fletcher (Re ’13)

Olivia Fountaine (As ’13)

Katie Frame (Ha ’13)

Rachel Garwood (Ch ’13)

Alexander Gomez Foord (Ha ’13)

Catherine Haigh (Re ’13)

Angus Hardy (Ch ’13)

Emily Hardy (Bu ’13)

Celeste Hartley (As ’13)

James Hawkes (Re ’13)

Elizabeth Highfield (Sp ’13)

Will Holland (Ha ’13)

Georgina Holland (Ashby) (Ha ’13)

Oliver Holt (Na ’13)

Charlie Insch (As ’13)

Nathan Jenkins (SG ’13)

Dan Jones (SG ’13)

Maddie Jones (Re ’13)

Chris Katanchian (Ch ’13)

Joanna Kendall (SH ’13)

Rebecca Levin (SG ’13)

Jemma Magrath (Ha ’13)

Charlotte Marshall (SH ’13)

Adam McAteer (Bu ’13)

Richard McIlwaine (Hon)

Helena Nagle (As ’13)

James Naidoo (As ’13)

Bob Newport (Hon)

Emma Oakley (Na ’13)

Alisha O’Grady (Re ’13)

Nick Perman (Ch ’13)

Martin Pett (Hon)

Vicky Rees (Hon)

Charlie Rider (Sp ’13)

Mobolaji Sanusi (Ha ’13)

Meg Shaw (Re ’13)

Olivia Taylor (Guest)

Rhys Terrar (Ch ’13)

Richard Thompson (Hon)

Tom Turnbull (As ’13)

Hannah Wallett (Guest)

Erica Wood (Bu ’13)

Kat Wray (Sp ’13)

OB Annual Dinner

Mynerva Altman (Smith) (Bu ’56)

Richard Backhouse (Hon)

Cannell Benmore (Lo ’53)

Graham Burchnall (Hon)

Susie Carpenter (Robinson) (OS ’64)

Brigitta Case (Norris) (NS ’80)

Richard Case (Be ’79)

Zoe Cavell (Mayman) (Ho ’95)

Natasha Charlton (Prior) (NS ’86)

Sean Charlton (Ad ’85)

Patrick Cowie (Hon)

Rob Doe (Guest)

Alex Fage (Fr ’14)

Adrian Forster (Hon)

Keith Goddard (Ad ’62)

Patricia Goddard (Guest)

James Green (’20)

Steph Gunary (Hon)

Will Gunary (Hon)

Michael Harrison (Sw ’60)

Tanya Hart (Altman) (Bu ’81)

Chris Hayward (Hon)

Ashley Hornsey (’20)

Anne-Marie Horton (Guest)

Mike Horton (Sw ’64)

Remy Horton (Bu ’99)

Nick Hume (SG ’98)

Gay Jarrad (Nightingirl) (SH ’61)

Mark Jarrad (Hon)

Norma Jenns (Guest)

Timothy Jenns (Co ’65)

Peter King (Co ’60)

Rosie King (Wolstenholme) (Ho ’60)

Rip Kirby (Co ’59)

Lesley Koulouris (Hon)

Gavin Laws (Hon)

Julie Laws (Guest)

Tracey Mackey (Overton) (NS ’82)

Keith Mans (Lo ’64)

Rosalie Mans (Guest)

Jane McIlwaine (Hon)

Richard McIlwaine (Hon)

Kathy Moore (Guest)

Robert Moore (Co ’59)

Chris Nicholls (Hon)

Sue Nicholls (Hon)

Robert Norris (Gr ’78)

Adam Pemberton (Sw ’89)

Ryan Perrie (Hon)

Martin Pett (Hon)

Christopher Ptaszynski-Neophytou (Ch ’14)

Vicky Rees (Hon)

Dave Richardson (Hon)

Liz Richardson (Hon)

Liz Roberts (Hon)

Will Roen-Tate (Gr ’15)

Derek Severs (Lo ’50)

Ant Theodossi (Hon)

Richard Thompson (Hon)

Andrew Webb (Hon)

Michael Webster (Be ’60)

Corinna Whitfield (Drake) (SH ’68)

Jayne Willson (Guest)

Peter Willson (Co ’66)

Sue Wolstenholme OBE (Ho ’58)

Chris Wynne (Co ’64)

David Young (Be ’60)

OB Rowers’ Lunch

Nigel Bentley (Sw ’65)

Ann Bentley (Guest)

Brigitta Case (Norris) (NS ’80)

Richard Case (Be ’79)

Richard Cooper (Ad ’71)

Paul Hill (Sw ’68)

David How (Ad ’71)

Paul Mainds (Ad ’68)

Sam Mainds (Ad ’64)

David Webb (Sw ’62)

Janet Webb (Guest)

Corinna Whitfield (Drake) (SH ’68)

Chris Wynne (Co ’64)

London Steak Dinner

Michael Abebe (SH ’93)

Timothy Auger (SJ ’65)

Richard Cooper (Ad ’71)

Ralph Falkiner-Nuttall (In ’59)

David Harwood (Co ’76)

Remy Horton (Bu ’99)

Chris Jany (Co ’76)

Robert Norris (Gr ’78)

Corinna Whitfield (Drake) (SH ’68)

Peter Willson (Co ’66)

London Drinks

Margaret Aitchison (OS ’61)

William Barnes (Bu ’20)

Jake Berry (SG ’16)

James Boulter (Re ’06)

Andi Case (Be ’85)

Sarah Cox (Hon)

Katy Craven (Bu ’83)

Claudia Dorrell (’81)

Kim Hinds (Na ’10)

Remy Horton (Bu ’99)

Nick Hume (SG ’98)

Rob Jones (As ’06)

Farida Korallus (Hon)

Frederick Korallus (Hon)

Ross Leslie (’14)

Lisa Masters (OS ’81)

George Mowbray (Ch ’02)

Brian O’Neill (Be ’94)

Jack Organ (Ch ’06)

Michael Parsey (SG ’16)

Peter Rees (Up ’58)

Steve Roberts (Ad ’73)

Freddie Sallis (As ’16)

Tim Shell (Bu ’05)

Nick Shirley (Lo ’73)

Mark Smith (Bu ’06)

Alison Swinburn (NS ’83)

Jed Thirkettle (SH ’18)

Richard Thompson (Hon)

Alex Webb (Ha ’72)

Lizzie Whaley (Sp ’15)

From the Sports Secretary

A warm welcome to all OBs from the Sports Secretary. The magazine provides me with an opportunity to let you know that the OB Committee supports a number of sports clubs and we would love for all OBs to get involved.

We have sports clubs that run activities over the year, with some providing regular competitive opportunities, others organising a few key events. So, whether you still want to run around a football pitch, miss the fives court or want to feel a rifle in your hand again, please get in touch. Over the next few pages, you will read about the activities that have taken place over the year and some of the impressive results the teams have been achieving.

The magazine also provides me with an opportunity to thank the team of volunteers who run the sports clubs. All captains are volunteers, who often organise their sports club activities while working full-time, and they do a great job. They are often supported by a team of volunteers who are each responsible for tasks that help lighten the

Tennis

The Tucker Cup – Old Girls vs The School 21st April 2023

On the afternoon of Friday 21st April 2023, the Old Girls’ tennis team played another very enjoyable match against the School on the courts at Kings Campus.

Huge thanks to all who put themselves forward to play and to Emma Turner (Ch ’09) for hosting and co-ordinating the event with the School team.

In spite of a poor weather forecast, we enjoyed a wonderful couple of hours of tennis, followed by a delicious tea. The School’s first two couples were very strong, and indeed their first couple of

overall load. Without the volunteers, our sports clubs would not function, so, as always, we would like to extend our thanks and appreciation to all who are involved in making the OB sports clubs such a success.

If you are reading this but thinking your sport isn’t represented, then please get in touch. The OB Committee offers funding to help establish new clubs, and continued funding to support activities. As well as the positive effects sport has on health and wellbeing, it also enables OBs to network, keep in touch and have fun. We are also interested to hear from those of you who may be more inclined to the arts rather than sports. If you feel there is a need for a chess club, choral society or orchestral day, please let us know. We are happy to support but just ask for help organising events.

If you would like to get involved in a sports club, or would like to set up a new club of any kind, then please let me know at alison.connell30@gmail.com

Guthrie (Connell) (Ho ‘97) October 2023

Millie and Helena played particularly well, securing most of the points for the School team together with second couple Hannah and Charlotte. Their talent, power and top spin on the School tarmac courts proved a challenge for our first two pairs! However, the solid play of the third, fourth and fifth couples in the Old Girls’ team overpowered the School, winning every match, thus securing a significant overall victory. So I am delighted to report that the Old Girls have retained the Tucker Cup for another year.

Our team of five pairs this year comprised Jo Hodge (Bellamy) (OS ‘94) and Sarah Beaman (Stoddart) (Ho ‘94), Anna Loder (Green) (Ho ‘82) and Brigitta Case (Norris) (NS ‘80), Charlotte Venturini

(May) (NS ’92) and Eleanor Keohane (King) (SH ’90), Bridget Evett (Chown) (Ru ’81) and Hilary Hartley (Hon), and Emma Turner (Ch ’09) and Jo Vila (Lupton) (Bu ‘02).

The School team comprised Millie D and Helena U, Hannah M and Charlotte U, Sophie B and Zarah P, Eliza D and Emily-Beth T, Evie L, Molly K and Freya B.

Special thanks to Sue Wolstenholme OBE (Ho ’58) for keeping the scores, to Penny Kent (Hon) for presenting the cup, and to all those who came to support the match.

We look forward to another challenge against the School next year. If there are tennis-playing Old Girls out there who would like to take part, please do get in touch as we are always keen to recruit new and recent leavers, as well as reuniting with the veterans of the OG Squad!

Please look out for the OB Summer Sports Day in early July 2024 when we hope to have some OB tennis as well as fives and cricket taking place!

Golf

The Old Berkhamstedians Golfing Society is open to all OBs and staff of Berkhamsted School. We have a Spring Meeting traditionally held at Berkhamsted GC and an Autumn Meeting at Ashridge GC. Both are social events with as much focus on lunching well as playing well.

Throughout the year we have several friendly matches against other societies and local clubs. We also enter teams into a number of scratch competitions including the Halford Hewitt, Grafton Morrish, Cyril Gray and Schools Putting Competition.

The society is always keen to hear from new members, especially recent school leavers. For those under the age of 30, the society subsidises the cost of attending meetings by up to 50%.

If you would like more information or would like to be added to our mailing list and receive a copy of the society diary, please email oldberkhamstediansgolf@gmail.com

David Atkins (Be ’84) and Matt Dennehy (Ch ’06)

OBGS Spring Meeting

Berkhamsted GC, 18th March 2023

The spring meeting at Berkhamsted is always a tough test; tight gorse-lined fairways are not the OBGS golfer’s friend. While we were treated to wonderful weather, the rain of previous weeks meant that the greens, while true, were soft and slow. Not perturbed by the conditions, 18 golfers headed out onto the course, and it was clear the conditions meant that players could hit aggressive shots onto the greens, with the result being some of the best scores we have seen at this event for some time.

The Captain’s Bucket, awarded for the best gross score, went to Bradley Hucker (Ch ’20) with a 73, who just pipped James Lyle’s (SJ ‘05) 75. There was, however, good news for James, as his 36 points were enough to win the Headmaster’s Cup for the best Stableford score, beating Steve

Roberts (Ad ‘73) on countback. The final prize of the morning was the age-adjusted Keeling Cup where additional Stableford points are awarded to members over the age of 65. Once again, Peter King (Co ’60) came out on top with a wonderful 47 points – can anyone beat him?

Following lunch, which was washed down by wine provided by our Captain, David Atkins, eight golfers headed back onto the course for nine holes of foursomes. Mike Hodges (Co ‘85) and Jerry Duncombe (In ‘78) combined well to score 19 points, helped by three excellent birdies. This was matched by Matt Dennehy and Michael Butler (Sw ’72). After a quick check of the cards, it was Matt and Michael who took home the Baron’s Tankards.

Matt Dennehy

Halford Hewitt Cup

30th March to 2nd April 2023

Despite the unavailability of Ross Anderson (Gr ‘97) and injury continuing to afflict Toby Morris (Bu ‘03) (who nevertheless came to support the team), a strong squad vied for selection for our five-pair foursomes team. After a drawn practice match against Ashridge’s scratch team and trials during the first OBGS ‘tour’ to Prince’s earlier in March, the selectors found themselves leaving out Jim Northway (Ad ‘83) who had played in 58 consecutive matches since making his debut in 1992, winning 28 and halving several more.

The draw provided a potential ‘banana skin’ first-round tie against City of London – who had not won a round since 1994 – and a return for the first time since 2017 to play at Sandwich marred only by yet another Friday morning start for the third time in the last four years. That at least afforded the team and supporters the opportunity to enjoy a convivial pre-match lunch in the fabled dining room at Royal St George’s on the first day of the tournament – followed by some Bacchus-infused putting on the practice green.

The weather forecast for Friday 31st March was full of foreboding, with storm-force winds and heavy rain expected throughout what we hoped would be a two-round day. As we gathered at the

first tee shortly before 9.00am, the rain proved slightly less heavy than feared but a stiff south westerly wind provided challenging conditions as Brad Hucker struck the opening tee shot in partnership with Chris Mach (Bu ‘10).

They were followed by Glenn Barrington (Co ‘88), playing his 59th consecutive Hewitt match, in partnership with possibly our oldest debutant, Mike Hodges (Co ‘85). These two pairs were both away to sound starts, unlike our third pair, Steve Richards (Ch ‘98) – returning to the side for the first time since 2017 – together with Adam Nodder (Na ‘99), who found themselves two down after three holes against a wily pair from the Citizens. Tom Irwin (‘21) and Mike McGrory (Be ‘10) followed and were one down at the same point, at which stage our vanguard pair of Charlie Creasy (Ha ‘11) and Matt McGrory (As ‘11) were just one up, both pairs having suffered from three-putting the third green.

As the match progressed towards the Maiden (6th Hole), the team steadied themselves with every pair holding a narrow advantage apart from Richards and Nodder, who had at least achieved parity with their opponents. The ensuing holes towards the windswept hilltop 10th green saw the contest turn decisively in Berkhamsted’s favour and both the top and bottom pairs were quick to close the deal, each shaking hands on the 12th green and adjourning to the adjacent refreshment hut. Barrington and Hodges maintained a three-hole advantage around the loop and secured victory when the latter’s powerful tee shot to the back of the 16th green saw them home at about the same time as Irwin and Mike McGrory won their game on the 14th green. Unfortunately, the wily Citizen pair proved too much for Richards and Nodder, who slumped to defeat on the 15th green to leave the overall score 4-1 in our favour. A quick match completed in little more than three hours just as our valiant Joint-Captain, Robbie MacDonald (In ‘74), arrived at the course only to be dispatched to the 19th hole to arrange a lunch table!

A Friday morning start in the Hewitt often leads to a delay in identifying second-round opponents and a long wait to start the last-of-the-day second-round match. This year was no exception, as it took a while for King’s Canterbury to emerge as expected from their first-round match. A side seemingly favoured by local knowledge with several Sandwich members and most having played regularly there in their schooldays.

The match began on time shortly before 3.00pm with continuous rain now having relented into heavy showers driven by an increasing wind. Unfortunately, the flow of the match was disrupted by having to let two earlier matches play extra holes, which meant that the first two pairs were playing some 30 minutes ahead of the others. This prevented the good news ebbing back of a fine start by Hucker and Mach, who had been quick to the punch against the sons of Barry McGuigan and the current Lord Mayor, establishing a three-up lead after five holes. Conversely, Barrington and Hodges quickly found themselves on the wrong end of a two-birdie start and otherwise steady par golf in difficult conditions. Hucker and Mach proved unrelenting and closed out a fine day’s golf on the 13th green just as Barrington and Hodges succumbed on the previous hole.

Behind them Richards and Nodder were determined to redeem themselves and had established a two-hole lead after eight holes as your correspondent worked his way back to find Irwin and Mike McGrory one up at the same point. Unfortunately, they contrived to lose the next three holes, culminating in a four putt on the 11th green, in what was already looking like the decisive match as Creasy and Matt McGrory were finding an intractable, experienced, Sandwich member pair against them, eventually losing on the 14th green.

Richards and Nodder maintained their advantage through to the 16th tee where the former’s forceful iron to the heart of the green

seemed to be the decisive blow after their opponents left themselves a tricky chip over a guarding bunker. And so it proved, but only after Richards had holed a tricky seven-foot putt!

All eyes turned to the match-deciding fourth game as the pairs approached a gathering crowd around the 15th green, who learned that King’s Canterbury had driven out of bounds at the previous hole to leave themselves just one up. The 15th was halved and both pairs nervously missed the 16th green with their tee shots, but Irwin’s thunderous chip hit the flag full-on to leave the ball within a foot or so of the cup, which Mike McGrory duly holed out to square the match. The penultimate hole was halved in bogey, which meant that the crowd of players and supporters assembled around the 18th tee where both Mike and his opponent struck fine matching drives straight down the middle into the gathering gloom. Tom, with little experience of playing this treacherous finishing hole, played first, but his well-struck long iron faded away into the rough to the right to be followed by a ‘safe’ shot just short of the front edge of the green by King’s Canterbury. Sadly, that proved decisive, as we needed two chips from the rough to reach the back of the green and then failed to hole the ensuing long putt, leaving the opposition with the luxury of three putts for victory. A gallant defeat with much for our team to take from the day in building confidence that we can be a regular ‘Saturday Side’, with the potential in the near future to achieve that elusive first Sunday appearance.

Michael Butler (Sw ‘72)

Berkhamsted retain the ABC (just)

OBGS v Old Aldenhamians

Harewood Downs Golf Club, 13th April 2023 April 13th was a Thursday last year. It was the date the annual Berkhamsted v Aldenham golf match took place. The venue was Harewood Downs Golf Club, where the participants were greeted by OB Gordon MacDonald (In ‘81) in his role as Golf Reception Manager at the club.

The captains agreed that the match was best played in handicap order and so James Northway (Ad ‘83) (playing off 5) and David Atkins (10) led off against Beamish (3) and Percy (10). Never in the lead until coming up the 18th level, a par was sufficient to clinch the first point. Michael Butler and Colin McBride (both 10) came up against the Yule brothers (10 and 14) and were outplayed, losing 5 and 4. Level-pegging after two games. Stuart Lyle (Bu ‘01) (13) and Malcom Hann (Up ‘65) (17) played Hall and Cruikshank and lost two down so the destination of the cup hung on the last game. Michael Fountaine (Fr ‘78) (17) paired with stalwart Peter King (29) took on Melville and Thwaites (both 20) and after a very tight 17 holes prevailed on the 18th to win one up. Two each enabled Berkhamsted to retain the ABC, but it was a close-run thing.

There was general agreement that the course was in very good condition with true greens running at a reasonable pace. The club provided an excellent lunch accompanied by suitable liquid refreshment, at which John Yule of Aldenham presented the cup to Colin McBride for safe keeping for another year.

One wonders what the result might have been had the 13th been a Friday! This is always a most enjoyable match and I would encourage OB golfers to offer their services – you won’t be disappointed.

Grafton Morrish Tournament

Last year we moved to nearby Denham for the pre-qualifying round played on Sunday 21st May on a dry fast-running course compounded by a tricky wind. Our three-pair team for the scratch Stableford points format was led off by Denham members, Mike Hodges and Matt McGrory, whose errant opening drive way left was recovered to produce an unlikely opening birdie. A similar drive by Charlie Creasy in the opposite direction into the fairway bunker on the 10th hole was not so well recovered but honour was restored when Glenn Barrington tapped in for a birdie three at the next hole. Brad Hucker and Ross Anderson started with a conventional birdie so that each of the three pairs mounted the third tee with four points.

Hodges and McGrory used their local knowledge to keep the scoreboard ticking and finished with a fine score of 30 points, just six over par in tricky conditions. Creasy and Barrington offset a few double bogeys with birdies and held themselves together to score 27 points. Hucker and Anderson fared less well, but their 21 points enabled the team to post a comfortable qualifying score as we finished 4th out of 15 schools.

The Finals were held as usual at Hunstanton and Brancaster in early autumn and we found ourselves drawn at the latter links to play Culford on the morning of Friday 6th October with hopes that a seemingly strong team could progress to at least the second round for a potential revenge match against King’s Canterbury. Culford proved somewhat stronger than expected with three young pairs, the top two of which comfortably overcame Steve Richards and Matt McGrory, and Adam Nodder and Mike McGrory, meaning that a solid four and three win for Glenn Barrington and Chris Mach was to no avail. The team repaired to the Clubhouse to learn that their opponents were the products of a new golf academy at Culford – duly justified as they proceeded to reach the quarter-final round for the first time. Something for Berkhamsted to take note of, perhaps?

The Silver Tassie

On Monday 22nd May 2023, our Old Berkhamstedians ladies’ golf team competed in The Silver Tassie which was held at The Berkshire Golf Club. The competition is equivalent to the men’s Halford Hewitt competition and has been held annually since 1961.

This year our team consisted of: Jackie Kershaw (Welford) (Bu ’81) and Alison Welborn (Harley) (Bu ‘76), and Rowena Paxton (Fletcher) (SH ‘70) and Hils Humphrey-Baker (Wright) (Ch ‘76).

The weather conditions were chilly and blustery and not at all in line with the forecast. Waterproofs were required to keep out the cold wind.

The course was presented in superb condition. There was an abundance of heather in various colours and the beautiful purple wild rhododendrons were in full bloom. Our team played alongside the ladies from Repton, one of whom was a professional England ladies’ hockey player and capable of hitting her 5 wood 250 yards!

The format of the day was an 18-hole 4BBB Stableford with 85% handicap allowance. Jackie and Alison played the Blue Course while Rowena and Hils competed on the Red Course. Although we came in with a very respectable score, unfortunately it wasn’t quite good enough to be in the prizes. Wycombe Abbey won the competition on countback with three schools all achieving 78 points.

Better luck next year, girls!

Alison Welborn (Harley) (Bu ’76)

Senior Cyril Gray

This one-round scratch Stableford competition was played on the final day of the main Cyril Gray Tournament at Worplesdon on Friday 23rd June and required a pair with a combined age of at least 140, with the younger player being at least 65 years old.

Our pair of Colin McBride and Michael Butler, previous winners in 2021, set off in the company of a strong and affable pair from Stowe. The latter missed several short putts while after an opening ‘blob’ our pair played steadily to accumulate 13 points after eight holes which transpired to be comfortably the leading score at that point from the 11 participating schools. A combination of indecisive chips and too many putts (crowned with four on the final green) meant that our pair’s final score of just 22 points looked inadequate – but only just! Four schools including Stowe tied on 22 points but Canford’s back-nine 13 points meant that they prevailed with our pair having the compensation of winning the tankards for runners-up.

OBGS v Denham Golf Club

22nd July 2023

We are most fortunate to have this annual fixture on a weekend date in high summer at the prestigious Denham club, with its legendary hospitality. Much is owed to Robbie MacDonald for establishing and maintaining the match, but worryingly he was unable to lead the charge this year as he awaited surgery the next day. Your correspondent is pleased to report he is recovering well. As I write this piece in the early November UK gloom, Robbie has just posted a video to the OBGS WhatsApp group of his silky swing from sunny Royal Westmoreland in Barbados.

We gathered on a grey morning with a threatening forecast and welcomed James Casserly (Tu ’20), a +2 handicap player home from college in the USA, to make his debut for the Society in a five-pairs-each-side foursomes morning game with the afternoon format depending on the weather and the length of lunch.

We enjoyed some competitive golf punctuated by the usual Pimm’s stop at the halfway hut, and the morning concluded with the match poised all-square just as the heavens opened. The Club Captain immediately ordained that we should be suited and booted to repair to the Denham dining room to consume the usual excellent BBQ fare and plenty of fine wine. Many of us then adjourned to the comfort of the lounge to watch the Open with suitable post-prandial refreshment as the rain continued to teem down.

Our team was: James Casserly and Matt McGrory; Mike Hodges and Nick Bottrill (Fr ‘70); Charlie Creasy and Mike McGrory; Michael and Tom Butler (Gr ’10); Matt Dennehy and Colin McBride.

Autumn Meeting

22nd September 2023

Our intrepid secretary took the considerable risk of going to Spain for this meeting and left 21 OB golfers to roam freely over the Ashridge fairways under clear blue skies following the deluges provided by the remnants of Atlantic hurricanes earlier in the week.

Our retiring Society Captain, David Atkins, led off the morning Stableford singles competition and returned to the clubhouse with a fine score of 42 points (six under his handicap) which held up until the cards from the final match were deposited –revealing that he had been trumped for the Bobby Furber Salver by his brother, Michael, with a gross level-par round for 43 points. Appeals by David to the acting secretariat fell on deaf ears.

The other two trophies were retained by the previous year’s winners in the form of John Struthers (Be ’66) with 35 points to win the Captain’s Cup and Michael Butler with an age-adjusted 41 points to win the Veterans’ Cup.

We then repaired to the Ashridge dining room for a fulsome three-course carvery lunch washed down with fine wines generously provided by the retiring Captain who announced, to universal acclaim, that Mark Spooner (Fr ’90) would succeed him for 2024/2025.

Eight of our number felt the need to walk off lunch and ventured out into the late afternoon sunshine for nine more holes to contest the Cork Cup. Once again James Lyle defeated the secretariat’s secret method of choosing the pairings, winning the afternoon foursomes for the third time in the last four meetings, this time in partnership with Colin McBride with 18 points.

That brought a fine day’s golf to an end – which all went like clockwork thanks to Matt’s pre-match organisation and briefing.

OBGS v Old Cholmeleians

Ashridge GC, Saturday 7th October 2023

Our penultimate match of the year was against the Old Cholmeleians; 36 holes of foursomes at Ashridge with a prime-time Saturday morning tee.

With the Society having won this fixture for the past eight years, the OCs decided to bolster their side with a few new faces (including one ringer) in an attempt to reinvigorate their team.

The news from the morning session was not good; Billy Atkins (Be ’82) and Matt Dennehy combined well for a good win while Michael Butler and Michael Webster (Be ‘60) secured a vital half from their match, meaning we headed into lunch down 1.5 to 2.5. Despite the deficit, confidence remained high as, more often than not, the OBGS normally enters lunch behind in this fixture.

As the Society headed out after a fine lunch, all were reminded that we required 2.5 points to retain the Spooner Salver. Once again, despite some

good wins from Tom Butler and Matt Dennehy, as well as Billy Atkins and Michael Butler, we could only manage two points in the afternoon, which meant that the OCs won 4.5 to 3.5.

Congratulations to the Old Cholmeleians on a deserved win. They always push us very close and on this occasion the damage from the morning session was too great. Hopefully this loss will spur the Society on to come back fighting next year.

Tudor Rose Golf Day

The annual Tudor Rose Golf Day was held at Berkhamsted Golf Club on Monday 9th October 2023. The weather was lovely with temperatures normally associated with summer, and the course was at its best and looking beautiful but still challenging. We were delighted to welcome not just Old Berkhamstedians but mothers of Old Berkhamstedians for the first time. This meant a good turnout, with 18 ladies playing golf and

four others, including club founder members

Mynerva Altman (Smith) (Bu ‘56) and Evelyn Pegley (Levitton) (Lx ’54) and the President of The Old Berkhamstedians Brigitta Case (Norris) (NS ‘80), joining for tea and cake.

The Tudor Rose Cup was won by Mary Henderson (Struthers) (OS ‘73) – a worthy victor.

Winner of the Evelyn Pegley Salver was Hayley McKenna who just pipped Julie Blake into third place.

Fives

It was a successful and enjoyable season for the Berkhamsted club and League 3 team incorporating Old Boys and Girls, alongside anyone else who enjoys the game. Most Tuesdays, several of the School courts were full of a mixture of teachers, parents, Old Berkhamstedians, visitors from other fives clubs, the odd current pupil and friends and relatives of all the above!

Particularly pleasing was the mix of young and ‘experienced’ players taking part, as well as a few newcomers who we hope will become regulars for the future.

We are thankful to Anthony Theodossi and Chris Davey for organising evenings during term-time, providing beers, balls and equipment for those who needed them, and for their coaching expertise getting those new to the game up and running and reminding the rest of us what we should be doing.

Winner of the best front nine was Rowena Paxton and winner of the back nine was Penny Kent (Hon).

The sandwiches and cake were well deserved after the golf and everyone enjoyed catching up and renewing old friendships. We are always looking to increase our membership and if anyone would like to join as an Old Berkhamstedian or mother of an Old Berkhamstedian, please email tudorrosegolf@yahoo.com

Alison Welborn (Harley) (Bu ‘76)

Outside of term-time, a hardcore of ‘renegade’ players made sure that barely a Tuesday night went by without at least a couple of courts filled.

The 2022/3 League 3 campaign was a slightly unexpected success with us coming out as champions by a narrow margin. This year’s league team is also going well, with some hard-fought wins. The most pleasing aspect was the variety of players we managed to put out in our six completed matches – 16 different individuals, by my count, who all contributed something. Also pleasing was the variety of club members taking part in various tournaments – the Kinnaird, Northern, Mixed team and individual, Under 21s, Under 25s, Over 50s and Barber Cup, to name a few.

The Tuesday evening club is open to all at no cost, so anyone can join anytime, no experience or equipment required.

Lacrosse

There’s a healthy representation of Old Berkhamstedians in the Durham Lacrosse 1st Team, and we had a very successful start to the season, winning our first match against Scotland’s National Team 21-19. Since then, we have also played Edinburgh and Birmingham, winning both BUCS games by more than 10 goals. The early morning starts, fitness training and overall dedication from all the team has paid off and I have no doubt it will continue to do so throughout the season.

It has been great to see so many Old Berkhamstedians participating in Durham’s Lacrosse Performance Programme. Bella Streule (’20), in her fourth year, is the current 1st Team Co-Captain. Other OBs in the squad are Isla Duguid (’20), also in her fourth year, Demi Tuinema (’21) in her third, Amy Baxter (SG ’22) in her second year and Molly Light (’23) in her first.

Amy Baxter (SG ‘22)

Rifle Club

The year started on a sad note with the death of Ian Halsey (Ad ’62), who had shot for the School and then for the OBRC for more than 50 years. He was a stalwart of the club. There was an excellent turnout at his funeral on 1st February 2023. He will be sadly missed. On a lighter note, we had three re-joining members: Richard Berkley (In ’77) and brothers Hugh (Co ’91) and Andrew Dixon who shot while at the School.

We entered the Astor Cup competition, but the usual course of fire (300, 500 and 600 yards) was truncated to 300 and 600 yds only. The conditions were ‘difficult’. Our wind coaches were Bruce Winney (Sw ‘89) and Bob Sampson (Be ‘95), and the results were a fair reflection of our performance. Bruce scored 103 out of 105, which looked very promising, but was beaten into second place by Bob Sampson with 104 out

of 105! Ollie Biddle (Bu ‘21) came in third with a very creditable 101.

We were able to enter three full teams of five in the Ashburton Veterans’ competition in July, which was our best entry for some years. Thanks to all the ‘veterans’ who turned out to support the School. It was a lovely evening shoot, but the final squad had to contend with the setting sun, which made things a bit difficult. We then had the AGM and a lovely BBQ courtesy of David Winney (Sw ’92) who has a static caravan on the site.

Any OBs, families or relations are able to have a go at shooting at Bisley (Surrey), where the club has Range Officers and Safety Officers to supervise, and a wide variety of guns to try. We can provide ammunition and the OBA provides comprehensive insurance. Anyone interested is requested to contact the Club Secretary David Pooley at david.pooley@tallco.co.uk

Sailing

As Cameron Pope and I enter Hamble Marina and board Gull (our home and transport for the weekend) on the Friday evening, we’re met with a tough decision. Beer, wine, or cocktails? Skipper and OB Sailing Club chief, Gavin Rees, is there to welcome us aboard and navigate us through the Dark ‘n’ Stormys, while Olivia Tomlinson knocks up a delicious chili.

After dinner we head across to Nota Bene to meet the other crew for a nightcap. It’s great to meet Old Berkhamstedians from 2017, 2010, 2005, 2003, 1994 and before, some old faces and some new – but all with common ground and an interest in sailing.

On Saturday morning after coffee and bacon and eggs, skipper for the day Olivia Tomlinson diligently talks me through the charts and sailing almanac and plans our route for the day. We’re sailing out into the Solent across towards Osborne Bay on the Isle of Wight. Cruising along to a soundtrack of Taylor Swift’s best bangers, we manage to find some good wind and clock up over 10 knots.

It’s a sunny late-September day and the braver crew members from each boat take to the water for a brisk swim. After lunch we set sail again, making our way to Lymington where we’re harbouring for the evening. We arrive in good time to soak up the afternoon sun and for a shimmy up the mast to fix some lines. Dinner is in a pub in town and during the meal the next day’s activities are discussed between the two crews. Back at the boats after dinner, the Nota Bene crew host us again for cocktails and karaoke, with excellent performances from Nicky Peck and Ken Main, and not so excellent from everyone else.

The next day, however, is all business. Sunday is race day and Cameron is taking the helm as skipper for the day. Gavin sets out a course with a suitable handicap for the faster boat, Nota Bene; one which all but guarantees a win for the more sluggish Gull. As we motor to the start line the sails are down, but the tension is high. The blast of the foghorn signals ‘go time’, and there’s a mad dash to hoist the sails and point us into wind.

On Gull we suddenly realise there’s been foul play – the other crew have stolen our winch handles in a desperate ploy to slow us down. However, what Gull lacks in speed she makes up for in technology, and we’re saved by the electrical winch. We build up enough of a lead to steal Nota Bene’s wind and sail through to victory.

The rest of the day is spent sailing in the Solent as we gradually make our way back to Hamble, tying up on a buoy for lunch along the way.

It was a great weekend, really well organised, suitable for all levels of sailing and amateur and professional singers alike. You don’t need to know your port from your starboard to take part, but you do need to come with a willingness to get stuck in. I’d recommend these trips to anyone who’s got even the slightest interest in sailing. They’re a really accessible and affordable way to dip your toe and try it out.

The weekend’s sailors were Gavin Rees (SH ‘97), Olivia Tomlinson (Na ‘17), Cameron Pope (SG ‘17), David Wotherspoon (Gr ‘90), Andrew Tod (Na ‘03), Matthew Steele (SH ‘94), Ken Main (Ad ‘93), Chris Broadway (In ‘79), James Jackson (Bu ‘05), Conal Dixon (As ‘05) and Nicola Peck (SG ‘12).

Andrew Tod (Na ‘03)

TRAVEL GRANTS

Thinking in French

My week in Montpellier last summer is one that I will never forget. I had the most amazing time, learned so much and met lots of interesting people.

I stayed with a lovely French lady who I had never met before, while taking French lessons at Accent Français language school every day. There were two other girls, also doing French courses in Montpellier, who were staying with Madame Schué (my host) as well. Madame could not have been more hospitable. As well as taking me to and from the airport, showing me how to use the bus and tram to get to the language school on my first day, and making sure I knew how to get around, she cooked us an amazing three-course dinner every evening! Madame only spoke French with us, which was great. As we all came from different countries with different languages, French was the only way we could really communicate with each other, forcing us to practise as much as possible! We discussed some fascinating topics over dinner, ranging from regional traditions to politics and recent technological advancements. I learned so much from these discussions, both in terms of picking up French vocabulary and having a greater understanding of these topics. It was certainly tiring having to keep concentrating and think in French all day, but I loved the challenge!

Although Madame’s apartment was slightly far from the city centre, I actually loved the commute of walking and taking the tram to school, and the public transport system was very easy to use. Every morning I had lessons in a group of about

10 at the language school, having taken an online test prior to my stay to assess my language ability. My lessons were intense, but I really enjoyed them. We discussed so many interesting topics and had fast-paced debates about Artificial Intelligence, politics and the environment. It helped build my confidence in speaking French with the other students in my class, who were all older than me. All the students came from different countries and the teacher would never switch to English but would try and explain something a different way in French, which I think is the best way to learn. Sometimes we worked individually or in pairs, but more often than not the whole class was involved in a group discussion. We even got some homework to do, such as preparing a short presentation to give to the class the next day.

From Tuesday to Thursday, I also had private lessons in the afternoons focused on A-level content. My teacher was amazing, and I was so lucky to have one-to-one tuition. He certainly stretched me as we started discussing harder topics that we hadn’t studied in school yet, but I learned so much from these lessons. He was

also very flexible and asked me at the start what I wanted to focus on or go over and he prepared lots of useful resources for me.

Although there weren’t any people my age in my classes, there were loads of other young people at the language school who I met. The school also ran activities in the afternoons which was a great opportunity to meet people and explore the city. For example, I went on a tour of the city with all the other new under-18 students on the first day, and a trip to the beautiful botanical gardens another day. It was also great to go out or explore the city with my new friends. One day, a few friends and I arranged to take the bus and tram to the beach straight after our lessons, spending the whole afternoon there, and eating a crêpe dinner on the beach in the evening.

My trip coincided with 14th July, Bastille Day, so it was a French national holiday meaning the school was closed that day. However, the school had organised a trip to the pretty historic town of Saintes Maries de la Mer where we visited the old cathedral, got ice cream and swam in the sea. Madame made us an amazing barbecue in the evening and then I went out with a group of friends to see the fireworks and the Bal des Pompiers (the firefighters’ ball – a tradition on 14th July). It was truly an amazing experience – it felt like the whole city had gathered to celebrate!

I grew so much in confidence during my trip to Montpellier, through travelling abroad on my own for the first time, speaking French with people I didn’t know and making lots of new friends while discovering the city. I didn’t just improve my French, but I learned so much from the experience and have grown in independence. I am very grateful to the Old Berkhamstedians for giving me this opportunity.

Worlds collide in Geneva

Before I start my presentation on my trip to Geneva, I want to say a massive thank you to the Old Berkhamstedians who have been so generous in funding my trip. I have gained a huge amount from this trip and am very grateful for the opportunity.

I wanted to visit CERN in Geneva as it is one of the world’s largest physics research facilities and is responsible for some major breakthroughs in quantum physics, such as the discovery of the Higgs Boson in 2012. It was also very relevant to my work in A-level Physics.

When I arrived in Geneva I had a brief tour of CERN and ate lunch there. I then explored the town a bit. I visited a small town called Hermance, which is right on the border between France and Switzerland and actually passes over it in certain places. It’s also situated right on the edge of Lac Léman (Lake Geneva). The scenery was beautiful as it was surrounded by mountains.

On day two I had a more in-depth tour of the Antiproton Decelerator building. As I arrived, they had just received the results of a recent experiment. However, it had to be kept secret as it wasn’t going to be made public for at least a couple of weeks.

The Antiproton Decelerator (AD) was built in 2000 and was made famous first in 2002 when it produced antihydrogen atoms for the first time. The machine itself produces low-energy antiprotons by firing protons at a target. The collisions with this target (a block of metal)

produce secondary particles which include antiprotons. These antiprotons are very high-energy so the AD reduces their energy and turns them into a useful low-energy beam which can then produce antimatter.

I then visited Atlas which played a huge part in the discovery of the Higgs Boson along with the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS). In the evening, I took a trip into the mountains to see some friends who lived nearby and experience some of the beautiful scenery.

On day three I wasn’t scheduled to go to CERN. Instead, I spent some time visiting the town including seeing the Jet d’Eau, which is the famous fountain in the middle of the lake, as well as the outrageously priced shops in town. I also had a tour of the old town which began construction almost 1,000 years ago.

Someone on one of my tours of CERN happened to be the owner of Château Rouge in Annemasse, so he showed a few of us around it, which was an unexpected surprise. Then, to top it all off, I played a local golf course which had wonderful views of Geneva.

On my final day, I had another tour where I visited various other buildings including the Large Magnet Facility, the Cosmics Leaving Outdoor Droplets (CLOUD) experiment, measurement labs, materials lab and the Cryogenics lab. The Large Magnet facility is where the magnets for the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) are built. They must be made with an extreme

level of precision as we are talking about colliding particles (which are pretty small). There are two different types of magnets made, one to accelerate the particles and one to keep the particles in the centre of the tube. The magnets are positioned at regular intervals along the Large Hadron Collider. They also produce the long cylinders which pass through the entire LHC. They are made around 20m long and may appear straight, but curve ever so slightly, as the LHC is a massive circle.

The CLOUD experiment at CERN uses a special cloud chamber to study the possible link between galactic cosmic rays and cloud formation. It is based at the Proton Synchrotron (PS) at CERN. The PS provides an artificial source of cosmic rays that simulate natural conditions between ground level and the stratosphere. The facility contains large concrete blocks which shield people from the high levels of radiation of the cosmic rays. The cloud chamber is considered to be the cleanest

box in the world, as there can’t be anything to interfere with the reactions taking place. It is very difficult to achieve this.

During periods of research and development, mechanical measurements and material development are crucial in understanding the mechanical response of complex structures in harsh environments such as cryogenic temperatures, high magnetic and electric fields, high levels of radiation or the presence of high-energy proton beams. The materials used must be able to withstand these conditions in order for the apparatus to function properly.

The measurements of the parts being used must be extremely precise as experiments involve things as small as neutrinos (which are around one million times smaller than an electron). The precision they therefore work with in these measurement labs is 10-15fm (femtometres), which is extremely precise.

CERN has made many great discoveries but to be able to keep progressing and carry on making even greater and more groundbreaking discoveries, there must be constant plans in place for the future.

There are many plans at CERN but the closest to actually happening is the Future Circular Collider (FCC). The FCC, like the LHC, is a large ring but is going to be much bigger than the LHC, with a diameter of 100km. The goal of the FCC is to create higher energy collisions in the hope they might uncover new physics.

The Compact Linear Collider (CLIC) is another potential plan for the future where instead of the particles passing around a loop, they pass back and forth, thus preventing the need for magnets working to bend the particles around in a circle. As these plans come to fruition, I’m very excited to hear about new discoveries in the fields of quantum and particle physics.

Thank you again to the Old Berkhamstedians for this opportunity. I had a fantastic time and have gained very valuable independent skills. This trip has inspired me to visit new places and go further outside my comfort zone, something which I wouldn’t have thought about without their generosity. Thank you.

The Robin Knox-Johnston Award

Day 1 – Sunday

Rations low, supplies low, morale high. Hunger spreads throughout the crew. Watches drawn up, with the adventurous nomenclature Port (Ian’s) and Starboard (Lee’s). The first day was predominantly safety briefings and introductions to the boat, but afterwards we set sail for Studland Bay with all three sails hoisted. To general shock-horror, there were many, many degrees of heel. However, this was most felt by Starboard watch, who were below deck cooking the frankly delicious and otherworldly fajitas. These were eaten as we were still moving. The wind blew a fairly constant force 3, with occasional gusts of force 4, so we were able to leave the engine off until the very end of the journey. After we had anchored up in Studland Bay, the young crew found themselves witness to a police deployment: helicopters, police boats (in no rush), land vehicles (seemingly late) and on-foot-officers patrolling the beach. After this late, late show with the fuzz, we all retired to our bunks for a very well-earned sleep.

Day 2 – Monday

0400 start, 0430 breakfast, great fun. We divvied the time working on deck between the two watches, switching every two hours: first watch together, then Lee’s, then Ian’s, and repeat. Again, we powered on underneath all three sails: Yankee, Stay, and Main. However, powered is a slight reach, as the wind dropped to a light force 1, an easy breeze, so we looked to our engine for speed. As we raced for Alderney, Lee’s watch made spinach and ricotta ravioli, which went down a treat among this tired team. As we came into Braye Bay, Alderney, it was revealed a lucky one of us would have to be dangled (not a more exact term for it) over the starboard bow of the Challenger to attach us to a mooring buoy. This was Emily’s fate – or an example of her fortune, depending on your outlook. Once tied on and firmly attached, we were picked up by a water taxi and let loose on the streets of Alderney. Heading to town for some welcome, unhealthy foods, we spotted a lovely beach and decided we’d go for a swim. By the time all this was done, we were ready to shower and head back to the boat, again via water taxi. Tea tonight was sausage pasta with a Bolognese sauce, another delectable meal for our hungry souls, very lovingly prepped and made by Port watch. We all looked forward to a 0730 wake-up in the morning, after which we would explore more of this very, very, very hot island. Almost Mediterranean in nature.

Day 3 – Tuesday

Compared to the previous day’s 0400 start, we woke up at 0730 in the morning with a nice breakfast of crumpets and cereal. Afterwards we took the water taxi to Alderney where we hired some bikes to travel around the island. Apart from losing Jonathan to photography and Thomas to a loose chain, the forts were interesting and the scenery was striking. We stopped at a nice café, which had heartwarming hot chocolate and refreshing ice cream. The hills were difficult, but we managed to overcome them with sheer determination.

Afterwards some of us went for a swim and dive off the harbour wall into the sea while the rest of us had a nice late lunch at the local café – the pizza was delicious! Once we set off to Guernsey, we raised and lowered the same sail multiple times to develop our leadership and teamwork skills. On arriving in Guernsey, inflating the dinghy to get ashore was extremely time-consuming and we had to borrow a pump from the Frenchman moored opposite, but fortunately he spoke good English! We originally planned to have fish and chips for dinner but instead had Thai noodles as some of us went to a chippie for lunch. We could then enjoy a relaxing day ashore, exploring Guernsey.

Day 4 – Wednesday

On the Wednesday, we had the entire day ashore, where we split into groups. We started at Saint Peter Port in Guernsey, with one group exploring the local high streets, followed by pizza for lunch before catching the bus to Pembroke Bay for an afternoon swim on the beach. The other group set off to La Valette Underground Military Museum, where we saw various artefacts from WWII, and after that went to Castle Cornet where we learned many facts about Guernsey and its history. We then went to a fancy French restaurant for lunch, which gave out free sunglasses, and got the bus to Vazon Bay for afternoon swimming, before both groups returned for dinner. The evening menu featured fish and chips (or chicken goujons for those who preferred them). Port Watch prepared the food, and some in our watch ventured to a nearby chippy for some chips while others cooked the fish in the oven. Starboard were clearing up after dinner, then we had our evening briefing.

Day 5 – Thursday

We had a later wake-up at around 0800 hrs. After spending a few more hours in Guernsey, we sailed towards the island of Sark. We made

our own sandwiches for lunch, then put the sails up and down multiple times as part of a drill. Upon arriving, we had to do a D-Day-style beach landing using the dinghy, which was successful at the cost of almost everyone getting drenched by the incoming waves. As there were no cars allowed on the island, we walked on foot. En route, we stopped at a house and some of us bought some local jam. We arrived at the high street, which was basically a dirt track with a few shops and cafés. Afterwards, we ‘Dunkirked’ out back to the ship, where a nice dinner of curry and lentil soup was prepared by the watch leaders. After washing up, we finally started to make the roughly 12-hour journey back to Portsmouth with three-hour shifts between the watches. My watch was up first and we enjoyed the sunset, witnessed some distant fireworks from Guernsey and saw the night sky filled with stars. After a while, we went between Alderney and France, where the winds were reaching up to almost 15 knots! The boat was tilting so much that I genuinely thought that we would capsize, but fortunately we did not.

Day 6 – Friday

Had a very bad sleep of six hours in total. On my second shift, we sailed the English Channel and saw

various craft like cruise ships and cargo carriers. As our shift ended, the sun was rising, but I was in no state to admire it. After another three hours we passed the Isle of Wight and were approaching Portsmouth by breakfast, which was well ahead of schedule, so we did a few man-overboard drills before sailing back into the harbour. After lunch, we did some mast-climbing by the Spinnaker Tower which was a lot of fun, and also did a ‘deep clean’ of the ship, including the toilets (heads). During this time, we also had parents’ evening-style consultations with our watch leaders, who gave a report on how well we did, from leadership skills to learning new things. At last, our journey had come to an end. We received our RYA Competent Crew certificates and participation certificates and bade each other farewell. The friends that I made on the trip will stick with me for a while – a WhatsApp group chat was created to share photos and discuss the wonderful experiences we had.

The reason I chose the Knox-Johnston sailing trip was because – although I had been at sea – I had never had the opportunity to sail a boat and I knew that the travel grant was an opportunity that may only grace me once.

For me, the highlight of the trip was the first day. Arriving at Portsmouth Quays not knowing what I was actually going to do had me dying in anticipation. When we set off, the first thought I had was I was at the mercy of nature, stuck in a Challenger fleet that would house me for a week.

I remember being taught life jacket safety, how to clip yourself to the boat and what to do if we encountered a storm. That was when I realised it was real – I was alone at sea.

Our plan for the first voyage was to sail for a few hours and take a break at sea near a coast to have lunch – assuming everything went to plan. However, the world had decided it would give us the choppiest waters ever, with strong gusts of winds that would disappear by the next morning before we reached our lunch spot, so we set on a straight path to Alderney. Our 14-hour journey on sea then became a 12-hour journey.

I remember as I took the helm on our way to Alderney the rush of excitement and adrenaline I felt – not because I held the fate of our lives at sea but because of how fast we were going. With wind speeds averaging around 28 knots, I remember how the boat would stay on edge on starboard or port until we needed to tack to the other side. Staying on the right bearing was a skill that took me a while to master, but I enjoyed steering and occasionally having a laugh with the Mate when I caused spray of water to wet my other crew members.

As it got dark that night we switched into our night watches, Port and Starboard. I was Port. We were tasked with the 2000-0000 watch, whereas Starboard was tasked with 0000-0400. As the Starboard crew headed to their cabins to sleep, my watch took turns helming through the night. As this single boat sailed through the night sea, all tension evaporated from my mind and body; I felt free and at peace. The calmness of the sea

resonated with me, and the wind that had been a loud nuisance became a breeze that tickled my ear. As the clouds began to clear, I looked up at the dark blue sky, but as I began to stare, clusters of lights began to plaster the sky, with each glance exposing more lights until the sky was illuminated. I thought the night couldn’t get any better. Well, that was when I saw my first ever shooting star. I was so excited, I almost forgot to make a wish. And to make it even better, there behind me was a bright scarlet orb in the sky – a blood moon –something I had only read about in books.

Our whole voyage encompassed sailing from Portsmouth, stopping at Alderney overnight, then Guernsey and Yarmouth for a day. I learned a lot of different knots, and how to put the Main sail and Yankee up. By the third day, we youth sailors were able to man the ship by ourselves with little guidance from the Mates and Skipper. One of my biggest worries was meeting new people on the trip and trying to get along. However, I can say that anyone who decides to do sailing is a very cool person and is very likeable. To be honest, you end up making very good friends, considering you spend a week at sea together, and I found doing it with new people made it so much more thrilling and enjoyable. I have managed to stay in contact with a few and am currently engaged in a chess battle with another. I would say I was most surprised with the bedding on the Challenger. When I looked at the hammock, I initially thought it would be uncomfortable, but I think the combination of the wind and the rocking of the boat gave me a week of great nights. Most importantly, the food was good. I don’t think I was ever left hungry and, for a meal created on sea, I don’t think there were any complaints to be made.

I would like to thank the OBs for believing in me and giving me this opportunity. It was my first time sailing, and I am happy to say it won’t be my last. I am planning to volunteer later next year as I thoroughly enjoyed my experience and sailing is something I’d like to make a hobby.

Big beasts in South Africa

In October 2023 I was lucky to travel to South Africa through African Conservation Experiences, staying in a town called Hoedspruit, near Kruger National Park, with a South African family. During my time working with the Pro Vet team and Dr Rogers, I observed and assisted in many incredible procedures, the most memorable being the work I participated in with rhinos.

The poaching of rhinos is still very prolific in South Africa owing to the value placed on rhino horns, despite its illegality. Therefore, on many reserves, they choose to dehorn their rhinos in an attempt to prevent poachers – something I was able to see during my time there. The vet started by going up into a helicopter to dart down the rhino; then, once on the ground, everyone else would drive over with all of the equipment needed and they would begin removing the horn, using a chainsaw. This was an incredibly moving thing to witness as it seems so cruel that we should have to deface these animals to prevent their mutilation. It highlighted to me how prolific poaching remains, and the importance of conservation efforts.

Later on in my time there, the vets also tended to a rhino that had been poached eight years ago and the poachers had removed the horn so low down that they had sawed into his bone, creating an open wound into his airways. It has since healed, but anytime he fought with other bulls, he would reopen the wound and it would become infected. This helped me understand the importance of preventing poaching, as the dehorning did initially seem distressing.

On a more lighthearted note, I also worked with cheetahs, and was able to help as we brushed out the burrs from their hair and assisted with the tagging and DNA sampling on the cheetah cubs. Any cheetah born into captivity must have DNA evidence of this to prevent people capturing and selling wild cheetahs. I was also able to help with the care for a zebra foal, who in the first few months of its life had been attacked by a lion and caught in a snare put out by poachers. The zebra had sustained bad wounds to its legs, but they had been healing well and it was on the way to recovery.

On my weekends, the other volunteers and I went to an elephant rescue centre where we were able to interact with and ride the elephants, and it was incredible how intelligent and easily trainable the elephants are. I also visited Jessica the hippo, the only tame wild hippo there is, and I was able to feed and interact with her – a very strange experience considering how deadly the species is as a whole.

I was very lucky to find African Conservation Experiences, and they have many different trips you can partake in across the country, so I would highly recommend researching the work they do if anyone

is interested in something similar. I am incredibly grateful for the travel grant, without which this trip of a lifetime would not have been possible.

Giving back to Lisbon

On 13th August 2023, we flew to Lisbon, Portugal, for one week. During this time, we volunteered daily at a homeless shelter, and undertook an evening of volunteering at a local street party. Throughout this experience, we taught those at the shelter how to bake, play cards and speak English. Additionally, we did a papier mâché course, where we learned and taught how to make coasters, plates, and nativity figurines out of newspaper and glue.

The street party we volunteered at took place on 15th August and was local to our hostel in Estoril. It marked the celebration of The Assumption of Mary, a national holiday. In the early evening, we helped the local community set out and prepare their stalls, including traditional baked goods, handmade jewellery and other secondhand items.

The woman we mainly assisted was called Maria, and she spoke very little English. Looking back, communicating with Maria was the biggest challenge we had to face, as although we practised some Portuguese prior to the trip, we still found it difficult.

The volunteering experience taught us patience, compassion, and further consideration for the less fortunate. Learning about their experiences provided us with a thought-provoking insight into their stories.

During the hours we were not volunteering, we definitely made the most of our trip! From sunrise walks on the beach to watching the sunset from the highest point in Lisbon, we did a variety of activities. Within our hostel, we made a group of friends from many different parts of the world. We explored Lisbon with them on

tuk-tuks and trams and indulged in some of the best local food. Throughout the week we couldn’t get enough of the chocolate salami and pastéis de nata!

On our last day, we visited the ornate town of Sintra. This is a 40-minute metro journey outside the centre of Lisbon. It was beautiful, filled with palaces and quaint cafés serving traditional Portuguese pastries. We were told by our volunteering programme manager that Sintra was a must-see, and we are certainly glad we took the time to go visit! In the future, we intend to return to Sintra, as there is such a rich culture which we are yet to fully experience.

From this trip, we have not only gained a greater awareness of the injustices of poverty, but also learned invaluable life experiences. Travelling independently taught us the importance of organisation, meticulous planning, and street awareness. This will be of great use to us in the future, as we both intend to travel and attend university in unfamiliar places.

We are enormously grateful for the OBs’ generosity and for funding this transformative experience, which we will never forget!

Berlin takes our breath away

After a (very) early flight from Stansted, we made our way through Berlin’s airport to the hotel we were staying at. This hotel was a massive bonus for all of us, as we had many a conversation with the staff there, who were extremely welcoming, giving us lots of advice on places to visit, to eat and much more! We then explored the city which was one of our favourite moments as we wandered through parks and shopping centres, and, despite it being a little bit soggy and grey, the atmosphere was vibrant. We saw the impressive Brandenburg Gate and ate at a small restaurant nearby before going back to the hotel and relaxing after a busy first day.

As the days passed, we went to several sites which had educational value by linking with our History curriculum at GCSE and A-level. We went to the Reichstag (German Parliament) where, after exploring the place (in particular the dome), we had a lecture on the history and foundations of this famous building. We visited the Topography of Terror Museum, where we learned all about the conditions people had to endure in WWII Germany. Partnered with this, we visited Checkpoint Charlie and the Berlin Wall, all of which was fascinating.

We all thoroughly enjoyed studying these subjects at school, but actually seeing such places in person, in Germany, was incredible and exactly why we chose to do this trip.

Alongside these educational experiences, we also wanted to learn about the culture around Berlin and see the sights and eat at local restaurants. So, during our time out there, we visited the Berlin Zoo, went bowling and travelled to East Berlin to do some exploring.

One of the highlights for all of us was travelling along the U-Bahn to the Olympiastadion. This stadium is where the football team Hertha Berlin play, but it’s also rich with history from the 1936 Olympics, in which Jesse Owens famously won

several gold medals for America during the time of Nazi Germany. We also tried several local German foods such as currywurst and bratwurst sausages and on our final night we went to a small steakhouse which was by far our favourite meal.

It is undeniable that this trip has created lifelong memories for us, and whenever ‘Germany’ or ‘Berlin’ are mentioned for as long as we live, we will have flashbacks to this experience that was provided to us by you. So, we are extremely thankful for the opportunity that you have given us, and for the memories that we will always hold onto.

STAFF VALETE

Chris Grimsdale

Exemplary, honourable, conscientious and caring are just some of the adjectives that can be used to describe Chris and the behaviours he exhibits as a meritorious human being every day. Calm under pressure, he possesses a deep passion for doing the best he can for the School and for those who benefit from its existence, be they pupils, staff, parents or the local community.

Professionally, Chris’s journey has encompassed an impressive array of projects and achievements across all our sites. There are far too many to list them all, though I shall reference some key ones to underline the outstanding accomplishments which mean his presence will be felt by our school community for decades to come.

At Pre-Prep Chris oversaw a new reception building with three classrooms, multi-use hall and library as well as a High Ropes course that is the envy of Go Ape providers. At Prep there are fives courts and an amphitheatre, a dining room extension and enhanced kitchen facilities, not to mention the current work in progress of landscaping to the Kings Road elevation. At Kings, Chris delivered the floodlit 3G facility, new netball courts, car park and coach drop-off facilities, as well as refurbishment of DT in the main building. The Castle site has seen the incredible transformation of Deans’ Hall to a multipurpose facility with upgraded heating and cooling systems and state-of-the-art functionality, a new Estates Hub at the Old Dairy and commencement of the long awaited Sixth Form building. Chris has also worked with the Grounds team to deliver significant pitch improvements at Chesham Fields, install new artificial and new natural turf cricket nets and oversee the erection of the David Case Pavilion.

Chris has been instrumental in delivering a Masterplan that lays out our proposals for the further development and transformative change of our school estate over the next two to three decades. The creation of state-of-the-art facilities is testament to his unwavering dedication and commitment to providing the best educational environment for all to flourish within.

Chris will have more time in future to enjoy his outdoor pursuits such as cycling and swimming. Cornwall provides a sanctuary where he can find solace and tranquillity amidst the beauty of nature, spending quality time there with his family and donning his wetsuit whenever possible. Dog walking further allows him time to unwind while exploring the wonders of the great outdoors.

A devoted Luton Town fan, Chris will also be fondly remembered at Berkhamsted for his prowess in the realm of Fantasy Football League where he has left an indelible mark on his colleagues, even if he did narrowly miss out on top spot in the 2022/23 season.

While Chris has retired from his position as Estates Development Director, he continues to contribute valuably to our Sixth Form building project with his unwavering commitment to excellence, driven by his boundless passion for the School and its community.

Thank you Chris for all your efforts on behalf of the School and for teaching me so much about the intricacies of estate development. Enjoy the extra time you have for leisure activities – though I suggest no further forays into the world of classic Aston Martins.

Sarah Holmes

Sarah joined Berkhamsted in 2009 in the post of Librarian, having previously worked for the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Libraries. She quickly made an impact in the library, bringing to bear her infectious enthusiasm for the written word and passion for instilling a love of reading. Being fluent in both French and Russian, her flair for modern languages led to developments within the library’s languages section, as she ensured the collection was modern, appealing and relevant. She also led the library’s involvement in the annual European Day of Languages celebrations.

Her contributions to the reading culture within the School were significant, organising important events such as World Book Day activities, the Bookbuzz project, and many Storyteller Events. She was a captivating storyteller herself, leaving a lasting impression on both students and colleagues with her retellings of tales like Baboushka. Her natural creativity was undeniable and the ‘Words on a Board’ blackboard that still graces the Castle Quad with memorable words and artistry, is one of her cherished legacies.

Sarah represented our School on the board of the Graham Greene Trust, contributing to the organisation of the Graham Greene Festival for several years. She was also an active member of the SEDIC group, helping to develop equalities policies and activities at the School.

Beyond her role as a librarian, Sarah supported many students as an EPQ Mentor, a role that aligned with her in-depth knowledge of the research process. She also served as a Tutor for Tudor House. Her empathetic nature and knowledge of the UCAS process made her a valuable mentor to her tutees. She actively participated in social events and enjoyed taking on challenges, like climbing the high ropes alongside the students. She was also a lively and sociable colleague, friend to many and devoted participant in the staff car rally event!

Sarah’s genuine passion and positivity was evident in everything she did. She will be greatly missed by colleagues and pupils alike and we wish her well with her new ventures in Norfolk.

Passion Judas Kiss – conducted by Scott Stroman –and making a Christmas recording with the School Choir, which was recorded at Keble College Chapel, Oxford. Also a keen pianist and clarinettist, he was awarded a music scholarship and started organ lessons with Adrian Davis, the then-Director of Music. To say that Jon is a very gifted organist would be selling him short, as even after a year or two of tuition, Jon was already accomplished enough to be playing for Chapel services and accompanying the choir in concerts and on music tours. I was lucky enough to be with him on the Music Paris Tour in 1995, when he played the organ for Mass at the fabulous La Madeleine, as well as in concerts at Chartres Cathedral and in St Ouen in Rouen. What an experience for a young organist!

While his lessons continued at the Royal Academy of Music (Junior Dept), he remained active playing solos and accompanying the School Choir. He also played with the Big Band – both as a clarinettist and a pianist – and was involved in recording their CD Cute and going on their tour. Before taking up a coveted Organ Scholarship post at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, he completed a gap year job as the Assistant Organist at Diocesan College in Cape Town, which must have been an extraordinary opportunity for him – even if their choir went on tour and brought him back to the UK!

Jonathan Lee

Jon’s long relationship with Berkhamsted started more than 30 years ago in 1990 as a pupil in the old Junior School.

Even then, he was a valued musician as he sang as a treble with the Junior Choristers, with whom he performed in Chapel twice a week. Highlights from his early school days included singing in the premiere of Michael Garrick’s Jazz

After graduating from Cambridge, Jon took up the Organist post at St Peter’s Church in Berkhamsted and periodically played for weddings and reunions back at the School. Some time later, he set up the Castle Choir, which was originally designed to be a community choir for Berkhamsted School, but gradually widened to be more inclusive, appealing to singers in the town and beyond. Although he was, by this time, working as a music producer for a number of record labels and as a music editor, he formally became part of the peripatetic music team in 2016, just in time to play for the Queen, when she visited Berkhamsted and St Peter’s Church.

Initially, teaching the piano, he was also busy accompanying for the Senior Choir and for concerts,

music exams and making recordings. Little more than a year after he started, he officially became our School Organist, which took him back into Chapel and playing for all the big events such as Founder’s Day and the like. I know that both Joe Shaw and Amanda Valentine were very grateful to have him as their ‘running mate’ when they directed the Senior Choir during this time – his knowledge and experience was often ’tapped’. Jon was also involved with the Drama department from time to time, most notably as the MD for Honk!, which was such a fun and toe-tapping show and made the most of his conducting and musical arranging skills.

Although balancing his other freelance work with teaching, the number of pupils continued to grow until he was almost full-time. I cannot thank him enough for all the help he gave me personally as well as to the department and students during the pandemic lockdowns and the months following, when live music became quite challenging and the department went online. His gifts for recording music were used to full advantage, as he produced the most sublime soundtracks from literally hundreds of recordings and was pivotal in contributing to the many videos pushed out during this time. Above all, at a time of huge uncertainty, especially for a great many musicians, his unfailing patience, kindness and sense of calm gave everyone around him real confidence.

Having given so much to the School, over so many years, it is going to be hard to imagine him not being around sharing his dry sense of humour on a daily basis! He will be sorely missed by the staff and the many pupils who have benefited from his inspiring tutelage. However, I know that he will enjoy and flourish as he moves on to work full-time as the Organist at Christ’s Hospital School in Horsham. There, I have no doubt he will relish the fact that there are five organs, many organ students and that the students march into lunch during the marching band parade four times a week. Good luck, Jon, and come back to visit us soon.

Reverend Jane Markby

Throughout her time at Berkhamsted, the Reverend Jane Markby (Hon) sought to enhance the spiritual lives of all the members of the school community and serve all, from the youngest pupils in the Pre-Prep to the most mature of the staff.

Jane’s Chapel services showed that she is a deep thinker, but often rather than imparting wisdom or forcing her own spiritual views onto others, she asks perceptive questions which provoke thought. This was most evident in her Chapel addresses, which combined content and anecdotes that captured the imagination and got the listener thinking. Students loved her Chapel themes as she took them through the lessons to be learned from Star Wars, The Lord of the Rings and lately, The Incredibles. Jane is keen not to give answers but cause for reflection on their own desires, priorities, and values in relation to Biblical themes and Scripture.

Jane has contributed actively to so many aspects of Berkhamsted School life and managed to do this across the entire age range. She has always sought to make Chapel accessible to everyone – both in terms of its contents, but also as a space that others can use, from Boys’ School assemblies when Deans’ Hall is not available, to EPQ talks and DofE pre-expedition briefings. Each of these has breathed life into the Chapel space. She was a proud and committed member of the

Biology department and helped many generations of Berkhamsted students to realise that there need be no conflict between the spheres of science and religion. She was also an advocate for staff and served for many years on the Staff Consultation Committee and as a Union Rep.

Perhaps her lasting legacy will be the considerable number of graduate assistant chaplains Jane has nurtured and mentored through the years. Through this process, the school community has benefited from all that each assistant chaplain has offered while they have been here. The Church of England has also benefited, with four of them now being either an ordained priest or undergoing the process of discernment that will lead to this.

She follows her husband Brett up to the North West where her love of the outdoors and wonderment at the natural world will be fed by the fells and lakes of that area. She leaves behind the constructed beauty of our Chapel buildings, and a spiritual community and chaplaincy on a firm footing for her successor, the Reverend Becky Taylor.

Nicola Murray

Nicola began working at Berkhamsted in 2005 as PA to the Business Manager. She has subsequently worked for the Vice Principal of Business Operations and several Vice Principals of Education alongside the current Chief Operations Officer.

Nicola has been a great asset to the School with her energy and commitment in looking after everyone who sets foot in Overton, whether a guest, member of staff, or the team based there. Nothing is ever too much trouble, and she will always go above and beyond to help anyone whenever she can.

We will miss Nicola but wish her the best of luck as she looks forward to having more time to travel, spending time with her granddaughter, Sofia, and just enjoying retirement with her husband Nick.

Pat Hayball and Jo Russell

I cannot believe the time has come

The event making me feel totally numb

My rock, my guide, my shining light

Nicola, you help make the dull days bright

I came to Berkhamsted in 2018

Since then you have plied me with cups of caffeine

Not to mention the grapes for an occasional treat Red, juicy and just like your persona, very sweet

Your journey here began in Lent 2005

In a demanding environment you clearly thrive

PA to one person is not enough for you

Life is more interesting assigned to at least two

Maynard, Evans, Bond, Nicholls, Ford and Anthony

Six Line Managers you have survived valiantly

Six Prime Ministers (and eight Chancellors) have come and gone in your time

For eighteen years you have remained in your prime

You have made Overton House a vibrant place all these years

Even though your pleas often fall on deaf ears

The dishwasher notice or car parking requests

Do not always result in complete success

ISBA have benefited from your loyal dedication

They are also worried by your BSG resignation

Tirelessly you have worked to help their conferences tick

Your input helps to make their event registrations so slick

As a Northern Lass you are made of stern stuff

So you pursue the end goal, no matter how tough

If a job is worth doing it’s worth doing well

For those who feel differently you’ll give them hell

Outside of work what makes you tick?

It must be that handsome retiree, Nick

It was the persuasive words coming out of his mouth

That convinced you to make a life together down South

Your two sons David and Richard enlighten your lives

The same can’t be said of clearing the school archives

They were youngsters when your career here began

Now grown men, each with a solid life plan

David will wed Jay in September this year

No doubt you will be grinning from ear to ear

Whilst Richard and Erica will add another baby to the crew

A sibling for Sofia just after she turns two

Holidays, bike rides, gardening delights

Your retirement will let you see so many new sights

Time to relax and fully unwind

With no more SMT meeting invites declined

The gleaming electric blue beamer you drive with pride

Across the tarmac the low-profile tyres glide

Is it Knight Rider and Kit we tend to squeal

As you cannot be seen above the steering wheel

Yoga has kept you lean and trim

The Chapel (or Common Room) make do as your gym

With your green mat rolled up under arm Thursday nights trying to avoid bodily harm

Downward Facing Dog ensues

The Low Lunge risks a bruise

Cat-Cow stretch hurts your toes

Saving the best for last – the Cobra pose

Your resilience has been tested in recent years

You have endured tough news that’s warranted tears

Good humour and determination have seen you through Retirement will ensure you are as good as new

A massive void you will leave at our School

To Overton’s engine you are the fuel

That makes us all tick every day

Are you really sure you don’t want to stay?

No more ‘My Concern’ notes to redact

Or complex diary entries that must be cracked

It is time for you to say goodbye to tension

And welcome with open arms, your pension

Nicola, your time at Berkhamsted we will always treasure

Working with you has been a pleasure

Enjoy the leisurely world that awaits

No longer worrying about Outlook and dates

For all you’ve given we extend our gratitude to you

Now your Murray clan get some time back in lieu

Please remember we are all your family as well

So this is bye for now, but certainly not farewell.

David Pain

David has been one of the longest-serving members of the current staff, having been at the school for 21 years and two terms. He has been a Head of House for 18 of those years, running Adders for eight years before moving to become Housemaster of Spencer in the Sixth for 10 years. In addition, he has effortlessly helped train up many a staff member, be it as housemasters or in his subject.

During all that time, he has looked after his pupils with patience and good grace, with very little seeming to faze him. In addition, he has managed many rugby and cricket teams during the years and guided many Young Enterprise

companies to as far as the East of England finals at Cambridge University.

The hours he has devoted to the School can easily be missed by many. He has been on the Sandi finance committee and many other groups to support colleagues and the education of those at Berkhamsted. He has been to countless events to support his pupils, such as drama, inter-house, and musical events. He is a very earnest individual, with depth and sincerity shown to all his pupils and colleagues.

In terms of the school value of serving others, few can proudly leave knowing that he has served as many members of the School community as David has. In addition, his entire family have also been integral here in terms of working and studying. They have regularly supported in a whole range of different activities around the School.

Lucy Stanforth (Briand)

Lucy will always have a special place in my heart for all that she did in Reeves when it was a Junior House, and then Loxwood. She was more than just a tutor. The boys loved her because she made them smile and was so enthusiastic with all the House activities and she looked after the boys so well in relation to their academic studies. She gave great advice in times of difficulty to both me and the boys.

The support she gave at House events was exemplary and her make-up skills were so greatly appreciated when it came to the Loxwood Pantomimes. The boys looked beautiful after she had finished with them. She never missed a House event – not like her Head of House!

She mixed her duties in the House with so many other commitments. She was heavily involved in helping with the School swimming and she swam many lengths for the House when we raised more than £7,000 for Leukaemia Research. She helped with rowing on Sundays and Pete Riddick appreciated her help with the School tennis. She has organised many school trips and her company

and professionalism have been so very much appreciated on all the trips she has been on – and of course Lucy has spent significant hours helping with the DoE expeditions over the years.

I know that the boarding community have also greatly appreciated her kindness and enthusiasm. One could not think of a better person to look after the boarders.

She has always made me laugh. Her sense of humour is priceless. Her smile brightened even the dullest of days. Her connection with the group U2 enabled me to go with her to some magical concerts which I will never forget.

Then there was the time that we spent 30 minutes looking for her car around the Castle campus. She said that she ‘had lost her car’? She ‘thought that it had been taken’? After 30 minutes I asked the question, ‘This may sound stupid, Lucy, but did you drive to school today?’ Her response was NO. It’s on the drive at home. Moments like this just endear Lucy to you.

Thank you, Lucy, for all that you have done for Berkhamsted School over the last 31 years. You have been a star and you will continue to shine so brightly. Your warm glow will be appreciated by everyone you’ll meet in the years to come. Lucky them. Take care.

Dawn Wylie

Dawn joined Berkhamsted in 2010, having completed a postgraduate degree in Drama Education at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. In her 12 years at Berkhamsted she was not only an excellent Head of Burgh House but a superb Drama teacher who sought to challenge and stretch all the students she taught. At the same time, she never lost sight of the fact that Drama is fun. Dawn was always looking to show the students she taught the value of finding enjoyment in acting and performance and the immense benefits this can bring.

As well as teaching across a range of year groups, from Y7s all the way up to A-level, Dawn directed a whole host of shows across the course of her time at Berkhamsted.

These included Honk!, DNA, Sweeney Todd and – with Ollie Pengelly – an adaptation of Molière’s The Hypochondriac, which was taken to the Edinburgh Festival and received a five-star review. A repeat performance with Sheridan’s The Rivals was planned, but unfortunately the pandemic put paid to that.

The final show Dawn directed was Shrek the Musical last year, which, along with Sofie Parsons, I assistant-directed. Throughout the long and often difficult rehearsal process (Covid kept rearing its ugly head and the show was postponed for three months), Dawn’s resilience, patience and good humour were evident throughout, and helped the pupils to make the show the brilliant performance that it was. Also on display throughout was Dawn’s

deep love for, and appreciation of, the world of live theatre and the joy she took in working with pupils. Berkhamsted’s loss is very much Christ’s Hospital’s gain, where as Director of Drama

I have no doubt she will continue to direct shows brilliantly, knit furiously, and inspire a deep-rooted love of drama in all the pupils she teaches.

Margaret Allday (Hon) (– 2nd June 2023)

It is with sadness that we inform you of the death of former member of staff, Margaret Allday. Miss Allday taught at the School for 34 years, starting in 1948 as a Maths teacher before becoming Head of Maths in 1961 and Housemistress to New Stede in 1962. She retired from teaching in 1982.

Below is her valete from the 1982 Girls’ School Chronicle, written by Barbara ‘BW’ Russell, Headmistress of the Girls’ School from 1950 to 1971.

When she retired in July, Miss Allday had completed 34 years of Mathematics teaching under four Headmistresses. She was appointed by Miss Mackenzie in 1948, and at our first meeting in 1949 was one of the youngest of my new colleagues. In spite of the passage of time she seems to me to have changed very little.

A conscientious, encouraging and sympathetic teacher, she developed the abilities of the gifted and patiently tried to lighten the darkness of unmathematical minds. Colleagues came and went; Miss Allday went steadily on to succeed, on Miss Sharp’s retirement in 1961, to the Headship of the department. When Mr Chapman joined in 1965 she found a kindred spirit who shared her ambition to introduce the New Mathematics. This was no small undertaking, but, guided by the School Mathematics Project, she eventually converted authority, colleagues, pupils and parents to the new system, since unchallenged. In the last decade she has introduced Computer Studies, the spirit of adventure still strong. It is pleasant to reflect

that she will be succeeded by one of her own pupils, who has shared her enthusiasms.

Miss Allday was also an excellent form mistress, methodical, observant and kind, bringing up generations of juniors in the right way. A loyal and energetic staff member of New Stede, she succeeded Miss Hall as Housemistress in 1962. It is never easy to give a house of day girls cohesion and unity of effort in all its activities, but her own enthusiasm and support for these and for good standards in general had good effect.

A most congenial colleague, Margaret Allday was ready to participate in all staff enterprises from netball matches to dramatic entertainments. In her role of gawky schoolgirl in shrunken pinafore, she was received with acclamation. In crisis she gave valuable help and, year by year, as special consultant on timetable construction, her trained eye spotted the log-jam and the appropriate move to free it.

Among my memories of her are vivid pictures of her leaping with agility on the netball court, spreading her reports before me each term, hoping against all experience that checking with helpful friends had removed all unorthodox spelling, sighing over the total lack of mathematical ability shown in the year’s entrance papers, and arguing with characteristic tenacity the advantages of some proposal close to her heart.

Her mildly deprecating and anxious air is misleading; behind it lie great steadiness of purpose, store of energy, and readiness to serve the School community, which she has done so long and so well. She will be greatly missed.

May she enjoy her days of leisure as thoroughly as she has earned them.

Richard Auger (SJ ‘62)

(14th August 1943 – 19th April 2023)

Richard Auger arrived at St John’s (at the time a Boys’ boarding house) in September 1956. He was the second in a succession of four brothers at Berkhamsted (Martin preceded him, Timothy and Andrew followed). He was part of a longer family tradition – his grandfather William Auger, his father Harold Auger, and his father’s cousin David Phillips had all been at St John’s.

From the Upper Fourth to the Upper Sixth, Richard put in solid performances in the classroom and the science lab, as well as on the sports field, and became successively Head of House and Head of School. In 1962 he went on to read Natural Sciences at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge.

After getting his degree at Cambridge, Richard went on to do a DipEd, and for his teaching practice was exposed to education in the public sector in Ramsgate, a mind-broadening experience. Thereafter he spent three years teaching Chemistry at Mill Hill.

It was at Shrewsbury School that Richard really found his niche. During his long career at the school, he became Head of Chemistry, a housemaster, and finally Director of Studies (effectively Deputy Head) until his retirement in 2006. Caroline, whom he married in 1969, recalls: ‘He was an excellent mentor to colleagues and was always supportive. He was very competitive, not for himself but for the success of boys in the house and the school. Nothing gave him greater pleasure than to be able to encourage a person to make the most of their skills or talents at any level. He was not a natural extrovert but could always be relied upon to give sound and realistic counsel. He never sought the limelight and was much happier as the power behind the throne.’ When Shrewsbury underwent the first Ofsted inspection of any independent school, Richard took charge and was instrumental in ensuring

that the inspectors obeyed the rules, and, Caroline remembers, succeeded in catching one out.

Off duty, Richard was a DIY enthusiast, occasional golfer and keen walker, putting his faith in the Ordnance Survey map rather than his phone.

In his retirement Richard devoted his energies to charitable causes, serving variously on the Moreton Hall Educational Trust and the Shrewsbury Drapers’ Hall Preservation Trust. He threw himself into the task of overseeing the financing and construction of a set of new almshouses for the Drapers, with constant site visits and interaction with the builders.

In 2021, Richard was diagnosed with an aggressive form of lymphoma. He put up a struggle with characteristic patience and stoicism, but, sadly, didn’t quite make it to the Buckingham Palace garden party to which he had been invited. He died peacefully at home in April 2023. He will be greatly missed by his wife, his son James and daughter Bridget, and his four grandchildren, as well as many other relatives, friends, and former colleagues and pupils.

June Mary Bailey

(10th June 1926 – 30th September 2023)

June Bailey, widow of Philip (Phil) Bailey, former Headmaster of the Preparatory School, passed away peacefully in Tring on 30th September 2023, aged 97.

June was born in Leicester on 10th June 1926. Both her father, Charley, and mother, Kathleen, were very musical and passed on a lifelong passion for music to June and her younger sisters Kath and Veronica.

June and family went to Clarendon Park Methodist Church in Leicester. She started singing at Sunday school and took piano lessons from the age of six or seven, reaching piano grade 8 when she was young. She was overall an accomplished musician, also gaining singing grade 8 in later life.

June was a member of the Girls Training Corps during the war and remembered having to carry a gas mask for fear of Hitler dropping mustard gas. In 1942, she left Wyggeston Grammar School for Girls aged 16 and joined the Midland Bank. She met husband Phil in 1952 after they were introduced by friends. He used to cycle from Northampton to Leicester to see her. They got engaged on April Fools’ Day 1952 and married in Leicester on 22nd August 1953. Phil became a teacher at Berkhamsted School and June got a transfer from her Midland Bank branch in Leicester to the Chesham branch, a short bus journey away.

June and Phil moved to Sussex for a few years, where Phil taught at Brighton College, before moving back to Berkhamsted, where they spent the rest of their working lives. Phil became Head of Hawks in the Junior School and June ran a small nursery group at home for a few years.

When Phil became Headmaster of the Preparatory School section of Berkhamsted School in 1973, June was very much involved. They made a great team. June organised many of the social events and took care of the pastoral side of the School, as well as overseeing the kitchens and lunches. They enjoyed entertaining staff and friends at the Prep House. Parties sometimes involved fancy dress and always involved games, singing and lots of fun!

While in Berkhamsted, June continued to pursue her musical interests. She was an active member of Berkhamsted Operatic and Dramatic Society, playing leading soprano roles in productions such as The Gondoliers as well as singing in the local Welsh Choir and performing in a wide range of other concerts and productions, including ones linked to the School. Peter Havelock (Sw ‘85), paid the following tribute:

‘June was such a huge influence in my young life – as my kindergarten teacher, as a warm and approachable headmaster’s wife, as my (strict but forgiving) singing teacher, and director and fellow actor in Oliver, A Christmas Carol and others. She was a great musical inspiration for me – something I am so grateful for. There must be generations of former pupils who remember her just as fondly.’

June and Phil retired to Mudeford, near Christchurch in Dorset, in 1989. They had many interests and were very active in the local community and leading lights at Highcliffe Community Centre. June ran the choir there until well into her eighties, selecting and arranging the music, playing the piano for rehearsals and conducting their performances. She continued singing in the choir until she was 90. Both June and Phil were members of the RNLI and she became President of their local branch. They both attended Highcliffe Methodist Church. Phil played a leading role in Probus and June joined the women’s section.

After Phil died in 2010 at the age of 83, June continued to be very active, including taking on the role of President of Highcliffe Community Centre. She suffered a minor stroke in early 2014 which led to mild vascular dementia, after which she reduced her activities. In February 2020, just before Covid struck, June moved into St Joseph’s Care Home in Tring to be closer to her family.

The consistent theme that emerged from the many tributes paid after June’s death was that she had an amazing zest for life. Hers was a 97-year-long life well lived.

June is survived by daughter Jill, sons Ian (Sw ‘75) and Rick (Sw ‘79), six grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

Ian Bailey (Sw ‘75)

William Stuart Bale (In ‘58) (26th March 1940 – 2nd July 2023)

Born on 26th March 1940 William (‘Bill’) Stuart Bale died peacefully at home on 2nd July 2023 following a long illness. Bill was the second son of Richard (‘Dick’) Bale. He, together with his father and four brothers, was a pupil at Berkhamsted School. Bill was there from 1953 to 1958 as a boarder in Incents. His academic career was steady if not spectacular, but he was a keen sportsman winning School colours from rugby, swimming, and cross country. He was a member of the unbeaten 1st XV rugby team in 1956/7, a feat that was not repeated until the current century. While at school he met his first wife Susan, who was the daughter of his Housemaster (Monty Fry). Bill had decided that on leaving school he wanted to join the Army and was accepted to the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst where he spent a very happy two years. On being commissioned in 1960 and on the advice of his father he joined the 3rd Royal Tank Regiment (3 RTR) following his statutory armoured skills training at Lulworth and Bovington. He was then posted to a training role at Catterick.

Always looking for a fresh challenge and having completed parachute training while at Sandhurst, Bill volunteered for service with the Special Reconnaissance Squadron (SRS). Having passed the required selection at Hereford, he then went through additional selection courses in Germany and on completion assumed responsibility for

personal weapons training and sports. As a result of cuts in defence spending at that time, the SRS was disbanded and absorbed into 23 SAS and, in 1964, Bill returned to 3 RTR in Catterick with responsibility for training potential officers. Bill held a variety of different roles within 3 RTR both in the UK and overseas until he went to the Staff College in Camberly and on completion was appointed Brigade Major 1 (BR) Corps. He then held various command positions in both 3 RTR and 2 RTR, before taking on several staff appointments in Turkey (attached to the United Nations), the MOD and Aldershot. It was while he was posted at Aldershot that he met his second wife, Laura.

On retirement from the Army in 1988, Bill held HR or training roles for a number of law firms and latterly with various NHS trusts including Moorfields Eye Hospital.

His wife Laura was appointed to the role of Matron at the Royal Hospital Chelsea in 2008 and they had their quarters within the grounds of the hospital. This was a very happy but also a very busy time for both of them. While Bill continued to work, he was also very actively involved in the life of the hospital and those of the Pensioners, who appreciated the time and commitment he gave to them. The Chelsea Flower Show was always a very busy time with many wonderful dinner parties held for friends, and the added benefit of ‘after hours’ access to the show itself. Bill would regularly visit Smithfield Market to buy a fillet of beef as (in his mind) having a good supply in the freezer was almost as important as having enough money in his bank account!

Following Laura’s retirement in 2017 they moved to Stonehouse in Gloucestershire where Bill continued to work in assorted ‘hybrid’ roles and, despite his deteriorating health, he kept going almost until the day he died.

Bill was very much a ‘people’ person, always interested in what others had to say, and what was going on in their lives. Even as his illness became worse, it would not stop him spending

a considerable amount of time each week on the telephone to family and friends catching up and finding out what was going on in their world.

My earliest memory of Bill was watching him compete in a modern pentathlon event and being allowed to sit on his horse, but we enjoyed many different activities together over the years, including family holidays in Europe, visiting him when stationed in various locations in Germany and many great social gatherings in London and Gloucestershire.

I felt at the start of this year that Bill knew that he did not have much time left and it was no surprise at all that he wanted to have one last good party with family and friends. It was wonderful that the Sunday before he died, he and Laura hosted a delightful gathering for family and close friends in their garden. At one point it was touch and go whether he would survive the party! But as he said to me the day afterwards, he was so happy that he pretty much forgot to breathe while talking.

There were many friends and family at his funeral, including one of the Chelsea Pensioners. The service and eulogy given by the Chaplin of the Chelsea Pensioners gave a wonderful insight into Bill and his life.

Bill is survived by his first wife Sue, his two daughters (Henrietta and Katie), his four grandchildren and his second wife Laura.

He will be greatly missed by all who knew him.

Bale (In ‘75)

Jean Cooper-Smith (Cowan) (Ho ‘56) (15th September 1938 – 31st October 2023) Jean was born in 1938 in Blackheath, two years after her sister Gillean and five years before me. When a bomb fell in the next-door garden my parents decided it was time to move away from the London area and return to the town where they had both spent their schooldays: Berkhamsted. After a short spell of living in a house in Greenway, they moved into The Small House in North Road, where I was born.

Naturally Gillean and Jean played together a great deal until Gillean left school. Then I became Jean’s playmate and partner-in-crime.

She was full of fun, mischief and I found her a wonderful companion. And, of course, she found me the most willing of accomplices.

I have vivid memories of following Jean stealthily through forbidden gardens, jumping quickly into the bushes to hide should the owner spot us. Jean loved the challenge, whereas my heart was beating wildly as we emerged from our hiding place and made a mad dash across the well-manicured lawn to safety.

Sometimes we became private detectives, spending hours stalking innocent shoppers in the High Street and taking copious notes about every detail of their appearance and movements. After all, we thought, it was just remotely possible that they should turn out to be criminals; what heroes we would be if we could assist the police with our detailed observations!

One of our favourite occupations was building schools with toy bricks on a vast table on the veranda. We made the pupils ourselves out of paper, each one roughly the size of a finger, and each one with a name and a clearly defined personality. The boarders had only a rope ladder to access their dormitory, and the heroines of the dramas we enacted were Lucy Oriel and the twins, Vera and Susan Lewis. The least popular girl was Bertha Burnt, who always struggled with the rope ladder. Remarkably, it seems that these fantasy

names are engraved on my memory 70 years on –and no doubt they were on Jean’s too.

We spent hours immersed in this world we had created. How deeply disappointed I was when Jean suddenly switched her interest to church music and transformed our beautiful girls’ school into a boys’ choir school. I was still in my Malory Towers bubble and had absolutely no interest in choral music at this stage.

Jean became a member of the choir at All Saints’ Church, and she also took over the weekly choir practice at St Peter’s. It was then that she discovered the organ. Once she started having organ lessons with Mr Barker her mind was made up: she would study music.

Occasionally Jean would share with me her enthusiasm for music: she adored the voice of the countertenor Alfred Dellar, and she even took me up to London to hear him singing in a concert. What a memorable occasion that was! I too was totally smitten, and to this day I still love the sound of a countertenor.

Cathedrals and their magnificent organs became Jean’s passion, and she insisted that I learn by heart the names of every cathedral organist in Britain. I duly memorised them, only to find that they were constantly changing as they either retired or moved on to more prestigious posts. But for a while it was a good quiz game that we enjoyed and it definitely helped to maintain the bond between us.

With her love of music and, in particular, the organ, it was only natural that Johann Sebastian Bach should play a huge role in Jean’s life. His music accompanied her throughout, and whenever she discovered a new church on her travels, she would immediately try out the organ with a resounding toccata and fugue.

Jean was also a great admirer of the conductor Sir Malcolm Sargent. For many years she kept a photo of him in her locket; one of the highlights of her teenage years was the occasion when she was personally introduced to him by our aunt who sang in the Royal Choral Society.

However, music was not her sole passion. Jean loved reading, especially books about wartime heroes and characters like Biggles. In fact, before she discovered the joy of music, she had every intention of joining the Women’s Royal Air Force after leaving school.

Cats and kittens accompanied Jean all her life. At The Small House a beautiful tabby cat strolled into the garden one day and made it quite clear that she was here to stay. Our father was not too keen on this new member of the family, but in a household of women he didn’t really have a leg to stand on. Molly remained for 18 years and produced a fine array of kittens. We kept a record of them in the Cat Book, which still survives today. Of course, many of them were named after composers, such as Janáček and Pergolesi: not exactly the easiest to pronounce when you’re calling them!

Jean was always full of energy. She was very good at sports, especially tennis, running, lacrosse and cycling. She seldom seemed to get tired, and on the rare occasion that she did need a nap she took it by sitting on the fifth stair of the staircase for five minutes. Then up she’d jump, eager to get on with life again.

She was also fearless. I can remember one summer holiday when we three girls got caught in a massive thunderstorm on the beach. Gillean and I immediately sought shelter under some overhanging rocks, while Jean strode off towards our hotel through rain and thunder and lightning to fetch some umbrellas. She was quite undaunted; in fact, I think she rather enjoyed rising to the occasion. Later, in her teens, she would practise the organ deep into the night in St Peter’s Church surrounded by dark shadows, and then cycle home through the dimly-lit, deserted streets without batting an eyelid.

I have so many pictures in my head of Jean as a girl: Jean standing on her head for hours on the beach at Littlestone; Jean climbing up the fir tree to our rather makeshift tree house and discovering some birds’ eggs; Jean playing endlessly with the

many kittens we had; Jean teaching her budgie Hughie to say ‘Pretty Hughie’, much to the delight of our neighbour Hugh Gardner, who felt terribly flattered to be greeted so personally; and finally, Jean seated at the piano playing Gilbert and Sullivan, with our father, pink-faced with pleasure and sherry, swaying beside her singing his heart out.

I count myself very lucky to have had such a fun-loving, lively and musical sister. Thank you, Jean. And thank you for simply being yourself! I think you instinctively followed Shakespeare’s exhortation:

‘This, above all: to thine own self be true.’

Mary Waegner (Cowan)

Jean’s passing upon Hallowe’en last month has had a numbing effect on all of her family, countless friends, colleagues and pupils who entered her huge orbit of activity, whether social, musical or extra-mural. Speaking to many of Jean’s associates since her death, it is abundantly clear that her infectious zest for fun and liveliness, tempered by serious study and expectation of high standards and understanding about music in particular, was her credo.

Jean’s sense of loyalty and commitment to her work at Berkhamsted School for Girls was obvious, and being an ‘Old Girl’ too, she had a head start.

Not long after her arrival at BSG, Jean and her husband David – and growing family – moved into a charming and semi-rural 17th century cottage at Gossoms End, where their children (who had inherited Jean’s musical genes) could blow, scrape, tinker and sing to their hearts’ content without disturbing the locals! Gossoms Cottage became a haven for many of her musical friends over the years.

Jean also fitted so naturally into the community life of the town – becoming organist at St Peter’s Church (again!), accompanist to the Chiltern Chamber Choir, and playing organ, harpsichord and piano for numerous soloists, orchestras and ensembles. She seemed to be ever in demand, but always retaining a great sense of fun and energy –a sort of ‘Tigger’ character, as someone described her.

At BSG, Jean directed the music for some staff pantomimes and shows, and during one such event she produced mugs with the legend ‘Don’t forget who’s Boss!’ She was irrepressible.

Jean was no slouch – she kept fit and healthy, exercising with tennis, swimming and cycling. How she found time for all this, I cannot say. Even after a complete day of teaching or examining –in tropical climates – she somehow persuaded some crazy partner to play a game of tennis –and then invariably trounced them!

She was also keen to develop the partnership with Helene-Lange-Gymnasium in Fürth in Bavaria, where Jean’s sister Mary was much involved in the musical life of the school. Consequently, the Berkhamsted Schools Chamber Choir regularly combined with HLG over many years into the 1990s, performing in churches, cathedrals and schools in Germany and in the UK. Former members of the choir still remember with gratitude the wonderful musical and other experiences they had on Jean’s exchange trips.

In 1990 Jean later joined the Examining Panel of the ABRSM, which took her on tours throughout the UK as well as all over the world – from the USA, the Caribbean, Europe, the Middle and Far East to the Antipodes. She loved travelling and meeting fellow musicians, teachers and pupils and maintained contact with many of them over the years, as one would come to expect, knowing Jean.

Retirement seemed to mean little to Jean – she and Michael relocated to Hertfordshire where she continued to preach the gospel of music and the enjoyment thereof. She loved to live in the fast lane and a Morgan open top sports car reinforced that image. A further move to Grosmont, enabled them to enjoy the wonderful scenery and countryside, and still pursue the musical way of life – with the setting up of a choral group, The Kitchen Singers, and a shift from organ consoles to playing the trombone.

Sadly, illness blighted Jean’s declining years, but she seemed determined to retain an optimism and sense of purpose, and a faith to support her.

Jean was a very special person, who enriched our lives and made us better people. I can easily imagine she is now in heaven, enjoying having discussions about harpsichord cadences with JS Bach. And perhaps reminding him who is the Boss!

November 2023

CJ ‘Jonty’ Driver (Hon, Headmaster 1983-89) (19th August 1939 – 21st May 2023)

It is with great sadness that we write of the death of Charles Jonathan ‘Jonty’ Driver. Jonty Driver was Headmaster of Berkhamsted School, arriving from Hong Kong in 1983, before leaving to take up the headship at Wellington College in 1989.

During his six years at Berkhamsted, Jonty set out to achieve the objectives of halting the decline in numbers at the Prep School, continuing to improve the academic standards, establishing a new salary and career path for staff and finally, of seeing an immediate and dramatic improvement in the School’s library facilities.

He was described within his valete, which appeared in the October 1989 edition of The Berkhamstedian as ‘the first of the “modern” headmasters of Berkhamsted who recognised the need to get out and about – forging international links, teacher swaps, the introduction of scholars from other continents, contributing to the work of the Headmasters’ Conference and many other public engagements and visits abroad. All these

activities have brought the name of Berkhamsted to the forefront, sometimes in places where it was little known before, as well as enriching the life of the School in many ways.’

There will be a memorial for Jonty Driver on Saturday 16th March 2024, and more tributes will follow in next year’s magazine. Until then, we have an obituary written by Jonty’s dear friend, South African poet and publisher Doug Skinner, along with a revealing excerpt from Jonty’s book Some Schools and one of his own poems – In the Water-Margins – which he specifically requested to be read at his funeral.

At the NUSAS congress in South Africa in 1964.

Charles Jonathan Driver, more often known as ‘CJ Driver’ or ‘Jonty Driver’, was born in Cape Town but spent his early years in Kroonstad, Cradock and Grahamstown (now Makhanda). His father was Chaplain at St Andrew’s College, where Jonty was schooled.

After matriculating, he studied at UCT and was elected head of NUSAS (National Union of South African Students) in 1963-4. In 1964, shortly after his father’s death, he was detained on suspicion of being a member of ARM (the African Resistance Movement,

an anti-apartheid group that carried out sabotage against national infrastructure) and held in solitary confinement for five weeks under the 90-day Detention Law.

Two days after being released without charge, he left for the United Kingdom, courtesy of an airline ticket bought by Margaret Hoffenberg. Through the good offices of the great educationalist Robert Birley, a post at Sevenoaks School, Kent, had been held open for him, which he took up prior to going to Trinity College, Oxford. There, he graduated with an MPhil.

While studying, his passport was cancelled by the then-South African government. Jonty remained stateless until he was accepted as a British citizen. Even so, throughout his life he remained fiercely South African at heart. He kept a close watch on events and developments ‘back home’. It was 20 years before he was permitted to visit.

After completing his degree, he again worked as a teacher, during which time he wrote four novels (Elegy for a Revolutionary, A Messiah of the Last Days, Death of Fathers and Send War in Our Time, O Lord ). From 1978 to 1983, he was Principal of the Island School in Hong Kong. During this period, he published two collections of poems, Occasional Light (a shared volume with Jack Cope in the Mantis/David Phillip series) and I Live Here Now (LHA), both in 1979. In 1983, he returned to England to become Headmaster at Berkhamsted School. Hong Kong Portraits (Perpetua Press) was published in 1986.

Jonty’s final post was as Master of the prestigious Wellington College from 1989-2000. In the Water-Margins (Snailpress/Crane River) appeared in 1994 and Holiday Haiku (Snailpress) in 1997. Requiem (Belgrave Press, 1997), a sequence of poems inspired by Brahms’s German Requiem, was published in 1997. At the request of the composer Chris Chivers, the cellist Guy Johnston formed a Bach suite around the words. It was performed

in Westminster Abbey, as well as on several other occasions.

In 2000, Jonty retired to write full time, and So Far: Selected Poems 1960-2004 (Snailpress/ JCEL) appeared in 2005. In 2007, he became an honorary senior lecturer at the School of Literature and Creative Writing, University of East Anglia, and a Bogliasco Fellow. In 2007 and 2008, he was a judge for the Caine Prize for African Writing. He became a Fellow at the MacDowell Colony in New Hampshire, USA, in the fall of 2009, and a Fellow at the Hawthornden Castle Writers’ Retreat in 2011. He also served as a trustee of the Beit Trust, formed to help the people of Zimbabwe, Zambia and Malawi with education, healthcare, conservation and other projects.

In 2013, Citizen of Elsewhere, Selected Poems was published by Happenstance, and Before by African Sun Press/Crane River in 2018. Still Further: New Poems 2000-2020 (uHlanga) appeared in 2021. He also published five booklets of poems, most recently A Winter’s Day at Westonbirt (The Booklet Series).

Post-retirement, Jonty also published a further novel, five books of biography and memoir (including The Man with the Suitcase: The Life, Execution and Rehabilitation of John Harris, Liberal Terrorist and Some Schools), and a book of verse for children.

Arguably one of the major South African English poets of the last quarter of a century – Still Further is manifest testament to that –Jonty was a skilled formalist with an unerring ear and eye for the resonant, penetrating line and well-turned stanza. By turns lyrical, contemplative, dramatic, narrative, philosophical and political in his poems, Jonty’s early engagement with writing novels gave him a solid insight into the demands of narrative organisation, which he used to great effect, many of his poems having a Wordsworth-like sense of command, imbued as they are with a finely judged, empiricist’s view of the world and life in it.

His diverse roles of poet, novelist, master educationalist and political activist have sometimes struck people as an incongruous fit in the same person, but the poetry belies this: the same strong moral centre at the heart of his political and educational views of life also underpins his writing. All of it is there in the poems, subtly and often covertly integrated, giving them a rare degree of weight. The renaissance man is all of a piece, and through the years his poems have rightly appeared in many prestigious magazines around the English-speaking world.

Jonty was the first patron of Stanzas poetry magazine and a steadfast ally in getting it going and keeping it afloat. In this respect, we writers and readers are indebted to his generosity. I visited Jonty in hospital a few days before his death and, despite being fully aware of his mortal situation, he gestured widely with a hand and said: ‘One of the advantages of forced idleness is that I’ve had time to sketch out the framework for a long poem in my head.’ A writer to the end.

Douglas Reid Skinner (A version of this obituary first appeared in Stanzas Poetry Magazine, No.29)

In the Water-Margins

Here, at the water’s edge, in a cabin on stilts, I am listening to what the reeds are telling me in a kind of breathless whispering, as if… as if… as if… So indefinite that the words are like swallows flittering low but too fast to be caught by anyone or anything except as streaks on the edge of one’s retina like smears of ink on a faded Chinese manuscript…

And then, in your most matter-of-fact voice, you say It’s just the noise of the wind in the reeds and the water moving when the reeds are shuffled backwards and forwards. So, you scoff at me like a postmodernist philosopher: Do you really think you can hear what the reeds say? You may as well try to catch the swallows as they curve down to the meniscus of the water and then upwards.

The water-margins are where troublemakers were sent by the emperor and his mandarins when they’d had enough of their insidious garrulity, inconstancy, duplicity. Even here at home, even in what was once my own country, the soul gets sent away, out of all imagining. What the reeds are saying as the wind passes between them are aspirant conditionals, as if, if only, and provided.

As if everything, that’s what the reed bed is saying, which isn’t much different from as if nothing, when nothing and victory may be synonymous. It’s no good you telling me it should be otherwise; if you can’t hear what I hear when the reeds gossip to me, it’s because you seem to know precisely that this is personal; you suppose the noise is sans significance, the words without meaning.

Even when you think there is nothing that matters, something does. And that turns out to be the biggest puzzle, that there should be something at all, and not just nothing. This is what I am having such trouble with, when I hear that persistent chorus. I feared those voices would be baleful; instead, they are kind of peaceful, kind of accepting, maybe even kind of kindly, here in the water-margins.

CJ ‘Jonty’ Driver

An excerpt from Some Schools by CJ (Jonty) Driver

One of the harder things to explain about a school is the quality of the common room. I use that term, ‘common room’, deliberately; I don’t mean simply the room where teachers gather, where they may go when they aren’t teaching; I mean the collective spirit of the teaching staff, its ‘commonality’, its collegiality. It’s not simply a matter of the accumulated abilities of the

teachers, as if one could add up all the degrees and certificates and multiply that by the years of experience to get a total. It’s something more complicated than that; it is how the teachers co-operate with each other, how they play as a team. In part it derives from a confidence in its own abilities, a sureness of touch in its dealings with pupils and their parents; but it is mainly to do with the treatment of each other.

A Head sees this quality partly in how the teaching staff treat him. For instance, are he and his family included in the social life of the common room? Are he and his wife asked out to dinner by the staff in the same way as he is expected to entertain them? Are the Head and his family invited to take part in school outings and expeditions when the staff and their families are invited? If a Head decides for instance he’d like to go on an awayday tour with a school team, would his presence be regarded as intolerable interference or as a welcome addition?

And how do the teachers treat each other? Are there cliques and social exclusions? Is there moaning about X’s laziness and Y’s arrogance? Of all the schools I’ve worked in, indeed all I’ve known, the common room of Berkhamsted School for Boys was the happiest. There was a lot of laughter and very little bitterness. There was a great deal of co-operation and (if needs be) of occasional covering-up for each other.

I heard some gossip from senior members of staff that a young married man on the staff was having a fling with a young unmarried woman who had joined the school recently, a fine teacher but one who was having some personal problems settling. In a sense, her private life was hers and nothing to do with me, any more than his marital infidelity was. But I wasn’t having the school disrupted, and I wanted the young teacher to calm down and teach systematically, as I thought she’d be able to do. I did not want her professional career to get confused by messy personal complications.

So I called into my study the man whose name had been attached to the rumour and,

without inviting him to sit down, gave him from my headmagisterial chair what is best called a bollocking. There was no way the school would put up with this; he was jeopardising his own career as well as his marriage. He was putting the young woman into danger, too. I was not interested in discussing the matter; I was telling him to put his house in order. I finished what I had to say, and sent him away.

In fact, I had the wrong man, and he knew who it was I should have been reprimanding. But instead of saying anything, he accepted the reprimand, told me he understood what I was saying, and left. As far as I was concerned, the gossip stopped, the rumours abated, the young woman settled down to teaching, and nothing more needed to be said or done. It was months before I realized I had got entirely the wrong person.

That sort of loyalty showed in the kind of support the staff gave each other when there were other problems, for instance when someone was ill and needed covering. In some schools, the question of cover for illness or other absence is fraught: it’s understandable, because a teacher’s occasional free periods are valuable. They are times when one may get some marking done, or some chores covered, or merely 40 minutes of respite from what can be a physically and mentally exhausting job. But, dammit, here’s a message from the deputy head that Y has a migraine and has had to go home; this is the period when I had planned a quick visit to the bank to sort out the problem with the cheque-book; but would you please go to supervise Form 5C while it does the work Y himself should be supervising? Do you grin and bear it? Do you moan madly? Do you cite your union rep’s advice that cover isn’t part of your duties?

At Berkhamsted co-operation was the norm. There was teasing, there were practical jokes, there was often leg-pulling – but it very rarely had any edge of nastiness. Laughter was everywhere.

Ian Edward Halsey (Ad ‘62) (17th October 1943 – 31st December 2022)

I am pleased to have been a friend of Ian these many years and enjoyed many happy hours with him and friends engaged in country pursuits. For many years I shared the same classroom with Ian, and others, including our mutual friend Keith Goddard (Ad ’62).

Before I knew Ian, he lived in Kings Langley with his mum, dad, elder sister Margaret and brother Jim. His father owned a filling and service station where as a young boy he learned a lot from helping in the garage.

When Ian finished school, he studied automobile engineering at Watford Tech. On completion of the course he was signed up to join the staff as a lecturer.

At school, Ian had great athleticism and was signed up for most sports except cricket, racquet sports and swimming. Ian spent a lot of time in the school craft workshops in The Wilderness/ Mill Street. He was very talented at rifle shooting, both small bore and full bore, and represented the school at Bisley.

He was always intrigued with the art of barrel boring and he succeeded in making two barrels, one short and one long. The short barrel Ian made into a cannon which exploded in his hand while adjusting the firing mechanism! This is how Ian lost the top of his lefthand index finger, not by a saw blade as one might suspect. The larger barrel, about 30 inches long, was made as a joint effort with Richard Walpole (Ad ’54). The finished barrel was mounted on a railway sleeper and sighted safely. The ignition was by fuse; he lit the fuse and took cover; an enormous explosion occurred. On inspection the target had been penetrated by the projectile (a 1” ball bearing), which could not be found. Likewise, the barrel which had been carefully mounted was nowhere to be seen! The only clue was a wisp of smoke coming out of the ground nearby. In due course, the site of the wisp of smoke

was excavated and the barrel was located and exhumed! The cannon has not been fired since.

While working at a photographic processor after leaving Watford Tech, Ian shot .22 target rifles at Watford Smallbore Shooting Club in Vicarage Lane, Watford. After a period of not shooting, he decided one evening to go to the club. On his arrival he was told he could not shoot that evening because it was competition night. Ian inquired if he could enter the five competitions. At the end of the evening, Ian left with all five silver trophies which he displayed in his office.

Several years earlier (1969) Ian had entered the National Smallbore Rifle Association Junior National Championship. Prior to the championship, Ian had ordered from America a new Winchester .22 target rifle which arrived a few days before the contest. The rifle was fresh out of the box when Ian competed; he finished with a maximum score of 400 ex 400 at a distance of 100 yards at Bisley. As winner of the competition, Ian was awarded a victor’s badge which was the only badge he ever displayed on the back of his jacket (many shooters’ jackets look like boy scouts’ jackets with badges all over them).

Throughout his life Ian would support the School shooting team at any time, particularly when it was for the Hertfordshire Team Championship Astor Cup, shot at Bisley over 500 yards by teams of six. We won the trophy twice in recent times and took it to the OB Dinner for all to see.

Ian represented Hertfordshire as a member of the .22 smallbore team and he practised clay pigeon shooting at Bedford Gun Club and, in recent times, Flitwick Gun Club.

Game shooting was probably his principal recreation, which he enjoyed with his father from an early age. Every Tuesday throughout the season, Ian would be game shooting with his dad.

For the last 30 years he owned an acreage on the inland washes near Ely between the Hundred Foot Drain and the river Delph. This was shared by Ian with a party of friends in various types of temporary accommodation from caravan, tent to

sleeping in vehicles. A picnic breakfast in the field was not to be missed! it was a team effort with six gas burners sited around a large table to process eggs, bacon, mushrooms, tomatoes, fried bread and copious amounts of tea. Washing up was done on site. This feast would take place on the opening date of duck shooting, 1st September, and maybe some extra dates later in the season.

On one occasion one of our party (Keith Goddard) had slipped into the water and had soaked his trousers. When he went for breakfast in Ely, he removed his trousers and, staying in his car, asked for them to be put in the dryer in the launderette – he was forgotten! So, he had to make his own arrangements to retrieve them so he could join the breakfast party.

Shooting a moving target at speeds of up to 60 miles per hour is not easy but Ian proved a master of the art and had often been invited to large estates for their end of season cock shoot.

Ian’s joinery business, which he co-owned with his father, made bespoke fitted kitchens to order in hardwoods, mostly mahogany and teak. One of his customers was the Duke of Westminster for whom Ian did much work in re-fitting kitchens in his London properties. As well as fitted kitchens, Ian also made the solid bases for electric guitars for the guitar retailer Dan Armstrong. Ian spent considerable time and effort researching quality items for fitting to the guitars. He would do this through the trade fairs.

As far as holidays were concerned, Ian was not one to look for a beach holiday but did enjoy going to expos including the World Trade exhibitions. He was well travelled and when his mother became ill the whole family went on a tour of America.

An unforgettable holiday organised by Richard Walpole and Ian, who did the driving, was a visit to North Wales up in the hills north of Dolgellau to go prospecting for gold! Richard had been there some years earlier on a family holiday. We needed a campsite and luckily came across a perfect location. Over an old stone-built bridge, beside the river, a platform had been cut out for machinery,

a long time ago. It now presented a lovely level area covered in grass, sited beside a roaring river and spectacular waterfall (which dropped about 100 feet). The remains of an old turbine used for rock crushing lay beside it. A perfect campsite. Within a short distance we came across the remains of an old forge, used in the mining operation, just a short distance from the mine entrance. We found the entrance to the mine quite open and unguarded. Inside, it was quite magical with all the different chemicals leaching colours out of the rock walls. We needed to be very mindful of the possibility of falling into the water in the subterranean workings, which was crystal clear, making it invisible. The late Graham Collins (Ad ’49) took a magnificent set of colour slides.

Ian’s place of business was in a yard and workshops in Waverley Road, St Albans. He bought a house adjoining the yard, but at the time he died he was staying with his friends Alan and Jean in Flitwick. Jean was a rabbit fancier and for many years took rabbits to local shows. Ian would assist with that enterprise.

Jean also owned a racehorse which produced a foal two years ago. As Jean sadly passed on, Ian took over supervising both horse and foal.

With Ian’s passing we all suffer a great loss. He was a quite remarkable person. Ian was plagued with heart problems in the last few years. He had a heart bypass which had failed and was waiting to have a new one – which sadly did not happen. Heart failure was the cause of Ian’s demise.

Berkhamsted School was one of the four teams that started the Ashburton Veterans’ Match in 1904. Lt Col Douglas Merry (of Brown & Merry fame, brother of AJ Merry) was chairman of the club, a distinguished international marksman and a member of the OB Rifle Club since its inception in 1938. Ian was a real life ‘Desperate Dan’ – and the School would be lucky to have another marksman to equal his achievements.

Ian is survived by his brother Jim (Be ’70), niece Susan and nephew Tim, and their families.

‘61)

In memory of Ian Halsey, a champion shot of international repute and a stalwart member of OBRC.

Bisley.

Bullseye after bullseye

We aspire to fire,

While lying prone on the mound at Bisley

It’s an Inner that’s signalled

Inwardly you curse,

But what’s to blame

You fire again.

The highs and lows of each shot scored goes

To make the challenge we’re all hooked on.

To shoot for country or shire some do aspire;

But others only come for the beer.

Whoever you are, whatever you do

Come and join us: what me? yes you.

GBT

Hazel Margaret Kelly (Dendy) (NS ‘40) (21st July 1930 – 10th August 2023)

There is a chapter in fashion designer and heiress Gloria Vanderbilt’s 2009 biography, It Seemed Important at the Time, entitled ‘Hazel Kelly’. Ms Vanderbilt, once mistaken on the street for my aunt Hazel, contemplates what it might have meant to live a different life, perhaps that of this (unknown to the author) Hazel Kelly. There are several photographs of a young Ms Vanderbilt that do indeed resemble a younger Hazel, who led a less high-profile life than the famous Gloria,

but nonetheless an interesting and fulfilling one. Hazel died on 10th August 2023, two weeks after turning 93.

Hazel Margaret Kelly (née Dendy) was born in 1930 near Chesham, Bucks, the third of four children (Janet, Christine, Hazel, Richard). The three girls attended Heatherton House Prep School, followed by Berkhamsted School for Girls.

Janet (known as Jane) left Berkhamsted Girls in 1939 to become the youngest orthopedic nurse in Wingfield Morris Hospital Oxford, where she worked during WWII. Christine and Hazel left the school in 1940, aged 15 and 10 respectively. They were sent to Canada as the threat of Nazi bombing made the evacuation of children to the US, Canada and Australia a choice made by many British families. The girls were on one of the last such transports before the practice was deemed too dangerous after a children’s ship, the City of Benares, was torpedoed later in 1940. Some of Hazel’s toys were on the ship that tragically went down.

On arrival in Canada, Hazel and Christine were placed with a wealthy single woman, Miss Townsend, and were lucky to enjoy five happy years in a townhouse in Toronto and a lake-front estate in the Canadian mountains. Despite this long five-year separation from their family, they remained close to them all their lives (Christine, my mother died in 2009).

Though the girls returned to the UK at the end of the war, Hazel had developed a love for life across the pond. She returned in her twenties, this time to New York, to practise orthoptics: diagnosing and treating, with non-surgical interventions, defects in eye movements and problems with how the eyes work together. She wrote a book instructing in her work, Practical Ocular Motility.

In the mid-1950s, Hazel embarked on a solo trip through South America, quite a daring quest then. Naturally, she travelled in stylish New Look full skirts throughout her adventure.

Hazel was a force in her field and went on to train (in an event called ‘Muscle Beach’) many

ophthalmologists, primarily at the renowned Lenox Hill Hospital in Manhattan.

In 1967, she married John Kelly, a lawyer and artist, and they had two daughters. Together, they renovated a West Side brownstone and created a unique escape in the Catskills in the Beaverkill Valley, off the beaten track and off the grid. In 2002, Kim Stevens, a freelance writer, wrote an article for the ‘Havens’ column in The New York Times about Hazel and John and their unplugged life up the mountains in Sullivan County: Havens: No Power, No Plumbing, No PlayStation.

After retirement, Hazel embraced her passion for antiques, thrilling in the hunt for treasures in the markets and yard sales of New York State and becoming a skilled restorer and saleswoman at the area’s antiques markets. At the same time, she taught herself guitar and learned to quilt, earning the Blue Ribbon at the 2007 Grahamsville Little World’s Fair.

Hazel is survived by her husband John, daughters Christa and Claire, and granddaughter Nolen.

Friends and family use these words to describe Hazel: intelligent, creative, sensitive, funny, caring, wise, individual, warm, generous, consummately charming and a subtly stunning person.

Jane Duncan (Leslie) (Ch ’78)

Michael Plumbe (Lo ‘48) (7th November 1931 – 18th August 2023)

Mike was born in Watford and attended Berkhamsted in the 1940s, after returning from the United States with brother Graham as an evacuee during the war. After leaving Berkhamsted he trained as a Chartered Accountant before going on to do his National Service in the RAF, working as a junior technician on radar.

He wasn’t enamoured of accountancy, and in 1958, early in the development of computers, he worked as a programmer before becoming a freelance Systems Analyst until he retired.

However, it was in campaigning that Mike flourished, and after he retired he was able to give free rein to his passion for the many societies which he supported. As his friend Canon Keith Pound writes in the Parish News in Hastings, where Mike moved in 2000 with his partner David: ‘For issues close to his heart Michael has always been a great campaigner, particularly, he claims, of lost causes. “I am anti-noise, anti-fluoride,” he said “and for imperial measure and the Society for Individual Freedom [he was a member since the 1970s].” He was the Vice President of the Campaign to protect the Queen’s English, and the Chairman of the Weights and Measures Association, working to retain the legality of the imperial system.’

Mike became a well-known character in Hastings Old Town where he led guided tours, organised community events and fundraising concerts, was on the committee of the English Speaking Union, and wrote regular letters to The Times and the local paper. He loved the Old Town, saying, ‘I love the spirit of camaraderie and friendliness. It is the people who make it.’ What made him tick? ‘I try to be non-judgemental,’ he said. ‘I listen without judging. Different people have different styles of life.’ He maintained a mailing list of more than 300 people to let them know of forthcoming events, mostly musical. He would daily tackle the Times crossword, and usually finished it.

Wartime notes by Michael’s brother, Graham Plumbe Brother Mike and I were at Winyard House School, Watford, which was evacuated to Wales. In June 1940 (when I was nearly 7, being born in Sept 1933, and Mike was 9), Ma collected us by train and shortly afterwards we left Paddington in the middle of (or just after) an air raid, bound for Liverpool Docks. Aunt Aileen and children left at the same time, and Aileen was upset because Uncle Brian told her to look after the children, whereas Dad told Ma to look after herself. Dad had not been able to join up because, as an importer (Dalgety), he was in a reserved occupation.

We all sailed on the Duchess of Atholl, a ship which was later torpedoed and sunk (1942). Miraculously only four (engineers) were killed, the 821 others being rescued next day from lifeboats. As for us, once on board, the luggage was lost, but Ma found it much later in a corridor. Everyone (possibly excluding cousin Patrick in the pram) was seasick except cousin Jane and me, so we ended up by going to breakfast alone. One problem with the food was that there were weevils in the biscuits. Another recollection was the shutting of the bulkhead doors as a rehearsal in case we were torpedoed, and you didn’t want to be on the wrong side at the time if you wanted to regain your cabin. I also recall that there was a major problem shortly after, which was the sinking of the City of Benares (another evacuee ship; torpedoed; 250 passengers lost) on 18th September 1940 which ended the evacuation service.

We (three) went to stay in Ottawa with Dr and Mrs Bond who were old friends of Grandma Roberts, and our arrival was reported in the paper as ‘two boys and a girl arrived to stay with Dr and Mrs Bond.’ We all slept in the same room and Mike and I slept in the same bed, with the luggage on the floor in the middle. The Bonds were crotchety people, and objected to our boyish ways, being unforgiving as to dirt and as to Michael ‘fiddling’ with the piano. When their daughter Eileen’s

boyfriend came round, we all had to leave the room, Ma going to a back room to write letters, while Mike and I were sent to bed. Ma got us into St Albans School, which was free for English boys.

Aileen being Canadian-born was able (through Brian and the Bank of England) to get an allowance. Ma however had no money and used her college degree and RS bookkeeping badge to get a good job with the Supply Board. She was befriended by the Chairman, Jack Osborne, who introduced her to the Stoltzes who lived in St Paul, Minnesota. They had two English girls already staying with them (in addition to their own five children), and were willing to take more. We all boarded the Santa Fe and trained to the Stoltzes in the middle of 1941. Ma stayed only a few days, because (a) she didn’t like leaving us, and (b) she had a job to go back to, and no money, so she took an apartment in Ottawa. She shared it with a friend, Dot Carstairs, and got Dot’s son into St Albans as well. After a further year or so, she came back to the UK in a 98-ship naval convoy, routed via Iceland, and travelled with about 100 pilots and with nurses; also with Arthur Bliss who was looking forward to being Master of the Queen’s Music. The convoy was attacked and ships were sunk several times, although Ma does not recall seeing the action.

The convoy couldn’t dock at Liverpool because of air raids and went instead to the Bristol Channel – presumably Avonmouth. She telephoned her parents, and only then found that Dad had badgered Dalgety to let him go (with pay) and had joined up without her knowing, and also that he was then doing his OCTU at Bournemouth (he had been in the HAC). Ma went to live with her parents at Noyna, 23 Belmont Road, Bushey. Soon after, she joined Dad for his leave, and on going to dinner at the Norfolk Hotel, she was greeted by a number of pilots who had travelled back with her on the ship and who said, ‘Well, whaddya know!’ Dad was then posted to Orkney, and Ma joined him there to do welfare work, looking after a red setter called Rasc – because Dad was in the RASC. One day she was

turned back from the beach because of a mine, just after the dog had pee’d against it.

During this stay, Ma visited our house in Devereux Drive, Watford, which had been let meanwhile. She moved a heavy couch, and had a nasty miscarriage (daughter), which left her unwell for some time. Dad was later posted to the Azores, but returned from there shortly afterwards, and eventually went to France on D-Day: Plus 1.

Meanwhile, Mike and I in the USA were homesick and Mike asked to come back. This happened in September 1943, and I had my 10th birthday on board ship – the Nyasa, sister ship to the Sepapinta, both run by the Portuguese. Aileen had earlier travelled back on the same ship. These ships, although neutral, were later arrested by the Germans. The food was oily, and we handed out cigarettes through our upper deck-level porthole to clamouring Portuguese soldiers (some of whom slept on deck), having bought these with our pocket money. We were in a group of 14 unaccompanied children, travelling under the auspices of Thomas Cook, although strictly speaking we were in the private care of an older girl whom we never saw. We then got stuck in Estoril for a month, because the English were moving troops there and all transport was commandeered. I was the youngest and was led astray by the others who ran amok in the streets of Estoril and were chased by the police. One night we tried to enter the casino but were turned away because we were not wearing ties, and we got no further than the machines in the front room. Thomas Cook were dishing out pocket money liberally and were charging full hotel rates (the Du Parc, next to the Palace) at the expense of Dad who insisted on a refund from when he found out that we had been housed in a flea-ridden annex with two sticks of furniture and straw mattresses. This was discovered by a personal contact living south of the river who came to see us.

Eventually we flew by Sunderland to Poole, with breakfast at Shannon en route, having had all our best fruit stolen by the hotel staff in Estoril so that,

apart from the bananas which were black when delivered, we could not bring it back with us as an intended gift. The plane had screened-out windows so we could not see where we were going or see convoys below. We did not know we were travelling with the Viceroy of India on the plane, and again on the train to Victoria, until we saw a large welcoming party and bright lights. Ma, who met us with Grandpa, was horrified at our accents and our strange ways.

Ma had arranged for us to go to Berkhamsted School and had acquired a bungalow (‘Hatters’) at Welpley Hill, adjacent to Bovingdon Airfield, some miles from school to which we cycled daily (including a 1-in-4 hill) on brand new bikes. We were visited by old friends from Canada, including Jack Ireland. We watched the D-Day sky full of planes from here, and Dakotas struggling with gliders after snatch pick-ups. We also watched a number of doodlebugs end their flights in the vicinity. One of these landed at Kings Langley, where it blew some trees in an outward ring, and where a cow remained placid while the bull jumped over a six-foot fence. The Bovingdon bungalow was right under the flight path of bombers taking off (Fortresses followed by Liberators), and we moved away after a year or two having had two crashes in the garden, one of which was a Fortress which ended up in our orchard. A Liberator took off with wheels on either side of our chimney, and cracks appeared in our walls, so Ma decided to move.

Dad had told Ma to buy a house near a station, so she bought one at Amberley Terrace, Bushey, from which we continued to travel to school as ‘train boys’. Dad came home on leave and met me when I was on the loo, whereupon I was heard to remark to Dad in a broad US accent, ‘Gee, Pop, still the same old mustache!’

Then Ma found a house for sale at Elstree and agreed to buy it without seeing it, because the vendor wanted to sell quickly. Dad got leave and saw the house at midnight, and they both loved it, except that my room was so small I had to have a

folding camp bed. Later we built on to the house to make a decent bedroom. I think it was when we moved to Elstree, and I was then in the Fourth Form, that I became a boarder in Lowers and Mike in Uppers.

Graham Plumbe (Lo ‘50)

Charles (Tom) Powell (Up ‘53) (30th November 1936 – 27th May 2023)

It’s with our heartfelt sadness that we announce the passing of Tom Powell.

Tom passed away peacefully on the 27th May 2023, aged 86, in the company of Margaret, his wife of 63 years, daughter Susan and son Simon.

After a successful 45-year career in the motor industry, including Rootes, Commer, Flights Garage, Parkside Garages and Quicks Group, Tom enjoyed 25 years of active retirement.

Tom was the kind of person to get involved in the community, generously giving his time to a wide range of organisations. While helping others, he gained huge satisfaction and enjoyment from this, always ready with a kind smile and a laugh. Tom devoted much of his time to Ben, the benevolent charity for the people of the motor industry, supporting many in need across the Midlands.

Tom was very sociable and recognised by all as a true gentleman, kind and loving with a lively sense of humour. He will be greatly missed but remembered with love as a fine person.

In his honour, donations to the Ben charity would be very much appreciated.

Pat Webb (Hon) (24th May 1952 – 28th December 2022)

Pat Webb arrived at Berkhamsted in September 1988 when her husband, Andrew, came to take up an appointment in the History department. Having initially thought she would have a quiet time settling into her new hometown, she was snapped up after just three days by the Bursar of the time, Peter Dixon, to carry out the administration of an alumni appeal for a new, all-weather playing surface.

Pat was subsequently appointed as Secretary to the Clerk of Works in the Maintenance Department where she could indulge her keen sense of humour with the workmen on the team, many of whom were soon roped in to do various jobs at their new Berkhamsted home.

She was soon on the move again, this time to support the Second Master, Dennis Beard, and Principal of the Junior School, George Pitman. Both were great admirers of her unfailingly cheerful approach to hard work, common sense and legendary efficiency, which led to her being snapped up by the Bursary as Secretary.

Pat would achieve her true apotheosis at Berkhamsted, however, when after eight years in four different offices within the School, she was promoted in 1996 to the role of the Secretary to the Head of Sixth Form, John Hughes. She quickly adapted to the role and despite having an office located deep in the medieval catacombs adjacent to Old Hall, soon established her position at the helm of the Sixth Form control centre. She struck up a very strong relationship with John and together they piloted the newly co-educational Sixth Form vessel through some of the early choppy waters brought about by the merger of the two schools.

Six years into this role in 2003, I joined the Collegiate School as an enthusiastic but wide-eyed and rather green Head of Sixth Form who would hugely benefit from Pat’s support and guidance

over the next six years. I think it’s fair to say that without Pat’s extraordinary help and wisdom in that first year, I might well have found my first role in senior leadership totally overwhelming, not least because our first child also arrived in February.

I mention this because by this time Pat was not only the administrative powerhouse of the Sixth Form, but very soon would also become ‘babysitter-in-chief’, not just for the Hartley family and Edmund but various other assorted young children across Berkhamsted.

As well as demonstrating a remarkably maternal instinct for such toddlers, Pat also applied that instinct to the Sixth Form and would often ask me why she needed children of her own when she had 250 of the rascals to look after every day at work (including both pupils and staff). Staff from that time who knew her have testified fulsomely to how she somehow managed to cajole and encourage everybody in the Sixth Form community towards its great success and growth at that time. Pat was critical to that growth, taking on further responsibility without any complaint while still managing at all times to continue to generate a feeling of bonhomie, warmth and liveliness that enriched the life of the Sixth Form.

Pat was eventually promoted to Personal Assistant during this period and gained particular satisfaction from managing the enrolment of international boarding students, a role she performed superbly to great acclaim from the various recruitment agencies we worked with.

Looking back to those happy times, I also remember Pat as a wonderfully loyal friend; a person of great compassion and warmth but also someone who would be frank and honest with you and not mince her words when she felt it was right to do so. Often, of course, such people are the very best friends of all.

After I left, she worked in her role as PA to Jeremy Walker for three years and to Michael Bond for two until she and Andrew retired together in 2014. By that time Pat had been Secretary and/or Personal Assistant for 18 years to four Heads of Sixth.

Alongside Andrew, I think it’s fair to say that Pat formed one of the great Berkhamsted marital teams of that period. As a couple they were always positive, encouraging and true-hearted, never ones to blow their own trumpets or draw attention to themselves but rather to quietly and purposefully support a whole school community through their integrity, kindness and love.

That is certainly the way I will always remember Pat in those happy days when we all laughed and worked tirelessly together to ensure that the School flourished.

When the OBA asked me to write a few thoughts of my own about Pat’s untimely passing on 28th December 2022 to go with George’s piece above, my thoughts immediately turned to the many cards I received in the weeks following her death.

Every single person who took the time to write or send a card had only good things to say about their memories of her. Some of these thoughts I was able to include in an insert with the order of service on the day of her funeral but not nearly all. They came from Pat’s former colleagues in the School’s administrative services, ex-teaching colleagues of mine, her godchildren, friends of hers up north where she lived until we were married and from family in England and South Africa. Even occasionally still, the odd card arrives from former parents of the School and even some former pupils. A letter from a Sixth Form student recalled that she and her best friend thought, ‘Mrs Webb was just so cool to deal with and she could even keep a conversation going while carrying on typing and not having to look down on the keyboard!’

Pat particularly loved the whole Berkhamsted community within the School from the

moment we arrived in 1988, especially its supportive and friendly atmosphere alongside the sense of a common shared purpose. In return, the Berkhamsted community loved her positive and vibrant nature and responded with a widespread, genuine and heartfelt outpouring of shock and sadness at the loss of somebody who gave so much of her time and energy to it.

Everybody’s reminiscences were similar in recalling her warm smile when entering her office. To many there were memories of the much-admired efficiency of her work and her readiness to go well beyond the call of duty. Others referred at length to her patience, cheerfulness, wisdom, helpfulness, kindness and willingness to go out of her way to help. At busy times it was not unusual for her to not get home until seven o’clock as she worked to finish a job so she could start the next morning with a clear desk.

Pat had a wonderful way of dealing with people, even when she was busy and stressed. This was a capacity she always possessed in abundance, particularly so with little ones. It is not a surprise that generations of staff children loved going into her office. It was as much for her happiness to give them time and make them laugh as for the sweets she always had handy for them. She was never happier than when she had the chance to play and have fun, especially with children.

Time and again in these recollections the word ‘special’ was used to describe her. I know that I was incredibly lucky to meet such a special person back in 1980 and to be even more fortunate to share my life with her for just short of 36 years. I have no doubt that she made me a much better person.

I also have no doubt that her smiling eyes, her loving warmth and her genuine kindness showed us all how to live.

Mags Wood (Hon)

(23rd April 1931 – 20th June 1923)

An extract from the tribute to Mags Wood delivered by Penny Kent (Hon) at Mags’ funeral at St Peter’s Church, Berkhamsted on 10th July 2023

Good morning, all you lovely friends of Mags. She would be amazed that there are so many people here – but I’m not. I knew she was such a popular, special lady. We are here today not only to say goodbye to dear Mags and to let her know that we will miss her terribly, but also to celebrate her long life of 92 years.

I first met Mags 49 years ago – almost to the day. I came to Berkhamsted School for Girls for an interview for Assistant PE Teacher on 21st June 1974. It was my 21st birthday that day and actually I could think of better things to do to celebrate it. But in fact, it was a truly memorable day and proved to be a turning point in my life.

My first impression of Mags was that she was very gracious and calm – not like the PE teachers I had previously known. She welcomed me with her big smile and showed me around the School on a wonderfully sunny afternoon with the girls playing tennis on the grass courts, happy games of rounders on the School pitch and merry splashes from the open swimming pool. Idyllic! I thought this is the school where I would like to teach!

I met the delightful Headmistress, Miss Bateman, who said she would like to offer me the job and I could start in September. I explained that I could only stay for one year as I was going to travel the world playing lacrosse for England. But actually teaching with Mags at Berkhamsted was so enjoyable I decided to stay a bit longer.

Mags was a marvellous Head of Department. I learned such a lot from her and the girls had great respect for her. She brought out the best in the girls, and if they were not so interested in sport she was most encouraging and patient. She wanted them to enjoy sport and continue with it after school and for the rest of their lives. She was

truly dedicated and worked tirelessly. She never put herself first, always thinking how she could help others. She had such a sense of humour too and took part in staff plays and netball matches with great enthusiasm and panache!

Mags was born on St George’s Day in Preston and christened Sheila Margaret. Her father was a GP, her mother was a hard-working GP’s wife, and she had a lovely younger brother, Peter. She went as a boarder to Huyton College, Liverpool, then Rydal Hall, Ambleside in the war. She said that her swimming lessons were in Lake Windermere! I said that it must have been freezing – she said, ‘It was quite cold’!

She trained at Anstey PE College, leaving there in 1953. She first went to teach at Farringtons in Kent, then came to Berkhamsted School for Girls in 1962 as Head of PE, retiring in 1987. She was President of the East Lacrosse Association

and a founder member and President of our local Pendley Team – which was one of the most successful teams in the country for many years. She was very proud of us!

When Mags retired, the article in the School magazine summed her up beautifully: ‘Her natural courtesy and her knack of recognising the right moment for a word, or a note of thanks, praise, congratulation or sympathy are qualities which many have experienced with gratitude… What a fortunate day it was for the School when Miss Russell appointed the dark-haired, bespectacled Miss Wood to the Staff’.

She loved all sport and had her favourites –Tom Finney at Preston North End, Jimmy Anderson for cricket, Adrian Moorhouse for swimming and, if they were Scottish, even better, with Andy Murray for tennis, and Chris Hoy for cycling – but her great love was chocolate. She absolutely adored it, be it hot chocolate, chocolate cake, chocolate mousse or chocolate rolls. Recently in her care home, just the mention of chocolate and her eyes lit up!

For the past two years Mags’ mobility problems meant that she was not able to stay in her lovely house in Bridge Street where she was such a popular lady they called her ‘The Queen of Bridge Street’. She was in Ashlyns Care Home and then St Paul’s Nursing Home. Huge thanks to the staff at those homes who looked after Mags with such loving care. She was so resilient and stalwart right to the end, never asking for anything and being so grateful for visits – and chocolate! Always saying when asked how she was, ‘Oh, I’m fine!’ I am so proud to have known such a very special lady!

There were great celebrations and tea parties when Mags reached her 90th Birthday and Brigitta Case compiled a wonderful album of joyous memories, birthday wishes and photos which delighted Mags. The common theme was that Mags was an inspirational teacher and always so encouraging to all the girls whether they enjoyed sport or not. Mags, we will all miss you very much. Goodbye for now.

Every child at school has their favourite teachers; Miss Wood was one of ours. She inspired us all. Jane Rowlands, Liz Agate, Rachel Benjamin and I played tennis, squash or lacrosse at every opportunity, both in school and out.

My school bus emerged from the depths of the Buckinghamshire countryside very early in the morning and I would spend a good half-hour in the covered playground hitting a tennis ball against the wall. Miss Wood often came and checked up on me, which was kind of her. Our group of four played tennis on the grass courts by the dining room, in break and after lunch in the summer, bagging our preferred court with one of our racquets. Lacrosse was our favourite and we’d

practise together on the School field, for fun really; ready for whatever match we were lucky to be chosen to play in.

Miss Wood was an inspiration to us all. She was tough but fair, kind with a lovely smile. Cheerful and determined. She genuinely cared about us all. From when we learnt to play netball in our early years at ‘the big school’, to when we won the All England Schools Tournament at Merton in our last winter season(s), she was there, dishing out the orange segments (when not umpiring and furiously blowing her whistle). She always encouraged us; it was effortless for her. Unspoken between her and her pupils was our shared love of sport. It didn’t end when we left school either. The four of us then played for Pendley Lacrosse Club, of which she became our dedicated President for many years. She was our backbone, becoming ‘Mags’ to us all, at her insistence.

Miss Wood followed our careers with enthusiasm and always enjoyed hearing about our families, whenever she met us out and about in Berkhamsted, where she was actively involved, making positive contributions to the Berkhamsted community. And in our exchange of Christmas cards, she shared snippets of her own. She will be missed. Thank you, Miss Wood. Thank you, ‘Mags’.

Sally Greenwood (Hedges) (NS ‘75)

We extend our sincere condolences to the families and friends of those listed below, who have passed away recently:

n Vera Alexander (Bu ‘49)

n Nerses Artan (In ‘56)

n Valerie Baddeley (OS ‘44)

n John Blaxter (Be ‘47)

n Grahame Boutle (Up ‘51)

n Rod Boyle (Sw ‘84)

n Jennie Burton (Hon)

n Edwina Cass (Hon)

n Royston Coughtrey (Sw ‘47)

n Ron Hall (In ‘60)

n Elizabeth Haddow (Hon)

n Andrew Mead (Up ‘58)

Future Events

Tuesday 5th March

OB AGM

Castle Campus

Saturday 16th March

Memorial for Jonty Driver

Castle Campus

Saturday 16th March

OB Lunch

Castle Campus

Saturday 23rd March

OB v School Football Match

Chesham Road Playing Fields

Monday 25th March

n Neville Orchard (Be ‘48)

n Andrea Owen (NS ‘53)

n Eric Owen (Ad ‘50)

n Patrick Plumbe (Lo ‘57)

n Jan Prebble BEM (Lx ‘46)

n Jennifer Robinson (NS ‘53)

n John Scott (Ad ‘53)

n William Scott (Sw ‘71)

n Jennifer Sharp (Ho ‘58)

n Steven Taylor (Fr ‘86)

n Diane Thomas (Lo ‘70)

n Michael Waterhouse (Ad ‘54)

n Christine Wilson (OS ‘63)

Women Behind the Wheel film – by Cat Haigh (Re ’13)

Centenary Theatre

Sunday 21st April

Rowers’ Reunion Leander Club

May

50+ Men’s Lunch

Berkhamsted Golf Club

Sunday 23rd June

Leavers’ 40-50-Year Reunion

Berkhamsted Golf Club

September

2014 Leavers’ 10-Year Reunion

Nash-Harris Building

November

2004 Leavers’ 20-Year Reunion

Nash-Harris Building

OB Contacts

Brigitta Case (President until March 2024) obpresident@berkhamsted.com

Peter Willson (President from March 2024) peter.willson@hopespare.com

Andrew Bale (Treasurer) abale@newship.co.uk

OB Contacts for Events and Clubs

London Luncheon Club

Peter Willson peter.willson@hopespare.com

Fives

Chris Davey cdavey@berkhamsted.com

Football

Joe Lucas jlucasuk98@outlook.com

Tudor Rose Golfing Society (Ladies’ Golf)

Alison Welborn tudorrosegolf@yahoo.com

OB Golfing Society (Men’s Golf)

Dave Atkins (Captain) david.atkins246@gmail.com

Matthew Dennehy (Secretary) oldberkhamstediansgolf@gmail.com

Scuba

Paul Fitzpatrick fitzy_paul@yahoo.com

Mike Horton mike.horton16@gmail.com

Mrs Vicky Rees (Administrator, TOB Office) Overton House, 131 High Street, Berkhamsted, Herts, HP4 2DJ 01442 358111

ob@berkhamsted.com

Matthew Horton (TOB Magazine Editor) oldberkhamstedian@gmail.com

Lynne Oppenheimer (TOB Editorial Assistant) loppenheimer@berkhamsted.com

Cricket

Larry Eaton leaton@berkhamsted.com

Old Girls’ Lacrosse Match v School

Vicky Rees ob@berkhamsted.com

Netball (OB Hares Netball Club)

Debbie Buzzle obhares@haresnetball.co.uk

Rugby

Vicky Rees ob@berkhamsted.com

Sailing

Gavin Rees rees_gavin@hotmail.com

Shooting

David Pooley (Hon Secretary) david.pooley@tallco.co.uk

Tennis

Penny Kent penny.kent53@gmail.com

Brigitta Case rbrk.ca5e@live.com