The Salopian no. 157 - Winter 2015

TITLE HERE 1 

THE SALOPIAN 

Issue No. 157 - Winter 2015

The death on Friday 11th December of Michael Schützer- 

Weissmann has formed a melancholy coda to the Michaelmas 

term. For his family, for the English faculty - which Mike headed 

for 17 years from his arrival at the school in 1988 - for generations 

of former pupils, and for the whole current school community, the 

loss of an extraordinary man, whose humanity, wit and wisdom 

enriched so many lives will be irredeemable. 

In Mike were wedded harmoniously a towering moral strength 

with the deepest humanity. Prodigiously well read, and a profound 

thinker on matters both spiritual and temporal, he combined 

the scholarship of a don with a disdain for pretentiousness and 

intellectual humbug. An innate respect for his fellow men – I 

never heard him speak ill of anyone – was, perhaps ironically, 

allied to a Swiftian sense of satire. Nowhere was this seen to better 

advantage than in his now rather poignantly named Shakespearian 

pastiches As You Leave Us and Lots Leave us Lost written for private 

performance at leaving parties for fellow English Faculty members 

held at Marycourt, a frequently-used haven for so many of us from 

the hurly-burly of day-to-day Salopian life. 

Countless Salopians owe much of their ‘real’ education to time 

spent in his architectural seminars, the legendary Building Society, 

tapping into his vast knowledge of French wine, or, in the case of 

the School’s Roman Catholic contingent, simply chatting to him 

over lashings of bacon and eggs in Marycourt after early Sunday 

Mass in the Cathedral. In so many ways Mike was paterfamilias to 

the Common Room as well as to his extensive family, to whom we 

send our warmest good wishes. 

David Gee’s City on a Hill, published in September and reviewed 

by both Martin Knox and Professor Colin Leach in the following 

pages, implicitly invites readers to reflect on change and constancy 

in the Salopian scene. The idea that the “The One remains, the 

many change and pass” - a spell well-known to anyone brought up 

at the knees of Frank McEachran – lies at the heart of this portrait, 

written by a man whose understanding of Shrewsbury is unrivalled. 

Values held dear by Mike Schützer-Weissmann - decency, humanity 

and gratitude for the gift of life - are unchanging. Never indeed 

have they seemed so important than today, when we consider the 

wider world beyond the bounds of Shrewsbury School. 

Within the Shrewsbury microcosm, we can see those values 

illustrated in the heartwarming tale accompanying the adjacent 

picture, which I feel Mike would have enjoyed. The first two are 

evident in the actions of the sheep’s rescuers, the last, one must 

assume, is being instinctively felt by the sheep himself, if only he 

were able to articulate it. 

I will leave readers to extract whatever symbolism they can from 

the front cover photograph. The platform seems solid enough, but 

perhaps it might be better just to enjoy the view! 

Front Cover: Guyana Expedition 2015, Kaieteur Falls. 

Inside Front cover: As members of the newly relaunched Rovers Club kayaked and canoed down 

the Severn on Field Day, a drowning sheep was spotted in the river standing neck deep in the water, 

which he looked as if he had been in for several hours, unable to climb up the steep bank to his 

home field. Manhandled into a canoe, he was released up a rather easier bank on the opposite side 

of the river which he eventually scrambled up, gradually regaining strength in his legs. 

The farmer will wonder how his opposite-bank-neighbour’s sheep has ended up in his flock: there 

are no bridges between Montford Bridge and Welsh Bridge along this 17km stretch of the river! 

CONTENTS 

Academic News 4 

City on a Hill 6 

Salvete 8 

Valete 9 

Spanish Study visit to Argentina 12 

Classics Trip to Greece 13 

Drama 14 

Evensong at The Queen’s College 16 

Leavers concert 17 

House Singing 18 

Shrewsbury in Malawi 18 

Expedition to Guyana 19 

Pringle Trophy 23 

Old Salopians in WWI 24 

Life beyond Shrewsbury 26 

Relaunch of the Rovers 28 

Cricket 29 

Tennis 37 

RSSBC 38 

RSSH 41 

Athletics 44 

Equestrian Success 45 

Hockey 46 

Shrewsbury School Foundation 47 

Director of the Salopian Club 48 

Salopian Club Events 49 

News of Old Salopians 51 

Arts & Activities Committee 55 

Old Salopian Biologists 55 

The Making of a Runner 56 

Sponsored charity row 57 

Cycling across Europe 58 

Old Salopian Football 59 

Old Salopian Yacht Club 61 

Sabrina 62 

Old Salopian Hunt 64 

Old Salopian Golfing Society 66 

Saracens 69 

Publications 71 

Obituaries 72 

Editor 

Richard Hudson 

Churchill’s Hall, Shrewsbury School, 

Shrewsbury SY3 7AT 

01743 280630 rth@shrewsbury.org.uk 

Assistant Editor 

Annabel Warburg 

Obituaries Editor 

Martin Knox 

Salopian Club 

Nick Jenkins (Director) 

Old Salopian Club, The Schools, 

Shrewsbury SY3 7BA 

01743 280891 (Director) 

01743 280892 (Administrator) 

mail to: oldsalopian@shrewsbury.org.uk 

Design: www.grand-design.eu 

Print: www.lavenhampress.com

4 

SCHOOL NEWS 

Academic News 

Exam results 

This year, we celebrated our best ever A Level results, with 

86.1% of the exams awarded the top A*, A or B grades and 

25% of all exams gaining the top A* grade. There were 

many individual success stories, not least the 19 pupils 

who gained at least three A* grades and the 55 pupils who 

gained an A* or A in all their subjects. 

Both last year’s joint Heads of School, James Plaut and 

Esmé O’Keeffe, gained an A* in each of their subjects. James 

was studying English, Geography and History, whilst Esmé 

studied French, History, Latin and Spanish. Impressive too 

was the performance of Ronald Chen who gained six A* 

grades, in Maths, Further Maths, Biology, Chemistry, 

Physics and Chinese. All 12 pupils with offers from 

Oxford or Cambridge Universities achieved the required 

grades to meet their offers. 

The School’s AS results from the Lower Sixth pupils 

were also impressive, with 65% of grades achieved at 

A or B grades. 38 pupils gained A grades in all their 

subjects and 80 gained nothing less than a B. 

Lower Sixth Examination prizes were awarded to the 

following candidates who achieved outstanding scores 

in their AS subjects: 

A. Arridge (Rb) 

T.C. Breese (PH) 

G.W. Cabral (Ch) 

N.J. Chen (I) 

X. Chen (MSH) 

A. Chumbala (SH) 

T.H. Dodd (Rb) 

F.T. Galbraith (EDH) 

S. Hazar (I) 

B.G. Jones (S) 

L.B. Kell (EDH) 

T. Lam (MSH) 

K.L. Lee (M) 

L.J. Mattinson (Rb) 

H.A.P. Newbould (Ch) 

O.C. Papaioannou (EDH) 

H.F. Partington (PH) 

A. Pototskaya (G) 

M.R. Pownall (MSH) 

B.E. Sansom (PH) 

V.U. Taujanskaite (MSH) 

A. Vechamamontien (M) 

Y. Xu (EDH) 

T. Zhou (EDH) 

It was also another strong year for GCSE results, with 

64.3% of the exams awarded an A* or A grade and over 

a third of all exams (34.8%) awarded the top A* grade. 

Six pupils, Nicholas Davis, Mathew Hedges, Ben Jones, 

Andrew Kim, Fintan Simmons and Thomas Tulloch, each 

gained 10 straight A* grades, and 30 pupils gained either 

A* or A grades in all their subjects. Thomas Tulloch’s 

other major achievement during the summer was winning 

a European gold medal as part of the GB eventing team. 

(see page 45) 

After the GCSE examinations, Honorary Scholarships 

were awarded to: R.W.A. Carter-Motley (Rt), M.W. Hedges 

(Rb) and A.D. Howells (MSH) and Honorary Exhibitions 

were awarded to: E.M.C. Plaut (S) and M.J.B. Yale (S). 

GCSE Examination prizes were awarded to candidates with an outstanding number of A* grades: 

R.A. Arkwright (O) 

A.J. Aslam-Baskeyfield (Rb) 

W.S. Bedson (Rb) 

J.S. Bray (Rb) 

E.L. Chapman (Rb) 

P. Cope (Ch) 

N.W. Davis (PH) 

B.M.W. Jones (Rb) 

E.G. Kerr (EDH) 

H. Kim (S) 

R. Lim (MSH) 

J.J. Mattinson (Rb) 

M.H.J. Morris (Rb) 

S.K. Randawa (MSH) 

M.J.B. Redhead (MSH) 

L.H.E. Robb (MSH) 

S.T.F. Russell (Ch) 

F.J.J. Simmons (Ch) 

R.F. Smith-Langridge (EDH) 

C.M. Speed (I) 

A.K.C.O. Stock (I) 

J.S. Thevathasan (PH) 

A.J. Thomason (Rt) 

T.A.W. Tulloch (Rt) 

S. Williams (O)

SCHOOL NEWS 5 

Academic Extension Programme 

The Academic Extension Programme is 

a new initiative, designed to challenge 

academically ambitious pupils to think 

beyond the confines of their studies 

and to broaden their horizons. It is 

compulsory for Academic Scholars but 

it is also open to any pupil; we are 

delighted that a considerable number 

of other intellectually curious boys and 

girls have chosen to take part in this 

year’s programme, which focuses on the 

Middle East. 

At the beginning of the Michaelmas 

term, a group of Fourth and Fifth 

Formers were given an overview of 

the complexity and diversity of the 

various modern conflicts in the region, 

starting with the Iraq Wars, through to 

Omnibus Gladstone Competition 

intervention in Afghanistan, the rise of 

ISIS and the current migration crisis. 

Each pupil in the group was given a 

copy of Mohsin Hamid’s The Reluctant 

Fundamentalist, which was the topic 

of discussion in the second half of term. 

In November we were delighted to 

welcome Major General Richard Nugee, 

Assistant Chief of Defence Staff and 

Defence Services Secretary, who gave 

a fascinating lecture on ‘Should Britain 

intervene against the Islamic State?’ 

Next term we look forward to a talk by 

Tim Marshall, former Diplomatic Editor 

of Sky News, who will offer his unique 

viewpoint on the situation that the 

Middle East faces. 

Cambridge Chemistry 

Challenge 2015 

At the end of the Summer 

term and after a busy AS exam 

schedule, a group of Lower 

Sixth students entered the 2015 

Cambridge Chemistry Challenge. 

They performed remarkably well, 

amassing a total of eight Gold, 

20 Silver and 27 Copper medals 

– which topped even last year’s 

excellent results. 

Set by an experienced team of 

teachers and university chemists, the 

paper is designed to be accessible 

to Lower Sixth students but also to 

take them significantly beyond the 

syllabus and encourage them to 

think about science in the way they 

would at university. It is endorsed 

and sponsored by St Catharine’s 

College, Cambridge. 

Guy Cabral (Ch UVI) beat stiff 

competition from Classics pupils 

across the country in September to 

come runner-up in the Omnibus 

Gladstone Competition - the 

UK’s premier national Classics 

essay writing competition. His 

essay was on the importance of 

the Vindolanda Tablets, a set of 

wooden ‘booklets’ considered to be 

the oldest surviving hand-written 

documents in Britain. They were 

discovered near Hadrian’s Wall and 

give a unique insight into frontier 

life on the northernmost edges of 

the Roman Empire. 

On hearing the good news, Guy - 

who is applying to read Classics at 

Oxford - said, “It was a complete 

surprise and I am absolutely 

delighted to be runner-up. It was a 

fascinating process to delve into the private and personal correspondence 

between Roman soldiers and their families; it showed me that in many 

ways, people have not changed that much over two millennia.” 

Mathematics Challenge 

Competitions 

Chloe Chen (MSH UVI), Tom Dodd 

(Rb UVI), David Gao (I LVI) and 

Evelyn Xiong (G LVI) triumphed in 

the Regional Final of the Senior Team 

Maths Challenge at Keele University on 

18th November. They now progress to 

the National Final, which will be held 

in London on 2nd February 2016. 

Chloe Chen also achieved the School’s 

top mark (115 out of a possible 125) 

in this year’s Senior Mathematical 

Challenge paper. A total of 126 

Shrewsbury pupils across all five year 

groups sat the paper this year; 115 

of them performed well enough to 

place themselves in the top 60% of 

the country and receive a certificate. 

A special mention should go to Tianci 

Wang (SH III) who was amongst the 19 

Gold certificate winners; an impressive 

achievement for a Third Former. 

International Young 

Physicists’ Tournament 

Shrewsbury School 

represented the UK 

once again in the finals 

of the International 

Young Physicists’ 

Tournament in Thailand 

in July. Competing 

against 26 other teams 

from countries all 

over the world, they 

returned home with a 

bronze medal.

6 SCHOOL NEWS 

CITY ON A HILL A Portrait of Shrewsbury School 

by David Gee, with Foreword by Eric Anderson; 

Greenbank Press (2015); xv+316 pp. Hardback, £25.00. ISBN 978 - 0 - 9523699 - 8 - 1 


(Staff 1971-2003) writes: 

Everyone knows the story of David 

Gee, who came to Shrewsbury in 

1958 for a term’s teaching practice and 

stayed for a lifetime. The headmaster, 

J.M.Peterson, impressed by the energy 

and enthusiasm of the young History 

graduate, offered him a permanent 

position which he was only too 

happy to accept. Nearly six decades 

later, the fire still burns. In a Dayboys 

production of The Mikado, David once 

played the part of Pooh-Bah, “Lord 

High Everything Else”, an apt term 

for one who has served the School in 

many roles, all of them with success. 

His latest triumph is this wide-ranging 

survey of Shrewsbury School life in a 

period which he is uniquely qualified 

to chronicle. As he points out in the 

preface, the second half of the twentieth 

century has been erratically served 

when it comes to maintaining detailed 

records and he has spent many, many 

hours piecing together a jigsaw puzzle 

of facts and opinions into a coherent 

picture. 

In the last edition of The Salopian, 

David spoke of how the book came to 

be written and outlined the structure 

he has adopted, treating each facet of 

school life under a different heading, 

rather than presenting a chronological 

narrative. With apologies to those who 

missed it, I will avoid repetition of what 

he had to say, other than to stress that 

City on a Hill is not an autobiography. 

Indeed, in places the author even 

refers to himself in the third person. 

It is, however, unmistakeably David 

Gee’s book, imbued as it is on every 

page with the values which he holds 

dear and which he believes flourish at 

Shrewsbury as nowhere else. 

Well he would, wouldn’t he? An easy 

jibe, but one which does not hold, for 

David is too much the historian to rely 

on his own uncorroborated opinion 

to make his point. In the chapter on 

the ethos of Shrewsbury, he quotes a 

number of distinguished witnesses, all 

testifying to the qualities that make it 

no ordinary school. Speaking for myself 

(and not claiming distinction), I share 

David’s view that personal relations 

grow in a richer soil on Kingsland 

than elsewhere and that within the 

gates a bond of uncommon loyalty is 

forged. Like him, I formed this opinion 

early and have not since had cause to 

change it. Forty-five years ago, life at 

Shrewsbury was not like the fictitious 

world of “If”, but it was no easy task 

to persuade the sceptical outsider. 

We must be grateful to David Gee for 

producing such a well-researched, 

deeply considered account of how the 

School has evolved in his time. 

City on a Hill is a handsome volume, 

for the production of which 

congratulations go to Richard Hudson 

and his Greenbank Press. They have 

provided a frame worthy of the portrait 

painted by the tireless historian. Many 

Old Salopians and past and present 

members of the Common Room have 

made contributions, too, for, prodigious 

though David’s memory is, he does not 

know everything and does not pretend 

to. His thoroughness and his humility 

have combined to give us an insight 

into just about every activity promoted 

by the School during the period. Of 

particular interest are the interviews with 

all of the surviving Headmasters and it 

is only a pity that Donald Wright, who 

was at the helm during the turbulent 

sixties, died just before David started 

work on his project. The reader is left in 

no doubt, however, about the value of 

that great reformer’s contribution. 

One does not have to have known 

the men concerned to enjoy the 

four sketches of Common Room 

“characters”, chosen for their eccentric 

approach to the profession on which 

they made their highly individual 

mark. Unorthodox, idiosyncratic, even 

subversive, they could scarcely be less 

like the author, who nevertheless treats 

them with admiration and affection. 

David is himself conservative in his 

ways, a man who sees no reason why 

today should not be like yesterday and 

expects much the same of tomorrow - 

or so he would have us believe. Behind 

the routines and the favourite sayings, 

however, lies more than a hint of selfparody, 

as there is in his affectation of 

mystified ignorance of the topics of the 

day. In fact, he has his finger on the 

pulse like no-one else; were it not so, 

he could not have written this book. 

It might be supposed that a necessarily 

retrospective work would be smothered 

in nostalgia, that the past would be 

preferred to the present at every turn. 

It is not like that. True, there are times 

when it can be discerned that the 

passing of one tradition or another is 

lamented, but for the most part, David 

Gee is content to record that at a certain 

time, people spoke and behaved in a 

particular way. That they no longer do 

so is not of itself a bad thing. In the 

Wessex novels, Thomas Hardy depicted 

customs and crafts which had gone for 

ever. His manner was wistful and yet 

he was mindful of the hardship which 

had gone with them. So, too, do we 

find here a realistic appraisal of life at 

Shrewsbury. The Old Days were not all 

“good” and this history is mercifully free 

of the attitude so readily adopted by 

Old Boys - of any school - that “it never 

did me any harm”. 

Many readers are likely to turn to the 

area of greatest interest to themselves 

and the format allows this kind of 

selective approach, but I caution 

against neglecting any chapter, for 

much of the pleasure to be had in 

reading the whole lies in discovering 

unfamiliar aspects of the little world 

that is Shrewsbury School. Inevitably, 

the author’s preferences are reflected 

in where the emphasis is placed. 

Events which bring the whole school 

together are especially admired, be they 

traditional or innovative. The Speech 

Day tent is an example of the latter, but 

the Call-over is a re-enactment of an 

ancient ritual (with the practical purpose 

of ensuring that everyone stays till the 

end). The Tucks, Sponsored Walks, the 

St Mary’s service are further instances of 

ways of fostering the community spirit 

which is such a central theme of City on 

a Hill. While it is true that they are all 

compulsory, it is worth noting that the 

last time Shrewsbury reached the final 

of the Boodles ISFA Trophy, the turnout 

in support (a hundred miles away) was 

90%. No other school comes near.

SCHOOL NEWS 

7 

A glance at the index section (David is 

very fond of tables and indexes) will 

reveal just how thorough and how up 

to date is the coverage. Famous names 

from the past are there, certainly, but 

so, too, are the men and women, the 

boys and girls who are responsible for 

carrying on the Great Tradition. They 

will find their efforts appreciated and 

their achievements applauded. 

The period under review has had its 

moments of controversy and these are 

dealt with even-handedly and with 

restraint, as one would expect from a 

writer sensitive to the feelings of others. 

One would seek in vain for gossip and 

speculation in City on a Hill. 

De Salopia nil nisi bonum. Shrewsbury 

may have given the world “Private 

Eye”, but nothing could be further 

from its ethos than this text, which 

is a celebration of common purpose 

carried out with goodwill. There have 

inevitably been frustrations, tensions 

and disappointments along the way, 

and sometimes darker clouds have 

gathered; it could scarcely be otherwise 

in more than half a century of human 

endeavour, but Shrewsbury School has 

overwhelmingly been a happy and 

successful example of its kind. With 

good cause has David Gee followed the 

advice of St Paul to the Christians 

at Philippi: 

“… whatsoever things are pure, 

whatsoever things are lovely, 

whatsoever things are of good 

report, if there be any praise, 

and if there be any virtue, 

think on these things.” 

Professor Colin Leach 

(O 1945-51) writes: 

Those with very long memories 

may recall that, in 1932, a book was 

published under the title Shrewsbury: 

The Last Fifty (later wisely changed 

to “Recent”) Years, chronicling the 

period since the momentous move to 

Kingsland in 1882. It was an important, 

even crucial, move, amounting, indeed, 

to a new Foundation: but it was not a 

“revolution”, and the school of Butler, 

Kennedy and Moss had changed its 

location but not its modus operandi. By 

now, of course, we are all familiar with 

the phrase “Public Schools’ Revolution” 

– there has even been a book with 

virtually that title - and in this excellent 

book David Gee has shown how, at 

Shrewsbury, the latest 50 years have 

indeed constituted a “revolution “ rather 

than a more decorous, Darwinesque, 

“evolution”. Of course, even a revolution 

will be foreshadowed, and although It 

was with the arrival of Donald Wright 

in 1963 that the major changes were 

instituted, David shows that in the 

closing years of Peterson’s long reign 

there were already harbingers of what 

was to come; the early chapter called 

“The Public School Revolution” neatly 

sums up what may be described as 

“Before and After”. As the reviewer can 

vouch, a boy arriving at Shrewsbury 

in, say, 1950, would have found a 

school that was well-nigh identical to 

the one that his father (shall we say) 

had entered in 1920: but by 1980, that 

could no longer be said, and even less 

could it be said by 2010, or today. It is 

David’s achievement – and it could have 

been done only by someone who was 

permanently on the Site – that he shows 

in riveting detail how the “old order” has 

been swept away, both in and out of the 

classroom. “Douling”? The Pink Book? 

Compulsory Corps? The School’s arcane 

vocabulary? Hall Crier? Hall Constable? 

Colour Exams? All these, and much 

more, are gone, and have been replaced 

by a regimen more in keeping with our 

times – especially with the introduction 

of girls, a subject of the highest 

importance which is covered by Jeremy 

Goulding in his contribution to A View 

from the Pentagon (see below). Here we 

are taken, in no fewer than 33 chapters, 

into (eg) the expansion of the Site (new 

buildings), The Bloxham Report, The 

Basic Year, Academic changes (the reign 

of classics ended long ago, but there 

is very much more to it than that, as a 

full chapter shows), and Administrative 

changes, largely brought on by the 

“deluge” of government directives: the 

five admin staff of 1954 had become 

60 by 2014 – and 43 members of 

Common Room had become 123: huge 

changes, even allowing for a larger 

school. Thus, it is unsurprising that fees 

have risen so sharply: hard to believe 

that, in 1945, fees were just £180 per 

year! As to what the future will bring, 

David is, as ever, keenly aware of the 

problems and challenges that may lie 

ahead, not least with the demise of so 

many Preparatory Schools: the analysis 

on page 107 is essential reading. 

Will the School become ever more 

international? (The location of the 

Schools has many advantages, but also 

some disadvantages, especially with 

the number and lengths of “half-term” 

breaks). 

But this long (and superbly illustrated) 

book is far from being a mere assembly 

of facts: for example, we are given a 

splendid chapter on “Four Salopian 

Characters” – Hugh Brooke, Frank 

McEachran, Mark Mortimer, and Michael 

Hall, all of course well known to the 

author. Individual Headmasters are given 

their say – including, rather bravely, 

the most recent ones (Simon Langdale, 

Ted Maidment, and Jeremy Goulding) 

– or are assessed in A View from the 

Pentagon (it is here that, rightly, David 

also pays tribute to that most Salopian of 

Salopians, Michael Charlesworth, who 

must himself have regretted many of the 

changes which surrounded him); there 

is a shrewd chapter on the growing 

importance of Dayboys, in terms of 

numbers, organisation and identity, in 

which David himself played a major 

part; as for Music, Drama, Visual Arts, 

Craft, Design and Technology, where 

would they have been fifty years ago? 

David deals generously with Chapel, 

The Shewsy and Sports, less so with 

the Library (adequately dealt with in 

earlier histories): financial matters, too, 

fall outside the author’s self-imposed 

remit. The many Appendices provide 

enough information to satisfy the most 

gluttonous fact-hunter (the Carmen 

Salopiense is there, but not Mark 

Mortimer’s indecorous parody). And 

although the Contents page is helpfully 

complete, your reviewer would have 

welcomed an Index. 

In his Preface, which is itself of the 

greatest interest, David tells us, among 

much else, that it has been his aim to 

“focus on the visible, daily life of the 

school” (and) “the personalities who 

have created, sustained and transmitted 

its distinctive ethos”: he has succeeded 

triumphantly, while being fully 

conscious of how, in the world of the 

email, the “smartphone” , the internet 

– and long exeats - maintaining our 

ethos will be no easy matter: much time 

has passed since the Bloxham Report 

(in which “Hartfield”, ie Shrewsbury, 

featured so prominently), actually 

captured the School’s ethos with no 

little acuteness. Again, “rolls” have to 

be maintained – and so do academic 

standards (again, see the chapter on 

Academic Changes). All this and much 

more will be found here, and it is 

tempting, if irrelevant, to wonder how 

former Headmasters would view the 

huge changes of the latest 50 years: 

the reviewer, without any mandate to 

speculate, suspects that John (Lord) 

Wolfenden, at least, would be looking 

upon them with a benign eye. 

Of course, the natural “constituency” 

of the book’s readers will come from 

Salopians, whether present or past, but 

I have no doubt that it will be studied 

keenly at many other schools as well. 

This book has clearly been a labour 

of love, by a man who has devoted 

his working life to the School, and 

where he has himself played a deeply 

important and distinguished role. There 

is much more to be said: but I conclude 

by congratulating him warmly on what 

will surely be a lasting achievement. 

Floreat Salopia!

8 SCHOOL NEWS 

Salvete 

Morgan Bird joins us as 

teacher of Philosophy and 

Theology from the Royal 

Grammar School Guildford 

where he was teacher of 

Religious Studies and Head 

of Young Enterprise. He 

has been heavily involved in playing 

rugby at a high level throughout his 

school and university life and has also 

coached and refereed the game. In 

athletics, Morgan has been coaching 

long jump and javelin. Morgan still has 

a keen interest in the Arts (he has an Art 

Foundation Diploma), and headed up 

the Photographic Society at RGS. 

Andrea Bresso is our 

Hispanic Fellow for 2015- 

16. Andrea has a degree 

in Law and is a Junior 

Associate at a law firm. 

She has been working in 

Argentina as a Spanish- 

English translator. In her spare time, she 

enjoys hockey and swimming. 

Emma Davis joins us as 

a new teacher of Girls’ 

Games. She holds a PGCE 

in Physical Education 

and a BA Hons in 

Physical Education in the 

Community from St Mary’s 

University College, Twickenham. She 

was previously Head of Girls’ Physical 

Education & Sport and Head of House at 

Bedstone College. She has participated 

in hockey, netball, cross-country and 

athletics to a high level and has a vast 

selection of coaching qualifications in a 

wide variety of sports and recreational 

activities. 

Sara Fletcher joins us 

as part-time teacher of 

Biology, from New College 

Sixth Form in Wellington. 

She has a BSc Dual 

Honours in Neuroscience 

and English Literature from 

the University of Keele and completed 

her PGCE at the University of Chester. 

She enjoys running and competes in half 

marathons regularly; she is also keen on 

netball, hockey and rounders. 

Patrick Graham is our 

2015-16 Graduate Sports 

Coach - Rowing. Patrick 

was M2 Rowing Coach at 

New College Oxford last 

academic year. He has 

rowed for ten years, representing Great 

Britain v France at the age of 16. He has 

a BSc in Sport, Coaching and PE from 

Oxford Brookes University. 

Mai Le is the new 

Harvard Fellow for this 

academic year. Mai has 

a degree in Organismic 

and Evolutionary Biology 

and spent ten months in 

Germany as part of the 

Congress Bundestag Youth Exchange. 

Mai played division 1 Varsity soccer and 

for a semi-professional team whilst in 

Germany. She has also been involved in 

coaching soccer as well as debating, 

a cappella singing and ballroom dancing. 

Harry Mackridge joins 

us as Head of History 

from the Merchant Taylors’ 

School. He has a first class 

MA in History from Corpus 

Christi College, Cambridge. 

At Merchant Taylors’ 

School, Harry was also Oxbridge and 

Enrichment Coordinator as well as i/c 

Debating, in which he led the school to 

the national finals at Cambridge. He has 

also been involved in coaching football 

up to 1st XI level, as well as cricket with 

the juniors. He was also charity fund 

raising co-ordinator. 

Kimberley Onions is one of our 

Graduate Sports Coaches. 

She has a BSc in Sport 

& Exercise Science from 

Heriot-Watt University. She 

coaches netball and has 

been involved in athletics, 

running and gaelic football. 

She has also been involved in charity 

work and has formed a long-term 

relationship with a mental health charity. 

Ben Purser returns 

to Shrewsbury, from 

Claremont Fan Court 

School in Surrey, as fulltime 

teacher of Art. Ben 

taught in our Art faculty 

on a part-time basis from 

2008-13. He has a MA in Fine Art from 

the University of Wales and a PGCE 

from the University of Buckingham. 

He is a keen chess player and enjoys 

mountaineering and football. 

Lauren Walker is one of our Graduate 

Sports Coaches for this academic year, 

with a degree is in Sports & Exercise 

Science from Manchester 

Metropolitan University. 

Lauren has been playing 

football for Aston Villa’s 

Women’s Super League 

team and has been a 

county tennis player and 

a keen participator in athletics and 

cross-country. Lauren has also been 

working as a Sports Scientist at Stoke 

City Football Club. 

Nicholas Welch comes 

to Shrewsbury as full-time 

teacher of Mathematics 

from the Abraham Derby 

Academy. He has a BSc in 

Mathematics and a PGCE 

from Warwick University. 

Nick was head of Key Stage 5 in his 

previous post as well as the annual 

Maths challenge and is keen to be 

involved in Shrewsbury’s UKMT Maths 

challenge. He ran the badminton club 

and is an amateur astronomer. He also 

enjoys playing the trumpet. 

Stephen Wilderspin joins 

us as Head of Football 

and teacher of PE, from 

Thomas Telford School 

where he was Director of 

Football and BTEC Sport 

Programme Leader. He 

has a BEd. (Hons) in Physical Education 

and Geography. He was also teacher 

i/c Extra-Curricular Physical Education 

Programme in his last post, as well as 

i/c Cricket. He is part of the England 

Schools U18 International Football 

Management team and has coached at 

Shrewsbury Town FC. 

David Wray joins us as 

teacher of Chemistry. He 

has a 1st class MChem from 

St John’s College, Oxford, 

where he completed a 

Master’s project in organic 

synthesis. He joins us from 

the University of Manchester following 

completion of a PGCE. David has 

extensive experience of working as a 

private tutor and he has been a Program 

Assistant for Oxbridge Academic 

Programs. During his time at Oxford, 

David rowed, coxed and coached at the 

St John’s College Boat Club. He has also 

been a keen amateur boxer while at 

university. He rose rapidly through the 

ranks of the Air Training Corps, which 

he attended up to the age of 19.

SCHOOL NEWS 

9 

Valete 

Struan Hellier 

The following is the text of the leaving 

tribute given by Second Master 

Mike Tonks: 

‘Struan has fulfilled a multitude of 

roles here at Shrewsbury. He joined 

the ‘Faculty of Fun’ way back in 1999 

as a raw recruit to teach ‘A’ Level. 

Three years later he was appointed 

Head of Faculty where he guided 

a disparate bunch of ‘philosophic 

wannabees’ with a firm but gentle 

touch. During this time he brought his 

own personality and intellectual stamp 

to the department and this included 

a move away from the traditional 

New Testament studies toward a 

combination of Philosophy of Religion 

and Ethics. In 2005 he took the plunge 

into Housemastering at Churchill’s 

Hall. Here again his calm, methodical 

and measured approach was hugely 

appreciated by pupils and parents 

alike. In 2007 he moved across to Port 

Hill where he was Housemaster until 

2011. The challenges of running a day 

house are different to those involved 

in boarding but Struan’s easy manner 

and openness of approach ensured the 

House was hugely successful. 

Struan was then appointed Head 

of Sixth Form, a role that he has 

undertaken for the last four years. 

Working closely with the other Heads 

of Section, this initiative has been 

invaluable in providing an additional 

layer of support for pupils and 

Struan has worked terrifically well to 

encourage all members of the Sixth 

Form to greater independence and to 

manage the transition from school to 

higher education. In addition to all the 

above he has made time to support 

the Outdoor Pursuits programme, 

umpire cricket and keep goal for the 

staff football team. 

You may not know this but Struan 

has had a number of letters published 

in the Times. My personal favourite 

was his response to one individual, 

clearly a young earth creationist, who 

believed the world was only a few 

thousand years old. Struan’s letter 

reads thus; 

‘Sir, 

Like Matthew Hyde I too have yet to 

read a well referenced and reasoned 

refutation of James Usher’s thesis that 

the world is only about 6,000 years 

old. Then again, I have yet to see a 

formal refutation of my son’s thesis 

that Noddy really did go to Toyland. 

Scientists always seem to avoid the 

really important questions.’ 

I stood here two years ago and said 

a few words by way of farewell to 

Chris Conway. At that time I described 

Chris as one of the standing stones 

of Shrewsbury school, one who 

has provided strength and stability 

to the community. In a very similar 

way Struan too has been at the 

very foundations of life here in the 

Shrewsbury School of the 21st century. 

He has fulfilled many different and 

highly significant roles and I suspect 

he possesses an almost unique insight 

into Salopian life. 

Struan is the sort of person whose 

glass is always half full. Whatever 

the situation he sees the positive, the 

possible, the productive and how to 

move forward. Then again years of 

being a Liverpool fan I guess you have 

to find some way of looking on the 

bright side of life. 

Nothing is ever too much trouble 

for Struan. A genuinely rare breed. 

A compassionate gentleman with a 

powerful mind – quite simply, an ideal 

colleague. Ask his students and they 

will speak to his clarity of thought and 

his incisive mental faculties. His patient 

approach that ensured every member 

of the class whatever their ability was 

actively engaged in the process. 

As I think most of you know, Struan 

has taken the decision to step away 

from teaching, for a year at least. He is 

off to pursue a Masters based in both 

Canterbury and Paris – messy job but 

someone’s got to do it! Struan will be 

a huge loss to the school but it is my 

sincere hope that he finds his way 

back to the classroom or perhaps a 

lecture theatre/seminar room at some 

time in the not too distant future.’ 

Laura Whittle 


tribute given by Director of Studies 

Martin Cropper: 

‘Laura arrived at Shrewsbury School 

aged 17 for her History interview with 

Mike Morrogh. However, this wasn’t an 

attempt to be Shrewsbury’s youngest 

ever Head of Faculty, but rather a trial 

Oxbridge interview while she was 

at Shrewsbury Sixth Form College. 

She arrived for real in 2006, and in 

the subsequent nine years, a defining 

feature of Laura’s commitment to the 

school has been the sheer quantity 

of different areas of Shrewsbury 

life that she has been involved in: 

trips to the Battlefields, Italy, Berlin, 

Paris; four visits to the Shewsy, the 

Edinburgh Fringe, and Medic Malawi; 

running Charities, staging the first two 

fashion shows, helping to run Quod, 

involvement with Community Action; 

netball, boys’ rowing, girls’ rowing, 

playing the flute in the orchestra; 

running School Debating for five 

years and editing the Public Nose;

10 SCHOOL NEWS 

Professional Development mentor, 

Assistant Housemaster of School 

House and … Head of History. 

I remember overhearing some of my 

Fifth Form set talking a few years ago 

about teachers. They were comparing 

notes on their most organised teacher, 

and alighted on Miss Whittle. But 

let’s turn the clock back to 25th April 

2007, in the week of Laura’s first 

school inspection. Not surprisingly, 

she had a meticulously prepared 

lesson for Period 1, and was lucky 

enough that the inspector decided 

to attend that very lesson. Less lucky 

was the fact that Laura, of all people, 

had overslept and didn’t turn up to 

the start of the lesson. She eventually 

arrived some time into the lesson to 

find the inspector sat at the back. But 

half the class were missing. A happy 

ending though – the pupils were so 

astonished that she wasn’t there that 

they had gone off in search of her, 

and the inspector ended up forming 

a positive impression of how caring 

Salopians were towards their teachers. 

In 2011 she was appointed Head 

of History in succession to Mike 

Morrogh. Numbers taking History 

have hit record numbers, and she has 

successfully introduced the Pre-U. 

The profile of the faculty has been 

high, with a strong series of trips and 

lectures, and plenty of pupils going on 

to study History at university. As Head 

of Faculty she has combined a passion 

for the subject with a keen eye for 

detail on the administrative parts of the 

job and a very supportive approach to 

those working in her faculty. 

We have enjoyed her own writing over 

the years. When Mary Sidney Hall was 

opened, Martin Humphreys asked her 

to write an article on Mary Sidney, 

which was published in the Salopian. 

And then there is the weekly bulletin 

for lower school tutorials this year. 

I had asked her to instigate this last 

September and had suggested that she 

got her Public Nose team to write it. A 

week into term, she sent me the draft 

of the first week’s article on Scottish 

Independence, which was strikingly 

impressive. The email correspondence 

went as follows, and reflects Laura’s 

positive, can-do approach: 

Laura – “Is this the kind of thing you 

imagined?” 

MC – “It’s terrific. Precisely what I 

wanted. It’s very impressive for a 

pupil. Or did you write it yourself?” 

Laura – “…I wrote it myself. The 

pupils wanted to write about other 

things, so I did it. To be honest I enjoy 

writing and it was fun to do. Glad you 

liked it!” 

In the past couple of years she has 

extended her academic role, joining 

the Academic Committee and taking 

a leading role in the Sixth Form and 

lower school essay competitions that 

have been created in the past three 

years. Outside of school, she has been 

involved with Pre-U examining. 

Even though Laura was pretty much 

straight out of university when she 

applied, perhaps it’s not surprising 

that her CV was already very full. 

Amongst other things, she had been 

involved with running her college 

May Ball. This should have given us a 

clear idea of how well she would be 

suited to working in the Shrewsbury 

Common Room as she elaborated by 

saying, “Worked closely with jugglers, 

magicians and comedians.” 

I suspect we have each of those here! 

July 11th saw Laura’s marriage to 

Nick Wakeling, formerly of the English 

Faculty at Shrewsbury. We were 

disappointed when Nick left us for 

Charterhouse, where he is now Head 

of English, and we are disappointed 

again to see Laura following in his 

footsteps to join the Charterhouse 

History department. 

We wish Laura and Nick every 

happiness in the future – and if it turns 

out that Shrewsbury does a better line 

in jugglers, magicians and comedians 

than Charterhouse, we would be 

delighted to welcome them both back 

here in the future. 

Steve Biggins 

Tom Taylor, Robin Moulsdale, Robin 

Trimby, Mark Dickson, Mark Lascelles 

… all hard acts to follow, but Steve 

Biggins had an outstanding five years 

as Master in Charge of football at 

Shrewsbury School between September 

2009 and June 2015, achieving an 

incredible amount in his time, leaving 

football at Shrewsbury in very rude 

health indeed. Steve arrived with a 

flourish and won the Boodles and 

Dunthorne ISFA Cup in his first year in 

charge of the team. This was a squad 

that played attractive attacking football 

and had a wonderful cup run including 

a memorable semi-final victory away at 

Millfield on penalties. The final was a 

fine occasion; a magnificent 3-0 victory 

over Repton at Milton Keynes Dons in 

front of the whole School. Those that 

witnessed this knew that it was the 

start of an exciting era for Shrewsbury 

School football. Steve took great pride 

in improving the technical abilities of 

each player and instilling in them the 

fundamentals of the game. His sides 

were always composed on the ball and 

understood their game plans. Steve was 

a fine school master too and his teams 

always played in the right spirit. He was 

a calm but authoritative presence on 

the touchline (under the watchful eye 

of his ever present wife, Wendy) and 

he had a knack of winning tight games 

with the nous gained from a hugely 

successful professional playing career 

with Shrewsbury Town, Derby County, 

Oxford United and a spell in Sweden. 

Statistical analysis is now king in the 

modern professional sports era and 

Steve’s “opta index” stats would rate 

very highly in terms of his “win ratio”. 

Coaching in schools is about more than 

this though, and Steve had the gift of 

creating teams that were greater than 

the sum of their parts and bringing 

enjoyment and a sense of purpose to 

every training session. 

Steve could only be described as the 

consummate professional in terms of 

his attention to detail in preparation 

of his teams, but also in his care and 

concern shown to colleagues and the 

way that they prepared their teams and 

got their boys to play football. He was 

always on hand in the common room 

to discuss the merits of 4 4 2 versus, 4 

5 1 or 4 3 3 and ever ready to supply 

coaching drills to enhance various 

aspects of performance. An innovator 

too, he introduced heart rate monitors 

in training, video analysis of matches, 

swimming pool cool downs after 

games, the use of a sprint coach in preseason 

training, improving nutritional 

advice for players and helping boys 

to pursue their dreams of football 

scholarships to the USA. Pre-season 

camps were successfully introduced 

to rotate yearly with overseas tours 

that included Valencia, Villa Real, 

Barcelona, Sweden and Qatar. Teams 

also got a chance to play on the indoor 

pitch at St George’s Park, a real thrill.

SCHOOL NEWS 

11 

Steve was an excellent administrator, 

very able at organising the day to 

day detail that goes into running 

a successful football programme 

including the allocation of pitches 

for House matches, liaison with 

groundsmen, the ordering of new kit, 

the sorting out of the very intricate 

fixture list, liaising with KH over food, 

the organisation and payment of 

referees, plus dealing with parents and 

their concerns over their sons’ progress 

in the football teams. 

At all times Steve remained enthusiastic, 

upbeat and positive in his dealings with 

his colleagues, staff and boys and had 

an infectious enthusiasm, evident even 

on a cold muddy day in November. 

Steve has retired from teaching and 

running football, but is still very much 

part of the football fabric at Shrewsbury 

as coach of the U14A team. It has 

been a huge help to our new Master 

in Charge of football, Steve Wilderspin 

to have Steve on hand to help pass 

over the admin, but also to know that 

the key age group of the U14As is in 

incredibly safe hands as Steve is acutely 

aware of what “the end product should 

look like” in the 1st XI and therefore 

has been a huge boost to our coaching 

structure. 

There are exciting times ahead for 

Shrewsbury School football, but the 

foundation and the groundwork laid 

by Steve Biggins is there for all to 

see and he can leave the post with 

his head held high, knowing that he 

made a huge difference to football at 

Shrewsbury School. 

Will Hughes 

Mike Wade 


tribute given by Head of Mathematics 

Jerome Armstrong: 

‘Mike arrived at Shrewsbury in 

September 2009. He has been a huge 

asset to the Maths Faculty with all 

year-groups and abilities, not only 

keeping the very brightest further 

mathematicians on their toes - that’s 

no mean feat - but also motivating 

his fair share of bottom sets to thrive 

at GCSE. He is a perfectionist in his 

work, deeply committed to both 

his subject and his pupils, and very 

highly regarded by both. I also am 

very grateful to him for running the 

Powell Prize in Mathematics with such 

enthusiasm for the last four years. 

He was a most caring tutor in 

Oldham’s Hall, offering countless 

trips and meals along with regular 

academic guidance. He has given 

his time to many Talargerwyn trips 

and acted frequently as either the 

Oldham’s or school photographer 

at a number of events. Many of 

you will have seen Mike’s stunning 

panoramic montage of the quarry 

taken from the top of the main 

school building during the deep 

freeze of December 2010. 

During his first year as a live-in tutor, 

he put his ninja skills to good use 

one night which has gone down in 

legend. A certain little miscreant was 

after his Assassins target at 2 am. 

Water-pistol in hand, he searched 

for an open window in Oldham’s 

to climb through. He chose poorly. 

Within seconds, the intruder had 

been disarmed, defenestrated, 

depostored and stuck into a triple 

headmaster’s detention. 

Mike has been running the Silver 

Duke of Edinburgh Award since 

his arrival, running three or four 

expeditions a year. In addition, he 

has helped on Outdoor week and 

the Bronze weekends. Nick David 

and Jo Billington have greatly 

valued his services; he has been 

deeply committed to the award, and 

his support has been beyond the 

call of duty. 

On the diving front, he has been a 

very active instructor with Rhodri 

Burke and the sub-aqua club, 

undertaking many dives at Stoney 

Cove. He’s probably the most 

widely-travelled of any of the team, 

and has been diving all over the 

world, including the Great Barrier 

Reef, the Far East and the Red Sea. 

His contribution here will also 

be greatly missed, as will that to 

hockey, a sport he has coached 

regularly these last six years under 

the pseudonym 

“Darth Wader”. 

Mike is moving to Surrey to care 

for his father. We will miss him 

enormously, and wish him all the 

very best for the future. 

Angeles Martinez 

Angeles (Angie) was a first-rate 

Hispanic Fellow who made an 

enormous contribution to the Spanish 

Faculty and more widely in the School, 

not least as a dedicated tutor in MSH. 

In her primary role of preparing the 

Sixth Form students for their oral 

exams she remained cool, calm, 

collected, and above all cheerful even 

when flogging the same old questions 

and topic areas, and occasionally an 

ill-prepared if not quite dead horse. 

Angie was a great help in other areas 

of Faculty life and it was great fun 

working with her, not least when 

videoing bespoke listening materials 

and watching her try to avoid the 

giggles. Angie will be sorely missed 

when she returns to Argentina and 

we wish her all the very best for the 

future. I don’t think she’ll miss our 

climate - in my mind’s eye I shall see 

her shivering and asking me if the 

temperature will ever rise - though I’m 

sure she’ll be back for a real ale or pint 

of Guinness at some point or other. 

Stuart Cowper


Spanish Study Visit to Argentina 

During recent years, we have built up a strong exchange partnership with San Bartolomé School in 

Rosario, Argentina. During half term, 15 pupils spent a week there enjoying warm hospitality from 

their host families and exchange partners, and a hectic schedule of linguistic, 

cultural and social activities. 

by two days in Buenos Aires. In this 

fascinating capital the group enjoyed a 

historical tour of the city, a tango show, 

a visit to Eva Peron’s resting place and 

the national museum of fine art. 

The partnership with San Bartolomé 

has evolved into much more than 

an opportunity to perfect Spanish 

language skills. Lasting friendships 

have been formed and another 

generation of Spanish pupils has been 

inspired to consider Gap year work 

at San Bartolomé School and Latin 

American travel. 

Particular thanks to Grove Matron 

Maureen Donahue for accompanying 

and a huge well done to all pupils who 

participated wholeheartedly. 

Mike Wright 

As well as bilingual lessons and 

sports activities at the school, 

special highlights included an 

Argentinian football match at Rosario 

Central’s stadium, ‘cowboy’ horse riding 

at a country estancia, tango dancing 

lessons and an Argentinian empanada 

cooking class. 

A day spent at the Desafio Foundation 

project, which helps children from 

shanty towns integrate better into 

society, was a valued addition to the 

party’s schedule during this fourth 

Argentina trip over the last six years. 

The week in Rosario was followed

SCHOOL NEWS 

13 

Classics Trip to Greece 

Despite the rigours of the Tucks and House Singing on the last day of the first half of term, 12 Classicists 

and two members of staff managed nevertheless to reach Athens by mid-morning the next day. There 

they enjoyed lunch by the Acropolis and a visit the Acropolis Museum in the afternoon. 

From Delphi we travelled on to the 

Peloponnese and the advantage 

of visiting Olympia on a rather 

damp morning was that we had the 

running track to ourselves. It was also 

fascinating to find out about the use of 

the site over time and see where the 

Olympic Flame is lit in modern times. 

The Parthenon in all its glory 

The group then travelled to Delphi and the mysterious power of the place was 

felt by all. Its position nestled on the side of Mount Parnassus emphasised the 

effort undertaken by all, ancient and modern, who travelled to consult the Oracle, 

participate in the Games or merely visit the sites. 

The Temple of Apollo, Delphi 

Exhausted, we returned 

home the following day 

having increased our 

knowledge of Greece, 

with our appetites 

whetted for more! 

Sarah Latcham 

Angus Kincaid trying out the acoustics at Epidauros 

Warming up at Olympia 

As we travelled deeper in the 

Peloponnese, we travelled further back 

in time from the Classical to the Homeric 

period. This included visiting Mycenae, 

the home of Agamemnon, and Tiryns, 

where Diomedes lived. For a ‘modern’ 

slice of history we explored the Palamidi 

Fort (a Venetian fort built between 

1711 and 1714). The final classical site 

we visited was Epidauros where we 

were treated to Angus Kincaid (Ch LVI) 

reciting ‘The Jabberwocky’ to test the 

acoustics of the theatre. 

The group at Delphi - Back Row: Mr Matthew Clark, Lucas Paul (Rb V), Victor Scheibler (I V), Guy Cabral 

(Ch UVI), Sam Russell (Ch LVI), Lexi Bothamley Dakin (G IV), Livi Bothamley Dakin (G IV), Eric Myint- 

Maung (Ch IV) - Front Row: Will Sturrock (M LVI), Fintan Simmons (Ch LVI), Jetty Russell (G IV), Rosie 

Smith-Langridge (EDH LVI), Angus Kincaid (Ch LVI)


DNA Junior School Play 

Dennis Kelly’s DNA is a hugely challenging play, both for the actors and for the audience. 

It tells the story of a group of teenagers whose lives are turned upside down the day that they accidently 

commit a murder. Part thriller, part comedy, part meditation on modern adolescence, it follows the 

group as they attempt to cover up what they have done, and ultimately, 

are led deeper and deeper into their deception. 

The action takes place in a disused 

quarry, which has been colonised 

by students from the nearby school. 

Niki Holmes’ extraordinary set, built 

by Kieren Harding and painted 

by sixth form art students Erin 

Leatherbarrow, Sarah Jackman and 

Meg Elliott, reflected the incipient 

violence of the play. Festooned 

in broken dolls and daubed with 

gothic graffiti, it provided the perfect 

backdrop for the unfolding story. 

The play was written in 2007 – since 

then, Facebook, Instagram and 

Snapchat have become ubiquitous in 

teenage lives. Director Helen Brown 

chose to reflect this in the screenshots 

that were projected across the stage, 

showing how the real world functions 

in parallel to the cyber world, and 

sometimes, what is recorded becomes 

more real than what actually happened. 

The appeal of the play rests on the 

realism of its characters: to anyone who 

spends time with teenagers, each of 

the characters is instantly recognisable, 

from the glamorous ‘Mean Girls’ to the 

geeky misfits. The core of the play is 

the relationship between Leah (Tilly 

Reynolds) and Phil (Angus Warburg). 

Tilly captured Leah’s nervous insecurity 

perfectly, giving her speeches both 

humour and pathos. 

Kelly borrows the convention of 

a chorus from Greek tragedy, and 

provides a laconic commentary on the 

action from the perspective of Mark 

and Jack (Freddy Williams and Harry 

Wasdell), They provide the voice of 

the insiders, in contrast to the outsiders 

they victimise and eventually destroy. 

Otto Rothwell Hurley played Brian with 

endearing innocence and vulnerability, 

while Aaron Clark’s brutalised Adam 

was genuinely unnerving. 

This was a convincing performance 

from a very talented young cast; the 

senior actors should look to their 

laurels as this group progress through 

the school. 

Richard Hudson

SCHOOL NEWS 

15 

POSH 

‘Posh’ by the British playwright Laura 

Wade, is a controversial play to stage 

in a public school: after all, the object 

of its satire is us. Julian Chesshire’s 

production was brilliantly provocative, 

forcing its audience to question all of 

it presumptions and prejudices. The 

play is a thinly veiled fictionalisation 

of Oxford’s Bullingdon Club, a student 

drinking society that counts some of 

the most powerful men in the country 

among its members. Re-imagined as the 

Riot Club in the play, the club hosts a 

group of wealthy, entitled boys on the 

verge of becoming Men Who Matter. 

Over the course of an evening, the 

boys get drunk, expound their political 

views and eventually act on those 

views – resulting in the murder of their 

landlord and the rape of his daughter. 

The characters are gradually exposed 

as weak, shallow and utterly selfish; 

if the play is holding a mirror up to 

its audience, it is not a mirror that we 

want to look into. 

The production demonstrated some 

incredible ensemble work from the 

members of the club; all ten actors fully 

inhabited their characters throughout, 

and gave the piece real dynamism 

and energy. It is difficult, in such a 

production, to single out particular 

actors for praise, but mention must be 

made of Harry Lane Fox’s perfect comic 

timing as Toby, and Julian Chesshire’s 

chilling violence as Alistair. The 

characters outside the club were played 

with sympathy and understanding 

by Dan Iles, Emily Skelton and Tash 

Tudor. It is through their eyes that 

the audience see the club, and the 

growing contrast between the boys and 

their ‘honest, decent, hard-working’ 

counterparts. 

The dinner is framed by the presence 

of Jeremy, an ex-member of the club, 

now in the House of Lords, who keeps 

an avuncular eye on the club’s doings. 

Played by James Fraser Andrews of 

the English Faculty, he reminds the 

audience that the club cannot be 

explained away as a group of silly little 

boys making mistakes: membership of 

the club confers entry into the highest 

echelons of the Establishment. 

This was one of the finest pieces of 

student theatre I have seen, made 

all the more impressive by the fact 

that it was directed and produced 

by the students themselves. It did 

everything that good theatre is 

supposed to do: it engaged us, 

entertained us, and made us question 

who we are and what we do. 

Helen Brown 

Rehearsing Great Expectations 

The musical - a challenging 

commitment? Yes. An adaptation 

of a well known and well loved 

depressing novel? You bet. A 

production involving the best of 

Shrewsbury’s artistic and musical 

talent? Sure. What am I doing here? 

I’m in the mist of contemplating 

such questions when the shout of 

‘No jazz hands!’ floats over the music 

and curtails someone’s overzealous 

attempt at Las Vegas showmanship. 

We have been rehearsing hard 

for weeks and have just reached 

the first tap number. If you are 

reading this and can tap dance 

then congratulations; for you have 

reached a level of coordination that 

some of us can only aspire to. Yet, 

in the face of adversity, the cast 

are enthusiastic and determined; 

slowly getting the hang of it while 

Mr Moore, unperturbed by the 

apparent chaos on stage, jazzes his 

way through the ragtime rhythm. 

After practising for a while our 

perseverance pays off and to our 

own surprise we realise that we 

look like people who actually know 

how to tap dance and I suppose 

now we do. 

One of the greatest things about 

the musical is that it involves almost 

every artistic discipline; from the 

creation of the set to the singing 

of a ballad. It is something which 

not only many different people get 

involved in but also furnishes them 

with a toolkit of new skills. Once 

again, my contemplation of the 

benefits of the musical increasing 

our knowledge of useful things such 

as tap dancing and consequential 

wondering about when and where 

I could ever use this skill again, is 

interrupted by the proclamation: 

“We are going to learn a new 

number!” Learning a new song or 

“number” is always a fun experience 

as people have to make a choice. 

Whether to read the music or the


words. There are some talented 

people among us that can do both 

and hats off to them but for most of 

us the decision runs along the lines of 

‘I could mumble the tune’ or ‘I could 

sing a tune to the words’. This leads 

to some interesting results. Luckily this 

situation doesn’t last for long as the 

tunes are memorable and soon we 

are belting out the new song. 

Dr Brown, Mr Moore and Miss 

Archer have more than matched 

the cast’s enthusiasm and this has 

helped navigate us through the busy 

preparations. It is not easy coordinating 

a cast of 30 people through a complex 

theatrical production but we can have 

no complaints in the way that they 

have done it. Dr Brown sets the scenes 

and helps us deepen our character’s 

individual personalities. Mr Moore 

spends his waking hours working on 

one song or another and giving time 

with those who need to grapple a new 

‘number’. Miss Archer walks through 

her coordinated choreography while 

people look on with expressions of 

bemused anticipation. 

I snapped out of my daydream thinking 

about the merits of having experienced 

members of staff leading rehearsals in 

general when it occurred to me that I 

really should be concentrating on this 

one. Mr Moore, addressing the cast, is 

describing how we are attempting to 

achieve the most complicated musical 

that Shrewsbury has ever put on in the 

shortest amount of time that we have 

ever had. It is odd that even as he says 

this that he sounds upbeat. Yet, as I 

look around I realise that the cast, far 

from looking despondent, are just as 

upbeat as Mr Moore. I think to myself 

‘what a bunch of loonies’, but I am 

one of them and what can I say? Tap 

dancing is fun. 

Fintan Simmons (Ch LVI) 

Evensong at The Queen’s College, Oxford 

On Wednesday 30th September, the Chapel Choir travelled to Oxford to sing 

Evensong in the beautiful chapel of The Queen’s College 

The 70-strong choir was in very 

fine voice and the unaccompanied 

Bogoroditsye Dyevo by Rachmaninov 

provided a wonderfully atmospheric 

start to the service. The Magnificat 

and Nunc Dimittis by the 17th century 

English composer Adrian Batten 

showcased several of the School’s finest 

singers who took the solo parts, and 

when the congregation joined the choir 

in the final hymn, the body of sound 

was stunning. 

The service was attended by over 

120 of the wider Shrewsbury School 

community who filled the chapel, 

and a dozen of the Old Salopians 

who are currently studying at 

Oxford University enjoyed meeting 

their former teachers who had 

accompanied the choir to Oxford. 

After the service, the choir enjoyed 

a well-deserved meal in the college 

dining hall, while the Headmaster and 

senior staff hosted a reception in the 

college. The fine early autumn evening 

meant that guests could enjoy their 

refreshments in The Queen’s College 

Fellows’ Garden. 

It is hoped that the wider Shrewsbury 

community, to include Old Salopians, 

parents and friends of the School, will 

wish to support other forthcoming 

musical events, and the presence of a 

large audience or congregation really 

heightens the experience for the 

pupils taking part. 

The Choir will sing Evensong in 

Manchester Cathedral at 5.30pm on 

Friday 29th January with a reception 

afterwards; there will be a Chamber 

concert in the Holywell Music Room 

in Oxford at 7.30pm on Friday 12th 

February, with a reception beforehand; 

and on Sunday 28th February at 7.30pm, 

the School Symphony Orchestra and 

Choral Society will perform Verdi’s 

Requiem at Birmingham Town Hall. 

For full details please see the School 

website www.shrewsbury.org.uk/ 

shrewsbury-music. 

Martin Cropper 

The Queen’s College, Oxford

SCHOOL NEWS 

17 

Leavers’ Concert 2015 

for encouraging real singing. Harry is going on to take a 

leading role on the London stage, well deserved. In addition 

to the solo numbers, three of the performers came together 

for an extra item, in which Ed Carroll’s baritone was heard to 

particular advantage. 

Dan Lo gave us a rare opportunity to hear the Maidment 

Building organ, before the leader of the school orchestra, 

Calvin Chan, stepped up for a solo item, a Chaconne by 

Tomaso Vitali. It was obviously composed as an opportunity 

for display and Calvin threw himself into it with all the 

confidence which he has developed over the year. One could 

even sense that he blossomed within the performance, as 

he became more animated with every trill brought off. The 

audience responded rapturously to Calvin’s bravura finale. He 

was to be heard again in the mellow composition for string 

ensemble with which the concert ended. 

Calvin Chan (I) 

Nothing quite marks the passage of time like the 

annual Leavers’ Concert, for the echoes of the New 

Boys’ evening (as it then was) have no sooner died 

away than we find the same performers on stage to bid 

goodbye. In the case of Sixth Form entrants, they seem 

to have been here but a matter of weeks. In that short 

time, however, they not only learn a great deal, but they 

perform – frequently and rewardingly, none more so than 

the ubiquitous Henrike Legner, whose singing and playing 

have been such a feature of recent concerts. She led the 

way on Monday last with a reprise of her soprano solo 

in Bach’s “Jauchzet Gott”, first performed with the String 

Ensemble at the Wigmore Hall in March. As before, in this 

and two further Baroque items, there was some confident, 

stylish singing and playing. 

Charlie Davis and Finn MacCormack were joined by JFM 

for a pleasing example of chamber music, the sonata for 

clarinet, cello, and piano by Brahms, which was followed 

by a saxophone solo (about time we had one) from James 

Plaut, who has not let his year as Head of School stop him 

developing his musical talent. 

There was more saxophony in the second half, when a 

quartet (of whom only Alex Bird is leaving) played an 

arrangement of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue. The different 

moods of the piece were captured in a beautifully blended 

performance. The supply of wind groups of varying size, but 

uniform excellence, seems to be inexhaustible. We also heard 

Dominic Dootson at the piano in Beethoven’s “Moonlight” 

sonata, played with a delicate touch and a fine sense of the 

arching structure of the movement. 

The rise of singing has often been noted in recent times and 

there were offerings from Harry Al-Adwani, Teddy Briggs, 

Ed Carroll, and Jess Walker, all of whom reached out to 

the audience and created a sense of theatre – and not a 

microphone to be seen! Full marks to the Music Department 

It was farewell, too, to one who may reasonably be described 

as the finest musician ever to have attended Shrewsbury. 

Much praise has been heaped on Galin Ganchev over the 

past five years, all of it merited. Great has been the sense 

of wonder in audiences large and small at his scintillating 

technique; his profound musicianship has brought tears 

to many an eye. He signed off with a Humoresque by a 

fellow Bulgarian, Pancho Vladigerov, which only the most 

accomplished could attempt. Much use was made of the top 

end of the keyboard, with intermittent cascading to the other 

extreme. It sounded at times as if the composer had wilfully 

created an obstacle course to trap the soloist. 

Galin emerged unscathed, effortlessly, it seemed, though 

it cannot have been. After the concert and the general 

congratulations which followed, Galin was presented with a 

large portrait of himself by Jane Robbins, an unprecedented 

gesture by the Music Department, honouring a special 

talent. In time to come, people may read this and wonder 

what the fuss was about. To them I repeat what I wrote in 

2011: “You will think that I exaggerate. You should have 

been there”. Those fortunate enough to have been there in 

the intervening years will know what I mean. 


Galin Ganchev


House Singing 

This year’s House Singing 

Competition took place 

in front of the customary 

packed House on Friday, 

16th October. Hopes and 

expectations were as high 

as ever, and the main prizes 

were awarded as follows: 

Overall: 

Emma Darwin Hall 

Unison Song: 

Emma Darwin Hall 

Part Song: 

School House 

Entertainment: 

Mary Sidney Hall 

Most Improved House: 

Ridgemount 

Most Outstanding Soloist: 

James Fearn (Ingram’s Hall) 

Best Arrangement: 

Alex Bennett and Angus Hay 

(Radbrook) 

Shrewsbury and the Shewsy in Malawi, July 2016 

Since 2010, Shrewsbury School 

has been supporting the work of 

Medic Malawi, a charity based in 

Shrewsbury which supports a hospital 

in Mtunthama, serving 100,000 

people in rural Malawi, a clinic and 

nutrition centre, two schools and an 

orphanage. 

In July 2012 and again in 2014, a 

group from Shrewsbury travelled to 

Mtunthama to spend time working 

alongside staff in the projects, helping 

with the daily routine tasks and 

making friends with many of the 

children who live there. 

When they visited in 2012, the 

Shrewsbury students asked what 

was needed next, and when told ‘an 

eye clinic’, they stood in the space 

where the walls would be. Two years 

later, the money for that clinic had 

been raised at the School, through 

an African Ball, non-uniform days, 

cookie sales and sponsored events. 

When the next group arrived in 

2014, they were proud to see that the 

Shrewsbury School Eye Clinic had 

been built. Trachoma and cataracts 

are now treated here, two of the 

preventable eye problems which are 

all too prevalent in Malawi. Patients 

arrive at the clinic unable to see and 

leave with their sight restored. 

The next trip to Malawi takes place 

in July 2016 and will be a joint 

venture between the School and 

Shrewsbury House in Liverpool. 

Sixteen Salopians will be joined by 

five young people and two members 

of staff from the Shewsy. 

The Shewsy have been busy 

fundraising for the trip, doing regular 

bag-packing at local supermarkets 

and running a tuck shop in the 

Youth Centre. There are also plans to 

sell sweets around the doors in the 

local community and to organise a 

‘sleep in a box challenge’ during the 

winter, when the girls will sleep out 

overnight with cardboard boxes and 

sleeping bags, gaining an insight into 

what it would be like to be homeless, 

raising awareness of homelessness 

and raising funds for the Malawi trip 

at the same time.

SCHOOL NEWS 

19 

Biology Department 

Expedition to Guyana 

Guyana is the eighth leastpopulated 

country in the world 

with a population of just 735,554, 90 

per cent of whom live on the coast. 

85 per cent of Guyana is covered by 

natural rainforest which is contiguous 

with the forests of Suriname, French 

Guyana and parts of Columbia, 

Venezuela and Brazil. This vast area, 

the Guiana Shield, is the world’s largest 

tract of undisturbed tropical rainforest, 

boasting very high biodiversity and 

holding 10-15% of the world’s fresh 

water. Large numbers of species are 

endemic (live nowhere else) and the 

area contains 278 species of mammal 

(148 of which are bats), 1004 species 

of bird, 269 species of amphibian, 

2,200 species of fish and 15 – 20,000 

species of vascular plants. Darwin 

said in his Voyage of the Beagle that 

“nothing can be more improving to 

a young naturalist than a journey in 

distant countries” and while Darwin 

never made it to Guyana, it is clear 

that few countries can offer more 

exciting opportunities to a biologist or 

adventures to a young traveller. 

to understand changes in abundance 

and diversity of wildlife, as well as the 

effects of “reduced impact logging”. 

The expedition started with a great 

adventure – a day trip to Kaieteur 

Falls – one of the world’s greatest, 

most unspoilt and least known 

waterfalls. The falls are about 60km 

from the Brazilian border and not far 

from Mount Roraima, the inspiration 

behind Conan Doyle’s Lost World. At 

251m they are four times higher than 

Niagara Falls, twice as high as Victoria 

Falls and about 100m wide. A group 

of Salopians visited the falls exactly 20 

years ago, where they celebrated the 

American Pygmy Flycatcher 

60th birthday of the legendary Salopian 

Schoolmaster Michael Hall. The falls do 

not form part of the Operation Wallacea 

itinerary but having been inspired as a 

member of that group of Salopians in 

1995, I was keen to return and ensure 

that a new generation of Salopians 

had the same experience. The journey 

involved chartering three light aircraft 

and flying from Georgetown for about 

an hour across an endless expanse of 

rainforest. The excitement was tangible 

as we circled the falls and watched the 

water tumbling as if in slow motion 

into a huge cloud of spray through 

which rainbows arced. Once on terra 

firma, we toured the falls taking in 

It was with this in mind that 22 

Salopians and four staff members 

travelled to Guyana in July to 

contribute to conservation work in 

the protected Iwokrama Forest and 

in the area around Surama village. 

The objective was to work alongside 

scientists to gather data contributing to 

an annual monitoring programme used 

Richard Case (PH 1991-96) at the Kaieteur Falls during the School’s 1995 expedition to Guyana. He is 

now a Biology teacher at Shrewsbury, Housemaster of Radbrook, leader of the School’s 2015 Guyana 

Expedition and author of this article. The 2016 expedition group are pictured at Kaieteur Falls on the 

front cover of this magazine.


different views as well as the unique 

flora and fauna which included giant 

bromeliads containing endemic golden 

frogs and carnivorous plants. There 

were no safety barriers, no shops and 

we were the only people there. It 

was such a privilege to see the falls as 

Charles Barrington Brown might have 

seen them when he discovered them 

in 1870 – that’s something none of the 

other great waterfalls can offer and an 

experience none of us will forget. 

After returning to Georgetown, a tenhour 

drive south took the group to 

Iwokrama Research Centre where three 

days were spent training to gather the 

skills to gather data accurately, sleep 

safely in the forest in hammocks and 

use machetes (or cutlasses as they 

are known). The health and safety 

presentation we had on arrival was 

pretty sobering given the long list 

of incredibly scary things that could 

happen to us but ended with cheerful 

reassurance from Scot Sveiven, a 

specialist on forestry and our superb 

expedition leader. An excellent series 

of lectures by the resident scientists 

enabled us fully to appreciate the 

importance of the work we were 

doing. The Centre was situated in a 

clearing surrounded by rainforest on a 

broad sweep of the mighty Essequibo 

River which was 200m wide even 

though we were 200km from the sea. 

From the moment of our arrival, we 

were surrounded by wildlife with 

woodpeckers, macaws, parrots, hawks, 

giant cane toads, howler monkeys 

and agouti at the forest margins as 

well as caiman in the river. Walking 

at night revealed a different set of 

organisms including a beautiful but 

very dangerous fer de lance snake well 

camouflaged on a tree trunk. 

A further three-hour drive south in 

two Bedford four-tonne trucks took 

the team to Surama, an Amerindian 

village belonging to the Makushi 

Tribe which has set up an awardwinning 

ecotourism project to bring 

income to their remote community. 

We spent the following three days 

carrying out surveys for mammals, 

bats and herpetofauna. The mammal 

day involved walking along a transect 

(a straight line through a habitat) 

recording evidence of mammals 

including their tracks with jaguar 

expert, Matt Hallett. Matt is studying 

for his PhD at the University of Florida 

and has built up an extensive network 

of camera traps to study the behaviour 

and distribution of jaguar. He had 

unbelievably sharp eyes and his 

tracking skills were truly impressive. 

Each group spent the afternoon setting 

up camera traps with him, which 

revealed the many details which need 

to be considered when locating a 

trap. The work of the bat groups was 

nocturnal so their morning was spent 

hiking up Surama Mountain – a steep 

climb in stifling conditions but well 

worth it for an amazing view over the 

forest and rare sightings of macaws at 

eye height. In the evenings mist nets 

were opened and checked every hour 

Finn McCormack handling a cat-eyed snake 

into the small hours and bats caught 

were bagged and taken back to camp 

for identification, weighing, and wingclipping 

with bat expert Stef Bonat. 

The area has one of the highest levels 

of bat biodiversity in the world and 

one group was lucky to catch a rare 

Hugo Moran counting dung beetles 

vampire bat, although it escaped from 

the mist net before it could be bagged. 

The herpetology groups walked along 

transects by day and night attempting 

to catch any snakes, lizards and frogs 

spotted. Peruvian herpetologist, Alfredo 

Martin Beraún Rivera did most of the 

catching but he let us handle the nonvenomous 

species such as the Amazon 

tree boa, blunthead tree snake and 

cat-eyed snake. During downtime in 

the heat of the day, cool drinks and 

comfortable hammocks in the bar of 

Surama Ecolodge provided a chance to 

rest and rehydrate. 

The team then walked deeper into the 

jungle, spending a further three days 

at Carahaa Landing – a jungle camp on 

the banks of the Burro Burro River. As 

river levels had risen due to the daily 

torrential showers, we had to take to 

boats to make our way through the 

flooded forest. The camp had an opensided 

wooden structure in which many

SCHOOL NEWS 

21 

hung their hammocks. A few opted to 

build bashas in the forest as we had 

be taught, with a tarpaulin roof. At 

Carahaa Landing each group surveyed 

birds, forestry and dung beetles. The 

bird groups were up at 5:15am to open 

mist nets and checked them every hour 

until 4pm. The birding was brilliantly 

led by Guyanese ornithologist Meshach 

Pierre who proved to be an excellent 

and engaging teacher. Each bird caught 

(except hummingbirds which are 

too fragile) was bagged and returned 

to camp for ringing. One of the 

highlights was catching the magnificent 

Amazonian royal flycatcher which, 

when captured, initiates a mesmerising 

display, erecting its colourful crest and 

slowly tilting its head from side to side. 

Scott Sveiven led the forestry surveys 

and took each group to find the 

incredible yellow-banded poison dart 

frog with its striking black and yellow 

aposematic colouration to warn off 

predators. Entomologist and genetics 

expert Dan Fitzpatrick led the day’s 

“poo crew” to catch and identify dung 

beetles. The beetles were caught in in 

pitfall traps baited with human faeces. 

The final three days were spent 

carrying out a survey of aquatic fauna 

on the Burro Burro River, sleeping in 

primitive jungle camps. Drifting down 

river was uncomfortable but a fantastic 

experience. The boatmanship displayed 

by our guides to negotiate fallen trees 

and navigate through the flooded forest 

was impressive, as was their ability 

to spot wildlife. At times we had to 

crouch down to pass under huge logs 

blocking our route and machetes and, 

at one point, a chainsaw had to be 

deployed to overcome the obstacles. 

Tom Sykes with a Manakin 

Four species of Kingfisher darted ahead 

of us, macaws flew above us in pairs 

squawking noisily, capuchin monkeys 

jumped up and down on their branches 

glowering with rage at our intrusion 

and at one point, giant river otters 

glided across the river. Our stay at 

Sandstone Camp proved eventful 

when a fer de lance was spotted by 

a guide in the camp, just metres from 

where we had dined. Too dangerous to 

relocate, they sadly had to kill it using 

a long stick cut at one end into a sharp 

Amazonian Royal Flycatcher


Jess Moeran admiring a giant millipede 

wedge. The chief guide, famed for his 

unerring aim, aimed to hit just behind 

its head but missed, and the snake 

struck three times in rapid succession 

covering a surprising amount of ground 

as it did so. Fortunately all were at a 

safe distance and the guide didn’t miss 

his second attempt. Minutes later a 

second snake was found at the edge 

of the camp which was also killed. 

Everyone kept their eyes peeled after 

that, particularly when walking the 

20m trail to the long drop in the dark. 

During the night, our guides set up nets 

and caught some huge piranha and 

payara which also known as a vampire 

characin due to its fearsome fangs that 

particularly when salted and cooked on 

the fire. After a final night at Surama, 

we returned to Georgetown for our 

flight home. 

Such trips can never be 100% risk free, 

despite exhaustive and meticulous risk 

assessment and careful management 

to control risk. One boy managed to 

fall into a septic tank when it collapsed 

under his weight. Fortunately, he 

managed to avoid complete immersion 

or injury (apart from some grazes) and 

recovered swiftly after a very thorough 

shower and disinfection of his grazes 

by the expedition doctor. A few of the 

party also became ill to varying degrees 

Yellow-branded Poison Dart Frog 

on their return with histoplasmosis, 

despite not being exposed to any 

obvious source of infection (it is usually 

encountered after visiting bat caves). 

Fortunately, all have now recovered. 

We encountered numerous hardships 

ranging from heat rashes caused by 

the intense heat and heavy humidity 

to insect bites, deep mud, dodgy 

tummies and grim long drop toilets. 

With the exception of histoplamosis, 

I think all would agree that without 

the challenges, the expedition would 

not have been nearly so rewarding 

and all those on the team endured the 

hardships with dignity and patience. 

They really proved themselves to be 

worthy ambassadors and it was clear 

that they relished the opportunities they 

had to learn to gain new biological 

knowledge, memories for life, insights 

into a little known country and a new 

appreciation of the world and their 

place in it. Where next? Galapagos and 

Ecuador 2017! 

Brazilian Wandering Spider 

can grow as long as six inches. Both 

made excellent eating. Our second 

camp was less eventful and we were 

able to bathe in the river and relax 

once our surveys had been completed. 

A number of the boys were shown 

huge beetle grubs living inside palm 

nuts by the guides who insisted that 

they were good to eat. The grubs were 

used to good effect by WMS as bait 

but they did taste surprisingly good, 

Joe Davies with a huge Black Piranha

SCHOOL NEWS 

23 

Royal Marines win the Pringle Trophy 

For the third time in 15 years the Shrewsbury School Royal Marines section has won the highly 

prestigious Sir Steuart Pringle Trophy. Last year they came second by just a few points. 

The two-day competition is held each 

year at the Royal Marines Commando 

Training Centre in Lympstone, Devon, 

and aims to bring together all the 

Royal Marine Detachments in the 

country from 18 schools, including 

Charterhouse, Harrow, Rugby, 

Winchester College, Pangbourne and 

Canford. The teams are treated as if 

they are in their 28th week of recruit 

training and are assessed across 12 

stances, including battle exercises, 

section attacks, battle first aid, 

endurance and drill. 

The Shrewsbury team had worked very 

hard in preparation for this competition 

and had put in many hours of early 

morning and late night work. Their 

Commanding Officers Lt Tom Corbett 

and Captain Jonny Longfellow were 

delighted at the news of the win. It 

is worth pointing out that much of 

the training is delivered by the senior 

cadets themselves, with CCF officers in 

an oversight role. 

Sgt Ben Remnant, Senior Cadet in 

charge of the Pringle Trophy team, 

describes the competition: 

Having risen at 0500hrs on the first day, 

we ate swiftly and then took transport 

to our first checkpoint. We then had 

a short march to our 0730 stance. On 

arrival, however, there was no stance 

to be found and valuable time was 

spent trying to locate it. (We were 

later told that the Corporal hadn’t set it 

up in time.) We then moved on to the 

next one: Section Attacks. This went 

successfully, with the Corporal’s only 

pick-up point being that the FSG (fire 

support group) hadn’t followed the 

proven route taken by the assaulting 

fire team. We then settled into a good 

rhythm and the round robins of tasks 

were swiftly over. 

With hindsight, we felt that the 

Leadership stance had gone poorly. 

Having moved a casualty from our 

current location to Gibraltar rock a 

kilometre away, the Corporal running 

the stance had debriefed us by saying 

that we had lacked urgency and he was 

surprised that our time had been so 

swift. On the other hand, in our debrief 

after the First Aid stance we were told 

that there were no pick-up points and 

the Corporal was happy to mark us 

20/20. On return to camp there was 

a brief interlude to shower and eat, 

and we turned our attention to our 

half lovats and injuries (the majority of 

which hadn’t been picked up during 

the day, but had been caused by rather 

a violent glow stick war on Friday 

night) in preparation for drill and the 

endurance course, which would take 

place on Sunday morning. 

With a routine established the previous 

day, we rose and dressed into our 

half lovats for our drill test at 0730hrs. 

In drill you are marked on unity and 

precision, and we felt confident that we 

were in a better state than in previous 

years, as we had spent a minimum of 

ten hours practising on Porthill tennis 

courts. The Corporal seemed pleased 

with our efforts and also tested us on 

our corps knowledge. We then moved 

out onto Woodbury Common where 

we were timed as a team round two 

miles of the endurance course, which is 

one of the four commando tests at the 

end of a Marine’s training. If he fails, 

he has to retake the whole course in 

a new batch of recruits. We overtook 

Sherborne School and were hot on the 

heels of Royal Hospital School and so 

felt that we had posted a competitive 

time to retain the trophy that we had 

won last year. 

Prize giving was at 1300hrs, when we 

were awarded first place in both the 

First Aid and Leadership stances, and 

were placed first overall. After a quick 

debrief and photo, we left Lympstone 

as a tired but immensely proud and 

pleased team. 

Back Row L-R: Capt Longfellow, Cadet Craik, Cpl Hayward, Cpl Morris, Cadet Hardcastle, Lt Corbett. 

Front Row L-R: Sgt Bambridge, Sgt Gilliat-Smith, Sgt Remnant, Sgt Lechmere, Cpl Hartwell

24 

SCHOOL NEWS 

Old Salopians in World War 1 

Each week on the School website we publish the names and short biographies of the Old Salopians killed 

100 years ago during the First World War, and these are included in the weekly eNewsletter sent to 

all staff, pupils and current parents. This is part of a four-year project in collaboration with St Chad’s 

Church in Shrewsbury. A short Service of Remembrance is held at St Chad’s every Wednesday at 5pm, 

when the OS names are included among others from Shropshire whose 

100th anniversary of death falls that week. 

The following Old Salopians will be 

remembered at School and in St Chad’s 

between January and June 2015. 

Corporal Harold Garnock Potts, 

M2/098045, Army Service Corps. 

Churchill’s, left in 1901 and was 

admitted solicitor to a practice in 

Broseley, Salop. Died in the United 

Kingdom, 6th February 1916, aged 32. 

Buried at Broseley Cemetery, England. 

Grave C.E. I. 433. 

Lieutenant John Frith Sidebotham, 

6th Bn. King’s Shropshire Light 

Infantry 

School House, Praepostor, Cricket XI 

and Fives VI, left in 1910 and was on 

the staff of Messrs. James Greaves, 

East India Merchants, of Manchester 

and Bombay. He went up to Hertford 

College, Oxford and twice captained 

the lacrosse team against Cambridge. 

He enlisted in 5th K.S.L.I. and was 

gazetted to the 6th in January 1916. 

The Salopian remembers him as “one 

of the most modest boys and men. 

But his friends here and the staff of 

the School House and the boys at the 

Mission in Liverpool* knew his value 

better than he knew himself”. He was 

“a very loyal Salopian, who taught, 

without knowing it, the power and the 

honour of an entirely unselfish life”. 

Killed in action by a shell explosion 

during a bombardment in Belgium, 

12th February 1916, aged 24. Buried 

at White House Cemetery, St. Jean-Les- 

Ypres, Belgium. Grave III. Q. 4. 

* Shrewsbury House, inaugurated only 

a few years earlier by the Revd Digby 

Kittermaster 

Captain John Arthur Walker, 

10th Bn. Royal Welsh Fusiliers 

Moser’s, “a quiet, unobtrusive boy”, left 

in 1909 for Trinity Hall, Cambridge, and 

at the outbreak of war at once joined 

the O.T.C; he was gazetted November 

1914 and promoted Captain July 1915. 

His Commanding Officer said, “He 

was beloved by both officers and men. 

His was one of those rare natures 

that one could not help loving”. His 

Chaplin also wrote, “As a friend his 

loss is inestimable and as a soldier he 

was a born leader of men the memory 

of whom should ever be a source of 

inspiration to all who knew him”. 

Killed in action by the explosion of 

a shell while encouraging his men in 

Belgium, 19th February 1916, aged 24. 

Buried at Reninghelst New Military 

Cemetery, Belgium. Grave I. B. 8. 

Lieutenant Gilbert Kingsley Lloyd, 

2nd Bn. King’s Shropshire Light 

Infantry 

School House, left in 1889. Served 

through the South African War with 

the Shropshire Imperial Yeomanry as 

Lance-Corporal in charge of a machine 

gun (Medal, 3 clasps) before going 

to Saskatchewan, N.W.T. Canada. 

Commissioned into the K.S.L.I. and 

gazetted to 2nd Lieutenant, he saw 

much fighting in France. Died in 

Salonika, Greece, of appendicitis, 21st 

February 1916, aged 35. Buried at 

Mikra British Cemetery, Kalamaria, 

Greece. Grave 1804. 

Captain Alfred Henry Parsons, 

2nd Bn. 9th Gurkha Rifles. 

School House, left in 1900. B.A., Keble 

College, Oxford. Present with his 

Regiment at Festubert and Givenchy 

Wood. He was severely wounded 

in January but returned to his duty; 

and then was killed in action in 

Mesopotamia 8th March 1916, aged 33. 

Remembered on Basra Memorial, Iraq. 

Panel 51. 

Second Lieutenant Richard Arthur 

Maurice Lutener, 6th Bn. King’s 

Shropshire Light Infantry 

School House, left in 1914 for Keble 

College, Oxford. Commissioned in 

December 1914, he went to the front in 

July 1915 and was shot by a sniper in 

Belgium, 6th April 1916, aged 20. 

Buried at Essex Farm Cemetery, 

Belgium. Grave I. B. 4. 

Lieutenant Arnold Mathews, 

14th Bn. Cheshire Regiment. 

Baker’s (now Severn Hill), Huntsman, 

Football XI, one of the best runners 

the school has seen and Head of 

the Science Side. He left in 1913 for 

Corpus Christi College, Cambridge with 

a science scholarship and was there 

awarded the Careswell Scholarship. 

Along with many other OS he enlisted 

in the ranks of the 5th Bn. K.S.L.I. 

but after a few weeks he obtained 

a commission to the 14th Cheshires. 

“Unassuming and quite regardless of 

himself, he gained the sincere esteem 

of his contemporaries” – The Salopian. 

He took part in the fighting on the 

Tigris front on 5th and 9th April 

and died of wounds received, in 

Mesopotamia, 14th April 1916, aged 21. 

Remembered on Basra Memorial, Iraq. 

Panel 14 and 62. 

Lieutenant David Henry Carmichael 

Monro, 29th Bn. Canadian Infantry 

(British Columbia Regiment) 

School House, left in 1903 for Oriel 

College, Oxford. He was called to the 

Bar in Lincoln’s Inn, and then joined 

the Nigerian Civil Service. Retiring 

after three years due to ill health, he 

then joined the Canadian Army in 

1914, going with them to the front in 

September 1915. Died of wounds in 

Belgium, 4th May 1916, aged 31. 

Buried at Reninghelst New Military 

Cemetery, Belgium. Grave I. B. 18. 

Captain Victor Eustace Reynolds, 

10th Bn. West Yorkshire Regiment 

(Prince of Wales’s Own) 

School House, left in 1896 to enter 

Slade School of Art and then worked 

for some years painting in Paris and 

Florence. He took the post of Art 

Master at Haberdashers’ Aske’s and 

Life Master at evening classes in 

Lambeth Art School. He enlisted on the 

outbreak of war and obtained his 2nd 

Lieutenancy in May 1915, gaining rapid 

promotion. “He married a daughter of 

the Late Frank Holl, R.A., and leaves a 

little son” – The Times. Killed in action 

in France 4th May 1916 aged 36. 

Buried at Cite Bonjean Military Cemetery, 

Armentieres, France. Grave IX. G. 2. 

Second Lieutenant Edward Pitcairn 

Jones, 5th Bn. attd. 9th Bn. 

Rifle Brigade. 

School House, Head of House, left in 

1915; exhibitioner to Oriel College, 

Oxford.

SCHOOL NEWS 25 

The OTC in 1916 

From The Salopian: “Initially he 

showed talent as a rower but this was 

swiftly cut short for medical reasons; 

he narrowly missed out getting his 

School Colours for football which was 

a shame due to his ‘natural activity’. 

…He was entirely fearless and 

unselfish and there was no one whose 

respect he did not win… He died of 

a very painful wound, but he found 

time to think of everyone but himself, 

making light of his own sufferings and 

facing death with perfect readiness 

and absolute faith.” 

Died of wounds in France 13th May 

1916 aged 20. Buried at Avesnes-Le- 

Comte Communal Cemetery Extension, 

France. Grave I. A. 19. 

Lieutenant Colonel Alexander 

George Stuart, 40th Pathans, I.A. 

and G.S.O.I 

Churchill’s, left in 1890 for Trinity 

College, Dublin. The Salopian 

comments: “His contemporaries will 

remember him, somewhat frail in 

body, but with the spirit and qualities 

of a true Irishman and deservedly 

popular with all who knew him.” 

He received his first appointment 

to the Royal Scots in 1893, was 

gazetted Captain in 1900, transferred 

to the Indian Army in 1904 and was 

promoted Captain in 1912. 

He held Staff appointments in India 

(Medal and clasp), and after the 

outbreak of war was mentioned 

in dispatches for gallant and 

distinguished service. Killed in action 

in Belgium 4th June 1916 aged 43. 

Buried at Westouter Churchyard And 

Extension, Belgium. Grave II. F. 6. 

Captain Leslie Woodroffe MC, 

14th Bn. attd. 8th Bn. Rifle Brigade. 

Master from 1909, with a 1st in Mods. 

and a 2nd in Lit. Hum. from University 

College, Oxford. He took a keen 

interest in the OTC (Captain) and had 

been a considerable time at the front, 

gaining the MC at Hooge. From The 

Salopian: “Few men of his age had a 

larger circle of acquaintances, and it 

may truly be said of him that all his 

acquaintances were friends… It is no 

surprise to us that at Hooge, where he 

won the Military Cross, he was as calm 

as if on parade in the stress of that 

disastrous day… His keen interest in 

all that concerned the life of others… 

won for him his unique place in our 

affections. It is impossible to imagine 

a better friend, or a more loyal servant 

to this School, and the thought of how 

well he was known and loved here 

cannot but be some consolidation to 

a family which has to mourn for three 

sons whose lives have been given 

for their country.” Died of wounds in 

France 4th June 1916. 

Buried at Barlin Communal Cemetery 

Extension, France. Grave I. J. 66. 

Private John Furlow McConnell 

Sergeant, 20660, 10th Bn. Canadian 

Infantry. 

Ingram’s, 2nd VIII colours, a nephew 

of the Housemaster, he left in 1910 

to go to Canada. He enlisted at the 

outbreak of war. Killed in action 

in Belgium 5th June 1916 aged 23. 

Remembered on Ypres (Menin Gate) 

Memorial, Belgium. Panel 24 - 28 - 30. 

Second Lieutenant Arthur Chaplin 

Banks, 2nd Bn. Royal Welsh Fusiliers. 

Pickering’s (now Churchill’s) Head 

of House and Football 1st XI. He 

left in 1914 for Sandhurst. His 

commanding officer wrote, “I have 

lost one of my most gallant officers, 

and a born soldier. The enemy blew 

an enormous mine, followed by a 

terrific bombardment. They lifted the 

barrage and made a strong infantry 

attack. They got a real bad beating. 

Your son had his platoon up and went 

for them. He had killed four Germans 

himself before he was killed, and they 

were all lying together. I have reported 

his gallant conduct to my Brigadier.” 

Killed in action in France 22nd June 

1916. Buried at Gorre British and 

Indian Cemetery, France. 

Grave II. A. 1. 

Captain Edward Maurice Gregson, 

4th Bn. The Loyal North Lancashire 

Regiment. 

Moser’s, left in 1906 to become 

a Surveyor and Mining Engineer. 

Gazetted to 2nd Lt in 1914 and 

promoted rapidly, he took part in the 

fighting at Festubert and he met his 

death leading a reconnaissance party 

near Rivière, Arras. A message to his 

father from his fellow officers read, 

“We are all very proud of him and of 

all that he did on that night”. Killed in 

action in France 28th June 1916 

aged 27. 

Remembered on Arras Memorial, 

France. Bay 7. 

For more details about the School’s 

commemorative project, which 

includes a link to the St Chad’s 

website, please see 

www.shrewsbury.org.uk/osww1


Life beyond Shrewsbury 

Dympna Nightingale, Higher Education and GAP year adviser, talks about her demanding role in 

guiding Shrewsbury School pupils to the next stage of their education. 

typical day in the life of Higher 

A Education Adviser… Hold on, 

there isn’t a typical day! 

What I love about my role in the 

Careers Department is the variety: 

the challenges, the highs and lows – 

and the stress! Employed as a music 

teacher many moons ago meant that I 

only came into contact with musicians 

and never got the chance to meet the 

rest of the School. Since taking on the 

role of Higher Education Adviser, a lot 

of my work now is dealing with the 

pupils, sometimes as year groups but 

mostly on a one-to-one basis. It is so 

enjoyable to have these conversations 

and get to know the pupils better and 

understand their decision-making in 

the process. I also get to meet lots of 

parents which I very much value. 

Leaving school and finding that 

‘next step’ is a worrying, exciting, 

frustrating time for all concerned. 

There are no right or wrong answers, 

but in the Careers Department we 

hope that pupils and parents alike 

feel that we are approachable and 

that they can ask us at any time for 

help and guidance. 

Most of my work is UCAS-based. 

(UCAS stands for Universities and 

Colleges Admissions Service; and this 

is the central organisation through 

which all applications are processed 

for entry to higher education in 

the UK.) So attending conferences, 

visiting universities, keeping in touch 

with Old Salopians and getting their 

up-to-date perspectives on courses 

and institutions is important. For 

many parents, university decisions 

can be a minefield. It doesn’t matter 

whether you have already had older 

children going through the process – 

every case is different and we have 

all got to remember who is actually 

going to university! It is the students 

who must take on the responsibility 

and be proactive about what they 

want to do when they leave school 

and get excited. So much information 

is available, and so many careers 

events and talks organised for them; 

fortunately, I have to say the majority 

of students are aware and on board. 

Over the last two years, the 

proportion of Shrewsbury School 

students going on to Higher 

Education in the UK has been about 

94%. For many pupils, making a 

decision about which course to study 

is the difficult one. If they get this 

right, the university choice will fall 

into place with purposeful research, 

Open Days, and use of our latest 

resource Unifrog, to which all our 

Sixth Form have access. 

I encourage the pupils to understand 

the higher education ‘jargon’ and 

know the difference between 

single honours, joint honours and 

sandwich courses and the thousands 

of variations of modules as well. It is 

also important to know what kind of 

universities there are. Russell Group 

(24), for example, are the traditional 

red-brick, while the 1994 Group (11) 

are research-intensive universities, 

and the Million+ Group (19) tend 

to be the former polytechnics from 

before 1992, which have a more 

hands-on approach. 

The top ten choices of courses among 

Shrewsbury School pupils applying 

through UCAS in 2014 were: History, 

Human and Social Geography, 

combinations within Business and 

Admin Studies, Classical Studies, Law, 

Management Studies, combinations 

of Social Studies/Business/Law 

with languages, English Studies, 

Chemistry, combinations of three 

subjects, or other general courses. 

Many Shrewsbury School pupils also 

apply for traditional disciplines like 

Medicine, Law, History, English 

and Languages. 

There is, however, a growing trend 

of applications for Psychology, 

Sports Science, Fashion, International 

Relations, Politics and Music 

Technology. The ‘newish’ disciplines 

are degrees in Events Management, 

Renewable Energy, 3D Product 

Design, Hospitality and Creative Arts. 

The top ten university choices by our 

students in 2014 were Bristol, Oxford, 

Manchester, UCL, Durham, Oxford 

Brookes, Exeter, Leeds, Warwick 

and Kings College, London. Other 

university acceptances were Bristol 

UWE, Cardiff, Imperial College, 

Reading, Edinburgh, Southampton 

and York. 

As part of the Careers programme 

at School, I invite speakers from 

different universities and institutions 

to speak on a wide range of 

disciplines; this usually works out 

at an average of 16-18 talks during 

a pupil’s Sixth Form. I feel it is 

important for pupils to attend as 

many of these talks as possible: even 

if they are interested in only one 

course, they may at least use these 

talks as a way of finding out more 

about what a particular university 

is like and what it can offer them. 

There’s always a chance to ask that 

burning question. 

The first talk in the Careers 

programme is usually a general one 

on university and what is it really like. 

For Michaelmas 2015 I invited James 

Seymour from Aston University, an 

Admissions Tutor with many years of 

experience. I have also invited back 

Old Salopians to review their first 

year at university and speak about 

the ‘ups and downs’ of it all, what 

tips and hints they would give to the 

present Sixth Form. 

It is amazing how quite a number 

of pupils have concerns and 

wobbles about the practicalities 

of going away to university, how 

they are going to manage their time 

effectively and responsibly and 

be successful. Obviously it is not 

‘cool’ to discuss this with their peer 

group, but in a one-to-one chat I 

hear it all. So I hope that by listening 

and encouraging, I can dispel the


fears. University is not for everyone 

though; so having the Careers Fellow 

in place to seek guidance and look 

at all the alternative options is 

paramount and vital. 

I try and visit as many UK universities 

as I can and one question I ask is 

why students occasionally leave 

before completing their courses. 

The two main reasons seem to be 

that they are not enjoying the course 

and homesickness. Pupils need to 

investigate all areas of the course 

before they list it as one of their five 

choices on their UCAS forms: the 

modules and how they are delivered 

and examined; the opportunities 

to link to other disciplines; the 

chance to learn something new; 

the opportunity to study abroad. 

Homesickness was not an answer I 

expected, but I do understand that 

pupils need to feel as if they belong 

and fit in. 

In addition to the Michaelmas term 

Careers talks, I also run two major 

conferences on ‘Studying in the 

USA’ and ‘Studying in Europe’; 

these take place in alternate years. 

There is a growing interest in both 

the USA and Europe because of 

possible scholarships (USA) and less 

expense (Europe). Last year 28,640 

UK students went abroad, either to 

study or take up an internship as part 

of their course. They include 15,566 

students on the Erasmus Project. 

Professor Rebecca Hughes, the British 

Council’s Director of Education, 

said: “This latest evidence confirms 

that a growing number of the UK’s 

students are recognising the huge 

value to be gained from international 

experience. The UK needs graduates 

who have the skills and confidence 

to compete globally and can compete 

against foreign talent that may speak 

more languages and have wider 

international experience.” We ran our 

first European Conference in June 2015 

with representatives from Holland, 

Bulgaria, Switzerland and Spain. 

One of the most popular destinations 

is Maastricht University in the 

Netherlands, and the five most 

popular USA universities are Harvard, 

Columbia, New York, University 

of California Berkeley and Yale. 

Maastricht charges fees of around 

£1,500 a year, whilst Trinity College, 

Dublin levies a service charge of 

£2,500 a year and is ranked as one 

of the most prestigious universities in 

the world. 

I have visited a number of institutions 

in Europe, looking at international 

courses taught in English. They are 

worth considering: the positives are 

lower grade entry requirements, 

lower costs and more contact time 

with lecturers. The negatives: they 

kick more students out at the end 

of first year and there is sometimes 

a greater bout of homesickness, as 

Dutch students go home at weekends 

and therefore there are fewer 

students around. 

I also did a tour of nine USA 

universities and colleges last October 

to get a feel for different American 

campuses. I was very impressed with 

the student ambassadors I met there, 

how enthusiastic and informative they 

are on the campus tours, and it was 

wonderful to have the opportunity to 

network with Admissions Tutors and 

make good contacts. If pupils are 

even remotely thinking about going 

to university in the USA, we run a 

SAT programme at School during 

the Michaelmas and Lent terms, 

which is delivered by the Harvard 

Fellow. (SAT stands for Scholastic 

Aptitude Test; the SAT is one of two 

admissions tests – the ACT (American 

College Testing) being the other – 

required for admission to most US 

universities.) 

Finally, every university has a Careers 

service and it is important that pupils 

check this out early. When I was 

at university, the norm was to start 

thinking about a job in the third year, 

but now many employers make job 

offers to their second year summer 

vacation interns. So pupils need to 

get ahead of the game in terms of 

networking, work experience and 

internships from their first year at 

university. Those opportunities will 

make all the difference on a CV. 

As I write, I would like to take this 

opportunity to bid farewell to Dr 

Kate Daubney, the Careers Fellow, 

as she leaves to start a new chapter 

of her life. She has been a fantastic 

and tremendous colleague to Karen 

Scimia and me in the Careers 

Department and an absolute fountain 

of knowledge, guidance and wisdom 

on preparing pupils for the world of 

work. She will be missed and leaves 

huge boots to fill. 

Dympna Nightingale

28 

SCHOOL NEWS 

Relaunch of the Rovers 

In May 2013, when we proudly reported the news that Adam Booth (PH 1995-2000) had reached 

the top of Mount Everest, Adam responded by thanking the members of staff who led the Rovers, the 

School’s mountaineering and adventuring club, for ‘lighting the flame’. On 3rd November, we were 

delighted to welcome Adam back to Shrewsbury to kindle that flame in a new generation of Salopians, 

as the historic Rovers - first formed in 1934 - was officially relaunched to the whole School. 

the 1953 Expedition, who formed the 

first summit pair with Tom Bourdillon. 

They got to within 300 feet of the 

summit of Everest before faulty oxygen 

equipment forced them to withdraw. A 

few days later, second pair Hillary and 

Tenzing made history. 

Martin Hansen and Adam Booth 

Adam recalled his own sense of 

excitement when, at the age of 

15, he attended a similar relaunch 

of the Rovers. Inspired by Master-in- 

Charge Mr Hansen’s vivid descriptions 

of climbing Ben Nevis, he signed up 

immediately for the Rovers and spent 

the next few months learning the 

basics of climbing and mountain safety, 

leading up to his first Rovers Expedition 

– the climbing of the Three Peaks, 

Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdon. 

A new and life-changing passion had 

been born. 

Further trips followed during what 

became one of the golden period 

for the Rovers, travelling to remote 

locations to take on challenging 

mountains, typically camping at a 

high altitude on the way to a summit. 

They scaled the highest mountain in 

the Picos De Europa, Spain and the 

following year climbed Galdhøpiggen, 

the highest mountain in Norway. 

In 2013, Adam climbed Mount Everest, 

reaching the summit on 13th May, sixty 

years almost to the day after the first 

successful ascent by Sir Edmund Hillary 

and Tenzing Norgay. On hearing the 

news, Mr Hansen expressed the utter 

delight and pride of the staff who had 

been part of the Rovers. “The news 

that he’s summitted Everest has quite 

stunned us. The pupil has certainly 

exceeded the Master.” At the Rovers 

relaunch on Monday, Adam paid 

special tribute to Mr Hansen, who 

still teaches at the School, for the role 

he and the Rovers had played in first 

inspiring him with a love of mountains 

and mountaineering. 

Some of Adam’s inspiration has also 

come from two Old Salopians: Sandy 

Irvine (S 1916-21), who famously took 

part in the 1924 Everest Expedition with 

George Mallory; and Sir Charles Evans 

(DB 1932-37), Deputy Leader of 

Adam spoke of his sense of 

connection with those other Old 

Salopians and their experiences on 

Everest, and in a few brief sentences 

and images he was able to convey 

something of the scale of their 

achievements. He spoke about his 

own experiences entirely modestly, 

however. So it was perhaps not 

until the end of his talk, when he 

showed a five-minute film of his final 

gruelling hours of climbing Everest 

and euphoric arrival on the roof of 

the world, that his audience caught a 

proper sense of the sheer enormity of 

his own achievement. 

Current Salopians keen to follow 

in Adam’s footsteps and join the 

relaunched Rovers have some exciting 

expeditions to choose from later this 

year, including an introduction to winter 

mountaineering in the Cairngorm 

Mountains during February half term for 

Fifth and Sixth Formers; a Junior Rovers 

Adventure in North Wales for Third and 

Fourth Formers in March; and an 11-day 

expedition in July called ‘Land, Sea and 

Skye’ - sailing, hillwalking, mountain 

biking and climbing in the Cuillin 

Mountains on Skye. 

Annabel Warburg


Cricket 

Following our winter tour to the UAE and South Africa (see summary below) the 2015 season ended 

on a very high note, when we beat Eton College on the final day thereby retaining the Silk Trophy for a 

record-breaking third year running, after what may be best described as a mixed season. But whilst we 

did not fare well in cup competitions, elsewhere we played consistently well. 

(A more comprehensive report can be found on the Sports section of the school website). 

Shrewsbury School Cricket Tour to UAE & South Africa-December 2014 

1st XI Played 12 won 11 Lost 1 Drew 0 

U15 XI Played 12 won 6 Lost 6 Drew 0 

The School’s cricketers had a highly successful tour of the United Arab Emirates and South Africa in December 2014. It was the 

second time they had visited the UAE and the fifth time the School had visited South Africa. It was the longest tour (6th to 23rd 

Dec) undertaken to date and included some 24 matches in total. All matches were played in perfect conditions and none lost 

to the weather. In all, 29 boys travelled and the group was comprised of a 1st XI and a U 15 team who had been practising at 

least twice a week in the Neville Cardus Indoor Cricket Centre since October 2014 to prepare for the tour. The 1st XI won 11 

of their 12 games during their two and half weeks away. The U15s, being less experienced and much more of a developmental 

squad, still managed to win half of their 12 games, with 3 of those losses going down to the last over. 

1st XI 

ALL MATCHES Played 27 WON 18 Lost 6 Drawn 2 / 

Cancelled 1 

• 50/40 over Matches Played 16 Won 12 Lost 4 Drawn 2 / 

Cancelled 1 

• T 20 Matches Played 4 Won 3 Lost 1 

• U17 Cup Played 4 Won 3 Lost 1 

9th April Shrewsbury v St Edward’s WON by 3 wickets 

St Edwards 207 for 5 (C. Cooke 3 for 27) 

Shrewsbury 208 for 7 (G. Hargrave 100 n.o.) 

Pre-Season Festival (Shrewsbury) 

10th April Shrewsbury v Worksop WON by 94 runs 

Shrewsbury 220 for 8 (Panayi 48 Lewis 45) 

Worksop 126 (Home 5 for 21) 

11th April Shrewsbury v Worcestershire Academy 

LOST by 9 wkts 

Shrewsbury 186 for 9 (Adair 48 Lewis 42) 

Worcestershire Academy 190 for 1 

12th April Shrewsbury V Millfield Match Abandoned 

Shrewsbury 218 for 8 (Westbury 106) 

Millfield 189 for 3 

15th April Shrewsbury v Myerscough Old Trafford 

WON by 77 runs 

Shrewsbury 239 for 9 (Home 49, Adair 70) 

Myerscough 162 all out (Westbury 3 for 18, Home 3 for 34) 

18th April Bloxham v Shrewsbury T20 WON by 128 runs 

Shrewsbury 190 for 6 (Westbury 66, Humes 37 not) 

Bloxham 62 all out (Lloyd 2 for 2, Home 4 for 9, 

Durman 3 for 2) 

19th April Shrewsbury v Warwickshire CB XI 

WON by 30 runs 

Shrewsbury 219 for 3 (Westbury 108, Lewis 44 n.o.) 

Warwickshire 189 for 9 

22nd April Shrewsbury v Shropshire CB Development 

XI WON by 8 wkts 

Shropshire 158 for 7 (Jacob 3 for 24) 

Shrewsbury 160 for 2 (Adair 68 n.o. Hargrave 57) 

26th April Shrewsbury v M.C.C LOST by 10 runs 

MCC 218 for 6 

Shrewsbury 208 for 8 (Adair 77) 

29th April Shrewsbury v Free Foresters WON by 64 runs 

Shrewsbury 212 for 7 (Hargrave 51) 

Free Foresters 148 all out (Adams 3 for 18, Westbury 4 for 20) 

2nd May Bromsgrove v Shrewsbury WON by 100 runs 

Shrewsbury 229 for 6 (Adair 83 n.o. Home 55) 

Bromsgrove 129 (Home 4 for 39) 

3rd May Shrewsbury v St Mary’s Walsall HMC T20 

WON by 9 wkts 

Mary’s 75 for 6 (Cooke 3 for 8 including a hatrick) 

Shrewsbury 76 for 1 

6th May Shrewsbury v Denstone Match Cancelled 

8th May Shrewsbury v Ellesmere U17 Cup WON by 9 wkts 

Ellesmere 107 for 8 (Cooke 5 for 22) 

Shrewsbury 108 for 1 (C.Home 45 n.o.) 

9th May Shrewsbury v Repton WON by 42 runs 


Repton 185 all out (Lloyd 3 for 30, Home 4 for 40) 

13th May Wrekin v Shrewsbury U17 Cup WON by 8 wkts 

Wrekin 103 for 6 


16th May Shrewsbury v Sedbergh WON by 10 wkts 

Sedbergh 153 (Brunskill 3 for 26) 

Shrewsbury 154 for 0 (Westbury 101 n.o. Lewis 51 n.o.) 

20th May Shrewsbury v Denstone HMC T20 WON 

by 6 wkts 

Denstone 97 for 8 (Jacob 4 for 16) 


22nd May Shrewsbury v Saracens XI 

LOST by 3 runs 

Saracens 222 for 5 (Panayi 3 for 33) 

Shrewsbury 219 for 6 (Hargrave 76 n.o.)

30 

SCHOOL NEWS 

3rd June Shrewsbury v Myerscough Preston U17 Cup 

WON by 7 wkts 

Myerscough 160 for 7 

Shrewsbury 163 for 3 (Garrett 63 n.o. Panayi 56 n.o.) 

5th June Shrewsbury v Malvern HMC T20 LOST by 29 runs 

Malvern 149 for 4 

Shrewsbury 120 

6th June Shrewsbury v Malvern WON by 80 runs 

Shrewsbury 222 for 3 (Hargrave 59, Lewis 80 n.o.) 

Malvern 142 all out (Home 3 for 27, Westbury 4 for 22) 

13th June Manchester GS v Shrewsbury WON by 1 run 

Shrewsbury 207 for 3 (Westbury 100 Adair 58) 

Manchester GS 206 for 6 

19th June Shrewsbury v Sedbergh U17 Cup LOST by 3 runs 

Sedbergh 236 for 9 

Shrewsbury 233 for 4 (Adair 60 Panayi 54 n.o. Hargrave 53) 

20th June Shrewsbury v Bedford LOST by 8wkts 

Shrewsbury 107 all out 

Bedford 110 for 2 

WISDEN STATS 2015 40 & 50 over Matches 

24th & 25th June v Uppingham (Two innings) 

Match Drawn 

Shrewsbury 299 for 7 dec (Westbury 112 Hargrave 

41 Lewis 40) 

Uppingham 161 (Panayi 3 for 47) 

Uppingham (Following on) 316 (Lloyd 3 for 43) 


27th June v Brighton GS Melbourne T20 WON by 24 runs 


Brighton 127 all out (Lloyd 3 for 19) 

SILK TROPHY 

29th June v Oundle WON by 106 runs 

Shrewsbury 233 for 7 (Westbury 57, Hargrave 73) 

Oundle 127 all out (Panayi 4 for 13) 

30th June v Hilton College Durban LOST by 84 runs 

Hilton 257 for 9 (Lloyd 4 for 42) 

Shrewsbury 173 all out (Hargrave 48) 

1st July v Eton College WON by 6 wkts 

Eton 238 for 9 (Durman 3 for 23 Lloyd 3 for 25) 

Shrewsbury 239 for 4 (Lewis 74 Hargrave 68 Panayi 39 n.o.) 

Bowling Overs Maidens Runs Wickets Best Bowling 

C. E. Home 104 10 413 28 5-21 

G. D. Panayi 155 20 554 29 4-13 

O. E. Westbury 139.1 21 569 28 4-20 

D. J. Lloyd 199 28 663 31 4-42 

P. J. Jacob 69 3 311 12 3-24 

D. L. Durman 67 6 282 10 3-2 

C. E. Cooke 106 8 512 12 3-27 

Batting & Av Inns NO Runs Highest 100s 

O. E. Westbury 55.15 21 2 1048 112 6 

G. P. Hargrave 49.46 17 2 742 100* 1 

G. P. G. Lewis* 35.64 21 4 606 80* 

H. R. D. Adair 34.00 22 3 646 83* 

G. D. Panayi 26.69 16 3 347 48 

C. E. Home 26.44 13 4 238 55 

1st XI Player Reports 

George Lewis (Captain) had a good tour of South Africa 

in December and grew into his job as Captain as well as 

improving his batting throughout the 2015 season. His final 

innings against Eton helped us retain the Silk Trophy and 

will live long in the memory of those present that day. 

Batting more at 4, he illustrated greater consistency and 

adaptability than in previous seasons. George’s presence 

was vital and he cemented together any cracks that 

appeared. He leaves us with the distinction of winning three 

Silk Trophies and a HMC T20 National title. The contribution 

made by George and his elder brother Henry has been 

outstanding during the past six years.


Oliver Westbury (Vice Captain), 

our leading run scorer, has played for 

the Shrewsbury School 1st XI for two 

seasons. In that time he has scored 

nearly 1900 runs. In the current season, 

he scored 1124 runs in all forms of 

cricket including six centuries (scored 

against Millfield, Manchester GS, 

Repton, Sedbergh, Uppingham and 

Warwickshire Academy) at an average 

of nearly 47. 

He has also taken 30 wickets with 

his off spin at an average of 22 this 

season and was selected to play for 

the MCC Schools XI v ESCA XI at 

Lord’s and now moves on to a winter 

in Perth and a year in the Worcester 

Academy where he will try to secure a 

professional contract. 

Jamie Humes had a challenging 

season after a slip in a warm-up 

curtailed his contributions and although 

not at his best, did much to bolster 

the final push towards the Silk Trophy 

triumph. At his best, for us, he was a 

first class wicketkeeper and batsman 

(one of the very best we had at school 

since I have been in charge) but with 

a preparation schedule that was too 

relaxed and disjointed throughout 

the summer he rarely produced what 

he was capable of. Nevertheless, his 

contribution to our successes over 

recent years is noted and respected. 

Dan Durman, after a very positive 

winter tour, was not the ever present 

player we had hoped for last season 

but still made an impact and can be 

proud of his contribution to the 1st XI 

over two years. He is a skilful cricketer 

who batted, bowled, fielded and kept 

wicket well during his career. I hope 

that he continues to apply himself and 

thereby achieve the sort of bowling 

performance that kept us on track in 

the Silk Trophy this past summer. 

Charlie Adams had an outstanding 

winter tour and brought stability to the 

team’s lower order. He often played 

a vital batting role in ensuring we got 

a total or slowed down the progress 

of the opposition. Strong and reliable, 

Charlie always gave of his best and 

despite his lack of real opportunities as 

the season drew on, he was always a 

key player in the team and a resolute 

character. 

Fred Earlam did not travel on tour 

but found the zeal to compete for 

a place in the spring. He added to 

our fire power and from time to time 

showed us what he was capable of. 

Fred proved to be a gifted stroke player 

who bowled with greater control than 

in previous seasons. His selection for 

the Silk Trophy campaign was as much 

about his potential as about his results. 

He certainly gave his all during the 

season and was rewarded with a Silk 

Trophy title. 

George Panayi, already in his 

third season in the 1st X1, took on 

more responsibility than before and 

produced a number of all round 

performances to attract the attention of 

national selectors. A great winter tour 

in South Africa with us was followed 

by another one for the England U17s 

in the UAE where he gained even 

more admirers. His batting came to the 

fore this season and I look forward to 

much more of the same this coming 

summer. His role as Captain will put 

more pressure on him but I am sure 

he will thrive on it and prosper as 

he did in the final day of the season 

victory over Eton. 

Harry Adair started the season very 

well indeed, but became less influential 

as the sun appeared higher in the sky. 

We missed his dynamic input after the 

initial sprint and I hope that he can 

return next season with greater maturity 

and plenty of fast and exciting runs 

throughout the summer. As in previous 

years, I know he will put in the hours 

of preparation required and I truly 

hope that he will he deliver from April 

to July both with bat in hand and in the 

field where he has the athleticism to 

influence a match. 

Dan Lloyd continued where he had 

left over in December. With the ball in 

hand he offered us control and some 

measure of penetration, but I will be 

looking for far more this time around. 

He is an experienced campaigner and 

he must seek to influence matches at 

this level with the ball, bat, and in the 

field. With 31 wickets in the longer 

format matches, his contribution was 

telling and I would ask that he continue 

to delight us with his very positive yet 

relaxed application. 

Charlie Cooke did extremely well in 

South Africa and started the season 

well. He supported Panayi and often 

out bowled him when the ball swung. 

His contribution in the early part of 

the season was very important but 

communication issues and firmer 

grounds reduced his impact. He will 

need to be even more committed if he 

is to make the team this summer with 

much more competition around for the 

seam bowling slots. 

George Hargrave illustrated his class 

with bat in hand, time and time again 

throughout the season. His final innings 

for the school against Eton highlighted 

his growing strength, excellent 

technique, mental strength and 

increasing authority. He certainly built 

on his Bunbury reputation and looked 

like a professional in the waiting. Asked 

to do more wicket keeping in 2015 

than he, or we, thought, he coped well 

with the work load, but further work 

on his technique and communication 

will help him become a better all round 

batsman wicketkeeper this year. We 

look forward to more of the same. 

Charlie Home performed 

exceptionally well with the ball and 

looked very accomplished with bat in 

hand. Much more was to be expected 

from him over the coming two 

seasons but his unforeseen departure 

to Wrekin College has robbed us of 

seeing him develop even further here 

at Shrewsbury School and reduced 

our options for a future captain. 

Nevertheless, his tireless work ethic 

and passion should drive him along 

his cricketing pathway if he can gain 

greater independence and learn to 

plough his own furrow. 

Patrick Jacob returned from South 

Africa well ahead and despite a season 

on the fringes he has proved to be 

one of the most committed cricketers 

at school. His fielding is ungainly but 

incredibly effective, but he really does 

need to offer greater control with his 

bowling and work hard to be mentally 

stronger when asked to bat. 

Andy Barnard


SILK TROPHY SUCCESS 

The 1st XI won the Silk Trophy for the third year running and 

also became the only school to do so in the 25 years of the 

competition. 

Following a good win over Oundle on the first day by 106 

runs, we then lost to Hilton College, Durban on day two 

by 84 runs. Consequently, we needed to beat Eton well on 

day three. 

Eton batted first and looked set for a large total after a good 

start by our bowlers, particularly Dan Lloyd. A good Eton 

partnership in the middle overs was curtailed by some good 

bowling (Dan Durman and George Panayi) and catching 

towards the end of their innings. Nevertheless they finished 

with a fairly healthy 238. A steady start by George Hargrave 

and Oliver Westbury was brought to an early end when 

Westbury (1124 runs this season) was caught behind. Harry 

Adair gave the innings some momentum and Hargrave 

moved the ball around well, but when Adair was out there 

was still much to do. George Lewis (captain and winner 

of two Silk Trophies) came in and immediately took the 

initiative against all bowlers, playing strong shots as well 

as late cuts and sweeps. Hargrave continued to prosper, 

particularly against the quicker bowlers, but one too many 

pulls saw him caught off a skier. George Panayi joined Lewis 

and consolidated for a while and saw the run rate rise from 

5s to 7s with some 7 overs to go. All of a sudden Panayi 

found the measure of the Eton bowlers and, in the flash of 

his bat, he took 20 off an over and the game swung our 

way. Both batsmen relaxed a little and with 3 overs to go we 

only required 2 runs. The ball, having been smashed to the 

boundary was lost, so a new ball arrived. Unfortunately, it 

was a nearly new ball and George Lewis edged to slips to be 

out for a fantastic captain’s knock on 78. Fred Earlam came in 

and scored a single to secure the historic win. It was our best 

batting performance of the season and the team, depleted by 

some late withdrawals, must be roundly congratulated on a 

magnificent win. 

The Silk Trophy Winners 

1990 Radley College 

1991 The Antipodeans, Australia 

1992 Eton College 


1994 Queen’s College, South Africa 



1997 Festival Cancelled (Rain) 



2000 Maritzburg College, South Africa 

2001 Kearsney College, South Africa 



2004 Oundle 


2006 Shrewsbury School 






2012 Festival Cancelled (Rain) 



2015 Shrewsbury School 

From L to R - BACK ROW Mr A Barnard (Master i/c Cricket), Daniel Lloyd, Dan Durman, Jamie Humes, Charlie Adams, 

Charlie Cooke, Mr P Pridgeon (Cricket Professional) FRONT ROW Harry Adair, Oliver Westbury, George Lewis (Capt.), Fred 

Earlam, George Panayi, George Hargrave.

SCHOOL NEWS 

33 

2nd XI 

Played 8 Won 3 Lost 3 Abandoned 2 

This year’s 2nd XI shaped up to be another strong team at 

the start of the season, with Freddie Adair as captain and 

many of the bowlers from last year returning to the side. 

However, it was the batting that was likely to make or break 

the season, especially with Reiss Rashid injured and with the 

loss of Freddie Earlam to the 1st XI early on. Unfortunately 

the fixture list was curtailed by the proliferation of exams 

and by some cancellations for weather, so only six out of 

eight matches were completed. Six boys represented the side 

on six or more occasions, including Nick Pearce, Freddie 

Rowley, Paul Sharpe, Henry Newbould, James Harris and 

Antony Koch de Gooreynd. 

The first fixture saw the team make the epic journey to 

Millfield on the second Saturday of term. It was a damp day 

with a dubious forecast, so the match was shortened to a 

T20 format on arrival. Shrewsbury won the toss and elected 

to bat. Making a disappointing start, the team slumped to 64 

for 7 after 11 overs, with only Freddie Adair and ‘on-loan’ 

Charlie Adams making it to double figures. However, positive 

batting from Nick Pearce (17 from 13 balls) and Pat Jacob (30 

from 16 balls), able supported by Antony Koch de Gooreynd 

(9 from 16 balls) took the score to a respectable 137 for 9 

after 20 overs. With the weather closing in, Shrewsbury took 

to the field in buoyant mood, which improved significantly 

when Harry Schofield took a sharp slip catch fourth ball of 

the Millfield innings off the bowling of Nick Pearce, who then 

bowled the number 3 with the last ball of the over to leave 

Millfield on 2 for 2. Unfortunately at this point the heavens 

opened and rain put an end to the match. 

In the second match, Shrewsbury faced a XL Club side 

that boasted two ex-international cricketers. The XL Club 

won the toss and elected to bat on a fine, if chilly day, on 

Chances. Shrewsbury started well bowling tightly and fielding 

superbly. The XL club were restricted to 69 for 3 after 20 

overs of the only declaration game of the season. However, 

Shrewsbury were unable to get the breakthrough they need 

to remove the ex-professionals and as the innings wore on, 

the concentration of the fielding side waned, allowing the 

batsmen to capitalise on some loose bowling and progress 

to 216 for 3 after 38 overs, when they declared at tea. Paul 

Sharpe was the stand-out bowler with 1 for 30 off his 8 overs. 

In response, Shrewsbury made a positive start reaching 64 for 

1 after 10 overs. Several batsmen had starts, Freddie Rowley 

(30), George Birt (23) Harry Gregson (22) and Freddie Adair 

was perhaps unlucky to be given out LBW for 30. However, 

wickets fell regularly and although the run rate was fine, 

Shrewsbury fell short, ending up 184 all out after 31.1 overs 

and losing by 32 runs. 

In the next match, Shrewsbury welcomed Bromsgrove on 

another very dark and wet Saturday. Again, the match format 

was reduced to T20. Bromsgrove won the toss and put 

Shrewsbury into the field on Senior. Having got to 47 for 

1 after 6 overs, Bromsgrove were in a strong position, but 

excellent bowling from Freddie Rowley 4 for 15 from 4 overs 

and George Birt 2 for 2 from 2 overs, reduced them to 127 all 

out in 19.5 overs. Shrewsbury made light work of the chase, 

with captain Freddie Adair in ebullient mood, smashing a 

powerful 63 not out from 44 balls, ably supported by Henry 

Newbould 18 from 35 balls and Freddie Rowley finishing a 

good day on 31 not out from 21 balls. Shrewsbury won by 9 

wickets with 4 overs to spare. 

Further rain meant the cancellation of the match against 

Wrekin, so the next visitors to Senior were Repton. Again 

the opposition won the toss and elected to bat. Repton 

were in a commanding position at 69 for 2 after 17 overs, 

but once the number 1 and 3 batsmen were dismissed, the 

innings capitulated. Repton finished on 126 all out after 35.1 

overs with two wickets each for Henry Craig, Rishi Trivedi, 

Freddie Rowley and George Birt. In response Shrewsbury 

suffered their own collapse as the top order misfired badly, 

only Henry Newbould making any impression on the score 

with 20. With the score at 50 for 7 the game seemed to 

be irretrievable, but just as they had done at Millfield, Pat 

Jacob (33) and Nick Pearce (34) saved the innings, while 

Rishi Trivedi and Antony Koch de Gooreynd saw the side 

home with one wicket to spare. So Shrewsbury claimed an 

improbable win by 1 wicket. 

The final match of the first half of term saw Shrewsbury 

host Sedbergh, who had not lost a game since we last beat 

them in 2012! Unfortunately the fixture coincided with the 

beginning of AS exams and a significant loss of players to 

the 1st XI, which meant the 2nd XI lost captain and top runscorer 

Freddie Adair, as well as wicketkeeper and opening 

batsman, Henry Newbould and our saviour from the Millfield 

and Repton games, Pat Jacob. On a damp day, stand-in 

captain, Freddie Rowley lost the toss and Shrewsbury was 

asked to bat. As usual Sedbergh bowled tightly and there 

were few loose deliveries to capitalise on. Scoring was slow 

and the Shrewsbury batsmen failed to apply themselves on 

a slow wicket. When Harry Schofield was narrowly run out, 

after looking in good touch and Charlie Cooke played a wild 

stroke and was caught, the score was 56 for 7. A low score 

looked inevitable, but a final wicket stand of 41 between 

Ben Sansom (6) and Paul Sharpe (30), helped Shrewsbury to 

a modest total of 109. Sedbergh were positive in reply and, 

once the opening batsmen had established a partnership, 

took only 18 overs to reach their target. 

On the Saturday after Exeat, the 2nd XI travelled to Malvern 

to contest what always proves to be a close fixture. Bolstered 

by the inclusion of Fred Earlam, but without a few of the 

more experienced senior players due to Exam Leave, the 

young team batted well, posting a huge target of 275 for 4 

after 40 overs. Fred Earlam, opening the batting, scored 113 

from 62 balls and was ably supported by Harry Gregson who 

scored 74 from 66 balls. James Harris posted a useful 34 from 

27 and Antony Koch de Gooreynd chipped in with 15*. In 

reply Malvern made a strong start, getting to 97 after 12 overs, 

before losing their first wicket. But three wickets apiece for 

the spinners, Ed Moore and Fred Earlam helped Shrewsbury 

to dismiss the home side for 220 in 30 overs. 

Rain put paid to the following match against Manchester 

Grammar, so next up was a long journey to Bedford. On a 

grey and showery afternoon it was a desperate shame that 

we were not blessed with clement weather, as a potentially 

competitive match was abandoned after only 12 overs. 

The final match of the season saw the visit of several familiar 

faces in a strong Saracens team, led by George Thomason. 

The 2nd XI made a good start with Antony Koch de 

Gooreynd leading the way with two catches in the first few 

overs to dismiss Jamie Bird and the dangerous Matt Gregson. 

Then Harry Croft and George Hanmer pushed the score on 

to 85 before the next wicket fell. With the score on 132 for 6 

after 21 overs, Shrewsbury had a good chance to contain the 

Saracens innings. However, a 150-run partnership between 

Steve Barnard (94 from 59 balls) and Henry Blofield (50* 

from 51 balls) helped the visitors to 301 for 7 from their 40

34 

SCHOOL NEWS 

overs. Chasing such a large score was always going to be 

challenging against such a strong side. The opening pair 

of Paul Sharpe (37) and Harry Schofield (16) made a good 

start, but when Fred Adair and Fred Earlam failed to make 

and impact, the score slumped to 79 for 4 before a flurry of 

wickets left the 2nd XI 101 all out. 

So it was a disappointing end to a season which was blighted 

by weather and exams. Cricket is a game which tests skill 

and concentration and it was not easy to get any momentum 

with such a staccato rhythm to the season. Yet there were 

highlights to savour; Fred Earlam’s excellent performance at 

Malvern stands out, but the recovery to win against Repton 

was also sweet. It was a pleasure to work with such a willing 

group of boys and testament to their commitment that, 

despite the increasing pressure of exams, they were keen 

to pull on their whites for the team. Leading batsmen were 

Fred Earlam with 124 runs at 41.3, Fred Adair with 109 runs 

at 27.3 and Paul Sharpe, who started the season at number 

11 but finished with 86 runs at an average of 43! Leading 

bowlers included George Birt with 7 wickets at an average 

of 8.4 and Freddie Rowley also with 7 wickets, at an average 

of 14. Many of the Lower Sixth worked hard to improve in 

the second half of the season and with more maturity and 

the lessons learned from this year, they will provide a sound 

foundation for senior cricket at Shrewsbury next season. 

Matthew Barrett 

U17 XI 

U17s School Sports Cup 

1st Round Shrewsbury v Ellesmere 

(Home) 

Ellesmere 107 for 8 (Cooke 5 for 22) 

Shrewsbury 108 for 1 (Home 45 n.o.) 

2nd Round Shrewsbury v Wrekin 

(Away) won by 8 wkts 

Wrekin 103 for 6 (Lloyd 2 for 18) 

Shrewsbury 104 for 2 (Hargrave 37 n.o. 

Panayi 35 n.o.) 

3rd Round Shrewsbury v Myerscough 

(Home) won by 7 wkts 

Myerscough 160 for 8 

Shrewsbury 163 for 3 (Garrett 63 n.o. 

Panayi 56 n.o.) 

19th June Shrewsbury v Sedbergh U17 

Cup lost by 3 runs 

Sedbergh 236 for 9 

Shrewsbury 233 for 4 (Adair 60 Panayi 

54 n.o. Hargrave 53) 

U16A XI 

Played 6 Won 4 Lost 2 

A most encouraging season with a 

hard-working and committed group of 

boys. Paddy Jacob, George Hargrave 

and Charlie Home spent much of 

the time playing in the 1st X1, but 

this provided good opportunities for 

others to come in take their chance. 

The side was well captained by Harry 

Gregson who proved to be a force 

with both bat and ball. Other notable 

batting performances came from Dan 

Orchard, Josh Malyon and Oliver Dixon 

who all played some quality innings 

at times. The pick of the bowlers was 

Ross Orchard who bowled with pace 

and accuracy. Arthur Price produced 

some decent spells of off-spin and 

George Pearce and Joe Thevathasan 

probed away with their seamers. The 

team fielded very well as a unit and 

there were some excellent run outs and 

catches. It is hoped that this group of 

players will continue to train hard and 

enjoy their cricket as a number of them 

could play at a good level in the Sixth 

Form. 

U16B XI 


The first was a (by now) traditional 

T20 fixture at Bedstone. We were never 

sure what a good total was on this 

ground; while our run rate was always 

sound, we did lose wickets rather too 

regularly, particularly of our potentially 

destructive batsmen, and slowed down 

in the final overs as a result. We ended 

up getting to 91. George Pearce 20 off 

20 balls, Tom Atkin 17 from 14, 

George Chaplin 16 from 18. 

We started to defend this total with 

energy, not giving width. But, unlike 

us, Bedstone’s numbers 2 & 3 hung on 

(George Pearce bowled their #1 for 1 

run). Bertie Calvert came into the attack 

and was the pick of the bowlers (his 

first over was a maiden) but it was too 

late as Bedstone were already 74 off 13 

overs. Bedstone won by 9 wickets with 

more than 4 overs to spare. George 

Pearce 4 overs 15-1. Bertie Calvert 1.2 

overs 6-0. 

After exams a hybrid As/Bs team 

headed down to South Shropshire 

again, to play a mixed Lucton/Ludlow 

team. It soon became clear that we 

were rather strong for them, so Harry 

Gregson was retired for scoring too 

fast while Dan Orchard remained, 

aiming to make his first 50 playing 

for Shrewsbury School. Sadly on 44 

he tried to get there in one shot and 

was bowled. Having reduced the 

match to 16 overs each way we scored 

141. Gregson 35 (ret). D.Orchard 

44. G.Pearce 21*.We then kept the 

opposition to 76. T.Atkin 2-0-8-3. 

J.Malyon 2-0-6-0. A.Price 2-0-15-2. 

J.Thevathasan 3-1-17-1. 

B.Calvert 3-0-11-1. 

U15A XI 


I have never before started a review of a cricket season 

with a quote from G. K. Chesterton. Until today. 

“There are two ways to get enough. One is to continue to 

accumulate more and more. The other is to desire less.” 

In today’s materialistic society, there may well be some 

truth in that statement. However, in the quest for sporting 

satisfaction, our desires this year were left, in some 

senses, unfulfilled. 

Let us get the disappointments out of the way early in the 

piece. The U15s finished the season with a sole trophy to 

show for their efforts – the Shropshire ESCA T20 title, won 

by defeating a strong Ellesmere College side that had beaten 

them in the County Final 12 months previously. We were 

caught in a three-way tie at the end of season festival at 

Uppingham, eventually missing out on the trophy due to 

run rate, and lost to Malvern College in the semi-final at the 

Midlands T20 Finals day. 

I often despair at football managers blaming their most 

recent defeat on everything from the fixture schedule to the 

alignment of the planets, but in this case there are some 

significant mitigating circumstances. The 12-man squad we 

took to the U15 festival at Uppingham contained seven


by the experience of a Christmas tour to Dubai and 

South Africa, they are now a group containing some high 

quality cricketers. 

U14s (who will benefit hugely from the experience), and 

contained only one of our first choice seam bowlers. Had 

we had just one of the six first choice players who were 

absent available to us, our defeat by Eton (they chased our 

total 9 wickets down from the last ball of the game) would 

surely have been reversed, and we would have returned 

home as comfortable champions. 

Having worked so hard to reach the Midlands T20 Finals 

day, it was, in all honesty, galling to be forced to contest the 

title with a side shorn of a further three players from earlier 

in the week in Uppingham. Huge thanks goes to those who 

stepped in at the last minute to enable us to field a side. 

The fact that we reached 149-9 in response to 174, set by 

a Malvern College side featuring three Midlands batsmen, 

whilst missing an incredible EIGHT first choice players, is a 

credit to the boys involved, as it is to the quality of cricket 

at Shrewsbury. The scheduling of the latter stages of this 

competition needs to be looked at in future, as with a full 

strength side, and without a whiff of arrogance, we could 

have been national champions. 

The 15/6 win loss ratio was in itself impressive, given that 

injury deprived us of the services of our best batsman and 

our best bowler for virtually the entire season. Jamie Crawley 

missed eight weeks due to a hamstring injury, while a stress 

fracture of the back limited George Garrett to a solitary spell 

of three overs during the whole campaign. I am not sure how 

many school sides could have coped with that sort of loss as 

well as we did. 

The fact that we did was down to a huge amount of skill, 

commitment and hard work from the boys. Huge strides were 

made by many of them, and their attitude and application 

during what was a long, hard summer, was faultless. Buoyed 

The bowling group had relied heavily on Garrett last year, 

and his absence presented an opportunity for others to 

seize. Tom Brunskill emerged as the leader of the attack, 

taking 33 wickets at 11.79. He was economical, penetrative 

and dependable, and was one of several who deservedly 

earned a call up to the 1st XI later in the season. Lucien 

Whitworth improved immeasurably and deserved more than 

his still impressive tally of 14 wickets at 12.29. He has good 

control, moves the ball both ways, and will gain more pace 

as he matures. Rob Ford was the definition of endeavour, 

working hard on all aspects of his game, and finished 

with 24 wickets at 22.75. His commitment in the field was 

exceptional. Ed Stapleton possesses real pace, and if he is 

prepared to work hard then he can improve significantly. 

As far as the batsmen go, it is very pleasing to report that no 

fewer than nine players recorded scores of 50 or more – an 

impressive achievement. Jordan Zaza (528 @ 31), George 

Garrett (468 @ 36), and Lysander Adair (403 @ 31) were 

the heaviest scorers over the season, but special mention 

must also go to Daniel Humes (352 @ 27 as an U14, as well 

as some top quality work behind the stumps), and Jamie 

Crawley (344 @ 43 in only 11 innings). Tom Brunskill also 

added 320 runs @ 27 to go with his efforts with the ball. 

I must also take time to write about our captain George 

Garrett. During what was an incredibly frustrating time 

for him personally, he scored runs consistently, captained 

intelligently, and was an absolute pleasure to be around - as 

were all the boys. In his final game on tour before injury 

struck, he knocked over the top order of a top quality South 

African side, taking 5-10. It does not take much to imagine 

what he would have done against far lesser batsmen had he 

been fit this summer. 

While the issue of availability eventually robbed us of more 

silverware, it did afford me a chance to see more of next 

year’s squad in action. While there is plenty of work to do, 

there is also much to look forward to. 

Despite my mentions of disappointment for not finishing 

the season with more trophies, the primary aim will always 

be player development. We will often rotate the batting 

order in order to give chances to other players, and we will 

regularly expose bowlers to bowling at different stages of 

the innings. As a result we will occasionally lose matches, 

but this is all part of the learning process. In terms of their 

progression this season, there is an enormous amount for 

the boys to be proud of, and the lessons they have learned 

over the past few months will stand them in good stead for 

the future. There is every chance that as many as eight of 

this squad can now press on and look for a 1st XI place.I 

would like to finish by thanking Andy Barnard and Paul 

Pridgeon for all their support during the season, as well as 

Andy Richards and his team for providing facilities that are 

absolutely deserving of the term “First Class”. Our young 

cricketers really do have the privilege of playing on some 

fantastic pitches. 

Going back to G. K. Chesterton – in a sporting sense, while 

we must accept that sometimes we do not get all we want 

or deserve, the fire will always burn within, and we will 

never desire less. 

Adam Shantry

36 

SCHOOL NEWS 

U15B XI 


Will Shawe-Taylor (O) and James Argyle (M) were our 

opening batsmen and were consistent across the term, 

starting innings off with patient productivity. Harry Wasdell 

(Rt) contributed plenty of runs as well as proving to be an 

organised and methodical captain. Matt Clay (I) and Zak 

Nicholas (R) were our mid-order big-hitters. Humphreys 

(Rt), Sykes (Rt) and Wasdell (Rt) provided the seam bowling, 

with varied success, and Greetham brought some beguiling 

spin to the attack. A very successful term overall and some 

especially impressive wins over the likes of Bedford, Millfield 

and Malvern. Sedbergh was our only ‘block’ defeat when the 

team was much weakened by depletions to the teams above. 

U15 Girls XI Cricket 

Played 14 Won 11 Lost 3 Drew 0 

The U15 Girls had a brilliant first season. It started at the 

end of the Lent Term with the Lady Taverner’s Indoor 

Tournament where the girls progressed to the County Final. 

Unfortunately, the very busy end of term logistics unsettled 

any decent preparation and the girls were narrowly defeated 

in the group stage. As the summer arrived the girls played 

five school fixtures and finished the year by competing in the 

Shropshire Cricket Board U15 Tournament. 

Qualifying Tournament Results 

Shrewsbury School v Meole Brace 

Shrewsbury School: 86-3 (8 overs) 

Lizzy Ware 15 retired, Mimi Ashworth 15 retired, 

Phoebe Wasdell 17 retired 

Meole Brace: 43-4 (8 overs) 

Emma Graham 2 wickets, Sophia Breese 1 wicket, 

Rosie Davis 1 wicket 

Shrewsbury School v Mary Webb 

Mary Webb: 62-5 (8 overs) 

Emma Graham 1 wicket, Sophia Breese 3 wickets, Phoebe 

Wasdell 1 wicket 

Shrewsbury School: 63-4 (6.2 overs) 

Emma Graham 10, Sophia Breese 14 not out, 

Mimi Ashworth 8 

Including the two tournaments, the girls played a total of 14 

matches and won 11. 

The most exciting match played was when the girls lost 

to Moreton in the School Sports National Cup in a closely 

fought contest. The game started well enough with the 

opening bowler Emma Graham (MSH) taking two wickets 

in the first over. Millie Home of Moreton then put on 63 

n.o. and Moreton’s final score was 151-6. The heavens 

opened during Shrewsbury School’s innings and while 

Sophia Breese (EDH) made an excellent 52 n.o., we 

could only manage 144 in reply. The conditions really 

did work against us on the day. After this loss, there were 

substantial victories against Charlton School, Bromsgrove 

School, Malvern College (U16) and Shrewsbury High 

School. Special mention goes to Sophia Breese (EDH) 

who scored 103 in 4 innings and Nina Lange (G) who 

scored 40 off 12 balls against SHS. With the ball, Phoebe 

Wasdell (MSH) had figures of 38-6 and Rosie Davis (EDH) 

40-6. Nina Lange also took some rather special, athletic 

catches and she will be sorely missed next season. This 

all bodes well for the future of girls’ cricket at the school. 

Shrewsbury School Girls XI - From L-R Back Row: Tilly Reynolds, Sophia Dixon, Nina Lange, Libby Hedges, Lizzy Ware, 

From L-R Front Row: Sophia Breese, Katie Oswald, Mimi Ashworth, Emma Graham, Phoebe Wasdell, Rosie Davis


Tennis 

This term was the first term of tennis 

where we integrated the new junior 

girls into mixed squads at U15 level 

based on standard of play. This was of 

mutual benefit to both the boys and 

girls and allowed for more competition 

in squads. 

The most successful pair for the 

first VI this year were Charlie Davis 

(O UVI) and Ollie Pumphrey (O, U6). 

This pair started the season as 1st pair 

of the second team but progressed 

dramatically and fully merited their 

1st pair status by the end of the 

term. Deserving of a special mention 

is Alex Loumidis (Rt III) who won 

both the U15 and U18 school tennis 

tournaments beating Lucas Paul (Rb 

IV) in one final and Charlie Davis 

in the other (see photos). Alex has 

played a lot of competitive tennis and 

his shot selection and range of shots 

are well beyond what you would 

expect from a 14-year-old. Alex has 

also played in all the 1st VI matches 

this year. The team as a whole did not 

perform as well as anticipated. The 

team was massively weakened by the 

long term injury of Alex Webb and 

were further weakened by the loss 

of Jack Fox for most of the term with 

a wrist injury. This meant that Alex 

Loumidis lacked a regular partner. 

Unfortunately Captain Tom Robinson 

and Henry Clay were unable to 

produce the good form of their lower 

sixth year and struggled to contribute 

enough set wins. Close losses against 

Warwick, Cheltenham and Uppingham 

resulted against very beatable 

opposition. 

The best school tennis team this year 

were the U15A team who registered 

excellent wins against Ellesmere, 

Uppingham, Malvern, Warwick and 

Cheltenham. The seven 4th formers 

who played so well for the team 

were Lucas Paul (c), Tom Bromley- 

Davenport, Jom Umpujh, James 

Gisbourne, Ally Harris, Mungo 

Hargreaves and James Powell. Great 

things are hoped for from this group of 

players who make up the best seven 

players from a single year group in my 

eight years in charge of tennis. 

On the girls’ side Nina Lange (G III) 

and Tilly Reynolds deserve a mention 

for winning the Rugby Tournament 

U15 and for getting to the semi finals 

of the Midlands U18 girls tournament. 

The final of the Rugby Tournament 

was very memorable as Nina and Tilly 

saved four consecutive match points 

and six consecutive points in total to 

win the trophy. They showed a terrific 

mental strength that all the boys could 

learn from. 

Player of the year was Charlie Davis 

(PH UVI) who played with tenacity and 

full commitment. Next year’s captain 

of tennis is Jack Fox (PH LVI). A Junior 

first was awarded to Alex Webb for his 

superb play in third and fourth form. 

Ridgemount won both senior and 

junior tennis competitions beating 

Port Hill and Rigg’s in the finals 

respectively. Ridgemount were also 

House squash champions, beating 

Severn Hill in the final. 

Myles Harding


RSSBC 

The Summer term provided the usual frenzy of racing and training for the Boat Club, with crews 

from various age groups racing every weekend. After productive training camps in France for the 

Seniors and J16s and Pangbourne for the J15s, the boats got their first taste of sprint racing at Holme 

Pierrepoint, Nottingham in a private fixture with King’s Chester. With two coach loads of pupils 

and two fully laden trailers, the match provided a great opportunity for our novice oarsmen to get 

acquainted with the venue and the logistics of getting attached onto stake boats and racing six abreast. 

The crews raced in a time trial over 1750m, followed by seeded 2000m side by side finals. 

To finish off, the crews raced six abreast in two 500m races, which produced some exciting finishes. 

The second weekend of the term 

saw crews competing at both the 

national Junior Inter Regional Regatta 

(JIRR) and the Birmingham Regatta. 

Highlights included a medal-winning 

performance by the J14 boys’ quad at 

JIRR and the first-ever win for the J14 

girls at Birmingham. 

Girls’ Quad Birmingham Regatta 

the event, Elite Eights, and the J18 

Eights event. 

On the second May Bank Holiday 

weekend the Boat Club had 14 crews 

competing at the National Schools’ 

Regatta. There was a strong showing 

across all of the age groups, with 12 

crews reaching semi-finals and seven 

crews going on to make the finals of 

their events and claim a spot in the 

top six in the country. The best result 

came from the J14A Octuple, who 

won a tremendous bronze medal in 

what is always a tightly contested 

event. Congratulations to the crew of: 

Ben Holehouse, Petr Rostokin, Elliot 

Crossley, Alexander Davies, Josh Evans, 

Edward Hart, Jack Lockett, Adam 

Pattenden and Boss Lertthundorn. 

fastest eight, coxed four, pair and scull 

at the Regatta to claim the Senior Victor 

Ludorum, alongside wins for the 2nd 

VIII and J15 Four. 

1st VIII Chester Regatta 

J15 Four Chester Regatta 

J14 Quad JIRR 

The first May Bank holiday weekend 

saw five Shrewsbury crews race at 

the Wallingford Regatta. The pick 

of the results came from the 1st VIII 

who won their heat in an impressive 

fashion, beating Abingdon’s, Radley’s 

and Hampton’s 1st VIIIs in the process. 

Unfortunately weather conditions 

deteriorated through the day, which 

meant the finals were unable to be 

raced and prizes were awarded based 

on times. So the crew didn’t get to race 

the final and lost out on time to the 

winners of the other heat, St Paul’s, by 

three seconds. The 1st Girls’ Quad also 

had an excellent result, coming in third 

overall in their event. 

The 1st VIII continued their promising 

form at the Bedford Regatta where 

they recorded two encouraging wins 

by winning both the premier race of 

J14 A Octuple National Schools 

The 1st VIII put in a strong showing 

with a gutsy row that saw them sitting 

in 2nd place for most of the race in a 

very competitive field. Unfortunately 

they slipped down to 5th in the closing 

stages of the race. Results in brief: J14A 

Octuple 3rd, J14B Octuple 3rd in Semifinal, 

Girls J14A Octuple 6th in Semi- 

Final, Girls’ J15 Scull 26th out of 45 in 

Time trial, J15A VIII 5th in Final, J15B 

VIII 6th in Semi-final, J16A VIII 4th in 

Semi Final, J16B VIII 5th in Final, 3rd 

VIII 5th in Final, 2nd VIII 6th in Final, 

1st VIII 5th in Final, Girls’ Quad 4th in 

Semi Final, 1st Four 4th in Final. 

The second half of term saw a 

successful day’s racing at the Chester 

Regatta. The School produced the 

Henley Women’s Regatta 

The Senior Girls’ Quad took part in the 

time trial from which 19 entrants would 

be reduced to 16. The crew was the 

third fastest down the track, putting 

them in strong contention in the event. 

Their first side by side race was against 

a composite crew from Doncaster, 

Bradford and Lincoln Rowing Clubs. 

The girls stormed down the first 

500 metres of the course, putting 

themselves in a strong position and 

enabling them to lower the rate and 

control the remainder of the race and 

secure an ‘easily’ verdict. As the crew 

boated for their second round against 

Staines Rowing Club the heavens 

opened, drenching the course in a 

heavy rain storm. The girls were not 

deterred by the soggy conditions and 

once again put on a display of strong 

oarswoman-ship, leading the race from 

start to finish and winning with a lead 

of three and a half lengths.

SCHOOL NEWS 

39 

2nd VIII at Henley 

The win against Staines saw the crew 

take their place in the semi-final against 

Surbiton High School, bronze medallists 

from National Schools. The girls knew 

this would be their toughest race of 

the weekend and charged out of the 

stake boats level with Surbiton. At the 

barrier Surbiton took a length on the 

Shrewsbury crew and despite holding 

them at this length throughout the race, 

they were not able to take back the 

distance and lost to Surbiton by one 

and a third lengths. 

Henley Royal Regatta 

The Senior Girls’ squad has continued 

to grow in strength and performance 

over the past three years and the 

Girls’ Quad made history this summer 

by becoming Shrewsbury’s first ever 

girls’ crew to qualify for the Henley 

Royal Regatta. They faced a crew 

from Henley Rowing Club in their first 

round race in the event and although 

they put up a good show, they were 

unable to turn over the well-drilled 

Henley crew. Despite the loss, their 

qualification for the final was a 

tremendous result that provided an 

extremely positive end to the season, 

along with the crew’s result at Henley 

Women’s Regatta. 

Girls’ Quad at Henley 

The boys’ 1st VIII were drawn against 

Hampton School for their first round 

race at Henley, having been knocked 

out by Hampton in the second round 

in 2014. The crew had had the better 

of Hampton throughout the season and 

were hoping to repeat their positive 

run on the hot and humid Wednesday 

afternoon of 1st July. 

Despite some very encouraging speed 

shown in the lead up to the event, the 

crew did not manage to reproduce it 

when needed and were sluggish out 

of the starting blocks, with Hampton 

creating clear water between them 

through the first timing marker. The 

crew held their rhythm and closed 

the gap through the middle of the 

race but struggled to overhaul the 

Hampton crew that were growing 

with confidence as the race drew on. 

Hampton held on to win by threequarters 

of a length. The result was 

bitterly disappointing for the 1st VIII 

who had covered a significant number 

of miles on the water and time in the 

gym in preparation for the Regatta. 

St Paul’s School, 2nd at Schools’ Head 

and National Schools, produced a 

storming final to turn over the Schools’ 

Head, and National Schools winners 

Westminster in the final. 

Home Countries Regatta 

Paddy George, George Patterson, 

Toby Thomas, Charlie Johnston, 

Freddie Bonthrone, Abigail Reynolds 

and Lettie Tay were all selected to 

represent Wales at the Home Countries 

Regatta held at Strathclyde Country Park 

in Scotland in the summer holidays. 

Athol Hundermark

40 

SCHOOL NEWS 

Victoria, Sabrina and Williams 

Sculls 2015 

This annual early season tester from the 

Greyfriar’s Bridge to the Priory Stone 

saw competitive racing at all levels, and 

a chance for those who had trained 

well over the summer to show the 

improvements they had made. 

Patrick George (M) earned the Victoria 

Sculls (J18) title, ahead of Lower Sixth 

entrant Matt Rowe (SH) in second and 

Henry Thomas (Ch) in third. In the 

equivalent girls’ competition, Lower 

Sixth Former Alys Howells (MSH) won 

ahead of Sian Hinton (G) and Abi 

Reynolds (G), who both raced in the 

RSSBC quad at Henley Royal Regatta in 

the summer. 

The Sabrina Sculls (J16) was won by Ed 

Lewis (Rb), second placed Max Craik 

(PH) and third placed Bryce Rutter (PH) 

were mere seconds behind him. Eleanor 

Fox (G) was the fastest Fifth Form girl in 

a time that placed her 4th amongst the 

Sixth Form. 

Adam Pattenden (S) and Tessa Scott-Bell 

(MSH) won the Williams Sculls (J15). 

Adam’s impressive performance placed 

him 8th overall. 

Louis Nares (Rb) and Issy Lewis (EDH) 

won the Junior Williams crowns. 

Moser’s Hall and The Grove took the 

team Senior Challenge Sculls titles. 

*** we are currently researching the 

history of the VSW Sculls, so if any 

OS remember what the course was 

in their time, or have any old results 

sheets lurking at the back of the 

wardrobe, please could they contact 

the master i/c House Rowing, 

Rob Wilson (rmw@shrewsbury.org.uk) 

Eleanor Fox 

Izzy Lewis 

Patrick George 

Tessa Scott-Bell 

Alys Howells 

Ed Lewis 

Adam Pattenden 

Bumps 2015 

The ongoing domination of the Bumping Races by Rigg’s Hall in 

recent years continued this year with Rigg’s I claiming the Head of 

the River trophy for the seventh year in a row (another new record). 

They also claimed the headship in divisions two and three. Whispers 

on the towpath suggest that this run may end next year, but these 

rumours have been flying around for at least five years now! 

Emma Darwin Hall finished as the highest girls’ house, but The Grove 

will be hot on their heels next year. 

Rigg’s also claimed the Leadbitter Cup, and The Grove the Birt 

Trophy – both awarded for points earned in rowing competitions 

throughout the year.


RSSH 

“That has to be one of the best days of my life,” says Henry as we sit around a campfire under an 

African starlit sky. That morning we had been up at first light for a 10km run in a remote corner 

of Kenya, a herd of zebra and antelopes cantering alongside us as we’d moved as a pack across the 

Laikipia plains, giraffe and elephants looking on inquisitively as we crossed the finish line. It was 

breathtaking - not least because we were running at 8,000ft altitude - and for each of us a truly 

memorable experience. Later that afternoon we had hopped on the back of pickup vehicles and 

travelled to a nearby conservancy where cameras had clicked enthusiastically as a vast array 

of impressive African beasts passed before us, culminating in the rare sighting of a cheetah kill 

right in front of the group. A quick dip in the swimming pool of Shrewsbury parents Aidan and 

Claire Hartley at their home- Palagalan Farm- and then down to the campfire for 

T-Bone steaks and boerewors. What a day indeed. 

The Hunt had initially travelled 

to East Africa in October 2013 

following an invitation from the club’s 

first Coach in Residence, Ethiopian 

legend Sentayehu Eshetu, who had 

spent a week at Shrewsbury the 

previous year. He had suggested that 

we follow up his visit with the ‘return 

leg’ and stay with him in the famous 

‘Town of Runners’: Bekoji in Ethiopia. 

The inaugural trip had proved such a 

success that we felt compelled to offer 

the experience once again, this time to 

a new group of Salopian runners eager 

to embrace new challenges and reach 

new heights in their running. 

If it was heights they were looking 

for, it was heights they got, with 

much of our time spent running 

at an altitude ranging from 8,000ft 

in Kenya’s Great Rift Valley to the 

lung-bursting 10,000ft in Ethiopia. 

The impact of training at this height 

is quite significant, and it is not easy 

running in those conditions. We were 

asking a lot from our young up-andcoming 

runners, but it is to their great 

credit that they rose to the challenge. 

The majority of our time in Kenya was 

spent in Iten to the west of the country, 

staying at the internationally-acclaimed 

Lornah Kiplagat Centre. This has been 

the training base for the likes of Mo 

Farah and Paula Radcliffe in the past, 

and in fact, the week after we left, 

over a dozen of the UK athletics team 

moved in for their three-month training 

block in Kenya. It is an inspiring place, 

and has been the breeding ground for 

countless Olympic gold medalists and 

world record holders, not least 800m 

world record holder David Rudisha 

who went to the local St Patrick’s 

school. The school has more Olympic 

medalists than most western nations! 

The self-proclaimed ‘Town of 

Champions’ is home to literally 

thousands of full-time athletes, and 

there is a unique thrill in training in 

the same small town as so many of 

the world’s best athletes. One morning 

during our stay we were able to meet 

one such athlete following his morning 

gym session at the Lornah Kiplagat 

Centre- Emmanuel Mutai. With a time 

of 2.03.13, Mutai is the second fastest 

man ever over the marathon distance 

yet took the time to speak to our young 

runners and was remarkably humble in 

describing his career. 

Amongst the highlights of our time in 

Kenya would be training on the 

famous Kamariny track that has as its 

backdrop a good few thousand-foot 

drop down into the Great Rift Valley 

with views across the escarpment for 

hundreds of miles. We were challenged 

in our running, taking on some long 

distance runs through the forests of Iten 

and in speedwork sessions, and indeed 

some quite tortuous core sessions led 

by top Kenyan 800m runner Timo Limo. 

Similarly, when we travelled north to 

Ethiopia, we were put through our paces 

in the town of Bekoji where we were 

reunited with Coach Sentayehu Eshetu. 

A track session just about killed me as 

I was cruelly placed in the elite men’s 

marathon group by Coach (was it 

something I had said?) and, without even 

time to question the sanity of the decision 

was forced into embarking upon the 

session of 5 sets of 5 laps run at 3min/ 

km pace. I managed one set before 

genuinely believing my lungs were about 

to explode. I quietly drifted down into 

a more realistic group and hoped that 

nobody had noticed. 

Our runners were hugely impressive in 

the way in which they coped with the 

demands placed upon them. 

They earned the respect of the Bekoji 

athletes (approximately 100-150 turn up 

for every session) when they completed 

Coach’s grueling endurance run in the 

eucalyptus forest, and in turn, we were


hugely grateful for the warm welcome 

we received from the Ethiopian athletes 

and the town itself. Greeted with 

cheers of ‘Farangi!’ wherever we went 

(‘foreigner’) there was sheer delight 

in the faces of the town’s residents 

(especially the children) whenever we 

ran past them. This is a rarely-visited 

part of Africa where foreigners are very 

rarely seen. Yet there was no hostility, 

only hospitality of the very best sort. 

It was an eye-opener for our students 

to see a town where horse and cart is 

the main form of transport, and where 

electricity cannot be relied upon (one 

of my favourite memories of the tour 

was eating a version of what we might 

call ‘pizza’ in candlelight following 

a whole-town blackout, listening to 

the mellifluous jazz of Charlie Parker 

from one of the boy’s iPods). We saw 

- both in Ethiopia and Kenya - a level 

of ambition and determination that is 

rarely seen in the western world. They 

have so little, yet dream big. There is 

an incredible belief that anything is 

possible. That hunger to succeed is 

contagious and the young Salopians on 

our tour were moved and inspired by 

the people who they met. 

Perhaps most memorable and inspiring 

of all was our visit to the Restart Centre 

in Gilgil, home to just over 100 orphans 

and street children from the surrounding 

area. Set up by Mary Coulson in 2008 

in the aftermath of horrific post-election 

violence, this is a quite remarkable 

place. It was the third time I had 

personally visited the Centre and each 

time I have left feeling humbled and 

inspired in equal measure by both Mary 

and the Restart children. Many have 

been subjected to the most appalling 

At the Restart Centre 

violence and abuse, many have had that 

most basic need - a mother and father 

who love them - taken from them. Yet 

these are some of the happiest, vibrant, 

and resilient young boys and girls you 

are ever likely to meet. Now housed in 

an impressive new facility in Langalanga, 

somebody has made sure that the 

Centre’s motto has been repainted on 

the walls of the new building - “Think 

Not What You Are, But What You Can 

Become”. It was a message that our 

Hunt runners took to heart, and I have 

no doubt that their experiences in East 

Africa over half-term will not only stay 

with them for a lifetime, but impact 

upon who they will become. The eleven 

boys and two girls who travelled with 

us were a great credit to the School and 

were terrific company throughout the 

trip. It was an absolute privilege to take 

them there. 

Third Form Race 

Looking further back to the start of 

the School year, the Michaelmas term 

got off to a flying start with the annual 

Third Form Race on the first weekend 

in September. This year’s race was set to 

be a cracker with many assembling on 

the startline having already shown their 

mettle in Shrewsbury’s Prep Schools’ 

Cross-Country Championships. We were 

quietly optimistic that this could be 

something of a ‘vintage’ year group, and 

we weren’t to be disappointed. 

At the Huntsman’s rallying cry of “All 

Hounds who wish to run - run hard, 

run well, and may the Devil take the 

hindmost!” there was a stampede of 

runners sprinting towards the Moss 

Gates in an attempt to establish an 

early lead. With Huntsman Oscar 

Dickins (joint Huntsman this year with 

Ben Remnant) running as ‘hare’, it 

was Severn Hill’s Sam Western who 

unsurprisingly emerged at the front of 

the pack by the Maidment Building. In 

the chasing pack, amongst others, was 

Sam’s former classmate from Birchfield 

Lilian Wilcox who was comfortably 

leading the girls’ race. These were leads 

that both Sam and Lilian held for the 

entire race with Sam coming home for 

his first ‘kill’ in a swift time of 8.16 over 

the Benjies course, nearly 30 seconds 

ahead of Thomas Jackson (Rigg’s) in 

2nd with a time of 8.44 and Severn 

Hill’s Leo Walton in 3rd (8.48). Lilian’s 

winning time of 9.29 placed her 13th 

overall in the field - an outstanding 

achievement - with Laura Elliot of The 

Grove in 2nd (10.28) and Mary Lees of 

Emma Darwin Hall just behind in 3rd 

with a time of 10.34. The team event 

was won by Rigg’s Hall for the second 

year in a row with Emma Darwin Hall 

being crowned victors in the girls’ event. 

The times across the board were very 

swift indeed, and compared to previous 

years suggests that the years ahead for 

the Hunt look very promising indeed. 

We are beginning to see the fruits of the 

Prep Schools’ Championships where 

many who compete in our event are 

keen to join the School and our special 

running club.

SCHOOL NEWS 

43 

The Tucks 

Of course, the major focus of the 

term is the annual Tucks race, which 

once again proved a high-octane 

affair with the top athletes in the 

School competing for the laurels. 

Uniquely, of course, the whole 

School take part in the race, with 

both pupils and staff toeing the line 

and tackling the mud, stiles and 

tarmac of the three-mile course. 

Dr Gee was first out of the blocks 

an hour or so before the official line, 

but given this was his 55th time he 

had run in the Tucks, we allowed 

him this concession! 

As the hooter sounded for the start 

of the official race, the anticipated 

frenetic sprint start was once again 

seen, with all 130 of the 1st Wave 

runners bidding to get out quickly 

and squeeze through the small gap 

at the end of the field first. There 

were a few fallers at this stage in 

scenes reminiscent of the Grand 

National, but thankfully no injuries. 

Olivia was the ever-improving 

Passy Goddard of The Grove and, 

impressively, Third Former Lilian 

Wilcox in the bronze medal position. 

This is an outstanding effort from 

someone so young and bodes well 

for the future. 

In the boys’ race, the Rigg’s duo of 

Oscar Dickins and Freddie Huxley- 

Fielding worked well as a pair 

together to break up the field and 

ensure that a Rigg’s runner would 

bring home the Hector Rose Bowl 

for the first time since 1998. In the 

end, it was Huntsman Oscar Dickins 

who broke the tape first for the 

‘kill’ in a very quick time of 17.41 

(the fastest time in the modern era 

was George Mallett’s 17.20 in 2011), 

with Huxley-Fielding just behind 

him. After a year of injury, it was 

wonderful to see this talented runner 

back in form, and this bodes well for 

the Hunt’s season ahead. 

Behind Dickins and Huxley- 

Fielding was perhaps the surprise 

of the day, with Ridgemount runner 

Harry Adair completing the podium 

and narrowly edging out last year’s 

winner Charlie Tait-Harris. Like 

the leading Riggites, Severn Hill 

seemed to opt for ‘coupling up’, 

with Scott Hatton coming home 

alongside Tait-Harris in 5th place. 

The team event was therefore in 

the balance and with three runners 

in the top ten, Rigg’s were hopeful 

of bringing home the Mallett Team 

Trophy as well as the Hector Rose 

Bowl. However, it wasn’t to be, 

for in a very close affair it was 

Severn Hill who emerged top by 

just 6 points, with all of their eight 

‘counters’ coming home in the top 

40. Churchill’s completed the team 

podium in the boys’ race, whilst 

in the girls’ event The Grove were 

crowned team champions for the 

second year in a row. 

It has been a busy and exciting 

term of running and with The 

Paperchases, the Old Salopian 

Race and the Shrewsbury Relays 

to come, there is plenty more still 

to come. There is an optimism in 

the air about the season ahead 

and with a depth of talent that 

surpasses all previous seasons, this 

is perhaps the most exciting Hunt 

squad for a generation. There is 

a shared sense of belief, a shared 

sense of ambition, and we are all 

committed to our goals. Watch this 

space… 

Peter Middleton 

The big hitters amongst The Hunt 

were out in force in a bid to bring 

home the Hector Rose Bowl for the 

winner of the boys’ race and the 

newly-gifted Mobley Cup for the 

girls. The first winner of the latter 

was - appropriately enough - this 

year’s Captain of Girls’ Running 

Olivia Papaioannou. Despite a 

niggling Achilles injury the week 

before, she put in a commanding 

performance and ensured that her 

name will be etched on to this 

new trophy, which has kindly been 

donated by the Mobley family in 

recognition of the achievements 

of their daughter Tory, last year’s 

Captain of Girls’ Running. Behind 

L-R: Lillian Wilcox, Pascale Goddard, Olivia Papaioannou, Oscar Dickins, Harry Adair, 

Freddie Huxley-Fielding

44 

SCHOOL NEWS 

Athletics 

With temperatures climbing into the mid-20s at times on Tuesday 23rd June, 

conditions were very pleasant for spectators but not necessarily ideal for the 

competitors in the School’s fourth Sports Day since it was resurrected in 2012. 

Nevertheless, the performances on the day were very impressive indeed, and a 

number of School records were broken. The atmosphere of cheerful enthusiasm 

and a general ethos of ‘pitching in’ for the team made for an extremely 

enjoyable event. 

The main trophy winners are 

listed below. 

In the Junior Boys’ event, School House 

took the Junior House Trophy just one 

point ahead of Rigg’s Hall. 

The Junior Victor Ludorum – 

calculated according to the individual 

who managed to score the most points 

for his house – was deservedly won by 

Matthew Brinkley (SH) for gold medals 

in the 100m, 200m and Javelin (with 

a record-breaking distance of 33.25m) 

and a silver in the 4 x 100m. 

The Junior Victrix Ludorum went to 

Claire Richards (G) for her three gold 

medals in the 100m (joint with Daisy 

McMullen), 200m and the Long Jump 

and her part in The Grove’s winning 

4 x 100m team. 

The Inters Victor Ludorum went to 

Angus Drummond for his Long Jump 

gold, his High Jump silver and his part 

in the Oldham’s 4 x 100m bronzemedal-winning 

team. 

The Inters House Trophy was 

claimed by Severn Hill, just one point 

ahead of Oldham’s. 

Pascale Goddard’s three gold medals 

on the track (200m, 800m – setting 

a new Senior Girls’ record – and 

1500m) earned her the Senior Girls’ 

Victrix Ludorum, which made a huge 

contribution to The Grove’s overall 

House win. 

The Senior Boys’ Victor Ludorum 

went to Gene Ratanadaros for his two 

golds in the Long and Triple Jumps, 

his 4th place in the High Jump, and 

his part in achieving a 4th place for 

Oldham’s in the 4 x 100m relay. 

The Senior Boys’ House Trophy 

went to Radbrook, winning by 15 

points ahead of Severn Hill. 

Severn Hill had the last laugh, however, 

as they claimed the Tisdall Trophy 

– signalling their victory across all age 

groups with the highest combined 

points total of 329, 16 points ahead of 

School House in second. 

Ian Haworth


Equestrian success 

Shrewsbury School’s horse riders have been achieving success on a national platform 

in recent months, both as a school team and as individuals. 

Championship on a collective score of 

138.7, 16 penalty points ahead of silver 

medallists France. In the individual 

competition, Thomas finished in 4th 

place, less than one penalty point 

behind the bronze medal winner. 

Scott Walker, Jack Ashworth, Lily Freeman-Attwood and Thomas Tulloch 

At the National Schools’ Equestrian 

Championships in October, 

Jack Ashworth (S LVI), Lily Freeman- 

Attwood (EDH III), Scott Walker (M V) 

and Thomas Tulloch (Rt LVI) beat 17 

other school teams in the 1m 10 Team 

Showjumping Championship – the 

biggest class of the first day of the 

competition – to claim the national 

title. Scott Walker also jumped in the 

Individual 1m 10 Championship and 

only narrowly failed to make it into 

the Final. 

In the 1m Jumping with Style 

Championship class the next day, 

Thomas Tulloch finished 2nd on 

Kildun Marathon from 32 individual 

competitors. He then went on to claim 

the national title in the 1m 10 Jumping 

with Style ‘Special’ class on Spirit VI, 

which showcased the top 20 who had 

qualified in the previous classes. 

Two weeks earlier, Lily Freeman- 

Attwood came fourth in the 138cm 

event at the Horse of the Year Show. 

During the summer, Thomas Tulloch 

led the British eventing team to gold 

at the European Pony Championships 

in Sweden. The GB team finished the 

Thomas was kept very busy competing 

throughout the 2015 season, successfully 

juggling his training and competitions 

alongside his GCSE exams and his other 

sporting commitments as a member of 

the School’s Football and Rugby U16A 

teams. In June, he won the Charles 

Owen National Pony Championships for 

the second year running. 

He is currently at the very top of his 

sport and has been selected as one 

of 50 ‘Rising Stars’ for the prestigious 

Jaguar Land Rover Academy of Sport 

2015. This is a special mentoring and 

education programme for young 

athletes aged between 12 and 25 

who have reached an elite level in 

their sport. The Academy’s aim is “to 

recognise, celebrate and inspire the next 

generation of British sporting heroes by 

giving them the opportunity to work 

with and learn from the best British 

sportsmen and women”. It also brings 

with it a SportsAid Bursary to help with 

equipment, competition and training 

expenses. Former SportsAid recipients 

include Sir Chris Hoy, Jessica Ennis Hill, 

Tom Daley and Ellie Simmonds. 

Thomas also achieved the notable 

distinction of gaining ten straight A* 

grades in his GCSE exams. 

Thomas Tulloch 

Thomas Tulloch (on right) proudly displaying his 

European Pony Championships gold medal.

46 

SCHOOL NEWS 

Hockey 

1st XI 

The 1st XI squad have made steady 

progress all season with their new 

coach, Emma Davis. At the beginning 

of term, she introduced a new playing 

formation and set of tactics which 

the girls took some time to adjust to. 

However, things have really started 

to click with the 1st XI and they have 

certainly started to work well together 

as a unit and produce some great 

performances. 

There are a number of new faces in this 

year 1st XI and a few of them are new 

to hockey. Yet they have worked hard 

all season to refine their skills and earn 

their place in the team. This season 

the squad has been captained by Amy 

Mobley (EDH) and Jess Moeran (G). 

The girls have worked closely with Miss 

Davis to push the squad. 

On 9th November the girls travelled 

to King’s High School for Girls in 

Nottingham for the Midlands Regionals. 

In their first match against Oakham, 

they started slowly and although they 

picked up the pace, at half time they 

were down 2-1. This was a frustrating 

game as the girls managed to get 

within their attacking D but struggled to 

convert goals. The final score was 1-3 

to Oakham. A slow start but the girls 

were determined and playing well. 

Their second match versus King’s High 

was a dip in the day, with the final 

score 5-0 to King’s. But their third game 

versus Solihull was much better – the 

final score being 2-0 to Solihull. There 

were a strong side but the girls raised 

their game and played their hockey. 

The Shrewsbury defence put in a strong 

performance to survive a number of 

short corners. Even though the girls 

lost this game they were in high spirits. 

They played well as a squad and 

supported play when required. 

Their final game versus Nottingham 

High School resulted in a win for 

Shrewsbury (2-0). They found their 

rhythm and the hockey on display was 

great to watch. 

The girls have gone from strength to 

strength this season and with wins over 

Oswestry School (5-0) and Bedstone 

College (3-0), the girls are in high 

spirits. There are some very strong and 

talented U15s and U14s developing 

through the School – it is an exciting 

time for hockey at Shrewsbury. With 

the new hockey astro due to be 

complete and in use by September 

2016, this will mean that we will be 

able to provide more specialised 

training and matches. 

In August 2016 the School’s first full 

Hockey Tour will take place. Girls 

between Third Form and the Lower 

Sixth will have the opportunity to train 

and compete in Valkenburg, Holland in 

the week. 

1st XI Hockey Squad 2015: 

Amy Mobley, Jess Moeran, Imogen 

Evans, Sophie Cormack, Emily 

Skelton, Sarah Jackman, Jemima Price, 

Nell Kirkby, Poppy Holbrook, Katie 

Edwards, Morgan Butler, Amelia Binns, 

Molly Beharrell, Sasha Lo, Caroline 

Reid, Maddie Phillips, Ruchi Scott. 

Junior Hockey 

During the October half term exeat, 

Lilleshall National Sports Centre 

hosted the Shropshire County Hockey 

Tournaments for U14 and U16 teams. 

A number of our regular players were 

unavailable to play, so we fielded just 

one mixed Third and Fourth Form in 

the U16 tournament. Despite only 

having 11 players and all the girls 

playing at a higher age group, the team 

performed exceptionally well, winning 

through to the final, where they just lost 

out 0-1 to a strong Moreton Hall side. 

This meant that Shrewsbury qualified 

for the Regional Midlands round at this 

age group for the first time. 

The U16 Midlands tournament 

took place at Repton School on 5th 

November. We drew our first game 

against Leek High School, won the 

second game against Nottingham High 

School 1-0 and lost the final one against 

Repton 0-2. Although we just missed 

out on qualifying for the next round 

on goal difference, this was a solid 

performance from our young team. 

All the girls involved are still eligible for 

this tournament next year, when 

we hope to go one step further.

SCHOOL NEWS 

47 

Shrewsbury School Foundation 

Shrewsbury School Foundation is grateful for your tremendous support. 

Hodgson Hall 

Hodgson Hall was officially opened by the Hodgson Family 

on 3rd October 2015, Old Salopian Day, following over 

two years of fundraising by the Foundation in support of 

the Headmaster’s ‘2020 Vision’ School Development Plan. 

Joining the Foundation were donors from far and wide who 

supported the building of Hodgson Hall. 

On behalf of the School, the Headmaster formally thanked 

the Hodgson family for the generous donation that had 

made the building possible. Howard Hodgson’s warm and 

amusing speech centred on the wonderful time his daughter 

Eliza (EDH 2011-13) had while she was at Shrewsbury. 

He also expressed his delight at having discovered that he 

is a descendant of the first Earl of Shrewsbury, Roger de 

Montgomery (d. 1094). 

This was followed by the unveiling of an impressive 

board where the names of donors to Hodgson Hall are 

recorded (pictured below left) and a cornerstone (below 

right) dedicating the building “to all the teachers who have 

inspired and all the pupils who have been inspired at 

Shrewsbury School”. 

The Hodgson Family 

Grateful thanks were given to all the donors to Hodgson Hall, 

and in particular those who had sponsored the classrooms 

that have been named in honour of former masters of the 

School: Richard Raven, Reverend Hugh Brooke, Laurence 

Le Quesne, Dr David Gee, Lyndon Duffield, Mark Mortimer, 

Robin Moulsdale and Gordon Woods. 

. 

“This building is dedicated to all the teachers who have inspired and all the 

pupils who have been inspired at Shrewsbury School.” 

Telephone Campaign 

Chatri Design Centre 

The Foundation is pleased to report that the second phase of the 2020 Vision plan 

(which includes five phases) is currently being built on the site of the former Lyle 

Building to house the faculty of Computer Design and Technology. 

The Foundation would like to thank all parents and Salopians who have already 

contributed to the essential works being carried out which will undoubtedly have a 

great impact on teaching and learning at Shrewsbury School. 

We are delighted to report that this 

summer’s Telephone Campaign raised 

£120,000. During the course of three 

weeks in July, a team of eleven Sixth 

Formers and recent leavers spoke to 

almost 550 Old Salopians and parents. 

The telephone campaign is a great 

way for us to stay in touch with the 

Salopian Community and makes a 

significant contribution to Shrewsbury’s 

Annual Fund, helping to support 

bursaries for boys and girls who 

could not otherwise afford to attend 

Shrewsbury School, and projects that 

will benefit all pupils at the School. 

The Foundation would like to thank all 

of those who spoke to our callers, and 

in particular those who chose to make 

a gift to the Annual Fund.

48 

OLD SALOPIAN NEWS 

From the Director of the Salopian Club 

Salopian outreach continues 

apace and across the globe 

Salopians have been gathering, 

or planning to gather, in places 

as far afield as Bangkok and 

Hong Kong in the East and 

New York in the West. Closer 

to home, Britain has been well 

covered this year, with dinners 

in Chester, Birmingham, 

Cambridge and Cardiff, 

and there have been record 

attendances at Henley and 

London events. 

Meanwhile, as our Sports Clubs 

continue to play an encouragingly 

active role, the Salopian Arts and 

Activities Committee is embarking 

on an ambitious winter programme 

of events involving Salopians in the 

arts – theatre, opera, choral singing, 

an orchestral concert with the School, 

and a repeat of the Young OS Open 

Mic Night. Another activity planned is 

a World War Two Battlefield Tour to 

Normandy from 15th to 19th September 

2016. All these events will be publicised 

on our website. 

Our careers programme will be 

invigorated with the arrival at the 

School of the new Careers Fellow, 

Catriona Dry, to carry on the good 

work of her predecessor, Kate 

Daubney, in helping young OS with 

careers advice and assistance through 

the Salopian professional networks. 

Finally, we welcome Sir Peter Davis as 

President of the Salopian Club in 2016; 

he takes over from Sir Eldryd Parry. 

Sir Eldryd has been indefatigable this 

year in his support and representation 

of the Club at both the School and OS 

occasions, culminating fittingly with 

an OS dinner in the place of his birth, 

Cardiff. He departs with our admiration 

and enormous gratitude. 

Eldryd, diolch yn fawr. 

Floreat Salopia 

Nick Jenkins 

Tom Lloyd (Rt 2009-14) has been awarded the Sidney Gold Medal, the School’s highest academic prize. The presentation ceremony took place at City Drinks in 

London on 19th November. 

Peter Davis was born in the Wirral and 

brought up there and in Denbighshire. 

He was educated at Shrewsbury School 

(O 55-59), and for many years he was 

a Trustee of the Shrewsbury School 

Foundation. He is to be President of the 

Salopian Club in 2016. 

After starting work at 17 in Lancashire, 

in sales and marketing, he ultimately 

became Chief Executive of three major 

FTSE companies – Reed International/ 

Reed Elsevier (1986-1994), Prudential 

(1995-2000), and J Sainsbury plc 

(2000-2004). He has also been a nonexecutive 

director of a large number 

of major companies and an investor 

in a wide range of young businesses. 

He has been Chairman of Business 

in the Community (1996-2001), the 

CBI Finance and General Purposes 

SIR PETER DAVIS 

Committee, the Welfare to Work New 

Deal Task Force (1997-2000), and the 

Government’s Employer Task Force 

on Pensions. 

Outside the world of business, 

Sir Peter has been Chairman of Marie 

Curie Cancer Care (2006-2011), 

(where he is now Life Vice President), 

Pro Chancellor of Bangor University 

(where he is now Deputy Chair of 

Bangor University Council), a Trustee of 

the Royal Opera House and Chairman 

of the Royal Opera House Foundation, 

a Trustee of the V and A, and on the 

board of Welsh National Opera (until 

recently chairing their Advisory Board). 

In 2000 he was awarded an honorary 

LLD (Doctor of Laws) degree by the 

University of Exeter, and in 2003 the 

annual Gold Medal by the Chartered 

Management Institute. He was made a 

Fellow of City & Guilds in 2004 and 

is also a Fellow of the Royal Society 

of Arts. 

Sir Peter is married to Sue and has two 

sons and a daughter.

OLD SALOPIAN NEWS 49 

Salopian Club Events 

Old Salopian Day 2015 

Old Salopian Day on 3rd October was 

another great success, with around 150 

Salopian Club members and guests 

coming along to enjoy the programme 

of events and take a stroll around the 

site on what turned into a beautiful 

autumn day. 

The main focus of this year’s event was 

the opening of Hodgson Hall, the new 

academic block, designed by Adrian 

James (S 1976-80). Champagne and 

canapés were served and speeches 

were made by the Headmaster, Mark 

Turner, and by Howie Hodgson, whose 

generous donation made the building 

possible. A number of the classrooms 

are sponsored by Old Salopians in 

honour of some of the most inspiring 

teachers in the School’s recent history, 

some of whom were present. The 

guests all welcomed the opportunity to 

explore the building, which is bright, 

airy and spacious. 

Later on in the afternoon, the lecture 

theatre at Hodgson Hall was put to 

excellent use for a talk on ‘Rowing the 

Atlantic’ by Alex Bland (Rt 2000-05). 

Alex was half of a duo (the other half 

being Harry Martin-Dreyer (also Rt 

2000-05), who spent 50 days rowing 

across the Atlantic from Gran Canaria 

to Barbados, completing the challenge 

on 1st February 2014. They raised over 

£200,000 split between the charities 

JDRF, which supports research into 

curing type 1 diabetes, and Cure 

Leukaemia. A number of OS described 

his illustrated talk as the highlight of 

the day. 

There was a wonderful atmosphere 

over lunch in KH, where everyone 

enjoyed a carvery buffet. The 

Chairman of the Salopian Club, Peter 

Stewart, gave the welcome speech 

and introduced The President of the 

Salopian Club, Sir Eldryd Parry. Sir 

Eldryd treated the gathered guests 

to one of his inspiring and heartfelt 

speeches, thanking the Club staff for 

their work over the year and also 

taking an amusing look at an old rule 

book and some of the punishments 

given out in the past. How things 

have changed! 

The buzz of chatter dispersed slowly 

as people walked out into what had 

turned into a glorious afternoon. The 

houses were open for visits, as was the 

Ancient Library and the Art Department, 

and there was also a great turnout for 

the OS football matches. Dr Gee was 

signing copies of his book ‘City on a 

Hill’ in the Moser Library. 

All the football matches were 

tightly contested encounters and it 

was heartening to see so many OS 

footballers returning. Meanwhile the OS 

girls played a 9-a-side hockey match, 

followed by a netball match. It was 

nice to see more girls back as they are 

starting to finish university so are more 

able to attend. The hockey was a close 

game, with some flowing hockey. 

The OS team just came out on top, 

but there were a few controversial 

umpiring decisions! The netball was 

won by the OS team who were solid 

from defence through to attack. 

We were fortunate that the world 

renowned choir Tenebrae were 

performing that same evening in the 

Chapel. Tenebrae are managed by 

Henry Southern (G 2003-08) and the 

event was sponsored by Richard Baker 

(DB 1953-58). A number of OS stayed 

on to watch the performance, which 

was truly sublime and was set off 

perfectly by the Chapel’s candelit and 

atmospheric backdrop. 

For some Old Salopians this had 

been their first visit to the School 

since leaving and for others this is an 

event they look forward to year on 

year. We love having the opportunity 

to entertain so many of the School’s 

alumni at one time, and the smiling 

faces, the obvious affection between 

friends and the glimpses into new 

associations and connections being 

made make the event so very 

worthwhile. We also welcome ideas 

and constructive feedback, if anyone 

would like to offer any for next 

year’s planning.

50 


Henley 

The Henley Royal Regatta, one of the 

highlights of the sporting summer, 

was blessed with beautiful sunshine 

this year and the Sabrina gathering on 

Saturday 4th July saw record numbers 

of Old Salopians turn out to soak up 

the atmosphere. The venison burgers 

went down a treat and the fizz was 

flowing, enabling some 240 guests to relax 

and enjoy the occasion. 

Unfortunately the Sabrina boat, rowing 

for the first time ever as an VIII in 

the Henley Royal Regatta, had been 

narrowly edged out in qualifying (by less 

than a second). However the spectators 

were treated to a demonstration of 

rowing at its finest, with a ‘row past’ by 

the 1st VIII of 1960 - the self styled ‘Old 

Men’s Boat’. The 1960 1st VIII (pictured 

right) have had a commemorative 

medal struck, which will be displayed 

in the Sabrina cabinet in the Pentagon 

at the Schools. The 1955 1st VIII also 

attended the lunch gathering. 

OS Summer Party 

On Saturday 5th 

September the young 

OS gathered for a 

summer party at the 

Grand Union Pleasure 

Garden in Brixton. 

There was a good 

turnout of around 

80 young OS (plus 

the odd young at 

heart guest) and by 

all accounts a great 

evening was enjoyed 

by all. 

Many thanks to Hugh 

Faith (O 1997-2002), 

Felicity Davies (MSH 

2008-10) and Henry 

Unwin (Rt 2001-06) for 

organising the event, 

and to Kit Oates (PH 

2000-05) for the great 

photograph.


News of Old Salopians 

1930 - 1949 

Raymond Worrall (SH 1938-42) was 

appointed to the rank of Chevalier 

in the Ordre National de la Légion 

d’Honneur at a ceremony held in York 

on 8th November 2015. 

Brian Fawcett (DB 1943-47) wrote 

to tell us his family news. His three 

children all graduated with first 

class honours in Physics from UCL 

or Imperial College. Of his nine 

grandchildren, one is at Oxford 

reading Chemistry and one has just 

been accepted for Oxford Medical 

School. One more is studying medicine 

at Sheffield and another is already 

qualified and working as an A & E 

Registrar in Bristol. So one-third of 

his grandchildren will be medics. His 

youngest granddaughter is a talented 

musician and dancer and his other 

grandchildren are either at university 

or have already graduated. He has four 

great-grandsons. 

1950 - 1969 

Tony Duerr OBE (Rt 1951-56) writes: 

“Apart from a short spell at Cambridge 

and an even shorter time in National 

Service, I have spent my entire working 

life in our family food manufacturing 

business, of which I am still Chairman 

(duerrs.co.uk). The business is now 

unbelievably 135 years old, thanks to 80 

years with an Old Salopian managing 

director! 

I retired at 60, leaving my two sons 

to deal with the demands of the 

supermarkets. We now produce around 

400,000 units per day of jam, peanut 

butter and cranberry sauce. 

Happily Mark (Rt 1977-82) and brother 

Richard (Malvern) have done really well 

and I am so proud of them. Sadly there is 

not enough money in the food industry 

for the fourth generation of Duerrs to 

attend Ridgemount! I have sadly had 

to give up golf due to a back problem 

and have recently been diagnosed with 

Parkinson’s, but life goes on. 

Richard Hayes (M 1952-57) is now 

living in Shrewsbury having ‘retired’ 

in 1999 from parochial ministry in 

London, ending with two churches in 

Lombard Street in the City. He is now 

enjoying assisting in three villages in 

deepest rural north Shropshire. 

Richard is Chairman of the Friends 

of Lord Hill’s Column – a superb 

Doric monument (43m) surmounted 

by a statue of Wellington’s friend 

and most trusted general, Rowland 

Hill of Hawkstone (5m), which is 

now needing to be replaced. Richard 

proposes to walk in April 2016 with 

one or two others from Lord Anglesey’s 

Column in Llanfairpwllgwyngyll in 

Anglesey along Telford’s A5 Holyhead 

to Shrewsbury road (it has a pavement) 

ending at Lord Hill’s Column, which 

was completed in June 1816. They will 

wear the uniforms of the period of 

regiments commanded by Hill, and the 

intention is to raise public awareness 

and cash to assist Shropshire Council 

in the work of replicating the statue in 

Coade artificial stone. ‘Retirement’ is 

proving to be most fulfilling. 

Peter John Robertson (Ch 1953-58) 

and his wife, Rosalind, are living an 

hour and a half south of Ottawa, 

in the village of Morrisburg, where 

they look across the St Lawrence 

River towards upstate New York. 

He retired from university teaching 

(English Literature) and is now in 

semi-retirement estate planning as a 

Chartered Life Underwriter. 

Nicholas Barber (SH 1954-58) 

wrote to tell us about a national charity 

he chairs. 

“For anyone interested in raising 

educational standards in Britain’s 

schools, you may like to know about 

Classics for All. Founded by Dr Peter 

Jones, familiar to some as author of 

the Spectator’s Ancient & Modern 

column, CFA provides grants to 

state schools to introduce Classics, 

typically Latin, and so address the 

fact that only 20% of state schools 

offer Classics compared with 80% of 

independents. Although only five years 

old, CFA has already grant-aided 

some 300 schools nationwide and 

with its growth accelerating, it aims 

to double this over the next two 

years and then reach 1000 schools 

by 2020. Its start-up grants go to 

schools which undertake to make 

Classics permanent after the twoyear 

grant period and they are spent 

on retraining non-Classicist teachers 

to enable them to teach Classics as 

well as their regular subject. Modern 

textbooks and teaching styles are a far 

cry from the grammar-intensive days 

of yore, and pupils have been taking 

to it with impressive enthusiasm; 

second year cohorts are frequently 

much larger than the first. 

CFA is a ‘Robin Hood organisation’, 

raising funds from the better off and 

awarding them to those in need. Its 

supporters enjoy themselves; recent 

fundraising events have included 

a gala dinner addressed by Boris 

Johnson and a retrial of Socrates in 

the Supreme Court with one of the 

Law Lords presiding. 

The charity may be of interest to OS 

whether as potential donors or, for 

erstwhile Classicists, as mentors to 

CFA’s teachers. To learn more please 

write to nicholas.barber@bolero.net.” 

Charles I G S Edwards (R 1955-60) 

married Miss J J Boston on 9th 

September 2015 at Chelsea Registry 

Office. 

Michael Clower (Rt 1957-61) 

was named South Africa’s Racing 

Journalist of the Year at the Equus 

Awards Ceremony in Johannesburg 

in August 2015.

52 


David Wynn Millward (Rt 1957-62) 

lives in Llangynyw, mid-Wales and has 

been included in a new Welsh Arts 

Council publication, ‘Post-War to Post- 

Modern: A Dictionary of Artists 

in Wales’. 

He studied Law at Queen’s College, 

Dundee, University of St Andrews 

1963-66 and went on the Royal 

Academy Schools, London 1971-74, 

where he won the Griffin Prize 1972, 

Print Prize 1972, 1973, Connoisseur 

Prize (Oil Painting) and the Landseer 

Scholarship 1973. After some years 

spent working as a copywriter/ 

visualiser for an advertising agency in 

London and then as a freelance artist 

and cartoonist, he arrived in Wales 

in 1980. In 1982 he set up summer 

schools in painting, with permission 

of the Secretary of State for Wales and 

Peter Greenham, then Keeper of the 

Royal Academy Schools. Commissions 

include Deri Woods Park, Llanfair 

Caereinion 2000; Welshpool High 

School 2003-04. Group exhibitions 

include Summer Exhibition, Royal 

Academy, London 1985; Royal West of 

England Academy, Bristol 1985, 1986. 

One-person exhibitions: Oriel Davies, 

Newtown 1976; Oriel Ty Cornel, 

Meifod 2000, 2001; Screenprints: 

Caereinion Leisure Centre 2003- 

06; Montgomery Landscapes and 

Faces 1969-2006. The first book he 

wrote and illustrated was The Feast 

of the Balloon Fish King (1971). He 

has subsequently illustrated a great 

many children’s books. Collections 

include Brecknock Museum and 

Art Gallery, Brecon; Royal Gwent 

Hospital, Newport. His work has been 

purchased by the Welsh Arts Council. 

Robert Crabtree (I 1957-61) writes: 

“After thirty-something years, I 

retired in 2007 from being a full-time 

vigneron and winemaker here in South 

Australia. I then moved to the city 

and went back to university. Working 

in the Department of International 

Politics, I was awarded my MA at the 

University of Adelaide for a thesis on 

self-determination in Abkhazia. I then 

went on to work for a PhD on the selfdetermination 

of the island of Mayotte 

and its becoming a département of 

France. This was awarded to me last 

month, so I have joined at 71 the ranks 

of older Old Salopian Doctors. I was in 

Ingram’s from 1957 to 1961 (with little 

distinction or enjoyment, I have to say). 

I owe a huge and continuing debt, 

however, to two great teachers who 

awakened intellectual curiosity and 

academic interest: Michael Hart and 

Arnold Ellis.” 

Timothy Bigland (Rt 1960-64) 

emailed to tell us that since he retired 

in 2005 he has developed an interest 

in bird watching. “Earlier this year 99 

Little Terns fledged in an enclosure on 

Gronant Dunes, which is adjacent to 

a LNRR on the Dee Estuary. 135 pairs 

of Little Terns scraped 135 nests in the 

sand, with 424 Little Terns there at a 

given time. It is believed that Sand Eels 

were plentiful this spring in the Dee 

because the colony thrived to become 

the biggest in the UK. At Point of Ayr 

there were two additional Little Tern 

Sternula Albifrons fledglings.” 

Dr Robin Brooke-Smith (S 1961-66) 

writes that the Kindle and Hardcover 

Editions of Storm Warning: Riding the 

Crosswinds in the Pakistan-Afghan 

Borderlands are available on Amazon 

and through the publisher I.B. Tauris. 

1970 - 1979 

Matthew Bowcock (Ch 1970-74) 

was awarded the CBE in the Queen’s 

Birthday Honours 2014 for Services 

to Community Philanthropy. He was 

also recently appointed as a member 

of the Governing Body of Arts Council 

England for a five-year term. His wife 

Helen was awarded the OBE. 

Nick Randall (O 1972-76) saw his 

daughter Victoria married on 16th May 

2015. The couple’s “go away” vehicle 

was PER65 – Michael Hall’s old 1955 

Land Rover. It was driven by Andrew 

Racz (G 1992-97) and Victoria was 

accompanied by her OS brothers, Philip 

(O 1999-2002) and Christian (O 2007- 

12), so it was a truly Salopian event. 

Paul Vlissidis (Rt 1974-79) writes 

that “it may interest my fellow OSs to 

know that I am currently appearing 

in the Channel 4 show Hunted. I lead 

the cyber team (I have been doing 

cyber security for 20 years) tracking 

the ‘fugitives’.” 

Richard Stone (O 1977-82) 

had the very good fortune to be 

married to Yuliya Teplyuk on 16th 

April in the Seychelles. 

Mark Williams (Staff 1977-86) 

Former Mathematics Master & Masterin-Charge 

of Cricket and Fives at 

Shrewsbury, Mark has recently retired 

from Eton College and has taken up the 

position of Laws of Cricket Advisor with 

the MCC at Lord’s. 

1980 - 1989 

Revd Steve Davies (R 1979-83) 

followed up news of his engagement 

in the last edition of The Salopian: 

“Please find photographic proof of two 

astonishing events in July, the wonder 

that Miss Julia Briggs was willing to 

marry me and the fact that there was a 

day last summer when the sun shone 

gloriously throughout.” Now living in 

Royal Leamington Spa, Steve continues 

to combine working as a teacher 

with being Academy Chaplain at 

Wolverhampton Wanderers FC. 

Charles Hill (SH 1980-84) writes: 

“On 1st September I was given a 

new posting as Chief Superintendent 

for Local Policing West - giving 

me responsibility for policing in 

Herefordshire, Shropshire and Telford 

& Wrekin. On almost the same date my 

eldest daughter, Jenny, joined the Sixth 

Form at Shrewsbury, in Mary Sidney 

Hall. So once again I will be paying 

regular visits to Shrewsbury - both 

to see Jenny and to ensure that West 

Mercia Police continues to look after 

everyone in Shropshire.”


Simon Frew (PH 1982-87) continues 

his travels. He is now in Thailand and 

visited Shrewsbury International School 

in Bangkok while there. His role as an 

Ambassador for Four Seasons Hotels 

continued, with him helping to open 

their employees’ Sports Day in Chiang 

Mai, Thailand. He plans to visit Hong 

Kong, Perth and Bali next and to be 

back in Shrewsbury at Christmas. You 

can follows his travels on his blog: 

http://www.sifrew.com/ 

Rob Barber (SH 1995-97) announces 

his engagement to Charlotte Bennett- 

Diver on 16th December 2014 in Kalk 

Bay, Cape Town. He and Charlotte 

have run Golden Africa in Botswana 

for the last 12 years, a company 

running bespoke safaris throughout 

Botswana. The website is www. 

golden-africa.com and they would 

be happy to extend discounts to Old 

Salopians and their families wishing to 

come on safari with them. 

Freddie Mason (O 1997-2002) 

proposed to Sophia Hargreaves in 

October and is delighted to be able to 

announce their engagement. 

Siôn Charlesworth-Jones (SH 1998- 

2003) and his wife Kathryn welcomed 

their first child, Olivia Rose, on 18th July 

2015, weighing 8lbs 6oz. 

Justin Bayliss (O 1985-90) reports 

that he completed a bicycle ride from 

Paris to Nice in order to raise funds for 

a breast cancer charity. 

1990 - 1999 

Dr James William Brooke-Smith 

(Rb 1992-95) is now Assistant 

Professor of English Literature at the 

University of Ottawa. 

James ‘Bomber’ Ashcroft (SH 1992- 

97) and his wife Anna celebrated the 

birth of their second son Guy Mallory 

Ralfe Ashcroft on 23rd March 2015. After 

a number of years working as the News 

Editor on Shooting Times magazine, 

James went into the art world and 

worked on Bond Street in London for a 

leading contemporary gallery. He now 

runs his own art consultancy business in 

London, Ashcroft Art. 

Jonathan Beeston (Rb 1995-00) 

was married on 13th June 2015 in the 

Chapel of St Mary Undercroft in the 

Palace of Westminster. He and his new 

wife Fiona held their reception in the 

House of Lords. They are now living 

in Corfu. 

Richard Nichols (S 1998-2003) was 

married to Sarah Lagar on 20th June 

2015. He is now working as a lawyer 

for Clyde and Co. in Manchester. 

Jack Fanning (O 1997-2002) is 

assistant professor in Micro-Economics 

at Brown University, Providence, USA. 

He was married to Courtney Sanks on 

4th July 2015. 

Jon Pendergast (PH 1993-98) and 

his wife Jen welcomed their second 

child into the world over the summer. 

Dominic Rilian Pendergast was born 

on 31st May 2015, a little brother 

for Sebastian. Jon and Jen are still 

living in Toronto Canada, where 

they moved five years ago as part of 

Jon’s work assignment for SunGard 

Data Systems. Jon has recently been 

promoted to head up SunGard’s 

global professional services business 

for trading book risk management. 

2000 

Will Bannister (Rt 2000-05) is 

delighted to announce that he is due to 

marry Jennifer Lawrence early in 2016 

and that they are expecting a baby boy 

at a similar time. He is working in the 

wine trade and is always happy to help 

any Salopians with any requirements 

that they might have.

54 OLD SALOPIAN NEWS 

Kit Oates (PH 2000-05) has a 

new exhibition running from 18th 

November until 6th January at Gallery 

101, Salvation Army International 

Headquarters, 101 Queen Victoria St, 

London, EC4V 4EH. Re:Generation is an 

exhibition of portraits of tenants from 

the South Kilburn housing estate, North 

West London. The estate is undergoing 

regeneration, placing its residents 

and the area in a transitional period. 

The images were originally installed 

on tower blocks in the area, which 

are due for demolition. This striking 

series of portraits captures the different 

generations living on the estate. 

Remembering the Queen’s visit to 

Shrewsbury, October 1952 

Max Emmerich (Rt 2008-10) is in his 

third and final year of clinical medicine 

at Oxford University, having spent his 

three pre-clinical years at Trinity College, 

Cambridge. He has just been awarded 

the Peter Fan Senior Scholarship by St 

John’s College for academic excellence 

throughout his time at medical school. 

He has also just won a £2,000 grant 

from the Oxford University Clinical 

Academic Graduate School to fund a 

ten-week stint as a visiting researcher at 

Harvard Medical School, where he will 

be working on melanoma cancer stem 

cells (and see p55). 

Ali Webb (S Hill 2008-13) writes: “I’m 

currently working as a freelance filmmaker 

with Fulwell 73, a production 

company in Camden. I recently filmed 

a cycling documentary in the Canadian 

Rockies with some friends, raising 

money for two hospices. Three guys 

cycled 2000km from Calgary to Tofino 

and I’m currently editing the film which 

we hope will inspire others to live a life 

of adventure. Our website is 

www.tofino2015.com.” 

Just before the beginning of the 

Michaelmas term, the Marketing 

office at Shrewsbury was contacted 

by Gareth Owen, a journalist working 

for ITV Central News, asking for help 

with a feature he was putting together 

to mark the day on which the Queen 

became the longest reigning monarch 

in British history. Searching for a 

Midlands focus, he had come across 

some evocative Pathé news footage 

of the Queen’s visit to Shrewsbury 

School in October 1952 – her first 

visit to the region as Queen. Might 

the School be able to find someone 

who was there that day, and could he 

come and film an interview with them 

on the Queen’s Terrace? 

We were hugely grateful to David 

Longrigg (Ch 1949-54), Adrian Struvé 

and Jane Tupper, all of whom agreed 

at very short notice to come and be 

interviewed – David Longrigg even 

travelling all the way from Oxford. 

He was 16 years old at the time of the 

Queen’s visit and recalled taking part in 

the whole school PE display on Central 

and playing football with the 1st XI on 

Top Common. Adrian Struvé had just 

begun his third year as a master at the 

School (he would remain here until his 

retirement in 1986) and recalled the 

excitement and sense of honour felt by 

the entire school community. 

Jane Tupper is the daughter of A.E. 

Taylor, who was Housemaster of 

School House until his sudden death 

in March 1952, one month after the 

death of the Queen’s own father. Jane 

had returned from university to help 

her mother organise the lunch for the 

Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh, 

which was served in School House. She 

has particularly strong memories of the 

occasion and was deeply impressed by 

the Queen’s bearing during the occasion 

– her sense of humour, her evident 

enjoyment of the day and the interest 

she took in the people she met. She 

was touched that, on being introduced 

to her, the Queen immediately realised 

the connection with another young 

member of staff she had met earlier in 

the morning – Jane’s fiancé, the Revd 

Michael Tupper (whose obituary is 

published on page 82). 

The recording of the ITV Central 

interview may be viewed on the School 

website: http://www.shrewsbury. 

org.uk/news/remembering-queensvisit-shrewsbury-school-october-1952. 

It includes extracts from the Pathé 

newsreel that captures some of the 

excitement of the Queen’s visit: http:// 

www.britishpathe.com/video/queen-atshrewsbury 

Also on the School website is a gallery 

of photos of the Queen’s visit and a 

series of accounts of the day, including 

one written by David Longrigg: http:// 

www.shrewsbury.org.uk/page/queensvisit-shrewsbury-1952 

L-R: Jane Tupper, David Longrigg, Adrian Struvé


OS Arts and Activities Committee 

The first full meeting of the recently 

formed Arts and Activities Committee 

took place on Saturday 3rd September, 

at The Curtains Up in London. The 

meeting was well attended by some 

of our most artistically gifted and 

knowledgeable OS and was organised 

and chaired by Peter Fanning. A 

number of interesting and exciting 

ideas were discussed, from a joint 

School/OS ‘scratch’ orchestral concert 

to a possible arts bursary fund for OS. 

Details of some of the planned events 

are listed below. Further details 

of many of these projects will be 

available shortly. 

Friday 15th January 2016 7.30pm 

for 8.00pm: An open mic evening 

at The Horse & Stables, 124 

Westminster Bridge Road, London 

SE1 7RW 

Following this year’s very successful 

gathering, Old Salopians young and 

old are encouraged to return to this 

friendly venue, either to participate 

musically or simply to enjoy the music 

provided by others. Anyone who is 

interested and willing to participate 

should contact Ali Webb 

(aliwebb75@gmail.com). 

Wednesday 3rd February 2016 

5pm: Evensong at St Paul’s 

Cathedral 

Two Old Salopians are currently 

members of the Choir of St Paul’s 

(Patrick Craig and Martin Oxenham), 

whilst Mark Oakley is a Canon at the 

Cathedral. The service will be followed 

by a tour of the Cathedral and a 

gathering at a nearby hostelry. 

Saturday 6th February 2.30pm: 

‘The Mikado’ – English National 

Opera 

Fergus Macleod will conduct a revival 

of this much loved Gilbert & Sullivan 

production by Jonathan Miller. Old 

Salopians attending this performance 

will be invited to an after-show 

gathering (location tbc) to meet Fergus 

and to discuss the production. Wives, 

partners and children are all welcome. 

Saturday 12th March: 

Concert performed by a joint 

orchestra and choir of Old 

Salopians and pupils from 

Shrewsbury School, in the Alington 

Hall, Shrewsbury 

Old Salopians will be warmly 

welcomed to come and play with 

pupils from the School in a concert 

for choir and orchestra. A rehearsal 

will take place in the afternoon, 

followed by a concert in the evening. 

Accommodation may be available for 

participants. Further details to follow. 

Darwin Society Biology Research Evening 

Three Old Salopians returned on 

18th September to Shrewsbury to 

give talks to the Darwin Society on 

the theme of research in biology. 

Max Emmerich (Rt 2008-10) is close 

to completing his clinical training 

after studying Medicine at both 

Cambridge and Oxford Universities. 

He spoke about his experiences of 

research projects and internships at 

every stage in his education, from 

school holidays and Sixth Form 

options through to vacations during 

university and the intercalated courses 

that are on offer to those enterprising 

enough to search them out. Max 

stressed the role of luck in hitting on 

areas of biology that turn out to be 

significant - in his case this was a type 

of membrane-bound pigment that has 

become an important research tool. 

He also stressed that to a large extent 

one makes one’s own luck by being 

persistent and resilient. 

He conveyed very convincingly the 

excitement of research into ecological 

and evolutionary processes where 

there are many unanswered questions 

and where human influences on 

climate are having marked effects. 

Nick Zoulias (PH 2000-05) completed 

his first degree and PhD at the 

University of Manchester and is now 

doing post-doctoral research at the 

University of Sheffield. He explained 

the bifurcation in careers after a 

doctorate, with some moving away 

from university and into commercial 

or other applications of science and 

others wanting to stay at the cutting 

edge of pure research. He has chosen 

the latter path. His field is the control 

of plant development. Nick spoke 

eloquently about what he has 

discovered about gradients of 

signalling molecules and how they 

cause plants in the Asteraceae (daisy 

family) to produce three types of 

structure in their inflorescences. His 

research now concerns how genes 

are switched on and off as a result 

of these gradients to cause observed 

patterns of development. 

A capacity audience of Sixth Form 

pupils and teachers listened with 

rapt interest to all three of talks, so 

we hope to hold another Biology 

Research evening in the future. Any 

Old Salopians who would be willing 

to contribute are encouraged to get in 

touch with the Head of Biology - 

tsm@shrewsbury.org.uk. 

Andrew Allott 

William Jones (Rt 2003-08) is currently 

working towards his PhD in the 

Department of Ecology and Genetics 

at Uppsala University, Sweden. 

He spoke about the classic route 

into a career in scientific research 

and teaching through a Masters 

degree followed by a doctorate. Not 

surprisingly given WIlliam’s lifetime 

interest in ornithology, his research 

field is the evolution of flycatchers, 

with summers spent collecting data 

on an island in the Baltic. 

L-R: William Jones, Nicholas Zoulias, Max Emmerich and their Biology teacher Andrew Allott


James Humpish - the making of a runner 

When joining Shrewsbury School 

in 2008, I was far from the fittest 

Third Former. Coming 103rd in the 

New Boys’ Race and 500th in my first 

Tucks run, the original plan was not to 

involve myself with the Hunt. I think 

at the time the feeling was mutual; 

the Hunt probably didn’t want too 

much to do with me either. The Benjy 

course is about 2.25km and at the 

age of 13 I could take that on in just 

about 16 minutes – the length of time 

it would take most to do the course 

in a brisk walk. 

By the time I had 

left Shrewsbury 

in 2013, I had 

brought my 

Benjy time down 

to 8 minutes and 

12 seconds (I 

can remember 

every one of 

those seconds 

vividly) and I 

had participated 

in Shrewsbury’s 

first ever half marathon, finishing in 

the top 100 out of approximately 3,000 

(a position better than my New Boys’ 

Race!) in 94 minutes. 

What had happened? 

The answer to that question is 

incredibly hard to pinpoint. I can 

remember towards the end of my first 

term signing up to do regular sessions 

with the RSSH, who were just about 

to begin their reformation under the 

newly-arrived Mr Middleton. But I’m 

not exactly sure why I did. I can just 

remember the first session having to 

run 4 kilometres continuously, with Mr 

Middleton there to make sure I didn’t 

lag, and finding it incredibly painful 

and rather embarrassing. But for some 

reason I didn’t give up. It was also 

before the time when sport was made 

compulsory in autumn 2009. If I had 

wanted to, I could have dodged sport 

for just a little longer. The inspirational 

tutelage from Mr Middleton must have 

had a lot to do with it. The feeling of 

going just a little bit faster than last 

week must have had something to do 

with it as well. Having the support of 

my friend and the 2013-14 Huntsman, 

Ed Mallett, must also have helped a 

great deal too. 

Some improvement came quickly, 

which in retrospect isn’t too surprising 

as it couldn’t have got a lot worse! By 

Fourth Form I could run for a nice 

little while, having learned some routes 

that would later become symbolic of 

my time at Shrewsbury – the Berwick, 

the route to Haughmond Hill and Lyth 

Hill all became routes I could do in my 

own spare time by the end and served 

to relieve the tension I was building in 

tackling A-levels. As I developed and 

grew older, I tried to deal with running 

and how to get to grips with it. I think 

the trick to it was that it wasn’t really 

a physical challenge. It was obviously 

physically demanding, and my current 

physique is incredibly grateful for that. 

But it was a challenge of character. 

It required as much emotional and 

intellectual strength as it did physical. 

The final time I ran a Benjy, it felt 

surreal because I didn’t have to think 

about my direction in the slightest, 

only my speed, because the reactions 

to the route were second nature. I’ve 

worked out I must have done the 

route near enough 500 times in my 

five years at Shrewsbury. 

I really loved the Hunt and the spirit 

of it and I’d really love to be able to 

give a full account of why I joined 

and why I grew to love it, but I don’t 

feel I can. It just happened. I felt 

better about myself after a run and 

more so when I had improved my 

time. I liked the effects of running 

much quicker than I liked running 

in itself. I think it might not have 

been until Lower Sixth that I enjoyed 

running for the sake of running. 

Then I don’t think it was until Upper 

Sixth that I actually realised I’d actually 

gained some competence in running. 

In January 2013, Mr Middleton took 

me aside and I thought he was going 

to give me a target for my final 

running season; something relatively 

straightforward like a sub-9 minute 

Benjy. In actuality, he had taken me 

aside to tell me that he was making 

me the captain of the 2nd VIII. I was 

no longer a distant follower in the 

Hunt, but I was actually taking a lead 

in it! 

As months became years in the Hunt, 

strangely I had learnt to love crosscountry 

running and it had learnt to 

love me. I was never going to be the 

greatest runner in the world, but to 

make it something I could do when I 

had once been its antithesis had been 

something that transformed my whole 

attitude to sport. 

I ran the half marathon in my last 

week at Shrewsbury – a fitting 

conclusion to my time at the School. 

I had thought then that that would 

probably be my final formal running 

event and from then on I could 

comfortably retire from competitive 

running and keep it casual. 

Since leaving Shrewsbury, I’ve been 

a student at the University of York, 

studying Philosophy, Politics and 

Economics. It’s a fantastic city for 

running – there are some great routes 

out into the countryside and following 

the Ouse has taken me on sights not 

unlike the ones the Severn took me 

once upon a time. But there was 

something missing in the way I was 

running; I wasn’t pushing myself the 

way I used to. 

Quite late into the game – about two 

months in advance – I decided to run 

the Yorkshire Marathon. The most 

I’d really ever run before registering 

was about 25 kilometres – and that 

was only because I had got lost 

once. Supporting the Jane Tomlinson 

Appeal, in October 2015 I ran the full 

42.2 kilometres (or as I prefer to think 

of it – 19 Benjies!) in 4 hours and 12 

minutes. The speed it took me to do 

the full marathon was in fact, I think, 

run consistently at a speed above my 

New Boys’ Race. 

Seven years since joining the RSSH, 

a few people have taken an interest 

in my journey as a runner. I think my 

determination to run stemmed from a 

hope to be a little healthier and a little 

fitter, but as I got into it, it became 

more of a race. Every week I wanted 

to race the person I was the previous 

week and not worry about what 

everyone else was up to. 

The Hunt has allowed me to go from 

the Third Former who barely finished 

the New Boys’ Race to a passable 

marathon runner who’s at a quandary 

as to where to 

take his running 

career next. The 

Hunt let me look 

at my past record 

on running and 

has prompted 

me to always run 

hard, and run 

well, and may 

the devil take the 

hindmost!


Robin Hope’s Sponsored Charity Row 

In June this year, Robin Hope (Ch 1956-60), assisted by a hand-picked group of maturing oars-people, 

rowed the 1895 double skiff ‘Tara’ from Cookham to Oxford and back to Henley – a distance of 110 

miles and 33 locks – to raise funds for the Felix Fund. 

The Felix Fund exists to support 

any military personnel who 

have conducted or assisted with 

Explosive Ordnance Disposal duties. 

This includes ammunition technical 

officers, ammunition technicians, ECM 

operators, drivers, infantry escorts, 

weapons intelligence specialists, dog 

handlers, searchers or other military 

personnel involved in EOD duties. 

The charity also supports their families. 

“Cookham to Oxford includes many 

lovely parts of our river, with the 

Whitchurch to Goring Reach being 

particularly attractive in my view. 

Coming into Oxford by river is also 

quite special, with the gracious towers 

to the right as one approaches Folly 

Bridge. The weather was reasonably 

kind with some drizzle and short 

sharp showers, but no stair-rods in 

midstream. On three upstream days we 

experienced stiff headwinds and, such 

are the perversities of British weather, 

those same reaches downstream had 

an average headwind. All in all an 

enjoyable few days with good boating 

friends, and the chance to experience 

different parts of the river from our 

base in Cookham.” 

“So far we have raised some £8,500 

– and with reservations about 

Scull, Pole and Paddle being used 

for personal charitable efforts - if 

anyone wishes to increase the total, 

this can be achieved through the 

JustGiving page www.justgiving.com/ 

CharityRow2015.”

58 


Cycling across Europe in a superhero costume 

Will Hodson (Rt 1990-95) 

Yes, I have just spent the last four and half months of my life cycling over 8,000km from London right 

the way across Europe to Istanbul…in a superhero costume. I’ve also been carrying a cuddly toy worm 

with me. He even has a name. His name is Dave the Worm and he is in fact the mascot of the charity 

Parkinson’s UK. My father was diagnosed with Parkinson’s shortly after I left school and part 

of my world cycle is about raising £100,000 to help them and a number of 

other charities continue their life-changing work. 

Istanbul is not the finishing line for 

me though. In fact, I’ve got around 

another 92,000km, six more continents 

and five more years of pedalling to go. 

So this really is just the beginning. 

This first leg of my 

#7ContinentsWorldCycle (everything 

has to have its own hashtag nowadays, 

doesn’t it?) has been a complete blast. 

From the moment I left Tower Bridge at 

the end of May to the day I touched the 

water of the Bosporus river in Istanbul 

in the middle of October, this has been 

a whole lot of fun. A dream trip in fact. 

And if this trip is about anything, it’s 

that with a bit of hard work, you can 

achieve incredible things. 

This is the main message I talk 

about when I visit different schools 

on my travels; the idea that 

#WeCanAllBeHeroes (there’s that 

hashtag again!) - whether it’s not giving 

up when things get tough, or a simple 

act of kindness. Heroes come in many 

shapes and forms. 

I used to be a primary school teacher 

in London and engaging children from 

all over the world with the journey is 

really important for me. At the very 

least, by the end of the five years of 

the adventure I hope children will have 

learned the names and locations of the 

seven continents. I also hope they’ll 

have picked up some confidence and 

see that if I can make my own personal 

dream come true, then they can in turn 

realise their own dreams if they put the 

effort in. I also hope people might see 

that the world is not primarily full of 

dangerous people who are ‘different’ 

and pose a threat to any visiting 

foreigners. Sure, there are some bad 

guys everywhere in the world, but the 

vast majority of people in every single 

country (that I have been to so far 

anyway) are kind, helpful and tolerant 

– hopefully like you and me. 

I regularly post stories and pictures 

online featuring the kind people (or 

everyday heroes as I call them) I have 

met in each country I have visited. 

Most recently in Turkey I have been 

given a house to stay in for a few days 

after just a 30-minute conversation 

with a guy on a ferry boat across the 

Bosporus. I was also given a Toblerone 

and a can of RedBull by another guy 

in a car through his car window later 

on that same day. This is the kind of 

stuff that happens pretty well every 

day in my strange world. The best way 

I can describe it is that it kind of feels 

like it’s my birthday every day. It really 

is amazing how kind people are… 

everywhere. This is what I experience 

anyway as I cycle from A to B each 

day. Maybe it’s the bike, as I think 

people appreciate the effort you are 

going to. Maybe it’s the superhero 

costume, which is undoubtedly a 

good ice-breaker, especially with any 

slightly moody border guards. But 

I like to think that anyone visiting 

these countries would get this kind of 

treatment. Just learning a few words (I 

try and learn at least ‘hello’, ‘thank you’ 

and ‘please’ in each language) goes 

a long way, and a smile… everyone 

understands a smile! 

So, I’ve now got a couple of weeks 

off the bike in Istanbul. I am doing a 

few repairs and upgrades to my bike 

- appropriately called a KOGA World 

Traveller. I’ve also got to buy some 

warmer clothes for what I’m calling this 

‘hilly and chilly’ next section across Asia 

from Turkey to Tokyo that will start 

towards the end of November. A pair of 

thermal superhero pants are top of the 

shopping list. 

Stay tuned via my SuperWebsite 

www.supercyclingman.com to see 

how the ride across Continent No.2 

(Asia) goes. There is a live map on 

the website which shows exactly 

where I am in the world. 

You can also follow the round 

the world cycling adventure on 

Facebook and Twitter. And if you 

would like to donate to help me 

towards my fundraising goal of 

£100,000 for Parkinson’s UK and 

several other charities, my website 

includes a link to my Virgin Money 

Giving donations page. 

Stay super and remember… 

#WeCanAllBeHeroes! 

Will / SuperCyclingMan 

and Dave the Worm


Old Salopian Football Club 

Pictured: OSFC 2nd XI - front row, left to right: Charlie Parry, Mark Tomley, Luke Gerrard, Guy Williams, Jack Brydon, Ben Cooke, Will Speer. Back row, left to 

right: William Alexander, Oliver Black, Ed Taylor, Nick Corlett (c), George Blakemore, Tom Cox, Freddie Young. 

In what is the 1st XI’s third 

consecutive season in the top flight 

of the Arthurian League, the team has 

made a robust start to the season, 

at the time of writing sitting in the 

comfort of mid-table and with it all 

to play for heading into the winter 

months of November and December. 

The team has registered wins against 

King’s College Wimbledon (x2) and 

Chigwell, whilst also registering a 

surprising win in the AFA Cup with 

only ten men on the day (and with the 

fixture, rather exhaustingly, going all 

the way to penalties). Turning up with 

ten men doesn’t happen all that often, 

but it is no coincidence that the steely 

Salopian determination never fails to 

manifest itself in these fixtures. The 

squad is arguably more settled than in 

previous years as younger members 

of the squad - Messrs Blofield, White, 

Bradshaw and Pilkington spring to 

mind - are able to turn out more 

consistently and undoubtedly add 

a great deal to the squad’s overall 

performance. 

It has been a solid but not spectacular 

start to the season for the 2nd XI. 

Having amassed six points in their 

opening five matches, the side is 

looking up not down and will look 

to turn draws into wins in their 

upcoming matches against Old 

Harrovians and Old Haberdashers. 

Inspired by precocious new signing 

Oliver Black, and having secured 

a lucrative sponsorship with Vimto 

(see photo for the squad’s new kit), 

the squad are still aiming to finish in 

the top two positions that would see 

them promoted to 2nd Division of the 

Arthurian League. 

Unfortunately the Cup run was all 

too brief; the side fought well but 

were ultimately undone by a moment 

of individual brilliance from the 

opposition in the dying minutes of the 

game to snatch a 3-2 victory in what 

was an excellent game of football. 

The Vets continue to put in impressive 

displays and will look to go deep into 

the later stages of the Derrick Moore 

Veterans Cup. 

Hot off the press for this report is the 

news that the 1st XI are through to the 

second round of the prestigious Arthur 

Dunn Cup. We were drawn against 

old foes Malvern and summoned to 

‘their place’ for the mouth-watering 

encounter on Saturday 31st October. 

1-0 down at half time to a, shall we 

say, fortuitous goal, the side emerged 

for the second half revitalised and 

having adopted an attacking 4-3-3 

formation. We found ourselves in 

total control of the game as both 

momentum and the score sheet tilted 

in our favour: 1-2 to the Salops after 

60 minutes, with credit to Adam 

Parker and Tom Kelly for saving 

Salopian blushes. Wave after wave of 

Salopian aggression proved too much 

for the Old Malvernians, who could 

consider themselves lucky to have 

only conceded three OSFC goals in the 

second half. 1-3 to the Old Salopians 

was the final score, with Tom Kelly 

completing a brace for the final goal. 

With Charterhouse already out of the 

competition, the door is ajar for a 

Salopian push for the famous Cup. 

If you are interested in playing for the 

Old Salopian FC in London, there are 

two teams that train on Tuesdays and 

play on Saturdays at our home ground 

in Barnes Bridge. Please contact 

ojheywood1@hotmail.co.uk. 

The end of season OSFC dinner will 

be held on Friday 13th May 2016 in 

Maida Vale, London; always a fantastic 

evening. Please get in touch with 

rwhawkin@hotmail.com if you would 

like to attend any of the Club’s social 

events – all welcome. 

Richard McGarry


Tour Report - Berlin 2015 

Much like the fields of Glastonbury 

being laid to fallow every 

few years, the tradition of the Old 

Salopian Football Club’s annual tour 

to mainland Europe had been put on 

hold for the previous three seasons. 

This year the OSFC Tour was very 

much back on the agenda. On the 

August Bank Holiday a spirited touring 

party of 19 Old Salopians left Gatwick 

bound for Berlin, looking forward to 

shaking off the cobwebs of a wedding 

-and-stag-laden off-season - and 

getting some much needed pre-season 

fitness under their (strained) belts. 

After spending the first evening 

following the advice of talismanic Nick 

Corlett, the Salops were well and truly 

acclimatised to the local conditions by 

the time the team bus departed the 

hotel at 8am the following morning. 

The squad were looking forward to 

their first taste of German opposition, 

with only a couple of the touring party 

suffering from any serious jet-lag. 

Two OS teams had been entered into 

a 7-a-side tournament that Saturday, 

with each team playing a total of 

10x15 minute games in a leaguestyle 

format. Conditions were not 

favourable to the British tourists, as we 

were faced with an uncharacteristically 

German 30 degree sun, some less 

than objective refereeing and, more 

worryingly, a tempting German 

barbeque catching more than one 

hungry Salopian’s attention. However, 

fuelled by Bratwurst and Diet Coke, 

the two teams did themselves proud, 

swatting aside every team that they 

came up against, with the likes of 

George Wade-Smith, as ever, light 

on his feet and returning veteran 

Hamish McKenzie tickling the onion 

bag with regularity. The crunch game 

arrived when the two OS teams met 

one another, with the inevitable result 

being a nervy 1-1 draw with chances 

for both sides. In the final two games 

Team 2 - perhaps weighed down by 

the impressive intake of processed 

meat - found results harder to come 

by. Team 1 took advantage by 

winning their final two games and in 

doing so secured the famous ‘Golden 

Ananas’ Trophy. Given the burgeoning 

discontent from the locals to an 

OSFC 1st/2nd finish, a hasty retreat 

by the victorious touring party was 

quick to follow. 

After an evening celebrating the first 

silverware of the year, the 8.30am 

coach journey to our 2nd Tour game 

on the Sunday morning was a little 

muted. Back playing in their first 

11-a-side game for over four months 

and sore from over six hours of 

football the previous day, the Old 

Salops were understandably a little 

rusty. We soon found ourselves 3-0 

down by half time. However, after half 

time, the dramatic turnaround was 

complete, with Rory Griffiths (who 

arrived at the ground a Salopian-esque 

90 minutes late) running rings around 

the previously formidable opponents 

and turning a deficit into a 4-3 victory 

– his week’s worth of tardy book was 

waived on this occasion. 

Staying true to absorbing as much 

local culture as possible, the 

afternoon was spent celebrating 

another Tour win in a traditional 

German Beer Garden, with inevitably 

yet again more Bratwurst. Indeed, as 

well as the football, over the three 

days in Berlin the team took in the 

fallen Wall, the Brandenburg Gate 

and were particularly fascinated by 

resident local guide Oliver Heywood’s 

lessons on ‘queuing etiquette’. The 

victory on Sunday capped off a 

thoroughly enjoyable tour and that 

evening the whole squad relaxed on 

the banks of the River Spree, mixing 

with the locals and enjoying some 

light music and dancing. 

As a proud former winner, it was my 

honour to present Alistair Hutchinson 

with this Year’s TC award; in the 

future I am sure he won’t forget to 

pack his razor. Rory Griffiths was the 

unanimous choice for Player of the 

Tour, scoring wherever he went. Well 

done to both of those players. 

What was especially pleasing was 

bringing together six different year 

groups of Old Salopians. Everyone is 

already counting down the days until 

the next tour in August 2016! 

Floreat! 

Rob Hawkin


Old Salopian Yacht Club 

L-R: Mark Telfer, Matthias Borstell, Will Collins, Johnny Moulsdale, John Newton, Tim Becker, Kurt de Freitas, George Hall, James Pitt, Rupert Tildesley - and 

photographer James Heaven (out of shot) 

Once again, the highlight of the 

OSYC’s year was participation 

in the annual Boarding Schools Arrow 

Trophy regatta at Cowes in October. 

Always a popular event, both on and 

off the water, Shrewsbury has entered 

at least one crew for the past ten 

years and will take over running the 

event in 2019. 

The weekend started as usual with 

a late evening passage from Port 

Solent to Cowes, and an impressive 

but futile effort to leave Tim Becker 

on the dockside, followed by dinner 

in a local curry house allowing crew 

members ranging in age from their 

early twenties to an undisclosed 

upper limit to form close bonds 

ahead of the next day’s racing. We 

hand over at this point to our matchday 

commentator and enthusiastic 

crew member, James Heaven, to 

report on the weekend’s racing. 

“This year saw the return of Rupert 

Tildesley to the helm, alongside James 

Pitt as Skipper and Tactician, the 

dream team that had delivered the 

Charterhouse Trophy in recent years. 

With only one boat entered into the 

competition this year, consolidating 

experienced crew drawn from previous 

years’ racing, as well as a number of 

new members, confidence was high 

going into the weekend. In the first 

race, despite a disastrous start, a gamble 

to the opposite side of the course saw 

us fight back from last place up to 8th. 

large picnic and full fridge of cold beer 

may not have helped, but it did soothe 

our concerns, along with the excellent 

company and glorious sunshine we 

enjoyed for the whole weekend. 

Relaxing later that evening, we 

observed the leading crews frantically 

polishing their hulls of weed and 

considered how distasteful it was 

to be seen to be taking these things 

too seriously, whilst at the same time 

plotting to do the same next year. It 

seems things are getting quite serious 

and we came away this year agreed 

that it was far more amusing being in 

the top 5 rather the bottom 5 at the end 

of the day. Your old school needs you! 

Please contact David Richards and join 

us next year, when we will try to enter 

two boats and make at least one of 

these quietly, distastefully, competitive. 

All welcome.” 

James modestly declines to 

acknowledge his lead contribution in 

the stocking of the beer fridge, and 

neglects to mention the enjoyable 

Saturday evening dinner in the 

RORC’s Royal Corinthian Yacht Club, 

enthusiastically supported by our 

crew, but we echo his exhortation 

to Salopians who would like to take 

part next year to contact the Secretary 

(david.richards@trinity.oxon.org). 

Experienced racing yachties are of 

course especially welcome but we have 

room for enthusiastic sailors with any 

level of experience. As ever, a cheery 

spirit, well-formed winch-grinding 

muscles, and an ability to hold a steady 

glass are the core qualifications for 

Salopian yachting. 

Beyond the Arrow, we continue to 

encourage yacht-owning Salopians 

to offer cruising and racing places 

on their boats to our members. Will 

Collins deserves special mention for 

his generosity in offering crew places 

on his yacht Dogmatix in the JOG 

racing series. Several club members 

have joined Will during the season, 

even including the Secretary who took 

part in a bruising but enjoyable race to 

Alderney in June. 

We remain very grateful to the Salopian 

Club for their financial support, 

enabling us to sponsor participation 

by our younger members to a very 

considerable extent. 

Unfortunately this impressive recovery 

turned out to be our best result of the 

series. Despite determined teamwork 

and some superb starts, we found 

ourselves simply overhauled on boat 

speed, despite our best efforts to rectify 

the situation. We suspected that the 

L- R: James Pitt, Rupert Tildesley, Johnny Moulsdale, Tim Becker, Kurt de Freitas, David Richards


SABRINA 

Sabrina Club AGM Election of new President 

Rowing news 

After missing out at Henley Royal 

Regatta by such a small margin, 

the majority of the crew are back 

in training for another crack at the 

Thames Cup in 2016. It is so important 

that the basic training is done now in 

preparation for next year. Circuits are 

taking place on Tuesday evenings at 

school, with a personal trainer giving 

the guys (plus Lettie and Sonya!) a great 

workout, and outings are arranged for 

most weekends. 

The first Head race took place on 

31st October at Chester, where our 

boat came in 2nd and 4th overall in 

the two divisions, so certainly a step 

up on where we were last year – 

especially with having to pull their 

coxing coach down the Dee! Onwards 

now to Wallingford Head at the end of 

November. 

Many thanks to RSSBC for their 

support; also thanks to our new Sabrina 

President, Miles Preston, for his input. 

The Sabrina AGM was held in the Pugh Boathouse Club on Saturday 3rd October. 

Many Sabrina members attended. The Club presented Martin Slocock with a special 

oar blade in thanks for the huge contribution made during his Presidency between 

2011 and 2015. 

The Club elected Miles Preston as the new President. Miles was a member of the 

1st VIII in 1967 and 1968, the latter year as Captain of Boats. Also coached by 

Roger Blomfield, Miles was a member of the School’s coxless four that was selected 

as the GB entry for the 1968 FISA International Youth Regatta (fore-runner to the 

World Junior Championships), winning a Bronze medal. Miles subsequently rowed 

for Leander Club, where he was a member of their 1969 and 1970 Thames Cup 

winning crews at Henley Royal Regatta. 

Sabrina Competitors 

A Hagger, J Russell, R Shropshire, 

J Kynaston, P Wood, R Homden, P 

Randall, Miss L Tay, P Graham (Staff), 

Miss S Milanova (Cox, Staff), P Manser 

(Coach) 

Future Racing (TBC) 

20th February Worcester HOR 

27th Feb Runcorn HOR 

12th March North of England (Chester) 

19th March Head of River (London 

Tideway) 

Other Sabrina News 

Tom Marshall (SH 2007-12) is 

taking a year out from his studies at 

Harvard, where he has been rowing 

in their Varsity Lightweight Eight, to 

train at Caversham with the Senior GB 

Lightweight Squad. At the recent British 

Rowing Championships he won a silver 

medal representing Molesey BC in 

Open coxless fours alongside Mo Sibhi 

and George Nash (both from the World 

Championship winning GB 8). They 

were beaten to the gold medal by a 

Leander 4, crewed by the likes of Pete 

Reed and Stan Louloudis (also from the 

GB 8). Bronze was won by another 

Leander 4 featuring Will Satch and Alex 

Gregory (also from the GB 8!). Not bad 

for a lightweight! 

Lettie Tay (MSH 2013-15) competed in 

the most recent Senior Women’s trials in 

Boston, Lincs, where she came 9th out 

of the U20s group. Lettie is also training 

with the Welsh squad in Cardiff. She 

won in her single at Chester, making 

her the first female Sabrina winner!


Bevan Crew Reunion 

At noon on Saturday 30th May, 

Sabrina Club members and their 

families assembled on the banks 

of the River Severn at the School 

boathouse to celebrate Nick Bevan’s 

outstanding contribution to rowing at 

Shrewsbury between the years 1973 

and 1988. Blessed with sunshine and 

no wind, around 60 (many more 

wrote letters of support but were 

unable to attend) gathered for a 

picnic supplemented by traditional 

Pimms and other refreshments and 

food provided by Sabrina Club in the 

Bowring Clubroom. 

As President of the Salopian Club and 

past President of the Sabrina Club for 

many years, it had been Nick Bevan’s 

wish to bring together immediately 

after his Presidency all those whom 

he had coached during his long stint 

in charge of RSSBC’s top crew. Nick 

Bevan’s highly successful record 

and huge contribution to rowing at 

Shrewsbury has been acknowledged 

in many ways, but this was the way 

he wished to celebrate those years, 

gathering together crew members 

he coached and their families in a 

relaxed familiar environment. 

He was also keen for those wishing 

to do so to take to the water again 

and many took up this opportunity in 

an eight, a pair and single scull. The 

1978 crew were the most organised, 

with the majority taking to the water. 

With many attending having gone 

on after school to row at university, 

clubs and even the Olympics, the 

standard of rowing for scratch crews 

on the day was pretty impressive and 

certainly received rapturous applause 

from families and friends on the bank. 

Many had not been back in recent 

times to see the impressive Ergo 

Room where much of the hard 

work is now done in training and 

the quality of boats and equipment 

in the Boathouse needed to remain 

competitive at the highest level. 

Nick’s widow Annabel Bevan, 

together with their children Emily and 

Oliver and Edward Bevan, attended, 

catching up with many familiar 

faces, all of whom had a soft spot 

for Nick - NVB. The President Martin 

Slocock said a few words and Oliver 

displayed fantastic vintage footage 

recently found of NVB as a pupil at 

school at Shrewsbury. 

The day passed far too quickly, with 

many staying on late to make the 

most of the occasion, idyllic setting 

and familiar company. Nick would 

have thoroughly enjoyed the day!

64 


Some of us have our names engraved 

on RSSH silverware, which I 

sometimes get to present to today’s 

winners. For instance, in the middle of 

March, Steeplechases involve a large 

number of girls and boys who run hard 

for the best time and to be winning 

House. I have had the pleasure of 

pointing out the engraved names, 

which have all become members of 

The Old Salopian Hunt. 

Old Salopian Hunt 

In September I witnessed Sam Western 

(S) win The Third Form Race and was 

able to congratulate him as he starts 

his progression through the years, 

undoubtedly as an important new 

member of The Hunt. Consequently, 

I would lay bets that he will join the 

OSH in five years’ time! Even when the 

OSH meet the RSSH on Saturday 5th 

December this year, it is apparent that 

this annual interaction is as important as 

ever and shows that the Hunt becomes 

part of your life for life. 

On Sunday 21st June 2015, the third 

Shrewsbury Half Marathon was held 

and Team Shrewsbury once again put 

in a superb performance, with Peter 

Middleton (Master in Charge of the 

Hunt) finishing 2nd (for the second 

year), followed by one of this year’s 

Joint Huntsmen, Oscar Dickins (R) at 

30th and then our own Tom Cousins 

(PH 2007-12) at 36th. The team of 

about 30 boys and girls of all ages 

completed the course, amongst some 

1,092 finishers. Photos can be seen on 

the Old Salopian Hunt Facebook page 

and all the results can be found on the 

‘In The Running’ website. 

With regards to the OSH Facebook 

page, photos and comments are always 

welcome and anyone can join the 

group to keep in touch with the Club. 

In addition, the updated OSH website 

page can be found by going to 

www.shrewsbury.org.uk/page/os-hunt, 

where all details and news of the OSH 

are listed, including the OSH tie, men’s 

and ladies’ OSH running vests and the 

new silk OSH scarf. 

In the last edition of The Salopian 

(Summer 2015, Issue No.156), I had 

the pleasure of including recollections 

from Bob Dowty (SH 1945-50), 

which everyone I have spoken to 

has enjoyed reading. Sadly, I have 

to report that Bob passed away on 

the Isle of Man on Tuesday 28th 

July 2015, after a short illness. As a 

Huntsman for the 1949-50 season, he 

will be remembered by the Hunt. (see 

obituary on page 73) 

Every generation of Shrewsbury School 

pupils will recall that great test of 

‘athleticism’ known as THE TUCKS. 

Some will tell stories of how they


avoided it or found short-cuts or even 

ran all five in their time! Dr David 

Gee has completed 56 of them and I 

have just done my 6th, albeit 45 years 

since my previous, but was pleased 

to be in good company, including 

Richard Hudson (pictured above), 

who will remember that in 1970 we 

started off through the Moss Gates 

and had three All-Ups before the 

Run-In from Tucks Bridge. 

The Tucks has evolved so that all now 

compete, including the Headmaster 

and the Chaplain (above right) and 

many others on the Staff and beyond, 

amongst the whole School in this 

exciting and colourful spectacle. Even 

though my distinctive OSH running 

vest was the only one in a sea of 700 

or so runners, it did get round Pulley 

Common and back to Meole Brace, 

with me still inside it. I can highly 

recommend that my fellow Club 

members consider coming along next 

October to join in this event and to 

increase the presence of our colours 

of Green & Gold. 

Peter Birch (DB 1966-71)

66 


Old Salopian Golfing Society 

“Let us now praise famous men…” At 

the AGM on 2nd October, the following 

were elected Vice-Presidents of OSGS: 

Sandy Bell, Robert Lanyon, William 

Painter and Anthony Parsons. This 

foursome join the celebrated company 

of Tony Duerr, former President of the 

Society, who has just presented the 

Duerr Tankard, for the winners of the 

annual match that is played against 

Malvern at Blackwell. 

It is with enormous disappointment 

that I report a defeat by one point in 

the match on 11th October. The pain 

is all the more excruciating, as after 

15 years of fierce rivalry, Shrewsbury 

lead the series 12-3. With silverware at 

stake, we were defeated 4.5 to 5.5. The 

tankard is beautifully engraved with the 

names of the two Societies and Tony’s 

initials – and to which we should add 

OBE, awarded for services for eating 

for England. 

The OSGS team, with points won in 

brackets, was as follows: 

Angus Pollock (2): Harry Lewis (1.5): 

Charles Hill (1.5): Bill Russell (1.5): 

Tom Price (1): Martin Cars (1): Andy 

Pollock (0.5): James Skelton (0): 

Rupert Haines (0): 

Charlie Stockbridge (0) 

Battle will be resumed on Sunday, 

9th October 2016. 

Our photo shows OSGS Captain Angus 

Pollock smiling through gritted teeth at 

the winning Malvern Captain. 

On 11th September, Charles Tustain 

snatched the Tony Duerr Silver Salver 

(presented in 1997) from the grasp of 

Nicky Renton, on a count back on the 

last 3 holes at Worplesdon. The course 

and the weather gods were smiling, 

as well they might at the venerable 

company that assembled: three scions 

of the incomparable Shaw dynasty, 

aided and abetted by Nick Oldham and 

Julian Sterck, Mellin winner in 2014 but 

NFI for the winning team in 2015: Nick 

Renton and his father Tony from Royal 

Mid-Surrey. 

Our photo of John Parker sandwiched 

between Charles Shaw and James Shaw 

is an indication of the revelry enjoyed 

after lunch. 

The main Senior team event in our 

Fasti is the G L ‘Susie’ Mellin Salver, 

where Shrewsbury has an excellent 

recent record. 

We have won the Salver six times 

in the last 13 years as well as being 

losing finalists on two other occasions, 

mostly under the captaincy of Peter 

Worth’s redoubtable predecessor, 

Christopher Wallace. 

Peter Worth reports: ”I thought you 

would like to know we won the 

Mellin, lost in the second round of the 

Burles (for over 65s) losing a play off 

on the 19th and Tim Lewis and John 

Parker qualified in the Bunny Millard 

(for over 75s) but lost on the 19th after 

a great tussle against Downside who 

were holders. 

We played well to get through to the 

Mellin final against Loretto where 

James Shaw and Will Painter, who were 

unbeaten having played superbly, won 

yet again in the country. Allan Wright 

and I ran out of steam and shook 

hands on the 16th. This left Pollock and 

Smith who had won all their matches 

so far, to recover from 1 down with 2 

to play. They halved the 17th in par 

and won the 18th when the opponents 

tugged their second shot into the 

rhododendrons on the left. Down the 

19th they went - 2 good drives but both 

second shots were short of the green 

leaving a chipping and putting contest. 

Our President played a wonderful shot 

to 4 feet. Loretto were a little further 

away with a very makeable uphill 

putt. Loretto missed and Andy Pollock 

sunk a brilliant putt for the win. West 

Hill looked after us extremely well 

as always but we did miss Anthony 

Parsons who was paying a short visit to 

hospital. We look forward to his return 

next year”. 

The 4th Annual Triangular Challenge 

took place at Tandridge GC on 

24th April. 

OSGS side came an illustrious third, by 

a narrowing margin. 

The actual aggregate scores for the four 

pairs in each team were:- 

Old Alleynians 163 pts 

Old Tonbridgians 162 pts 

OSGS 158 pts (this would have merited 

a win in the last two years) 

The OSGS side was Peter Renshaw, 

Donald Shaw, Michael Smart, 

Stephen Shaw, James Shaw, Peter 

Jeffrey, Ian Falconer and Adrian Cooper 

(the OT non playing Captain who 

stepped in for us in view of an OS 

withdrawal that morning). 

In the Schools Putting competition 

on 3rd June at Royal Wimbledon, a 

tiger team of Will Hawksley, Simon 

Shepherd, Jonathan Howse and James 

Pollock (Captain) came 3rd on our 

qualifying day with 30 pts. This is our 

best ever performance and marked 

a fitting swansong for James Pollock, 

who has assembled our teams in recent 

years, with a marked blend of patience 

and competence, intrinsic to the 

Pollock clan. 

Manfully, David Warmington raised 

a team of 8 Salopians to play in the 

Public Schools Meeting at Little Aston 

on 24th June. Although we were the 

lowest handicapped team, we came in 

on 11th place with a score of 83 points 

against Uppingham’s winning 110 (3 

pairs counting). 

Our President, Anthony Smith and Mark 

Ferguson won the best gross score 

prize with a magnificent 78. A case of 

class will out for our President even


paired with a fiery partner, whose email 

address is Fergmonster. 

Team scores were;- 

Antony Smith & 

Mark Ferguson 34 points 

Richard Bevan & 

Neil Crawford 24 points 

Martin Cars & 

James Mainwaring 25 points 

Jonathon Hope & 

Robin Sharp 21 points 

OSGS Match versus Old 

Cholmeleians on Friday 3th July 

At Hadley Wood: OSGS Team Captain 

Simon Shepherd (O 77-82) writes: 

I am pleased to report a resounding 

success for OSGS, by quite a large 

score, to not very many; we now stand 

2 – 1 in the series, in our favour. John 

Bolton and I will chase the OCs a 

little harder next year to put out some 

stronger opponents. 

The 4th August marked a special 

pilgrimage to Crawford Country, 

otherwise known as The Alwoodley 

GC, lying tranquilly on Lord 

Harewood’s Wigton Moor, nobbut 

a pitch and a putt from the hum of 

traffic in the city centre of Leeds. The 

members had the nous to anoint Neil 

Crawford as this year’s Captain, in 

the footsteps of his illustrious father 

Michael, who was Club President. The 

members have shown additional nous 

to elect John Smith to succeed Michael 

as President. 

The course was in magnificent 

condition. The company was glorious 

including Neil Crawford, James 

Crawford, Henry Crawford (son of 

James Crawford) and the prizes were 

awarded by Hazel Crawford. 

Jonathan Russell, non-playing 

Captain, reports in all modesty on the 

whitewash of the Old Reptonians at 

Worplesdon on 15th August. 

“We won the match 8-0, thus retaining 

our bragging rights having won by a 

point last year. The stars for us were 

Nick Renton and, making his debut, 

Simon Shepherd. There were strong 

performances from John Godby and 

the most improved golfer, Leigh 

Whittingham who has gone from a 

24 handicap to being worthy of 15. 

The length of his driving was much 

admired though we haven’t yet been 

able to find out his secret! The other 

team players were Robin Humble, 

Patrick Carr and Charles Shaw. 

Worfield: Winner of the Todwick 

Tankard: Dan Durman, on his OSGS 

debut spread-eagled a very select field, 

with 38 points. Runner-up was Michael 

Roberts with 34 points. Jonathan 

Perkins struck his 6 iron at the 3rd 

hole (145 yards) to within six inches 

of the flag for Nearest the Pin prize 

with Robert Lanyon closest to the hole 

with his second shot at the 18th (320 

yards). Meetings Organiser Charles Hill 

won the prize for the longest drive 

on the fairway. Mark Davies provided 

five bottles of wine for prizes, with 

the generosity of a Riggite, where 

else? One of these went to Gaby 

Byrne (EDH 2012-14) who travelled 

down with her father Jim from Royal 

Birkdale to sample the delights of 

Worfield. Another prize for outstanding 

effort went to Hugh Ramsbotham, 

former President of The Salopian 

Club. The open-handedness of the 

proprietor of Worfield Oliver Eaton 

(Rt 85-91), was, as usual, magnifico. 

STOP PRESS: The Campion Trophy 

Final 2015. 

Anthony Smith, President of OSGS 

writes: 

This year, by dint of the Secretary’s 

hard work, it was possible to play the 

final before the clocks went ‘back’ on 

23rd October. 

Malcom McMullan, who was a losing 

finalist in 2012, and Geoff Thomas 

were the protagonists. The latter was 

accompanied by his mother Chris, a 

former Welsh Ladies International, 

and the 2006 President of the Welsh 

Ladies Golf Union. 

The final is always at risk of the 

weather, but fortunately, although 

cloudy and cool, the match was 

played in dry conditions, with the 

breeze increasing as the round 

progressed. Both finalists have single 

figure handicaps (nine and eight), so 

there was only one stroke to be given 

– by Malcom. 

He did not get off to the best of starts, 

and his ball found steep bunkers with 

unerring accuracy on all the even 

numbered holes on the front nine. Not 

surprisingly, Geoff playing steadily was 

three up at the turn. 

Perhaps Malcom’s fortunes can best 

be demonstrated at the short 12th 

hole. Here he hit a glorious tee shot 

into the wind, straight at the distant 

flag. Unfortunately he hit it so well 

that it cleared the green and pitched 

into the grassy bank at the back of 

the green, never to be seen again. A 

hole that might have been won was 

inextricably lost. 

Congratulations go to Geoff Thomas, 

a first time winner by the margin of 4 

+ 3, and commiserations to Malcom, 

who has promised to try and make it 

third time lucky in the future. 

Our thanks go to the Council of 

The Royal Birkdale Golf Club for 

generously allowing the Society to 

play the final on their magnificent 

Links. Also thanks to Jonty Campion 

for representing the family at the final. 

The Fasti for 2016 is available on the 

next page 

Tim Lewis – Honorary Secretary – 

Old Salopian Golfing Society 

timjlewis2014@gmail.com 

Tel: 01491 641651

68 


OS Golf Fasti 2016 

DATE EVENT COURSE ORGANISER 

JANUARY 

Wed 13 6pm Halford Hewitt Draw East India Club Andy Pollock 

MARCH 

Sun 13 Halford Hewitt Get-Together* Woburn Andy Pollock 

Thurs 17 Spring Meeting (South) Denham Anthony Parsons 

APRIL 

Fri 1 Spring Meeting (North) Hoylake Robert Lanyon 

Thurs 7 -Sun 10 Halford Hewitt Cup* Sandwich/Deal Andy Pollock 

Fri 22 Triangular Match Tandridge Stephen Shaw 

Thur 28 Match v The Schools Hawkstone Park Gerald Smith 

MAY 

Sat 14 Grafton Morrish Qualifying* Olton (Solihull) Andy Pollock 

Wed 18 Scottish Tour Luffness New Tim Lewis 

Thurs 19 Scottish Tour Muirfield Tim Lewis 

Fri 20 Scottish Tour Gullane No 1 Tim Lewis 

JULY 

Thurs 7 - Sat 9 Peter Burles Salver (65 and over)* West Hill Peter Worth 

Thurs 7 - Sat 9 Bunny Millard Salver (75 and over)* West Hill Peter Worth 

Fri 8 - Sat 9 G.L.Mellin Salver (55 and over)* West Hill Peter Worth 

Fri 22 Match v. Old Cholmeleians Hadley Wood Simon Shepherd 

AUGUST 

Thurs 4 Yorkshire Meeting The Alwoodley Peter Ambler 

Sun pm 7 West Country Tour Westward Ho! Paul Nichols 

Mon am 8 West Country Tour Saunton Paul Nichols 

Tues am 9 West Country Tour Saunton Paul Nichols 

Sat 13 Match v. Old Reptonians Worplesdon Jonathan Russell 

Sun 21 Match v.ORs & OMs Little Aston Charles Tustain 

Mon 22 Old Schools’ Competition Trevose Bill Higson 

SEPTEMBER 

Fri 7 - Sun 9 Tony Duerr Silver Salver Worplesdon Tim Lewis 

Sun 25 Midlands Meeting and AGM Blackwell Charles Hill 

OCTOBER 

Fri 7 - Sun 9 Grafton Morrish Finals* Hunstanton/Brancaster Andy Pollock 

Sun 9 Match v. Old Malvernians Blackwell Angus Pollock 

Fri 28 Guests’ Invitation Meeting Ashridge Dan Graham 

NOVEMBER 

Sat am 5 Robert Walker Foursomes Cup New Zealand Tim Lewis 

* By Invitation only - Members are asked to contact the Organiser for any event in which they may wish to play.


Saracens 

The Saracens enjoyed another 

successful year in the Cricketer Cup, 

reaching a third semi-final in four years. 

The campaign began in early June with 

a comfortable victory at home to the 

Haileybury Hermits. Batting first, the 

Saracens posted an enormous 312-7. 

Ben Williams crashed a magnificent 

122 and was ably supported by Steve 

Leach (61) and Ben Chapman (47). The 

Hermits never got going in reply and, 

tied down by spinners Henry Lewis, 

Matt Gregson and Henry Dawson, fell 

191 runs short. 

A much sterner test awaited in Round 

2, when the 2014 beaten finalists, the 

Bradfield Waifs, travelled to Shrewsbury 

intent on exacting revenge after an 

agonising last over defeat in the 2012 

semi-final. On this occasion, the 

Saracens batted first and began well. 

Henry Lewis (64) laid the groundwork 

for a big Saracens’ total with a 

composed opener’s knock, building a 

threatening second wicket partnership 

with the expansive Ed Pollock (57). 

Indeed it was a mark of how well these 

two had played that the boundaries 

dried up almost altogether when they 

both departed, such that the Saracens 

ultimately had to settle for a total of 250. 

For much of a hot afternoon this looked 

as if it might not be enough, as the highquality 

Waifs batting line-up kept wickets 

in hand whilst scoring with relative ease. 

However, a pair of remarkable slip 

catches from Ian Massey (one of which 

would be amongst the finest ever seen 

on Senior) seized back some crucial 

initiative in the middle overs, and when 

the pressure ramped up in the final 

ten overs James Aston and in particular 

Henry Blofield (3-37) kept their nerve 

to see the side home by 11 runs. 

The quarter-final tie, away to the St 

Edward’s Martyrs, was no less closely 

fought. The home side had first 

use of a very dry wicket, and had 

progressed relatively serenely to 116-2, 

until spinners Matt Gregson (2-39) 

and Henry Blofield (3-22) turned the 

game decisively, helped by a fiery 

spell in the middle of the innings 

from Steve Barnard (2-52). Gregson 

in particular was very tough to play, 

as he extracted exaggerated turn out 

of the fast-deteriorating wicket. The 

Martyrs were bowled out for 190 in 

43 overs. The Saracens’ reply began in 

spectacular fashion, with a succession 

of boundaries from Steve Leach (29 

from 13), Jack Brydon (a comparatively 

sedate 10 from 11) and Ed Pollock (17 

from 9). When Pollock was out to the 

first ball of the 8th over, the scoreboard 

read 76-3, and the nervous tension 

amongst the Saracens’ support was 

palpable. The President was pacing! 

Thankfully, after the storm came the 

calm in the form of Ben Williams (64) 

and Henry Lewis (28), who together 

with Ben Chapman (17*) showed great 

skill and poise on a turning wicket to 

lead the Saracens into the semi-finals 

with over 16 overs to spare. 

Sadly for the Saracens, the semi-final 

was, much like the previous year’s 

fixture against the old enemy, ultimately 

a one-sided affair. After rain had 

postponed the fixture by a week and 

caused the venue to be changed to 

Malvern, a somewhat depleted side lost 

the toss and were invited to field. The 

Saracens acquitted themselves well in 

the first hour, despite being hampered 

by the early loss of wicketkeeper 

Jack Brydon, who injured himself in 

appealing for a leg before decision 

(given not out); and having reduced the 

Old Malvernians to 68-3, were well in 

the game. However, we were unable 

to split the fourth wicket pair of Craig 

Wood (90) and Will Gifford (101), who 

built a match-winning partnership of 135 

and put some tired Saracens’ bowling to 

the sword in the final overs, as the Old 

Malvernians finished on 260-7 (despite 

Ali Pollock returning well-deserved 

figures of 4-53). This was to prove too 

many for the Saracens, who despite at 

drinks being exactly level with the Old 

Malvernian score (99-3) collapsed soon 

afterwards, to finish on 146-9 (with 

Brydon incapacitated). 

My thanks to all who played and 

supported the team this year (and in 

particular to the two more experienced 

Saracens, Harry Lewis and Angus 

Pollock, who did both in the same

70 


day at Malvern when injury struck!). 

A document recently circulated by the 

Cricketer Cup committee detailing the 

records of the 32 schools over the past 

5 years shows the Saracens currently 

sitting 2nd in the league table. This 

reflects the consistency of the present 

squad of players and the quality of 

cricketers presently being produced. 

On that basis, hopefully another win 

cannot be too far away… 

Saracens’ Devon Tour 2015 

The annual cricket tour to North 

Devon was yet again an overwhelming 

success. In keeping with trends from 

the previous few years, we were 

delighted to welcome back a strong 

group of recent leavers and that was 

bolstered by debutant tourists Sam 

Welti, George Hamner and last year’s 

captain of cricket, George Lewis. This, 

combined with the key ingredient 

of ‘senior pros’ who between them 

boast an extraordinary wealth of tour 

experience, meant that 2015 truly was 

an unforgettable tour. 

The first game of tour was on Monday 

with the first of two consecutive oneday 

games against North Devon CC. 

On a damp wicket the Saracens were 

asked to bat first against a formidable 

North Devon XI which included Craig 

and Jamie Overton, who have both 

just played a full season for Somerset. 

Despite debutant George Hanmer 

being dismissed first ball, by lunch the 

Saracens were in control at 110-2 with 

Sam Welti batting nicely and Richard 

McKay, who was dismissed just before 

lunch, getting the tour off to a flyer! 

Some good bowling meant it was slow 

going after lunch and the Saracens lost 

quick wickets. A partnership between 

Henry Lewis and George Thomason 

steadied the ship and, with some good 

hitting as the time for a declaration 

approached, the Saracens finished on 

225-9 declared. 

Enter Steve Barnard with some 

extremely hostile fast bowling, reducing 

North Devon to 20-3. The Sarries were 

on a roll. The game then went through 

a slow phase, but when the Saracens 

struck at 110-5 it brought the Overton 

brothers together. When they quickly 

put on a stand of 60 the game looked 

over; but when George Lewis bowled 

a leg-stump full toss that Jamie Overton 

hit straight into the safe hands of Scott 

Corbett, it was back in the balance. 

Some quality fast bowling from Barnard 

backed up by wily spin bowling from 

Scott Corbett and George Lewis did 

what was required and North Devon 

were bowled out 5 runs short. 

The Monday evening was a fantastic 

affair and buoyed by our win the tour 

was delighted to welcome back many 

an old face. Most notably it was an 

absolute privilege to see Sir Eldryd 

Parry back in Instow. North Devon 

CC kindly played host to 50 Saracens 

young and old. 

After the euphoria of Monday’s win, 

and the celebrations to boot, there was 

a certain lull in the camp on Tuesday 

morning. North Devon fielded a slightly 

weaker side but it still included Craig 

Overton and the club pro. North Devon 

batted first in the scheduled 40-over 

game and after some effective new 

ball bowling from Will Mason and Sam 

Welti, at lunch the game was delicately 

poised at 100-4. Two more quick 

wickets followed, with Mark Prescott 

and Matt Gregson bowling well. This, 

however, brought the North Devon 

combo of Craig Overton and the South 

African pro together. It was the pivotal 

part of the game, but the less time 

spent discussing it the better. It only 

has to be said that the final 17 overs 

saw North Devon reach 335-6, leaving 

the Saracens a mountain to climb. The 

charge was led by Will Mason, who 

batted beautifully for 119, and he was 

supported with an extremely mature 50 

from Steve Barnard. However, needing 

120 from the last 10 overs and despite 

a late flurry from Matt Gregson and 

George Lewis, the Saracens finished 20 

runs short. Despite the disappointment 

of our well-documented winning streak 

against North Devon coming to an end, 

it was a fantastic game of cricket with 

well over 600 runs scored in the day. 

With Wednesday comes the fixture 

against the Somerset Stragglers at the 

picturesque ground, Valley of the Rock. 

The Saracens won the toss and elected 

to bat first in a 30-over game. Mark 

Prescott got the team off to a flyer with 

a fluent 63 and he was ably supported 

by the in form Mason. However, some 

good spin bowling combined with 

some careless shot selection meant 

the Saracens stuttered in the middle 

overs and lost a flurry of wickets in 

quick succession. Fortunately tour 

veteran Ben Chapman showed his 

experience and, batting with the tail, 

guided the Saracens to a competitive 

165. Despite Valley of the Rock being 

an immensely fast-scoring ground, we 

felt early wickets could bring us right 

into contention. George Thomason 

obliged! He took 4 wickets in 5 overs 

in what was a superb spell of bowling. 

The Stragglers responded well and 

dominated from then on, making 

great use of some mediocre bowling 

and extremely short boundaries. The 

Stragglers won, having lost 7 wickets 

and with 2 overs to spare. 

After a long week and two close 

defeats, it could perhaps be said 

that the wet and gloomy Thursday 

morning that greeted us reflected the 

mood in the team. The usual Thursday 

arrangement is the T20 day played 

between the Saracens, North Devon 

and the Brasenose Strollers. However, 

in light of the bad weather, the decision 

was made for the Saracens and the 

Strollers to play a straight 40-over game. 

The Strollers batted first and it did not 

take them long to take advantage of 

the weary unit that was the Saracens. 

Despite some good spin bowling from 

Steve Barnard, the Strollers amassed a 

total of 255 which was an enormous 

feat in the conditions. The Saracens put 

up a brave fight and although finishing 

30 runs short, there were notable 

batting performances from George 

Lewis and George Thomason, who 

both played exceptionally well in the 

circumstances. 

Overall on a results basis it was a 

slightly disappointing week, with 1 

win and 3 defeats. However, every 

game was extremely competitive and it 

was a week enjoyed by all who came. 

The Saracens openly welcome anyone 

who would like to come to Devon 

on the 2016 tour (week beginning 

Monday 8th August).


Old Salopian Freemasons 

The Old Salopian Lodge has had a very happy year, under 

the Mastership of W.Bro. Nick Randall (O 1972-76). He 

has now handed over the Mastership to W.Bro. David 

Westwood (Ph 1978-83). The Installation meeting was a 

memorable occasion. 

We continue to have four meetings per year, three in London, 

and one at the Schools. Last summer’s gathering was in the 

clubroom of the School Boathouse, and open to all. Dr Gee 

gave a very fine presentation of his now-published book. 

This was followed by an excellent lunch. The view over the 

river was greatly enjoyed by all, including visitors from the 

Masonic Province of Shropshire. 

OS Lodge is undoubtedly an interesting and alternative way 

of keeping in touch with Old Salopians, and supporting the 

Schools at the same time. Charity, as well as Fraternity, is a 

fundamental tenet of what we do, the principles of which are 

illustrated in the various ceremonies, which have changed 

very little in over 200 years. The Lodge supports a special 

bursary fund, incorporated into the Salopian Foundation. 

Our next meeting is on Wednesday 17th February 2016, 

at our usual venue, the City University Club, 50 Cornhill, 

London EC3V 3PD. 

Alternatively, please see details of our governing body, 

United Grand Lodge of England at www.ugle.org.uk - @ 

UGLE_GrandLodge 

Also - www.londonmasons.org.uk - http://shropshiremasons. 

org.uk - @MetGrandLodge - @ShropshireMason 

Likewise, the Order of Women Freemasons - 

www.owf.org.uk 

If you are interested in finding out more, please contact the 

Secretary, Chris Williams (R 1978-83) on 07956 964937 or at 

chrisjhwilliams@yahoo.co.uk 

Publications 

Adam Baldwin (S 2001-06) 

Heroes and Villains of Finance 

Published by Wiley 

Paperback and e-book ISBN: 

9781119038993 

People both inside and outside the 

world of finance are perpetually curious 

about the larger-than-life characters that 

built, shaped and continue to populate 

the industry. Heroes and Villains of 

Finance is a fascinating dive into the 

history of money as an institution, 

highlighting the 50 most significant 

figures who, rightly or wrongly, are 

responsible for the financial landscape 

we live in today. The book reveals how 

their impact reaches far beyond the 

financial system itself and has helped 

shape the course of human history. 

“This book is a marvellous introduction 

to a gallery of fascinating figures from 

the world of Big Money. The author 

has chosen a brilliant collection of 

crooks, entrepreneurs, philosophers, 

economists and bankers. These 

highly readable short lives provide an 

excellent education to any reader who 

wants to understand the personalities 

who shaped today’s world of 

investment.” - Luke Johnson, Chairman 

of Risk Capital Partners, former 

chairman of Pizza Express and Channel 

4 Television, Financial Times columnist 

and author of Start it Up. 

Emeritus Professor Martin Craig- 

Downer (DB 1944-49) 

The Scenes Behind the Power 

Published by Mardi Books www. 

mardibooks.com and ebook available 

from Amazon 

Martin Craig-Downer made his name 

as a distinguished scientist for the 

British Government and has over 100 

publications in scientific journals and 

textbooks. In the 1960s he worked as 

a professional clarinet and saxophone 

player, touring, broadcasting and 

recording with Charlie Galbraith’s All 

Star Jazz Band, Mick Mulligan and 

George Melly, and the London City 

Stompers. This is his third novel, set in 

a world of drug crime and tangled love 

affairs in the corridors of Whitehall. 

Sir John Stuttard (SH 1958-1963) 

Travels in a Lifetime 

ISBN-10: 0993374905 

This autobiographical work records 

Sir John Stuttard’s experience of travel 

in the 50 years from 1964 to 2014. 

His experience was typical of many 

of his generation: few countries and 

geographical areas were too dangerous 

or out of bounds, and travel was, 

relatively, much safer than it seems 

to be 50 years on when this book 

was written. Sir John’s accounts of his 

foreign journeys provide a picture of 

the environment in which adventurous 

travel in the second half of the 20th 

Century could take place. They 

include descriptions of performing 

Shakespeare in Soweto, hitch-hiking 

from Johannesburg to Salisbury (now 

Harare), a year in Borneo, travelling 

on Kitchener’s train from Khartoum to 

Wadi Halfa across the Nubian Desert, 

travels in Ethiopia, East Africa, India, 

Burma, Malaysia, Jordan, Russia, 

Estonia, Finland, Romania, China 

(where he spent five years) and a 

10,000-mile journey in a vintage Rolls- 

Royce from Peking to Paris, through 

Tibet, Pakistan, Iran and Turkey. 

Sir John says that the book was written 

for his grandchildren, but it has been 

suggested as a ‘good read’ by the 

London-based Travellers Club. It is 

available on Amazon. 

Forthcoming Publication 

The Divided Self by Peter 

Fanning 

Published by Greenbank Press 

Available from the Salopian Club 

from June 2016 (Price £20.00) 

Peter Fanning’s account of life at 

Shrewsbury School is a personal 

tale. Moving from his early days 

as Head of English, ‘The Divided 

Self’ goes on to chart the changing 

fortunes of the School under the 

leadership of four distinguished and 

diverse Headmasters. 

The creation of the Grove, 

Shrewsbury’s first new Boarding 

House for 70 years, features both 

the trials and triumphs equally. 

Then from the Senior Master’s 

viewpoint comes an intimate 

account of the tense and dramatic 

period when Governors first 

admitted girls, thus ending a 

450-year tradition of boys only 

education. 

Dramatic tales of the high and lows 

of life on the Edinburgh Fringe 

highlight the author’s ‘Other Self’, 

as a director of theatre, placing 

Shrewsbury’s reputation firmly 

on the national stage. Above all, 

‘The Divided Self’ is a warm and 

entertaining portrait of what it was 

like to live and work at Shrewsbury 

from 1980 up to the present decade.

72 


Obituaries 

Professor J H Appleton (SH 1933-38) 

Mr J C Chavasse (SH 1938-43) 

Mr R Dowty (SH 1945-50) 

Mr J H C Edwards (SH 1949-54) 

The Reverend R L Edwards (DB 1936-40) 

Mr J Egerton-Williams (I 1929-32) 

Mr R W Foster-Pegg (Rt 1933-37) 

Mr J P France (Rb 1984-89) 

Mr H S Gibson (R 1963-68) 

Mr A J A Gillan (Rt 1938-42) 

Mr N P B Green-Price (I 1941-44) 

Mr W R Grey (SH 1934-38) 

Mr W B Hill (SH 1946-51) 

Mr D R Howl (S 1950-54) 

Mr C R P Jones (S 1966-69) 

Mr P J Lawn (G 1988-93) 

Vice-Admiral Sir J S C Lea (Rt 1937-41) 

Mr J E Levetus (Ch 1938-42) 

Mr G D Lovett (I 1950-53) 

Mr A Metcalfe-Brown (SH 1948-52) 

Mr R J Moore (R 1947-51) 

Mr B B Overy (DB 1939-43) 

Dr P Owen-Lloyd (S 1944-49) 

Dr A M M Plumptre (SH 1942-46) 

Mr D H Roberts (Rt 1958-62) 

Mr M A Schützer-Weissmann (Staff 1988-2015) 

Dr V Simons (JHT 1939-43) 

Mr C H Smith (Rt 1949-52) 

Mr C Vaughan (S 1953-58) 

Mr E J Warburton (I 1951-55) 

Rev J R V Woods (R 1945-50) 

Professor Jay Appleton (SH 1933-38) 

Jay Appleton was born in 1919 in Headingly, Leeds. His 

father was a Curate in the Church of England, who had 

returned from service as an Army Chaplain in poor health, 

as a result of which he was transferred to a rural parish 

in Norfolk. Remote as it was, their new home presented 

challenges for the family, but Jay was to learn to cope, 

whatever the situation, a quality that stood him in good 

stead at various times in his life. That his clergyman 

parent was a more than useful amateur engineer and 

inventor meant that some of the developments of the 

early 20th century came to the village of Stibbard sooner 

than they might have done. On journeys across England 

from Norfolk to Lancashire, Jay showed an interest in his 

surroundings which marked him out as the geographer he 

eventually became. 

A scholarship for the sons of clergy made possible Jay’s 

entry to Shrewsbury as a boarder, where he joined his 

cousins from Wigan. The journey to school and back was 

long and arduous, but far from being put off, the young 

Jay developed a life-long enthusiasm for railways. He did 

well enough at Shrewsbury to win a place at Oxford, but 

not before he had accomplished the remarkable feat of 

teaching himself enough Greek in six weeks to enable him 

to qualify for a pass in School Certificate, in those days an 

essential requirement. 

When war broke out, Jay was confronted by the moral 

dilemma of one who wanted to fight against the enemy, 

but who could see the possibility of receiving an order 

that in conscience he could not carry out. Assigned to 

a non-combatant unit (and therefore not armed), he 

demonstrated the extraordinary courage required in Bomb 

Disposal. There could hardly have been a more dangerous 

posting in 1940. 

In 1942, Jay met his future wife, Iris, and they were 

married the following year. Leaving the Army in 1946, 

he sought an outdoor life and turned his hand to fruitgrowing. 

Soon, however, he was struck by the symptoms 

of severe arthritis, which forced him to abandon life on the 

land and return to academic life. He applied for a course 

in Geology at Newcastle University, but before he could 

take up the place, the course was discontinued, and he 

enrolled on the Geography course. In the meantime, a 

remarkable thing had occurred; the extraction of a tooth 

had cured his ‘arthritis’ for good! By such an accident 

of fate did the potential farmer become a distinguished 

geographer. 

He made such a favourable impression that he was offered 

a post at the University College of Hull, where he was to 

remain for thirty-five years. He was a popular lecturer and 

an able administrator, acting for many years as Admissions 

Officer. He was an early advocate of what has come 

to be known as the Gap Year, believing as he did that 

prospective students would benefit from seeing something 

of the world they intended to study. His interest in 

railways came into play in a report on the use of disused 

lines (of which, post-Beeching, there were many). His 

proposals became government policy. 

In 1975 Jay published a book, ‘The Experience of 

Landscape’, in which he propounded the theory that 

people have an innate desire to live in an environment 

where they can observe without being seen. This he 

traced back to early man in the ‘hunter-gatherer’ stage. It 

was at once a novel idea and an influential one, and his 

subsequent writings on landscape aesthetics were widely 

taken up by landscape architects. 

Retiring from Hull, where he had become a Professor, he 

took up writing poetry, though very late in life. He was


involved in a project started by Simon Warner, a landscape 

architect, which culminated in an exhibition at the Royal 

Geographical Society. In a final demonstration of the 

‘can do’ mentality, he managed to attend the opening in 

Kensington. It was a triumphant occasion at the end of 

a long career. Jay Appleton is remembered both for his 

academic distinction and for his devotion to the family for 

which he did so much. 

Ian Boston (R 1952-57) 

Ian Boston was born in Liverpool in February 1939 and 

brought up in Cheshire. He left Rigg’s as Praepostor and 

Head of House, and then went to the Leather Sellers’ 

College in London. He spent several years in the West 

Country working for a glove manufacturer in Yeovil, where 

he met his future wife Margaret, before joining the family 

tanning business in Liverpool. In 1975 he moved to Louth 

in Lincolnshire, to manage another tannery in the group, 

and subsequently bought it when the parent company went 

into liquidation in the late 1990s. This is now one the few 

tanneries still in operation in the UK. 

Ian was an enthusiastic cricketer in his early days and 

maintained that interest all his life. He also enjoyed good 

art and loved the visual and tactile qualities of beautiful 

things made of wood or leather, but his main passions were 

birds, the countryside and nature conservation, and music. 

Appreciative of anything from the early Renaissance through 

to Gilbert and Sullivan, Ian sang in choirs throughout his 

life. He became much involved in running the local Wildlife 

Trust and Choral Society, and was Church Warden at his 

church in South Cockerington for many years. 

He was a selfless, humble, gentle man with a wry sense 

of humour and a gift for being able to get on with anyone 

and everyone he met, being genuinely interested in them. 

He was liked and respected by all and much loved by his 

large extended family. He died just before Christmas 2014, 

leaving behind his wife Margaret, daughter Mary, son and 

daughter-in-law Adam and Anitha, and grandson Akil. He 

will be very sadly missed by family and friends alike. 

Robert (Bob) Dowty (SH 1945-50) 

Robert (Bob) Dowty, who died on 28th July 2015 at the 

age of 85, was a well-known figure in the Isle of Man, 

where he had a long-standing connection with the sport of 

motorcycling. Born in Douglas in 1931, he was educated 

at the High School in the island’s capital, before moving to 

Shrewsbury just after the end of the war. He enjoyed his 

time in Shropshire and right at the end of his life he spoke 

with fondness of the Hunt runs through the countryside. 

After Shrewsbury, he did the statutory two years of National 

Service in the Royal Artillery, a connection he maintained 

with a further voluntary 12 years in the Territorial Army, just 

one example of his public-spirited contribution. 

Busy and generous with his time though he was, Bob 

Dowty never neglected his family and he is remembered 

with the warmest affection. Holidays in France brought 

particular joy, as he could combine his love of the 

countryside with uninterrupted family time. 

He lived long, he achieved much, he enjoyed life. These 

were the words with which his son John opened his funeral 

address. That this life was of benefit to others is abundantly 

clear from what has been written and said about him. “Sad 

passing of a good friend to motorcycling,” ran the headline 

in the ‘Isle of Man Examiner’. Not only motorcycling has 

cause to mourn. 

On leaving the Army, he spent two years learning the motor 

trade with Humber in Coventry, prior to returning to the 

Isle of Man to start up his own business, the Island Garages 

group, which he was to run for the next 30 years. 

Even before he had left school, he had fallen for the sport 

of motorcycle racing, a day at the Manx Grand Prix having 

cast its spell. When he was old enough, he bought a 

Douglas 90 plus model, which he raced for the first time 

in 1951. He then invested in a more powerful machine, 

a Manx Norton, which he named ‘Sally’, on which he 

competed, with some success, as an amateur rider, both in 

the Island and in mainland UK. In 1959, the combination of 

an accident in a race and the responsibility of impending 

marriage brought his career as a competitor to an end, 

but he remained an active supporter as an administrator. 

President of the Manx Grand Prix Riders Association and of 

the Southern 100 MCRC, at his death he was honoured with 

a page of tributes in a local paper. 

On selling his garage business, he took on a number of 

directorships, working well into his seventies and finding 

time to do much charitable work. He was also a Justice of 

the Peace and for a time was Chairman of the Isle of Man 

Magistrates Association.

74 


Chris Dumbell (JHT 1940-44) 

His cousin writes: 

There must have been something very special in the gene 

pool of the Dumbell family. Many of the finest attributes 

of Chris’s father, Philip Dumbell and his mother Marjorie, 

a creator of beautiful things, particularly needlepoint, were 

manifest in Chris. Philip Dumbell had a long and fruitful 

life, surviving well beyond his three score years and ten, 

and Chris equally had a splendid innings, which sadly 

ended on 18th August 2015. 

It could all have been very different. A cutting from The 

Times dated 10th July 1956 reads: 

A propeller tore loose from a Trans Canada Airline’s 

Vickers Viscount on the way from Chicago to Toronto 

yesterday, killing a woman passenger and injuring five 

others. The pilot made a safe emergency landing at 

Windsor, Ontario airport. 

Like a soldier returning wounded from the battlefield, 

Chris was reluctant to talk about the accident. Suffice it to 

say that the lady who perished was seated in the row in 

front. Chris and his pregnant wife Donna were amongst 

the injured. Both had poor chances of survival and were 

on life support. Recovery and convalescence took some 

time and Chris was left with a leg injury which necessitated 

long-term changes to his life. He gave up skiing, played 

more golf and bridge and took up gardening seriously. 

Never did Chris complain about his condition; he accepted 

it and got on with life. 

It was in the summer of 1951 at a large party at the 

Dubuque Golf and Country Club that Chris first set eyes on 

the pretty young lady who subsequently became his wife. 

Chris and Donna became engaged after two months and 

were married on 29th December. 

Dubuque became virtually a second home to Chris and 

Donna. They built a home on the outskirts of the city 

overlooking a gorgeous piece of the Upper Mississippi 

River and made probably over 200 round trips to the City. 

Through Donna’s family connections and involvement 

with the University, Chris and Donna were well known in 

Dubuque. They were good friends of the Arboretum and 

designed an exquisite garden for it. 

Chris’ father sent him to Iowa to work as an apprentice 

at a John Deere plant. Here he was tasked with learning 

about US manufacturing technique and practices, 

experiences which later contributed most usefully to his 

working life at Turner Manufacturing. 

The family firm had been created in the 1890s by Chris’s 

grandfather. It started out making rather unreliable motor 

cars. When Chris joined it was a more broadly based 

engineering company. With Philip Dumbell as Chairman, 

Chris and his brother Roy steered Turner Manufacturing to 

a very successful stock market flotation in 1968. 

The company sadly is no more. Having once been one 

of Wolverhampton’s finest employers, when full control 

passed to Dana Corporation, conditions changed. Not 

wanted as a hands-on manager, Roy did not stay long. 

Chris relocated to another office, travelled extensively for 

a short period and was then happy to leave. Dana itself 

subsequently failed. 

Retirement from Dana released Chris’s energies for his 

other interests and activities. In Public Service he was for a 

number of years a Magistrate and Chairman of the Bench. 

With Donna he travelled more and enjoyed many happy 

holidays with his family at their house in the Algarve. 

Photography was one of his many pleasures and trips 

were always well researched and recorded in albums. 

Chris, Donna and family moved to Lower Hall in Worfield 

in 1964. The house was in need of some repair and the 

garden mainly grass, open space and a virtual wilderness. 

Whilst it took vision and some professional input to create 

the structure and planting, the garden is essentially the 

life’s work of Chris and Donna. 

The garden was for Chris one of the great loves of his life. 

Whereas some home owners cannot wait to sell off the 

excess garden or tennis court for a building plot, Chris 

continued to add acreage to his pride and joy. Using his 

knowledge of engineering, maximum use was made of 

the Worf and river vistas. The garden has been visited and 

enjoyed by literally thousands of people from the UK and 

abroad. During the the weekend of 14th/15th June 2015, 

1,400 people came to celebrate a World War 1 display and 

other artefacts in the Garden Room at Lower Hall. Before 

any visit, Chris would be out early, making sure that the 

garden was looking its pristine best. He and Donna were 

perfectionists. 

Chris was, over many years, a generous and silent 

benefactor to the village of Worfield. The Church, where 

Chris worshipped, benefitted usefully from events, 

including garden openings at Lower Hall. He was a longserving 

Vice President of the Worfield Cricket Club, life 

member of the Bowling Club and Vice President of the 

Royal British Legion. All of these received his generous 

financial support. 

Chris took particular pleasure in allowing couples married 

in the church to be photographed in his garden. He also 

liked to receive children from the school on to the lawn 

to be taught and to sketch. On special occasions the 

Dumbells shared their good fortune exclusively with the 

inhabitants of Worfield, including a memorable Millenium 

party held on New Year’s Eve 1999 with a spectacular 

firework display, and a few years later a special event to 

celebrate 50 years of Dumbells in Worfield. 

More recently Chris was outstanding in his support and 

devotion to Donna. Nothing was too much trouble for a 

man, of whom his Commanding Officer in the Navy wrote 

in 1947: “He is very keen and conscientious, cheerful 

and capable and has conducted himself to my entire 

satisfaction.” 

Quite regularly he would power up his trusty Jaguar and 

set off for London SW3. He was a fast driver and to be a 

passenger in the back of his car was a testing experience. 

He and Donna both derived much pleasure from their 

London life, which included regular visits to Cadogan Hall 

for concerts. 

Chris was devoted to his children, grandchildren and 

enlarged family and they have been lucky to have 

benefitted from his zest for life wisdom and generosity. 

A great life well lived.


John Edwards (SH 1949-54) 

John entered School House Shrewsbury from Packwood 

Haugh in 1949 and clearly enjoyed his time there. His 

passion for rowing was paramount, especially the days 

away rowing at regattas. 

John possessed a special wit and humour much enjoyed by 

his school mates and even prompted his House Master, Mr 

Anthony Chenevix-Trench, on one occasion to remark to 

his parents that if all else failed, their son would find work 

on the stage. As it turned out, he became an auctioneer and 

was never happier than on the rostrum with an appreciative 

audience. 

Sight problems prevented him doing National Service, so 

he went to London College of Estate Management followed 

by a year’s practical with Russell, Baldwin and Bright, 

auctioneers in Leominster. Eventually he joined his father in 

the family firm Campbell & Edwards in Llandrindod Wells. 

John soon settled in with the way of local farmers and 

buyers at weekly livestock markets in Builth Wells, Rhayader 

and Penybont and in his prime would carry a ‘poor trade’ 

which would be admired by all. 

“He appeared to have complete mastery and control over 

the auction, an incredible memory for names and kind 

words, or the occasional ‘put down’ for those who deserve 

it, always with his special sense of humour.” 

As new sheep breed societies developed and sheep 

numbers increased, John decided to move the large annual 

autumn ewe sales to the Royal Welsh Showground at 

Llanelwedd. Each of these sales took several days to set up 

on different sites on the showground, involving extra staff to 

erect sheep pens, co-ordination of catalogues and so on. 

These weeks heaped a large amount of strain on John, but 

he also took some pride in knowing that at one time they 

were the largest sheep sales in Europe. 

In 1965 his father retired and Campbell & Edwards merged 

with Russell, Baldwin & Bright across the border in 

Herefordshire. John became a director and at boardroom 

meetings became famous for his ‘one liners’, as well as 

‘adding enthusiasm and inspiration to his colleagues’. 

John helped create the auctions at the Royal Welsh Winter 

Fayre which was on a par with Smithfield’s Christmas 

Fatstock. Yet some of John’s happiest working moments 

were conducting furniture sales in the local Church Hall, 

which were for many regular attendees a social occasion. 

They didn’t come to bid, but to enjoy John’s kindly banter. 

He was much missed by the farming community and 

buyers from many parts of the country when he took early 

retirement, and he had always been a much loved and 

respected employer. 

John died in March 2015 and is survived by his wife Brenda. 

They lost their beloved only child, Caroline, in 1978 when 

she was only 13½, leaving a gap in their lives that could 

never be filled. 

Richard Foster-Pegg (Rt 1933-37) 

Richard Foster-Pegg was born in Derbyshire, son of the 

chaplain to the Duke of Devonshire at Chatsworth. 

During the Second World War he worked as an apprentice 

engineer at Rolls-Royce and was involved in the 

development of the Merlin engine for the Spitfire and of 

early jet engines and turbines. In the 1950s he worked as 

a mechanical engineer for the Canadian Government on 

coal-fired gas turbines at McGill University and later for the 

Bechtel Corporation and for Westinghouse as a designer 

of advanced power plants. He acted world-wide as a 

consultant and lecturer on power generation, as well as 

working for the Department of Energy as a designer. 

He was a member of the British Institute of Mechanical 

Engineers, the Institute of Energy and the American Society 

of Mechanical Engineers and had numerous patents in the 

design of turbines for electric power generation. 

He died on 20th April 2015 aged 95 and is survived by 

Frances, his beloved wife of 67 years, his daughter, Perri, 

five grandchildren and one great-grandson. His son Timothy 

pre-deceased him. 

Keith Fraser (O 1950-55) 

A tribute written by John Lavelle (DB 1950-56): 

Ian Grant Keith Fraser; four very Scottish names. His family, 

luckily for us, decided to settle in Shrewsbury, moving from 

the Scottish borders where they had been evacuated, and 

thus began a friendship which endured more than 70 years. 

Keith was born in Guernsey, but the family had to abandon 

their home and all their belongings, bar one suitcase, to flee 

the Channel Islands. Before embarking on the last boat to 

leave, his father drove the family car into the sea to avoid its 

capture by the Germans. 

We were at Prestfelde Prep School together and then at The 

Schools. Although Keith’s home, Red Roofs, overlooked 

the School Site, he was a boarder in Oldham’s. An above 

average wing half, he played for the School 1st X1. I 

don’t remember him as a serious cricketer but he was a

76 


challenging opponent at beach cricket in Anglesey, ably 

supported by the Coopers. He was also an above average 

squash and fives player. 

National Service followed in the Royal Navy and he saw 

active service in the Suez Canal aboard HMS Theseus. 

A return to academia found Keith studying history at 

Christchurch, Oxford. 

When my father retired from dental practice, he decided to 

downsize from the Town Centre. We moved to The Rocks 

overlooking the old Shrewsbury Golf Club. Who were our 

next-door neighbours? Keith and his delightful father, Ian, 

who had recently retired from his ophthalmic practice on St 

John’s Hill, where we had also lived. 

Qualifying as a solicitor via a firm in Liverpool and the 

Guildford Law School, Keith joined Dennis Salt, the oldest 

firm of solicitors in the town. They eventually merged with 

Wace Morgan, which involved an office move from 10 

Belmont to 2 Belmont to become Wace Morgan Salt and 

subsequently Wace Morgan. Keith was Senior Partner from 

1995 until his retirement in 2002. He had been President 

of the Shropshire Law Society, was extremely popular and 

in consequence had a vast array of clients; in every way a 

solicitor of the old school. Upon retirement he was actively 

involved in witness support at Shrewsbury Crown Court and 

also on the Alms House Committee of the Drapers’ Company. 

Keith had two great passions in his life other than his family 

and his professional career: golf and Shrewsbury Town FC. 

Keith was involved in the Golf Club’s move to Condover, 

but before that, in 1970, he had been Club Captain. He 

was President in 1983. Playing in the final of the Club 

Championship in 1969, which he won, his opponent’s 

caddy was one Jane Hindley – who later became his wife. 

He also won the President’s Putter three times and played 

county golf for Shropshire on many occasions. Father and 

son are to be found on many of the honours boards. 

Ian McIntosh tells me that he and Keith were about to 

celebrate 70 years of continuous support of The Town. 

We certainly all went together to the two Wembley play-offs 

against Bristol Rovers and Gillingham. We lost both. At least 

in the season we have just finished, we gained automatic 

promotion. Keith was delighted. 

Our thoughts are very much with Jane, Rachel and Jason, 

Simon and Leyla and their respective children, Jo, Harry, 

Ben and Zahra. The numbers attending the funeral service 

were a tribute to Keith as a husband, as a father, grandfather 

and as a friend. He was indeed a pillar of the community 

he served and he leaves it enriched in so many ways. For 

myself – my thanks for 70 years of wonderful friendship. 

Bill Grant (SH 1962-66) 

Bill Grant, who died suddenly while 

coaching rowing on the River Wear, 

was born in Sunderland in 1947 

and spent most of his life in the 

North East. He was brought up in 

Whitburn, where he lived with his 

younger brother and sister, Jim and 

Jann. He went as a boarder to prep 

school at Knaresbrough in North 

Yorkshire. A school report from this time shows that while 

he achieved 95% in maths (a trait inherited by all three of 

his children), in English he only scored 33%. Apparently 

there were problems deciphering his writing even then! The 

rest of his school days were spent at Shrewsbury, where he 

started to row and also coach. Bill was extremely shortsighted 

and a sport in which someone else tells you where 

to go was probably beneficial. 

He did an engineering degree at Durham followed by a 

master’s in Business Studies. He continued his rowing both 

for the college and the university, competing at Henley 

twice and thus becoming eligible to join the Leander Club, 

a membership of which he was very proud. During the 

summers he worked for Brathay Outdoor Centre and took 

surveying expeditions to Norway, Iceland and Greenland. 

Bill ran the family jewellery business after his father’s death 

until he retired in 2007. From 2000-02 he was Chairman 

of the National Association of Goldsmiths, a role which 

his father had also held. He was a member of two livery 

companies and enjoyed attending their formal functions 

in London and as a Freeman of the City of London was 

entitled to attend the election of the Lord Mayor. 

Bill loved sailing and achieved his day skipper and coastal 

skipper qualifications. On a sailing course in Salcombe 

in 1987 he met Jenny. They conducted a three-year 

relationship 350 miles apart and Bill spent many hours in 

his BMW on the M1 and M5. Never one to make life easy, 

he drove south to meet Jenny’s parents the day after the 

hurricane in 1987. 

Bill and Jenny married in 1990 when Bill was 42. They 

had three children, Richard, Catherine and Emma, and 

Bill delighted in their progress through school. All three 

children became Sea Scouts and Bill became District 

Treasurer for the Scouts for a while. 

The church was always important to Bill. He served on 

the PCC in Whitburn, became Churchwarden there and 

was pivotal in building a meeting room within the church. 

Not satisfied with this, when he moved to the church in 

Cleadon, he joined the PCC and became involved in the 

design and building of the Chapter House here. Bill went 

on to join Deanery and then Diocesan Synod and finally 

Bishop’s Council. He was also Chair of the Redundant 

Churches Committee. 

Once in charge of the family business, Bill had no time to 

row himself but he maintained an interest and attended 

Henley regularly. In fact we believe he only missed 1990 

when he was on his honeymoon and 1994 when, with a 

child of 23 months and another of one month, permission 

was refused! After retiring, he again became an active 

member of Durham Amateur Rowing Club (DARC) 

and bought a sculling boat. He obtained his umpire’s 

qualifications and more recently was working towards his 

level 3 coaching. These activities involved power boat and 

first aid courses which he enthusiastically organised for


other members of the Club as well. After the death of his 

friend he took over the job of Boat Warden. Bill spent many 

hours in Durham each week and was very happy cycling up 

and down the towpath, shouting at people. 

Bill was a kind, funny and very gentle man. He was easily 

moved to tears but renowned for his unmistakeable, 

infectious laugh. He was also very frustrating - there can’t 

be anyone who knew him well who hasn’t asked a simple 

question requiring a yes or no answer and five minutes 

later, after an explanation of the theory and possible 

consequences of various actions, still had no idea whether 

the answer had been yes or no! 

He was meticulous in everything he did, very much an “If a 

job’s worth doing it’s worth doing properly” sort of person 

and many of us have benefitted from this attention to detail. 

But Bill had a constant optimism that people would benefit 

from knowing how to do things properly, and it is a mark 

of the huge generosity of his character that he would pour 

so much energy into helping people without ever worrying 

too much about whether they would appreciate it as much 

as they should. 

His memorial service was attended by more than 300 

friends, including Michael Wright and other Salopians with 

whom he had maintained a lifelong friendship. 

At a well attended ceremony in September at DARC, his 

sculling boat was presented to the Club by his family and 

formally named after him by one of his long-term rowing 

and mountaineering friends, Nigel van Zwanenberg (S 

1962-66). Bill was a very kind and loving husband, an 

inspirational father and a true and loyal friend. 

Robin Grey (SH 1934-38) 

Robin Grey grew up in Cornwall, messing around on boats. 

The reason he went to Shrewsbury was that his family 

home bordered on to Clement Attlee’s estate and he was 

friendly with the Atlee boys who attended Shrewsbury. 

Remarkably, fast forwarding to Cape Town 60 years later, 

where Robin’s teenage grandson was living, a family by the 

name of Attlee moved in next door with their teenage son. 

They were apparently related to the same Attlee family and 

the two boys became firm friends. 

A year or so after Robin finished school, World War 2 broke 

out and he enlisted in the Royal Navy. By the end of the 

war he was second in command of a small submarine called 

HMSub Shakespeare and had seen some exciting action in 

the Far East. Although he had some positive experiences 

during the war, such as shore leave in Ceylon which was a 

place he loved, he was a pacifist and abhorred the idea of 

the war. 

Once the war ended he married his sweetheart Margaret, 

left her with his family and went off to scout around 

Southern Africa, then sent for her once he had chosen 

where to settle. She travelled on one of the last commercial 

flying boats to make the trip, mooring overnight off the 

coast of Italy, then on the Aswan Dam, then Lake Victoria 

and finally arriving on the Vaal Dam near Johannesburg. 

They subsequently settled in Cape Town where Robin 

started a successful small business which he ran until he 

was into his late seventies. 

Having retained his love for the sea, he sailed his yacht 

Swansong in Table Bay and further afield several times a 

week for many years. He and Margaret always felt England 

was their home and returned to visit friends and family 

annually in their last 40 years together. 

At the age of 94 he became very frail and having put all his 

affairs in good order, took the step of ending his own life, 

two years after his beloved Margaret had passed away. 

Denys Haughton Jones (DB 1942-46) 

Denys was the middle child of William and Gertrude Jones. 

His father was a pharmacist and ophthalmic optician with 

a number of chemist shops and ophthalmic practices in 

Shrewsbury, including on High Street and Pride Hill. 

During National Service, Denys was stationed at 

Lossiemouth where he was a photographer with the Royal 

Navy. His recollection was of being warned that to lose 

his camera out of the aircraft whilst on flying missions was 

even more serious an offence than that of a rifleman soldier 

losing his rifle. He had a lifelong interest in and love for 

photography. Of Lossiemouth all he would ever say was 

that it was the only place he could remember where the 

wind could blow you back uphill on a bicycle! 

Following National Service, and after qualifying as an 

ophthalmic optician, he entered into partnership with his 

father. In due course he took on the practice from his father 

and branched out to run practices in Welshpool, Newtown 

and Bishop’s Castle in addition to the Shrewsbury practice 

at 108, Abbey Foregate. He served on the Shropshire 

Ophthalmic Committee, including a period as its secretary. 

Denys had a love of travel and much enjoyed driving 

through Luxembourg, Germany, Austria and Italy where he 

made many friends. With his wife, Hazel, they visited their 

friends on the continent throughout their married life and 

continued to enjoy these trips during retirement. In their 

earlier years Hazel and Denys were members of Shrewsbury 

Operatic Society, Hazel as a performer and Denys working 

backstage. Denys had a love of music and over the years 

built up an extensive and wide collection of music. 

He died on 6th January 2015, one week short of his 86th 

birthday. He is survived by his wife, Hazel.

78 


Dr Philip Heal (R 1946-51) 

Philip Heal was born on 21st July 1932 in Exeter, where 

both his parents were GPs. He went to Twyford Prep 

School in Hampshire aged eight and then on to Shrewsbury. 

He was a keen cross-country runner and rower at school 

and was House Captain of Cross-Country and Athletics. He 

was made a Praepostor and was a member of a number of 

societies and committees. After leaving Shrewsbury, he went 

on to St John’s College, Cambridge to read Medicine, where 

he met and married his wife, Diana. 

their families and 11 grandchildren. He was also a much 

devoted lover of boxer dogs! He died suddenly at home on 

7th April 2015, sitting in his chair after driving home from 

Hereford following a happy family Easter weekend. 

After house jobs in St Thomas’, Exeter, he did three years 

colonial service in Uganda, running an up-country hospital 

in Masindi. On return to England in 1962, he joined his 

parents’ practice before doing courses in anaesthetics and 

obstetrics. He was then a founder member of a large GP 

group practice in St Thomas’, Exeter until he retired in 1992. 

His hobbies were sailing, walking and painting. He made 

expeditions to Everest Base Camp, the Ruwenzories and 

Atlas Mountains. He was a very proud father of his sons and 

David Howl (S 1950-54) 

David Howl’s life is an example of triumph over adversity, 

of turning misfortune to advantage. As a result of a road 

accident when he was 22, David had his left leg amputated 

above the knee. Despite this he became an excellent skier 

and eventually a guide for blind skiers. He was one of 

the four people at the inaugural meeting of the British Ski 

Club for the Disabled on 23rd October 1974 and was at 

the Second Olympic Winter Games for Disabled in Oslo 

in 1980. He also rode regularly and loved walking and, 

when terrain allowed, driving in Snowdonia and over 

the Shropshire hills. He was a great promoter of sport 

for disabled people, making the most of his abilities and 

encouraging others to do the same. 

with a determination not to be defeated. He learned to draw 

and travelled all over the West Midlands and Shropshire 

recording buildings and local scenes of interest. He 

wrote prodigious letters and diaries and most pages were 

embellished with one of his sketches or cartoons. 

He also wrote a history of Parkdale in Wolverhampton, 

where he lived most of his life. Parkdale was planned in 

the nineteenth century as a recreational area away from the 

pollution of the many factories, and it was largely David’s 

persistent efforts and research that prevented the large 

Victorian houses being demolished and the destruction of 

the central gardens and sports area by developers. It is now 

a conservation area and may be considered a memorial to 

the strength of character that David displayed during his life. 

As if one setback was not enough, he became ill with 

Hodgkins Lymphoma, but again he faced pain and hardship 

Vice-Admiral Sir John Lea (Rt 1937-41) 

Vice-Admiral Sir John Stuart Crosbie Lea, who has died at 

the age of 91, had a distinguished career in the Royal Navy, 

stretching from active service in the Second World War to 

retirement in 1980. He was born in 1923, in India, where 

his father was an officer in the Indian Army, and where his 

education began. After a few months in Australia, a country 

which was later to win a place in his heart, his parents 

separated, his father returning to India and his mother 

taking the children to England and prep school. From 

Boxgrove School in Guildford, where he found stability 

at a turbulent time, he went to Shrewsbury, where he 

initially followed the traditional Salopian Classical syllabus. 

When war broke out, however, he was determined to join 

the Royal Navy, and therefore switched to Science, Maths 

and Mechanics. He won a place at the Naval Engineering 

College in Plymouth from where, in only his second year 

as a student, he was sent to sea for training. Aboard HMS 

Sheffield, he saw action off Italy and subsequently visited 

the severely damaged island of Malta. Later in the year, 

he was on the cruiser Glasgow in the Bay of Biscay when


it engaged a number of German destroyers. It was, he 

admitted, a frightening experience. Unfortunately for him, 

his period of service was too short to qualify him for a 

campaign medal. 

In 1946, he emerged from college as a qualified submarine 

engineer, in which capacity he served in a number of 

vessels. Graduating from the naval staff college, he was 

steadily promoted to posts of greater responsibility including 

a spell in Whitehall in the Operations Division of Naval 

Staff. Here, as elsewhere, he proved to be a successful team 

player, a man who got on with people and who retained 

a sense of humour under pressure. His personal qualities 

were to be of particular value when, in the rank of Captain, 

he had the task of preparing the Faslane Nuclear Submarine 

Base, which involved negotiating with the representatives 

of the civilian workforce which was operating along with 

Naval personnel. The project was completed in time. 

He later became Commodore of the Barracks in Portsmouth, 

re-named HMS Nelson at his suggestion. From there he 

moved through various Ministry posts, before retiring in the 

rank of Vice-Admiral and with a knighthood. 

Springfield, his home from 1951 on, was a very happy 

place, where Sir John was determined to create the stable 

family environment that had been lacking in his youth. A 

practical man, he loved to create or mend artefacts, he was 

a keen gardener, and when his wife suffered a stroke, he 

applied himself to cooking. Involvement in the Hayling 

Island community included work for the local church and 

membership of the Hayling Horticultural Society, of which 

he became President. 

An avid cricket enthusiast, he was a member of the MCC 

and followed England on tour, was elected President of 

Navy Boxing, and followed rugby on television with an 

ardour that was just short of participation. 

Invited to become a liveryman of the Worshipful Company 

of Plumbers, he was to serve a term as Master, just one 

more example of his natural gift of leadership. 

In spite of the many demands of his career in public life, 

Sir John found time for his family, and was a most devoted 

father and grandfather. The collection of tributes from his 

grandchildren, published at his memorial service, is a very 

moving record of the contribution to their lives of a man of 

many talents. With justifiable pride, his eldest son spoke of 

“a life truly well lived”. 

Charles Lepper (Staff 1987) 

Although Charles Lepper taught English for just two 

terms at Shrewsbury, from January 1987, he made an 

unforgettable mark, both in the Common Room and with 

his pupils. Cheerful, humorous and scholarly, he acted as 

an interim between the departure of David Smith and the 

arrival of Stephen Holroyd. 

Charles had been a professional actor, performing at 

Stratford with John Gielgud, before losing much of his 

hearing and being obliged to leave the stage. But the 

theatre’s loss was undoubtedly a gain for the world of 

education. There followed a stay at the Crypt School in 

Gloucester and later at Bradfield College, where he was 

appointed Head of English. A notably sparkling teacher, 

he enhanced the role with his many widely acclaimed 

productions of Shakespeare and later with the celebrated 

Bradfield Greek Plays. On reaching retirement, Charles 

Lepper continued to perform his own one-man adaptation 

of Charles Dickens’ novels. 

A dedicated freemason, Charles happily joined the 

Salopian Lodge, continuing as a member for many years. 

The coat of arms of Shrewsbury School remained on a 

shield in Charles’ rooms until his dying day. No one who 

encountered him will ever forget his joie de vivre, his 

generosity and love of theatre and literature. He died on 

27th January 2015, aged 92. 

John Levetus (Ch 1938-42) 

The youngest of three, John Levetus was born on 22nd 

July 1924 to Edward, an import-export merchant, and 

Gertrude (née Ashton), a former schoolteacher. The family 

lived in Hampstead Garden Suburb and made many 

enduring friendships with neighbours who shared their 

interest in the arts. 

John performed well at Shrewsbury School, leaving in 1942 

with Higher Certificates in Latin, Greek, and History and 

Ancient Literature, and a distinction in Scripture Knowledge 

(Greek Text). After a year in the Territorial Army, he served 

in the Army Intelligence Corps in Britain, India and Ceylon 

from 1944 to 1946, learning Mandarin at the School of 

Oriental and African Studies. 

John then took a two-year History degree course at New 

College, Oxford, graduating in 1950. After qualifying as

80 


a solicitor in 1954, he spent the next thirty years as a 

conveyancing solicitor for the General Post Office and, 

after the split, British Telecom, commuting from Hampstead 

Garden Suburb (he could do a first-class impression of a 

Northern Line train) and later Colchester. He was respected 

as a hard-working and competent colleague. 

John Levetus spent his working life as a solicitor in 

London before retiring to Oxford. He never married but 

had strong ties with family and friends who remember 

him with much affection for his courtesy, quiet humour 

and remarkable memory. 

the company of his brother’s family nearby. He became a 

stalwart of the North Oxford Association community centre, 

serving on the management committee for more than 

twenty years and cheering up dull meetings with apt quotes 

from the masters of comic verse, and staffing the reception 

desk with characteristic patience and courtesy. 

In December 2014, John was admitted to hospital with 

problems walking, associated with sarcoma. He moved into 

a nursing home but became ill a few weeks later and died 

on 9th February 2015. 

Retirement at the age of 60 brought John a new lease of life. 

He moved to Oxford to enjoy the cultural life of the city and 

Henry Oxenham (Ch 1943-47) 

A family tribute read at his funeral by his son, Hugh. 

My father was born on 13th April 1929 in Northfield, then 

a Worcestershire village not yet engulfed by Birmingham. 

Both his parents came from Wales, his mother Gwyneth 

from the Vale of Clwyd and his father Bert from Aberdare. 

His father worked for a firm of Chartered Accountants in 

Birmingham. His sister Jane was born two years after him. 

At the outset of war he and his sister were evacuated to 

north Wales to live with their grandparents to escape the 

bombing of Birmingham. With the war still on and reaching 

the age of 13, his parents did not want him to return to 

Birmingham so he was sent as a boarder to Shrewsbury 

School. He enjoyed his time at Shrewsbury for he was a 

keen and talented sportsman, playing soccer, cricket and 

athletics. He was good enough at soccer to be selected for 

Public Schools soccer matches in London. 

After school he was called up for National Service in 1948 

and commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Royal 

Artillery. He had the good fortune to spend some of the 

time stationed in Gibraltar; it was an experience that made 

a big impression on him and in later life he would mention 

his time there, including hitch-hiking trips through Spain 

with friends. 

interest with my mother, was their involvement in the 

Birmingham Ramblers Association. Almost every week of 

the year, for many years, whatever the weather, they would 

travel with 50 or so other people by coach to a ramble and 

walk ten or twelve miles. He was the treasurer of the group 

for many years and led many walks, often recruiting me to 

help him carry out the reconnaissance of a new route. 

When his wife’s health declined and she had to have full 

time nursing care, she went to Horfield Lodge (nursing 

home) in Bristol so as to be near my sister Helen. My father 

sold the family home and moved to a flat in Bristol. He 

had been diagnosed with cancer but he then had a few 

good years in Bristol while the cancer was in remission. He 

became a volunteer helper at Horfield Lodge and engaged 

in various groups and activities with the University of the 

Third Age. He continued to pursue his great interest in 

history. 

When he became more unwell, he too moved into Horfield 

Lodge and finally into St Peter’s Hospice. My sisters and I 

would like to thank the staff at both places for the great 

kindness and care they gave to Henry in his final months. 

We believe he could not have been anywhere better. 

He had an offer of a place at Clare College, Cambridge 

and after National Service he went there to read Economics 

in 1949. After University he became an articled clerk in 

Birmingham, training to be a Chartered Accountant. He 

worked at various clients on audits – I remember him 

mentioning the big BSA factory in Small Heath and the 

British Rail works in Derby, then making the last the steam 

engines. 

In 1956 he married my mother Joan and they settled in a 

house in Selly Oak, Birmingham. They had three children 

in the next few years – first my sister Susan, then me 

(Hugh) then my sister Helen. With a family he needed a 

less itinerant job, so in 1963 he took a job with a small 

manufacturing and civil engineering company at Tipton in 

the Black Country. He worked from then on for the same 

firm until he retired, not unusual in those days. 

In retirement Henry became involved in the Housing 

Association movement. Another activity he loved, a shared


Julian Plowright (I 1956-58) 

Julian Plowright was born in Youlgreave, Derbyshire and 

attended Shrewsbury School for two years from 1956. 

The following obituary was published in the Newport 

(Rhode Island) Daily News: 

Julian had lived in many towns throughout the counties of 

England before moving permanently to the U.S. in 1990. 

He had visited Newport a few times prior while working 

with the BOC ‘Around the World Alone’ yacht race as their 

film director. He was a crackerjack electrical engineer and 

mechanic, who worked for a number of years at KVH 

Industries as an International Sales Manager and then as 

Estate Manager with his wife, Clare, at ‘Miramar’ on Bellevue 

Avenue and most recently as owner with his wife of the 

Newport retail garden shop, ‘mini-SCAPES’. 

He was an avid licensed amateur radio operator and 

member of the ARRL Radio Club of Newport County. 

He just recently passed his second examination, which 

gave him an important License Upgrade. This ‘hobby’ was 

just one example of Julian’s many interests and talents. He 

would delve deeply into all aspects of whatever caught 

his attention – he was in constant contemplation of many 

subjects – always ‘working out’ something in his very active 

and creative brain. 

Julian loved people, his family, and all categories of 

music. He was a parishioner at St John the Evangelist 

and thoroughly enjoyed their choir music and Father 

Humphrey’s sermons. He loved his movie nights with Clare 

and jaunts to Ft. Adams and Glenn Park with their two fourlegged 

kids, Mirabelle and Maximus. He cherished his visits 

from his daughter Sophie and his long chats on the phone 

with his brother and younger sister, all of whom he adored. 

His personal reflection was – “I am not a complex person as 

some seem to think, I am a simple man with simple wants 

and needs, but always good music, good food, and drink”. 

Julian passed away on 19th August 2014, from the effects 

of cancer. He was the husband for 23 years of Clare Cooke 

Plowright, who survives him. He is also survived by his 

daughter, Sophie Calder Plowright, recently of South 

Carolina, his brother, Chris Plowright of Ottawa, Canada, 

and his sister, Georgina Plowright of England. 

Richard Senior (O 1944-49) 

Richard was born in June 1931 in Alderley Edge. When he 

was two, the family moved to the outskirts of Llandudno. 

Richard was sent to what seemed to be the best choice of 

prep school in the region, Woodlands, where, sadly, bullying 

made him deeply unhappy. In spite of this, he did well 

academically and Richard passed on to Shrewsbury, but with 

no expectation that his life would be any pleasanter. 

Richard‘s first term at Shrewsbury began late: in May 1945, 

Hitler’s generals had just capitulated, and the School let 

everyone celebrate at home. When term did start, to Richard’s 

astonishment, he found life at Shrewsbury fulfilling and 

enjoyable; no sign whatsoever of bullying, so he could relax 

and enjoy what the School had to offer. Richard looked back 

on his four years at Shrewsbury and Oldham’s as among the 

happiest of his life. 

Except for Maths, which always remained a closed book to 

Richard, he enjoyed learning, especially languages. Richard 

knew that cricket was not for him, so for the summer he 

opted for the ‘tub club’, starting out as cox, and graduating, 

as he grew, to being an oarsman. He rowed bow for two 

seasons, then bow in the School third eight. He was part of 

the School shooting team, was awarded School Colours, then 

trumped this by coming sixteenth in the Ashburton Shield at 

Bisley. He finally shot his last pheasants at Christmas 2006. 

Richard was taken immediately into the School Choir, as he 

could sing in tune, sight-read and had a good treble voice; 

in the course of time, he was appointed Vice Choregus. 

Richard had begun piano studies aged four, and had already 

passed Grade Four by the time he arrived at Shrewsbury. 

His ongoing piano lessons took place in Alington Hall, 

where he could hear the School Brass Band working nearby. 

Attracted by the big brass sound, Richard knocked on the 

door and tentatively asked if he could join the Band. When 

F.W. Allsebrook found that Richard mastered the correct lip 

and tongue technique quickly on the tenor horn, produced 

a lovely tone and could play anything put in front of him, he 

was promoted to playing cornet. By the age of 15, Richard 

was the School’s youngest leading cornet, winning the Silver 

Bugle title. He also was lead and solo trumpet with the 

School Orchestra, culminating in him soloing in Haydn’s 

Trumpet Concerto at the End of School Concert in summer 

1949. It could be during this same concert that Richard 

memorably played the Posthorn Galop, using Allsebrook’s 

own real posthorn and wearing hunting pink, though this 

item is not listed on the official programme. 

Friendship with N.L. Williams in Mosers, who played the 

accordion, led to Richard’s fascination with this versatile 

but rather neglected instrument, from which he picked up 

a thorough grounding in harmony. The accordion offered 

Richard a totally new view of music, as it separated the 

melody line, played by the right hand on a short keyboard, 

from the rest, which is played on a series of buttons with the 

other hand, a brilliant training for Richard’s professional life 

to come. 

J. Barham Johnson, Richard’s piano tutor, wisely realised 

that Richard was destined for what was then considered an 

unconventional career in music. This came about following 

a visit by the legendary pianist Alfred Cortot. Richard, as 

the School’s star pianist, was invited to sit in on Cortot’s 

rehearsal and at the end was called over to be introduced 

to the great man. Inspired, Richard began to cultivate his 

own style, in Cortot’s mould. The following term, JBJ heard 

Richard sight-reading the Chopin second scherzo in B flat 

minor that Richard had heard Cortot perform; JBJ recognised 

that Richard had an innate understanding of the music. 

Improvisation was officially considered unscholarly, however,

82 


so music lessons were moved off the school campus by the 

unconventional JBJ to his home, out of authoritarian earshot, 

and now entailed improvisation and modern (jazz) chord 

progressions. 

On leaving school, Richard was accepted by the British 

Schools Exploring Society for the summer trip to Arctic 

Norway. Call-up for National Service came next and he 

successfully made his way through to a commission in the 

Queen’s Bays, and served his time with tanks on Lüneburg 

Heath. This was followed with a spell in the family firm, 

Arnold Clayton, in Manchester, and then a move to London 

on his first marriage, where he was employed by his fatherin-law 

as an insurance underwriter. But Richard’s real calling 

was still a few years away. 

Shrewsbury and JBJ in particular had already given Richard 

the background he needed for his future career as a 

professional musician, but his niche did not appear until 

the pop music scene underwent its transformation at the 

beginning of the sixties. Richard was introduced to an agent, 

who told him that the electronic organ was now the thing. 

Richard did not need telling twice; as a child he’d fallen 

in love with the sound of the theatre organ, which he’d 

first heard live in a Llandudno cinema, whilst waiting for a 

showing of Walt Disney’s ‘Fantasia’. Thereafter he had avidly 

scanned the Radio Times for all broadcasts labelled ‘Theatre 

Organ’, and sat, ear glued to the radiogram’s speaker, till he 

knew the names of every player, and could recognise the 

individual sound of each and every theatre organ in the UK. 

As his career took off, Richard was being paid good money 

to play the modern electronic version of these theatre organs, 

which he boosted with the new Moog synthesiser. Richard 

became one of a small but significant number of publicschool-educated 

musicians in the new, swinging pop world 

of the sixties. His background was neither a handicap nor a 

help in this egalitarian milieu; what mattered was being able 

to play the dots at sight, to meld with the other musicians, 

and to showcase the lead-artists to best advantage. He had 

the gift of conjuring up the music on the spot, with never a 

rehearsal or run through. It was always live, exciting, with the 

high voltage energy of walking a tight rope, which is what 

thrilled the audiences. 

For the next thirty years, Richard’s life revolved around his 

evening job as resident backing-organist at various different 

venues, as he was head-hunted by one club after another. 

Mostly the duo of Richard and his drummer were backing 

young artists who were on their way up, many of whom 

subsequently made it big on TV: Sandie Shaw, Georgie 

Fame, Ken Dodd, Roy Castle, Faith Brown, Danny Williams, 

Nancy Whisky and many more. This life-style lasted till the 

late 1980s: by then it became clear that the end was in sight, 

as stars who didn’t know Richard had taken to travelling 

with their own backing tapes. They had learned from bitter 

experience that there were few musicians of Richard’s calibre 

who could give them decent support. Finally Richard gave 

notice he would quit the next time an artist came with a 

backing tape; this life-style was now over. 

To supplement his income over these decades, Richard 

‘daylighted’ at various jobs. These were usually selling, a skill 

he had discovered he had a knack for during his brief trial 

in the family firm, Arnold Clayton. Later, came buying and 

selling pianos for Dawsons of Warrington. 

Richard was an enthusiastic and competitive bridge player, 

and wherever he lived, he sought out bridge clubs to play 

duplicate. Living in the Home Counties in the 1980s, he 

founded two new clubs, one of which is still known as 

Richard’s Bridge Club. He authored a book on ‘How to Start 

and Run a Bridge Club’ for the English Bridge Union. 

In his later years, Richard set up online self-help groups 

for people world-wide who suffer from CFS/ME, a muchmisunderstood 

illness, with a separate group for their 

carers. This grew out of his caring for his wife, Annabel, 

who eventually died of her illness, the first official death in 

the UK from CFS/ME. She died, harrowingly, by starving 

herself to death at home, ignored by the NHS. Richard 

went on to counsel CFS/ME sufferers and their carers right 

up to his last days. 

Following the trauma of Annabel’s death, Richard, aged 72, 

decided to take a year-long round-the-world trip, on his 

own. He spent six months in Christchurch, New Zealand, 

where there was a thriving duplicate bridge club, and 

he was offered a number of residencies playing piano. 

Returning from this voyage, Richard spent his final ten years 

in Glastonbury with two pianos and a modern Hammond 

organ. Here he was able to explore the piano duet and 

two-piano repertoire with his second wife Susanna and, at 

last, to relax into jazz improvisation on the Hammond for 

his own pleasure. Richard is survived by Susanna, by his 

five children and eleven grandchildren, and by his younger 

brother Michael. 

Susanna van Rose 

The Revd 

Michael Tupper 

(Staff 1948-79) 

Michael Tupper, who died 

on 10th December 2014 

aged 94, was one of the 

stalwarts of the staff for 

31 years, from September 

1948 to December 1979, 

for ten of which he was 

Housemaster of Oldham’s. 

Already ordained when he 

came to the School, he was 

also in fact if not in name 

Assistant Chaplain, a firm 

and undaunted advocate for Christianity in a time of 

great change. 

Michael Heathfield Tupper was born in April 1920 in East 

Sheen, Surrey, where his father was the vicar. His mother, 

unusually for a woman of her generation, was an Oxford 

graduate. Both parents were progressive for their time 

on social issues, and their strong religious faith meant that 

Michael and his two sisters grew up in an active Christian 

environment. 

Michael was only 11 when his father died; but thanks to a 

Clergy Bursary he was able to go to Marlborough College. 

He then read Theology at St Edmund Hall, Oxford, and after 

graduating trained for ordination at Ridley Hall, Cambridge. 

After a curacy and three years as Chaplain at Monkton Combe,


he was appointed to Shrewsbury by Wolfenden in 1948. 

It is his work in Chapel and religious teaching that should be 

recorded first: it was a contribution of the utmost importance 

to the life of the School Community. There was in that 

sphere of School life more change in his time than perhaps 

in any other: there was uncertainty and experiment, and the 

ministries of four successive Chaplains differed in their styles 

and emphases. Throughout that time Michael stood firm 

and resolute. His faith was clearly proclaimed; the standards 

by which he lived were plain for all to see; and he did not 

hesitate to speak up for what he believed to be right, even if 

sometimes unpopular. 

For ten years he was Housemaster of Oldham’s, not the easiest 

of years – 1962 to 1972 – when the School was experiencing 

both the difficulties caused by the changing mores of British 

Society in the 1960s and also the force of the reforming energy 

of Donald Wright. Many old members of the House will testify 

to his pastoral care and thoroughness, and perhaps above all 

to the security of knowing that there was a steady hand at the 

helm. One of his Heads of House was Michael Proctor, now 

Provost of King’s College, Cambridge. His boys will remember 

too with gratitude all the work done by his wife Jane in those 

final years of House catering, when Housemasters’ wives 

were still hotel keepers at a time when hotel staff had become 

almost extinct. He had met Jane Taylor when in his earlier 

days he was resident House Tutor in School House, where 

her father Tom Taylor was Housemaster from 1948 until his 

sudden untimely death in 1952. He and Jane married in 1953. 

In other ways too Michael played his full part in School life. 

In the Sixth Form his Divinity teaching pointed a path for 

many to follow into an understanding of the Christian faith, 

and below the Sixth his teaching as a form master raised the 

morale of the strugglers and brought results which surprised 

even the boys themselves. Michael was also an energetic 

House rowing coach, he sang regularly in the Concert Choir, 

he was in demand as a football referee who could be relied 

on to keep a firm grip on the game, and he was a major link 

between the School and Shrewsbury House in Everton, where 

he was a familiar and much respected figure. 

On retirement Michael and Jane moved to Bayston Hill, where 

he had already become involved in parish affairs. His energy 

was still undiminished, and in retirement as a non-stipendiary 

curate he joined the vicar in fostering a flourishing parish. 

The congregation outgrew the small village church, and they 

raised the money to build a large new church more central 

to the modern housing. Those were happy and fruitful 

years. As he wrote at the time: “We are trying to combine 

faithfulness to the unchanging truths of the Gospel with 

courage to experiment with contemporary ways of worship 

and communication.” 

Also in retirement, he and Jane went regularly to Jerusalem 

for two or three months at a time to take his turn as chaplain 

at the Garden Tomb, ministering to the many pilgrims and 

tourists who visit. In total they did thirteen spells of duty 

there. When Michael died, Jane received a phone call from an 

Arab street vendor in Jerusalem who spoke to her for twenty 

minutes in tribute: Michael’s influence extended beyond the 

bounds of the Garden Tomb itself. 

In his last years he became increasingly frail and was cared 

for and nursed with unstinting devotion by Jane, so that with 

the help of visiting professional carers he spent almost all that 

time in his own home rather than in hospital. He leaves his 

widow Jane, two daughters, a son, five grandchildren and 

three great-grandchildren. 

Luther’s words spoken at the Diet of Worms in 1521 could 

aptly be applied to Michael: Hier stehe ich. Ich kann nicht 

anders. Gott helfe mir. 

Glynn Yeoward (I 1944-48) 

Glynn was one of the more senior members of an 

extended ‘Salopian’ family. He followed his father Cyril 

Herbert and cousins Michael and Richard Ainsworth to 

Shrewsbury. Michael was one of Shrewsbury’s more 

prominent cricketers, and Glynn felt it was a hard act to 

follow. Subsequently, he was joined by younger brother 

John Cyril (later High Sheriff of Shropshire c.1982), sons 

Robin (I 1968-73) and Andrew (I 1970-75), and grandson 

Christopher (O 2007-09). 

In 1953, he married Susan Isobel Garbett, niece of the then 

Archbishop of York, and is survived by three children, 

Robin, Andrew and Sarah, and three grandchildren, 

Georgina, James and Christopher. 

Glynn’s main loves and achievements at school were football 

and cricket. He was in the 2nd XI football and was in the 1st 

House final winning team one year, playing in the forward 

line with Robin Moulsdale. He claimed on the same evening 

to have fought in the 1st House boxing final, losing against 

Brian Hutton, later Lord Hutton (of Iraq Inquiry fame). 

After achieving his School Certificate, he joined the 

Coldstream Guards for National Service, including guarding 

Windsor Castle at the time of HRH Prince Charles’ birth. 

Following a brief spell working in Canada, he became a cub 

reporter on the Hereford Times, and subsequently became 

the news editor in the Birmingham Post. In latter years, he 

took to writing, completing a number of books mixing fact 

with fiction on subjects such as the Roman occupation of 

Shropshire. He continued to play football and cricket (with 

Ludlow Cricket Club) for as long as possible, and was a 

regular on the Shropshire cricket scene.

SALOPIAN CLUB COMING EVENTS 

More details can be found on the Salopian Club website: www.shrewsbury.org.uk/page/os-events-0 

Sporting fixtures at: www.shrewsbury.org.uk/page/os-sport (Click on individual sport) 

Except where stated, email: jscholes@shrewsbury.org.uk 

All Shrewsbury School parents (including former parents) and guests of members are most welcome at the majority of our 

events. It is our policy to include in all invitations all former parents for whom we have contact details. The exception is any 

event marked ‘Old Salopian’ which, for reasons of space, is restricted to Club members only (e.g. Birmingham Dinner). 

Supporters or guests are always very welcome at Salopian Club sporting or arts events. Emails containing further details 

are sent out prior to all events, so please make sure that we have your up to date contact details. 

Date Event Venue 

Friday 15th January, 7.30pm for 8.00pm Young OS Open Mic Night The Horse & Stables, 124 Westminster 

Bridge Road, London SE1 7RW 

*Wednesday 20th January 5.30pm Salopian Club Committee Meeting London 

Friday 29th January, 5.30pm 

Chapel Choir Evensong at Manchester 

Cathedral, followed by a reception at 

the National Football Museum. 

Manchester Cathedral M3 1SX 

Contact: nbevan@shrewsbury.org.uk 

Wednesday 3rd February, 5.00pm 

Saturday 6th February, 2.30pm 

Choral Evensong at St Paul’s Cathedral, 

followed by a tour of the Cathedral 

and a reception 

OS Fergus Macleod conducts “The 

Mikado” at the ENO, followed by an 

after-show gathering and a chance to 

meet him. 

St Paul’s Cathedral, London 

London Coliseum WC2N 4ES 

Friday 12th February, 7.30pm 

School Concert at the Holywell 

Music Room, Oxford, preceded by a 

reception at the Randolph Hotel 

*Tuesday 23rd February, 6.00pm Salopian Club Sports Committee Meeting London 

Sunday 28th February, 7.30pm 

Saturday 12th March 

Shrewsbury School performs 

Verdi’s Requiem. 

Joint OS/School Concert 

Rehearsal in the afternoon, followed 

by an evening concert. 

Holywell Music Room, Oxford 

Contact: nbevan@shrewsbury.org.uk 

Birmingham Town Hall B3 3DQ 

Contact jyoung@shrewsbury.org.uk 

Alington Hall, Shrewsbury School 

Thursday 17th March Schools’ Head of the River Race gathering The Blue Anchor, Hammersmith W6 9DJ 

Friday 18th March 

*Thursday 14th April 

Shrewsbury School Parents’ 

Association Ball 

OS Birmingham Dinner. Tickets will 

be available via the website in the 

New Year. 

Friday 13th May OS Football Club Dinner London 

Shrewsbury School 

St Paul’s Club, Birmingham B3 1QZ 

*Sunday 26th June Moser’s Reunion Garden BBQ Shrewsbury School 

Saturday 2nd July Speech Day/Henley Royal Regatta Shrewsbury/Henley 

*Thursday 15th – Monday 19th 

September 

World War Two Battlefield Tour 

Normandy 

*Saturday 1st October Old Salopian Day Shrewsbury School 

* Salopian Club sponsored events 

RSSH, Kenya, October 2015

The Salopian no. 157 - Winter 2015

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?