Old_Cliftonian_Mag_2011

the 

Cliftonmagazine 

For Cliftonians, past and present 

2011 

Special features: 

Sport, BB & Hockey 1911 - 2011

FROM THE HEAD MASTER’S 

COMMEMORATION SPEECH 2011 

From its foundation, Clifton has always embraced the 

liberal (in the correct sense of the word) approach to 

education and it is thus no surprise that our present 

Head Master continues in that tradition, as he made 

clear at Commemoration this year: 

It strikes me that as a nation we have 

got ourselves into something of a 

pickle in our approach to education. 

Our exam system is now wholly based 

on the notion that the candidates 

who write answers that most closely 

correspond to the examiners’ mark 

scheme gain the highest marks. Exam 

success is therefore achieved by learning 

the template that the marker is using 

to mark the paper, and from which the 

marker is not allowed to deviate ... 

We know it is all nonsense yet we have 

no choice but to go along with it and 

do as well as we can. The exam process 

may require tactical awareness and good 

technique but it rarely requires much 

thought and in some cases precious little 

knowledge as well. ... 

Thinking is not just a luxury . . . but a 

necessity for life and a necessity in the 

workplaces of tomorrow. If you want 

confirmation of that ask employers 

what they are looking for when they 

recruit graduates. So Mr Michael Gove, 

I set you this challenge. If thinking 

is so important, then why have we 

constructed a school exam system that 

almost wholly militates against it? 

In all the chatter about categories of 

school, of Free Schools and Academies, 

perhaps Mr Gove should stop listening 

to trendy headmasters who grab his 

attention and headlines by throwing 

away all their library books in the 

pursuit of happiness, or those who are 

politically motivated to see education as 

the last battle ground of the class war, 

and focus instead on what we think as 

a nation we are doing in educating our 

young people . . . . 

At Clifton . . . we want to ensure that 

our pupils grow into the best possible 

version of the people that they already 

are; we want them to be able to think 

for themselves, almost in spite of the 

exam system, and thereby leave Clifton 

liberated to do brilliant things with 

their lives. 

And reading the pages of this year’s edition 

of The Clifton Magazine, it is pretty clear 

that the Head Master’s aspirations are 

already being realised. 

[The full text of the Head Master’s Speech can be found on page 36.] 

Contents 

Editorial1 

Hockey2 

Bude16 

Heraldry26 

Clifton and the Ashes 28 

The Cliftonian31 

Salvete/Valete32 

Commem36 

Art40 

Chapel Notes 42 

Music43 

Literary / Activities 45 

Trips48 

CCF54 

Drama59 

Community67 

Sport68 

The Old Cliftonian87 

OC Secretary 88 

Notes & News 89 

OC Business 94 

OC Sport 98 

Branches and Reunions 101 

Masonic Lodge 106 

Book Reviews 107 

Obituaries109 

Letters127 

Clifton Past 129 

AGM141 

Accounts142 

OC Clubs 144

03 EDITORIAL 

EDITORIAL 

“ 

Enough of Chapel”, I 

hear you cry. Well, I am 

not sure that one can 

ever have enough of Clifton’s 

wonderful Chapel but it is time to 

consider other things. One final 

postscript – I stumbled across 

this poem written anonymously 

in 1909 by a pupil and, given the 

fact that we are still technically in 

the Chapel’s Centenary year (that 

is certainly true of the organ), it 

gets an airing after over a 

century of being hidden 

on a dusty bookshelf: 

The emerging sun streams through the 

painted windows, 

Two dazzling ladders of unfolding light, 

And flashed against the brasses of the dead. 

A skein of tangled colours – Green for Hope, 

Purple for Youth and Love and quiet Dreams, 

While Scarlet blazed Life’s battle. 

Suddenly 

A cloud swept o’er the sun: the Hand of God 

Swept o’er a life; and on the darkening walls 

The colours glimmered – and a soul went forth. 

2012 Celebrations - Major Dates 

Friday 21 October 2011 : Dinner at The Mansion House, London 

Friday 6 July/Saturday 7 July 2012 : Commemoration 

Saturday 29 September/Sunday 30 2012 : 150th Anniversary weekend 

A voice from another age, and before 

events which this all too tragically 

prefigures, reminding us of the roots 

of the Clifton story. Next year’s special 

edition of this magazine will be the 

place to reflect upon these things and to 

look forward to the next century as the 

College’s 150th Anniversary hoves into 

view. Memories and recollections across 

the board from the oldest to the youngest 

will thus be most welcome! 

And what of this year? Several 

anniversaries to consider – we cannot 

claim any connection to 1611 and the 

King James Bible (sadly, for both Kim 

Taplin and this editor would love to be 

able to find an excuse to write about 

that!) – but 1911 saw the birth of Hockey 

and the foundation of the playing 

fields at BB, whilst 1941 witnessed the 

evacuation to Bude. These and other 

matters, along with the record of another 

good year for School and OCs alike, are 

considered in this edition which, as 

always, we hope you find of interest. 

As usual, thanks go to Simon Reece, Lucy 

Nash, Kit Taplin and Peter Smith (many 

excellent photos), Adam Sibley, Geoffrey 

Hardyman and Burleigh Press for all their 

help and guidance and support. Errors 

and omissions are down to the Editor. 

Bob Acheson 

EDITORIAL 

1

Sport: Growth of Hockey 

The Unattainable Ideal 

HOCKEY AT CLIFTON: 

THE EARLY YEARS 1870-1910 

In the edition of The Cliftonian which 

came out in February 1911, the editors 

confidently announced 

From the beginning of this Term dates what 

may be described as the Hockey Age of the 

school. 

Although this may subsequently have 

proved to have been a rather overambitious 

and optimistic claim, Clifton 

can rightly accept that 2011 sees the 

centenary of the establishment of 

Hockey as a sport in the College. The 

emergence of Hockey as a recognised 

sport owed much to the purchase of 

playing fields at Beggar’s Bush which, 

therefore, also celebrate a hundred 

years of existence. In the somewhat 

flowery prose of the time, the editors 

went on to explain; 

As these columns have long testified, the 

Hockey question in the abstract is no new 

one, and we have become so hardened to the 

conception of Hockey as an unattainable 

ideal that the reality gives us an almost 

personal satisfaction as of a life’s dream 

accomplished. From the editorial point of 

view we must regret the passing of a fruitful 

source of lively correspondence, but we 

cannot hope for the sympathy of the general 

public in this purely domestic sorrow. At the 

beginning of the Term we were content to bid 

the new game welcome, as a stranger, but 

the majority may now pride themselves on a 

knowledge of the more important rules, whilst 

latent talent is appearing, the game is being 

taken seriously and is decidedly popular….. 

we can prophesy for Hockey a great future 

and a hold on the School’s affections. 

As the editors implied, this had not 

always been the case. At the beginning of 

the 20th Century, the required reading 

for the huntin’, shootin’ and fishin’ 

classes, along with those who aspired 

to status in society, was the Victorian 

equivalent of Tatler or Country Life, 

entitled Land and Water. From time to 

time this publication carried special 

articles on Public Schools and, amongst 

advertisements for Rot-Proof Canvas 

(as supplied to HM’s Home, Indian and 

Colonial Governments as well as to the 

Ugandan Railway Company) or for the 

Sheringham Hotel (Golfer’s terms 10/6d 

per day, July and August excepted), as 

well as lengthy articles on such subjects 

as The True Sublime of Deer Stalking and 

the joys of otter hunting, the publication 

for July 21st 1900 featured Clifton as 

its school of choice, a remarkable feat 

given that the school had only been in 

existence for thirty-eight years. 

We dismiss the early influence of John 

Percival in terms of setting “the tone” of 

the College at our peril. As the article 

goes on to suggest 

Dr Percival’s violent aversion to hero 

worship did Clifton infinite good – indeed, 

there may be found evidence of the success 

of his system all over the world. 

Modesty and manners were clear 

priorities, as indeed they remain at 

Clifton today. The editor of Land and 

Water continued 

We have witnessed many matches in the 

College Close, but with one single exception 

we never heard boys cheer at the fall of an 

adversary’s wicket, nor did we ever hear a 

sound calculated to annoy or discourage any 

adversary in any way whatsoever. 

the single exception being CL 

Townsend’s hat-trick against 

2 the CLIFTON MAGAZINE 2011

Cheltenham. No mention is made of 

the academic curriculum at all in this 

article, and virtually the entire piece 

is given over to “manly pursuits” ie., 

sport. More to the point, there is not the 

slightest hint that Hockey featured at all 

in Clifton’s life. 

Cricket takes pride of place; 

There is probably no school where a larger 

proportion of boys have made cricket the 

occupation of their leisure time during the 

summer terms. 

After cricket, Football (and not the 

round-ball version) clearly dominated. 

The birth of what we now call Rugby at 

Clifton owed much to the first Head 

Boy, Wellesley, thus launching a tradition 

whereby the Captain of Football was 

always the Head of School. Nineteenthcentury 

football was not for the fainthearted. 

Writing home to his mother in 

October 1894 from his study in Clifton, 

Tankred Behrens reported that 

the family’s third best nose got two good 

kicks so as to make it swell and it is at 

present rather crooked as to the bridge but 

I expect as soon as the swelling is down it 

will rectify itself. I got rather knocked about 

getting four good kicks on the head. 

Such incidents were not uncommon it 

would appear: 

At Clifton the sides were composed of twenty 

players even till 1878, and almost always 

before that date, and frequently afterwards; 

it was a rare thing for the two goals, which 

were necessary for a victory, to be obtained 

on one day’s play. 

This, of course, referred to House matches 

or internal School matches (such as 

Classical v Modern) which were held to be, 

in the College’s first decades, of far greater 

import than “foreign” matches against 

external opponents. Internal matches 

might continue for three days, and if, when 

goals, tries, and touch-downs were all 

reckoned up, not even then was a definite 

result reached, a fourth day’s play was 

ordered. 

A glance at the Football Caps of 1900 

gives some idea of how daunting some 

of these young men must have been; 

What heroic contests these House matches 

were, and it must be added, how ferocious! 

It is true that the rule forbade hacking above 

the knee, or when a player with the ball was 

held, but the recognised method of dealing 

with the opponent who was nearest to the 

ball was to hack him over, and the ordinary 

player could not be expected to have 

mastered the fine art of always bringing the 

enemy down painlessly. 

Past v Present 

Spring Term sport was basically crosscountry 

running and these runs were 

initially somewhat haphazard affairs. 

In 1873, the Big Side Levée, a group 

of senior boys under the chairmanship 

of the Head of School – introduced the 

idea of Upper and Lower “Packs” and 

runs took the form of hare and hounds, 

with “whips” bringing up the rear to 

“encourage” the slower participants 

to complete the course. These runs 

were anything from 8 miles upwards 

in length, took place twice a week, and 

were compulsory. Prizes were given by 

totalling up places during the term, and 

it was from this list that the Long and 

Short Penpole races arose. These outings 

were not popular with the local villagers 

and farmers. In 1881, one regular 

runner recorded that on Saturday 26 

February the Pill Run took place: 

Here, we were received, as usual, by the 

hoots of the populace. 

A week later, the Run had to take a 

detour at Coombe Dingle when the 

School Pack was assaulted by “a furious 

dame with a broom stick” and another 

correspondent, no fan of the weekly 

Runs, observed that 

We are ardently hated by all the farmers ten 

miles around, whose crops and fences we 

destroy. 

Complementing the Runs at the end of 

the Spring term was Athletics. What is 

glaringly missing from this pretty full, 

turn-of-the-century account, is that there 

is no mention whatsoever of Hockey. 

The earliest reference to Hockey as a 

sport being played at Public Schools 

comes from a passing observation by 

Lord Lytton in 1853 

On the common some young men were 

playing at hockey, that old-fashioned game, 

now very uncommon in England, except at 

schools. 

“That old-fashioned game” – Hockey 

indeed in some form or another has a 

long history. In Europe, the game can 

be traced back to the 14th Century 

– Edward III banned the playing of 

“bandy-ball” because he feared that it 

would detract from 

archery practice which 

was compulsory after 

Divine Service on a 

Sunday. The actual 

word “hockey” appears 

in the Statutes of 

Galway in 1527 and 

may derive from the 

Anglo-Saxon word hok, 

meaning hook, or from 

the early French word 

houquet, a shepherd’s crook. At about the 

same time that Lord Lytton made his 

comment, a Harrow master was insisting 

that there should be no more than 30 

members on each team on the hockey 

pitch, then some 200 yards long, at any 

one time, and the first formulation of 

Hockey Rules, at Teddington Cricket 

Club in 1874, stipulated that the stick 

must not be raised above the shoulder 

and that a circle should be drawn in 

which the ball had to be for a shot on 

goal to be valid. The following year, the 

Hockey Association was formed. Given 

this, it is perhaps not surprising that 

there is no mention of the sport in the 

College’s early years. 

There were other reasons for this as 

well. It became quickly established 

SPORT: GROWTH OF HOCKEY 

3

as a “Clifton tradition” that only by 

concentrating upon one sport per term 

could the sport possibly excel on the 

playing-fields. When a move was afoot 

in 1877 to encourage the formation of 

a Tennis Club and a Bicycle Club, its 

supporters were given short shrift; 

The success of the School in games is mainly 

due to its concentration upon a single 

pursuit. Those therefore who shirk playing 

the ordinary games have no right to demand 

that we should cater for their amusement. 

Moreover, any talk of Hockey tended 

to be within the context of only being 

suitable for the less robust, rather feeble, 

boy whose constitution would suffer if 

exposed to the more manly pursuits of 

Football and Pack Runs. Such a view 

was underpinned by an adjustment to 

the Spring Term games programme 

in March 1878, the earliest mention of 

Hockey being played at Clifton; 

No longer are the tender darlings of anxious 

mammas allowed to do nothing on fine halfholidays, 

no longer are they able to spend 

their time and money in loafing in Clifton 

and paying visits to “Warren’s”. There is 

no fear, to be sure, of their being brought 

home cold corpses from “those horrid runs”, 

but at the same time they must exercise 

their delicate limbs a little in some healthy 

amusement. The authorities have determined 

that the aforesaid darlings should play 

hockey on the Downs on Thursday and 

Tuesday half-holidays. 

Three games were organised; School 

House and South Town paired up, as 

did Dunn’s with North Town, which left 

Oakeley’s, Brown’s and Dakyns’ to play 

together. The first ever game of Hockey 

at Clifton took place on the afternoon of 

Thursday 14 February, but it can hardly 

have been a true demonstration of the 

sport for not only was the ball made of 

string, but 

We do not think anyone in either set of 

players knew a single rule….Everybody, we 

need hardly say, “slogged” furiously. In the 

scrimmages, as those were nearly twenty-five 

a side, there was a good deal of funny play. 

4 the CLIFTON MAGAZINE 2011 

Every now and then some one would be 

discovered standing on the ball, or the ball 

would be out of the scrimmage altogether, 

while the sticks were still hard at work 

battering away at nothing in the middle. 

The next game was scheduled for 

Thursday 26 February. In those 

intervening twelve days, a proper ball 

had been obtained and rules were 

agreed upon including the off-side rule, 

shooting from a maximum distance of 

15 yards, and no raising of the stick 

above the shoulder. “Anxious mammas” 

would doubtless have been much 

relieved by Rule 6 which stated clearly 

that there was to be no “charging, 

tripping, collaring, kicking or shinning.” 

That game on 14 February must indeed 

have been a scrap and a half and a 

wonder to behold! 

There now began three decades of 

seesawing debate concerning rivalry 

between the runners and the nonrunners 

when it came to sport in the 

Spring Term. The unpopularity of Runs 

initially boded well for the development 

of Hockey, “M.N.” writing in December 

1879 that in order to put some “life into 

Hockey” 

instead of having mere pick-ups as is 

generally the case, House Matches and 

School Matches could be arranged, there 

being no exact limits of numbers on either 

side, but the whole of the Hockey players in 

one House playing those in another. 

Certainly this appeared to be happening 

in the Junior School where North 

Town were champions at Hockey in 

1880 having beaten both South Town 

and Hartnell’s, yet the editors of the 

February 1881 Cliftonian are beginning 

to betray concerns about the effect of 

Hockey on the Runs; 

We hope that the Runs will be supported 

with the same energy as in former years, and 

that only those with whom it is an absolute 

necessity will take refuge in Hockey – which, 

however, it ought to be remembered, is now a 

regularly organised School game and ought 

to be played as such. 

The storm clouds were gathering, for 

Clifton was, like all Public Schools of 

the time, an intensely conservative 

community. In April 1881, The Cliftonian 

reports 

We may say that in spite of the institution 

of Hockey….we have never had a more 

successful run-term…As long as there 

are forty fellows in the School who can 

accomplish the Long Penpole course in less 

than an hour and a quarter, the Runs will 

flourish, though farmers, anxious parents 

and malcontent hockey players and walkers 

will do their worst. 

This assault evoked a furious response 

in defence of the new game 

Is it not getting high time that some 

substitute should be made for runs? Every 

year sees them more and more unpopular, 

and fellows cut them on the slightest pretext. 

I never saw their popularity at such a 

low ebb as this year…Could not hockey be 

brought more to the fore? By house matches, 

for instance. At present fellows only regard 

it as a dull substitute for runs and a 

degradation, and steal up to the Downs 

to play in a most sheepish manner. If the 

ranks of the “swinish multitude” (exclusive 

of running heroes) were consulted, I am 

sure they would hail the decease of their old 

enemies, the runs. 

Hockey supporters were to be 

swiftly disappointed. Far from Runs 

diminishing, the creation of a Third 

Pack, with a shorter and more gentle 

course, appears to have come close 

to strangling the infant hockey in its 

proverbial cradle. The Junior School 

continued to play the game but, by 

March 1882, Hockey had all but 

collapsed in the Upper School. The 

Third Pack swelled to over a hundred; 

the anti-Hockey lobby felt confident 

enough to write 

Hockey is now, we are happy to say, a thing 

of the past; the correspondents who…last 

year expressed to see the runs abolished 

and hockey substituted for them will, 

we are afraid, be at present doomed to 

disappointment. 

Yet the game is still being played at 

Clifton in 1884, albeit with “diminished 

numbers” and is clearly being taken 

more seriously. It was proposed that 

the rules “so successfully formulated 

at Marlborough College”, which had 

established the game properly well in 

advance of many schools of the time, 

should be adopted at Clifton, and that 

a cricket ball, as opposed to one made 

of hemp, should be used from now 

on. Although there is no record of the 

result, a match of sorts was arranged

etween the School and a team of 

Masters captained by “Mr Harrison”, 

with the express aim of kindling interest 

amongst those incapable of running. 

Yet the row between the two camps 

rumbled on and, by June 1884, feelings 

in the School were running high; 

These conversations, and the fact that 

Hockey on the Downs meets with even more 

contempt than in days of old, convince 

me that the Runs have not permanently 

declined in popularity. Beside this, I venture 

to think that the proposal that Hockeyplayers 

and members of the Third Pack 

should have an hour a week extra drill 

or gymnasium, would prove an effective 

deterrent to the lazy, and at the same time 

help those who are willing but unable by 

increasing their stock of strength. 

It was time to reach a compromise and 

this was effected the following year 

when House runs before dinner were 

abolished and Hockey substituted as the 

preferred mode of exercise. By the end 

of that Spring Term, it was generally 

agreed that this had rendered Hockey 

more enjoyable without ruining the 

quality of the Runs, and it was thus 

agreed that a new set of definitive Rules 

should be published which, apart from 

establishing 11-a-side as the norm, 

changed little until the advent of astroturf 

and the modern game in the 1970s. 

The creation of a Fourth Pack in 1887 

once more threatened to extinguish 

Hockey since pressure to conform to 

going on the runs was clearly being 

exerted at House level on the less 

athletic, yet in 1889, there is a letter 

from the Baron de Coubertin to the 

French Master at Clifton, M Bevenot, 

which suggests that the game is still in 

good order at the College. Coubertin, 

the founder of the modern Olympic 

Games, had a passionate interest in 

education and was convinced that one 

of the reasons for the ascendancy of 

Britain as a world power lay in the 

fact that its top schools had adopted 

Arnold’s system of games, and he was 

anxious to find out more and to try to 

Baron de Coubertin. 

persuade the French education system 

to follow suit. Bevenot replied 

Sur une visite sérieuse du 

medecin du collège – on n’admet 

pas de certificat des médecins des 

familles – il peut arrive que l’on 

défende un élève de prendre part 

aux courses; alors il se joint a 

ceux des autres qui se trouvent 

à la même enseigne, pour jouer 

le “hockey.” 

and he went on to explain to 

the Baron how the game was 

played at Clifton. What is of 

interest here, apart from the 

unassailable authority of the 

School Doctor when it came to 

deciding whether or not a boy 

was able to run, is the small part 

which the College played in de 

Coubertin’s fact-finding mission. 

He failed to persuade his fellowcountrymen 

about the efficacy 

of organised sport at school, and 

this frustration lay in part behind 

1908 Olympics. 

his eventual determination to revive 

the Olympic Games and the Olympic 

ideal. It is appropriate, as the London 

Olympics hove into sight, to note, 

therefore, the tiny footnote that Clifton 

is in this respect in the history 

of the modern Olympic Games. 

During the 1890s, there is little mention 

of Hockey at the College, although LA 

Toke, R Scott and JP Mayo all played the 

game for Balliol College in 1892, and 

Clifton witnessed its first Oxford “Blue” 

in Hockey in the shape of JRH O’Regan 

in the same year. By 1900, Hockey is 

being played with “ardour” on New 

Field for those who require a “mild 

form of exercise” but, two years later, 

the game is still being treated with some 

disdain by the Clifton community. So 

what happened between 1902 and 1911 

to change this situation so dramatically 

and so publicly? A clue is given by a 

letter sent to the College by G. H. Lings 

(DH 1888-1890): 

The game was growing nationally. In 1908, 

Hockey made its debut at the Olympic 

Games in London. England won gold, 

defeating France (10-1), Scotland (6-1) 

and, in the Final, Ireland (8-1). It was this 

success, and the growth of the support 

at club and county level, that established 

Hockey as a game to be played. 

Thus had the game slowly and tortuously 

established itself as a credible alternative 

to the Spring Term Runs. All that was 

now missing was a proper place for the 

game to be played and, for that, the 

College had to thank the Old Cliftonians 

since, from 1911 onwards, Hockey and 

BB became inextricably linked. 

SPORT: GROWTH OF HOCKEY 

5

Beggar Bush 1911-1941 

“For The Furtherance of School Games” 

– BEGGAR BUSH, CLIFTON SPORT AND HOCKEY 1911-1941 – 

Space for sport was not an issue in 

the early days of the College. There 

was plenty of room for Football and 

Cricket, and the Spring Term Runs made 

few demands upon College facilities. 

Issues surrounding playing-fields in 

the 19th Century, therefore, tended 

to be concerned with arguments with 

the residents of Pembroke Vale about 

access or the state of the trees, or with 

requests by external organisations such 

as the All England Croquet Club or the 

National Archery Association for use 

of The Close or New Field during the 

Summer holidays. As late as 1900, grass 

was kept short by renting pasturage out 

to local farmers but, as numbers grew and 

pressure for an expansion of the sporting 

programme began to gather momentum, 

there was clearly a growing feeling in 

both School and OC circles that more 

space for sport would one day be needed. 

The first hint of this appears in the 

Minutes of the College Council’s Finance 

Committee Meeting on 22 May 1901: 

The Secretary reported that he had received 

through Mr Asquith letters from Colonel WJ 

Alt enclosing cheques (1) of £90 and (2) 

£22.10 being legacies under the Will of the 

late Mr WB Alt (1) To “Clifton College” 

for the furtherance of School Games if 

possible towards the purchase of new playing 

space otherwise for the benefit of (1) Cricket 

(2) Rugby Football (3) Rackets (ii) To the 

“Chapel Fund of the College”, and also 

enclosing receipt forms for the amount of 

each cheque. 

Ninety pounds was not a small sum in 

1901, equivalent to half a year’s salary 

for a teacher at Clifton at the time, but it 

was not, of course, enough to purchase 

any meaningful plot of land for sport. 

Much debate in Committee thus ensued 

as to how the wishes of the donor could 

be met, for what lay behind this legacy 

was a perception that the College really 

could do with more space for Games. 

The result was that: 

It was decided that as the first-named legacy 

could not be applied to the purpose first 

named the Secretary be instructed to make 

inquiry as to the application of it to one of 

the alternative purposes mentioned and that 


the question of acceptance must be deferred 

till receipt of this information, temporary 

acknowledgement of the letters and the 

cheques being made in the meantime. 

In June 1901 it was resolved to accept 

the legacy. Two years later, the Head 

Master, Canon Glazebrook, reported 

to Council that the Alt legacy was to be 

used to obtain “a Motor Mower for The 

Close”, a foray into the realms of the 

latest technology meeting with Council’s 

wholehearted approval and signalling 

the end of the era of sheep on The 

Close. 

On 13 March 1908, a special meeting 

of the OC Society was convened at 

the Hotel Metropole in London. 

Accompanying the notice was a written 

statement by the new Head Master, 

Revd AA David: 

It will be the desire of all Old Cliftonians 

that the Jubilee of the School, which falls 

in 1912, shall be marked by a memorial 

worthy, on the one hand, of our great history 

during the last fifty years, and contributing, 

on the other, to its future development and 

success 

and he went on to put three schemes 

before them, inviting them to consider 

which, if any, they would care to 

support. The first was the enlargement 

of the Chapel, and the discussion 

surrounding that was described in 

some detail in last year’s edition of The 

Cliftonian. The second was: 

We want also a new museum and art 

gallery, a second racquet court, and some 

new fives courts. 

The third scheme was the most 

ambitious and David asserted that it 

ranked in terms of real need far higher 

than the other two – “additional land for 

playing fields.” He went on to explain: 

There is land available on either side of the 

Avon not less than two miles distance from 

the School. We have carefully considered 

all the difficulties thus raised, and have 

come to the conclusion that though they 

are considerable, they are not prohibitive. 

Possibly as transport becomes easier and 

cheaper, some means of conveyance may be 

devised; in the meantime bicycles would be 

necessary and probably sufficient. 

The Head Master had thus already 

identified three plots of land for potential 

use, two at a cost of £10,000 and one at 

£14,000, and he concluded by stating 

that he looked forward to explaining 

all this in greater detail at the Meeting. 

Alas, he did not get the opportunity 

since an accident on the Bristol to 

London line meant that his train did 

not reach Paddington until after the 

Meeting was over. The OC Chairman, 

Rowland Whitehead, therefore suggested 

that they should go ahead without the 

Head Master and discuss this important 

proposal, although he felt that: 

they could not very well express an opinion 

about any particular project in the Head 

Master’s absence but he thought they might 

very well discuss what he might call the 

general proposition, which might be divided 

into two heads – first, was it desirable 

to celebrate the Jubilee of the College by 

making a special effort to collect a large sum 

of money from the Old Cliftonians 

and that if they were all in favour of 

such a course of action: 

Rowland Whitehead.

he thought they might then go on to consider 

whether such a scheme as that which the 

Head Master indicated viz., the acquisition 

of a new playing ground 

was a sensible one to have as a focus 

for celebratory fund-raising. A keen 

debate ensued, during which a letter 

from Bishop Percival was read out 

supporting more land and a radical 

Chapel reconstruction, but also 

suggesting that endowed scholarships 

required consideration. Sir James Heath 

then proposed that a fund be set up 

to celebrate the Jubilee of the College 

and this was seconded by WS Paul and 

carried. The real debate about land 

then started now that the principle 

concerning fund-raising had been 

agreed. WS Paul had clearly already 

discussed this with David since he now 

went on to elaborate about a piece of 

land at Beggar’s Bush Lane of some 

35 acres which would be more than 

fit for purpose, the only caveat being 

the Suspension Bridge which, Paul 

suggested, could be circumvented by 

coming to a sensible agreement with 

the Bridge Company. At this point, 

it was also suggested that instead of 

this, acquiring the Zoo should be 

given serious weight. It was becoming 

increasingly obvious that WSP had 

been well-briefed by David before the 

Meeting since he immediately countered 

this notion as being impracticable, “even 

if they had the money”, adding that the 

advantage of Abbots Leigh was fresh 

air. It was equally obvious that other 

OCs felt that they were being railroaded 

by the Head Master and his allies over 

this issue. One OC queried the size of 

the School, reminding the Meeting of 

the Charter limit of 600 pupils, thereby 

implying that the Head Master should 

reduce the size of Clifton and thereby 

remove the need for further playing 

space. Henry Newbolt was clearly 

uncomfortable, moving that a committee 

be appointed to determine the views 

of all OCs, but this was defeated on a 

show of hands. Finally, Whitehead felt 

confident enough to move: 

That, in the opinion of the Meeting, it is 

considered desirable that the Jubilee of the 

College be celebrated by the acquisition of a 

fresh playing field. 

The Beggar’s Bush scheme was born. 

OF Christie (SH 1879-1885) takes up 

the story: 

In May 1910, the Secretary of the Old 

Cliftonian Society informed the Council 

that the total amount paid or promised for 

the acquisition of Beggar’s Bush amounted 

to nearly £10,000, that the land had been 

conveyed, and £5500 borrowed for the 

completion of the purchase. 

Expense did not finish there, however, 

because the cost of transporting boys 

to the new playing fields by “motor 

omnibuses” was mounting term by term; 

in the end Council agreed to find the 

money and thereafter it was charged 

to the College Games Fund. Other 

expenses soon followed. A stretcher 

was required, and, since there were no 

changing facilities, a “shed and lavatory 

accommodation” were erected at a cost 

of £100. This Shed was open to the 

elements and Council finally agreed 

to a request from Mr Moberly and 

the Games Committee in 1911 for the 

closing in of the Shed at an extra cost of 

£26.16.0. Thus the College Jubilee came 

and went (total cost of the celebration 

coming to £456!), and Beggar’s Bush 

started life as a sports ground. 

Moles were the immediate problem. The 

state of the grounds was pretty poor 

anyway and, in 1910, the boys under AD 

Imlay’s instructions, with a wheelbarrow 

and two spades, began the almost 

Sisyphean task of improving the quality 

of the land surfaces. One Joe Porter 

was likewise engaged to tackle the mole 

problem and was paid 2d per mole, 

bringing their tails in a box to Oakeley’s 

to be counted by Mr Imlay. Hockey was 

now launched at BB but struggled with 

the playing surfaces which were still very 

rough and ready. A horse and cart were 

brought in to help with levelling and 

stone-removal, but the grounds were 

dominated by a huge crater which had 

only been partly in-filled, and it was this 

that Imlay and his working parties of 

boys set to work on. 

January 1914 saw a huge programme of 

tree-planting and most of the pines and 

firs we enjoy today owe their origins to 

this initiative. In spite of the war, work 

carried on throughout 1915 and 1916. 

A cottage was taken over and a roadway 

built so that huge amounts of clay, ash 

and loose earth could be spread over 

the area in an attempt to level it, and 

BEGGAR BUSH 1911-1941 

7

a Pavilion was also completed at this 

time. Turfing of areas went on during 

1916 and 1917 but, as the U-Boat 

campaign began to bite and Britain’s 

food shortages approached crisis levels, 

work stopped on the grounds until the 

end of the war, energies instead being 

redirected onto an eight-acre patch of 

vegetable growing, especially potatoes, 

whilst the rest of the estate was given 

over to pasturage for sheep and pigs. It 

is this which largely explains the total 

lack of any Hockey being played during 

the war years in spite of the fact that it 

had been growing rapidly in popularity 

since the opening of the fields in 1912. 

Prior to the outbreak of war, Hockey 

had obtained the status at last of a school 

sport with school matches. The first ever 

school match at Clifton took place on 9 

March 1912 at BB against South Bristol 

Hockey Club. In a game not short on 

goalmouth activity, the College lost 3-6 

with RH Read (OH 1908-1912) scoring 

the first-ever Hockey goal at Clifton. 

The match was felt to be a huge success, 

The Cliftonian reporting: 

The School team are to be congratulated 

on their display. Considering they have 

never played together before, they combined 

exceedingly well. 

In 1913, four matches were played, the 

School losing to West Gloucestershire 

(1-6), Cambridge University OCs (4-7), 

and SWE Jones XI (4-5) before finishing 

the season with a 0-0 draw against the 

Old Cliftonians. It was generally agreed 

that the team had improved especially 

when it came to passing the ball(!). As 

we have seen, a combination of lack of 

suitable playing surfaces (New Field 

and The Close were off limits to Hockey 

since it was argued that a fallow term 

was needed for the pitches to recover 

before the all-important cricket season) 

and international events resulted in 

no Hockey being played at all since 

organised games were very limited 

between 1914 and 1918: 

The Corps is taking up most of our time. 

Parades take place five days a week. We 

still retain our position as an Engineering 

Corps, one of the two Schools to whom the 

privilege is granted. 

Hockey was thus not to reappear at 

Clifton until 1923 as a competitive sport. 

After the war, ground improvement 

continued at a somewhat desultory pace. 

The reason for this was that the cost of 

transport was rising, Council had long 

decided that they could no longer bear 

the cost, and thus the College Games 

and Shop Fund had to find the money 

which meant that there was little left for 

other things. The initial buses were very 

uncomfortable, as one Clifton aspiring 

poet recorded: 

Nor does the Bus its springless Strength 

display, 

Bumping its freight to distant Fields of 

Play. 

whilst another contemporary talked of 

“boys packed like sardines in dilapidated 

lorries.” The result was that the BB 

pitches were almost unsuitable for 

Football, let alone Hockey, with several 

complaints about having to play Rugger 

in “a dark, mud-swept bog.” In spite 

of this, Hockey was re-established with 

a 2-2 draw against Trinity College, 

Oxford, in 1923 and the first Hockey 

victory, against the Masters, in 1924. 

This year also saw the first inter-school 

match in the Pre, the Downs being 

defeated 2-1. The following year saw 

Clifton’s first victory in a “foreign” 

match, Trinity College being beaten 

3-2. If the School took heart from this, 

however, the next match against West 

Gloucestershire soon brought the XI 

back down to earth, Clifton losing 5-14! 

1928/9 represents something of a 

turning-point for BB and thus for 

Hockey as a whole, as OF Christie 

recorded: 

In 1928 a Ransome’s Quintuple Cutter was 

bought, costing nearly £200. In 1929 an 

Austin Tractor was added, and the whole 

ground cut and rolled for the first time. 

As a result, the College’s fixture list 

began to expand, with matches against 

BGS (5-2, 3-3) being added and, by 

1933, the number of boys opting for 

Hockey meant that two Big-Sides could 

be formed. Beggar’s Bush now bore no 

resemblance to the mole-ridden, lumpy 

area of 1912 and its transformation 

BB in the 1930s 

owed much to one man, AD Imlay. By 

the 1930s, BB had a large garden laid 

out with roses and spring bulbs and eight 

cricket pitches, eight hockey pitches and 

nine football pitches, whilst the land 

which now holds the astro was levelled 

and prepared for sport. The Cliftonian of 

1931 was quick to recognise this: 

We now have five small pavilions on 

wheels, while another, more majestic than 

its fellows and on a permanent site, looks 

on to an excellent pitch. We hope that it will 

no longer be considered a disgrace to play 

cricket at Beggar’s Bush. On the right, as 

you enter, there is a lawn, and a garden 

surrounding a small pond in which the 

perspiring youth may plunge if so disposed 

while the whole field is gradually being 

levelled. Our thanks are due to the untiring 

efforts of the master-mind who is always 

producing some new improvement better 

than the last. 

That “master-mind”, AD Imlay, and 

the early years of BB and its successful 

transformation are closely linked. His 

“unselfish and 

unceasing labour” 

was duly recognised 

as early as 1925 

in the edition of 

The Annals for 

that year but, 

characteristically, 

he chose to write of 

another man whom 

he felt deserved all 

the credit: 

It would be a great 

pity if future generations failed to recognise 

what they owe to the work of WE Matthews, 

who has lived at Beggar’s Bush fifteen years 

and passed through various stages of work. 

First, as foreman of the farm he ploughed 

with two horses, tended the cattle and pigs, 

rebuilt the fences and constructed every 

building we have (apart from his house); 

then in 1914 he became chief mechanic, 

kept two ex-war lorries constantly on the 

road, without a day’s intermission and 

without entering a garage for repairs 

concluding 


To this success an amazing cheerfulness has 

contributed very largely and a determination 

not to be beaten under any circumstances. 

Imlay was clearly a key figure in 

virtually taking responsibility for BB 

in its infancy and then motivating the 

ground staff there to transform the 

area so successfully. No wonder, then, 

that a passing remark in an article 

about BB in 1947 observed: 

but before ending now, I would like to say 

that ADI rarely fails to visit BB when he 

comes to Clifton, and those visits are 

red-letter days with the men. 

Whilst numbers of hockey players 

grew, the weather and illness, always 

a Spring Term problem, continued 

to disrupt the sport, with 1937 being 

particularly bad, but the creation of 

a Hockey pitch on The Close just 

showed how far the sport had come 

so that, by 1940, the editors of The 

Cliftonian felt able to write: 

At Clifton hockey was first introduced – to 

quote the words of a very rude editor of 

this magazine – for the “tender darlings 

of anxious Mammas”; with which choice 

phrase he described those who did not 

indulge in running. 

Times change; a large number of the 

School now play hockey and the game 

is becoming of universal importance as 

a school, varsity and club activity…..it 

would indeed be a pity if Clifton….were 

not in a position to take her place in the 

front rank of hockey-playing schools. 

A measure of how far Clifton had 

come was the fact that a match against 

Marlborough, in many ways one of 

the pioneering schools when it came 

to hockey, was arranged for 1941. 

Unfortunately a certain Mr A Hitler 

and his aircraft had other ideas. 

1947 

“In Dire Need” 

- HOCKEY AT CLIFTON SINCE 1945 - 

Hockey at Bude had been played 

mostly on the sand. As the School 

returned to Clifton, it might have 

been expected that there would yet 

again be problems with facilities given 

the US Army’s occupation of The Close 

and the fact that BB had once again 

answered the nation’s call by reverting 

largely to farming. This had been such 

a success that the then Head Master, 

Bertrand Hallward, tried unsuccessfully 

to persuade Council that a farm should 

become a permanent School fixture at 

Beggar’s Bush! By 1946, the fixture 

list had been restored and matches 

were played against Downside, Prior 

Park, Monkton Combe, Cheltenham 

and Taunton. 1947 was a write-off 

as snow gripped the country for the 

entire season, yet the following year was 

dubbed “the most successful” season 

for some years as far as Hockey was 

concerned. 

Any hoped-for momentum, however, 

was halted by a run of very wet 

winters and this is 

borne out by a heartfelt 

plea from the XI of 

1947: 

We should like to 

draw attention to three 

well-founded needs of 

Hockey in this School. 

First, as can be seen by 

comparing our home 

and away records, we 

play better away simply 

because we are in dire 

need of a hockey pitch 

comparable to those of 

other schools. Secondly, 

we need a pitch on The Close; we had 

one there before the war and there is room 

for it now in front of the pavilion tennis 

courts. Thirdly and lastly, the hockey season 

before the war continued these sports in the 

form of matches alone. Surely this could 

happen? 

The plea, for the time being, fell on deaf 

ears. Bryanston joined the fixture list, 

the first match taking place in a blizzard, 

but, by 1952, the old “chestnut” of too 

many sports being attempted with a 

resulting lack of quality in all of them 

was being raised as an issue and the 

match against Cheltenham seemed 

to reinforce this view, Clifton going 

down 0-10: 

Their side was extremely good and Clifton 

can rarely have been so sluggish and 

incompetent. Warner in goal played 

magnificently and but for him the 

score against us might well have been 

considerably higher. 

1947 

HOCKEY AT CLIFTON SINCE 1945 

9

BB continued to expand in terms of 

areas for sport. In 1952, the magazine 

recorded: 

During the first week of this term we were 

faced with a somewhat unusual task. If the 

new grounds at Beggar’s Bush were to be 

ready for use next year, they had first to be 

cleared of the enormous quantity of stones, 

which had been brought to the surface 

when the field was prepared for sowing. 

Games became temporarily of secondary 

importance; the field was divided into strips 

which were assigned to Houses, workingparties 

were sent out every afternoon, and 

everyone, including members of the Staff, 

set to work with a great deal of energy 

and patience. The stones, which varied 

in size from mere pebbles to boulders of 

considerable dimensions, were thrown into 

heaps, later to be removed by lorry. We 

accomplished the task before its novelty had 

altogether disappeared, and easily within 

the scheduled time. In years to come, when 

“the last charge goes thundering beneath the 

twilight goal”, we shall doubtless remember 

with pride that we have had some share in 

the field’s preparation. 

The early 1950s thus saw Clifton’s 

Hockey at a lowish ebb with few matches 

won in spite of the exploits of CJ Key 

(WaH 1948-1952) who would go on to 

play for England in 1960 and get to 

the final Olympic Trials. This was not 

a reflection on those who represented 

the School but rather an unfortunate 

combination of circumstances. Playing 

surfaces continued to be a central 

issue – “a sea of mud” according to one 

contemporary – whilst the fact that noone 

under 16 was allowed to play the 

game put Clifton at a real disadvantage 

when playing schools for whom Hockey 

was the sport for the Spring Term. 

Lack of experience, therefore, combined 

with the shortness of the season (a mere 

six weeks being allocated to Hockey) just 

did not help willing bands of players 

to compete with clubs and schools who 

took the game seriously and who played 

on well-drained, well-prepared, wellrolled 

pitches. Small wonder that the 

hockey report for 1956 opened with 

these words: 

One of the most discouraging offices at 

Clifton is that of Captain of Hockey. 

The School did respond at last to 

this state of affairs by the creation of 

two new pitches on Watson’s Field 

which 

drained so well that hockey has been possible 

on practically every half-holiday this term 

and by 1957 the improvement in play 

was evident with Monkton Combe 

being beaten (5-2) for the first time in 

a decade. The 1958 season saw only 

one defeat and although, in terms of 

results, the 1960s saw “ups and downs”, 

Colts were at last permitted to play and 

the whole sport, under the uniquely 

watchful eyes of Messrs Gover and 

Bailey, was clearly buoyant. In 1965, 

second year pupils were allowed to play 

“sockey” ie., one week of soccer followed 

by a week of hockey, and there was 

general agreement that with more and 

more young players involved, and with 

the playing surfaces improving year in 

year out, Clifton was now more than 

capable of becoming a “good hockey 

school.” 

The 1967 report acknowledges this: 

We must not forget to mention the continued 

improvement in the surface of Watson Field, 

where all hockey is now played on six full- 


size pitches and three junior pitches. 

Mr Trevelyan and his staff deserve our 

thanks for their excellent efforts to keep 

these pitches playable in spite of the 

wet weather. 

The 1970s saw the return of that 

recurrent theme ie., how was Clifton 

to compete with schools who treated 

Hockey as the main game in the Easter 

Term as opposed to being a mere 

option? This notwithstanding, there 

were some notable achievements. In 

1973, Clifton won the Bristol Schools 

6-a-side tournament, beating Colston’s 

in the final after three periods of extra 

time, the captain (JB Wilkins NT 1968- 

1973) being clearly something of an 

inspirational figure. In 1976, the Avon 

6-a-sides saw Clifton performing well 

and including now a Yearlings XI, 

whilst the 1979 report was notable if 

for no other reason that it was in verse: 

By 1986, the game is almost 

unrecognisable from that resumed 

after the return from Bude. Three XIs, 

a Junior Colts and a Yearlings XI are 

all in place, with the School winning 

the Avon U19 Indoor Shield for the 

second year running, Clifton boys now 

being regularly selected at county level, 

and BC Lawry (Pre, DH 1979-1985) 

being selected for England’s U18 side 

for internationals against Wales and 

Belgium, having already represented 

his country the year before. As the 

decade drew to a close, the U14s were 

County Champions (some familiar 

names there – George Bretten, Chris 

Lowe, Jon Snowden and George 

Thornhill), U16 and U19 Indoor 

Champions, and the captain, Simon 

Hazlitt (SH 1980-84), was a reserve 

for the Seoul Olympic Squad and who 

subsequently played for GB and won 

109 England caps, one of our most 

successful Cliftonian sportsmen. 

More significantly, the advent of 

girls at the College saw Hockey now 

spanning two terms in the school 

year, Clifton girls winning their 

inaugural match against Cheltenham 

Ladies’ College and setting the 

tone for what was to become one 

of Clifton’s most successful sports 

in the 1990s and onwards, as far 

as regular appearances in National 

Championships was concerned. 

Yet this was the age of the rise of 

astro – Clifton desperately needed to 

address this if it was to build on these 

foundations and thus was the scene 

set for the final transformation of BB 

into the high-quality sports centre 

it is today, and that success by and 

large was the result of the creation 

of CCSL. 

Before and after. 

HOCKEY AT CLIFTON SINCE 1945 

11

Hockey at Clifton 

BEGGARS BUSH TODAY 

As the Sports Ground at BB 

celebrates its centenary this 

year, this whole area has become 

unrecognisable from the stone-bestrewn, 

bumpy, poorly-drained site bought for 

the College by the OCs all those years 

ago. It now boasts facilities which are 

the equal of most Public Schools – high 

quality astroturf pitches, an indoor tennis 

school and netball centre, a 3G football 

pitch and an international-quality waterbased 

hockey pitch. In addition, it boasts 

expanded changing-facilities, a vibrant 

bar and catering area, a Real Tennis 

Court, physio and fitness areas and a 

pitch-levelling programme which has not 

only provided far better and more level 

grass surfaces for the College, but has 

also helped generate income which has 

been deployed in projects elsewhere to 

the general benefit of Clifton. There is 

no denying that Beggar’s Bush has quite 

simply been transformed into a centre of 

sporting excellence. 

If “ADI” was instrumental 

in the original 

development of the estate, 

then the most recent 

expansion and success of 

this part of the College 

owes much to “MDI”, or 

Mike Innes, who up until 

recently was Managing 

Director of Clifton College 

Leisure Services, the 

College’s commercial 

arm. His main task was to 

maximise the use of College Mike Innes. 

facilities so that the College 

benefited, income was generated, and 

the School’s contribution to the wider 

Bristol community further enhanced. 

When Mike took over CCSL in the 

1990s, College finances were not in 

the best of health and, in order to fulfil 

obligations to Clerical Medical, who had 

invested heavily in the pitches at BB, at 

one stage both the Upper School and 

the Pre were actually having to rent 

Hockey pitches from their own school 

in order to balance the books. If the 

restoration of the College finances owed 

much to the OCs and Council members 

such as John Cottrell, Louis Sherwood 

and Andrew Thornhill, along with the 

significant contribution of the Bursar, 

Oliver Delaney, then the restoration 

of BB’s fortunes equally owed an 

immense amount to John Bretten, the 

Council member with responsibility for 

overseeing CCSL, and his appointment 

of Mike Innes as MD. Together they 

arranged a buy-out of Clerical Medical 

and embarked upon a business plan 

which rejuvenated the facility with the 

construction of the Real Tennis court. 

The maximising of the pitches in the 

evenings to sports organisations in 

the locality, along with eye-catching 

initiatives such as the 

Manchester United soccer 

schools and the creation of 

a relationship with Bristol 

City FC, created muchneeded 

cash which was 

then ploughed back in to 

improve and expand the 

site further. The tragic and 

untimely death of John 

Bretten came as a blow 

to the College, but Mike 

Innes carried on with a 

renewed determination to 

realise John’s vision and to 

play his part as a part of the team which 

would ensure the success of the College 

on a wide front. Their achievement 

speaks for itself and, when Mike Innes 

resigned a couple of years ago, much of 

what he and John Bretten had planned 

had been delivered. The current 

Headmaster, Mark Moore, Chairman, 

Tim Ross, and Bursar, Louise Hanson, 

have carried on where they left off; 

CCSL thrives and the recent, quite 

outstanding, provision of the waterbased 

Hockey pitch is ample proof of 

that. 

One of the main beneficiaries of this 

transformation over the past decade 

or so has been Hockey. Once the poor 

relation, then the mud-bound, illnessprone 

activity, the provision of astroturf 

has revolutionised the sport at Clifton 

for both boys and girls. From the 1990s 

onwards, Clifton has regularly been 

County Champions at all levels from 

U11 to U18, and has featured regularly 

at the National Championships at 

Cannock or Nottingham; the Upper 


School and the Pre can boast an enviable 

record of success at these prestigious 

tournaments. Epitomising the rise 

of Hockey as a force to be reckoned 

with are the respective careers of the 

Atkinson family. Their parents’ sporting 

pedigree is well-known, but even they 

could not have anticipated how their 

three children have flourished at 

Hockey at Clifton and beyond. After 

Clifton, Emily went to Birmingham 

University and played for the University, 

who are a premiership team. She also 

attends the National Performance 

Centre whose purpose is to train players 

at international level. The result is that 

she trains two or three times a day and 

plays matches at weekends, a good 

example of the dedication and focus 

required to play at this level, although 

the editor does seem to recall that such 

an approach did not always extend to 

his History lessons! Emily has played for 

England at U16, U18 and U21 level and 

her goal is the Brazil Olympics in 2016. 

Emily takes up the story: 

As a family, Clifton College Hockey has 

played an enormous part in our lives. I 

have played Hockey for 10 years at Clifton 

and managed to get to the National Finals 

five times in that period. The coaches 

throughout that time have always been 

encouraging, enthusiastic and effective, 

from the dulcet(!) tones of Mrs Acheson to 

the gleeful encouragement of Mr Turnbull 

to the endearingly eccentric and thoroughly 

dedicated coaching of Mr Mills in the Pre. 

The Senior School continued this 

encouragement and from the first year I 

always found a welcome and a comradeship 

from the team despite being younger than the 

others. The bonding and friendship that built 

during a season was strong and helped to 

cement the team to go to the Nationals and on 

tours – and they were something else! 

I was lucky enough to go to South Africa 

twice and Australia and had experiences that 

I could not have otherwise imagined - not 

only the places, but living with the locals and 

experiencing a completely different lifestyle. 

The contacts made through Clifton Hockey 

still come back to haunt me as I constantly 

meet people who remember the force that is 

Clifton Hockey then and now! 

Three major influences during my Hockey 

career at Clifton were Georgie Martin, 

Tim Martin and in particular Louise 

Catchpole, who gave constant support and 

encouragement to the whole team and to my 

individual development. 

The whole Atkinson family, however, has 

benefited from the Clifton Hockey experience, 

from my sister, Sophie, who, only 

one year behind me at school, played 

in the same teams for the majority of 

our school life, to my brother, Tom, 

who, although he clearly did not 

play with me, nevertheless helped us 

to relive his matches with detailed 

match reports(!), to, finally, my 

father, who became involved with 

coaching at the school – although 

I still believe that this was only 

to make official what would have 

otherwise been shouting from the 

side-line! 

Without a doubt some of the best 

memories from Clifton College have 

been thanks to Hockey, whether it be results 

on the pitch, the people I’ve played alongside, 

or the coaches I’ve worked with. Clifton 

Hockey has been particularly important to 

me as Hockey is something I am currently 

involved with and want to pursue as a future 

and I remain grateful to the College for the 

opportunities I have been given. 

Tom Atkinson has a slightly different 

perspective, perhaps, but he is no less 

enthusiastic: 

As someone who has been at Clifton College 

my whole school life, my Hockey development 

has been predominantly due to Clifton 

College support and coaching (with a bit of 

input from my father!). The highlights of 

this time came under the dedicated coaching 

of Mrs Byas when our Y6 team reached the 

National Finals. However, on that occasion, 

we fell at the final hurdle [Editor’s note: 

Tom is characteristically too modest to 

say that he was awarded the Player of 

the Tournament Medal]. Two years later 

it was a different story when we progressed 

through the county and regional rounds to 

the Nationals where we won every game and 

became National Champions. 

The years in the Upper School took a different 

turn where I began my Hockey in the shadow 

of my two older sisters’ Hockey successes on 

the pitch and under the guidance of my father 

as a coach – family overload! Unfortunately, 

the boys have not enjoyed the same success in 

the Nationals as the girls, much as I hate to 

admit it! However, under the expert guidance 

of our coach, Tim Martin, the boys have 

HOCKEY AT CLIFTON 

13

managed to win the JMS League (the John 

Moore Sports league consisting of eight teams 

from Bristol and Bath) for the first three years 

since it was introduced. We won this year 

despite losing seven players from last year’s 

team, six of whom went to university 

and one of whom I was lucky enough to play 

with since Year 2 in Butcombe. That player 

was Ryan Bresnahan who tragically died 

in March 2010. He was a close friend who 

had a big influence on my Hockey. We played 

together in the National’s team as well as for 

many years in County and West of England 

XIs. He also made a huge impact on Clifton 

Hockey with his prolific goal-scoring and 

excellent ball skills – a very talented player. 

We miss him very much. 

I have one final year to see out my Hockey at 

Clifton and intend to make it the best one yet. 

Roll on the winter! 

And on such enthusiasm it seems 

appropriate to draw the story of 

Clifton’s Hockey, and the grounds at 

Beggar’s Bush, to a close. Today’s 

reality is a far cry from those early 

days and bear witness to what people 

can do when they set their mind 

to something. As with so much of 

Clifton’s facilities and “plant”, today’s 

College owes much to generations 

who have passed on before them. 

May this unbroken sequence 

continue long into the future. 

RJA 

Emily, Sophie and Tom Atkinson. 

Simon Hazlitt OC with the Bresnahan family. 

ALL IN A DAY’S WORK – NIGEL PEACOCK 

A 

prospective Headmaster was once 

asked at his interview who, in his 

opinion, was the most important 

member of a school community. His 

answer may well have mystified his 

interlocutor, but he was not far off the 

mark when he suggested that it was 

a bit of a toss-up between the Head 

Groundsman and the Head Chef. This 

year saw the retirement of one such of 

these for Nigel Peacock has parked his 

mower for the last time, having given 

thirty-seven years of dedicated service 

to the College estate in general, and 

the playing fields at Beggar’s Bush 

in particular. 


Nigel’s early years were spent in Ealing 

before the family moved to Redland 

in Bristol. His early education was at 

Torwood House and the Pre. Thereafter 

he attended several schools before, in 

his own words, “running away to sea” 

to join the Merchant Navy. He is the 

first to admit that he was something 

of a “wild child” in his youth! By the 

age of 21 he was a transport manager 

for a Jewish upholstery business in 

Dursley – as he puts it, “the East End 

of London came to Gloucestershire” – 

with often hilarious results. By 1972 he 

was running his own haulage business 

but times were tough and in common 

with many small businesses of the time, 

cash-flow problems brought an end to 

that stage of his career, and he then took 

over the industrial desk at Manpower. 

In June 1974 he was engaged upon 

some removal work in Clifton when he 

picked up a copy of the Evening Post 

and saw an advertisement for a Driver/ 

Groundsman at Clifton College. “That’ll 

do me for the rest of the summer” was 

his immediate thought and he duly 

applied. He rang up David Ford, whom 

he had known for some time, and was 

told to call in for an interview. When 

asked what he could do as far as

grounds maintenance was concerned, 

the ever-resourceful Nigel replied, 

“Well, I can drive a tractor.” The next 

two questions – “Can you drive a bus?” 

and “Can you make hay?” – were both 

given similar treatment and Nigel duly 

started what was to become a lifetime’s 

career on the following Monday. 

He was very nearly fired early on by 

the then Bursar, Hank Adlam. Nigel’s 

initial pay was £35 per week. During 

the Summer holidays he discovered that 

this had gone down to £30, so he went 

to see the Bursar who told him that 

since the holidays saw no requirement 

to drive the buses to BB, his pay duly 

reflected that fact. Nigel’s reply was 

characteristically quick and courteous – 

“That’s fine, Bursar. No driving. So no 

mowing then.” 

“You’re a Bolshie”, Hank retorted – but 

Nigel got his £35! 

Those who know Nigel also know 

that he is no fool. As far as becoming 

an extremely knowledgeable and 

proficient groundsman was concerned, 

he proved to be a quick learner and he 

acknowledges the debt he owes to the 

then Head Groundsman, Mr Trevelyan, 

who had been at Clifton since 1951. “I 

just took it upon myself to learn the 

trade,” Nigel modestly recalls; but he 

also made a point of slipping into the 

back of lectures in Agronomy at the 

University as well as ensuring that he 

read widely on the subject of grounds 

and grounds management. 

He was also the driver for Nick 

Hammond. When pressed as to which 

of the many Heads he served under was 

his favourite, he is typically diplomatic. 

Jim Hornby? 

“Lovely man; very funny. Such a gent. One 

of the nicest people on this earth.” 

And others? 

“Hugh Monro – big-hearted, strong values; 

you couldn’t help liking him. Stuart Andrews 

– at heart a thoroughly charming man.” 

Nigel has always enjoyed his job. It’s 

normally a 7am start, but there is never 

such a thing as a “typical day” and that 

is one of the main reasons that he has 

found being in charge of the grounds 

at Clifton to be such a pleasure. The 

natural elements determine much of 

the pattern of his working day and he 

loves working in the open air, admitting 

that he is something of a claustrophobic. 

As he says, he could not have wished to 

work anywhere else, the site at BB being, 

to use his description, “spectacular”. 

Nigel Peacock. 

Developing the site over the past thirty 

years has been one of the aspects of his 

role that has been most rewarding and 

the transformation of BB from parkland 

to a modern, multi-sports facility has 

been creative and challenging. He has 

little time for the moaners and grizzlers 

who do not appreciate what they have 

and how lucky they are to operate in 

such surroundings, or who spend their 

time decrying the present in comparison 

with the past. 

The only buildings apart from garages 

when he started were the Imlay Pavilion 

and the White Hut. Whitehead’s and 

Watson’s were open spaces with the 

exception of a “lean-to, cobbled shed.” 

Everything was played on the fields 

then. There were eight hockey pitches 

on Watson’s whilst rugby and football 

were played on Whitehead. There were 

two cricket squares in the summer, 

supported by twelve artificial strips 

dotted all over the place accommodating 

Senior Leagues, Junior Leagues and 

four of them hosting the Pre. Transport 

to and fro was provided by the 

notorious buses. 

The first major changes occurred in 

1977 with the introduction of cricket on 

Watson’s and the planting of the trees 

on the far side of the field, followed 

by the building of the Jubilee Pavilion. 

The greatest change came, however, 

in the 1990s. The pressure to provide 

Astroturf at a time when the school’s 

finances were not healthy led to a 

partnership with Clerical Medical which 

saw the creation of the main building 

and Astroturf hockey surfaces in place 

by September 1991. As Nigel says, “It 

seemed like a good idea at the time” but 

the relationship with CMG was not a 

happy one and nearly cost the College 

very dear. Thankfully, a combination 

of Old Cliftonian generosity and the 

creation of CCSL under the leadership 

of Mike Innes went a long way to not 

only saving the day but to ensuring 

that BB played a significant part in the 

restoration of the School’s fortunes. The 

constant improvement of BB’s facilities 

owes an enormous debt to the part 

Nigel has played in all of this and he 

has nothing but praise for the School’s 

aspirations as far as BB is concerned. 

As to the future, he is much in demand 

as a consultant and already his fund of 

experience and clearly visible expertise 

is in demand. One of his many skills is 

a “valid imagination and an ability to 

visualise what a project or building is 

going to look like.” This, coupled with 

his infectious enthusiasm and a “can do” 

attitude to life, is very much sought after 

by other schools and institutions. 

Nigel has no regrets. He has “thoroughly 

enjoyed” his time at Clifton and the 

only thing he has missed out on is the 

forthcoming Olympic Games concerning 

which he was approached some five 

years ago and with which, at the time, he 

felt unable to become involved. When 

asked what advice he would give to his 

successor, Nigel simply said, 

“Don’t take anything too seriously.” 

Nigel will be missed by many in the 

Clifton community both personally and 

professionally. He leaves on a wave of 

genuine gratitude and admiration and, 

although we all know that no-one is 

indispensable, BB will just not quite be 

the same place without his distinctive 

figure, preceded by the yapping dog, 

and his personality and chuckle. The 

measure of a man is what he contributes 

in his lifetime and few of us leave a 

permanent mark on the world about 

us. In Nigel’s case, this does not hold 

completely true, for one only has to 

stand at BB on a summer evening and 

look around the area; what you see is 

very much his monument. 

RJA 

NIGEL PEACOCK 

15

Bude 

Professor John Blandy remembers . . . 

In response to the request in the 

last edition of The Cliftonian for 

Bude memories, John kindly sent 

in a copy of his memoirs and has 

generously allowed us to quote from 

them. Apart from the Clifton material, 

it is an extraordinary tale from an 

extraordinary man, and the chapters 

on his childhood should be compulsory 

reading for any of the young today 

who feel that life isn’t fair! John joined 

Clifton in 1943 fresh from India via 

South Africa during the war – no easy 

sea journey. 

On May 14 I caught the train to Bude. 

The journey seemed endless but I passed the 

time catching up with the Readers’ Digest to 

which I had become addicted in the Planters’ 

Club. I was met at Bude Station by Bertrand 

Hallward, the headmaster, a handsome 

Viking. He drove me and my trunk to the 

Erdiston Hotel, which then held Dakyns’ 

and Oakeley’s Houses. Presently I met the 

Head of House, Michael Bishop, whose terse 

greeting was “Can you keep wicket?” After 

six months with convoys and gunfire this was 

a jolt back to normality. I had to confess that 

I was hopeless at wicket-keeping and Bishop 

lost interest. I was allotted a bedroom which 

doubled as a study with GRD Kennedy, MD 

Symons and PD Young. That evening there 

was fielding practice where my shortcomings 

were soon confirmed. 

Cricket inexperience was soon forgiven 

when it emerged that John was no mean 

swimmer and in “Sam” Beachcroft he 

found a sympathetic Housemaster. His 

other great skill, sculpture, was also 

quickly recognised: 

Michael Mounsey was in charge of Art and 

was himself a talented water-colourist. My 

pen-and-ink drawing of a barn caught his 

eye. He introduced me to Madge Thomas. 

“Ma Tom” was in charge of catering, 

but her private ambition was to learn to 

sculpt….later Michael Mounsey found me 

a slab of Bere stone that was soft enough to 

be carved with ordinary wood chisels and I 

started a “classical” head. 

The first term passed off happily 

enough. His form master was EP Bury, 

who introduced him to 

Macaulay’s prose, whilst 

“Tubby” Merrick was 

his Latin master; along 

with “Bertie” Badcock, 

Freddy Finter and WR 

Taylor, these were all 

distinguished survivors 

from the First World 

War. Prizes for sculpture 

and English, along with 

swimming colours, were 

gained, but John’s diary 

entry for 8 July reminds 

us of another side to the 

schooling of that time: 

It was Corps Day and we were in such 

a hurry to prepare our kit that we forgot 

to make our beds. We thought this lapse 

would be overlooked given the special 

circumstances. Corps Day itself was 

hot, sunny, and fun. We marched, 

countermarched, manoeuvred and “shot” at 

each other and finally reached home fairly 

tired, though not too tired to scamper down 

to the pool for lengths and still get back in 

time for House singing practice. 

At call-over, the Head of House, “Forky” 

Bishop, grimly announced that he took a 

serious view of our failure to make our beds. 

He then solemnly beat the whole house, 

not excluding members of the 6th Form. 

Everybody received four strokes with the gym 

shoe. Since Bishop was a notable batsman 

at the top of his form it hurt. There was no 

suggestion of sadism; the general feeling was 

that this had been another splendid innings 

by Bishop…. 

Once again we are reminded of the 

fact that the past is, indeed, another 

country where things are done rather 

differently. 

John’s account of the Autumn Term of 

1943 is full of enough detail to satisfy the 

nostalgic and the historian alike. 

1944 at Bude was spent working hard 

at English and enjoying the relative 

freedom that came with living in that 

environment: 


Clifton at Bude was very free and boys 

were left to their own devices. At weekends 

and when there were no organised games 

we cycled to Tintagel, where you could 

buy a loaf of bread without a rationing 

book, or we walked over the cliffs to 

Cleeve, where a genial farmhouse with a 

slate floor had no knowledge of rationing 

and provided tea with eggs, scones and 

Devonshire cream. 

The Summer Term saw the invasion of 

Europe: 

We followed the battles with maps in the 

papers and on the wireless, in between 

bursts of Frank Sinatra’s “I’m gonna buy 

a paper doll that I can call my own”. I 

spent a good deal of time sketching in the 

open air, usually in the company of Richard 

Newton with whom I now shared a study. 

Richard Newton came from a musical 

family and was no mean musician 

himself – together they much enjoyed 

the Friday night gramophone concerts 

in the Hartland Hotel organised by 

Douglas Fox. 

The Autumn Term of 1944 sticks in 

John’s mind as one of back-breaking 

labour picking potatoes on local farms 

and much Cross-Country given the 

sodden nature of the playing fields 

available – 5th in the Long Pen made 

the effort worth it! As 1945 opened, 

plans for a return to Bristol were laid. 

John makes an interesting point about 

returning to Clifton and the contrast 

with life at Bude: 

Clifton was more restricted than Bude. 

Ancient rules were resuscitated; mostly 

trivial if irksome and to do with doffing 

caps and so on. There were organised games 

every afternoon unless it was raining, when 

we went on a run…..while I continued to be 

useless at cricket, I was in my element in the 

swimming pool. Patrick Jenkin was now the 

captain of the team that went down to swim 

against Blundell’s. 

His last term was dominated by working 

for a Balliol Scholarship which he duly 

secured and which proved to be the 

launching-pad for a highly distinguished 

medical career. His account is an 

important addition to the Bude canon. 

In a recent letter to the OC Office he 

reflected: 

I think we who went to Bude were an 

unusually privileged bunch. 

Editor’s note: Sadly, John died recently 

and never saw his valuable contribution in 

print. He will be much missed and a full 

obituary will be printed in next year’s edition. 

BUDE 

17

SEVENTY YEARS ON: CLIFTON AND BUDE 

Time marches remorselessly on and the Bude generation are 

not exempt from this. It is thus appropriate that we record the 

70th anniversary of the College’s evacuation to Bude for that 

dwindling band of OCs who were part of that unique chapter in 

Clifton’s history. One or two reminiscences have found their way 

to the OC Office and thus to the pages of this year’s Cliftonian. 

Guy Hatch (WiH 1940-1944) sent an account to Tom Gover 

many years ago. Guy died last year and thus it seems fitting to 

reprint his article in full as a tribute to him: 

OVER MY SHOULDER 

– BUDE YEARS 

The Lonely Sea and Sky 

The move to Bude wrought many 

changes, the greatest of which, 

from the boys’ point of view, I 

assess as being all that flowed from living 

in “bed-sitters”. Although the use of the 

term “Study” continued the rooms in 

which we mainly lived – erstwhile hotel 

bedrooms – achieved a much enhanced 

importance compared with Studies at 

Clifton. The New Study acquired the 

status of a social centre to a far greater 

extent than hitherto. 

Wiseman’s (with School House above 

and Brown’s on the top storey) was 

accommodated on the first floor of the 

most modern (and therefore the most 

“jerry built”) of all the hotels taken over 

by the school, called the Westcliff. At the 

Westcliff Hotel. 

back of this cream-coloured building 

– which was itself an outpost since no 

structure existed between it and the 

American continent – the first floor 

gave directly on to a service road at the 

same level, dividing the hotel from the 

Headland café, which stood on slightly 

higher ground. Here central feeding 

had been arranged, another epochmaking 

innovation. 

Inside the Westcliff it was, even in 

winter, comparatively warm; but the 

move of only a few centimetres through 

that back door, into what amounted to a 

wind-tunnel outside, was almost as great 

a crossing of the Great Divide as the leap 

of a parachutist into the slipstream of an 

aircraft. Relative air velocities appeared 

to be comparable. The physical effects 

were also much the same, and as time 

went by the action of the late Captain 

Oates assumed for me a much more 

personal dimension than previously; 

and most especially on wet nights in 

winter. 

The passage of years fades memories, 

until one re-concentrates the mind, of 

the impact of the Black Out. Bude may 

not have been high on the Luftwaffe’s 

hit-list but for obvious reasons no 

exceptions to Black Out rules could be 

made. Unless one has experienced this 

phenomenon it is almost impossible to 

visualize the tediousness not only of the 

absence of street lighting but also of the 

need to place in position, year in year 

out, the black-out panels. At Bude these 

consisted of large frames surrounding 

some form of hardboard; and they 

effectively prevented, with grand and 

detached impartiality, the escape to the 

outside world not only of any glimmer 

of light but also of all used air, and, 

for example, the odours of eight boys’ 

socks. 

In Wiseman’s there was only one study 

which accommodated eight boys, but 

there were two with six occupants, 

several with four and a number of 

twosomes. Beds were arranged one 

above the other on stilts, the legs 

lashed, only fairly firmly, to the wooden 

structures. The top bed, though usually 

sought after, made an insecure venue 

for horseplay; the Housemaster was 

more than a little sensitive on this 

subject, wreaking a terrible vengeance 

upon anyone locked in combat. 

I spent the first two terms at Bude in 

Room 20, which was the eightsome. 

It faced westwards over two or three 

hundred yards of grassy headland; 

beyond was the Atlantic Ocean. 

Occasionally convoys could be seen 

on the horizon and once or twice by 

night the distant sparks of war were 

visible, showing that air attacks were in 

progress. It was also possible to watch 

much anti-aircraft target practice, fired 

from an artillery camp three miles up 

the coast. These were activities that 

helped us to feel still part of the UK war 

effort. 

The room contained a radiator which, 

almost unbelievably, was warm in the 

winter. Being of 1930s design its top 

was broad enough to afford a most 

comforting perch for whoever arrived 

first (three abreast, at a pinch, in a 

bay window). There was also a wash 

basin. Many of the Bude generation 

may vividly recall warming their hands 


in hot water from sorties into the 

hectic airs of the outside world. There 

were, of course, no curtains and no 

floor coverings. The direct access thus 

afforded to potentially removable floor 

boards allowed ready concealment of 

whatever small objects were thought best 

concealed. Each boy collected daily from 

Westcliff hall a bottle of milk containing 

one third of a pint. Somehow the bottles 

did not always find their way back to the 

crates (many dire threats were issued on 

this subject) and in later years pilgrims 

to Westcliff (and no doubt to other 

hotels) were unfailingly regaled by the 

proprietors with tales of quantities of 

glassware found below the floorboards. 

It is hoped that the war was not unduly 

prolonged by taking out of circulation 

so much glass. If it was, the situation was 

further aggravated by the disposal to 

the same repositories of sundry jam jars, 

since each boy kept his own 1lb (per 

month) jar under his personal control, 

and carried it to and from “the café” 

whilst it lasted. 

In addition to the beds, the rooms were 

provided with wooden tables. Room 20 

had two or three chairs – all there was 

space for. I cannot visualize any bookcase 

in that Study (it must have been in the 

corridor) though in later years when I 

reached the twosome stage there was 

certainly a primitive bookcase standing 

in a cupboard. This apparatus served 

to accommodate books and much other 

impedimenta including gramophone 

records, old shoes, ink bottles, 

magazines, fugitive items of Corps kit 

and blanco blocks, loaves of bread and 

tins of this and that. Tins were found 

to be valuable for the manufacture of 

butter by a process of interminably 

shaking therein the cream, if any, 

skimmed from the daily issue of milk. 

Boys’ clothing – and, I suppose, sports 

kit too – was kept in chests of drawers 

fitted into whatever spaces or alcoves 

were available at intervals along the 

House corridor. An indomitable soul 

called, almost incredibly in view of her 

duties, Miss Cotton wrestled with minor 

repairs and also with the filling of large 

hampers with clothes and bed linen 

for despatch, believe it or not, by rail 

(those were the days) to the laundry in 

Bristol. These massive baskets appeared 

occasionally in the limited space at the 

right-angle of the corridor. 

The door to the House Library was 

at this point. It was a corner room 

with bay windows facing respectively 

both southwards and westwards. It 

must once have been a very pleasant 

Bude Coastline by D T Taylor. 

double-bedroom since it commanded 

a superb view not only of the valley 

running inland but also of the Haven 

and, beyond it, of Efford Down and 

its cliffs; and beyond that again, of the 

breakwater, ceaselessly assailed by the 

tireless rollers. No author of a tourist 

brochure could possibly resist styling 

this vista a Panoramic View, costing 

much gold; but we mostly took it all 

for granted. 

These rollers were much admired 

by Lord Tennyson and though half 

a mile or more from the school area, 

were clearly audible even on a tranquil 

summer’s day. They never died down. 

Not long ago on just such a day I found 

that the distant roar of the breakers was 

still as all-pervading and just as insistent 

as I had half-remembered it from long 

ago. Nothing could be more evocative 

of those days and of that untamed 

coastline. I know of no other place 

where such a roar is perpetual. Not even 

the most ardent Noise Ecologist could 

ever get it stopped. 

Although the social advantages of 

“Bed-Sit” life compared with “day 

study large dormitory-life” (à la Clifton) 

were considerable in terms of imbuing 

mutual tolerance and of forming longlasting 

friendships (in almost literally 

hot-house conditions) the educational 

auspices may not have at first sight 

appeared favourable. Even the most 

motivated and academic boy, with 

laser-beam powers of concentration, 

was clearly operating under a handicap 

when sharing both living and working 

space in prep time with five others. 

For junior boys supervised “Hall Prep” 

in the ground floor classrooms was 

possible, and of course the House 

Library was available for quiet study 

during those hours. The spur which 

exists today, but which was absent then, 

is the desire on the part of the bulk of 

Public School pupils to obtain A Level 

Grades of sufficient quality to secure 

entry to the more favoured universities. 

In the 1940s many boys were not even 

planning to go to university and, more 

immediately, virtually all were going off 

to the War. Surrounded by milk bottles 

and discarded games clothing it was not 

particularly easy for the middle-school 

boys to concentrate their minds. The 

Physics laboratories were 3 miles away at 

Stratton and, in their State school, were 

accessible only to Cliftonians during 

Wednesday afternoons and Saturday 

mornings. The Chemistry and Biology 

facilities, in Bude School a mile away, 

suffered from similar constraints on 

timing. With these handicaps it is a 

remarkable tribute to the teaching staff 

that high standards in the foundation 

years were maintained. 

Needless to say such considerations 

didn’t trouble the younger boys when 

we all arrived in Bude (which appeared 

to be at the outer extremity of the 

explored world) in February 1941. 

The practical aspects of the “away from 

Clifton” life demanded attention. In 

“the Café” we sat by House Tables. 

Fourths and Fifths were designated as 

trolley-pushers, to collect food from a 

counter at one end. All in Wiseman’s 

felt reassured on sighting Terrett, the 

erstwhile “House Butler”, amongst the 

functionaries in the outer reaches of 

culinary enterprise, beyond the frontier 

denoted by the Counter. This interface 

was manned by Praepostors who ladled 

out the food amidst intermittent banter 

to the House trolley drivers. Martin 

BUDE 

19

Hardcastle became “Hall Warden”. 

Proceedings were initiated at each meal 

when he struck a table (twice) with a 

substantial cylindrical piece of wood 

of uncertain origin. The moment was 

always eagerly awaited by the hungry 

multitude and in an end of term 

production one of the all-time Great 

Cliftonian Puns was born. Two boys 

appeared as “The Western Brothers”, 

who were then just approaching the 

pinnacle of their fame as Variety Artists, 

and recited as follows: 

…astronomers torn ’twixt hope and fear, 

When, oh when, will Cassiopeia? 

 

(“Cassy appear”) 

If ever a building became multi-purpose 

this was it. Lectures, House Plays, 

Recitals, Boxing and Orchestra practice 

all took their turn here. Because the 

State School science facilities were 

only available in the afternoon on 

Wednesdays, that morning became 

a half-holiday. Things soon settled 

down to a routine; but just for a 

while, perhaps for the first term and 

a half, the school’s reins were a touch 

loose. The Establishment, doubtless 

suffering from disorientation and acute 

organisational indigestion, had not got 

around to issuing new rules to fit every 

new circumstance. All this was highly 

welcome to my age-group (still in my 

first year). 

High cliffs were there for the climbing; 

nobody had yet forbidden it. Near the 

top of one granite face I gave myself 

a very severe fright in these early 

stages. I became stranded 200 feet 

up a cliff, unwilling through incipient 

Hartland Hotel. 

vertigo to descend, and able eventually 

to surmount a grassy overhang only 

with the utmost difficulty and much 

expenditure of adrenalin. No ropes; no 

supervision – and no common sense! 

Surf-bathing, highly dangerous at most 

local beaches and at almost every stage 

of the tide, was not immediately brought 

into the category of activities which 

must be undertaken under the direct 

supervision of a Master. In any case the 

Gulf Stream appeared to me to have 

overlooked this coastline and I felt no 

sense of loss by bathing only in the large 

sea-filled swimming pool below our 

headland cliff. 

On the other side of the Haven was the 

Breakwater. At high tide shallow waves 

would swirl across the broad flat top – 

perhaps ten yards wide – of 

this massive structure which 

stood some half a mile to 

seaward of the town. It ran 

between a rocky complex 

at the river mouth and 

the foot of Efford Down 

cliff. Enormous fun was to 

be had in dodging these 

incursions of bubbling 

water and gaining the 

safety of the large rock 

at the other end, a rock 

surmounted by a flagpole. 

Several weeks passed before 

Authority discovered this 

hazardous practice and 

wisely put a stop to it. 

In a way that granite 

breakwater, about a 

hundred yards long, with 

gently sloping sides, was a 

focal point to which the eye 

was always drawn. It marked the end 

of England; the last man-made feature 

between Bude and America. It somehow 

“completed the set”, with its triangular 

anchor of a rock, some twenty feet high, 

at the seaward end. Beyond that ran 

a spur of rocks on top of which stood 

a stake supporting a barrel (“Barrel 

Rock”). And then the Atlantic. One 

morning the School awoke to the sight 

of the Clifton Flag fluttering bravely at 

the breakwater masthead. A high degree 

of security concerning the identity of 

the perpetrator of this stirring deed 

was maintained, but it was eventually 

attributed to a South Town boy called 

Shinner. It was perhaps feared that the 

School Authorities might be held to be in 

some way “in contempt of Urban District 

Council” by this unauthorised display 

of Cliftonian chauvinism. Nevertheless 

a memorable couplet soon became 

current: 

All ran fast, but none ran faster 

Than the aged Harbourmaster. 

At first there were rumours (soon 

dispelled) that fagging was to be 

abolished. In these heady early days 

a kind of intangible mixture of a 

pioneering and a holiday spirit was 

abroad. It culminated at the end of the 

first term in a highly successful Musical 

Variety Show presented in the adjacent, 

modern cinema. This boasted a green 

tiled roof and an auditorium and a 

tiny stage. The show, which had Scout 

Jamboree overtones, was directed with 

great flair by Martin Hardcastle. Several 

masters starred. The occasion for all 

this was the need acutely felt by the 

School Authorities to undertake some 

form of Public Relations exercise. Inter 


alia, the row of hotels and guest houses 

stretching the length of Summerleaze 

Terrace (then served only by an unmade 

road) had been occupied by 

soldiers until the School’s arrival. They 

were less than pleased to be moved out 

in January, to live under canvas. These 

particular soldiers were, it was believed, 

not to any great degree consoled by the 

thought that other troops were now in 

residence in Clifton College buildings 

at Bristol – quid pro quo. Although I 

would like to feel sure that they saw 

the justice of the whole concept, which 

was designed to safeguard the future 

education of the boys of Clifton College, 

it was suspected that in their windswept 

tents the finer points might have eluded 

the local military. The aim of the show, 

brilliantly conceived and executed, was 

therefore to say “sorry, and Thank You”. 

The curtain rose upon the whole School 

(circa 300) stacked up in tiers singing in 

unison and with the appropriate motions 

“We’re riding along on the crest of a 

wave”. The vigour of the cast and the 

psychodelic lighting effects melted the ice 

at once. Every item was musical and was 

wildly applauded. No “Stand-Up” comics 

were risked: never tempt fate! An ad hoc 

brass band largely composed of Masters, 

featuring JAO Muirhead (Housemaster 

of Oakeley’s) on the big Drum, rendered 

“Oh, Listen to the Band” with such 

panache that it nearly brought down the 

green tiled roof. 

That show was one, never to be 

repeated, truly Magic Moment. There 

were a number of others; probably 

the chief of them being the interludes 

during fine summer evenings when 

for half an hour after House Prayers, 

themselves a pleasant occasion at the 

end of the day, we were free to roam 

upon the green springy turf of the 

headland, between the Westcliff and 

the moody Atlantic. After that the more 

senior boys ostensibly returned to their 

books for a further half hour of Prep. 

That was, of course, in practice a great 

time for indoor socialising. Although 

none of the rooms could possibly be 

described as spacious they had, as 

a small-scale social venue, the great 

advantage of commodious facilities for 

resting the weary body. People simply sat 

on a bed and treated it as a sofa. One of 

the twosomes in the Westcliff contained 

a notable phenomenon – the Electric 

Wall. Somewhere beneath the plaster 

there must have been a bare wire. 

Any touching of that wall produced, 

throughout the whole duration of the 

domicile of Wiseman’s in the Westcliff 

Hotel, a mild electric shock. The 

House Match 1944. 

existence of this lively area provided a 

never failing source of amusement when 

the uninitiated were led to come into 

contact with it. 

The Study I shared with Charles Carson 

for my last two terms was opposite 

the one with the Electric Wall. It was 

not large – 10' by 6' at the most – but 

it had special attributes. One was that 

its window looked directly on to the 

service road at the back of the hotel, 

thus commanding one of the routes 

most frequently used on summer 

evenings by two young local ladies 

who also liked to perambulate on the 

Headland at just about the same time as 

the boys were promenading after House 

prayers. These damsels, identical and 

aged about 15 years, were universally 

known as the Heavenly Twins. They 

were much discussed figures. Apart from 

its strategic position this Study offered 

a special kind of warmth, which was 

hardly surprising as it was directly above 

the domestic boiler. This happy situation 

was not, however, entirely without 

drawbacks. The foremost of these was 

that the A Team and Reserves of the 

hotel’s complement of cockroaches lived 

in those parts. After dark we could hear 

then scuttling about our floor, socialising 

busily and investigating or re-arranging 

the pieces of paper which somehow 

accumulated underfoot every evening. 

Certainly at Bude nobody had any 

excuse to be claustrophobic – not 

even in the Hartland Hotel in whose 

classrooms each large modern plateglass 

window had to have its lower half 

rendered opaque in order to keep the 

classes’ attention within the room. There 

was a curious paradox in that the school, 

because of the immediate proximity of 

town and shops, seemed to be much 

more a part of the local community 

at Bude than it had been at Clifton; 

and yet, as the terms went by, many 

individuals felt – existing as they did 

at the end of a twenty-five mile single 

track branch line from Okehampton – 

frustratingly isolated. Great affairs were 

afoot; great battles were in progress, 

but all so far away. The geographical 

position of Bude – windswept and 

forlorn in winter – accentuated many 

schoolboys’ feelings of something 

bordering upon irrelevance, to a degree 

which I think would not have been so 

acutely experienced in Bristol. Bude was 

blamed for this at the time but it is only 

fair to say that it wasn’t really Bude’s 

fault! 

Duncan Douglas (MT, NTP, OH 

1933-43), responding to the plea 

in last year’s magazine for Bude 

reminiscences, has kindly sent in 

the following memoir: 

The evacuation, the logistics of 

which were managed by my 

stepfather, Jim Muirhead, in his 

temporary capacity as Domestic 

Bursar, produced some remarkable 

topsy-turvy effects. Not least of these 

was the fact that one of the Privates 

in the Home Guard Section which, 

as a Corporal, I commanded was 

my formidable form master, Denis 

Mack Smith! However, on reflection, 

I think that the evacuation’s 

most significant result was the 

transformation which it wrought in 

the school’s relationship with the 

community outside its precincts. 

BUDE 

21

CLIFTON AT BUDE – 

THE EXTERNALIZING EFFECT 

After a lapse of seventy years, 

my happiest recollection of the 

Upper School’s evacuation to 

Bude is of the transformation which it 

wrought in the school’s relationship with 

the community outside its precincts. 

Throughout the 1930s and in 1940, the 

College operated as a very self-contained 

and individualistic entity, standing aloof 

from its neighbours in Clifton. 

This tendency was perhaps exemplified 

by the strict system of bounds which was 

in force before the School’s evacuation 

from Bristol. Under that system, many 

parts of the city and its surroundings 

were identified as being “out of 

bounds”, and a Cliftonian who strayed 

outside the limits of the “in-bounds” 

area committed a punishable breach of 

discipline. 

This atmosphere of isolation and 

exclusivity rapidly dissipated when, 

in 1941, the Upper School became 

relocated in the bracing environment 

of North Cornwall. Close and friendly 

links between the School and members 

of the local Cornish community were 

soon established. Perhaps the strongest 

of these links was the integration of the 

School’s Home Guard platoons into the 

1st Cornwall battalion of that volunteer 

force, but there were several other 

successful examples of this trend. They 

included: 

• The link with the parishioners of 

Poughill, who allowed the school to use 

their fine old church as its Chapel 

• The arrangement with Bude-Stratton 

Senior School, under which it gave the 

School access to its science laboratories 

• The expansion of the Choral Society 

so as to include the participation in its 

rehearsals and performances of locallybased 

singers otherwise unconnected 

with the school 

• The participation of Cliftonians in 

working parties assisting local farmers in 

potato harvesting 

and 

• A theatrical performance of the 

“Gang Show” type put on by Cliftonians 

and staff members at the local Cinema, 

as a free entertainment for members of 

the public. 

The widening of the social horizons of 

Cliftonians which resulted from this 

transformation not only made our life in 

Bude more interesting and rewarding, 

but also proved to be very helpful to 

those of us who, immediately after 

leaving the School, joined one of the 

branches of the Armed Forces. This was 

because it enabled those leavers to adapt 

quickly to living with Service colleagues 

who came from family and educational 

backgrounds very different from their 

own, and thereby rapidly to improve the 

effectiveness of their performance as a 

member of that branch. 

Duncan Douglas (Pre, OH 1933-1943) 

1991: Lord Jenkin unveiling the plaque at Bude commemorating Clifton’s evacuation during the war. 


RECOLLECTIONS ON BUDE 

Russell Barratt (WiH 1938-1943), responding to the 

call for Bude memories, has kindly been in touch to 

share these recollections with us: 

The Bude period is covered 

in a general way in Derek 

Winterbottom’s Clifton after 

Percival and much more fully in Clifton 

at Bude and Butcombe published for 

the OC Society in 1945. But neither 

of these really bring out what I think 

was uppermost in our minds at the 

time – the amazing sense of freedom 

we felt at Bude by comparison with 

the much more constrained life we 

had led at Clifton. Barriers of all kinds 

were broken down, many of the rules 

that hemmed us in were abolished 

or modified and above all we were 

free to roam the beaches and explore 

the marvellous countryside of North 

Cornwall. It is true that our life at Bude 

was in some respects uncomfortable. 

But life in a boarding house at Clifton 

was no bed of roses and sleeping every 

night in an air-raid shelter throughout 

the Winter Term of 1940 was most 

unpleasant. All in all, the years at 

Bude were a happy time so far as I was 

concerned and I think the numbers 

attending the successive reunions 

suggest that most people felt the same. 

Bude coastline. 

The following extract from the first 

letter I sent home from Bude gives 

my immediate reactions to my new 

surroundings. It is dated 13 February 

1941 and begins by referring to Bude as 

“this marvellous place.” It continues: 

It is really lovely here – you would like it no 

end. There are lovely breakers….and at low 

tide the sands are glorious. The Westcliff 

Hotel is at the end of our road so that between 

us and the cliffs and sea there is just a couple 

of hundred yards of down and from our room 

you can look out and get a marvellous view 

of the sea. This afternoon Tottenham-Smith, 

Lamb [Gilbert Lamb, died December 

2009] and I went for a walk along the cliffs 

to the north – in parts they are quite high and 

sheer, most unpleasant to look over – and 

came back along the beach, just managing to 

avoid the tide! 

Wiseman’s have the first floor of this Hotel 

and Brown’s and School House have one 

floor each. The ground floor of each Hotel 

is classrooms etc – our form room is in one 

of the other hotels. The hotel is brand-new 

and has never been used by visitors, but 

troops have quartered in it and as a result 

the walls etc were in a bit of a mess. They are 

distemper, so we have scrubbed ours fairly 

clean. I am sharing a room….There are three 

beds – Joly’s [Bobby Joly – killed in action 

March 1945] and T-Smith’s and mine which 

are bedsteads (iron) lashed on top of each 

other with wooden supports, very precarious 

and apparently liable to crash down at any 

moment – however I am on top so will be 

OK if anything happens! (Really despite 

their apparent ricketiness I think they’re quite 

safe). The room is quite small and when we 

came was very bare and bleak. However, we 

have, at a not inconsiderable outlay, bought 

some furnishings (mats, Table cloth, a very 

fine reading lamp, mirror etc) and we are 

gradually getting into shape. 

The communal feeding is also slowly getting 

into order. We serve ourselves with trolleys, 

and we each have a set duty – mine is to help 

wheel the trolley to fetch and serve the second 

course – each house has its own table and 

trolley. The meals take a good deal longer 

than before but the food seems very good 

(we had boiled eggs this morning) but there 

is a superfluity of fish!....We go to church 

at Poughill (pronounced Poffle) about 25 

Bomb damage behind Polacks’. 

minutes walk away. This means, I think, that 

Chapel will be only once on Sunday, which is 

not altogether a Bad Thing…Practically all 

my books from Clifton have turned up, but 

nothing much else – all my chairs, curtains 

etc are gone. 

Valuable memories – and Russell 

concludes that he remembers well the 

second air raid on Clifton in December 

1940, living through it in the Wiseman’s 

shelter: 

An article about the Blitz from the Wiseman’s 

point of view can be found in the Autumn 

1942 issue of The Arrow, the occasional 

Wiseman’s House magazine – does it still 

appear I wonder? But in retrospect I do not 

think its rather jaunty tone, for which I must 

accept responsibility, adequately reflects how 

I, and no doubt others, felt on the night of 

3nd December 1940. Perhaps I am readier to 

confess to fear than I was 70 years ago! 

College air-raid shelter. 

BUDE 

23

Sermon preached 

at Clifton College 

on 23 January 2011 

This morning I am preaching about 

remembrance. Remembrance is not 

about looking backwards. Rather, 

remembrance is a defining moment 

between what has happened in the past, 

and the hopes and aspirations for the 

future. 

We are approaching 2012. If asked about 

2012 most people would reply that it will 

be the year of the Olympic games. Those 

with a historical interest and a Royalist love 

would say it will be the 60th Anniversary, 

the Diamond Jubilee of Her Majesty Queen 

Elizabeth II. But for Cliftonians present and 

past it has a special resonance - it will be the 

150th anniversary of the foundation of our 

college, and speaking personally I am full 

of nostalgia as I recall being present at the 

Celebration of the Centenary in 1962. 

Of course today we are in January 2011 and 

this is also a milestone. I speak of January 

1941- 70 years ago. For every school this 

was the beginning of the Lent term, but 

for Clifton there was no school that month 

at all. You may ask why and this was due 

to the fact that Bristol had been bombed 

by the Luftwaffe at the end of November 

and beginning of De€ember 1940. A high 

explosive bomb exploded on December 

2nd in the New Field, only 60 feet away 

from both Polacks House and Wiseman’s 

House, which were rendered uninhabitable. 

An urgent meeting of the Council was called 

for the following Saturday and the firm 

decision was taken to evacuate from our 

wonderful college buildings. 

In the space of just over two months new 

premises were obtained for the school in 

Bude on the north Cornwall coast. The 

school was accommodated in four hotels 

on Summerleaze Terrace. School house, 

Brown’s, and Wiseman’s occupied the 

Westcliff Hotel, Dakyn’s and Oakley’s 

occupied the Erdiston, North and South 

town occupied the Edgecombe, and 

Polack’s occupied St. Hilary’s. Term 

began on February 11th. This was a major 

achievement. 

Yet with this total disruption from the 

normal routine the school rose rapidly to 

the challenge. Previously every house had 

eaten separately within its own premises 

and the change from a house centred 

school to a school centred school was 

revolutionary. The school responded well. 

Boys got to know each other much better 

in closer surroundings. Masters and their 

Flexbury Church 

wives who were compelled under war 

time arrangements to dine together in a 

staff refectory found that they made new 

friendships and developed greater degrees 

of comradeship. Some had previously 

hardly known each other. 

Clifton had always been unique as a public 

school as it boasted a Jewish House. The 

new feeding arrangements demanded many 

compromises in terms of the Jewish dietary 

laws which some found difficult to accept, 

but taking the wider view, the integration 

for the Jewish pupils with the rest of the 

school became that much greater, interests 

were shared and Jews and Christians 

developed a greater understanding of each 

other, the issues on which their two great 

faiths agreed and the areas where there was 

a parting of the ways. Church of England 

services were held at St. Olaf ’s church in 

Poughill a mile away on foot, and Polacks 

House were able to use for prayer the hall 

of Flexbury Church. 

The four years absence from Bristol did 

not break the school. In fact it returned to 

Bristol in 1945 much more cohesive and as 

a result of the Bude experience, there was 

no return to house feeding. 

So we recall the events of 1941 as a 

milestone, and the development of a 

much more united structure which has 

set the pattern for the last 65 years, which 

has included the admission of girls. This 

has indeed been a major and successful 

advance. 

Unhappily the Jewish house at Clifton no 

longer exists due to falling numbers. But 

I am proud that there is still a nucleus of 

Jewish boys and girls who attend this great 

College and for whom religious and prayer 

facilities are available. 

I did mention at the outset three events 

that will be commemorated in 2012. There 

is yet a fourth - 2012 will mark the 70th 

Anniversary of the establishment of the 

Council of Christians and Jews. In the 

darkest days of the war, and 1942 was 

a very dark year, the Archbishop of 

Canterbury William Temple and the Chief 

Rabbi Dr. Joseph H. Hertz took steps 

which lead to the formation of the Council 

of Christians and Jews. It is not modified 

Judaism nor is it watered down Christianity 

but it seeks the common ground between our 

two great faiths and particularly the need to 

combat anti-Semitism and religious prejudice 

in all its forms. In reality Clifton ante-dated 

the Council of Christians and Jews because 

it was seeking and building on this common 

ground ever since the establishment of the 

Jewish house in 1878. The principles which 

guided the founders in 1942 are as relevant 

today as ever before. And I hope that all of 

you both now and in the future will seek 

to identify with a branch of the Council 

of Christians and Jews wherever you may 

live. We have a local branch called the Avon 

Branch and by identifying with CCJ you 

will be demonstrating a continuity of the 

Clifton tradition. 

This is one of the great challenges for 

Clifton College as it enters its 150th year 

and I hope and pray that Clifton at every 

level will playa full role in combating all 

forms of anti-Semitism and racial prejudice. 

We have to move on in a rapidly changing 

world. Clifton can only continue to succeed 

if it has a strong headmaster supported 

by an infrastructure of masters and senior 

boys, to whom the Head Master can 

delegate as necessary. 

The book of Exodus chapter 18 is very 

relevant. Jethro, the father-in-law of Moses 

gives him advice ‘What you are doing is 

not good. The work is too heavy for you; 

you cannot handle it alone. Listen now to 

me and I will give you advice, and may 

God be with you. You must be the people’s 

representative before God and bring their 

disputes to Him. Teach them decrees and 

laws, and show them the way to live and 

the duties they are to perform. But select 

capable men from all the people - men of 

courage who fear God, trustworthy men 

who hate dishonest gain - and appoint them 

as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties 

and tens. Have them serve as judges for 

the people at all times, but have them bring 

every difficult case to you. The simple cases 

they can decide themselves. That will make 

your load lighter, because they will share it 

with you. If you do this you will be able to 

stand the strain.’ 

This is as relevant today for the Head 

Master and those who support him as it 

was over 3,000 years ago but of course now 

including women. 

So what is the conclusion? It hath been told 

thee O man what is good and what the Lord doth 

require of thee - only to do justly and to love mercy 

and walk humbly with thy God (Micah 6/8). 

Lionel Kopelowitz (PH 1940-44) 


The past we love not for its being past, 

but for its hope and ardour forward cast. 

Henry Newbolt 

CELEBRATING 150 YEARS 

of 

spiritus intus alit 

in 

education, scholarship, music, art, drama & sport 

Clifton has always celebrated its anniversaries with considerable style and 2012 is going to be no exception. 

In 1912 the College’s Jubilee, King George V and Queen Mary visited remarking that Clifton 

“had a place among the great Public Schools of England”. 

In 1962 an Appeal was launched, the Centenary Essays were published, and many building projects were 

embarked upon, not least the Biology floor, extension of the Music School, redecoration of the Chapel, building 

of the Tribe and the formation of Merry House, the Pre Dining Hall. 

“to succeed is Clifton’s Tradition” commented Gen. Omar Bradley 1962 

The celebrations for those who know Derek Winterbottom’s book, “Clifton after Percival” and the chapter Annus 

Mirandus will see that a delightful symmetry of events and personalities is echoed between the 1962 and the 

2012 celebrations. 

The 125th anniversary in 1987, heralded the arrival of the first girls in Oakeley’s House, he OC cricketers 

reached the final of the Cricketer Cup and the final Public School boxing match took place. 

Clifton starts the 150th celebrations in the year of 2012 with the Pre’s Classic Car Wheeze and Family Day. 

Sunday May 20th is the date for your diary. 

Commemoration has moved in 2012 to the end of term so the first week of July 2012 is a busy one with a 

Concert, School Play, Fashion and Music Show and on Friday 6th a spectacular Son et Lumiere produced, 

directed and acted by Clifton’s most famous OCs, celebrating the unique history of the College and its buildings 

as well as the many achievements of Cliftonians. The Commemoration Ball on Saturday 7th is for 1500 people 

with a Victorian theme. 

In September: 

a new House will be opened in the Pre on Saturday 8th September 

an OC Inter-house competition of Rugby and Hockey on 15th September 

an OC Scholars’ Dinner on Friday 28th September and a special OC Library exhibition 

Clifton v Marlborough Rugby match on Sat 29th Sept with a lunch for all OC and OM Rugby players. 

Celebratory Chapel Services on September 30th 

Burial of the Butcombe Time Capsule Sunday 30th September 

Exciting Art Exhibition and Auction of OC and other contemporary works in March 2013 

OCs should register their interest with the OC office if they are interested in being involved, contributing or just 

attending. Contact Lucy Nash. Full details will be circulated in the Michaelmas Term. 


Heraldry 

Harking to the Heralds 

C.S. Knighton (Editor of the Register) looks for 

the hidden agenda in Clifton’s coat of arms. 

Argent a chevron between two trefoils 

slipped in chief and in base a garb 

azure, on a chief gules a crown 

or between two books argent, garnished 

and clasped or. That, in the language of 

heralds, is what appears on Clifton’s 

shield. We see this everywhere and 

recognize it immediately as our corporate 

emblem. Its significance is less familiar 

and needs some unwrapping. 

Relatively few schools and colleges 

have their own distinct and properly 

authorized heraldry. The oldest school 

arms are those granted to Eton by the 

founder, Henry VI, in 1449; at the same 

time a matching coat was prescribed for 

the sister foundation of King’s College, 

Cambridge (with three roses where 

Eton has lilies). This design, which set 

elements of the royal arms in a bold new 

framework, is a remote ancestor of the 

arms granted to Clifton in 1895. 

Many schools simply use the 

undifferenced arms of their founders. 

Very rarely do they have any right 

to do so, but the practice is generally 

explained and accepted as filial pietas. 

Failing even this option schools have 

concocted arms of their own, often in 

the most appalling heraldic taste. The 

nadir was surely reached by Grange Hill 

(G impaling H), though plenty of real 

institutions have done little better. 

So it was at first with us. Clifton had 

no founder in the strict sense: an 

individual or corporation who set it up, 

provided funds for its maintenance and 

regulated its life by statutes. The school 

began as a commercial venture, the 

shareholders being a large body of local 

gentry, professionals and merchants. 

This amorphous parentage could not be 

represented heraldically, so in its early 

days the College adopted bogus arms 

alluding to its religious character and 

imagined gentility. This had in first and 

fourth quarters respectively a trefoil 

(clover leaf) and a lion rampant between 

six cinquefoils representing ‘the family 

of Clifton’, with the arms of the see of 

Bristol (Sable three ducal coronets in pale 

or) in the second and third quarters. 

The cinquefoils were enough for most 

armigerous Cliftons, but a Somerset 

branch bore Sable, a lion rampant between 

eight cinquefoils and a trefoil in chief slipped 

or. There is no evident connexion 

between these people and the village of 

Clifton, let alone the College; but since 

the clover leaf is also a Christian emblem 

representing the Trinity, it was doubtless 

thought very apt. 

It has been claimed that the Clifton 

trefoil actually compliments Dr John 

Addington Symonds of Clifton Hill 

House, and his son of the same names. 

Three trefoils do indeed feature in their 

family arms, but J.A.S. senior was only 

one among the original Governors, and 

Clifton was using the trefoil long before 

the son became a literary celebrity. The 

original arms appear on the cover of the 

first Cliftonian (1867). The motto Haec 

studia oblectant was a wry compression of 

Cicero’s Haec studia adolescentiam alunt, 

senectutem oblectant (Pro Archia Poeta, 16); 

the elided alo would reappear later in 

a different form. 

The whole thing was nevertheless 

illegal. By March 1870 the Council 

had evidently realised this and 

deputed the Secretary to ‘take out a 

licence’ for armorial bearings, as if it 

was as simple as licensing a dog or a 

gun. In fact obtaining a grant from 

the College of Arms (or Heralds’ 

College) is a lengthy and expensive 

process, in which the Council took no 

further interest for two decades. 

After the Royal Charter of 1877, by 

which the College was refounded as 

a corporate body, an official grant of 

arms was thought even more necessary; 

but nothing was done until 1893. The 

Masters then offered to pay the Heralds’ 

fees (estimated at £70), and Council 

asked one of their number, D.C.A. 

Cave, to consult with the Head Master 

(Glazebrook). They produced some 

sketches; and though Masters then 

withdrew their subvention, Glazebrook 

assured Council that if they were 

worried about the expense, he was 

confident of raising it elsewhere. So 

Council authorized the application, with 

particular hope that the version with the 

lion ‘in chief ’ would be approved. 

This, however, was not liked by the 

Heralds, and though another design was 

submitted, by April 1894 Council had had 

enough, and ‘negatived’ the application. 

Three months later H.J. Wiseman wrote 

on behalf of the Masters with promise 

of £80, whereupon Council rescinded 

the April decision, and the application 

was endorsed by the President, Lord 

Ducie. One final hurdle was set by Rouge 

Dragon Pursuivant (Everard Green 

F.S.A.), to whom the work was committed, 

who explained that his fees were payable 

in advance; so cheques for £76 10s and 2 

guineas were despatched. 

The grant was eventually issued 

on 8 April 1895. The large vellum 

document, executed by Rouge 

Dragon’s Artist, G.W. Eve, is 

authenticated by the seals of the three 

Kings of Arms (Garter, Clarenceux 

and Norroy). In lay terms the red 

section at the top of the shield 

represents a royal foundation, as does 

the crown or ducal coronet (heraldry 

is surprisingly vague on this detail). 


The latter also alludes to arms of the 

see of Bristol (also of royal foundation) 

rather than simply stealing them. The 

book is symbolic of scholarship. It is said 

to be closed because the school exists 

to open it, though this seems phoney 

(the book lies on its front, as if already 

used). The trefoils sustain the supposed 

association with the Clifton family. 

The garb or wheatsheaf represents the 

Guthries, who paid for the Chapel; 

conceivably Canon Guthrie could 

indeed call cousins with Guthrie of 

Guthrie, bearer of Quarterly 2nd and 3rd 

azure a wheatsheaf or. 

The chevron separating the lower 

elements was originally a badge of 

serjeantry, meaning service to the 

Crown below the rank of knighthood. 

Despite continuing use as a military 

emblem, the chevron in heraldry often 

indicates civilian service. In this instance 

there may also be a punning or ‘canting’ 

allusion to the ‘cliff ’ in ‘Clifton’. The 

arms granted to Michael Middleton (BH 

1962-7) shortly before his daughter’s 

wedding have a ‘cotised’ (bordered) 

chevron to represent the family’s 

enthusiasm for skiing. 

The overall design is a clear borrowing 

from Trinity College, Cambridge, 

founded by Henry VIII in 1546. The 

Trinity charge of Argent, a chevron between 

three roses gules barbed and seeded proper, and 

on a chief gules a lion passant gardant between 

two closed books all or is first recorded in 

1572, and is itself evidently based on the 

King’s College design. Elements from the 

Trinity arms were then re-worked into 

the Cambridge University arms granted 

in 1573 – with the lions quadrupled and 

quarterly, and the book turned on its 

edge (‘fessways’). Clifton (1895) therefore 

has a family relationship with these other 

academic arms. 

Clifton had no claim for taking Trinity 

as its heraldic model, save pretension 

to shared status as a royal foundation. 

Nevertheless several of Clifton’s 

prominent early Masters were Trinity 

men – H.G. Dakyns, E.M. Oakeley, 

C.H. Spence, and H. Clissold – though 

only the latter two were still here when 

the arms were received. The Masters 

certainly chose the motto, a matter 

originally entrusted by Council to the 

Head Master. He let the Masters ballot 

for it, the winner being S.T. Irwin 

with Spiritus intus alit. This is from 

Virgil (Aeneid vi.726), and associated 

by Irwin with Galileo’s E pur si muove 

and Wordsworth’s ‘Spirit more deeply 

interfused’ (from Tintern Abbey). Perhaps 

Irwin was also remembering Percival’s 

farewell sermon (‘And what is it above 

all that we desire to maintain? Surely 

it is the life within the life’). But Irwin 

acknowledged that in a busy school 

elevated sentiments take you only so 

far: ‘The Spirit of a place of learning 

will always put the things of the mind 

first even if there are other interests to 

attend to which reduce the amount of 

learning actually acquired’. 

Not everyone was happy with the 

new coat of arms, and some OCs tried 

unsuccessfully to keep the old version 

for the Society. The lion had been 

particularly cherished, though not easily 

copied (the future Sir Francis Newbolt 

could manage only ‘a lion like a baby’ 

for which the Drawing Master marked 

him 26 out of 40). Now its passing was 

mourned in feline doggerel: 

Dear Rampant Cat, that through long 

years 

Has shared in all our hopes and fears, 

We deemed thee indestructible 

Yet now accept our fond farewell; 

The last sad tribute of our tears. 

The cat made a come-back in 1979, 

when the old arms were inadvertently 

stamped on the Open Sculls cup. 

Though Clifton has arms which are 

both handsome and rich in association, 

they comprise shield and motto only. 

There are no supporters and there is 

no crest – though a crest of sorts (sword 

with oak leaves) had featured in the old 

arms. It would be possible to apply to the 

College of Arms for additional elements 

by ‘augmentation’, and this might be 

appropriate in celebrating our 150th 

anniversary. 

Heraldic crib sheet 

argent – silver 

base – lower part of shield 

chief – horizontal band at top of shield 

crest – headgear or other emblem above 

shield (very naff to use this term for 

the shield itself or the whole device) 

gardant – turned face-on 

gules – red 

in pale/impaling – vertically arranged/ 

divided 

or – gold 

quarterly (of shield as viewed) – 1st top 

left, 2nd top right, 3rd bottom left, 

4th bottom right 

passant – walking 

rampant – standing 

sable – black 

supporters – figures (human or animal) 

holding shield 

Old Clifton Arms. 

Trinity. 

Kings. 

Cambridge. 

HERALDRY 

27

CLIFTON AND THE ASHES 

It is only human to wish to claim some 

connection with great success, and the 

England XI’s triumph in Australia last 

winter proves no exception, but where 

can Clifton appear in such a saga? 

Tenuous indeed it would be to note that 

Andrew Strauss and the present Head 

Master, Mark Moore, along with one of 

our Council Members, Richard Morgan, 

hail from Radley. The clue lies in the 

precious little urn itself. 

In 1882, the unthinkable had 

happened. Australia beat England at 

cricket in England. It was hardly a 

Test series as we know it today. Indeed, 

it was a match hosted by Surrey CCC. 

Prior to the match, it had rained solidly 

for two days and expert opinion had 

it that the uncovered wicket would get 

more and more awkward the longer the 

match went on. The Australian captain, 

Billy Murdoch, won the toss and, given 

the state of the wicket, elected to bat. 

It looked to have been a great error 

of judgement as England’s bowlers, 

particularly the left-arm pairing of 

Barlow and Peate, ran through the 

Australian side in just over two hours, 

dismissing the tourists for 63. England’s 

reply was equally fragile as Australia’s 

“demon” bowler, Fred Spofforth, took 

FW Spofforth. 

7 for 46. Nevertheless, a first innings 

lead of 38 may not have seemed much, 

but with the wicket beginning to behave 

pretty badly, any lead was deemed 

priceless. More rain followed as the 

Australians attempted to make a match 

of it and, thanks to some robust hitting, 

they secured a lead of 85 by the time 

their second innings closed. However, a 

rather unsporting run-out by WG had 

stiffened Australian resolve and, before 

England batted, the Australians got into 

the19th Century equivalent of a huddle, 

in the middle of which was a fired-up 

Spofforth who told his team-mates in 

no uncertain terms that “This thing 

can be done.” England were soon in 

trouble at 15 for 2 but Grace and Ulyett 

started to hit out and the 50 mark was 

soon reached. At this point, Spofforth 

changed ends, slowed his pace and 

started to bowl a series of off-cutters 

interspersed with top-spinners which 

wreaked havoc in the England ranks. 

An eye-witness picks up the tale: 

Suddenly a new phase came over the 

innings. The batsmen could not get the 

ball past the fieldsmen. Spofforth was 

bowling the most remarkable break-backs at 

tremendous pace. Boyle, from the other end, 

maintained a perfect length; Blackham with 

matchless skill took every ball that passed 

the batsmen…every fieldsman strained his 

nerves to the utmost. 

53 for 2 crawled to 66 for 5 and then 

75 for 9. Last man in for England was 

Peate. He swished his first ball for two, 

scrambled the next ball away and was 

clean bowled by a delivery which shook 

the Empire. The final overs were so 

tense that one spectator died of a heart 

attack whilst another is said to have 

bitten through his umbrella handle! 

FW Spofforth. 


1882 Test Match.

Spofforth was the hero of the day, his 

last eleven overs costing two runs for 

four wickets. The following day, The 

Sporting Times carried the now-famous 

mock obituary. The Ashes had been 

born. 

Now, what has all this to do with Clifton? 

Well, the following winter, an England 

team was assembled under the captaincy 

of the Honourable Ivo Bligh with the 

express aim of going to Australia “to 

recover the ashes of English cricket.” 

One of that team, the wicket-keeper, 

was EFS Tylecote and he, along with 

his brothers, had been one of the first 

pupils at Clifton and had, in this pre- 

Collins era, recorded the highest score 

in a cricket match in England. Although 

Tylecote’s contribution to eventual 

victory in Australia was modest by his 

standards – a couple of thirties in the 

first Test and 66 in the first innings of 

the third Test – he was part of the team 

that won the series and “regained” the 

Ashes, and he is immortalised in a poem 

affixed to the now famous urn which the 

ladies of Melbourne had presented to 

Ivo Bligh at the conclusion of the 1883 

series. The poem, not one of the greatest 

pieces of cricketing literature, read as 

follows; 

When Ivo goes back with the urn, the urn; 

Studds, Steel, Read and Tylecote return, 

return; 

The welkin will ring loud, 

The great crowd will feel proud, 

Seeing Barlow and Bates with the urn, the 

urn; 

And the rest coming home with the urn. 

Ivo Bligh, 

8th Earl of 

Darnley, played 

for Kent and 

was to become 

President of the 

MCC in 1900. 

As a Cambridge 

man, his original 

intention had 

been to take 

an Oxbridge XI to Australia but he 

agreed to 

beard the kangaroo in his den and try and 

recover those ashes 

by taking an England side instead. 

The Studd brothers, Charles and George, 

were part of a famous family of Victorian 

gentlemen cricketers, whilst AG Steel 

was reckoned by contemporaries to be 

the equal of WG and was the first man to 

score a century in a Test match at Lord’s. 

Walter Read played for Surrey and – Mr 

Milligan take note – was known for the 

accuracy of his lob bowling. Dick Barlow, 

who destroyed the Australian batting in 

the deciding Test at Melbourne in 1883 

returning figures of 7 for 40, was also a 

defensive bat of some renown; the story 

goes that he was working as a railway 

worker when the England captain 

AN Hornby saw him batting in the 

station-yard against the bowling of the 

station-master. Hornby was impressed 

and asked if he might have a bowl, to 

which the station-master replied, “Ay, 

do. He’s been in for a fortnight.” Billy 

Bates was quite a fierce bowler whose 

career was cut short by an accident in 

the nets. Edmund Tylecote was thus in 

distinguished company! 

Along with his brother, CBL Tylecote, 

Edmund joined Clifton in April 1863 and 

was attached to School House. Given that 

the first edition of The Cliftonian dates 

from 1867, not much can be gleaned 

about his early years at the College, but 

the fact that he made the cricket XI every 

year during his time at Clifton suggests 

that his was an exceptional talent. In 

the 1867 edition of the school magazine, 

we read that he dominated the Athletic 

Sports, winning the Mile, Half-Mile, 

Hurdles and Steeple-Chase, and coming 

second in the High Jump and Broad 

Jump, these performances earning him 

the overall Challenge Cup. Early editions 

of the magazine are sparse on statistics, 

thus the cricket report merely mentions 

that the season was disappointing 

with only four out of eleven “foreign” 

matches being won. Tylecote clearly 

made a significant contribution to the 

season, and scored 78 for Present v 

Past. In the magazine summary, he was 

described as 

A really fine bat, combining a good defence 

with extraordinary hitting powers. He 

promises, also, to be a first-class wicket keeper 

if he practises. He is a good field anywhere, 

and bowls both round-arm and slows. 

EFS Tylecote 

The Studd brothers. 

CLIFTON AND THE ASHES 

29

The following year sees him mentioned 

in various rugby matches although his 

brother was clearly the star in this sport, 

captaining the College team. 

The 1868 cricket report is rather 

fuller than its predecessor, and just 

as well since Tylecote’s great batting 

achievement might have slipped quietly 

into one of the darker corners of history. 

Only two “foreign” matches were 

played, with Tylecote scoring 37 and 

131, but the published table of averages 

shows just how prolific a season he had 

enjoyed. The report for the season 

describes him as 

Captain for 1868. A splendid bat, has a 

wonderful defence, and punishes severely 

all round; his fine wrist play gets him 

runs against the best bowling; made the 

unprecedented score of 404 (not out) for the 

Classical v Modern. As an all round field 

he has few equals, and if there is one place 

in which he excels more than another, it is 

point. A fair wicket-keeper and good slow 

underhand bowler, but has fallen off in his 

round-arm bowling; (has left). 

100. Only two batsmen reached double 

figures one of whom, JA Bush, would 

go on to be a wicket-keeper of some 

note. By the close of play on the first 

day, Classical were about 50 for 1 with 

Tylecote on 34, these matches usually 

being given three days for completion. 

Play resumed on the Monday afternoon 

andTylecote began to score at a fairly 

rapid rate. By the time his overnight 

partner, Cross, had been caught for 30, 

Tylecote had made a hundred. In an 

attempt to stem the flow, Modern’s most 

talented cricketer, Bush, abandoned 

his gloves and took on bowling, taking 

several wickets as a result, but Tylecote 

carried on serenely being on 199 not 

out out of a total of 340 for 5 when the 

Chapel bell signalled the close of play at 

5.30pm. The following day saw Tylecote 

continue much in the same mode. By the 

time Classical had lost its seventh wicket 

at 533, Tylecote had made cricket’s first 

triple century, eventually reaching 404 

out of 630 for 9 on the third day. The 

match was thus declared a draw – in 

No-one knows whether or not, unlike 

AEJ Collins’ some years later, his innings 

was chanceless but he scored only one 

boundary, a prodigious hit into College 

Road for, in those days, boundaries were 

rare and all runs had to be, literally, 

run; his scoring strokes were thus 1x7, 

5x5, 21x4, 39x3, 42x2 and 87 singles. 

Although he was obviously a very 

talented cricketer, he must also have been 

extremely fit and must have possessed 

considerable powers of concentration. 

The impact of this extraordinary score 

on the cricket world was immense for 

such scores were quite simply not made 

in the game as it then was. Thirty-eight 

years earlier, William Ward had made 

278, and Alfred Adams had surpassed 

this with 279 in a match in 1837, but a 

triple, let alone a quadruple, century 

was considered beyond the abilities 

of mere humans. Tylecote’s score 

was achieved in a match between the 

Classical and the Modern sides on the 

Close at Clifton and in no way should 

this be interpreted as being a match 

of inferior quality since the majority 

of school matches at this time were 

internal and were considered to be of 

far greater importance than “foreign” 

matches against other clubs or schools. 

The Modern (ie., more technically 

educated, aiming at Woolwich rather 

than at Oxbridge) batted first and made 

those days the device of declaring was 

just not available – but two records had 

been established in the world of cricket, 

the highest score by an individual and 

the highest score by a team. 

In later life, he became more known for 

his specialist wicket-keeping skills which 

he had developed at Oxford, although 

he did make 100 not out against 

Australia in 1882. He went on to be a 

Mathematics teacher at RMA Woolwich 

and then at various Preparatory Schools 

before retiring to Norfolk where he died 

at the age of 89 in 1938. 

The cricketing world has long forgotten 

those June days some 148 years ago but 

we can continue to take some interest in 

today’s game not least for the fact that 

every time an Australian or an English 

cricket captain holds that little urn aloft, 

there is a little bit of Clifton history there 

for all to see. 

RJA 


Cliftonian 

the 

CONTENTS 

32 Salvete/Valete 

36 Commem 

40 Art Review 

42 Chapel Notes 

43 Music 

45 Literary/Activities 

48 Trips 

54 CCF 

59 Drama 

67 Clifton in the Community 

68 Sport

Salvete / Valete 

SALVETE 

We welcomed the following 

new members of the teaching 

staff in September 2011: 

James Baker – Teacher of Maths 

Emily Hawkins – Teacher of English 

Sarah Atkinson – Teacher of Modern 

Foreign Languages 

Ariane Whitehead – Teacher of Biology 

Laura Cocker – Teacher of Chemistry 

William Scott – Head of Economics and 

Business Studies 

Kirsty Parnell – Teacher of Physical 

Education 

Anne Allan 

Anne, if she were a book, would be 

an encyclopaedia of cakes! She 

started in the Pre in August 1990, 

but it was not long before Dr Stephen 

Spurr poached her from Dr Acheson to 

run the Percival Library, and indeed, 

she then went on to be Head of all the 

College Libraries. The Percival Library 

was reclassified to the Dewey system by 

Anne and she became deeply involved in 

its major refurbishment. She was pretty 

much what you might expect of a librarian, 

but it was the help with research, the 

books she was keen to recommend to the 

young, the teenagers, and the staff that 

made her so appreciated. 

In SCR chapel weeks, Anne was always 

one of the first to step up to the lectern to 

deliver memorable talks on all manner of 

issues, from literature to the colour yellow. 

She also has a wide range of interests, 

from investigating the history of Clifton, 

where she discovered that Agatha Christie 

stayed at the College, to her garden, which 

we hear she is actively redesigning, and 

which is beautiful, as anyone who has 

been to one of her lovely parties will bear 

witness. Handicrafts are another passion, 

so much so that she started a knitting 

club at school. She is also remembered 

particularly affectionately by all the male 

staff, who always appeared very promptly 

at break on Saturdays to wolf down her 

excellent sugar-free cakes! 

Fiona Hallworth 

Olivia Boyer 

Olivia joined Clifton in 1989 as a 

part time English teacher and 

became full time two years later 

in 1991. Her many skills as an English 

teacher were evident from the start, 

and in 1994 the then Head master, 

Stephen Spurr, created the position of 

Head of International Students as he 

wished to draw on Olivia’s experience 

and expertise with EFL and extend 

the profile of Clifton abroad. Initially, 

there were only six such pupils but that 

number quickly increased; currently, 

there are over seventy, most of who 

owe a great deal to Olivia’s calm yet 

positive presence both in and out of 

the classroom. She has always been 

generous with her time and advice, 

excellent in a crisis and always willing 

to help. She has been a valuable 

support for numerous international 

pupils, both academically and 

pastorally, and has done the same for 

generations of girls who have passed 

through Worcester House where she 

has been a tutor for over twenty years, 

working with three housemistresses. 

More recently she has helped with 

PGCE students, liaising with the 

University of Bristol, staff appraisal 

and NQT mentoring, again drawing on 

her experience as a teacher, head of 

department and, since 2003, Schools’ 

Inspector. She is retiring to Turkey but 

is planning to spend some time back 

in England and already has many plans 

on what her future might hold. The 

English and EFL departments will 

miss her deeply when she has left, as 

will many at Clifton; however, we all 

wish her the very best in her life after 

Clifton. 

Sarah Clarke 

Louisa Bell 

During Michaelmas Louisa arrived 

to observe and support lessons 

and, with the start of Anna 

Patrick’s maternity leave in January, 

she took over her own classes. Louisa 

has indeed become a superb teacher, 

dedicated, hard working and popular 

with the pupils she teaches. Outside 

the classroom she has been quick to 

get involved in the wider life of the 

College, helping with hockey and cross 

country and accompanying the ski trip 

to Bardoneccia back in April. Louisa 

leaves us to spend next year taking her 

PGCE at Bristol. All in the Chemistry 

Department wish her every success. 

Nik Bright 

Tim Greene 

Nik was raised in Bristol and, after 

Cambridge, wanted to live and teach 

in the city she knew so well. She 

taught at Clifton from 2007 to 2011, and 

during that time she made a significant 

impact on colleagues and students. 

In the Biology department she soon 

established the nickname ‘hard drive’ in 

recognition of her faultless memory and 

her intellectual prowess, qualities that 

were evident at all times. The students she 

taught appreciated her care and attention 

to detail, and her examination results 

were truly excellent. She became an A 

level examiner and the insight she gained 

from the experience was of huge benefit 

to the department. Nik also had her own 

department to run, having been appointed 

Head of PSHE. As ever, she took to this role 

with customary aplomb and organised the 

teaching with characteristic efficiency. 

She was also house tutor of Hallward’s in her 

last two years, a role she thoroughly enjoyed. 

This task enabled her to demonstrate the 

warm side of her personality and to show the 

genuine care she has for the well being of 

others. The girls in the house appreciated the 

time and energy she gave on their behalf and 

were really saddened that she has departed 

to Lebanon. In addition to everything else 

she did since she arrived she also found 

time to support rowing and to take the 

minutes for the SCR committee. 


Musically gifted, she supported the 

Chapel choir and enjoyed her bell ringing 

at churches in Bristol and other cities in 

the UK. Her willingness to contribute to the 

wider community saw her establish the 

27th Brownies at Clifton, enabling many 

of our younger pupils to benefit from her 

expertise as a Brown Owl. 

Nik leaves Clifton in order to live in Beirut with 

her husband Martin who has been appointed 

assistant professor of mathematics at the 

American University of Beirut. 

David Barrett 

Richard Crabtree 

Richard Crabtree retired in 2010 

after 34 years of distinguished 

service to the College. He was 

appointed as Head of Strings in 1976 by 

the then Director of Music, David Pettit, 

and subsequently served under John 

Davenport, Bob Carter, John Heritage 

and latterly James Hills. Throughout a 

long career of teaching at Clifton Richard 

maintained a professional performing 

career, often appearing in a duo with 

Charles Matthews (OC) on piano. For 

many generations of Cliftonians, 

however, their abiding memories will be 

of thrilling performances with the String 

Orchestra, in which Richard demanded 

every last ounce from his performers, 

of memorable Summer Serenades in 

chapel and of a formidable passion for 

string playing in individual lessons. 

James Hills 

Dez Futak 

Dez Futak has taught Physics at 

Clifton College for 16 years. He is 

rightly famed as a teacher with an 

extraordinary energy and enthusiasm for 

his subject, bringing to lessons his wide 

variety of interests and styles. His most 

lasting legacy in the school is likely to 

be Project Galileo, a remote controlled 

telescope which he designed and built, 

and the origin of the Clifton College 

astronomy club. This continues to host 

events for other schools and astronomical 

organisations. Dez has a great ability 

to make even the most difficult topic 

fascinating and was able to enthuse 

even those for whom Physics was not 

necessarily their strongest 

Christopher D Gardiner 

Chris joined Clifton in Sept 1983, 

after seven years teaching in 

two London comprehensives, to 

teach mathematics and to be Head of 

Technology – which subject was just 

coming into mainstream teaching at 

GCSE. He was in charge of the Clifton 

Satellite project, which put Clifton 

technology on the map to such an 

extent that the subject started being 

offered at A level, and a full time 

technology teacher was required, 

so that Chris reverted to his original 

love and became a full time Maths 

teacher. In Mathematics teaching he 

specialised in the middle ground, 

where he was very successful at getting 

pupils to accept that they had to take 

some responsibility for their own 

improvement. Nor was his success 

confined to GCSE, for there were many 

university places gained through the A 

level maths result brought about by his 

inspiration at A level too. 

Outside the classroom, Chris was an 

energetic administrator. His posts 

included Deputy Director of Studies, 

John Heritage 

John left Clifton in 2009 after 17 

years of distinguished service. As 

well as being a talented musician, 

John was a hugely respected teacher 

and tutor. He was very well liked by 

subject. Outside of the classroom, Dez 

contributed to a wide cross section of 

the co-curriculum, running astronomy 

and more recently supervising students 

for Clifton in the Community. He was 

also a highly popular tutor in East 

Town. Within the Physics Department, 

Dez has always been a cheerful and 

knowledgeable colleague and his 

experience and friendship will be 

missed. He has moved away from 

teaching to concentrate on his business 

interests, describing himself as 

“Educator, Entrepreneur & Astronomy 

Buff”. A man of many talents, I am 

certain Dez will go on to ever more 

remarkable things and we all wish him 

the very best. 

Alex Hasthorpe 

Examinations Secretary, Educational 

Visits Co-ordinator, Head of Careers, and 

treasurer of the SCR and the CCF. Amongst 

other pastoral roles, he was assistant 

housemaster in North Town to two very 

different housemasters. On games 

afternoons he was to be found supervising 

changed activities such as badminton in 

our sports halls. At weekends he became 

heavily involved in Ten Tors Training, and 

Duke of Edinburgh Award expeditions. 

He has always been fascinated by speed, 

and could be relied upon to know what 

was going on at Silverstone, and in 1999 

he joined the Royal Auxiliary Air Force 

operating in the Intelligence Squadron, 

and it is through him I now know that you 

can see what book someone is reading 

from 30,000 feet up! He took over the 

running of the RAF section of the CCF, for 

whom he was able to organise regular 

flying experiences in service aircraft as well 

as some very popular and exciting camps. 

He has earned a long and happy 

retirement. As a colleague once remarked 

“we won wars with people like him”. 

Michael West 

his pupils, to whom he gave unselfishly 

of his time, and for whom he often 

had wise advice to offer based on the 

considerable experience he had gained 

from a long and successful teaching 

career. He was appointed Upper School 

Musical Director at Clifton in 1993. 

Amongst his achievements, of which John 

was justifiably proud, was the hosting of 

the MMA (Music Masters’ and Mistresses’ 

Association) conference at Clifton in 1999. 

The event was a tremendous success, 

and this may have contributed to John’s 

election as President of the Association 

in 2002. Having brilliantly organised the 

annual conference at Aiglon College in 

Switzerland, ill health sadly prevented 

John’s attendance. 

Alongside his classroom teaching and 

numerous musical and co-curricular 

commitments, John was also, for many 

years, Assistant Housemaster of The South 

Town and Senior Academic Tutor. 

John’s concern for his colleagues also 

found expression in John’s role as ATL 

Union representative for the Upper School. 

John had being living with MS since it was 

diagnosed in 1994, and yet most of the pupils 

VALETE 

33

and staff would have had no inkling of this. 

Eventually, the time came when it was right 

for John to step back from the demands 

of full-time teaching. He left Clifton in 

June 2009, and now contributes from his 

personal experience and wisdom to the 

MS Society Help Line. Now he has more 

time to pursue some of his own interests 

which have had to take a back seat during 

an extremely busy teaching career. Who 

knows, maybe one day he might even be 

able to watch his beloved Luton Town FC 

play again in the Premier League?!*! 

Will Hodges 

Will arrived in September 2010 and 

armed with his First from Oxford 

in Italian and Portuguese, his role 

started with teaching those languages to 

small groups. He soon proved so capable 

that his involvement has grown and grown 

and he has found himself teaching French, 

Spanish and German as well. 

He also quickly made his mark on the sports 

field and has been heavily involved with 

athletics and hockey, and in particular proved 

a popular coach to the 2nd XI football team 

who had one of their best ever seasons, 

reaching the final of the Mercian League. 

Will clearly has a bright future ahead of 

him as a teacher, and in September he 

starts a PGCE at Bristol University. 

Llewelin Siddons 

Solange 

Montgomery 

A Personal Tribute 

I 

first 

The Rev’d Kim Taplin 

met Solange in September 

2001 when I arrived at the 

induction day for new teachers 

joining Clifton. 

Initially, during our first year, Solange 

and I worked alongside each other in 

The Percival Centre, where Solange 

worked as an EFL teacher on the top 

floor teaching EFL classes to exam level 

and individual lessons. 

A year later we moved; the EFL and 

Learning Support department were 

relocated and now Solange and I were 

Robert Morris 

Rob arrived at Clifton in September 

2004 with me and we were 

teaching in adjoining English 

classrooms in the Tribe building, with 

the ever famous Alan Brown next door. 

Rob was also teaching Theatre Studies 

at the time and when Simon Miller left 

for Asia, Rob was appointed as the new 

Director of Drama. He took this job 

on with enthusiasm and directed the 

School and Junior Plays with empathy. 

A favourite of mine was Oliver, in 

which he brought out the wickedness 

of London in Dickens’ time with the 

effective staging and clever lighting. 

Rob came with plenty of experience in the 

acting profession; after graduating from 

the Oxford School of Drama on a postgraduate 

course he worked professionally 

as an actor in repertory theatre including 

seasons at the local Bristol Old Vic and 

The Young Vic. He worked for GWR 

radio and BBC and was involved in the 

international Alan Ayckbourn tour. 

Having moved from theatre to lecturing on 

Performing Arts, he worked for Salford/ 

Lancaster University and then turned to 

teaching at Manchester High School for 

Girls, where he taught English. 

His work on the House Play Festival will 

always be a special memory for him as it 

will for those who looked forward to his 

summing up in poetry form each year. 

part of a bigger team because Learning 

Support had expanded. The downstairs 

front classroom in 7 Northcote Road 

became Solange’s classroom for the next 

seven years. It became a place of learning 

and laughter. She was an inspirational 

teacher who was conscientious, adored 

her students and was adored by them. 

Many of her lessons were tailor-made for 

the individuals in her classes. Solange 

spent hours devising entertaining and 

educating lessons to amuse and teach her 

students. 

Solange unbeknown to many suffered 

from multiple and complex health 

problems often requiring treatment that 

took place in the holidays. She hid these 

problems as much as she could and many 

students and indeed staff were unaware 

of the slow deterioration in her health and 

energy levels. The journey from Northcote 

Rob, of course, met Michaela one day 

in the Grubber and from then on it was 

inevitable that they would get married. 

Perhaps what was not so inevitable 

was that they would move to China to 

take on a new department in a British 

School, an amazing adventure on the 

other side of the world. We all wish them 

luck and look forward to hearing about 

their adventures. 

Karen Pickles 

David Oyns 

After a lifetime – or what must have 

seemed like a lifetime – teaching 

D&T at a nearby comprehensive 

school David Oyns came to the somewhat 

calmer waters of Clifton eight years ago 

as technician to our D&T department. 

From that day to this we have benefited 

from his experience, technical expertise 

and his constant and loyal support. His 

consistently good natured yet professional 

schoolmasterly manner made him popular 

with the Clifton pupils and his ever-ready 

willingness to help anyone with staffing 

shortages or practical problems, from 

broken boats and bicycles to damaged 

cupboards and commodes, meant that 

many members of the wider Clifton staff 

far beyond the D&T department have 

cause to be grateful to David also. David’s 

interest in and support of the CCF RAF 

section increased over his time at Clifton 

until he was actually head of that section 

Road to 

the Senior 

Common 

Room was 

often a painful 

one for her 

and when 

she taught 

in the Tribe 

building it was 

a tremendous 

struggle for her 

to get there. 

Those members of staff who worked 

at Northcote Road with Solange were 

painfully aware of the supreme efforts 

she made over the last year or two just 

to keep on going. Her leukaemia was 

progressing and she began to need more 

and more blood transfusions to the point 

where it was too difficult for her to continue 


for his last year with us - a record of 

service for which I know the CCF are 

grateful. The last eight years have been 

a calm and steady period for D&T at 

Clifton, notable for consistently high 

standards of practical products and 

exam success, and I am sure that this 

is in part due to David’s unfailing and 

capable support of staff and pupils. We 

wish David a long and happy retirement 

although I am quite sure that it will be a 

very full and active one. 

Mark Barnacle 

Astrid Pestell 

Clifton College Germanists have 

been extremely lucky to have had 

Astrid Pestell on the team. She 

joined us to work as an Assistant in 

2009 and then liked the School and 

students so much that she returned 

again the following year! Astrid was 

very well liked by staff and students 

and for good reason: lessons and 

conversations with her were goodhumoured, 

animated and wellinformed. 

We are very sad to see Astrid 

leave us but it will surprise no one that 

she is only leaving in order to complete 

a PGCE course in Modern Languages 

at Bristol University. She will make an 

excellent teacher of languages and no 

doubt we will hear more from her in 

years to come. 

Owen Lewis 

working. She was however, an eternal 

optimist and constantly thought she 

would get better; she, like all of us, 

hoped for a cure or remission but sadly 

as the months wore on it became clear 

that this was not going to happen. 

During this time Solange was at her 

bravest and had a marvellous sense of 

humour, she would tell us about funny 

incidents in the hospital and entertain 

us all with her stories. 

Solange sadly died on 16th December 

2010. Her service of thanksgiving 

was, at her request, conducted by the 

Chaplain, Reverend Kim Taplin, on 

7th January 2011. 

Solange loved her job at Clifton. She 

was a very dear colleague and will be 

sorely missed by all who knew her. 

Jo Borek 

Simon Reece 

What is there to say about Simon 

Reece? The bare facts speak for 

themselves. Simon first arrived at 

Clifton in 1958 complete with short trousers 

and no doubt the required Pre school cap. 

He joined The South Town in 1964. He did 

leave Clifton for a while before returning 

in 1973 and he has been here ever since. 

Assistant Housemaster in Polack’s and 

North Town and more recently East Town, 

Housemaster of School House for 15 

years; acting Head of Biology for a year, 

5 years as acting Deputy Head and then 

Senior Master; former president of the SCR, 

erstwhile master IC X country, rowing, 2 BS 

Rugby including 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th XV 

and still refereeing when hamstrings and 

knees permit. All of this shows his total 

commitment to all things Clifton for well over 

half a century. It is quite some achievement. 

Simon delights in doing things the hard 

way and is never happier than when 

pushing himself to point of explosion 

which we all know is never far away. Even 

his third formers have worked that out! 

Things that don’t behave ( I don’t think in 

this health and safety conscious age that 

includes people but ...) are thrown about 

the class room and I believe the department 

have recently had to put up their 

IT budget to include loss of mouses and 

other easily picked up but fragile items. 

Simon has left an indelible impression 

on many generations of Cliftonians, 

both those in School House, and 

through his Biology teaching or, as the 

list above bears testament, across a 

whole range of activities. Simon has 

even been responsible for changing 

the look of the school, something 

achieved by very few members of the 

teaching staff. His views on the School 

House conversion are probably not 

repeatable but he and his wife Sue, 

as a labour of love, did much to create 

that fantastic view of the school that we 

can see across the Close. The School 

House border was their vision and totally 

their creation and has been a feature of 

the school ever since. I still love that walk 

along the parapet watching it change 

through the seasons and this is a lasting 

testament to Simon’s energy and vision. 

Of course Simon is not really finishing with 

Clifton completely, though leaving the 

classroom behind after such a long stint 

at the chalkface is always going to be a 

big wrench. But you should not suppose 

that he is off to a cushier life of fishing and 

hunting – though I dare say that will be 

squeezed in along the way! He now throws 

himself into a new aspect of Clifton life 

as Secretary of the Old Cliftonian Society. 

He is indeed Clifton College through 

and through and, in an age when the 

blandness of the national curriculum, the 

search for league table success and the 

tyranny of health and safety have taken 

much of the character out of teaching, 

he is, and will I am sure always be, 

remembered as one of the great Clifton 

characters of the modern age. 

Agathe Webb 

Adam Sibley 

Agathe, who studied at the 

Sorbonne in Paris, arrived in 

2004 via Badminton and the Pre. 

She has taught French and Spanish to the 

whole range of students from Oxbridge 

candidates to strugglers and awkward 

customers in bottom sets, and has 

helped all types of student to their best 

possible results, thanks to her thorough, 

encouraging approach and warm 

personality. Despite a hectic schedule 

which would grind most people down, she 

has radiated enthusiasm and joie de vivre. 

Agathe is a great believer in reaching 

beyond the classroom and was the prime 

mover in setting up a yearly ML poetry 

reciting competition. She also organised 

5th form quizzes and I especially 

appreciated her support on the exchange 

trip to Rouen in 2007. She has been a 

much valued tutor in West Town. 

Meanwhile she has, somehow, fitted 

in looking after her growing family and 

being a houseparent of Guthrie House in 

the Pre, juggling all these different roles 

unflappably. Next year she will be teaching 

in the Pre, so at least Gallic chic won’t be 

totally absent from Clifton! 

Llewelin Siddons 

VALETE 

35

Commem 2011 

HEAD MASTER’S SPEECH 

Teachers are, as you know, fond of 

compiling lists of the howlers that 

their pupils make in exam papers 

or in interviews. Many are widely known 

and oft quoted and some fall into the 

You’ve Been Framed category of having 

been so obviously contrived that they 

are clearly works of fiction. But there 

is an exact opposite to the slip of the 

pen howler which is when a pupil says 

or writes something which is not quite 

what they mean, but which is truer and 

cleverer than they can possibly realise. 

For example consider these: “ Sir Walter 

Raleigh is famous because he started 

smoking”. “The Greeks were a highly 

sculptured people” and with perhaps even 

greater complexity of double meaning 

“Democracy in Athens enabled the people 

to take the law into their own hands”. 

“Romeo’s last wish was to be laid by 

Juliet”, (which is true in every sense). Or 

this from an Oxford philosophy entrance 

paper: “John Stuart Mill wrote that the 

higher pleasures are mental but the lower 

pleasures are sensational”. Also from an 

Oxford entrance paper: “Even atheists 

recognise the right to practise religion”. I 

trust that candidate was offered a place to 

read English in order to learn the meaning 

of paradox. On the subject of English, Dr. 

Emma Smith, Tutor in English and Tutor 

for Admissions at Hertford College, Oxford 

advises prospective candidates that 

Oxford interviews are not like Who wants 

to be a Millionaire: we are not interested in 

what you know, but in how you think. But 

knowledge and thought are not mutually 

exclusive: they are necessary bedfellows 

because you need to know about 

something in order to know how to think 

clearly about it. In other words, despite the 

evidence to the contrary from the House 

of Commons, you cannot express thought 

clearly if you don’t know what you are 

talking about. 

It strikes me that as a nation we have got 

ourselves into something of a pickle in our 

approach to education. Our exam system 

is now wholly based on the notion that the 

candidates who write answers that most 

closely correspond to the examiners’ mark 

scheme gain the highest marks. Exam 

success is therefore achieved by learning 

the template that the marker is using to 

mark the paper, and from which the marker 

is not allowed to deviate. In order to win a 

place at University our pupils have to have 

very high scores in these exams, so to do 

that they have to spend hours and hours 

learning and reproducing the templates 

and model answers in order that they 

can gain the highest marks. Teachers are 

responsible for delivering the curriculum 

specification, which makes them sound 

like postmen, and helping pupils learn 

how they can score marks by meeting 

assessment objectives. We all know it is 

nonsense yet we have no choice but to go 

along with it and do it as well as we can. 

The exam process may require tactical 

awareness and good technique but it rarely 

requires much thought and in some cases 

precious little knowledge either. But then, 

when the pupils have done exactly what 

the system requires of them to gain the 

highest grades, even more nonsensically 

the system pulls the rug from under the 

feet of our pupils because whilst we have 

been processing them through the factory 

of the school exam system, module by 

module, through GCSE, AS and A2, we 

have not, in that examination system, 

prepared any of them for an encounter with 

the likes of Dr. Emma Smith at Hertford 

College who wants to know how pupils 

think. It is not that our pupils can’t think; 

it is a question of their rarely being asked 

to do so and so not really knowing how to. 

So typically a pupil who may have flawless 

exam scores and can answer questions on 

prepared topics very competently comes 

unstuck when asked, for example, ‘Would 

history be worth studying if it didn’t repeat 

itself?’ or ‘How would you calculate the 

inter-atomic spacing of the particles in 

this room?’ Or ‘Is any one language better 

than another?’ and my favourite, ‘What 

happens if you drop an ant?’ Those are all 

genuine questions asked by Oxford and 

Cambridge interviewers. Such questions 

readily sort out those who can think and 

who know something. Thinking is not just 

a luxury, a kind of add on extra for the 

best University candidates but a necessity 

for life and a necessity in the workplaces 

of tomorrow. If you want confirmation of 

that ask employers what they are looking 

for when they recruit graduates. So Mr 

Michael Gove, I set you this challenge. If 

thinking is so important, then why have 

we constructed a school exam system 

that almost wholly militates against it? In 

all the chatter about categories of school, 

of Free schools and Academies, perhaps 

Mr Gove should stop listening to trendy 

headmasters who grab his attention and 

headlines by throwing away all their library 

books in the pursuit of happiness, or 

those who are politically motivated to see 

education as the last battleground of the 

class war, and focus instead on what we 

think as a nation we are doing in educating 

our young people. The famous Liverpool 

manager Bill Shankley once said, “Some 

people think football is a matter of life and 

death. They are wrong: it’s more important 

than that”. So is education. At Clifton we 

make no secret of that, and make it clear 

that education is no less than a matter of 

the characters and personalities of our 

pupils. We want to ensure that they grow 

into the best possible version of the people 

that they already are; we want them to 

be able to think for themselves, almost 

in spite of the exam system, and thereby 

leave Clifton liberated to do brilliant things 

with their lives. 


Today we celebrate the many brilliant 

things that our leaving pupils have 

already done in their lives at Clifton. In 

preparation for the Inspection in March 

we catalogued and itemised all of those 

things. We would be here for a very long 

time if I listed them all but as you may 

have read, the inspection report described 

the school in the most glowing language 

available to bureaucracy, and our music 

and art as exceptional. In music no fewer 

than 41 pupils have achieved grades 7, 

8 and above in the last year. There are 

no fewer than 26 group rehearsals each 

week ranging from Flute quartet to Rock 

workshop, as well as regular concerts 

and recitals. The quality of the art you can 

see for yourselves and few schools send 

so many pupils on to Art School. Over 50 

current pupils have played representative 

sport at County level or above. The 

performing arts flourish, as you will know 

if you saw any of this year’s productions 

including some truly remarkable House 

plays. The record of excellence goes 

across a whole range of activities, trips, 

tours, expeditions and visits abroad, all 

of which offer our pupils life-enhancing 

experiences. But of course it is the 

issue with which I began, an academic 

education, and education of the mind, 

that matters most. Of course the outcome 

matters too. 80% of those Cliftonians 

who applied in 2010 were offered places 

at the Russell group or 1994 group of 

universities, that is to say the most 

prestigious ones, some 5% ahead of 

comparable schools according to data 

supplied to us by UCAS. 

We also said farewell after a long and 

distinguished Clifton career to the Head 

Groundsman Nigel Peacock. During his 

time Beggar’s Bush has been transformed 

from an open space of rocky fields into 

one of the finest sports and leisure 

facilities for miles around. The new Head 

Groundsman Andy Matthews started at 

the beginning of April. He came to us from 

Harrow and had been at Taunton before 

that, and one can see his handiwork as 

you step from this marquee: I am sure 

that you will agree with me that The Close 

has never looked so good. The first XI has 

responded to that in fine style, winning all 

of their matches so far this term. 

When the facilities are as good as they are 

the pupils raise their game, their games, 

to match. Yet again a girls’ hockey team 

went to the National Finals: this year it 

was the turn of the Under 14s. Hockey at 

Clifton is now established at a new level. 

Many of you were present on March 4th 

for the opening of the new international 

standard water-based hockey pitch 

at Beggar’s Bush. Hockey is not the 

only game the girls excel at. In March 

Lucinda Pigott won the first ever girls’ 

Rackets open competition at Queen’s 

which means she has won her place in 

history; not only that but the final was 

an all Clifton affair with Lucinda beating 

Emma Powell in a final that was Clifton 1 

v. Clifton 2. Also in racket sports Clifton 

won the Real Tennis schools doubles 

competition. Elsewhere the footballers 

had their most successful season since 

football was introduced in 1959 at the 

insistence of a pupil by the name of John 

Cleese, who successfully petitioned 

the Head Master to allow it. Cleese was 

you won’t be surprised to learn a very 

persistent and articulate advocate. The 

next project at BB will be a high quality 

first XI football pitch next to the 3G 

pitch and two superb cricket squares on 

Whitehead, which is the area above the 

new hockey pitch on the Failand side as it 

were. There are on-going discussions and 

architects’ plans for further development 

at BB too, although these are at the early 

stages of conception, but the long-term 

plan is to create matchless facilities at BB. 

We have an ambitious development plan 

to bring all of our facilities for teaching 

and learning up to the highest standards. 

By September we will have a dedicated 

Sixth Form Centre in the building behind 

me currently occupied by the Health 

centre and the Chaplaincy. The Chaplain 

is moving to new accommodation in 

Worcester Terrace, which is opposite 

the front entrance of Wiseman’s, and 

the Health Centre will move into the 

Chaplaincy. This creates space for 

classrooms and offices for the teaching 

of sixth form only subjects: specifically 

it will house the Psychology department 

and some Economics teaching, together 

with Mr Greenbury, Head of Sixth Form’s 

office, and all of the resources our sixth 

formers need as they focus on Careers 

and University choices and applications. 

Smaller rooms will allow for quiet study 

and for research as well as interview 

training. The most ambitious new project 

of them all is a Centre for the Performing 

Arts on the site of the existing Redgrave 

Theatre and the Chateau. But before 

you get too excited, these plans are at a 

very early stage and face considerable 

hurdles in terms of planning, design and 

indeed financing. But if we want Clifton 

to be one of the very best schools in the 

country we need to press ahead. Some of 

these projects will need financial support 

beyond the reach of the College’s current 

resources, and to that end we have set 

up The Clifton College Development 

Trust. This is a separate charity with eight 

founding Trustees, seven of whom are 

Old Boys and the eighth, its Chairman, 

is a current parent. To ensure particularly 

joined up thinking and planning, the 

Chairman of the Old Cliftonian Society 

(who is also a current parent) is one of 

the Trustees. As we all work together 

for the future of Clifton, the purpose of 

the Trust is to help us to accelerate our 

COMMEM 

37

Development Plan. This is not just about 

buildings and facilities, but is also about 

bringing together the best pupils and the 

best teachers in the best school of all, as 

George reminded us. 

2012 marks the 150th anniversary of the 

founding of the school on September 

30th 1862, with 60 boys, thirty of who 

boarded and 30 of who were day boys. 

Clifton is highly unusual in having been 

founded as, and always having been, 

both a boarding and day school and the 

diverse mix of pupils that results is one 

of the school’s great strengths. There 

will be much to celebrate in 2012 and 

numerous events, far too many for me 

to describe to you now, but I do need to 

draw your attention to a couple. Next year 

Commem will be at the end of the Summer 

Term. Pre Commem will be on Friday July 

6th followed by a concert in the Catholic 

Cathedral and a specially commissioned 

Son and Lumière will tell the story of 

Clifton’s history in light and sound as dusk 

falls on the Close. We hope to enlist the 

help of some famous OC actors, producers 

and directors, subject to their very busy 

schedules. Upper School Commem will be 

on Saturday July 7th with a special 150th 

Anniversary Ball in the evening. In the 

week leading up to Commem, there will 

be a host of events so mark your diaries 

now. On the weekend of the 29/30th 

of September we will mark the exact 

anniversary of 150 years with the Clifton 

v Marlborough rugby match, the oldest 

schoolboy fixture of them all. On the 

Sunday there will be two commemorative 

Chapel Services. Ladies and gentlemen, 

I hope you will gather from this that 

Clifton is a school in very good order, 

yet always striving to be even better in 

all that it does to give our pupils the very 

best experience. 

HEAD BOY’S SPEECH: GEORGE KINSEY 

It is almost impossible to believe that just 

over ten years ago I started my journey at 

Clifton. Coincidentally, the first memory 

that sticks in my mind – and probably 

always will – was as a small, shy, little 

boy, being persuaded to read at the Pre 

School Carol Service. Clearly not much 

has changed. However, in actual fact, this 

year’s Upper Sixth has, without doubt, 

developed and ripened into a fairly good 

bunch over the years. 

The average Clifton College Leaver 2011, 

during his or her time in the Upper School, 

will have attended 4986 lessons, been 

present at 2198 Callovers, walked into 

Chapel 967 times, and spent approximately 

far too long socialising on the Close. Yet the 

problem with the aforementioned statistics, 

is that they are based upon the “average 

Cliftonian.” Aside from a wind-swept sideparting, 

a universal adoration of Barbour 

jackets and an insistence on going to Lizard 

Lounge (arguably the worst club in Bristol) 

every single Saturday night, there is no 

such thing as an average or stereotypical 

pupil. In the simplest form, there are boys 

and girls like me who started their journey 

at Clifton 10 years ago in the Pre; there 

are a select few who are Clifton Veterans, 

having spent 15 years at the school; there 

are others who joined us in the transition 

to the Upper School; and some whom we 

have had the pleasure of knowing only 

during the Sixth Form. 

This denial of a stereotypical Leaver 

2011 is further accentuated by the vast 

assortment of skills and personalities that 

this year’s Upper Sixth possesses. From 

sportsperson to thespian, musician to 

debater, single-minded scholar to genuine 

all-rounder, we have them all. As a result, 

we have had successes and achievements 

in a widespread variety of fields. 

We have continued the upward trend of 

academic progression here at Clifton, 

with many achieving places at the 

top universities in the world, such as 

Oxbridge, London, Durham and even 

some in the Ivy League. 

We have also excelled on the sports’ 

pitch. Some of us have been fortunate 

enough to experience successful tours to 

glamorous places around the globe, such 

as California, South Africa, Barbados… 

and Belfast. The Rugby 1st XV had the 

most successful season for several years, 

winning every cup possible, and perhaps 

most memorably, winning the inaugural 

Ryan Bresnahan Memorial Trophy against 

Bristol Grammar School. For me, and 

probably many of the other 1200 people 

at a drenched Clifton Rugby Club, it was a 

night that will never be forgotten. The girls 

have also experienced similar successes, 

with their hockey team almost invariably 

being County Champions and being more 

than competitive at a regional level. 

Furthermore, although I cannot even 

begin to claim that I am blessed with any 

dramatic or musical ability, I was dragged 

into playing a part in this year’s school 

production of Les Miserables alongside 

10 similarly incompetent members of my 

House. Ignoring our input of sharp and flat 

notes (which are apparently undesirable) 

and horribly out-of-step dance-moves, 

there were some brilliant performances 

within a truly outstanding overall show. 

However, in my opinion, it is a myth to 

assume that a successful education is 

based solely upon quantifiable outcomes, 

whether this be three letters from A to E, 

or the amount of points for and against in 

a particular match or season. Of course, 

measurable results are undeniably 

important, but there is so much more to 

it than that. At a recent Scholars’ Dinner, 

Doctor Waller said that the best thing 

about Clifton is that it is full of “hundreds 

of fragments of beauty.” Although he 

may well have been referring to the 

lovely ladies of Worcester, West Town, 

Hallward’s, Oakeley’s, I think that, in fact, 

he was seeking to convey the diversity of 

opportunity that Clifton offers, and I agree 

entirely. Speaking personally, I should say 

that the previous instance of my shortlived 

career in musical-theatre reflects 

this perfectly. Yet, in reality, it is the House 

system which predominantly offers us 

these opportunities. Furthermore, I feel 

fairly secure in saying that, for every 

Cliftonian, his or her best memories are 

almost always founded in House events. 

For some, these will be the more 

conventional events, such as being 

beaten by us, Moberly’s, at inter-house 

rugby, or football, or hockey, or cricket. 

For others, it may be House Song night or 

the House Drama Festival; occasions of 

fearsome competition, but ones in which, 

if you look a little past the incessant 

shouting, taunting and gloating, you can 

glimpse genuine, total unity throughout 

the school. It may be a question of slightly 

more obscure events, such as inter-house 

darts, backgammon, mastermind or tug 

of war. Or in fact, it may be technically 


George Kinsey 

non-competitive events, such as 

congregational practice. More lovingly 

known as “Congers,” this takes place 

every Saturday morning and entails each 

House attempting to raise the roof of the 

Chapel whilst singing a broad range of 

songs, from Blake and Parry’s Jerusalem, 

to Abba’s Dancing Queen, to attempting 

and failing (like every other Cliftonian) to 

master the verses of our school song. I 

have heard many fellow pupils claim that 

these fifteen minutes are their favourite 

part of the school week. 

In the words of the Headmaster, Clifton 

tries to enable each and every pupil “to 

become the best version of themselves.” 

Of course, it is largely the House system 

which offers the opportunity and 

encouragement to all pupils to try their 

hand at things which might otherwise 

pass them by or be beyond their habitual 

comfort zone. But this fundamental aim is, 

I believe, also enshrined in the school’s 

ethos and shared by all who work in the 

school – by the teachers who sincerely 

care for our progression and well-being in 

all fields and by the pupils who support 

one another, whilst at the same time 

understanding and acknowledging 

each other’s differences. Our year group 

may well be composed of many very 

versatile and talented individuals, but 

we are, above all, a community of people 

who respect each other’s abilities and 

personalities. And without that respect, 

I can guarantee that whatever successes 

we have been fortunate enough to 

achieve, tangible and intangible, would 

not have been half as substantial. 

Almost all that remains for me to say, on 

behalf of the leaving Upper Sixth, is a 

huge thank you. Firstly, thank you to our 

parents and families for all the sacrifices 

that they have made to enable us to 

spend so many happy years here together. 

Secondly, to all the staff who have put up 

with us for so long, and never ceased to 

offer guidance and support on all fronts. 

Thirdly, to all the younger pupils for 

causing minimal irritation – you have all 

undoubtedly added to our experience at 

Clifton, and I hope that when it is your turn 

to reflect on your time here, you are able 

to do so as affectionately as I can. And 

finally, to this year’s leavers; to be quite 

honest, I couldn’t have wished for a better 

collection of boys and girls to have spent 

the past 10 years with. 

Over the past few weeks, it has become 

increasingly apparent that it is no longer 

a question of adding up how often we 

have been to Chapel, how many lessons 

we have attended or how long we have 

spent on the Close. Instead, it has been 

the slightly sombre realisation that it is 

a countdown towards the conclusion. 

We face that conclusion with sadness, 

but with great confidence, because, as 

Nelson Mandela said: “A good head and 

a good heart are always a formidable 

combination”, and Clifton has certainly 

given us these. Thus, wherever our paths 

may lead us next – to university, to foreign 

lands or into the workplace – I have no 

doubt that we will all find happiness and 

success. I therefore hope that we cherish 

these final closing moments, because, 

to quote the school song (and a part of 

which we all know), these have been 

“great days and jolly days at the best 

school of all.” 

COMMEM 

39

Art Review 

During the Michaelmas term we took 

our sixth form students on an art 

educational visit to some London 

galleries to see examples of old master, 

impressionist, modern, post modern and 

contemporary works of art for reference 

and inspiration. While our History of Art 

students visited the National Gallery and 

the Courtauld Institute, the Fine Art students 

took a Tate to Tate boat trip from Tate Britain 

to Tate Modern. The Eadweard Muybridge 

exhibition at Tate Britain was of particular 

interest to some students as we have now 

introduced Photography at A2 level. 

The House Art competition was held in 

November and this year our Adjudicator 

was Phil Walker, the Exhibitions Manager 

and Curator of the Bristol City Museum 

and Art Gallery who organised the Banksy 

Exhibition in 2009. Once again the 

competition brought a diverse range of 

entries with works ranging from traditional 

illustrational to the contemporary. There 

are many talented artists across the houses 

and prizes were awarded for drawing, 

painting, sculpture and photography in 

most of the year groups. Yoo Jae Hoang, 

Polly Chappell, Jack Scrutton, Liza Pasyada, 

Francesca Ffiske, Johnny Gill, Angus 

Chung, Katie McInally, Ryan Son, Emily 

Young, Charlie Bullimore, Frankie Tromans, 

Naomi Warner-Hughes, Lauren Tang, Zoe 

Crook and Ian Huntington were among the 

recipients. The House whose members won 

the most individual prizes and therefore the 

prestigious House Art Trophy was Oakeley’s 

House, well done Oakeley’s. 

During the Lent term we entered the 

Senior Schools Art Competition at Bristol 

Cathedral. This is an annual event open to 

students from all of the Bristol Secondary 

Schools both state and private, which 

is designed to showcase the work of 

the artists of the future and is judged by 

members of the Royal West of England 

Academy and the Bristol Savages Art 

Society. The standard of some of the 

work exhibited was extremely high and 

I am pleased to say that Katie McInally 

was highly commended by the judges 

for her excellent oil painting of a girl in a 

maroon dress and Coty Mo was also highly 

commended for her interesting painting of 

a girl stepping out through a picture frame 

from a different pictorial space. 

In February our Fifth Form GCSE students 

were taken to the Ashmolean and Pitt 


Rivers Museums in Oxford in preparation 

for their GCSE externally set assignment. 

They were given the opportunity to see 

examples of old master, impressionist, 

modernist, contemporary and tribal art 

and artefacts at first hand. The students 

spent the day making sketches, taking 

photographs and writing notes which 

helped to enrich and inspire their final 

examination pieces. 

In the year that Bristol Zoo Gardens 

celebrates its 175th anniversary, a 

competition was organised by the zoo and 

sponsored by the local business community 

in which students and local artists were 

asked to decorate templates in the shape 

of a gorilla with the winning designs used 

to decorate some life size gorilla sculptures 

to be placed around the city of Bristol this 

summer. One of the winners was Clifton 

third form student Mariya Gocheva and she 

was presented with a smaller version of 

the gorilla sculpture which she decorated 

with her colourful and imaginative winning 

design. This will be displayed permanently 

in the school and the “Wow! Gorillas” 

competition also raised significant funds to 

help support gorilla conservation. 

The Commem exhibition took place in 

the Tribe building in May. The students 

had worked across a variety of genres 

and their pieces included drawings, 

paintings, etchings, aquatints, block 

prints, sculptures, ceramics, silk paintings, 

photographs and life drawings. For the first 

time at Clifton we included A2 Photography 

work having introduced Photography at 

AS level for the first time last year. Our 

Photography students have learned studio 

lighting techniques, manual camera 

settings, film processing and darkroom 

skills encompassing photograms, pinhole 

camera techniques, photo etching, liquid 

emulsion printing on different surfaces, 

with basic elements of digital photography 

and manipulation using computers. 

There were examples of different genres 

of photography including portraiture, 

landscape, wildlife, documentary, 

journalism and advertising. Harriet 

Watkinson had worked exceptionally 

hard to produce a beautiful set of layered 

work which encouraged the viewer to 

lift up sections and explore the images 

underneath that visually describe her 

journey through a landscape. 

At the end of May our fourth form students 

were taken to visit the newly refurbished 

National Museum of Wales in Cardiff. As 

well as having the opportunity to look 

at their superb permanent collection of 

art ranging from prehistoric through the 

17th, 18th, 19th and 20th centuries to the 

present, the students were treated to a 

special exhibition of drawings, lithographs 

and posters by the 19th century French 

Post-Impressionist artist Toulouse-Lautrec. 

In June the sculptor and ceramicist Gill 

Bliss visited the school to deliver a one 

day workshop to some of our fourth form 

GCSE sculpture students. They were given 

a behind the scenes insight into some of 

the techniques used by the animators at 

Aardman Studios where Gill has worked 

as a model maker. She now lectures in 

animation at the University of Worcester, 

and she spent the day guiding the students 

through the process of creating their 

own monkey and gorilla models in clay, 

with particular emphasis on expression 

and facial detail. She emphasised the 

importance of drawing to the students and 

her workshop included a period of gestural 

chalk sketching at the end of the session. 

Fourth form student Jack Bath commented 

that “Gill’s specialist knowledge really 

helped me to create an expressive and 

detailed gorilla sculpture”. 

Another fourth form student Karen Ng 

added “Through the artist’s instruction we 

were able to understand proportion better 

and our models seemed so realistic and full 

of life”. 

It was a successful and exciting day for 

the students and the sculptures that they 

produced will be a valuable asset to their 

GCSE coursework. 

We ended the year with a joint GCSE, 

AS and A2 exhibition in which the 

work of every examination student was 

represented. Many visitors commented 

that the standard of the students’ work 

exhibited was very high this year and they 

were thrilled at the overall quality of the 

pieces. Several visitors said that perhaps 

the strongest feature of our exhibitions is 

the proficiency shown by the students in 

their drawings. 

There is a lot of emerging talent in the 

school and we wait with anticipation to see 

how this will unfold next year. 

Allan Wilkie, 

Director of Art

CLIFTONIAN 

41

Chapel Notes 

The end is an unusual place to begin! 

The final Upper School chapel service 

of any academic year is a powerful 

and poignant occasion. It is almost a rite of 

passage. There is an established pattern to 

this final fifteen minutes of a pupil’s time at 

Clifton. The familiar liturgical form gives the 

leavers a much-needed sense of emotional 

and spiritual security as they contemplate 

moving on to pastures new. We always sing 

The day thou gavest, Lord, is ended and 

we always conclude with a Gaelic blessing 

followed by Widor’s Toccata as the organ 

voluntary. To rapturous, supportive applause 

and cheers, the leavers (pupils and staff) exit 

the Chapel first. Most eyes are, at the very 

least, moist! 

In the ante-chapel there is a 200 piece jigsaw 

of a photographic image of the College. Each 

leaving pupil and member of staff takes 

one piece of the puzzle to symbolize their 

unique contribution to the life of the School, 

and yet also their corporate belonging to the 

‘big picture’. Whatever they end up doing, 

wherever they are in the world, the leavers 

will always remain an indispensable part of 

Clifton College at that stage in its history. Final 

Chapel is just one of the reasons why the 

Chapel building is so central to Clifton life. 

During the academic year 2010/11, the 

pulpit has been occupied by some gifted 

and inspiring preachers. Clergy visitors have 

included the Very Revd Dr David Hoyle (Dean 

of Bristol) and the Revd Phil Cansdale OC 

(Vicar of Trinity Churches, Shrewsbury). Very 

challenging and apposite addresses were 

delivered by the following lay preachers: Dr 

Lionel Kopelowitz JP (President of the Board 


of Deputies of British Jews, 1985-91, & 

past President of the OC Society, 1991-93) 

and Mr Ian Yemm (Chaplain, University of 

the West of England). Head of the College, 

Mr Mark Moore and the Headmaster of 

the Pre, Mr John Milne, have also given 

us the benefit of their wisdom, vision and 

insight from the Chapel pulpit. Perhaps 

the most memorable address of the year 

was given by Dr Christopher Waller (former 

Headmaster, Eltham College), appropriately 

on Remembrance Sunday. Many pupils, staff 

and parents observed that it was the most 

moving address they had ever heard on such 

an occasion. 

The Pre and Upper School Commemoration 

services were, once again, marvellous 

celebrations of the College’s vision and life. 

The Pre congregation was challenged by the 

celebrated writer and presenter, Sue Palmer 

(author of Toxic Childhood), to consider the 

role of genuine play in the development of 

children and young people. On the following 

day, the Chapel congregation was captivated 

by a powerful and inspiring address given 

by Lord Hastings of Scarisbrick CBE (Global 

Head of Citizenship & Diversity, KPMG). 

Other special services have included the 

Butcombe Harvest, Nativity and Spring 

Celebrations, and the Christmas Eve Crib 

and Christingle Service which attracted a 

staggering 900 strong congregation! Equally 

memorable was the Service of Confirmation 

at Bristol Cathedral at Pentecost (12th June) 

led by the Bishop of Swindon. Fourteen 

candidates (11 from the Pre and 3 from the 

Upper School) were presented to the Bishop, 

and each student received excellent support 

from their families, godparents and friends. 

The Pre and Upper School Chapel and 

Chamber Choirs have magnificently 

enhanced and enriched the worship 

during the Chapel services with their 

inspiring and moving anthems. Some of 

the highlights have been the Pre Evensongs 

in the Michaelmas and Lent terms, Music 

and Readings for Lent, the Advent and 

Christmas Carol services and, of course, the 

Commemoration services. I am very grateful 

to all of the choir members and to James 

Hills, David Pafford, Daniel Robson and 

James Drinkwater for their skill, commitment, 

inspiration and sense of fun! 

Generosity is one aspect of a holistic 

lifestyle, and the collections from all Chapel 

Services go to support a wide range of local, 

national and international charities. Some 

of the beneficiaries this year have been: 

NSPCC, Five Talents UK, The Leprosy Mission, 

The Royal British Legion, SSAFA Forces Help, 

The Association of Jewish Ex-Servicemen 

and Women, Caring at Christmas, Children’s 

Hospices UK, Age UK, Shelter, The Children’s 

Society, St George’s Church (Easton-in- 

Gordano) Tower Appeal, CARE International, 

Camps International Trust (Sasenyi Primary 

School & Imani Women’s Group, Tsavo, 

Kenya), CAFOD, British Red Cross, The Bahay 

Bata Street Centre - the Philippines, UNICEF. 

Chaplaincy Papers have been published 

to stimulate thinking and discussion on 

religious, spiritual, moral and pastoral 

issues. The Papers are issued to all staff 

in the College and are available to Council 

members, parents and interested Sixth 

Formers. The most recent paper was entitled 

Still Building Jerusalem in which the Chaplain 

presented a vision for Chapel in the 21st 

century. During term time, the Chaplain 

e-mails a reflective ‘Thought for the Week’ to 

all staff in the College and to every pupil in 

the Upper School (these can also be viewed 

on the College’s web site). 

Finally, thanks must be given to those 

individuals who have contributed a great 

deal to the life of the Chapel, often behind 

the scenes. The ushers from the boarding 

houses have been responsible and efficient, 

and the flower arrangers, marshalled by 

Chryssa Taplin, have been faithful and very 

creative. As usual, the verger Allan Crocker 

has worked with commitment and pastoral 

sensitivity. His friendship and wise advice 

have been invaluable. 

The Revd Kim Taplin

Music 

This has been a busy year in the Music 

School. Scores of practical exams were 

sat on a range of different instruments 

and voices with considerable success. 

There is an astonishing amount of work 

and dedication involved in the preparation 

of pupils for these exams and my sincere 

thanks go to each and every teacher who 

has helped to prepare pupils for public 

examinations. 

The Chapel Choir has continued this year 

to perform at a large number of ‘starred’ 

chapel services. Remembrance Sunday, 

the Advent carol service, the school carol 

service, the Old Cliftonian service and of 

course the annual service of dedication 

at Commem are some that stick in the 

mind. This year the upper school used an 

extensive brass ensemble to augment the 

massed singers in a performance of John 

Rutter’s much loved ‘Gloria’. The rousing 

sound made by 

all combined 

performers will 

long stay in the 

memory. 

The recently 

formed Chamber 

Choir, drawing 

upon our most 

experienced 

singers, also sang 

evensong at 

Bristol Cathedral 

during the 

summer term. 

Another new 

addition to the 

music calendar 

was Morning Madrigals at the start of May 

sung from the dizzy heights of the Wilson 

tower. Our aim was to emulate the world 

famous choir of Magdalen College, Oxford 

who have a long standing tradition of 

singing Madrigals at daybreak. Our start 

time was rather more modest (8am) and I 

hope in future years more pupils, staff and 

parents will join us for a fun occasion. 

The Tuesday lunchtime recital series, 

instigated in January 2010, has gone from 

strength to strength. Each week a solo 

performer presents a fifteen minute recital 

in the music school to which members of 

their house are invited. There has been 

considerable support and enthusiasm 

from all houses which has been extremely 

gratifying to witness. The standard expected 

is at least grade 7, and it is of course some 

indication of the level of Clifton’s music 

that there has been no shortage of willing 

participants and indeed a waiting list that 

already stretches into 2012. 

Continuing on the theme of solo 

performances there have been numerous 

outstanding examples over the course 

of the academic year. Julia Hwang, Lana 

Trimmer (the 2010 Kadoorie cup winner), 

Elleri Hughes, Loxley Coates, Lauren 

Gilmour, Hugo Lau and Marienella Phillips 

have all given substantial forty minute 

recitals. Given their tender ages and many 

other significant school commitments I 

extend my personal congratulations for all 

that they have achieved. Their teachers 

(including Margaret Thomas, Jane George, 

Charlotte Ridley, Andy Nowak and Imogen 

Triner) deserve especial credit. 

The Summer Serenade in May has now 

firmly established itself in the music 

calendar. The warm and ongoing support 

offered by the Bristol Guild charity is 

much valued and the collaboration suits 

all concerned. The Summer Serenade 

is Clifton’s annual concerto concert and 

gives our very best musicians the chance 

to perform the 

most ambitious 

types of concert 

repertoire. The 

standard has risen 

year on year and 

I urge you make 

a note to attend 

the 2012 Summer 

Serenade, falling 

as it does during 

the College’s 

150th anniversary 

celebrations. 

At house level music continues to thrive, 

notably through house music evenings, 

organised by pupils themselves. The 

music school has witnessed evenings 

given by West Town, School House and 

South Town and a feature of each of them 

has been the enthusiasm and mutual 

respect offered by pupils one to another. 

Of course the most significant house music 

event of the year falls in October in the 

form of the House Song competition. The 

2010 competition was notable in that it 

was the first time in recent years in which 

every house competed in both competitions 

(part-song and unison). The ultimate 

winners were Worcester House in the partsong 

and Wiseman’s House in the unison. 

The whole school came together to sing 

MUSIC 

43

at the Choral Congers concert at the end 

of the Lent term. This was a spirited event 

and showed the pupils in fine voice. The 

most popular musical numbers were once 

again the pupils’ favourite hymns: ‘Shine 

Jesus shine’ was sung with gusto! 

January saw the return of the Fine Arts 

Brass Ensemble for their third visit to 

Clifton in recent times, having previously 

performed in 2004 and 2006. Their 

comprehensive day began in the 

preparatory school with a demonstration 

of brass music, with special focus on the 

fanfare. The younger pupils were clearly 

inspired by the fabulous performances 

and we hope that a new wave of brass 

players will be motivated to take up a 

new instrument. Later in the day there 

were master classes with Clifton pupils 

and Fine Arts Brass also gave a world 

premiere performance of a Theme and 

Variations written by GCSE student Daniel 

Baryshnikov (ST). The day came to a 

climax with an evening recital in chapel 

at which FABE were joined by the upper 

school Chapel and Chamber Choirs in a 

programme of eclectic musical styles, from 

CH Parry to Duke Ellington. 

The Autumn and Spring concerts in Big 

School maintained their popularity this 

year and gave a diverse range of musical 

groups an opportunity to perform in 

public. Cello ensemble, recorder club, 

numerous saxophone ensembles, jazz 

workshop, brass ensemble, Concert Big 

Band and others gave polished and well 

received performances. 

There were also opportunities for 

Cliftonians to get immersed in all types 

of informal music making and the regular 

acoustic guitar nights in the JCR are 

just such examples. The evenings are 

characterised by a warm appreciation 

amongst pupils and we are constantly 

surprised by new emerging talent which 

often comes to the fore. On a grander 

scale the evergreen band night in Lent 

term in the Redgrave Theatre continues to 

attract a large and appreciative audience. 

Long may that important strand of music 

making continue. Thanks go of course to 

Jerry Crozier-Cole and Andy Davis for their 

support in these ventures. 

Although serious in their own right, the 

Blues and Soul nights have an informal 

and fun feel too, and audiences for 

this talented group have been enjoying 

numerous performances over the course 

of the year. Perhaps their most high 

profile concert was at Commem when they 

performed in the marquee on Friday night. 

There were many exciting individual 

performances and it was pleasing to see 

much younger talent emerging from year 

10 (Charlotte Bresnahan, Mabel Moll, 

Dylan Trenouth) to complement some of 

the old-timers! 

The orchestra performs at three of the 

most prestigious concerts of the year; the 

Christmas concert in Michaelmas term, 

the Joseph Cooper concert in Lent term 

and the Commem concert in the summer 

term. Under the expert leadership of Martin 

Pring and his dedicated team of supporting 

staff the orchestra has grown in stature 

in recent months and makes a thrilling 

and exciting sound. During the recent ISI 

inspection the lead inspector, himself a 

distinguished musician, was heard to pass 

comment on the excellent string playing. 

Indeed, the Inspection’s overall finding 

that the provision for music at the College 

is exceptional bears testament to all of the 

hard work that occurs on a daily basis in 

the music school. 

James Hills 

Director of Music 

A great night for Clifton 

Congratulations to Oliver Gittings and 

Lana Trimmer, who came 2nd and 

3rd respectively, in the Bristol Rotary 

Young Musician Competition held in the 

Greta Hall of Bristol Grammar School on 

Friday 15th October. 

The Rotary Young Musician competition, 

now in its eighth year, is a fantastic event 

which gives a platform to the cream 

of young musicians. The standard of 

musicianship rises year on year, enabling 

young talent to gain valuable experience 

and test their skills against all manner of 

vocal and instrumental competition. 

Oliver played Sarabande from Partita No 1 

(J S Bach), the 2nd movement of Strauss’ 

violin sonata, and Scherzo-Tarantelle by 

Wieniawski on violin; while Lana chose 

Zigeunerweisen (Sarasate), Estrellita 

(Ponce) and Perpetuum Mobile (Novacek), 

also on violin. 

Very well done to both Upper School pupils. 


Literary 

Activities 

MINI SAGAS 

Battle Field by Mitchell Dowding 

The sound of gunfire died, and silence 

filled the air. Bloodstained bodies lay 

hopelessly on the wet mud. The war had 

ended, but once again, nobody had won. 

All that remained was the foul stench of 

death and the salty tears, balanced on the 

cheeks of the now forever silent. 

A Christmas Surprise by Florence Petrie 

His red hat jingled from side to side. He 

was standing in front of me, his ruddy 

nose and cheeks, his soft white beard. His 

smile turned to a snarl. He approached me 

slowly, his feet making a dull thud. I ran 

petrified of what he had in store. 

Full Stops by Anna Morgan 

Don’t look! You don’t want to see. But I 

can’t stop listening. Crowds jeering. The 

crimes I supposedly committed. Rattling 

fear in my breath. The singing of a blade 

being sharpened. My head is shoved onto 

the block. The axe is raised. Death reaches 

for me. I whisper a prayer. 

Alone? By James Heald 

I’m Alone. Am I? 

I walked on, the moon lighting my way 

through the wooded forest. 

Snap! 

...I whipped round to see the mist swirl 

around and fade away... 

The trees, every one of them looked like 

some grotesque image of Death...snap! 

...‘Hello, is there anyone there?’ 

No answer. 

I’m alone? Am I? 

Kiss by Mariya Gocheva 

The lorry swerved towards me, menace 

in its eyes. I gripped the steering wheel, 

yanked it to the side. Too late. The collision 

sent my car flying, seatbelts crushed my 

ribs. The lorry was unharmed. My car, 

embraced in flames. The heat licked my 

skin, and gave its goodbye kiss. 

Untitled by Charles Vaughan 

He remained with friends until his death. 

He did not realise their true intent. But 

soon he leant upon those old steps 

nearby. They pounced on him and stabbed 

him like he was a wild boar. Finally he 

turned and spat out those final, few cold 

words. 

‘Et tu, Brute?’ 

MUN 

Model United Nations continues to 

develop at Clifton and there is a hard 

core of enthusiasts who have been doing 

this for three years since it first started 

and attended last year’s big conference 

in Edinburgh. This year we sent two 

delegations, representing Serbia and 

Algeria, to the Bath International Schools 

MUN conference. This is one of the largest 

conferences of its type and there were over 

600 delegates attending from schools 

throughout the United Kingdom and even 

some from Europe. The first day was spent 

Cutting it . . . 

Following on from last year’s success, 

Clifton College was delighted to hold 

an “Opportunities in Surgery” evening for 

Sixth Form students on 25th March 2011 

and welcomed pupils from 11 schools 

within the south west region. 

The highlight of the evening consisted of 

the suturing workshop, where pupils were 

given the opportunity to use the very tools 

of a surgeon. Armed with forceps, scissors, 

haemostats and sutures, the pupils were 

instructed and participated in the art of 

interrupted suturing on life-like skin pads. 

After practice, many were perfecting their 

skills and concentrating on precision and 

neatness. 

The evening ended with an enlightening 

talk from Dr Hari Nageswaran, a surgical 

trainee doctor from South Gloucester. He 

in committee with 

the delegates 

debating and 

attempting to 

pass resolutions 

across a range of 

global problems. 

Probably the most 

topical of the 

committees, given 

the breaking news 

from that region, 

was the Middle 

East Committee. 

Events in this region also provided the 

basis for the Emergency Debate in the 

General Assembly on the last day where 

delegates had to think on their feet and 

respond to an ever changing scenario. 

There is an element of competition in these 

events and it was very encouraging that 

two of our delegates were commended 

for their contributions in committee. Will 

Rushworth, following on from his ‘Best in 

Committee’ in Edinburgh last year, was 

‘highly commended’ in the Economic 

Committee and Tonye Sekibo was 

‘commended’ for his contribution to the 

Africa Committee. 

spoke of what it was really like compared 

to the TV dramas and also gave real-life 

examples of life threatening surgery and 

how to deal with successes as well as 

failures. 

The pupils were left buzzing about the 

event and very positive about the 

application process. While nationally only 

1 in 9 applicants to medical school are 

offered a place, last year 9 of the 11 

applicants from Clifton College received 

offers. 

LITERARY 

45

Clifton Charities Committee 2010/11 

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can 

change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” 

Margaret Mead 

Upper Sixth representatives from every 

House and in some case several from 

one House form the Clifton Charities 

group. This is by no means the only group 

that raises money for charity, indeed 

Clifton across the three schools raises over 

£30,000 a year for the many charities it 

supports. Roughly 50% of graduates work 

for a charity in some form or another and 

so it is important that the pupils and the 

school as a whole gains an insight into 

identifying charitable needs, organising 

events and raising money efficiently. 

Before money raising starts the group go 

to their Houses and ask what charities the 

pupils would particularly like to support 

and year after year the consensus is for 

helping other young people locally and 

overseas. They also like to respond to 

international events as well as personal 

stories connected to the school. The 

school has a long-term commitment to 

supporting an orphan in Kenya through 

his education – Edwin Obala, Opportunity 

International, a microfinance charity, The 

CHRISTIAN FORUM 

We have enjoyed another very busy year 

in the Christian Forum. Our weekly 

Wednesday evening meetings in Room 13 

have attracted between ten and thirty pupils 

each week; all year groups have been represented 

from the Third up to the Sixth Form 

including a number of very loyal Lower Sixth 

formers. I think that many who come along 

to the meetings are just finding out what the 

Christian Faith is all about whereas a few 

others are committed Christians who wish to 

grow in their understanding of the faith. 

As special events for the Christian Forum 

we hosted a Christmas party and summer 

barbeque this year. For the regular normal 

meetings we try to devise a theme for the 

talks and discussions. As I write, we have just 

started a series of short talks about God’s 

revelation from Hebrews; almost all the talks 

are given by outside speakers. The main 

message of the series has been God’s final 

Prince’s Trust, Caring at Christmas, Quartet 

Community Foundation. 

So in the past 18 months we put pennies 

on the parapet and raised £450 for Haiti, 

we collected 1,000 pairs of socks for the 

homeless in Bristol and ran three back to 

back marathons to support Major Jay Ferman 

OC (ET) in his 86 mile run to raise money for 

children of serving men and women in the 

armed forces. Last year we raised £1,000 for 

four Cliftonians to take a St John’s Ambulance 

to Ulaanbaatar in Mongolia, and this year 

we helped Katie King during her Gap Year to 

raise the same amount for the local Emmaus 

charity. The whole school was affected by 

the sudden death of Ryan Bresnahan with 

meningitis last year and a large range of 

events were organised to raise over £1,000 for 

“Life for a Cure”, a charity set up by his family. 

The group have managed the carnations on 

Valentine’s Day, run pub quizzes, organised 

home clothes days, sold bacon sandwiches 

and doughnuts and willingly given their time, 

creativity and thoughtfulness. 


Director of External Relations 

Word to the world is Jesus. We have been 

looking at how Jesus is better than the Old 

Testament background of priests and Moses. 

There has been the encouragement to avoid 

drifting away from Jesus and his rest. 

Many of the outside speakers are leaders at 

Iwerne Holidays or full time staff members of 

that organisation – Iwerne Holidays organise 

Christian holiday parties in Norfolk as well as 

other activities and Clifton has a reasonable 

link with these holidays at the moment – 

over the last year around ten Cliftonians 

have attended one of the holidays or the 

Easter Revision week. Mr Corrie and Mr 

Gardner are regular leaders at the summer 

Iwerne Holidays. 

Anyone is very welcome at any meeting of 

the Christian Forum - the only qualification 

needed is an interest in the Christian faith 

and a desire to think through the various 

issues involved. 

Jay Gardner 

Debating Society 

This year’s debates have allowed some 

of our most erudite pupils to show 

off their intellectual abilities to the very 

fullest. All houses have been involved, 

with a number of students new to the 

competition, whether they are in third form 

and encountering Upper School debating for 

the first time, or in the lower sixth, finding 

out exactly how intimidating it is to talk 

in front of three hundred of one’s peers. 

Every debater has risen to the challenge, as 

have the unforgettable and witty audience 

participators who added much to the 

competitive melting pot of claim, counter 

claim, rebuttal, summation, and occasional 

joke that is inter-house debating at Clifton. 

The junior debates began in Michaelmas 

term with Hallward’s and Moberly’s debating 

whether girls or boys do better in school. 

Subsequently, pupils from the third, fourth 

and fifth forms argued the dangers of 

social networking sites, the sources of state 

benefits, and, in round 5, whether or not 

adults understand teenagers. This debate 

saw the first appearance of the Oakeley’s 

team. The South Town entered the debate in 

round 7, debating in support of the activities 

of WikiLeaks. Taking in equality in modern 

society and influences on young people, these 

teams battled their ways to the final debate: 

“Democracy is the best form of Government”. 

Despite a spirited and well-informed case 

against them, the team of Emily Wright and 

Lily Stratford, captained by Fran Buist, won a 

highly deserved victory in the Junior Debates 

this year, recapturing the cup for Oakeley’s. 

The senior debates have been just as 

impressive. Time and again I have been 

struck by the maturity and intelligence of 

our sixth form students, as they argued 

a challenging variety of topics, including 

the blame for the state of the UK economy, 

whether or not we have been visited by 

aliens (which, memorably, featured a cameo 

on stage from a masked alien!), suggesting 

solutions to the energy crisis, the future of 

the monarchy, and eventually, the Moberly’s 

v. South Town final. The last debate of this 

season had Moberly’s proposing “this 

House believes there is hope for the future”. 

The Pyrke-Edwards-Porter team fought 

their corner very well, in a debate filled 

with twists, turns, and reinterpretations, all 

presented in six individual, entertaining, and 

witty speeches. The victors in a close match 

were ultimately the optimists in Moberly’s: 

James Hanson, George Kinsey and Alex 

Mullan, who retain the senior debate trophy 

from last year. 

Alex Hasthorpe 


Percival Library Highlights 

Martin Bell 

The Michaelmas 

Term kicked off 

with a bang this 

year as the Percival 

Library welcomed 

Martin Bell, OBE 

to the school. Mr 

Bell, the renewed 

television journalist 

and politician came to Clifton College to give a 

talk on politics following the release of his new 

book, A Very British Revolution. 

Dressed in his famous white suit, Mr Bell spent 

the morning speaking to politics and history 

students and, in the afternoon, delivered a 

sixth form lecture in the Redgrave Theatre. 

And after all of that, Mr Bell spoke once again 

in the evening, this time filling the Music 

School with a group of parents, teachers and 

members of the public. His hour long lecture 

was interesting, funny and full of anecdotes 

from the years he spent reporting for the BBC. 

He also regaled the crowd with tales of his 

work for UNICEF, his time as a war reporter 

and his new role as an Independent MP, and 

satirical poems about prominent politicians. 

Remembrance Day 

Another highlight 

from the Michaelmas 

term was the library’s 


talk and display. For 


this year, the Library 

focused on D-Day. A 

striking display in the 

library featured mock-ups of British boats 

used during the Normandy landing, as well 

as the silhouettes of Second World War 

British bombers. The planes swooped across 

the Council Room, creating a striking visual 

counterpoint to the boats. A red wreath of 

hand-made poppies adorned the library’s 

tables and the Archivist, Dr Charles Knighton, 

displayed a variety of related D-Day material, 

highlighting Clifton’s connection to the 

planning of this landmark event. 

Continuing with the D-Day theme, November’s 

visiting speaker, Dr Llewellyn-Jones, spoke to 

the CCF about the Allied assault on Normandy, 

outlining the line of events which led up to 

the planning of D-Day, the planning of assault 

itself, and the deception plans used to divert 

attention away from what was the main 

assault area of the operation. Dr Llewellyn- 

Jones, a full time historian from the MoD, 

was intensely knowledgeable on his subject 

and the Percival was delighted to be able to 

organise his visit! 

Holocaust Memorial Day 

The Library’s Lent Term began with a Holocaust 

Memorial Day display by Hazel Williams. The 

theme of the display was Untold Stories: staff 

and students researched their family histories 

and the display also encompassed various 

contributions by local members 

of the Second Generation 

group in Bristol. A centrepiece 

of the display was the original, 

true story of the journey of Mrs 

Williams’ father’s typewriter. 

Paul Cornell, DC Comics Writer 

In February, the Percival Library welcomed a 

prominent comic book writer from DC Comics. 

Paul Cornell, who recently signed an exclusive 

contract with DC, spoke to the Library’s Graphic 

Novel and opened with the exciting words, “I 

have brought comics to appease you...” 

In addition to writing for Batman, Paul has 

also written some of the newer episodes of 

Dr Who, several novels in his own right (as 

well as many TV tie-in novels) and is currently 

involved in working with Stan Lee on Lee’s 

newest superhero, Soldier Zero. A man with 

an impressive resumé, our visitor spoke about 

his work matter-of-factly and without any ego. 

He talked about the difficulties of writing for 

iconic characters like Dr Who, Batman and 

joker. He spoke about making the transition 

from TV writing to comic writing. He regaled 

the students with tales of bee-keeping with 

Neil Gaiman, dining with Alan Moore (of V for 

Vendetta and Watchmen fame) and assured us 

all that Matt Smith will not be leaving Dr Who. 

Saikat Ahamed, Bristol’s Champion Storyteller 

Another highlight of the Lent Term was an 

intense series of storytelling sessions by 

Bristol’s champion storyteller, Saikat Ahamed. 

On January 20th, Mr Ahamed entranced a 

group of Year 3s at Butcombe with a dazzling 

and interactive performance of Egyptian 

myths. A short while later, our industrious 

visitor had moved on to workshop a sea of 

Year 9 English students, bringing the text of 

Romeo and Juliet to life. 

Bravely returning to Clifton less than a week 

later, Mr Ahamed was trundled along to the 

Classics department to share Homer’s Iliad 

and Odyssey with 6th form Classics students. 

Each Homerian epic was encapsulated into 

an impressive 40-minute re-telling, and the 

audience was held captive as the tales were 

told as they were intended – aurally and 

through improvisation. 

A quick cup of tea later, another set of Year 

9 English students were experiencing the 

dramatic talents 

of Mr Ahamed 

as he got them 

thinking about 

pacing, character 

and detail. The 

students retold 

famous stories, 

providing their 

own modern twists and personalised turns to 

their chosen tales. 

Jungle Library 

By far the most exciting event in the Summer 

Term was the Percival’s ‘Jungle Library’ for 

Commemoration. The Library was decked 

out in vines and greenery – with plants and 

a (dead) tarantula borrowed from the biology 

department. Mariya Gocheva (WT), who won 

the Bristol Zoo’s ‘Wow! Gorillas’ competition, 

designed and decorated a model gorilla 

which was displayed in the library alongside 

a 4th Form Programme’s fabulous graffiti art 

chameleon. A 

heavy rainfall 

on the day 

and a CD of 

jungle noises 

rounded out 

the jungle for 

Commemoration 

Day! 

The National Cipher Challenge 

Towards the end of 2010 several teams 

ranging from the third form through 

to the lower sixth entered the national 

cipher challenge, a competition set by the 

University of Southampton, in conjuction 

with GCHQ and Simon Singh, author of The 

Code Book, to pit their wits against over 

1400 other teams from across the country. 

The challenge began on 7th October, each 

week from then onwards seeing a new 

pair of challenges following the story of a 

group of 1950’s neo-Nazis attempting to 

build a superweapon with the Koh-i-Noor 

twin diamonds and the British intelligence 

agents attempting to stop them. 

Harry Morgan, Tom Gillbe and Charlie 

Lindsay, all in The South Town’s L6th, 

finished in 8th place in their first attempt at 

any codebreaking challenge. The 5th form 

team of Charlie Dowding, Toby Dirnhuber, 

Paul Song and Eric Zhao, who came in 

=1st place last year, managed a highly 

respectable 67th position this year in what 

was undoubtedly a much harder challenge. 

All of the teams from Clifton owe their 

thanks to the enthusiasm and commitment 

of Mr Kendry, without whose dedication 

and expert coaching these successes 

would have been impossible. 

ACTIVITIES 

47

Trips 

PARIS 

‘ 

I 

love 

Paris in the spring time’ in the words 

of Cole Porter but also, as the song 

goes on to point out ‘when it drizzles’! 

The Lower Sixth historians experienced 

all these emotions on their trip to Paris. 

Thirteen students and three members of 

staff boarded the Eurostar and soon found 

themselves arriving at the Gare du Nord for 

three days enjoying the culture, lifestyle and 

particularly history of one of Europe’s great 

DofE Gold success! 

big congratulations to seven Upper 

A Sixth students who successfully 

finished their Duke of Edinburgh’s Gold 

qualifying expedition in the Brecon 

Beacons over half term. The group worked 

well as a team to get them through a 

‘tough’ four days, in very testing conditions 

(even for the Brecon Beacons!). 

Well done to Adam Kula-Przezwanski (NT), 

Will Rushworth (SH), Charlie Markham 

(NT), Bethia Manson (WT), Charlotte 

Greenslade (WT), Ben Pyrke (ST) and 

Saskia James (OH). 

cities. From our base in a small hotel near 

the Gare D’Austerlitz we were within easy 

striking range of all the main sights, either 

walking or hopping on and off the Metro. As 

for the history the theme was revolutions of 

which Paris, of course, has had its fair share! 

Mrs Spencer took us to the Place Bastille and 

other sites associated with the first great 

revolution, and on the last day Mr Sibley 

followed the final violent Parisian upheaval 

of the Commune finishing with a visit to 

the Père Lachaise Cemetery and the ‘mur 

des fédéres’ where the final stand of the 

communards ended as they were summarily 

shot against the wall. Or did he just want 

to find Jim Morrison’s grave? In the end we 

managed to do both. 

There was time for culture with a visit to the 

Louvre and the Mona Lisa, not to mention 

the tourist thing with a ‘bateau mouche’ 

trip down the Seine and climb up the Eiffel 

Tower. Unfortunately the view from the top 

proved just to be low cloud and drizzle 

but it was an experience anyway! We also 

managed to get out of the centre of Paris, 

only getting onto the wrong train twice, to 

visit the great palace of Versailles enjoying a 

DofE Bronze Award 

total of 39 students completed their 

A Bronze expedition section of their Award 

this year. After finishing their expedition 

training which began in September, pupils 

went onto the Mendip Hills in the Easter 

holidays to put their knowledge and skills 

to the test. I’m pleased to say that all of 

the pupils performed well on their practice 

expedition and went on to complete an 

assessed expedition in the New Forest during 

the summer, completely self-sufficient and 

camping wild. Well done to all! 

Mr Walker 

tour of the state rooms and passing through 

the great Hall of Mirrors and then out into 

the gardens. This monument to Louis XIV’s 

vanity and egomania certainly helped to 

explain some of the problems that France 

later experienced with its royal family. 

With our evening meals arranged in 

restaurants all over Paris we also had the 

opportunity to see a bit of Paris when the 

lights come on. Many thanks to Mr Mills, Mrs 

Spencer and Mr Sibley for giving us a taster 

of this fantastic city. It was a great trip and 

I for one can’t wait to start learning some 

French history next year! 

Ellie Sibley 

Survival skills 

Survival skills, otherwise known as 

Bushcraft, has been popular at school 

this year (I’m sure Ray Mears and Bear 

Grylls have something to do with it!). Two 

courses have run, one in the Autumn and 

one in the Spring. Pupils have learnt a 

whole variety of skills including how to 

skin a rabbit, plant identification, carving, 

fire starting, preparing and cooking game 

and fish, traps and snares and many more. 

The courses have been really interesting 

and quite thought provoking at times. All 

sessions have really made the most of the 

“Outdoor classroom”. 

Mr Walker 


FOURTH FORM BATTLEFIELDS TRIP 

This April, a group of Clifton History 

students visited the First Wold 

War battlefields, cemeteries and 

memorials of Belgium and France. For some 

of us, it was purely a lesson in History. 

For others, it was more like a personal 

pilgrimage to see the graves of relatives we 

had been told about during family talks or 

learned about in researches before the trip. 

The only relative I know who served is my 

great-grandfather, Walter, who was in the 

Royal Artillery and lived. 

The first full day included a visit to the 

Ypres Cloth Hall Museum, and some 

people were able to visit St George’s 

Church with its recently commemorated 

plaque to Old Cliftonians who fought and 

died in the two world wars. We visited 

Hill 60 and then went to Sanctuary Wood 

to see what remains of a trench system. 

Whilst interesting and based on the 

original trenches, this much visited site 

seemed slightly artificial and this robbed 

it for me of any emotional tug. Later at 

the Tyne Cot cemetery we visited what is 

the largest of all the Commonwealth war 

cemeteries. 

At Duhallows cemetery on the outskirts of 

Ypres we also paid our respects to the grave 

of a former housemaster of Wiseman’s, 

Harry Clissold, and Mr Sibley told us about 

his house cricket team from 1913, four of 

whom were also killed in the Salient and are 

buried there with two of them named on the 

Menin Gate. Evening saw the ceremony at 

the Menin Gate itself, the main memorial 

to the missing in the Ypres Salient, where a 

huge crowd had gathered. At eight o’clock 

the main road in Ypres is closed to allow 

buglers from the Fire Service to blow the 

Last Post at the Menin Gate entrance to the 

town. Eventually the traffic was stopped 

and Magnus Gordon, James Morris and I, 

representing the three Services, stood to 

attention in uniform whilst the Last Post 

was played before laying our wreaths at the 

memorial. I don’t think I was the only one 

who had to wipe away a tear. 

The second day saw us visit the Somme 

battlefield working our way down the 

old British line from Serre in the north to 

Newfoundland Park and the Ulster Tower. 

The vast Thiepval Memorial, where the 

names of over 70,000 lives lost with no 

known grave are recorded was particularly 

striking. Even though I had seen the 

photographs before, I couldn’t help but be 

moved by the sheer numbers. Lutyens’ 

Memorial to the Missing evoked different 

emotions – some loved it, some hated it – 

but we were all struck by its almost brutal 

size and scale. We finished on the Somme 

with a more intimate ceremony held at the 

Devonshire Cemetery, 

a tiny and beautifully 

appointed battlefield 

cemetery where the 

North Town boys 

laid a wreath at the 

headstone of an old 

boy, Geoffrey Tregelles, who was killed on 

the 1st July 1916, the first day of the battle. 

Then we went north back up the old 

Western Front to Vimy Ridge and visited 

the underground tunnels and trenches, 

including the massive craters caused by a 

British mining operations under the German 

trenches. Finally we visited the imposing 

Vimy Ridge Memorial, which now celebrates 

the bonds of friendship between Canada and 

France. 

On the final day we visited the Langemark 

Cemetery, the only German cemetery on 

our trip. Perhaps it was because of the flat 

dark headstones or the fact the graves were 

clearly not as well-tended or visited as the 

British cemeteries, but the whole area had 

an overwhelming air of sadness about it – 

not merely gone but (so it seems) forgotten. 

It was a reminder of the sacrifices made by 

both sides and the fact that suffering is very 

personal and knows no borders. 

Grace Jalleh-Sharples, 4th Form HH 

TRIPS 

49

L6 Geography trip to London 

On the 9th of June, the lower sixth 

geography set went on a trip to study 

regeneration and development in 

the areas of Stratford and the Docklands in 

the east of London. 

We arrived at London Paddington station 

at around midday and after dropping 

off our stuff at the hostel near Kings 

Cross Station, we headed out for a bite 

to eat at the numerous restaurants and 

cafes that the area has to offer. In the 

afternoon we set out on a trip around the 

City of London. We lived up to the tourist 

stereotype, taking lots of pictures and 

videos and gazing at all the impressively 

high skyscrapers which Londoners don’t 

even seem to notice. Every one of us did 

some research to help guide our group 

through the City, enabling us to learn 

about the history and present function 

of the area. We also climbed a 62 metre 

tall column called The Monument, which 

commemorates The Great Fire of London 

in 1666. After climbing an exhausting 311 

steps, we were greeted by spectacular 

panoramic views of the whole of London, 

including the London Eye, The Tower 

Bridge and Canary Wharf. Once we got 

back down to earth, full of adrenaline, 

we continued our walk through London, 

stopping at sites like the iconic Gherkin 

and the futuristic Lloyds building, as 

well as the classy Leadenhall market. 

We also spent some time looking 

around the recently renovated Spitalfields 

Market, having the chance for a brief 

R&R before heading back into the hectic 

underground. 

We then visited the London Eye and Tower 

Bridge and we even got the chance to 

see the Queen’s Guards rehearsing. We 

walked through Victoria Park towards 

Trafalgar Square. We all then headed 

out for dinner, there were so many 

restaurants to choose from, Lebanese, 

Italian, Japanese, we certainly weren’t 

stuck for choice. Some of the girls took 

the opportunity to go to London’s West 

End, where they watched a brilliant 

performance of Ben Elton’s We Will Rock 

You, a musical based on Queen’s hits. 

After a ‘peaceful’ night’s rest, we headed 

off bright and early to Canary Wharf. The 

recently regenerated business district is 

situated in the Isle of Dogs, in the East 

of London. Canary Wharf is part of the 

West India Docks, which since 1802 

used to be one of the busiest docks in the 

world, however in the 1980s it became 

increasingly unsuitable for larger ships 

and so the area became dilapidated. In 

1995 the regeneration of the area began; 

it is now home to numerous major banks, 

media firms and the tallest building in 

the UK, One Canada Square. 

We then visited Cubitt Town, a residential 

area in The Isle of Dogs which has 

undergone recent gentrification due to the 

development of the financial district, and 

it made a good contrast with the modern 

skyscrapers in the wealthy area of the 

docklands. 

Next up was Stratford, which has 

undergone recent and large-scale 

development to make way for the 

Olympic Games in 2012. We were 

able to observe the Olympic Village, 

stadium and other constructions from 

an observation platform, on a block of 

OAP’s residential flats! This enabled us to 

have a brilliant view and understanding 

of the layout of the area. We also went 

to the ViewTube, where we had a good 

view of the stadium in its final stage of 

completion. The development itself is 

impressively large, spanning an area of 4 

million sq ft. It includes the construction 

site of the Olympic Games and also a 

new Westfield, which will be the largest 

shopping centre in Europe. It will also 

include 16,400 new homes and the 

redevelopment of Stratford Regional 

and International Stations, the second 

busiest stations in London. 

The trip was very busy and eventful, 

but will be extremely useful in our A2 

studies as we gained an insight into the 

development of London. 


Ten Tors Expedition 

By Ed Tait NT 

After months of waiting, and training, 

Friday 13 May finally arrived and we 

were ready. I woke up early feeling 

nervous and excited. Within 24 hours 

we would be standing on the start line of 

Ten Tors 2011 with thousands of other 

participants feeling exactly the same way. 

After filling up on breakfast in Big School 

with Mr Scorgie and the rest of the team 

we set off for Okehampton Camp to meet 

up with Mr Scaife. Everyone was quite 

quiet as the nerves kicked in. 

On arrival at camp my first impression was 

a sea of tents, vans and caravans. After 

meeting Mr Scaife we gathered up our 

rucksacks and camping gear and made our 

way to scrutineering. After a brief kit check 

(we were well trained and well prepared!) 

we were back at the Clifton camp to finally 

pack our kit for the next morning. Mr Scaife 

had details of our route for the event and 

so Tom and I started to plan it while the 

rest of the team explored the camp. Chris 

and Harry had an amazing experience 

taking a ride in a Sea King helicopter. 

As the day came to a close we tucked 

into a ratpack and prepared for sleep but 

everyone by now was really excited. 

The following morning the whole 

atmosphere was one of nervous energy 

and anticipation. The place was buzzing 

as teams made their way to the start. In 

true Mr Scaife fashion we were the first 

on the start line. It gave us time to settle 

ourselves and think about the hard work 

ahead. 

At 7am on the dot the guns fired and 

we were off. Now it was up to us to use 

everything we had been taught to get 

us round the Ten Tors as a team. Today 

the target was to get to our 8th Tor so 

tomorrow would be a much shorter day. 

The first Tor was a long stretch of 9km 

and seemed like it would go on for ever 

but the adrenaline pushed us on and we 

made good time. This became the pattern 

of the day as we only stopped briefly at 

each Tor and occasionally in between after 

particularly hard climbs. We worked hard 

as a team, staying together and talking 

non stop. 

By 7pm we had achieved what we had set 

out to do and set up camp for the night on 

our 8th Tor, feeling very tired with sore feet 

but very happy to have made it so far. 

We woke up early to beautiful blue sky and 

sunshine and this spurred us on as we 

knew we had only 15km to walk to get to 

the finish. We kept up the pace, working 

hard, helping each other and managing to 

all keep our sense of humour. Before we 

knew it we were at the 10th Tor and on our 

way home – it felt amazing. 

As we came over the final hill we were 

greeted by a sea of people lining the 

finishing stretch. It was completely 

overwhelming and something that hadn’t 

really crossed my mind until that moment. 

It was such a fantastic feeling to see our 

parents, Mr Scaife and Mr Scorgie all 

cheering and smiling. Suddenly we were 

through Anthony’s Stile and home. We 

had done it, we had done it together 

and at that moment I felt really proud to 

be part of such a great team. Thank you 

to Mr Scaife and his team for all their 

encouragement and training. For me, Ten 

Tors has truly been a life-changing 

experience. 

TRIPS 

51

DofE Gold success in 

the Atlas Mountains 

At the end of the Michaelmas term eight pupils, 

Callum Woolley, Lucy Pigott, Jo Moffat, Lucy 

Rylance, Mike Foxall-Smith, Claire Moffat, Diana 

Tsyporyna and Iveta Kuzminska headed to the 

High Atlas Mountains of Morocco to undertake the 

Duke of Edinburgh Gold Qualifying Expedition. 

Lucy Pigott tells the story: 

On arriving at Marrakesh Menara 

Airport we were met by our guides 

Mohammed and Aziz who took us 

to our Riad (a traditional Moroccan guest 

house), right in the centre of the city. I was 

immediately amazed by the aesthetics of 

the city; we were led down a narrow dusty 

street lined with tall dusty pink buildings. 

It was early evening and the city was 

beginning to wake up, shopkeepers tried 

to entice us into their shops as we passed 

with promises of the cheapest saffron in 

the city. 

The next morning was an early start as 

we travelled by bus for five hours with 

Aziz, higher and higher up into the Atlas 

Mountains. 

The roads became narrower and more 

precarious as we ascended into Happy 

Valley, the area we would be walking 

in for the next four days. Eventually we 

stopped in the middle of a village called 

Imelghas where we would acclimatise and 

camp overnight before setting off on our 

expedition in the morning. 

Waking up early the next morning was 

tough, but we all managed to be out of the 

campsite by 9am. 

The first landmark we came to was Sidi 

Moussa, a single building on top of a 

huge hill on the otherwise flat valley. We 

climbed up to find out that the man who 

lives there is said to be 100 years old 

and the building used to be used as a 

granary. We then set off following irrigation 

channels weaving through the fields being 

tended by Berbers. 

We walked through a busy village called 

Rbat; compared to Imelghas and the other 

villages we would visit in the mountains it 

was surprisingly developed. After lunch we 

came to a village called Ibaqalliwn where 

we were immediately greeted by a group 

of about 10 children who immediately 

knew where we wanted to go. We were 

taken up around the back of the village to 

a rock plateau and shown the dinosaur 

footprints – two of a large meat-eater and 

the daintier claw print of a herbivore. It was 

an entirely unique experience and we were 

amazed the footprints were still clear after 

all the millions of years since dinosaurs 

walked the earth. 

Before the day was out we were invited 

to the local school in the small village of 

Rbat. Mike, Claire and I taught the children 

numbers in French and then English. All 

the local children who weren’t in school 

had their noses pressed up against the 

window eager to catch a glimpse of the 

strange people who had come to their 

village! The next morning we woke up to 

a layer of frost and Mr Walker informed 

us it had been about -5° Celsius inside 

the tents overnight. We were excited for 

a day where we only had 5km to walk. 

Although we knew it was going to be a 

long slog uphill, we found it hard going 

but managed to keep each others’ spirits 

up and the sense of achievement when 

we reached the top of the valley and could 

look all the way back to Sidi Moussa in the 

far distance was indescribable. 

The next day we were looking forward to 

our descent down to Ifrane, the village at 

which we would camp that night. However 

as we started walking we found the steep 

downhill was almost as tough as the uphill 

had been the day before. Stunning scenery 

and the sun shining picked us up and after 

a long lunch admiring the views we wove 

our way through old juniper trees and 

across local farmland to find our way to 

our new campsite. 

The fourth day was a really interesting 

walk, our route took us along the floor 

of the valley and we had to pick our way 

through the fields and plantations, a task 

that required turning back and retracing 

our steps a few times as we managed to 

hit a dead end or the river. 

As we arrived into the village that night 

we were expecting to return to the place 

we first camped. We were in for the best 

surprise when we were led to a gîte, a 

rural guesthouse, and were shown to the 

bathroom, with real loos and a hot shower, 

and for me the greatest treat – a cold, 

refreshing bottle of Fanta and a Mars bar. 

After four days’ hard walking it was the 

nicest surprise anyone could have given us. 

Returning to the bustling city was a big 

change from the quiet, peaceful rural 

life we had experienced over the past 

five days. We jumped right in and set off 

ready to haggle with locals for intricately 

patterned teapots and exciting spices 

and tea to take home to our friends and 


family. The market was quite an 

experience, there was no end to the 

jumbled maze of shops. I was just 

glad the others in my group have a 

better sense of direction than me as I 

probably would never have found my 

way out! 

The next morning we had time for 

a couple of hours of last minute 

bargain hunting before we heading 

back to the airport. Waving goodbye 

to Aziz, Mohammed and the city 

was tough as the week had been so 

successful and enjoyable. Coming 

back home to a snow-covered Bristol 

made me homesick for a country 

I had only just encountered! 

Duke of Edinburgh Gold is a feat 

I would encourage anyone to 

undertake: the skills, volunteering 

and physical sections have taught 

me things about myself I never knew, 

as well as shaping me into a wellrounded 

motivated individual. The 

expedition emphasised teamwork 

and taught us to fend for ourselves, 

leaving behind the phone signal, 

TV, and family. Venturing off into 

places we had never been before 

was a brilliant opportunity that I 

would recommend to anyone who 

has a desire to show commitment 

and perseverance. Undertaking the 

challenging qualifier in a different 

country is another opportunity 

altogether that will remain as one of 

my most valuable life-experiences for 

years to come. 

Lucinda Pigott, U6th Worcester House 

Borneo 

Expedition 

Climbing 

Mt 

Kinabalu 

(4095m) 

– South 

East Asia’s 

highest 

mountain 

After months of planning and preparation 

the 26th July had finally arrived and 

a group of eight students from across 

the year groups and two staff boarded an 

aeroplane bound for Kota Kinabalu, Sabah 

(Malaysia) on the tropical island of Borneo. 

Kota Kinabalu (KK) is the capital city of Sabah 

and was home for the first two nights of the 

trip. The time in KK was used by the students 

to book accommodation, transport and 

guides for the rest of the three week trip. 

This trip was quite unique in the fact that the 

students take control and responsibility for 

the day to day decisions and budgeting so 

it really puts their teamwork and individual 

leadership to the test. 

After a successful couple of days in KK and 

various trips to the local markets (including 

two nights at the fish market for supper) 

we headed off into Kinabalu National Park 

to undertake a three day trek, staying with 

local villagers on route. The trek took us 

through various terrain including rice paddy 

fields, dense jungle and river crossings. Each 

evening our guides conjured up local curries 

and rice dishes which were always very tasty! 

The students were excellent at entertaining 

the village children who were always keen 

to play and I’m sure that there will be lots of 

fond memories from the various fun activities 

and games conjured up on both sides. 

The next phase of the trip took us on a long 

journey to the eastern edge of Sabah to 

the area of Sepilock. Sepilock is famous for 

its orang-utan rehabilitation centre and an 

abundance of other wildlife. Altogether we 

visited the orang-utan rehabilitation centre 

on three occasions, each time seeing orangutans 

and on one occasion getting very close 

and personal with a couple of the younger 

specimens. We also visited the centre one 

evening and spotted snakes, birds of prey 

and numerous giant flying squirrels. As well 

as visiting the orang-utan centre our visit 

to Sepilock was to give up five days of our 

time and hard work to help with the soon to 

be opened Bornean Sun Bear Conservation 

Centre (BSBCC). The Sun Bear is the world’s 

smallest bear and due to poor treatment 

from humans (keeping them as pets) and 

loss of habitat, the species is on the decline 

and now protected. Our project was to build 

a series of steps to allow better observation 

and monitoring of the species. The project 

was very hands on and physical, the students 

worked extremely hard in very hot and humid 

conditions whilst all of the time keeping their 

eyes open for snakes, spiders and various 

other jungle nasties! 

After spending almost two weeks in very hot 

and humid conditions getting high up into 

the mountains with a much cooler climate 

came as a welcome relief. I think this relief 

was short lived by some members of the 

group upon the realization of climbing 

Mt Kinabalu (4095m) – South East Asia’s 

highest mountain. We had seen Mt Kinabalu 

from various locations on the island as it 

rises up out of nowhere and looks quite 

formidable. We had also heard lots of horror 

stories about teachers and students not 

making it to the top due to altitude sickness 

and difficult terrain from various other school 

parties. I am very pleased to say that after 

one and a half days on constant height 

gain (and a 1am start) we all made it to the 

summit at sunrise. It was a great achievement 

for the group and we were all rewarded with 

stunning bird’s-eye views on the landscape 

far below. 

The final stage of the trip was to relax! To date 

it had been an extremely physical trip and the 

thought of relaxing on a desert island beach 

and snorkelling in clear tropical waters was 

very, very welcome to us all. 

We arrived back at London Heathrow on 

Monday 16th August, via a quick stop 

over and visit to Kowloon in Hong Kong. 

Everybody was truly exhausted having had 

a very fulfilling, rewarding and memoryfilled 

expedition. All pupils improved their 

leadership skills, all took responsibility for 

something and all worked extremely well as a 

team and were most definitely a credit to the 

school. Well done to the following students: 

Josh Dyer (ST) L6th, Ellie Griffiths (HH) 

L6th, Katendi Heald (WT) 4th Form, Ianthe 

Huntington (HH) 3rd Form, Isabel Murphy 

(WT) 4th Form, Imogen Paddon (WoH) 4th 

Form, Will Rushworth (SH) L6th, Jamie Smith 

(SH) L6th. 

Gary Walker 

TRIPS 

53

CCF 

Band Courses 

Over the summer I spent three weeks with the national CCF 

band playing various parades and concerts. 

The highlight of these was playing in London for the Cadet 150 

Royal Review. This day involved marching, whilst playing, from 

Horse Guards Parade to Wellington Barracks. It was a fantastic 

experience, as it is not every day that you an audience of people 

three or four deep lining the length of The Mall. The march was 

the conclusion to three days of preparation at HMS Excellent 

in Portsmouth. We had a member of HM Royal Marines Band 

Portsmouth helping us make sure that everything, from our drill 

to our music, was perfect for the Royal Review. 

Adam Kula-Przezwanski 

RAF Summer Camp 

(Kinloss) 

In July six cadets from Clifton’s RAF section 

went to the RAF base at Kinloss in the 

north of Scotland, accompanied by Mrs 

Williams. From Clifton, there was Andy 

Park, John Morfopoulos, Isis Mok-Hartley, 

Zoe Frewin, Fran Buist and Alex Guy. We 

were joined by cadets from Sedbergh and 

divided into two flights, A and B, with two 

Section commanders. From this moment the 

competition between the two flights began! 

Throughout the week we completed a 

variety of activities that had been provided 

by the RAF at Kinloss; for example, 

orienteering, flight simulator, shooting and 

weapon handling test, as well as visits to 

the Fire and Dog Sections, the RAF Regiment 

and RAF Lossiemouth. In the evenings, our 

Squadron Leader provided us with activities 

such as quad biking, going to the beach, 

and shopping (the girls were very happy 

with that one!). 

The best parts of the Camp were the food 

(which was better than a 5 star hotel!), 

shooting L98-A2 and looking at aeroplanes. 

There was a big joint service exercise going 

on while we were there giving us great 

opportunities to see Nimrods, Harriers, F16s, 

Tornados, Typhoons and Pumas up close. 

The bits that everyone hated were getting 

told off by Sgt. Bew . . . and drill! We had 

to get our drill as accurate as possible 

because we had to parade in front of the Air 

Commodore so we had the drill instructor 

to teach us. It was a horrible! But it taught 

us many lessons and on the last day, we 

performed a wonderful parade. 

Thank you Mrs. Williams for taking us! 

Andy Park WIH 

REMEMBRANCE 


CCF Field Day 

The RAF section and the 5th Form Army 

leavers arrived at Woodhouse scout 

camp for two fun-filled field days. 

We were joined by the detached flight from 

St. Dunstan’s School and split into groups 

for our various activities. The activities 

included archery (where we learned how 

to shoot arrows accurately – well almost!), 

air rifle shooting (where the girls beat 

some of the boys from the shooting team 

- must have been quite embarrassing 

for them!), orienteering, fire starting, hot 

drinks and shelter making, casevac (which 

involved carrying two very large, heavy 

dummies on a self-made rope stretcher to 

meet a rescue helicopter), abseiling, PLT 

(which involved making various objects 

from scratch), Radio Communications 

(where we talked to radio operators 

all over Europe) and two ‘confidence 

courses’: ‘low’ and ‘normal’. Neither of 

the confidence courses sounded difficult, 

especially when Mr. Scorgie introduced the 

low confidence course as the “children’s 

playground”. However, the small 

tunnels and obstacles we crossed were 

challenging, especially when blindfolded - 

confidence building in extreme! Then there 

was the ‘normal’ confidence course... Mr. 

Scorgie took us on a walk-through and 

showed us the best ways to tackle the 

obstacles without getting hurt or breaking 

ourselves. The ‘normal’ confidence 

course began with a few stepping stones, 

followed by a rope swing onto a cargo net 

(which was fun), a tyre tunnel (which was 

surprisingly difficult), a cargo net and an 

underground tunnel containing several 

inches of cold water, then more tyres, 

more hills, more walls and finally a water 

section. One of my friend’s group went 

first in this section and when she hit the 

water her breathing changed dramatically: 

I thought she was over-reacting...until my 

turn came! And things just got worse and 

worse from there!! I found myself thinking 

“why am I doing this?” as I pulled myself 

around the rest of the course, but by the 

end, although we were all exhausted and 

disgustingly muddy, we did feel good 

having not let the course beat us. Indeed, 

an enduring memory from my last field day 

in the CCF will be the confidence course, 

especially the cold murky water and Dr. 

Grohmann just waiting to capture your 

facial expression when hitting it! I think 

it is fair to say on behalf of the army 

cadets that our last field day was the 

best field day! 

Ali Clark 

CCF Gliding Course 

Portsmouth Naval Gliding Centre 

Gosport 

August 2010 

We spent the first two days on lectures 

and learning how to do all the necessary 

safety checks. This gave me the chance to 

put on a parachute and sit in a glider for the 

first time. I had already started to get excited 

and we hadn’t even got out of the hanger. The 

weather was not on our side and we spent 

quite a lot of our time on alternative activities 

in the Portsmouth area. Luckily enough we 

had a mini bus so we could take ourselves off 

when gliding was not possible. 

The first time I went up it took my breath 

away. Everything I had learnt in the lectures 

went straight out of my head. I was very 

lucky to have a member of the Army Gliding 

Team as my instructor. He laughed when 

I told him that I couldn’t concentrate on 

anything because I was far too excited. 

What made it so amazing was the position 

of the gliding centre itself. Having taken off 

you are immediately over the sea with the 

Isle of Wight straight ahead of you. 

If the weather had been better and the 

cadets had flown for all five days some of 

them would have been flying solo by the 

end of the course. How scary is that! 

Happy Flying! 

Lt Lynn Elliott 

CCF 

55

Royal Navy Leadership Week 

During the summer holidays I spent a 

week at HMS Raleigh with the Royal 

Navy learning leadership and team 

management. At the beginning of the week 

we did more classroom based activities 

and also our pre-prepared presentations. 

Of course, this being a Royal Navy CCF 

course, we had to undertake several 

Personal Leadership Tasks. This ranged 

from making a free standing flag out of 

rope and wood, to the more complex tasks 

of guiding your team through a course 

while blind-folded: this was fun! 

Although much of the work was indoors, 

we did get out and about and one of the 

outdoor activities was a 10-stage obstacle 

course that was no more than 100m 

square. This course consisted of walls that 

we had to navigate and wood-chip filled 

holes that we had to jump. However, after 

completing this several times we then 

had to do a “proper” assault course: 

this was more like 300m square with 

small tunnels, jumps into a stream, runs, 

planks, rope bridges, nets…and the 

dreaded hill at the beginning and end. 

No matter what level of fitness you were 

at, this was extremely tiring. 

Army Scholarship 

Summer 

Mountaineering 

Proficiency Course 

Alex Woodward 

Clifton wins Mere Cup 

The Clifton team has won the Mere Cup 

competition before and as runners up last 

year were really determined to bring the Cup 

home again. 

Competition day was very windy when the 

Shooting 8 of George Irish, Tom Waycott, 

John Molesworth, Henry Tancred-Holmes, 

Harry Swindon, Clara Baltesz, Paul Park and 

Leopold Kucharczyk performed brilliantly to 

secure a team win overall. Initial results of 

the 300 saw some nail-biting moments with 

lower than expected scores but as they got 

into their stride they really improved as they 

moved back to 500 and 600 yards. 

The wind was so strong that many shots 

changed their course in flight and all the 

teams had problems in estimating the wind 

direction and strength (for those into physics 

the bullet is travelling supersonic down 

range towards the target!). With 5 points 

awarded for a bullseye and just a single 

point nearer the edge of the target, there is 

great skill in correctly estimating the weather 

conditions on a minute-by-minute basis. 

A great team effort meant Clifton came home 

victorious once more. George Irish won the 

individual trophy for the highest score, with 

Henry Tancred-Holmes placed third. 

During the last two years Clifton and 

Blundell’s have begun to shoot for the Anstey 

Trophy (presented by Major Tom Anstey), to 

perpetuate target shooting between the two 

schools and this year Clifton won after some 

good scoring from both teams. 

We also competed at Bisley in the Sawyer 

Cup (Ashburton Rules), where unfortunately 

the strong fishtailing wind was too tricky 

for our wind coaches! We also entered the 

“Tony Clayton Challenge” on Century Range 

at Bisley in late June. 

George Irish was also presented with a 

colours tie on his selection for the Cadet 

International Shooting Team which heads off 

to the Channel Islands in the summer. 

As an “Army” Sixth Former Scholar, I was 

presented with the opportunity to go 

on an Adventurous Training Course over 

the summer holidays. I decided to go on 

the summer mountain proficiency course 

which, if all went to plan, would mean that 

I would have an SMP qualification. 

I spent a week at Capel Curig Adventure 

Training Centre in Snowdonia, North 

Wales. During this week we learnt 

numerous navigational skills, campcraft 

and fieldcraft skills. We climbed most 

of the highest peaks that Snowdonia 

has to offer, including Mount Snowdon, 

Glyder Fawr and Glyder Fach. Our week 

concluded with a 2 day/1 night expedition 

where we had to use everything that we 

had been taught over the week to find 

a suitable place to set up camp. The 

routes we had for this expedition weren’t 

particularly difficult but the terrain and 

poor visibility near the summits made the 

navigation challenging. 

Adam Kula-Przezwanski 


Shooting Report 

The Shooting Team started the year with 

Lt Mark Barnacle and Mr Peter Stanley 

in charge of the training at HMS Flying Fox 

(as we no longer have our own rifle range). 

The training comprised all the background 

safety aspects of using firearms, as well 

as mandatory “Weapon Handling Tests”. 

We began the year in September with the 

Number 8 .22 rifles. The Cadets have to 

learn to use a rifle sling and also develop a 

stable shooting position. 

We trained twice a week during the 

Michaelmas term, and the Cadets really did 

improve their accuracy on both five bull and 

ten bull targets. 

One of the highlights for the .22 shooters 

was the annual foray to Keynsham TA Centre 

where a team of four compete against 

others from Bristol and Somerset ACF, CCF 

and also Air Cadets, and Naval Cadets. 

Henry Tancred-Holmes (NT) shot really well 

and was presented with the Henry Rolls 

Bronze Trophy as Highest Individual Scorer. 

Congratulations to Murray Lidgitt (WiH 

1995-2010) who gained selection for the 

Great Britain Under 19 Rifle team’s tour to 

South Africa 2011. 

Peter Stanley 

A year in blue 

The start of the 2010-11 year saw a 

number of changes in the RN section. 

Shiny faced new recruits arrived to be given a 

reality check by Major Scaife, and Lt Williams 

took over the command of the section from Lt 

Elliott, who had held the helm for nine years. 

Lt Elliott became the 2 i/c and S /Lt Beever 

joined the officers after completing his 

Officers Initial course at Britannia Royal Naval 

College. A new year lay ahead with a new 

staffing structure and exciting challenges 

and adventures ahead. 

The cadets have enjoyed a wide variety 

of activities on a weekly basis throughout 

the year ranging from the theoretical to the 

practical. All cadets have spent considerable 

time down at the docks learning how to 

control powerboats, whilst at the same 

time qualifying for their RYA level 1 and 2 

powerboat certificates. We have made use of 

the shooting range at HMS Flying Fox and the 

cadets should also now be fully proficient in 

ropework, navigation and first aid. Excellent 

life skills that will continue to serve them 

long after they have left Clifton. 

The highlights of the year have been the 

field days. The Michaelmas Term field day 

saw 60 RN cadets involved in some very 

exciting ventures. The Lower 6th spent two 

days at sea on the ex-RN fleet tender, the 

Pride of Bristol. Here they learned many 

aspects of seamanship whilst on their 

passage from the Harbourside across the 

Bristol Channel to Wales. It was also the first 

time for many that they had actually spent 

time living and sleeping on a working ship. 

The recruit platoon had their first exposure 

to powerboating whilst the remainder of 

the section ‘borrowed’ some ideas from 

the Royal Marines and undertook shooting, 

archery, assault courses and a night escape 

and evasion exercise whilst camping at 

Woodhouse Park. 

The Lent field days were spent on an actual 

Navy base at HMS Raleigh in Cornwall. We 

were extremely fortunate to have access to 

HMS Havoc – a multi-million pound damage 

control simulator. In short, it is a giant 

hydraulic ship that rolls around at alarming 

angles whilst simultaneously filling with 

freezing water, in the dark! Inside it is an 

exact replica of a real RN warship in scale, 

layout and materials. The task was simple: 

Descend to the lower deck down the ladders 

(which are rapidly flooding) and block the 

numerous holes in the ship with large pieces 

of wood. Now imagine what this really entails 

and the picture is very different. Darkness; 

smoke filled rooms; water coming out of 

huge tears in the ship’s side, floor and 

ceiling at tremendous force with the whole 

room rolling around. Ice-cold water, one 

second up to your waist and with the next 

roll up to your eyes. It was a thrilling and 

challenging experience for all and one we 

all hope never has to be repeated for real. 

The cadets also had the exciting practical 

experience of fire fighting using different 

hoses and suppressants at the Fire School. 

So apart from the amazing experiences on 

field days, what have the cadets learned 

this year? They have learned how to operate 

as a unit through drill and instruction. 

On an individual level they have learned 

about personal bearing, appearance and 

responsibilities. Practical leadership tasks 

have challenged their way of thinking 

and taught them decision making and 

collaboration. New skills have been learned 

at the docks, on the shooting range and 

in the classroom. The cadets have a much 

greater understanding of the world and the 

role of the Royal Navy and global politics 

through lectures on NATO, Alliances and 

peacekeeping and numerous other topics. 

As many of the RN cadets have spent time on 

camps and courses around the country they 

have experienced independence and new 

found responsibilities through teamwork and 

working in unfamiliar settings. The senior 

cadets have learned a great deal about what 

leadership really means, firstly through 

undertaking a leadership course and then 

progressing on to take responsibilities for 

sections of the syllabus and groups of junior 

cadets. 

The 2010/11 year in blue with the Royal 

Navy section of the CCF has been a year of 

excitement, of challenge, of personal growth, 

of leadership and personal development 

and we are all very much looking forward to 

2011/12. 

MJ Williams 

Lieutenant 

OC Royal Navy Section Clifton College CCF 

CCF 

57

Barbed wire obstacle - 

October Field day 

Army Section 

This is the second time that I have had to 

be press ganged into running the Army 

Section and first I must thank all the adults 

and senior NCOs who do so much of my 

work for me; without their help and advice 

very little would get done. 

The year started off with a bang with our 

annual inspection day just three weeks into 

the term. In fact it is fantastic timing as the 

extra training time allows us to get in the 

field and practise low level section work and 

High Sheriff’s Cadet Jo Moffat 

field craft. It also acts as a reminder to the 

cadets as to how important appearance 

and bearing are. Activities included 

air rifle shooting, an observation lane, 

pair’s fire & manoeuvre (paint ball), close 

target recce, landscape model making 

and teamwork run by the Royal Marines 

Visibility Team. Unusually for the Army 

Section, we were not able to use the Cadet 

GP file as our weapon has been withdrawn 

from service. Frustratingly, our replacement 

system based on the A2 rifle did not arrive 

until the Easter term and the unit has had 

to make best use of our paint balling, firing 

at HMS Flying Fox and converting the Fives’ 

Courts into an air fire range for much of 

the year to satisfy 2nd Lt Heard’s lust for 

shooting. 

Our Monday afternoon training days then 

concentrated on improving basic skills 

so that our field weekend in October at 

Caerwent Training Area could be used 

effectively. A round robin of activities was 

used; a particular highlight was seeing how 

much the younger cadets wanted to get a 

blind-folded Charlie Markham with a super 

soaker after a stealth approach through the 

woods! Normal Monday afternoon training 

resumed after this with navigation and 

orienteering taking leading roles. 

Lent term meant that our numbers swelled 

by nearly 60 cadets as our intake moved up 

to the Section from Major Scaife’s recruit 

platoon. As soon as our new rifles arrived 

the focus was very much on weapon training 

which culminated in the 4th Form’s first 

attempt at section attacks on our March field 

weekend. Due to the increasing demands 

on training areas, this was at Beggar’s Bush 

sports ground and then the cadets fired live 

full bore for the first 

time at Yoxter ranges 

in the Mendips the 

following day. 

The final term saw 

our leavers depart 

and half of the 

contingent going on 

exam leave. This 

allowed the Section 

Best student NCO cadre 

Nino Freuler 

WWI presentation in the Redgrave 

Theatre: “Life in the Trenches”. 

to prepare for summer camp including 

the inevitable foot drill parade ground 

bashing; but thankfully we were able to 

do more ‘fun’ activities such as Battle 

P.T. too – a favourite of Mr Hughes, 

the new school Marshal. This year 

CCF central summer camp is at RAF St 

Mawgan near Newquay, and I know that 

the packages of water sports, survival 

training, military skills, and laser combat 

to mention just a few will be an exciting 

opportunity for our cadets to stretch 

themselves, work outside their comfort 

zones and afford chances for leadership 

and personal development. Ultimately, 

it is opportunities such as these that 

make CCF and the Army section such a 

worthwhile activity. 

Captain JH Hughes 

O.C. Army Section 

Inspection Day 2010 

Section attack on 

field day March 


Drama 

Les Miserables 

Vast excitement surrounded the 

prospect of performing ‘Les 

Miserables’ as the school production 

of 2010. This ambitious task was to be 

supervised and directed by Karen Pickles 

and it was clear that many hours of 

rehearsals would have to be put in to give 

this Cameron Macintosh production the 

justice it deserved. 

Auditions started straight after we came 

back from the summer holidays. Rehearsals 

eventually followed and we were up and 

running. As most of the cast had no previous 

training in singing, Mr Robson, the Musical 

Director, showed great patience in making us 

feel confident in the songs we had to perform. 

Soon enough we moved into the Redgrave 

Theatre. The set was structured to form the 

four blocks of the barricade. Dave Fells and 

Ellie Lyons produced a set that allowed all 

scenes to flow gracefully into each other. 

Lighting and sound were also particularly 

important for the end product and were also 

expertly designed by Dave and completed 

by Kosi Carter and Josh Pafford. Intricate 

lighting and the use of songs also helped 

the seamless scene changes. The rich array 

of costumes organised by Jane Black brought 

to life the period of the piece and were the 

finishing touch to the production. The scene 

was now set; rehearsals were over and it was 

time for the performance week. 

Throughout the play, one word came 

constantly to mind: dedication. The 

production showed teamwork and there was 

some fantastic on-stage chemistry built up. 

Each of the main parts brought their own 

ingredients to the overall end creation, 

whether it was beautiful grace from Fantine, 

sterling passion from the lovers Cosette and 

Marius, heroic bravery from Enjolas, elegant 

solitude from Eponine or horrific wickedness 

from the comic characters of the Thenadiers. 

The obsessive Javert’s realisation that he 

had been wrong in his condemnation of 

Valjean was heart breaking as was the 

deeply moving prayer sung by the latter on 

the barricades, Bring Him Home. 

The famous love-hate relationship between 

M. and Mme. Thernardier evolved into 

something even stronger with both Elleri 

Hughes and Charles Markham more than 

willing to show a clear loathing for each 

other whenever possible. There were also 

memorable performances from Esther Bebb 

(Fantine) who even from her death bed was 

able to project her voice beautifully, and 

Venetia Sims (Eponine) whose charismatic 

performance led her not only to control 

Marius’ heart, but the audience’s as well. 

Anna John as Cosette managed to form 

strong on-stage chemistry with both Marius 

(Will Rushworth) and of course, Valjean 

(James Goldsworthy). At the heart of the 

play is the relationship between Valjean 

and Javert. With Peter Taylor playing Javert, 

James managed to make us believe that 

DRAMA 59

these two characters had been 

fighting each other for all those years. 

Their performances were sustained 

and totally believable, a remarkable 

achievement for any actor but 

particularly impressive in a school 

production. The pursuit over the years 

and final confrontation were expertly 

played. The ever recognisable James 

Hanson as Enjolras seemed calm and 

collected on stage even though he 

was the driving force for the revolt, 

and another outstanding performance 

came from Gavroche played by Tomas 

Feist with style and humour. 

The Gala Night with governors, 

council members and the Headmaster 

there to watch and support us, not 

forgetting all our own families, was the 

climax to the week and the ensemble 

rose to the occasion, ending all 

the hard work on a high note of 

achievement and exhilaration. After 

the strongest performance of the week 

and an encore of One Day More, there 

was nothing left to do but say farewell. 

Then came Sunday lunch time; the 

cast were back in the Redgrave doing 

their duty of ‘clearing up’ and as James 

Hanson said “Seeing the barricades 

being taken down today at the 

Redgrave was like watching footage 

of Old Wembley being demolished – 

utterly heartbreaking”. 

Charlie Markham 

DIRECTOR’S NOTE – LES MISERABLES 

The School Play production of Les Miserables for me was the highlight of my career at Clifton and 

one which will stay with me for a very long time. The enthusiasm, energy and sheer determination 

of the cast were there from the very beginning of rehearsals through until the very last performance. 

We are amazingly lucky at Clifton to have such talented pupils who give so much time to Drama and 

the performing arts generally, as it was this dedication and commitment to one of the most difficult 

musical theatre productions in the West End at the present time that gave the edge to this school 

production. No matter how much direction, lighting and staging support one can give to a production 

– nothing comes together unless the cast is strong and this one certainly was. 

My sincere thanks go to all the cast, production and backstage teams for a great start to the academic 

year 2011/12 and I look forward to working with a new cast for the School Play in November 2012. 

Karen Pickles 

New York Performing Arts Trip 

March 2010 

Performing Arts at Clifton jetted off for a thrilling five day 

extravaganza tour to New York at the start of the Easter break 

and had a magical and inspiring feast for the senses! 

In all, 28 pupils from across the Upper School age range threw 

themselves into workshops and learned a great deal from cast 

members of Chicago and Billy Elliot; and of course, really enjoyed the 

fact they then saw those members on stage later in the day. The shows 

were amazing 

and to see an 

11 year old 

dancing with 

the ability of 

an adult male 

soloist from 

the Royal 

Ballet was an 

unbelievable 

sight. 

The location tour took us around New York, showing us the sights 

and the famous location spots of productions such as Friends and 

many other films too. The trip around NBC gave a real insight into the 

working of a TV studio. It was during this particular trip that some of 

our group had the opportunity of standing in as weather and news 

people in the studio! The highlight of this particular part of the tour, 

though, was seeing Elton John preparing for Saturday Night Live! 

The final day was spent in a whirlwind of the real sightseeing with 

a boat trip on the Hudson River showing the sights of New York 

from the water; the Statue of Liberty; the skyline and the various 

islands like Ellis Island; and then up to the 89th floor of the Empire 

State Building ensured that New York was seen from every angle 

possible. 

Of course, a trip to New York would not be complete without the 

shopping ... or at least that was the request from all the students, 

and so there was a chance to purchase souvenirs before it was time 

to head for the airport. 

There was no doubting that this was an amazingly successful trip 

which everyone really enjoyed. The next New York performing arts 

trip will be in March 2014! 

Jody Lewarne 


Review of ‘Our Town’ 

a play by Thornton Wilder 

3rd Form Play 2011 

The arrival of the first specifically third-form 

play for many years might garner fears that 

the director would choose to play down 

to both his audience and his cast. Thankfully, 

the director in question was Rob Morris (taking 

his final directorial bow before departing for 

China this summer) to whom the concept of 

not trusting completely the intelligence of his 

audience has never occurred. This was a hugely 

ambitious choice of play: the minimalist set, 

heavy use of mime (as Wilder first intended) 

and use of a fourth-wall breaking narrator, all 

contributed to the creation of some really quite 

advanced theatre. 

Individually, there were several performances 

of note. Florence Woolley’s superb accent and 

delightful mix of innocent charm and human 

complexity displayed an ability to explore the 

different levels of a character that defied her 

age. Her romantic interest in the play, Toby 

Bernard, also managed to convey the quirks 

of his character well with his nervous good 

will winning the affection of the audience. 

Elsewhere, both Jemima Scrase and Liz 

Streatfeild-James showed a poise and subtlety, 

their motherly characters being portrayed 

believably and their accents among the best in 

the entire production. 

Daniel Lewis and Will Slatton both narrated the 

play well as the Stage Managers; their accents 

again were pulled off effectively and both 

displayed a fine amount of stage presence. Jo 

Hargan had more than a touch of the Bill Nighy 

about him – a delightful stage style that I’m sure 

will be cultivated over the coming years. Finally, 

Georgia Young was supremely confident on 

the stage, her loud and brash delivery played 

perfectly, whilst there were stellar contributions 

from James Hughesdon as the upstanding Dr 

Gibbs, Joel Barber as the equally straight-laced 

Mr Webb and fine performances from George 

Lambert, Jemima Cook, Harry Mellor and 

Nathan Jay. 

In conclusion, this was an evening of superb 

dramatic integrity, featuring fine performances, 

detailed direction and a challenging and exciting 

plot line, but also a hugely encouraging evening 

for Clifton drama. As Rob Morris departs, the 

College loses a titan of its theatrical history. His 

plays over the years have provided Clifton casts 

and audiences with a standard of material far 

beyond that normally attempted by schools. In 

this regard, Our Town was a fitting way to depart, 

carrying the hallmark of high concept, well acted 

and slickly produced polish of Morris. On top 

of this, it showcased the immense potential 

to be found in the current third form, potential 

that hopefully will not be quashed by an overexposure 

to orchestras and dance routines, but 

instead nurtured with challenging material. This 

was a fine evening of dramatic entertainment 

with an evocative plot and equally evocative 

direction. It included a plethora of encouragingly 

mature performances, with Hargan, Scrase, 

Streatfeild-James, Woolley and Young the most 

exciting among them. The third form play of 

2011 was a roaring success, and hopefully will 

serve as a potent reminder of what Clifton drama 

should always strive to be. 

James Hanson 

THE HOUSE PLAYS 

The start of this year’s House Play Festival was marked with perhaps more excitement than ever before. 

Unprecedented involvement from across the School, extensive advertising campaigns that made full use of the 

College’s new television screens across campus and the fond memory of last year’s extraordinarily high standard of 

productions created a frenzied hysteria in the days leading up to the opening play. 

‘We love the Festival because it’s all about you ... your dreams, your aspirations and your ability to lead each other 

beyond your comfort zones. It’s also the one time in the year when drama becomes the lifeblood of the School, a 

kind of private knowledge is shared College-wide and we have to say that over the years, you have all become very, 

very good at it. In fact, we would go so far as to say that this year we saw more exceptional ‘individual’ performances 

of note being given on the Redgrave stage than in many years.’ 

Rob Morris and the judges summing up the Festival 

(The following reviews are extracts from those written by the students and published on the website) 

East Town 

‘According To Hoyle’ 

‘According to Hoyle’ is not a particularly 

well known play, but it entertained the 

audience with a nice blend of dramatic 

and comedic moments. The setting was 

an apartment just before Chris (Dylan 

Trenouth) moves out after the unfortunate 

events of his friend Mickey’s (Charlie 

Moore) suicide. 

Kevin, played by Johnnie Gill, was a 

typical lad who had the surprising habit 

of dressing up as the opposite sex and 

finding it completely normal. Eddie, played 

by Jasper Couper, the smallest of all the 

actors, certainly had his fair share to say 

and helped to create some great chemistry 

between the other actors. Chris, played by 

Dylan Trenouth, managed to convey how 

isolated his character had become and 

how he had changed since the suicide and 

revealed at times his vulnerability to the 

audience. 

Clive, played by Jonah Trenouth, certainly 

displayed the “cheeky chappy” disguise, 

until the very end when the audience saw 

him completely breakdown in front of 

everyone. Finally Charlie Moore as Mickey 

managed to portray an unstable character 

who was going through such emotional 

trauma that he felt he had nothing left 

to live for. He portrayed it with great 

power and conviction that made his 

final scene, as mentioned earlier, a very 

memorable moment. 

This play was a mixture of drama which 

dealt with the serious subjects of suicide, 

marriage break ups and affairs but also 

managed to sprinkle it with humour. A 

very strong production overall! 

DRAMA 

61

Watson’s House 

‘The Complete Works 

Of Shakespeare 

(Abridged)’ 

The first comedy 

of the Festival 

and what a 

laugh it was! 

Watson’s 

House being 

the selfdubbed 

‘dark 

horse’ for 

this year’s 

competition 

really galloped through 

the hour as the Redgrave had 

audience members crying with laughter. 

Freddie Blanks bluffed his way through 

with a cheeky smile and a rather 

eccentric pair of tights and his partner 

in crime, Michael Foxall-Smith, was very 

much in the thick of it. The direction 

was spot on, everybody knowing where 

they were coming from, whether it be 

the audience, where Ed Sims was to be 

found, or through the ‘arched pillars’ 

which gave a nice feel of actors being 

welcomed onto the stage. 

Props were few and far between, and 

except for the occasional sword or 

the retractable dagger, very little was 

needed. Of course there was the crown 

with which they managed to create a 

game of American Football, which was 

special to say the least. 

Jonny Ashe, who gave an utterly 

entrancing performance, went from 

being male to female and then back 

again and all the while kept on 

entertaining the audience. 

He was not the only one though, as 

Rob Foxall-Smith, Tom Oliver and Nino 

Freuler aided the campaign with some 

fantastic fighting or, in Nino’s case, 

witchcraft. The whole cast really let 

loose and that was clear to see from 

the off with some rather interesting 

poses from Alex Gallia and Luke 

Farmer. Little cameo roles from Daniel 

Clark and Carter Spurling also added to 

the ludicrousness that was Watson’s 

House Play. 

West Town 

‘Sister Act’ 

began to shine through; Elleri Hughes as the 

impossibly cheerful ‘Mary Patrick’ and Esther 

A huge cast, a packed house and another 

great West Town musical extravaganza with 

some great performances. The star of the show 

was Marienella Phillips, an extremely strong 

actress and singer who effectively displayed 

both qualities this evening and, during the 

performance, very much held the play together. 

Philippa Davis provided a very solid performance 

as the shady villain Vince, backed up well by her 

two henchmen, Willy and Joey, played by Anna 

Sibley and Bella Wickens respectively. 

As the story progressed, we were introduced 

to the wise-cracking cop ‘Eddie’, played well 

by Tilly Wickens with solid performances from 

her supporting officers. It was the move to 

the convent (and the move to seeing West 

Town girls dressed in a nun’s ‘habit’) however 

where the charm of the original movie really 

Wiseman’s House 

Director James Goldsworthy offered the Clifton 

audience a genre not seen in House Drama for 

years, the murder mystery. For this, he deserves 

praise for bringing variety and colour to a 

festival heavily weighted this year with stage 

adaptations of British sitcoms. 

The play itself began in eerie silence, and this 

sense of reflective stillness ran throughout the 

piece. As we were introduced to the characters, 

who all assembled in one room for the opening 

scene, we were simultaneously introduced to 

a typically tightly knit Wiseman’s ensemble. 

Although the praise for performances should be 

largely collective as this was a well-organised 

ensemble, there were a few performances that 

stood out. James Moore delivered another 

subtle and intelligent performance as Doctor 

Armstrong and Vic Hall’s Redgrave debut as 

Victor Claythorne should also be commended, 

while Director James Goldsworthy’s last school 

North Town 

‘And Then There Were None’ 

‘Fawlty Towers’ 

Bebb as ‘Mary Robert’ worked extremely well 

with Marienella, with hints of genuine comic 

timing from all three. Charlotte Bresnahan was 

extremely convincing as the severe Mother 

Superior, whilst Sarah Dawson completed the 

main cast with a consistently funny portrayal of 

Bishop O’Hara. As far as the cameos go, Saskia 

Barnes had the theatre in raucous laughter at 

every single line. 

The music was at the heart of the play. When 

used well, such as when the choir sing at their 

church for the first time, you would be forgiven 

for thinking that it could have been a contender 

at the Part Song competition. The hilarious 

use of ‘Swing my hair back and forth’ was also 

extremely effective. Perhaps the final scene 

could have been tighter, with a tad less giggling, 

but congratulations West Town, it was a delight 

to watch! 

production was marked with a typically well 

observed performance, this time as the calm and 

collected judge (and culprit), Justice Wargrave. 

Elsewhere, Jong Bo Choi, Andriy Byelkov and Alex 

Bull offered distinctive characters. 

Overall, this was a production that was extremely 

well put together. Almost every technical 

aspect, from props and set to costumes and 

sound effects, was considered and well judged. 

Meanwhile, the strength and performance 

energy and dramatic intent from a committed 

and spirited cast helped bring the effortlessly 

brilliant plot of Agatha Christie to life. One 

might say that the sum was greater than its 

component parts (though this, in itself, is no bad 

thing), but there is no doubt that the nation’s 

favourite murder mystery writer was very much 

done justice by another strong showing from 

Wiseman’s House. 

As soon as the lights went up, we were whisked into the frantic world of hotel 

manager Basil Fawlty and his wife Sybil. The figure of Charlie Markham as Basil 

dominated from the start, providing the perfect balance between sarcasm and 

cynicism – inducing laughs left, right and centre, with confident wit and ease. 

I think John Cleese would have been proud. As the play progresses, Basil, 

much to the audience’s amusement, has to deal with a growing amount of 

responsibilities within the hotel; something that is not helped when dealing 

with hilarious but hopeless Spanish waiter Manuel (Pascal Orzabal). Subsequently, all manners 

of violence ensue. Meanwhile credit must be given to Peter Taylor, not simply for his hilarious 

attempt at walking in heels, but for his thoroughly convincing performance as Sybil Fawlty. 

Adam Hay’s acting debut as Danny Brown, and newcomer Will Ludlow as the Major certainly 

deserve commendation, as well as the fantastic performance of Pascal Orzabal as Manuel. This 

was certainly a play that reflected North Town’s true potential and had many members of the 

audience in tears of laughter. 


Moberly’s House - 

‘Frost/Nixon’ 

American rock anthems quietly set 

the mood for a packed house buzzing 

with anticipation. Alex Mullan’s dulcet 

tones eased us into the intricacies 

of Watergate and an America reeling 

from the exposure of a corrupt President. 

From the slick changes in set, cleverly 

disguised by short musical segments, 

to the pre-recorded newsreel-like 

snippets, every aspect of this play 

was meticulously considered and 

executed. 

Alex’s portrayal of Frost was 

understated but brilliantly observed, 

but it was James Hanson who really 

stole the show with his outstanding 

portrayal of Nixon. From the moment he 

walked on he stayed in character and dealt 

with the emotional highs and lows of a 

complex human being brilliantly. 

Joe Baio delivered a sterling performance 

as the eccentric James Reston Jnr., George 

Kinsey as the straight-laced Brit, Callum 

Woolley as a reporter with a ‘face for 

radio’ and Jack Morgan as Nixon’s loyal 

subordinate. The final interview was James 

and Alex’s crowning moment, tracking 

James’ progressive emotional breakdown 

coupled with Alex’s definite easing off of 

aggression, leading to a gentler almost 

caring David Frost. 

James was awarded Best Actor in a male role 

and the judges citation was so glowing as to 

be recorded in full! “It should be said that in 

giving this award, the judges were keen to 

recognise that James Hanson’s performance 

in the role of Richard Nixon was one of the 

best performances they have ever seen at 

a House Play Festival. Indeed, it was the 

unanimous feeling of all the judges that had 

there been a School lifetime achievement 

award or its equivalent for the performance 

given to us on Wednesday night that James 

would have been awarded it. For service 

to House plays over the years this marks 

the pinnacle of a tremendous career and 

we would like to applaud James for this 

accomplishment.” 

Hallward’s House 

‘Daisy Pulls It Off’ 

Set in the middle of the 20th Century, 

this play very much resembled the style 

of St. Trinians: school girls chasing after 

treasure, whilst a new girl is trying to 

settle in with everyone and meets certain 

difficulties. 

The acting itself was very 

charming and had the 

audience delving into the 

adventures of Daisy and the 

hidden treasure. Kosi Carter 

and Florence Woolley were very believable 

in their portrayal of an upper class school 

girl. Emily King played Mademoiselle and 

certainly made the audience laugh with 

her over-the-top accent and wild hand 

gestures. The other teachers all seemed 

to have authority and strict discipline over 

the pupils, but the Headmistress (Amelia 

Allen) especially was played with superb 

snobbery and clarity 

throughout. 

Finally the bold, charming 

and courageous character 

of Daisy, played by Aggie 

Woolley, had the audience 

glued to their seats as they wanted to 

see the story develop 

and see the character’s 

progression. There were 

some great comedic 

moments from the entire 

cast and it was simply 

enjoyable to watch. 

Worcester House 

‘The Vicar of Dibley’ 

Worcester’s ‘The Vicar of Dibley’, featuring 

the first episode, presents the story of how 

Geraldine Granger (Tlamelo Setshwaelo) 

wins the hearts of the local community and 

fights against the conservative views of 

David Horton (Florence Petrie). Under the 

direction of Lucy Tucker and Zoe Ward, they 

certainly gave a real sense of the prejudice 

against the appointment of a woman vicar 

at the beginning of the play which gave way 

then to a gradual acceptance of change at 

the end. 

Many of the actors took their inspiration 

from the television series and wisely chose 

not to drastically change them. Amber 

Humphreys played Frank Pickles, who oozed 

with boredom and dullness as the character 

should! Jim Trott (Katie James) and Owen 

Newitt (Naomi Ofulue) were both excellent at 

their characters, creating many moments of 

laughter, and some good use of the theatre 

steps added to the comedy moments. 

Of course, in every House Play there are 

some memorable performances. Phoebe 

Chappell impressively played Alice Tinker, 

the dim-witted girl who believes that she 

is perfectly normal. Hugo Horton (Siobhan 

Hartnoll) was well chosen as she played 

the naive and childish son of David Horton 

and the audience saw glimpses of the 

start of a love relationship between Hugo 

and Alice. 

DRAMA 

63

Oakeley’s House 

‘Be My Baby’ 

‘Be My Baby’ was performed beautifully 

by Oakeley’s House. The play, set in 1964, 

centres around Mary (Natalie Heritage) who 

is pregnant and on a poignant journey as she 

learns to cope with her situation and fights 

a losing battle to retain her teenage illusions 

about marrying and keeping the baby. 

Despite being cut off from their families and 

daily battles with a no-nonsense matron 

(Emily Young), Mary and her new found 

friends at the home shine with youthful 

spirit. This beautifully touching and funny 

piece, defined by the music of the day, 

movingly transports us back to the dawn of 

the sexual revolution. 

There wasn’t a weak performance in this 

South Town 

School House 

‘The Front Page’ 

The play was set in the 1920’s press room of Chicago’s Criminal 

Courts building and told the story of Hildy Johnson (Rhys Edwards), 

the top reporter. Tired of the whole game he was determined to 

quit his job to get married. Earl Williams (Dominic Dixey), however, 

suddenly escaped from the jail which changed everything and an 

interesting plot unravelled, revealing the interesting relationship 

between Hildy Johnson and the ‘Examiner’ managing editor, 

Walter Burns (Magnus Gordon). 

‘ ’Allo, ’Allo!’ 

The play was set, of course, in Rene’s café 

and even before the play had begun the 

authentic sense of 1940s France had been 

wonderfully set by the accordionist who 

played the original Allo, Allo! theme tune 

with panache at both the beginning and end 

of the play. Moving onto the performances, 

there were a wide range of spirited and 

hearty portrayals of varying nationalities and 

quality. Josh Pafford was typically comic as 

the outrageously camp German Lieutenant 

Hubert Gruber, whilst Will Rushworth, 

although wasted in what was effectively little 

more than a cameo, showed his obvious 

acting ability as the famed character of Herr 

Otto Flick. 

play. Natalie Heritage had the audience 

transfixed with her utterly believable role 

as Mary, and was supported magnificently 

by Milla Jupp. Anna John and Georgia 

Young, both new to the Clifton House Play 

scene. Though only a small cast, the girls 

all interacted brilliantly and the credit for 

the smooth running of the piece must go 

to the professionalism of the actresses. 

This play had everything ... it made people 

laugh, cry, hum along, and not want it 

to finish. It was the touching message 

delivered by the extremely high quality 

acting of the six actresses involved which 

made this play memorable. 

It must be said that the play was truly believable throughout. 

Rhys Edwards took the lead role of Hildy Johnson and performed (and 

directed) superbly. Magnus Gordon as Walter Burns was particularly convincing; his use of 

pauses had the audience transfixed and he never came out of character, interacting especially 

well with Rhys. Other well acted roles came from Harry Crawley, and particularly amusing was 

George Porter as the Mayor. It was a very strong company and perfectly cast roles; everyone 

worked well together showing great House spirit. 

Overall, this play provided great entertainment. It was a very skilled performance, and the 

experience of the lead roles played to their advantage, while the audience became truly engaged 

in the quick paced narrative. Subtle comedy value was added, with Ben Dixon and George 

Goodall, acting as body guards, though cleverly this did not distract from the main storyline. It 

was a very polished performance which The South Town can be very proud of. 

Of all the catch-phrase reliant characters, 

Sam Foster’s Leclerc was probably the best, 

and Tonye Sekibo’s distinctive performance 

as Captain Abiyote Abate will remain long in 

the memory. 

Rob Tatton-Brown’s Rene shared the 

bedraggled desperation of the original 

character, and his French accent was among 

the best of the show. ‘Listen very carefully, I 

will say this only once” but also worthy of a 

mention for a classy performance was Tomas 

Feist as Michelle Dubois! 

A Judge’s View 

Will Corrie is thrown in at the 

deep end in his first year of 

teaching as a judge for the 

House Play Festival. What did 

he think of it all? 

Shortly after arriving at Clifton to 

begin teaching in the English 

department, an invitation came my 

way to be on the judging panel for the 

house play competition. Naively unaware 

of either the fierceness of competitive 

spirit surrounding the play and or depth 

of house loyalty touched by the festival, I 

accepted and signed myself up. Reactions 

from other members of staff to my decision 

were mostly on the pity to cruel-andknowing 

laughter spectrum and were 

usually coupled with references to the 

five evenings I would be spending in the 

Redgrave. In spite of this I remained in an 

optimistic mood as the week approached, 

anticipating eagerly the week when Drama 

would for once take centre stage at Clifton. 

Aside from an early alarm on the morning 

of the awards ceremony (I had – as always 

– put off writing my reviews until the last 

minute), there was little to complain about 

across the week. The judges were well 

supplied with wine and cheese but most 

pleasingly the range of drama to which we 

were treated across the week kept us fresh 

and ever anxious for more. 

For me there were various highlights in 

the festival and from a pure entertainment 

perspective none was greater than the 

opening night. Wiseman’s drew the 

difficult task of opening the proceedings 

and did so with a well adapted version of 

Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were 

None. The play’s plethora of characters 

seemed to be well suited to the house’s 

multicultural demographic and the 

performance was brought together with 

some exquisite scenery. Without offending 

Wiseman’s however, my own personal 

favourite was next up. 

Among my responsibilities I had been 

assigned the task of helping Watson’s 

with their play selection, a task which 

was made infinitely more exciting by their 

raising the possibility of reproducing 

the Reduced Shakespeare Company’s 

Complete Works. Having persuaded the 

directors to take a vote on the play choice 

in the house and seen the Bard of Stratford 


come out on top, I could not wait to see 

what the performance had become in its 

young actors’ hands. Whilst the soul of 

Shakespeare which the original company 

expertly retained may have been missing 

from the Watson’s adaptation, the comedy 

was maintained and delivered with quality. 

The Redgrave theatre roared with laughter 

for three-quarters of an hour; and our 

departing head of drama’s now famous 

crocodile clap was rightly bestowed at the 

curtain. It may not have been Shakespeare 

as such, but it was very funny. 

Taking nothing away from the other 

houses, but East Town, Moberly’s and 

West Town will each stay with me and are 

worthy of mention. In my opinion East Town 

boys took on the biggest acting challenge 

of any house, selecting According to 

Hoyle, a text which deals with issues that 

are perhaps beyond the maturity of the 

average lower sixth student. The depth of 

insight with which the actors performed 

their roles should teach us one thing: for 

performer and viewer drama can give us a 

new viewpoint on ourselves and therefore 

remains an infinitely valuable artform. 

Moberly’s produced Frost/Nixon with two 

stunning performances, one of which had 

the judges seriously debating whether 

a new award needed to be created. 

However, the new award did not come to 

pass and neither did Moberly’s win best 

drama, thanks to a superb performance 

from West Town. Despite what some may 

say, the girls took on a gargantuan task. 

Most members of the house seemed 

to be on stage in one form or another 

and were all well organised and expertly 

directed. Many underestimate the 

challenge of comic acting, something 

as judges of the plays we must be keen 

to avoid. Apart from some moments of 

excellent individual timing from several 

talented actors, what put West Town at the 

top was the sense of polish their overall 

performance gave. This was all the more 

remarkable as gaffes are more probable 

with more actors on stage. 

House Drama 2011 AWARDS 

Winners in each category are indicated 

in bold type. 

BEST TECHNICAL CONTRIBUTION 

School House – ’Allo, ’Allo 

East Town – According To Hoyle 

Watson’s – The Complete Works of William 

Shakespeare (Abridged) 

Moberly’s – Frost/Nixon 

BEST REHEARSAL PROCESS 

Oakeley’s – Be My Baby 

East Town – According to Hoyle 



BEST DESIGN 

Wiseman’s – And Then There Were None 


BEST MUSICAL CONTRIBUTION 

East Town – Musical background in According 

to Hoyle 

School House – for the accordion player in 

’Allo, ’Allo 

West Town – for the choir’s first number 

conducted by Christy in Sister Act 

South Town – for the use of pre-recorded jazz 

in The Front Page 

BEST ADAPTATION OR ORIGINAL WRITING 


Hallward’s – Daisy Pulls It Off 

West Town – Sister Act 

South Town – The Front Page 

BEST NEWCOMER 

Florence Petrie (WoH) – David Horton in The 

Vicar of Dibley 

Florence Woolley (HH) – Winnie Irving in Daisy 

Pulls It Off 

Dominic Dixey (ST) – Earl Williams in The 

Front Page 

Georgia Young (OH) – Dolores in Be My Baby 

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A MALE ROLE 

Siobhan Hartnell (WoH) – Huge Horton in The 

Vicar of Dibley 

Jonny Gill (ET) – Kevin in According To Hoyle 

Josh Pafford (SH) – Lieutenant Hubert Gruber 

in ’Allo, ’Allo 

Pascal Orzabal (NT) – Manuel in Fawlty 

Towers 

Tilly Wickens (WT) – Eddie in Sister Act 

Philippa Davis (WT) – Vince in Sister Act 

Magnus Gordon (ST) – Walter Burns in The 

Front Page 

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A FEMALE ROLE 

Cyrus Devlin – Private Helga Geerhard in 

’Allo, ’Allo 

Amelia Allen (HH) – Miss Gibson in Daisy 

Pulls It Off 

Elleri Hughes (WT) – Mary Patrick in Sister Act 

Esther Bebb (WT) – Mary Roberts in Sister Act 

Saskia Barnes (WT) – Sister Alma in Sister Act 

THE SPIRITUS AWARD 







BEST ACTOR IN A FEMALE ROLE 

Marienella Phillips – Christy/Mary Clarence 

in Sister Act 

Natalie Heritage – Mary in Be My Baby 

BEST ACTOR IN A MALE ROLE 

Johnny Ashe (WaH) – in The Complete Works 

of William Shakespeare (Abridged) 

Jonah Trenouth (ET) – Clive in According To 

Hoyle 

Charlie Markham (NT) – Basil Fawlty in Fawlty 

Towers 

Alex Mullan (MH) – David Frost in Frost/Nixon 

James Hanson (MH) – Richard Nixon in Frost/ 

Nixon 

Rhys Edwards (ST) – Hildy Johnson in The 

Front Page 

BEST COMEDY 

North Town – Fawlty Towers 





BEST DRAMA 




BEST DIRECTOR 

Charlie Moore – According To Hoyle 

Davis and Barnes – Sister Act 

Edwards and Bertagne – The Front Page 

Foxall-Smith and Blanks – The Complete 

Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) 

BEST PRODUCTION 







DRAMA 

65

Strictly Scrum Dancing 

On the final day of the Lent Term 

eleven brave couples, drawn from 

the teaching staff of all three Schools, 

competed in a Strictly Come Dancing-style 

evening in the Redgrave Theatre. The 

evening was the brainchild of Judith Hood 

(parent and chair of Friends of Clifton) and 

was arranged to raise money for the Life for 

a Cure charity and the two overseas sports 

tours in the summer holidays. 

There were two shows which were 

complete sell-outs and the atmosphere 

was electric as the couples were 

introduced to the audience. The Judges 

were Joanna Moore, Jonathan Thomson- 

Glover and William Hanson; and the Hosts 

were John Bobby and Louise Catchpole. 

Each couple had received dancing lessons 

from professional dance instructors 

Michele Webber (Dance Factory Bristol) 

and Jody Lewarne (Clifton College) but as 

complete beginners there was much to 

learn over the ten weeks of lessons. The 

dances ranged from traditional Strictly 

ballroom numbers such as the tango, jive 

and paso doble to a ‘dirty dance’ and a 

seventies disco number. 

In fact the event was such a huge success 

and all the dancers had obviously put in a 

tremendous amount of hard work, so they 

were all winners – but the results were as 

follows: Nick Smith and Laura Jane Lointon 

(Jive) were winners of the matinee; with 

Phil and Fiona Hallworth (Dirty Dancing) 

winners of the evening competition. The 

evening ticket price included wine and 

tapas which added to the fun and so, apart 

from the success as a fundraising event, 

for sheer entertainment it was possibly 

one of the best evenings of the year. 

Bluefin Dance 

Award 2010-11 

This year saw the 

introduction 

of the Bluefin 

Dance Award. The 

award was hotly 

contested during 

the Michaelmas 

Term, and after 

many high quality 

auditions in the 

Redgrave Theatre the award was shared by 

two of our Upper Sixth students, Venetia Sims 

and Emma Windsor-Liscombe (Hallward’s 

House). Both girls were outstanding in their 

choreographic style, technique, interpretation 

and staging. They both also gave confident 

presentations giving the members of the 

judging panel a clear insight into their 

choreographic processes. 

The girls have spent the school year doing 

their best to promote dance in the school 

through various performances. They have 

performed for the pupils in the Pre and 

Butcombe and performed during Dance 

Chapel week, Upper School Commemoration 

Day and at the Bristol Festival of Nature. They 

are looking forward to working with local 

preparatory schools at the end of this term to 

promote dance out into the community. 

Our thanks go to Bluefin for their ongoing 

support of this Award. 

Jody Lewarne 

Pcert Lam 

Pcert Lam is a qualification given by 

LAMDA that enables you to teach 

LAMDA and also awards UCAS points 

that will contribute to your university 

application. The course is spread over 

the two sixth form years, leading to three 

examinations that make up the final 

qualification. The first unit is a workbook. 

We choose three literary figures: one poet, 

one author and one playwright and have 

to discuss their history and some of their 

works. The next unit is a performance 

which lasts 20 minutes and is based on 

the works of the selected writers. During 

this performance, we recite a poem, a 

monologue from a play and an extract 

from a novel and, most importantly, we 

write and perform links between readings. 

The final unit of the examination is a viva 

award, a 40 minute long interview with an 

examiner. Here we discuss nine literary 

figures from a particular period in time and 

from a particular region. 

We chose to concentrate on twentieth 

century British authors although we also 

included a couple of authors from other 

countries, focusing on Spain and France. 

We then explored the twentieth century, 

looking at politics, social issues, literary 

movements and other issues. 

I have enjoyed doing Pcert Lam immensely 

as it has enabled me to explore drama, 

literature and poetry in a more thought 

provoking way whilst, at the same time, 

given me the opportunity to receive 

more UCAS points. I would thoroughly 

recommend this qualification as it is 

extremely interesting, very enjoyable and 

incredibly rewarding. 

Elleri Hughes 


Clifton in the Community 

It has been another busy year for Clifton in the Community with 

students volunteering for a range of organisations from local 

charity shops and clubs for the elderly to riding for the disabled 

and local primary schools, with much else in between. Harriet 

Watkinson gives a flavour of what she has been up to. 

I 

have had a really worthwhile and enjoyable 

time helping as a volunteer in the St Peter’s 

Hospice shop on Blackboy Hill. 

I have learned how to work as a member of 

a team. This has involved sorting the many 

donations of clothes and household goods 

and estimating their value and selling 

potential, spotting designer labels and 

valuable vintage donations and pricing 

accordingly. 

I have gained valuable experience in 

working on the till: taking cash and credit 

card payments; this may prove to be 

helpful experience towards moving on to a 

retail job later on. 

I have made posters for advertising and 

helped with visual merchandising (creating 

window displays and an appealing 

ambience) as well as more mundane 

tidying and stacking of racks and shelves. 

I have learned about the important work 

of St. Peter’s Hospice and how much this 

relies on funding from the retail shops 

such as this one. It is good to feel that I am 

helping in a small way towards caring for 

terminally ill patients. I have found this so 

worthwhile that I have offered to continue 

volunteering after my A levels during 

the summer. 

I have also been a Volunteer Librarian for 

the SS Great Britain library. 

I received training and helped with 

the restoration of valuable books and 

manuscripts during the setting up of the 

library in the new Visitor Centre and then 

with cataloguing and sorting the library 

contents. 

It was good to be part of such a unique 

and important historical organisation and 

to learn about the history and restoration 

of the ship and Bristol’s maritime heritage. 

I would now be able to return to the SS 

Great Britain as a volunteer in the future if 

circumstances permit. 

Harriet Watkinson 

Festival of Nature 

Schools’ Day, Friday 17 June 

Saturday 18 and Sunday 19 June at Bristol 

Harbourside 

The biggest event of its kind in the UK, 

this festival gives wildlife enthusiasts 

of all ages the opportunity to explore, 

enjoy and get close to the natural world – 

all free of charge. 

Clifton College was Schools’ Day sponsor 

for the second year running, presenting 

an exciting programme on the theme 

of Colour for KS2 children from local 

schools. Over 15 other prestigious and 

well-respected organisations took part 

including the BBC, Bristol Zoo Gardens, 

Avon Wildlife and the University of 

Bristol who all ran fun and interactive 

workshops. 

Clifton’s science department produced 

a spectacular Schools’ Day show on 

the physics of colour, some colourful 

chemistry and the biology of colour vision 

and optical illusions, to engage with their 

young audience, to many sounds of ‘wow, 

ooh and ahh’ along the way. 

Teachers from all three schools at Clifton 

then join forces over the weekend for the 

Colour Creatures exhibition. Showing 

how colour is made, seen and used in 

the animal kingdom, there were handson 

butterflies under the microscope; 

spot the animals in camouflage; some 

friendly stick insects to hold, various 

videos to watch and face painting – 

something for everyone in the family. 

CLIFTON IN THE COMMUNITY 

67

Sport 

RUGBY 

1st XV 

Played 8 Won 6 Lost 2 Points for 131 

against 89. 

Match 1 v Abingdon School (Home) 

Moving into a season without a 

warm up match has an uneasy 

feel about it. Will the set piece 

work? Are the correct player combinations 

in place and will the small pre-season 

preparation affect the final quarter of the 

match? The match was a scrappy affair 

and both teams made a host of errors. But 

Johnnie Graham (MH) lit up the match with 

sparkling runs on the right wing and Max 

Cresswell (MH) led the pack who gradually 

began to dominate the larger Abingdon 

pack. The sad loss of Lloyd James (MH) for 

the season was a blow but others stepped 

up and took their chance. A first game 

victory is very important for the season 

and the 18 – 8 margin probably reflected 

the match. 


Match 2 v King’s Taunton (Away) 

When a pack dominates another so 

convincingly it is easy to rely on that 

superiority and stop playing rugby. This 

was mainly the story against King’s. 

Clifton’s pack was so superior that King’s 

barely won a lineout or scrum. Jack Murphy 

(ET) latched on to a Max Cresswell off load 

to score Clifton’s only try, but many more 

chances close to the line were wasted and 

despite the win the team trudged off the 

pitch knowing that they would need to play 

better in the games to come. 

Match 3 v Cheltenham (Home) 

Cheltenham looked as if they had just 

returned from a tour and played with 

fluidity and a high degree of organisation. 

Despite their dominance Cheltenham were 

only winning by a penalty for much of the 

game. It took a speculative overhead pass 

with eight minutes to go, to break Clifton’s 

defences. It was time to go back to the 

drawing board and work on attack! 

Match 4 v BGS (Ryan’s Memorial 

Match) (Clifton RFC) 

What a night! Clifton Rugby Club was packed 

with supporters cheering for both teams. 

The atmosphere was electric and it was 

many years since the ground had been so 

full. Clifton started more promisingly with 

George Kinsey (MH) scoring a well worked 

try. But BGS continued to come back into 

the game. Two tries from Jack Morgan (MH) 

seemed to have made the game safe but 

back came BGS and a late converted try 

made the game very close. The game would 

have made Ryan very proud of his friends 

and it was certainly a great advert for school 

boy rugby. 

Match 5 v Ellesmere College (Home) 

Ellesmere arrived with a considerable 

reputation and they played with real flair 

and power. The game will be remembered 

for a terrific exhibition of defending from 

Clifton and one crazy decision from the 

Ellesmere inside centre. With the game in 

overtime Clifton were down 13 -10. After 

an Ellesmere scrum inside the Clifton half 

the centre decided to float a miss pass out 

to the full back. Johnnie Graham latched 

on to the ball and set off on the long 

seventy metre sprint to the line. He was 

caught but only after he had put the ball 

down for a try, converted by Liam Crandon 

(MH) for a 17 -13 victory. Some of the 

crowd thought the victory was all about 

the interception try, but it was more about 

the effort that was put in by the entire team 

over seventy minutes that kept them in 

contention when other sides might 

have buckled. 

Match 6 v Marlborough College 

(Home) 

Clifton were chasing a third successive 

victory over Marlborough in this 

prestigious fixture for the Governor’s Cup. 

The first half was a close affair. George 

Kinsey scored early but Marlborough 

rallied and there was not much in the 

game at half time. However, kicking down 

the slope Clifton dominated the second 

half with Jamie Smith (SH) capping a 

great performance at ‘openside’ with two 

excellent tries. 

Match 7 v BGS (Away) 

The loss of three upper sixth forwards 

through injury before the game was not 

great preparation but the team can make 

no excuses for a lacklustre performance 

and a great effort from BGS. Their game 

plan was nothing new, keep it tight and 

kick well. A late converted try from Liam 

Crandon nearly brought about a draw but 

BGS hung on and deservedly so. 

Match 8 v Blundell’s (Home) 

This match is played for The Colquhoun 

Cup and Clifton were trying to regain 

the trophy from Blundell’s. The match 

was quite humdrum in many ways; the 

majority of the play was in the middle of 

the park. Good kicking from Liam Crandon

kept Clifton’s noses ahead. Several good 

attacks were wasted at the last moment 

and basic overlaps overlooked. But Clifton 

enjoyed the win in what was to be the final 

game of the season. 

2nd XV 

Paul Askew and Andrew Wagstaff 

Played 7 Won 5 Lost 2 For 165 Against 104 

Hopes were high for the 2010 2nd XV 

season on the back of the unbeaten 

successes of the previous year. 

We kicked off at home against a strong 

Abingdon side, and found ourselves 

outplayed for long periods of the game. 

However, the last kick of the game found 

Clifton with a penalty in front of the post to 

draw the game with the score at 13 – 16. 

Unfortunately the rather fortuitous draw 

did not come about. 

The week after saw an away fixture on 

a rock-hard pitch at King’s Taunton. 

The opposition seemed to lose interest 

very quickly after Clifton’s try-scoring 

rout started, and Will Richardson (ST) 

contributed four tries to a 55 – 0 rout, 

which left our boys with a sense of not 

having been tested particularly. 

Perhaps now brimming with a little too 

much confidence, it was the visit of 

Cheltenham College. Although we were 

slightly depleted, and gained some hope 

from a Will Barrett (MH) try against the run 

of play, this was probably the season’s 

darkest hour, as the game was stopped 

early for a Tim Pocock (WiH) injury when 

we were 5 – 34 down. Thankfully, Tim was 

not seriously injured after all, and that was 

the last game of the season to be lost. 

Coach was looking for some revenge 

for the rather poor draw at Blundell’s in 

the previous season, and there was the 

opportunity to do this twice as they would 

return to us after half term. However, 

being 7 – 8 down after playing down the 

notorious Blundell’s wind, things did 

not look so good. Thankfully the backs’ 

moves seemed to click into the wind in the 

second half, and Will Richardson helped 

kick-start our renaissance by punching 

holes in midfield at will, and a comfortable 

30 – 8 victory resulted. 

Marlborough matches are always hard 

fought, and often close, and this was no 

exception this season. An Ollie Bowden 

(MH) (Players’ Player of the Season) try 

was only one reply to Marlborough’s 

three converted tries in the first half, 

leaving a huge task at 7 – 21 down. 

Three unanswered tries, the last from 

Tim Pocock, half the length of the pitch, 

saw Clifton snatch the spoils in the dying 

minutes of the game, 22 - 21. 

Bristol Grammar matches are often 

scrappy dogfights, and again this was no 

exception. Thankfully Luke Watson and 

Freddie Blanks (WaH) (Most Improved 

Player of the Season) tries saw Clifton 

snatch a 14 – 13 win, although the Head 

of Mathematics failed to add the scores up 

correctly and thought we had in fact lost... 

We weren’t to know that the Blundell’s 

return fixture was to be the last, as the 

snow put paid to the Old Swinford and 

Sherborne games – a great shame, as 

other results suggested that the winning 

streak could continue to the end of the 

season. The Blundell’s side were much 

improved, but two Clifton tries at the end 

put the gloss on an otherwise close game, 

winning 26 – 15. 

All in all it was a very pleasing season. The 

two losses would have been difficult to 

turn around, and the boys were committed 

throughout, and there is much promise 

from the Lower Sixth players for next 

season. James Bell (MH) was 

the Player of the Season for 

his tireless work in support 

and defence for the whole 

season. 

3rd XV 

Gil Simmons 

Rugby Played 8 Won 6 Lost 2 

For 219 Against 89 

Despite two heavy defeats at 

the beginning of the season 

to Abingdon and Cheltenham, 

the 3rd XV proved to be a 

very resilient side and with their talismanic 

skipper, Alex Horton (NT), bounced back 

to notch up a string of impressive wins in 

their remaining six fixtures. Unfortunately 

due to adverse weather conditions the 

season came to an abrupt end and 

robbed the squad of an opportunity to 

face a formidable old foe in the form of 

Sherborne. Convincing wins against the 

likes of Marlborough and Blundell’s were 

undoubtedly the highlights of the season 

and a number of players distinguished 

themselves both in terms of their 

commitment and their style of rugby. Will 

Rushworth (SH) – such a versatile player – 

had impressive stints at both flanker and 

scrum-half and veteran Henry Gibson (MH) 

proved to be unassailable at full-back. 

The pack was led with great authority by 

another veteran of Clifton rugby, Rob Tatton- 

Brown (SH), and promising newcomers to 

Big Side Rugby such as Jamie O’Connor 

(SH) and Jack Keen (MH) suggest that the 

future for next season remains bright. 

4th XV 

Dan Janke 


The 4th XV trained and played with 

commitment and enthusiasm throughout 

the season and once again several new 

boys were unearthed as names to watch 

for the future. Victor Hall ended the 

season as leading points scorer and Andre 

Audifferen (SH) was soon respected by 

team mates and opponents alike. This 

predominantly L6th team was admirably 

led by Dom Hampson (ET), and the pace of 

Michael Kwok (WaH), Leon Lau (WaH) and 

Sarveen Kummaran (SH) resulted in some 

spectacular tries from distance. Special 

mention must go to 4th XV veteran prop 

Sam Kingston (ST) who never missed a 

single game or training session in two years 

until he was finally struck down with a 

cracked rib towards the end of the season. 

Hugo Tilney 

SPORT 

69

Senior Colts A 


The highlights of the season were the King’s 

Taunton game where we saw for the first 

time the raw ability of the excellent John 

Beresford (SH). The Blundell’s away match 

was memorable for a flood of tries most 

notably from James Egginton (ET) and Samad 

Animashaun (WaH), but everyone played 

their part on an afternoon of quality rugby. 

The local derby on the Close against BGS was 

my particular highlight with George Irish (MH) 

repeatedly hurling himself at the opposition 

to allow Jordan Cranton (MH) to crash over 

for his hat trick of tries from around five yards 

out! This was the reward for all the hard work 

put in on the training park. Jordan provided an 

edge to the team badly missed when he was 

injured. 

The A team changed a great deal from the 

start of term to the end, but in addition to 

the boys mentioned Harith Shalash (MH) 

was absolutely outstanding in every respect. 

Wonderfully talented and brave, he would 

also play every week out of position, as it 

was the best thing for us as a team. No 

praise is high enough for his attitude and 

performance. Matt Bailey (NT) was very solid 

up front and in the back row Conor Giebus 

(ET) was our defensive lynch pin and ball 

winner in every game. The position of scrum 

half was hotly debated pre-season, but only 

because Seb Perry (SH) had been injured for 

much of the previous season. Seb trained 

hard and listened to Mr Cracknell, the result 

was a super all round performance. I have not 

mentioned a number of good players in this 


summary, but for me they need no mention, 

they know who they are and so do I and 

everyone who played for us. A really good 

season, cut short by the weather, but certainly 

one in which a number of boys put their 

hands up as players who could play first team 

rugby over the next two years. 

Senior Colts B 

Alan O’Sullivan and Elliot Cracknell 


After a promising start with a competitive and 

hard fought defeat against a strong Abingdon 

team, the B team season proved rather mixed 

with our resources often quite stretched due 

to A team call ups and injuries. The forwards 

with the pocket battleship Nino Freuler (WaH) 

and captain Rory O’Callaghan (ST) to the 

fore were always competitive but it was out 

in the backs where, at times, we became 

rather threadbare and lacked confidence. 

Most games were quite close and could have 

gone either way apart from a rather shameful 

capitulation against Cheltenham. Probably 

the highlight of the season was the double 

header against Blundell’s with both games 

decided by a single score as home advantage 

proved crucial. 

Adam Sibley 

Junior Colts A 

P 10 W3 L 7 For 169 Against 248 

The record books will show that this was a 

disappointing season. The statistics reveal 

that only 3 games out of 10 were won (with 2 

more being cancelled), and this was a poor 

return for a side that began the term with 

such high hopes. A good record as Yearlings 

provided grounds for optimism as we set 

off to Abingdon, but 2009’s narrow home 

win was replaced by an absolute thrashing, 

from which the squad never really recovered. 

Modest success in the Daily Mail Cup (2 wins) 

only papered over the cracks, because the 

good schools all had too much skill and power 

for us. Our only other scalp was BGS, and 

even then we nearly 

contrived to throw 

away a 28 point lead! 

There were times in 

every game when 

we played some 

wonderful rugby, 

and we scored some 

fantastic tries, but 

these moments could 

never be sustained. 

There is no doubt 

that a long injury list caused major problems 

and that these injuries occurred to key 

players in positions of huge influence in the 

side. However, the campaign was fatally 

undermined by the team’s inability to perform 

under pressure – when we needed to score, 

we couldn’t; and when we needed to stop 

the opposition, we couldn’t. Collectively, the 

team did not function properly, and this was 

largely the consequence of a failure to train 

with sufficient intensity during the week. 

There is enough talent in the year group for 

their fortunes to be revived, but they all need 

to remember that there’s no “I” in “Team”, 

and that you have to prepare properly, or be 

prepared to fail. 

Jo Greenbury and John Bobby 

Junior Colts B 


The Under 15 B XV had a mixed season on the 

rugby pitch, with good wins at Cheltenham 

and King’s Taunton being dampened by heavy 

defeats to Marlborough, Bristol Grammar 

School and 

Abingdon. The 

squad as a 

whole suffered 

from having a 

large number of 

injuries during 

the term and 

consequently it 

was difficult to 

field a settled 

side for any 

length of time. 

Jim Williams 

Junior 

Colts C 


The JCCs enjoyed a successful season in 

2010. Five games were played with four wins. 

The performance to beat a well drilled and 

able Marlborough side was very pleasing. 

Charlie Gibson (MH) proved an able fly half 

controlling most games with sound kicking 

and passing skills. Todd Li (WaH) and Jack 

Thomson (ET) were robust tough tight five 

forwards. Kristos Antoniou-Papas (WaH), 

Alec Desmoutier (NT) and Jonathan Saint (ET) 

showed pace and skill as backs. The team 

were a close knit group who were a pleasure 

to coach. 

Jay Gardner

Yearlings A 

P 9 W 3 L 6 For 135 

Against 201 

The playing record of this 

side shows that this was 

a tough season. And yet 

there is exciting potential 

in this side - a team to 

keep an eye on in the 

future. 

The opening games of the season were very 

tough and it was not until the first exeat 

weekend, on our annual U14 tour, that any 

momentum was achieved: playing and 

winning two tight games against Ellesmere 

College and Adams’ Grammar School did 

wonders for the morale of the team, and the 

coaches. 

These results brought a new pace and 

energy to training and it was great to see 

the boys play with tremendous spirit and 

determination from this point on. The match 

against BGS was the performance of the 

season - if they had played like this in every 

game then the record would have been very 

different. They attacked at every opportunity, 

rucked ferociously (something they had not 

done before) and scored some splendid tries. 

The Marlborough match on the next weekend 

was the most exciting match and a splendid 

game of schoolboy rugby; the boys were very 

unlucky to lose 14-12. 

Up front the progress over the season was 

obvious. Initially a little reluctant in the 

contact areas, the boys became far tougher as 

the matches went by. Behind the scrum there 

is a lot of talent and some genuine pace. Their 

challenge next year will be to win enough 

possession and then give it some width 

because then they look a dangerous side. 

Yearlings B 

Simon Tait and Clive Jones 

P8 W7 L1 For 251 Against 86. 

Clifton’s rugby season begins with a really 

tough fixture against Abingdon School. This 

school admits pupils at year 7 so they have 

enjoyed a couple of years playing together 

before we begin in year 9. It was a tough 

match the previous year and with just one 

practice session under our belts, barely long 

enough to recognise the players let alone pick 

the strongest team, we went into the game 

with plenty of enthusiasm but the opposition 

were too strong for us and we lost 19-37. 

So, not a great start and with Cheltenham 

looming in a fortnight it was time for hard 

work and organisation. After a comfortable 

win, 46-0 against Taunton school, and four 

training sessions under our belts we travelled 

to Cheltenham the following Saturday. The 

matches here are normally close and very 

competitive. This contest was no different 

and showing great spirit we won 24-10. This 

was the beginning of a superb run of games 

beating Blundell’s 34-5 and BGS 56-0. In the 

middle of those results was the jewel in the 

crown, the result that made the season. The 

win at Marlborough! Confidence is a crucial 

element in successful play and when it is 

mixed with endeavour, passion, and good 

skills anything is possible, and our 19-12 

win away at Marlborough should stay in the 

memories of all the boys that competed for 

many years. 

Paul Romaines 

Rugby Governors’ Cup 

Clifton v Marlborough 

Colquhoun Memorial Cup 2010 

The match programme included this tribute to a 

much-missed Clifton character. 

“ 

The Charlie Colquhoun Memorial 

Cup was first played in 2008 in the 

same year Charlie very sadly passed 

away. Charlie was a wonderful supporter 

of sport at Clifton and Blundell’s. Charlie 

coached both 1st XV rugby and 1st XI cricket 

at Clifton and spent many happy hours as 

a boy playing both sports at Blundell’s. 

He was Captain of Blundell’s 1st XI for two 

seasons. 

At Clifton, Charlie was the first Housemaster 

of Moberly’s House and a much loved and 

inspirational teacher of History. We welcome 

Charlie’s family back to Clifton and 

particularly Charlie’s widow Jean who will 

present the Cup to the victorious team. 

The inaugural match was won by Clifton 

20–7, but last year there was a fine 

victory for Blundell’s. In extremely windy 

conditions both teams took time to settle 

and it was not until the second half that 

Blundell’s started to dominate. Blundell’s 

played some fine running rugby with tries 

from Toby Lett, Barney Goss and Angus 

Yard. The final score was 22–13.” 

SPORT 71

FOOTBALL 

The football club has enjoyed its most successful season ever. 

No fewer than three teams, the First and Second XIs and the JCAs, 

won their sections of the Mercian League, with both senior teams 

qualifying for the Mercian League finals played at Ludlow Town on 

Tuesday March 29th. Over the course of the season the Second XI 

was unbeaten in all matches and the First XI lost just one game. 

1st XI 

Amidst the frosts of January, the football 

season began with the usual hopes 

for a return to the Mercian League 

Cup Final for the first time in four years. 

First up was an away fixture at Blundell’s, 

which is normally an enjoyable trip for 

Clifton footballers. Having said this, after a 

game of close-calls and rotten luck, the side 

were condemned to a 2-0 defeat. Luckily 

for the squad the league had not yet begun. 

However, remaining friendly matches were 

postponed due to poor weather conditions, 

and therefore a new-look 1st XI entered the 

first league encounter of 2011 against local 

rivals QEH at Watson’s Field. Any nerves 

of a Blundell’s horror show repeat were 

soon settled by two goals from captain, 

Adam Hay, both inside the 

first 10 minutes. Clifton never 

looked back and dominated 

throughout the match, finally 

adding a third through a 

leaping Joe Allen header. 

With one local derby down, 

another soon proceeded as 

Clifton challenged BGS to 

restore local pride following 

a devastating 2-0 loss in the 

previous year. As it happened, 

the score line was reversed 

as Clifton prevailed through 

a Jack Morgan goal and Joe 

Allen’s penalty. The 

first league away 

trip for the now 

confident Clifton 

side was against a 

strong Marlborough 

outfit. Despite this 

new-found swagger, 

Clifton quickly found 

themselves 2-0 

down and went into 

half-time struggling 

to claw back this deficit, having also missed 

a penalty that would have halved it. Some 

might have felt it was “not our day” but, 

after some choice words from coaches David 

Rodgers and Dai Barrett, we clawed back 

to take the lead 3-2, through Hay, Morgan 

and a 50 yard free-kick from Alex Horton. 

Marlborough went on to equalise and finish 

the enthralling encounter 3-3; however, this 

revealed the resilience and team spirit within 

the camp and this was not to be the last 

time that these qualities would be shown 

on the pitch. 

The following Saturday, saw the most eyecatching 

fixture of the Mercian League 

calendar with the showdown between 

Clifton and Malvern. A now yearly rivalry, 

the boys travelled to Malvern and, in a 

feisty affair, matched their opponents in 

a 0-0 draw. 

Following the half-term break, the 

1sts returned to action on home-soil 

against Wycliffe College. Despite the 

opposition’s best efforts, the squad 

ran out comprehensive 5-1 winners 

with Hay and Dan Sim grabbing 

two goals apiece, while goal-saver 

turned into goal-scorer in the form 

of centre-back George Goodall. 

In the penultimate game Clifton 

arrived at Monmouth knowing that a 

victory would more than likely cause 

a goal-difference settlement at the 

top of the league between great 

rivals Clifton and Malvern. But an 

away match over the Severn is never an easy 

prospect! Monmouth took the lead following 

a Clifton mishap, causing frustration for 

the coaches on the sideline, but whoever 

thought the side were down and out at 1-0 

clearly had not experienced time with this 

special group of players. Clifton battled 

back to equalise through a trademark Adam 

Hay free-kick before taking the lead with a 

well worked Luke Watson goal. Monmouth 

felt they had done enough to tie the match 

but Clifton did not know how to lie down 

and when a Joe Allen missile-like throw-in 

was met by Daniel Sim leaping above the 

defenders, the side had secured the most 

vital win of the year. 

Despite this, Clifton and Malvern were 

now neck and neck in terms of points and, 

amazingly, goal-difference. Clifton’s final 

games was against King’s Taunton and we 

approached the game knowing the amount 

of goals we won by was crucial in the 

Southern League title race. Clifton huffed 

and puffed in the opening half an hour 

before eventually blowing the door down 

through an exquisite top-corner curling 

effort from Sim. The second half was of 

similar effort with little reward, consisting 

of two disallowed goals and numerous 

shots against the woodwork before Taunton 

equalised on a break-away goal with less 

than five minutes of play remaining. Once 

again, however, the “never say die” attitude 


was on show as Clifton scored a remarkable 

three goals led by an Adam Hay brace and 

a last second Horton effort. These four 

minutes turned out to be the deciding factor 

in the title race as Malvern could only muster 

a 3-1 victory, taking both Clifton’s 1st XI and 

2nd XI to Ludlow for the Mercian League and 

Mercian Combination League Finals, the first 

time any school has achieved this. 

The tie against Bromsgrove for the 1st XI was 

a nervy affair to say the least as the opening 

half showed little glimpses of what either 

side accomplished every Saturday. Following 

the break, Clifton appeared to be the better 

side with Allen and Crandon both having 

half-chances for a lead, and Clifton came 

2nd XI 

Footballers are rarely praised for their 

strength of character nowadays but Clifton’s 

2nd XI proved a worthy exception to the 

rule in a season which saw them emerge as 

worthy winners of their league and miss out 

agonisingly on victory in the Mercian League 

cup final. 

By the end of the first league game – at 

home to QEH – it was obvious that Clifton 

were going to be contenders, having strolled 

to a 6-0 victory against one of the league’s 

supposedly stronger teams while barely 

breaking sweat. In fact, the next succession 

of games were won with such ease that my 

closest when 

a surprise 

30 yard freekick 

attempt 

from Hay 

brought out 

an excellent 

save from 

the Bromsgrove ’keeper. However, despite 

the pressure the College put on, Bromsgrove 

netted a deflected header with one minute 

remaining and ran out eventual winners. 

This meant both 1st XI and 2nd XI narrowly 

lost their finals, as the Seconds lost 4-3 after 

extra time. Having said this, and despite 

the pre-season doubts, this 1st XI produced 

hardest job as coach was to find new ways of 

downplaying individual match performances 

lest my star players be poached by Mr 

Rodgers. It wasn’t until we played Malvern 

away that we finally found ourselves before 

worthy opponents; perhaps a little too 

worthy on this occasion as we fought back 

bravely from 2-0 down to win 3-2. 

The icing on the cake was the chance 

to play the Northern Division winners 

Loughborough Grammar School at Ludlow 

Town’s ground. The game saw star striker 

Tim Pocock score his 12th, 13th....and 14th 

Clifton’s first unbeaten league season with 

a spirit, determination and group effort that 

will be hard to match. This is largely due to 

the phenomenal leadership and direction 

of Mr. Rodgers and Mr. Barrett. This was an 

incredible year for football causing it to be, 

arguably, the most successful sport in the 

2010 - 2011 school year. 

Adam Hay 

goals of the season; alas it was to prove 

too little as Clifton succumbed to a scrappy 

Loughborough goal late in extra-time to go 

down 4-3. 

Despite the disappointing result the team 

can be proud of their achievements over 

the course of a season having played with 

passion, determination and no lack of flair. 

The bar for 2nd XI football has never been 

set so high. 

Player of the season: José Guerrero Carral 

Will Hodges 

3rd XI 

The 3rd XI enjoyed its best season for very many years. The team won 6 

matches out of 9 played scoring 33 goals in the process. Ben Dixon was 

the main goal scorer working in a highly productive strike partnership 

with Johnnie Graham. The midfield all contributed to the goal tally with 

excellent contributions from Boom Namsap-Anan (Capt.), Ryan Son, 

Chris Lee, Vadim Kosolapov and Sarveen Kummaran. Defence was 

not sacrificed with Tom Palmer, Ronnie Harding, Anand Patel, Oliver 

Rosich and Young Seop Jeon providing the protection for two excellent 

goalkeepers, James Richards and Maximilian Zauner. The highlight of the 

season was beating Wells Cathedral 1st XI 1-0 away. 

Colin Lewis 

Senior Colts 

A difficult season was always in prospect for the senior 

colts after several of their best players had left the 

school the previous year. Despite this the season started 

on a positive note with draws in competitive games 

against both Blundell’s and King’s Worcester. Sadly this 

unexpected run of form came to an abrupt end with two 

heavy defeats at the hands of Cotham and RGS Worcester, 

both excellent sides, yet in both games the scores were 

level at half time. Following late barrages of goals in both 

these games, the colts had to return to the drawing board 

and train hard in an attempt to rescue their season. (cont) 

SPORT 73

Excellent work rate and some superb 

performances, particularly from John 

Beresford, Samad Animashaun and keeper 

Matt Powell meant the team’s fortunes did 

improve. Wins against BGS and Wycliffe 

bookended an unlucky loss to Marlborough 

in windy conditions and a rather lifeless 

draw against Malvern. In many ways the 

season’s highlight was the game against 

Monmouth. The Colts were trailing by two 

goals at half time but kept in the game by 

some outstanding goalkeeping and, ready to 

put into practice all the hard work discussed 

in training, the Colts produced a superb 

second half display, communicating well 

on the pitch (much to the delight of their 

coaches) to claw the game back to 2-2 with 

just minutes to spare. Sadly Monmouth 

found enough time to squeeze a winner but 

the team left the game proud of the football 

they were finally beginning to play. After two 

cancelled games the boys picked themselves 

up from defeat to Monmouth to play their 

best football in the season’s finale, winning 

four-two with captain Jordan Cranton scoring 

a hat-trick. The season will go down as a 

hard one with only three wins from it and 

some heavy defeats; however some talented 

players can look back and know that they 

learned to play as a team as the season 

progressed, pleasingly producing their best 

team performance in their final game. 

Andrew Wagstaff 

Junior Colts 

A huge victory in the first game of the season 

demonstrated the strength and deadliness 

of the JCA team. However. a slightly bizarre 

defeat in the second friendly of the season 

acted as a timely reminder that football is 

indeed ‘a funny old game’ and victory is 

something to be earned not just given. It was 

the nudge that the team needed and there 

was no looking back. Led by captain Kaan 

Keen the team won their league with the 

crunch match against Monmouth ending in a 

nail-biting 2-2 draw. Throughout, the miserly 

defence masterminded by Alex Polyakov was 

consistently difficult for opposition forwards 

to breakdown and with Josh McGill in a 

rich vein of scoring form the victories kept 

coming. In a break from the league, the team 

enjoyed a very successful cup run reaching 

the quarter finals of the Bristol Schools cup 

and, only then, losing on penalties after extra 

time didn’t break the stalemate. Overall, 

player of the season, George West epitomised 

the hard working, talented group of players 

who richly deserved their success. 

Yearlings 

The season was a slightly disjointed one for 

me because of a family bereavement and 

the team had a number of managers before 

settling down later in the term. 

However, the boys made good progress 

during training and once the team 

understood the 3-5-2 formation our 

performances improved and were often 

excellent. Callum Wilson, Josh Easton and 

Noah Arron were at the heart of the defence 

and had a mixture of pace, skill and ability. 

Gem Collin battled manfully upfront and 

although he was later injured and sadly 

missed, he scored some important goals. 

The highlight of the term was the game 

at Beechen Cliff. Played in a howling 

gale against what is always our strongest 

opposition we scored twice with the wind 

to lead 2-1 at half time. The second half 

was truly backs to the wall stuff with the 

opposition scoring one goal and coming 

close on many occasions but amazingly, with 

tem minutes remaining, Jonghak Lee scored 

an excellent opportunist goal which gave us 

the lead at 3-2. Sadly some inexperience let 

us down and in the dying minutes Beechen 

Cliff scored the winner. It had been however 

one of the most exciting matches in my 

fifteen years with the Third form. 

In summing up, there were more wins than 

defeats and many of the team showed real 

promise. Will McDonnell proved in the last 

game of the season that I had played him out 

of position. Against Bristol Cathedral School, 

in a new role as striker, he scored four goals 

and won the match virtually on his own. 

Above all it was extremely enjoyable and 

competitive. 

Paul Romaines 

1st XI 

Hockey 

JMS Hockey League Winners 2011 

The 2011 season was an 

unquestionable success for the Boys’ 

Hockey 1st XI. Although we were a 

young side, only retaining five regular 1st 

team players from the previous year, we 

continued the successful progression of 

past seasons, winning the JMS Hockey 

League for the third consecutive year, 

and even becoming the first side to do so 

whilst being unbeaten. 

Achieving this was certainly not plain 

sailing, however. After offering a vastly 

disappointing performance at the U18 

County Tournament during the opening 

few weeks of the term - evidently this 

shortened, frantic style of hockey was 

not our forte - every member of the side 

realised that tireless effort, determination 

and dedication would be needed 

throughout the remainder of the season. 

Thankfully, we had all three in abundance, 

and this can perhaps best be exemplified 

by the large number of matches that we 

managed to win by a solitary goal. 

The most memorable instance of such a 

game took place at Prior Park. Entering 

half-time 1-0 down after a truly lacklustre 

performance - in fact, we were 

fortunate to escape with only a one-goal 

deficit - there appeared to be no obvious 

solution to help us gain a foothold in the 

game. However, following the change 

of ends, the boys sparked into life, and 

with a 15 minute spell of fluid passing, 

energy and movement that even Arsenal 

would admire, we took a 3-1 lead - Jack 

Murphy finishing a brilliant one-two 

with Will Watson, and captain George 


Kinsey scoring twice at the back post from 

consecutive short corners. Although we 

did concede again in the closing moments, 

the game was safe after an outstanding 

thirty minutes of hockey. 

As our fixture list became increasingly 

challenging during the second half of term, 

there were few opportunities to overcome 

teams by several goals as we had 

previously done, beating Bristol Grammar 

School 5-0. We subsequently came up 

against impressive sides from Taunton 

School and Sherborne who fully deserved 

their victories. However, somewhat 

irritatingly, we saved our best till last, 

producing two impressive wins during the 

King Edward’s School Hockey Festival. 

The first game saw us play Framlingham 

College from Suffolk. Tom Atkinson 

succeeded in dribbling around both the 

entirety of their side and seemingly half 

of ours as he weaved down the left wing, 

before feeding the ball to fellow midfielder 

Kinsey who calmly converted. Shortly 

afterwards, Murphy tucked away a wellworked 

short corner, and Atkinson would 

later round off proceedings, scoring one for 

himself following a brilliant 40-yard pass 

from central defender George Harris. 

The second game of the Festival- the final 

game of the season, and the concluding 

game of the seven leaving Upper Sixths’ 

Clifton hockey careers- was played against 

Glenalmond College from Scotland. Here, 

we saw our front three of Sam Ghaidan, 

Thomas Streatfeild-James and Will 

Watson provide the end-products that 

had sometimes been absent during the 

season, with both Ghaidan and Streatfeild- 

James scoring two well-taken goals each 

in a comfortable 4-1 win that included 

some impressive passages of play where 

every player touched the ball on numerous 

occasions. This proved a perfect send-off 

for the leavers: defenders Will Shields and 

Henry Barnes, and goalkeeper Sheridan 

Leech formed a formidable defence, 

between them managing to produce 

miraculous goal-saving performances on 

a frequent basis; midfielders Jack Murphy 

and captain George Kinsey who both 

provided a constant attacking threat; and 

forwards Tom Streatfeild-James and Sam 

Ghaidan who were a troublesome duo for 

opposition defenders, and both improved 

enormously over the season. 

The 2011 season was one of great 

success, one that offered promise for the 

ensuing years of Clifton hockey, and one 

that was thoroughly enjoyable and has left 

both player and coach alike with very fond 

memories. 

George Kinsey 

2nd XI 

Played 11 Won 5 Drawn 2 Lost 4. 

It was a good season for the 2nd XI. The 

team worked tirelessly and fought hard 

in every game. They opened the season 

with a good 2- 1 victory over Kingswood. 

They narrowly lost to Prior Park 2 – 1 on 

a water based pitch at Bath University 

when they should have won comfortably. 

Wins against KES Bath and BGS were very 

comfortable, followed by an excellent 1- 1 

draw against Taunton on Clifton’s new 

water based pitch. The team had great 

strength in all areas of the field. Rob Foxall- 

Smith (WaH) in goal was often a ‘match 

saver’, Henry Tancred-Holmes (NT) was like 

a terrier at the back, Will Higgins (ET) and 

Freddie Kalfayan (ET) worked tirelessly in 

the midfield, whilst the two ‘big men’ Will 

Evans (ET) and captain George Hood (ET) 

were a solid presence on and off the pitch. 

George Kinsey – 1st XI Captain 2011 

Many of the team will push for 1st XI honours 

next year I am sure. Moore (ET), Fleury (ET) 

and Diamond (ET) among others mentioned 

in this report will be in ‘the mix’. 

3rd XI 

Played 10 Won 5 Drawn 1 Lost 4. 

Paul Askew 

The 3rds enjoyed a mixed season in 

2011. At home, and in their best form, 

they were a very talented young side 

mostly containing 5th formers. However, 

their inexperience at times showed 

in away matches and consistency in 

performance was a problem. Defending 

was a particular issue, from midfielders 

learning to track players to new 

goalkeepers who took time to adjust to 

this position. However, the tackling of 

James Egginton (ET) was always a model 

of good practice. Attack was the strength 

of this group and other teams did 

struggle to match their verve. The goals 

of Freddie Rothwell (ET) were exceptional 

at times. The long term team members 

of Alex Smith (NT) and Tom Beresford 

(SH) showed ability in attack. The youth 

bodes promise for next year! 

Jay Gardner 

Tom Atkinson scores against the OC XI Short corner defence v King’s Taunton 

SPORT 

75

4th XI 

Played 8 Won 2 Drawn 2 Lost 4 

On paper the 4th XI was as strong a squad as we have had for many a year but 

for one fatal flaw – we did not have a goalkeeper! It took three or four weeks of 

experimentation with game but inexperienced volunteers and soft goals galore to 

resolve. However both Leo Comerford (SH) and Jeffery Asquith (WiH) came through 

showing considerable talent and were jostling for the 3rd XI slot by the end of the 

season. Elsewhere the attack was quite potent with Ross Miller (ST), Will Pigott (MH) 

and Henry Gibson (MH) all striking the ball cleanly when opportunity presented. 

Rhys Edwards shored up the midfield with support from Oli Mann (ET) and Will 

Hale (WiH) and, while the defence was always a little porous, Gareth ‘Psycho’ 

Davies (WiH) proved himself to be one of the most improved players of the season. 

An unbeaten second half of the season, including a hard fought draw coming from 

behind against Sherborne, showed what the team was capable of. 

Junior Colts 

Played 9 Won 3 Lost 6 

Adam Sibley 

This side always had the potential to be good, but unfortunately it was not until 

the very last match of the season that they produced the standard of hockey of 

which they were capable and which they had threatened from time to time in 

training. It was a joy to watch the fast, flowing hockey with which they 

demolished Queen’s Taunton 4-1. 

It took a little while to get key players in the right position, and lack of depth in 

this year group meant we did struggle when players were missing for any reason. 

In many of the games played, despite losing, the quality of our play was very 

good, but we failed to convert chances into goals. Also, we did struggle at the 

back when we came across opposition forwards with pace. However, in goal, 

Ben O’Sullivan (ET) was in outstanding form, and thoroughly deserved the most 

improved player award. He was well supported by Jack Ellison, who never gave 

up and who won the player of the season award. Colours were awarded to: Ben 

O’Sullivan(ET), Jack Ellison (ET) and David Parry (ST) 

As always, thanks go to Gil Simmons for his excellent umpiring throughout the 

season. 

Ian Turnbull 

Yearlings 

Played 9 Won 3 Drawn 1 Lost 5 

Captained by Joel Barber (ET), ably supported by Mikhail Neganov (MH) in goal and 

Freddie Owsley (ST) in attack, the team performed with sporadic brilliance. They 

succumbed to the speedy attacks of Kingswood in the first game of the season, 

with the defence of James Hughesdon (SH), Yoo Je Hoang (NT), Jamie Atkinson (ST), 

Tom Beck (SH) unable to cope. Things improved markedly with a slightly altered 

defence in which Ryan O’Connor (SH) provided protection. The thrashings of BGS 

and Beechen Cliff surrounded an excellent County tournament, in which we lost 

to Colston’s in the semi-final with magnificent performances from Harry Hood (ET) 

and Solly MacMurchy (SH). The highlight of the season was the remarkable beating 

of Sherborne, with Freddie Owsley scoring all four goals, and assured displays from 

Will Slatton (ET) and Edward Whittaker (ST). The team knows how to play and, with 

more maturity, it will develop into a sound side. 

The B team had the most successful term for many a season, winning half of their 

games with tremendous contributions from most of the players. 

Oliver Cullen 

Cricket 

1st XI 

P 15 W 11 L 4 Abandoned / Cancelled 3 

This was an excellent season for a 1st XI 

who produced a playing record better 

than any 1st XI in the past eight seasons. 

The side has worked hard over the winter 

months and developed a very encouraging 

team spirit during this period. The team did 

Sheridan Leech 

not contain one or two star players that had 

been in the XI in recent years and therefore 

perhaps a lower expectation of success 

meant they played under less pressure. 

In the 50 over form of the game it was fantastic 

to win six of the eight games completed. 

This included very impressive wins over 

Cheltenham College, Monmouth School, 

Sherborne and Bromsgrove. Undoubtedly 

the pick of these was a convincing win over 


Cheltenham College in the third week of 

the term. Cheltenham won the toss and 

opted to bat on a fine day on the Close 

and at 150 – 1 after 25 overs they were 

certainly in a hugely dominant position. 

Through the next hour of play the Clifton 

XI summoned up the team spirit they 

had developed in such a short space of 

bowled left arm spin in the side for four 

years and accumulated 90 wickets; his 

opening spell of 5 overs, 3 for 8, turned 

the game on its head and ultimately saw 

a very stunned Sherborne XI dismissed 

for 201 – a very satisfying win and a 

marvellous performance from Ross Miller. 

The Clifton sides over the last three years 

have been very good at T20 cricket. The 

early stages of the National T20 Competition 

were disappointing because at no stage 

in the opening three games were the XI 

significantly challenged. Bristol Grammar, 

Queen Elizabeth’s Hospital and Wycliffe 

were all very comfortably beaten. It was a 

shame then to go out of the competition 

to a strong Filton side before making the 

regional knock-out stages. The annual T20 

game against the OC’s at Commemoration 

eventually started at 3pm and then 

produced a low scoring but thrilling game 

of T20, the 1st XI securing victory off the 

penultimate delivery. Luke Watson picked 

up the man of the match award for his telling 

spell of bowling early in the OC innings. 

For all concerned it was an extremely 

enjoyable and successful season. My 

particular thanks go to Sheridan Leech 

who captained the side superbly and who 

undoubtedly was responsible for much of 

the success achieved during the term. 

Lower down the school it was encouraging 

to see both the U15 and U14 sides win 

the County Competitions. This meant that 

once again the U15 side progressed into 

the regional stages of the National U15 

T20 and go as far as competing in the 

west Finals at Exeter University. The U14 XI 

will now take part in the Lord’s Taverners 

Schools Cup next season. 

On a final note, the Close has looked 

amazing all through the term, thanks to 

the appointment of Andy Matthews as the 

Head of Grounds at Clifton. His knowledge 

will see the Close continue to improve 

as an outstanding school venue and a 

considerable investment will be made to the 

grounds at Beggars Bush in the future. 

John Bobby and Paul Romaines 

Ross Miller 

time to bowl outstandingly and reduce 

Cheltenham to 220 all out. It was an 

outstanding team bowling performance. 

The chase was always measured and 

without panic and it was brilliant to see 

two upper sixth boys, George Kinsey and 

Sheridan Leech, bat calmly through the 

closing overs to secure an excellent 6 

wicket win. 

A win away at Sherborne is certainly never 

easy and the XI arrived there knowing 

that Sherborne had already won 15 of 

their 16 games played this season. Clifton 

Started slowly but thanks to a brilliant 74 

from Tom Smith put on over a hundred 

for the opening wicket. A stutter in the 

middle order then saw Clifton struggling 

to post 228; many felt an opportunity may 

well have been wasted. With Sherborne 

cruising to a fifty opening partnership 

inside 10 overs the XI once again looked 

firmly on the back foot. Ross Miller has 

2nd XI 

The 2nd XI were coming off the 

back of an unbeaten season 

and so there was immediate 

pressure on new captain 

Henry Barnes and vice-captain 

Thomas Streatfeild-James to 

set the standard. However any 

nerves there may have been 

were settled in the first game 

of the season against BGS 

with the youthful brilliance of 

fifth former Will Higgins, who 

scored a near faultless 114 

and went on to be the leading run scorer 

of the season. Further victories followed 

thanks largely to consistent batting from 

Liam Crandon and Sam Ghaidan but the 

bowlers looked like taking wickets at any 

time. Thomas Streatfeild-James finished 

the season as leading wicket taker with 

13 wickets at the impressive strike rate 

of 16.5 and best figures of 7-0-34-5. Joe 

Brooks (most improved player of the 

season), Jack Morgan and Sam Ghaidan 

(highest batting average) all took 4 wicket 

hauls for just 15 runs each while senior 

pro Anand Patel led the attack with the 

new ball and relentlessly terrorised 

batsmen with his height, pace and guile. 

The team finally came unstuck against 

Cheltenham but bounced back with an 

excellent victory away against King’s 

Taunton. After reaching just 120 off the 

35 overs the game looked as if it was 

slipping away as King’s reached 50 for no 

wicket. However wickets started tumbling 

and in the end Clifton won by 12 runs and 

7 overs to spare. The final game of the 

season was played against Monmouth on 

the Close and followed the T20 women’s 

international. Batsmen came out to face a 

pink ball against black sight screens and 

music blaring out over the tannoy. Man of 

the match Ronnie Harding took 5 wickets 

in his 4 overs and Clifton won the game 

with one ball to spare. So ended another 

successful season with 6 wins and just 

the one loss. 

Hugo Tilney and Paul Askew 

SPORT 

77

3rd XI 

The 2011 cricket season will be remembered as 

a sensational season for the 3rd XI cricket team. 

The boys have only lost one game all season 

against a strong Cheltenham side. 

The season kicked off with an emphatic win 

over local rivals BGS in a 25 over game with 

Jeffery Asquith taking 4 wickets for 19 runs from 

his 5 overs. In a 20 over game played just a 

week later James Richards demolished a weak 

bowling attack scoring an impressive 54 very 

quickly. Rob Tatton-Brown’s powerful stroke play 

saw him score 41 not out ably supported by 

John Beresford with 31. BGS in response had no 

answer to Haris Khan’s bowling as he took 

4 for 15. 

Cricket is a game which should be played in 

glorious sunshine but against Taunton School 

the weather was anything but sunshine! 

Asquith’s bowling spell more than made up for 

this. In a virtually unplayable spell of bowling 

he managed to get the ball swinging perfectly. 

Posted with a target of 148 Freddie Boyle’s 60 

led the team to an easy victory. 

Rhys Edwards was certainly fired up for the 

King’s Taunton game bowled well taking 2 

wickets in 2 balls, his pace was superbly 

supported by Ronnie Harding who bowled 

extremely well all season and well surely be 

in a higher team next year. 

Cheltenham College proved too strong an outfit 

for us this year but the team persevered well 

and made Cheltenham sweat for their victory. 

Outstanding catches from Neil Chandratreya 

and Ben Arthur will not be forgotten in a hurry. 

The season concluded with a match against 

Malvern College - victory came in this close 

game due to the batting and bowling talents of 

John Morfopoulos who anchored the innings 

with 35 not out and then proceeded to take 

4 wickets. 

A big thank you to all the boys who turned 

out and represented the school this year 

but the biggest thank you must go to Robert 

Tatton-Brown and Rhys Edwards who have 

represented the school for the past 3 years at 

this level. Keep playing boys and well done on 

an excellent season! 

Nick Luker and Adam Sibley 


Under 15 

The Junior Colts A Cricket XI 

had a disappointing season in 

terms of ‘Saturday’ fixtures, only 

managing to beat Malvern during 

the last weekend of term and also 

recording a sound victory over 

Queen’s Taunton as part of the 

school’s ‘away day’ programme. However, 

they did manage to qualify for the West 

of England 20/20 Finals, playing some 

fine cricket along the way, and for this 

format they were bolstered by the return of 

Matthews and Smith who had been playing 

for the 1st XI for the rest of the season. 

Unfortunately, we lost to Portsmouth 

Grammar School in the semi final of this 

competition (who went on to win the final). 

Jack Ellison captained the side extremely 

well and also batted superbly in the 

latter weeks of term, scoring 117 against 

Queen’s Taunton. There were also notable 

contributions from the side’s spin bowlers, 

Parry and Probert, and Helps improved 

throughout the term with the new ball. 

Despite the poor results, Mr Haynes and 

I enjoyed watching the team develop and 

are hopeful that a number of the boys will 

represent the 1st XI in future seasons. 

Under 14 

Jim Williams 

The U14 As have had a fine season, 

winning nine out of eleven fixtures and 

reaching the final of the local section of the 

Lords Taverners Trophy Tournament. There 

were victories over Bristol GS, Monmouth, 

Taunton and Malvern College as well as 

the splendid cup run. The strength of the 

team probably lay in its bowling though 

there were days, for example at King’s 

Taunton, when the radar went horribly 

awry. Collin and Jones made a formidable 

opening attack and were well supported by 

Chivers, Slatton, Barber and Lewis, though 

unfortunately little space could be found 

for the off spin of Cameron Rose who might 

U14A 

U15A 

nevertheless well develop into into a very 

useful bowler. 

The runs mainly came from Whittaker, 

Binnington Savage, Barber, Collin, Dixey, 

Chivers and Hunter, whilst Harry Hood 

improved enormously as the teams wicket 

keeper under the guidance of Reggie 

Williams, The team was very cheerful, 

harmonious group who practiced well and 

always tried hard to do the right thing. 

Joel Barber and Gem Collin led the team 

enthusiastically and with increasing 

insight: they began to realise how 

important it is to climb out of anxiety about 

their own game and to focus on their 

colleagues’ well-being. It all came together 

one hot afternoon in June when the team 

bowled and fielded tigerishly to overcome 

Malvern College. On a rain-affected tour 

at the end of term Haileybury College was 

also defeated. 

Chris Walker 

Two narrow defeats, four thumping 

victories, one of which by the record margin 

of 248 runs, and one can say that it was 

a good season for the U14 B. Tom Beck 

(SH) was the outstanding batsman, always 

Tom Beck and Daniel Lewis. 

showing a straight bat, and the highlight 

of the season was his record opening 

partnership of 207 with Daniel Lewis (WiH), 

and another century opener with Matthew 

Hunter (MH). 

Oliver Cullen

Athletics 2011 

This year we had 20 athletes 

representing Bristol Schools in the 

Avon Championships but only four of them 

qualified to represent Avon in the South 

West Championships – George King (ET) 

100m Hurdles, Lily Owsley (WT) 800m, 

Tor Kenny (WT) 800m and Kwame Fordwor 

(SH) 100m. Kwame and Lily managed 

to qualify from these championships 

to further represent Avon in the English 

Schools Athletics Finals which were held at 

Gateshead Stadium. Both of these athletes 

had been to these National Finals before 

and they used their experience to qualify 

for their respective finals which were 

televised live by Sky Sports. They both 

finished in 6th position and will hopefully 

have a bright future in the sport. Yannick 

Sailing 

The Sailing Club goes 

from strength to 

strength. We have had 

a great season racing 

Clifton’s new Fireflies; 

we are enjoying closer 

boat-sharing and racing arrangements with 

Millfield School, whilst powerboating and 

‘big boat’ exposure are now firmly part of the 

programme. 

Victory came early in the year when Clifton 

faced Prior Park. Simon Green and Lauren Tang 

dominated the race and Dan Clark and Luke 

Farmer edged their way up the fleet. Students 

competed in the Small Ships race in October 

aboard the 1906 wooden-built classic yacht 

‘Moosk’ (one of the smallest ships competing). 

The Clifton team of seven managed to 

come 2nd in their category and 4th in the 

competition overall, out of a total of 24 yachts. 

In the Lent term there were home and away 

legs of a three school regatta involving 

Clifton, Sherborne and Millfield. 

The Summer term started with Simon Green 

leading Clifton to a 2 – 2 draw against a 

strong Millfield side at Chew. Simon Green, 

Martin Stanfield and 

Dan Clark all gained a 

lot of boat speed by very 

effective ‘roll tacking’ 

and all won their races. 

Then came Farmoor, 

near Oxford, and the 

Midlands dinghy racing 

championships. This is 

a huge and prestigious 

Budd (NT) who left last year having finished 

8th in the National finals has continued 

with his high hurdles and has recently been 

ranked in the top 10 UK senior men, so he 

might be one to watch in the future! 

The Victor Ludorum Trophy was once again 

competed for by the Clifton athletes. This 

competition comprises their five best 

events including one from each discipline 

(sprint, distance, throw and jump). The 

event, with 24 teams 

competing in a total of 80 

races. Clifton raced seven 

times, producing a notable 

win against Haileybury. The 

Sailing Team then travelled 

to Spinnaker Sailing Club at 

Ringwood for the Southerns 

event. The team 

showed a lot of spirit racing against more 

experienced teams and had very close 

finishes against Canford and Millfield and 

the closest of finishes against the eventual 

bronze fleet winners Claires Court. 

In Interhouse Sailing, 10 houses competed 

for the very handsome engraved Sailing 

Shield. Many houses entered younger 

teams this year who showed a lot of spirit 

and thoroughly enjoyed themselves sailing 

in the sunshine and steady breezes. The 

finals between WoH, OH, WaH and ET were 

extremely competitive and there was a great 

deal of close-quarters, tactical sailing as well 

as heated shouts of ‘protest.’ 

The summer season came to an end with 

an old favourite: the staff-student sailing 

in fancy dress, followed by a shore-side 

BBQ. Dr Grohmann looked ‘barking’ in his 

full-size Scooby-Doo outfit. It was left to 

Mrs Zdanovits and 

Anna Feather (and 

thereafter to Mr 

Catchpole) to sail 

gvracefully over the 

finish-line to take 

pole position. 

Owen Lewis 

Master i/c Sailing 2011 

winner of the boys’ event with 101 points 

was James Morris (MH) and the winner 

of the girls’ event was Emily Bevens (WT) 

with 105 points. Fixtures were reduced 

this year but we competed in our regular 

meetings at Bromsgrove, Millfield and 

Marlborough and many athletes had 

success. Next year we hope to host our 

own meeting with the facilities at Watson’s 

being developed. 

Fencing 

Commemoration day this year once again 

saw a magnificent duelling spectacle at 

Clifton – the final of the Inter-House Fencing 

Competition between The South Town and 

School House followed by the victorious 

South Town taking on the Old Cliftonian 

team, resulting in a resounding victory for 

Clifton’s current crop of swordsmen. 

The season began in September when two 

of our keenest competitors, Harry Morgan 

and Roz Dunn, entered the Bristol Open. 

This is perhaps the biggest competition in 

the UK after the nationals, so Harry taking 

second place in the Plate competition was a 

promising start to the season. 

Over the course of the year we fought a small 

number of matches against other schools, 

the best of which was against Marlborough 

College; at last the strength in depth of 

Clifton managed to snatch a narrow victory, 

much to the delight of all those involved. Our 

match against the Royal Navy in London was 

a different type of challenge as it required 

a team of three, each of us doing different 

weapons. Harry took on the Foil, Roz the 

Epée and Mr. Scorgie was bullied into doing 

the Sabre – he said he hoped that he might 

hold his own. He won his first fight 5 – 0 in a 

little over 36 seconds! 

One of the highlights of the fencing calendar 

is the Public School’s Fencing Championships 

at the end of the Lent term in Crystal Palace. 

Results were on the whole very pleasing, 

most notably Harry Morgan coming 14th 

in the boys’ senior foil and Katie McInally 

finishing 19th in the girls’ senior foil. 

Harry Morgan – Team Captain 

SPORT 

79

Rowing 

Away from the bright lights of the 

Close, a small but committed group 

of Cliftonians continue to brave 

all weather and river conditions as part 

of the School Boat Club. Having returned 

back to their original home of Ariel Rowing 

Club in St Anne’s the Club has developed 

a small but hardworking core who are 

keen to return to success of old. Training is 

now focussed on sculling to aid crews to 

train easily together and to help develop 

an understanding of the watermanship 

required to become an effective oar. 

Training sees pupils both work on the 

water and in the gym but heavy flooding, 

clashes with holiday dates and heavy exam 

timetables have hampered entries to races. 

Gloucester Head saw the 1st four, 

(T. Pyrke, Oliver, Nelson, Rushworth, 

cox - Lloyd) chase Dart Totnes to a close 

second place whilst the Moffat twins as a 

women’s junior 18 double raced well and 

produced a solid result. The mixed J16 4x 

(Darvill, Sims, Webb, Down) challenged 

well but faded in the latter part of the race 

but rallied to finish well. 

The Ball Cup was raced over 1000m at the 

Eton Olympic Rowing Lake, Dorney and 

again saw some competitive racing. Both 

1st (as above) and 2nd (Richardson, Foxall- 

Smith, Bullimore, B. Pyrke) fours had to 

race the same event and finished well in 

5th and 7th place respectively. The Moffat 

twins, WJ18 2x, and Darvil and Sims, J16 

2x, coped admirably in windy conditions 

to finish 4th, whilst Webb and Down 

competing in the WJ16 2x again raced well 

to finish 5th. 

Avon County regatta saw our novice crews 

(MN4+: James, Von Hasman, Woolley, 

Polledri, cox - Ashe) (WN4+ : Mikhaleva, 

Kajema, Wakeford, Critchley-Clarke, cox - 

Chappell) both race beyond expectation 

but unfortunately met strong crews in their 

finals. E. Down racing as WJ16 1x in her 

first race raced superbly and was leading 

her final before being overtaken in the last 

few strokes. 

House Rowing continues to give a highly 

competitive and enjoyable end to the 

season. Moberly’s having struggled over 

the past few years in the event decided 

this year was to be theirs and after some 

excellent form beat Watson’s in a very 

close final. Hallward’s continued their 

winning streak and for a 4th time took 

the honours in the girls event, beating 

Oakeley’s in the final. 

Thanks must go for the unfailing 

commitment of the coaching staff 

Messieurs Kendry and Hooper along with 

Mrs Mann and Bright without whom the 

Club would simply not function. Mrs Bright 

after several years of supporting the Club 

leaves to work abroad, and takes with her 

our particular thanks and gratitude. 

Congratulations must go to all who have 

been part of the Club over the year, with 

particular thanks to Emily Lloyd (WT) (capt) 

for her help as Captain of boats. As Sam 

Nelson (NT) takes over the Captaincy the 

club looks poised to go from strength to 

strength. 

Club Awards 2010-11. 

Oarsman of the year - Tom Oliver (WaH) 

Oarswomen of the year - 

Elizabeth Down (WT) - Novice of the Year 

Jo Hargan (ST) - Cox of the Year 

Emily Lloyd (WT) - Captain for 2011/12 

Sam Nelson (NT) 

Independent Schools 

Golf Association 

National Plate Finals 2011 – Gross Champions 

Having reached the National Finals 

of the Independent Schools’ Golf 

Association Matchplay Tournament 

last year by beating Malvern College 

in the Regional Final, the tables were 

unfortunately turned this year as Malvern 

knocked us out in the first round. The 

Clifton team of Jack Mann, Tom Waycott 

and Charlie Powell, put up a good fight 

but were outplayed on the day by a 

good team, who eventually reached the 

National Finals themselves. 

Clifton then moved into the Plate 

competition and swiftly progressed to 

the Regional Final, beating Monmouth 

convincingly on their home turf, setting up 

an exciting day at the National Plate Finals 

at the Shire Golf Course in early July. 

After a shaky start, the team of 3 pictured 

above (John Maguire, Lloyd James and 

Charlie Powell) played some excellent golf 

on a difficult course to record an impressive 

victory in the Gross competition and were 

close runners up in the Nett event as well. 

I look forward to 2012 and hope that the 

team can rise to the challenge of having 

three consecutive years of success in this 

National Competition. 

Bjorn Hoffmann, Master i/c golf 


Real Tennis 

Real Tennis has enjoyed a very good 

year at Clifton. There are some 

promising youngsters coming up 

through the ranks, with players of real 

ability in both the 3rd and 4th Forms. 

The more they play, the better they will 

get! This old adage is borne out by the 

success of Lucinda Pigott (WoH), who is 

beginning to make her mark in ladies’ 

tournaments around the country. 

Rackets Season 

2010/11 SEASON 

Emma Powell (Finalist), Reggie Williams 

(Coach), Lucy Pigott (Winner of Girls U18 

Championship, Queen’s Club) 

This year saw silverware come to 

Clifton! In the first Girl’s National 

Schools U18 Championship it was 

an all Clifton final. Lucy Pigott played 

really well in the group stages as did 

Emma Powell, who got through to the final 

by two points pipping Ella Gaskell from 

Haileybury to the post. Lucy played solidly 

throughout, held her nerve and overcame 

Emma in a cracking final where there were 

some quality rallies. Lucy won the final 

15/8 15/12. 

Clifton Rackets saw a much more 

competitive squad thanks to the boy’s 

hard work and commitment. The team was 

captained by James Johnson who was very 

loyal to the sport and did an excellent job. 

The first pair of Adam Kula-Przezwanski 

and Johnson won 5 out of their 9 matches 

in the Michaelmas term. Both boys played 

some silky rackets, especially against 

Malvern when they were 3/1 down and 

turned it around to beat them 4/3 at 

The undoubted highlight of 

the season was our victory in 

the National Schools’ Doubles 

Championships at the end of 

January, in which the results of first 

and second pair competitions are 

combined. The First Pair of Freddie 

Kalfayan and Jonny Whitaker (both 

ET) were runners-up, and the 

Second Pair of Adam Kula and James 

Johnson (both NT) won all their 

matches. We have to share the title 

with Radley this year, but hopefully 

in 2012 we can win it outright. 

Jo Greenbury 

Malvern. Kula played well in his first 

match of the Foster Cup, which is the 

top 16 boys in the country, but lost to 

Stout (Cheltenham) 15/7 in the final 

game. 

Our 2nd pair, Kalfayan and Ghaidan 

put in some fine performances. Other 

senior players included Will Evans 

who won the senior tournament, 

but could not commit to rackets as 

much as he would have liked, Jonny 

Whitaker, Charlie Powell, Jack Mann 

and Henry Barnes. Ben McGeoch had a 

fine season reaching the Quarter Final 

stages of the U16 Incledon-Webber 

singles tournament, narrowly losing to 

the 1st seed Duncliffe (Cheltenham) 

2/1. With his partner Charlie Powell he 

made the quarter finals of the doubles. 

In the JCs, Doug Evans also had a 

good season reaching the Quarter 

Final stages of the singles and with his 

partner Jake Probert made the Quarter 

Finals of the doubles. My other JCs, 

Dylan Trenouth, David Parry, Lucas 

Mesquita, and Freddie Oldfield worked 

hard at their game all season. Doug 

Evans will also be representing Clifton 

in the Junior tournament final against 

Henry Mullan. 

The Yearlings are showing some 

promise. Henry Mullan and Ed 

Whittaker had good wins against 

Haileybury, Cheltenham, Winchester, 

and Malvern, while Cameron Rose, 

Tom Beck, George Lambert, Dan Lewis, 

Harry Hood, Jens Lasrado and Freddie 

Owsley have all played in matches and 

have shown great commitment. 

Reggie Williams 

GIRLS’ GAMES 

Girls’ Tennis 

The first team was captained by Daria 

Malyarova (WoH) this year and she 

was awarded a prestigious blue 

tie for her quality play and fifth year in 

the first squad. Daria and Maddie Jupp 

(OH) only lost one match this season 

and played consistently well all season. 

Examinations hugely affected the senior 

tennis squads this year. There was a 

different combination of players every 

week. The first squad stayed largely the 

same with Emma Powell (WoH), Saskia 

Barnes (WT) and Mariya Lobanovska (HH) 

joining Maddie and Daria. Emily King (HH) 

and Francesca Grimwade (HH) played in 

the first squad after half term and must 

be congratulated for their dedication to 

the squad. The U6 leavers will be hugely 

missed next year. The senior squads won 

five out of their six matches. The junior 

squads are looking promising for the 

future with Angie Price (WT) captaining the 

U14’s and a member of the Aegon squad. 

Phoebe Currie (WT) Georgia Argent (WT) 

and Kate Bird (WoH) look promising for 

next year. Ros Dunn (OH) and Holly Dixon 

(WoH) made a good partnership in the U15 

with newcomer Emily Hufflett (WT) making 

a nice edition to the U15A squad.The 

junior squads had a mixed season with 

some close matches and plenty of room 

for development for next year. 

Louise Catchpole 

Head of Girls’ Games 

SPORT 

81

Girls’ Hockey 

The girls have excelled themselves 

this year with exceptional play and 

team spirit. The U14 year group 

qualified for the hockey national 

finals and the netball regional 

finals: an impressive start to 

their Clifton career. They finished 

in the top eight in the country 

after the national finals. We have 

consistently fielded eight hockey, 

ten netball and eight tennis teams 

over the course of the year. 

1st XI Squad 

With only two players short from 

the year before, this year’s 1st 

team squad were looking to build 

on a wealth of experience and talent in 

search of another triumphant season. 

Matches came thick and fast and before 

we knew it we were faced with the county 

tournament at Beggar’s Bush. As reigning 

champions from the year before the girls 

knew what lengths they would have to go 

to in order to remain on top for another 

year, and, as in most years, our biggest 

threat would come in the form of a BGS 

side that seemed to have spent well in 

the summer transfer market. Another 

final and another win for Clifton secured 

the silverware and the bragging rights 

for yet another year! The girls certainly 

proved themselves worthy winners and all 

involved were tremendously proud of the 

team effort applied that day. 


The Regional tournament at Millfield would 

be our next big test amongst hungry and 

competitive teams. An uncharacteristic slow 

start to the day saw us draw against BGS 

whereby we struggled to find our rhythm and 

groove. This would be the story of the day as 

we failed to secure victories over sides that 

on a different day would be put to the sword. 

A below par day for such a talented and able 

squad saw us finish fourth and any hopes of 

a trip to the nationals vanished. We all knew 

we hadn’t quite done enough that day and 

the disappointment was palpable. 

On the whole the season brought fantastic 

performances and a very healthy results 

card. I hope all that participated will 

look back with pride and with a sense of 

achievement. Thanks for all your hard graft 

and perseverance girls. 

Congratulations to Lily Owsley (WT) who was 

selected for the England U18 hockey squad 

and Isabel Murphy (WT) who was selected 

for the U16 squad and played in the four 

nations in Valencia. 

Tim Lang 

2nd XI Squad 

In some ways this has been a frustrating 

season as illness, injury and movement 

between teams meant that we rarely played 

with a settled side and this was reflected in 

our results. 

Last year’s captain Katie Warren (WT) was out 

for the whole season, while Saskia James 

(OH), who replaced her, played very few 

matches. However, we beat BGS (3-0) and 

Wellington (3-0), drew with Marlborough (1- 

1) and Blundell’s (0-0), and lost to Taunton 

(0-1), Dauntsey’s (0-2) and Dean Close (0-1). 

For much of the season the team lacked a 

play-maker in the middle, although Marie 

Phillips (WT), who won the most improved 

player award, stepped into that role and 

did a very good job. She is definitely one 

to watch for the future. Philippa Davis (WT) 

thoroughly deserved her “most valuable 

player” award, as she worked tirelessly 

in every match and never gave up. She 

was well supported up front by Henri 

Worthington (WT), who was again our top 

goal scorer. 

3rd XI Squad 

Ian Turnbull 

A promising 1-0 start against local rivals 

BGS hinted at a promising season for the 

two team captains, Rosie Keefe (OH) and 

Tilly Wickens (WT), but a subsequent run of 

three successive defeats disguised just how 

well the team were playing. However, form is 

temporary and the results changed as player 

of the season, Ocean Critchley-Clark (OH), 

began to flourish and Bella Ghaidan (WT) 

found she just could not stop scoring! The

3-0 victory away against a strong Dean Close 

side was the highlight of the season and, 

as they really began to hit their potential, 

it was impossible for the team to hide 

their disappointment that this turned out 

to be the last game in a weather-ravaged 

season. Overall a good, progressive and, 

most of all, enjoyable, season. 

4th XI Squad 

Gary Catchpole 

2010 saw a season full of successes for an 

up-and-coming 4th XI squad. Beginning 

with a promising 2-1 victory against BGS 

in September, the season continued with 

some pleasing results. We were out-played 

at Marlborough (2-0), but the girls bounced 

back the next week with an outstanding 

team performance which resulted in a 

4-0 win against Taunton. The second half 

of the term saw some close matches in 

which the girls gave their all, resulting in 

a 1-1 draw against Blundell’s, a 2-0 loss 

against Dauntsey’s and, in our last match, 

a 1-0 victory over Dean Close. Snow for the 

last two weeks of the Michaelmas term 

resulted in an early close to the season. 

This really was a delightful team to coach, 

and all the girls should be proud of their 

own improvements as well as the support 

they showed to one another and their 

commitment to the team. 

Anna Haynes 

U15 A Squad 

The U15A team took real strides in bridging 

the gap between junior and senior hockey 

this year; a number of them will be competing 

strongly for 1st/2nd team places next year. 

Of particular note is the level of physicality 

displayed by many. The season started in 

a rusty fashion with a 3-1 win over BGS, 

where our marked superiority required an 

Anna Sibley (WT) hat-trick to make the result 

emphatic. Marlborough proved to be more 

feisty competitors the week after, but some 

superb saves by Kosi Carter (HH) limited 

the damage; her intelligent reading of the 

game marks her out as a player to watch in 

the future. The match against Taunton was a 

more turgid one, where our dominance didn’t 

bring any goals in the drawn game, played 

out in the surreal environment of an army 

camp ringed by barbed wire. The match was 

notable though for the emergence of two of 

the most improved players of the season: 

defenders Lizzie Powell (HH) and Flo Moore 

(OH) established themselves as robust 

defenders. Our final match against Wellington 

revealed our best hockey and a firm selfbelief; 

having squandered a 2-0 lead to be 

level at half-time, there was no questioning 

the girls’ determination to secure the victory, 

not least the ever-positive Paris Collingbourne 

(OH), and as Anna Sibley cracked the backboard 

for the fifth time, the opposition could 

only long for the final whistle! 

U15 B Squad 

Anthony Spencer 

The U15Bs played good hockey all season 

and deserved their success. Grace Jalleh- 

Sharples (HH) was very reliable in goal, 

supported by a solid back line with captain 

Abigail Waycott (WT) at sweeper. In midfield 

Shannon Mortimore (HH) and Mabel Moll 

(HH) ran miles to supply an attack led by the 

goal-hungry Lisa Pasyada (OH). The most 

improved player of the season was Emily 

Hufflett (WT) who developed into a fast 

attacking winger. 

Phil Hallworth and Katherine Jeffery 

U14 A Squad 

National and Regional Finalists 

The U14A looked an exciting prospect 

from the very beginning of term and I was 

not wrong. They had an unbeaten season 

against some excellent opposition, and 

captained by Phoebe Currie (WT) they were 

a pleasure to coach. They easily won the 

county tournament without conceding a 

goal. The regionals were a little more fraught 

with them losing narrowly to Canford, 

finishing second overall. They then played 

in a national playoff match against Oundle, 

travelling to St Edward’s Oxford, a neutral 

venue. They won the match on penalties 

after an exciting extra time. Phoebe McCurdy 

(HH) saved three penalties ensuring safe 

passage to the squad’s safe passage. The 

girls performed well in the finals, but were 

not quite able to demonstrate the skill they 

had perfected all season. A tremendous 

season, with Angie Price (WT) as player 

of the season and Emily Bevens (WT) as 

most improved player. Congratulations to 

Georgia Young (OH), Angie Price (WT), Nicole 

Kimitri (HH) and Oceane Vigie (WT) who 

were selected for the JRPC (Junior Regional 

Performance Centre). 

A fantastic season girls - well done!! 


SPORT 

83

U14 B Squad 

As term progressed the team was really 

beginning to develop into a cohesive 

unit captained and led by Grace Browne 

(HH), whose vision and stamina were 

much admired by the opposition. When 

Grace was promoted to the A team Alice 

Anstee (WT) then took on the captain’s 

role and the team settled down again as 

they became used to playing in different 

positions. Jemima Sykes (OH) was brilliant 

in goal when she was fit enough to play and 

combined well with the defensive squad of 

Anna Morgan, Maddie Hodgkinson, Katie 

Lloyd-Hughes (all WT), Elizabeth Streatfeild- 

James (OH) and Megan Tyre (WoH). They 

barely let a goal in after the first couple of 

weeks. As mid-field players, Jess Hufflett 

(WT), Connie Hogan and Flo Woolley (WoH) 

really began to dictate play as they became 

more confident both on and off the ball and 

began to understand how to both attack 

and defend! In attack, we had both stamina 

and speed with Alice leading from the 

centre supported by Jess Manikum-Allen 

(HH), Jemima Cook (HH) Lauren Westley 

and Tara Proske (both OH). 

Sue Kerr 

Netball 

1st Squad 

The 1st VII have had a mixed bag of 

results this year, with only two wins. The 

first fixture against Bromsgrove two days 

after the end of the Christmas holidays was 

a tough start: it takes time to select the right 

combination of players and unfortunately 

while this process was taking place, matches 

were played and losses incurred. 

The 1st VII settled eventually into a squad of 

10 players. The defence was very strong with 

many different combinations working well 

to limit shooting chances by the opposition. 

Charlotte Greenslade (WT), Poppy Brookes 

(WT) and Mila Jupp (OH) proved formidable, 

as did Imogen Comerford (OH) on the 

occasions that she was asked to play in 

defence. In attack Aimee Freeland (HH) was 

a fabulous captain, leading by example with 

some brilliant performances as GA. Imogen 

played excellently with Aimee as GS and 

Ellice Harding (WoH) was a great addition to 

Clifton netball both in the shooting circle and 

on court where her balance and control make 

her pivotal in matches. The turning point 

for the 1st VII was their away game against 

Dean Close in early February. They played 4 

x 15 minute quarters (full length for senior 

league netball) and although narrowly losing, 

it was the moment, for me, when I felt the 

squad had truly left the hockey term behind! 

This was very mature netball that wouldn’t 

have been out of place in the Avon Premier 

division and I was very proud of them all. 

After half term we had fixtures against the 

three Taunton schools. The Taunton match 

at BB was certainly memorable and the girls 

managed to remain composed (mostly) on 

court whilst all around them was chaos. They 

should be very proud of the strength of their 

performance that day and although they 

didn’t win, they deserved to. Throughout 

the season the 1sts have had stability in 

the centre court area with some fantastic 

performances from Saskia Barnes (WT), Zoe 

Ward (WoH), Ellice and Hannah Giebus (WT) 

who as Vice Captain has played an important 

calming and controlling role. The last match of 

the season was Queen’s Taunton (away) and 

it was great to return with a fabulous win. 

2nd Squad 

Val Hufflett 

This was a great group to work with and 

they all tried extremely hard and played 

brilliantly in training sessions, against the 

1sts in particular, relishing the experienced 

coaching of Val Hufflett. However they 

didn’t quite live up to early promise as 

most matches were played outside whilst 

training was on the excellent surface in 

the indoor facility at BB. However this is 

predominately a young team of 5th formers 

who will, I am certain, mature into top senior 

players. Many games were close but notable 

victories came against Queen’s Taunton and 

Malvern and a draw against BGS. Emma 

Powell (WoH) captained the side very well 

and was totally reliable at shooter. She was 

ably supported in the circle by Emilie Slack 

(HH) and from time to time Victoria Beswick 

(HH) who played superbly in both attack 


and defence. In the centre court we were 

blessed with plenty of talent to choose from 

with a versatile West Town quartet in the 

guise of Philippa Davis, Katherine Beesley, 

Lucy Gallop and Henri Worthington, who 

exhibited good fitness levels and tenacity 

in some tough matches. Pippa Robinson 

(OH) and Eliza Hunt (HH) played extremely 

well together and showed a massive 

improvement in defending the circle. 

3rd Squad 

Alex Tebay 

It was a promising and successful season 

for the senior 3rds team who won four of 

their eight matches against some formidable 

opponents. We were lucky to inherit two 

centre-court 2nd team players – Isis Mok- 

Hartley (WoH) and Gemma Heaven (WT) – 

and this strengthed our team considerably. 

Gemma has been a fantastic captain, 

tirelessly enthusing and motivating the team 

and encouraging them to play together as a 

unit – and this team-play has been a major 

factor in our success. 

Leila Hosseini (WoH) and Mel Price (WT) have 

enjoyed excellent seasons with consistent 

shooting from both as well as some very 

impressive interplay in the circle. Charlie 

Moran (WT) has played with great energy 

and intelligence as WA and Becky Childs 

(OH), Siobhan Hartnoll (WoH) and Marienella 

Phillips (WT) all played several positions 

throughout the term with each exhibiting 

impressive netballing skills. Zoe Slack (WoH) 

and Emily Harvey (HH) defended their circle 

with dogged determination, making some 

fantastic interceptions. 

Well done to the girls – a season to be 

proud of and it’s been an absolute pleasure 

working with each and every one of them. 

Mary Sharp 

4th Squad 

We were really spoilt for choice this year with 

more talented girls than we had places on 

the team. In fact, we were able to field a 4th 

and a 5th team for our first fixture against 

Bromsgrove. The squad eventually found 

their level and put in some very spirited 

performances with three notable wins against 

Malvern, King’s Taunton and Queen’s Taunton 

and some close matches against Dean Close 

and Taunton School. The girls maintained 

their positive attitude throughout and were 

gracious in both victory and defeat. Eloise 

Ladkin (HH) and Ellie Sibley (WT) shared the 

captaincy and displayed agility and speed 

in their centre court positions. They were 

strongly supported by the other centre court 

players, namely Lottie Griffiths (WT), Sarah 

Dawson (WT), Bella Ghaidan (WT) and Tilly 

Wickens (WT). In defence, Naomi Trembath 

(WT) and Flo Freeland (WT) played important 

roles, as did Sammie James (HH) and Zoe 

Frewin (HH) who demonstrated versatility 

and talent at both ends of the court. Our 

principal shooters were Maddie McLeod (WT) 

and Georgina Lewis (WT), ably assisted by 

Lizzie Markham (WT). All the girls should be 

congratulated on their superb efforts and for 

playing with such great team spirit. 

Fiona Hallworth and Rebecca Wimshurst 

U15 A Squad 

With only one practice to select a team for 

the first match and very little time to work 

on set plays or court spacing, the team lined 

up on court with some trepidation. It was 

a baptism of fire: a long coach journey to 

Bromsgrove, followed by a very short warm 

up and extremely windy, cold conditions that 

resulted in a loss – not a good start to the 

season. Lots to work on; and work they did. 

Enthusiastic and committed, the squad began 

to train together and work for each other; Emily 

Hufflett (WT) captained the team in formidable 

style and was never short of words of praise 

and encouragement for her team mates. 

Charlotte Bresnahan, Charlotte Beswick and 

Sophie Osborne (all WT) held the defensive 

circle together and, when they remembered 

to jump, thwarted many an opposition 

with some brilliant interceptions and goal 

saving leaps. Anna Sibley and Lowri Edwards 

(both WT), together with Emily, dominated 

the centre court, and between them they 

managed to turn over some very crucial 

passes in the last quarters of matches, 

particularly Emily who never seemed to run 

out of energy and reached some impossible 

balls! The goal scoring trio of Maddie Jupp, 

Paris Collingbourne (both OH) and Georgina 

Dunn (WT) developed a great understanding 

of each other’s playing style and this gave the 

team a wonderful flexibility as the opposition 

never really got a chance to get used to a 

particular pattern of play. With five wins 

and three losses, the team should be justly 

proud of themselves as they made so much 

progress throughout the term and will form 

an excellent core for the Under 16 team next 

season. 

U15 B Squad 

SPORT 

Sue Kerr 

It was an exciting season for the U15Bs. 

Abigail Waycott (WT) captained a strong side 

including Naomi Ofulue (WoH), Lizzie Powell 

(WoH), Bella Wickens (WT), Holly Dixon 

(WoH), Flo Moore (OH), Harriet Houlford (WT) 

and Mabel Moll (HH). They won four matches 

convincingly and the other games were tight 

to the end. They worked well as a team and 

managed to combine having great fun while 

supporting and encouraging each other, 

leading to several convincing wins. They 

developed great court awareness, excellent 

shooting skills and are looking strong for 

next season. Well done girls! 

Caroline Bloor 

85

U14 A Squad 

The U14 netball squad was selected in 

September for the county U14 tournament. 

Captained by the excellent Jessica Hufflett 

(WT) with Georgia Argent (WT) as vice, the 

girls stormed to victory 

in the first county round, proving to be 

the best in the area. The squad showed 

versatility and I was able to place each 

player in a variety of positions. The 

second round of the county tournament 

was played with determination and 

desire, with the squad qualifying for the 

regional tournament in January – quite an 

achievement considering the wealth of 

very talented teams to beat. There were 

some excellent school matches through 

the term, with the team only losing one 

match – their first one after only one 

practice. The season was filled with 

excellent shooting, agility and 

skilful play. 


U14B Squad 

The U14B team had a season of 

which they can be very proud, winning 

six of their eight matches. The first two 

matches were hard for a team which 

had yet to settle with four players 

unavailable. The remaining six matches 

saw some excellent victories, notably 

a 20–3 win over Cheltenham College 

and a 20-12 win over a tough Dean 

Close team. All of the squad played 

with enthusiasm and worked as a team 

throughout, impressively led by captain 

Jemima Scrase (WT). Liz Streatfeild- 

James (OH), Polly Chappell (HH), 

Connie Hogan (WOH), Nicole Kimitri 

(HH) and Jemima Scrase (WT) all had 

an outstanding season, but the entire 

squad should be commended for their 

loyalty and commitment in making this 

team so successful. Their future looks 

very bright. 

Trish Lambert 


the 

Old Cliftonian 

FORTHCOMING EVENTS 

Friday 7 October 

Tuesday 18 October 




Friday 11 November 

Cape Town Reunion Lunch 

Toronto Drinks 

Concert, reception and dinner: 

Chapel organ centenary 

(joint with Music Department) 

Mansion House Dinner 

Cardiff Branch Dinner 

Old Cliftonian Society AGM 

Bristol Branch Dinner 

Thursday 24 November 

w/c 5 December 

December 

London Branch Dinner 

OC Society NZ branch 

OC Alumni Cross Country race 

on Wimbledon Common. 

4 December (tbc) School Carol Service (two 

services) 

Bristol Branch OC - drinks 

afterwards 

Regular activities of the OC Golfing Society, OC Football 

Club, the OC Lodge and other groups thoughout the year.

From the OC Secretary 

Old Cliftonian activity has been 

re-ignited in several branches and the 

list of events that have been or will be 

held has risen considerably. 

Overseas, gatherings have been held 

in Canada, Australia, Hong Kong, 

South Africa and New Zealand this 

calendar year representing much good 

work by the branch secretaries. Events 

range from formal dinners, through 

barbecues to drinks parties and include a 

splendid lunch on a beach in the Western 

Cape starting in mid-morning, drifting on 

well towards tea-time, interspersed with 

seaside meandering to boost the appetite 

and which, I am delighted to say, I will 

attend! 

OC activity has several purposes and one 

mustn’t deny the element of simple good 

fun as sufficient justification. We are also 

working on an OC ‘Business Community’ 

to create a structure for OC networking. 

We have some 7000 or so OCs worldwide 

and the opportunities for making new 

contacts, opening up fresh leads and 

exploring new opportunities is immense. 

At first, I visualise this being London 

based and I am very grateful to a small 

group of OCs who are looking at exactly 

how and what those who are interested 

could do by way of activity, meetings and 

establishing connections. Secondly, once 

this is going, I think we could explore the 

same idea in Bristol. The third strand 

brings me to the new website where there 

is a function allowing OCs to indicate that 

they are willing to be contacted to explore 

opportunities and options at any level. If 

this e-networking community takes off, we 

have an immediate interconnected global 

community which could be of immense 

value. One of the regular questions I am 

asked is by recent graduates who want 

introductions in all sorts of geographical 

locations to all sorts of professions and 

areas of career interest and at the moment 

I cannot do all that much. I hope these 

initiatives will help enormously. 

The crucial thing to grasp is that this 

website is interactive. OCs will be able 

to post their own announcements, news, 

achievements, and organise events 

through it. Branch Secretaries, Sports 

Club organisers and others will have 

their own web pages for which they will 

have administrator rights, enabling this 

site to act as the noticeboard for 

their members. 

We will certainly be 

posting news and 

information from HQ, 

but OCs all round the 

world will be able to 

post information and 

contact any other OC by 

email in full confidence 

that contact details and 

personal information 

will not be disclosed. 

OCs formal . . . 

As such, the website is 

much more an opportunity for OCs to 

interact with others in all sorts of ways 

rather than a website that will be launched 

full of newsy information. What appears 

on it will be enormously up to the OC 

community – I do hope this concept 

grasps the imagination and that OCs 

will respond with enthusiasm! 

Its address is www.oc-online.co.uk – 

do register and explore. 

This Clifton Magazine will not be 

diminished by the existence of the website 

and it will remain the main printed 

communication with our members. Not 

all OCs are on-line, and not all of those 

who are will wish to use this new facility, 

so I would like to reassure those that 

business will remain ‘as usual’ through 

these printed pages. 

On 28th April 2011 Richard Whiley 

organised his last event as Branch 

Secretary of the New South Wales Branch. 

He has been in office for 24 years and 

has been a wonderfully hospitable and 

helpful OC ambassador in this important 

part of the world. He is succeeded by 

Matthew Bromhead (NT ’78 - ’83) and 

Piers Hogarth-Scott (SH ’84 - ’89) who 

presented him with a copy of The Best 

School of All at the party. We wish Richard 

very well and are most grateful for all he 

has done. Good luck to Matthew and 

Piers – do contact either of them (via our 

new website, of course) if you are in NSW. 

A number of other branches have new 

secretaries. There are some 1500 or 

so OCs living within about 25 miles of 

Clifton and I am delighted that the Bristol 

Branch now has new joint-secretaries 

in Bruce Lloyd (NT ’79 - ’84) and James 

Rose (NT ’78 - ’83) to draw them together. 

(Cambridge Dinner: George Greenbury, Matthew Dixon, Nigel Le 

Sueur, Ali Gordon, Charles Beresford, James Robinson, Joo Ching 

Lloyd, Olivia Robinson, Mark Moore, Adam Fielder, Jonathan 

Burton, Alice Ferguson, Richard Hoole, Alys Holland, Peter Lloyd) 

A series of events is planned for the 

remainder of this year and which begin 

with a drinks party in the Pavilion on 

21st September. 

Rachel Andrew (OH ’87 - ’89) has 

agreed to take on the secretaryship in 

London and will be assisted by Matthew 

Howard-Cairns (ST ’97 – 02). Further 

to the formal dinner, Rachel and Matt 

are keen to hold a series of less formal 

events and OC get-togethers, and the 

first, at the Liberal Club on 23rd March, 

was a great success with some 40 or 50 

people attending simply for drinks after 

work. Other events are planned, but 

the London highlight is the invitation 

dinner at the Mansion House by the 

kind permission of The Rt. Hon. The 

Lord Mayor, Alderman Michael Bear 

(PH ’65 - ’70). 

An interview with Michael Bear appears 

in this issue and as his year in office 

draws to its close we are delighted that 

. . . and informal. 

(Alan Brown, Jo Brown, Charles Kinsey and 

Anthony Newman in Sri Lanka) 


the Mayoral theme has been taken up by 

another, this time in Bristol, The Rt. Hon. 

Lord Mayor, Councillor Geoffrey Gollop 

(ST ’68 - ’73). Many congratulations 

indeed to them both. There are many 

many more OC achievements I’m quite 

sure, but unless OCs send them in to 

us (or post them on the website) we will 

not learn of them. One news item that 

none of us could have missed was the 

marriage of Michael Middleton’s daughter 

Catherine to His Royal Highness Prince 

William of Wales. Michael was in Brown’s 

House from ’62 - ’67 and was one of seven 

members of the family spanning three 

generations that have been in Brown’s. 

This magazine will have arrived with a 

flyer for the Shenstone Scholarship for 

Notes & News 

Science. This fund has grown steadily 

and is now worth about £60,000. The 

Scholarship will be awarded for the first 

time in September 2012 to a Lower Sixth 

pupil who is taking mostly science A level 

subjects and where there is financial need. 

The OC Society will top the Scholarship 

up to £5000 annually. The Fund remains 

very much open and we all hope that a 

final push will lift it substantially. The 

‘sale of elements’ is still available – last 

year’s response doubled the number sold 

and it would be great to do that again. 

As the flyer explains, an element can 

be ‘bought’ by an individual or a group 

for a donation of £1000 or more. Be 

imaginative: a group of Polish Scholars 

have bought Polonium, a Cornishman tin. 

‘It’s not what you have done, it’s what you’re going to do’ 

Gordon Hazell was a British 

Middleweight professional boxer 

from 1949 to 1955 and although 

he never became Bristish Champion he 

was ranked third in the world. When 

he retired after a series of defeats in his 

final year he was appointed to teach PE 

and Boxing at Clifton. He stayed until 

1988 and died in 2001 at the age of 72. 

Gordon was a heroic figure for many 

Cliftonians, as he was also to very many 

more in the wider community. One of 

these, Craig Turner, has been equally 

heroic raising the money and seeing 

through to completion the Gordon 

Hazell Gymnasium at Pomphrey 

Hill Pavilion in Mangotsfield. I was 

delighted to be able to go to the 

opening on 12th June, where I met 

Chris Hill (ST ’60 – ’65) who went on 

to win a Boxing Blue at Oxford and 

Donald Coleman (ST ’53 – ’58) from 

Clifton. It is dedicated to Gordon and 

is the headquarters of the Downend 

Police Amateur Boxing Club. It is a 

Ghislaine Reece-Trapp 

has managed two A*s and 

an A in her A Levels and 

so is off to Christ Church 

where she will continue 

to develop her talents 

as an organist. 

(Gordon Hazell) 

tremendous facility for training and 

full of Gordon memorabilia, including 

many of his much remembered sayings. 

There were some hundred or so 

present, including the son of Gordon’s 

adversary Johnny Sullivan, the 

former WBC Super Middleweight 

Champion Glenn Catley and members 

of the Hazell family. Surrounded 

by admiration for the example that 

Gordon set to so many was a moving 

experience itself, but when a short 

video was shown of snippets of his 

life, it brought all that this amazing 

man had meant to us flooding 

back. If you cherish memories of 

Gordon like I do, have a look at it on 

youtube at http://www.youtube.com/ 

watch?v=yjy4ji7w3nk – you’ll need 

sound to create the desired effect. 

‘He that fights and moves away, 

lives to fight another day.’ 

‘Make ’em miss and make ’em pay!’ 

A first novel by Patrick McGuinness (WiH 

1981-1986), The Last Hundred Days, is on the 

Longlist for the Man Booker Prize 2011. 

SJMR 

Peter Gill (WaH 1958-1963) has updated his 

1986 paperback A Year in the Death of Africa with 

the publication of Famine & Foreigners - Ethiopia 

since Live Aid (OUP 2011). 

Finally, thank you to all OCs who drop 

us cards or send emails. They are always 

interesting and a pleasure to receive, so 

do keep them coming especially if you 

have news. They cover a whole range of 

things, but I did enjoy this one especially: 

‘Thank you very much for my 80th birthday 

card. I remember so well Cassy’s Terriers, 

climbing the Gorge, pot-holing in the Mendips, 

the shooting, fencing and hockey teams and sign 

language with the High School girls through 

an Oakeley’s study window – and some work in 

between!’ 

I wonder what current pupils will write in 

some 60 years’ time, when they are 80? 

Simon Reece 

David Hush (ST 1963-1971) has 

been in touch from Sydney. 

One of the many distinguished 

musicians that Clifton has produced 

over the years, he has received 

Fellowships in America, was the first 

recipient of the Schoenberg Award in 

1984 and was composer-in-residence 

at the Sydney Conservatorium in 1993. 

In 1998, he joined the Composition 

Faculty of the Australian Institute of 

Music and his five compositions for 

solo violin were broadcast live on the 

Internet in 2001, reaching an audience 

of over 

100,000. He 

is currently 

composer-inresidence 

to 

the Leopold 

Mozart 

Academy. He 

writes to let 

us know that 

he has had 

two premieres 

by the Orana 

Trio in July 

2010 as part 

of a concert 

in Sydney at 

the 2010 Sydney Cancer Conference – 

“the darkness of the C Minor Prelude 

followed by the light of the C Major 

Fugue has a special relevance to a 

conference devoted to finding a cure 

for cancer.” A video of this as a solo 

piano version has been posted on 

YouTube. Finally, he tells us that he has 

recently transcribed Bach’s Fifth Cello 

Suite for the piano and the Prelude of 

this, too, juxtaposed with images of the 

cosmos, can be found on YouTube. 

NOTES & NEWS 

89

Is RH Oakeley (WiH 1922-1927) 

the oldest OC living? Via his son, 

Henry, we have been sent some of 

his reminiscences as he celebrated 

his 102nd birthday this year, for 

which all here send him our heartiest 

congratulations! 

In Wiseman’s House we had a metal bath 

which you filled from the tap and sat in and 

had a separate small one for your feet. We 

had hot water. We had to have a shower 

every morning when you got up. Communal 

showers, must have been two or three, not 

sure. I got up and had a shower and dressed 

all in five minutes. 

We slept in dormitories. Bells rang in the 

morning to get us up for roll call. Breakfast 

was held in the house. I don’t remember going 

to chapel in the morning, we probably had 

prayers in the house before going to classes. 

We came back to the house for lunch and 

supper. Supper was a rather poor affair 

and one could buy extra food from the house 

butler, who did the cooking, and he would fry 

up sausages. 

At 4pm, after school, the fags had to run back 

from school to their houses to prepare toast 

for their prefect. Each prefect had a fag who 

only looked after one prefect. They were called 

prefects, not praepostors. 

We played games at Beggar’s Bush. All the 

boys who couldn’t be fitted into their house 

teams were sent to join the communal team. 

They played on the main school field in front 

of the school, where the cricket pitch is. The 

pavilion was built while I was there. 

Other memories include an anecdote 

about the Riddell family: 

The Riddells were big industrialists in 

Liverpool. The two Riddell boys came from 

Liverpool. We had a new Physics master 

who came, and the rumour got round 

that he had been sacked from 

his previous school because he 

was “no good” and could not 

keep discipline so he arrived at 

Clifton and the first day he was 

walking down the corridor and 

Riddell was in front of him and 

Riddell said something and the 

master said “You are not allowed 

to talk in the corridors and you 

will come to my study” and he 

gave him a beating. As a result 

he was called “Swine Rendal” 

but after that he was able to 

keep discipline. It was a put-up 

job to ensure that he was able to 

keep order. He was a very good 

Physics master. I did not like the Chemistry 

master very much, but the Physics master was 

very good. Poor Riddell got in the middle. 

He remembers palling up with a boy 

called Beresford and going to his home 

to watch the Schneider Trophy as well as 

going off on a bicycle tour of Normandy 

with him. He also recalls the Long Pen: 

I did it twice but I did quite well at first and 

the second time was not so good. Cornes was 

at Packwood and used to run, and then went 

to Clifton. He wasn’t in Wiseman’s House 

and I think I told you the epic story of Jerry 

Cornes. He was told in the morning when he 

got up there was going to be skating in the 

Zoo, and when he got to class he held up his 

hand and said could he please be excused, 

and the master said “Yes, off you go” so he 

went off and borrowed a bicycle in inverted 

commas from one of the town boys and 

bicycled down to Clifton and bought himself a 

pair of skates and bicycled back to Clifton and 

damaged the bicycle on the way, and got back 

to his class and the master took no notice! 

After thirty years with the Philharmonia Orchestra, 

the bassoonist Meyrick Alexander (ET 1965-1969) is 

now Head of Woodwind at the Royal Welsh College of 

Music and Drama, in Cardiff. 


St Swithin’s 

Hugh Monro (Head Master 1990- 

2000) has written in having seen 

the obituary notice for Derek 

Cornwell (NT 1934-1944) in last year’s 

edition. In the absence of an obituary, 

Hugh, who with Clare is much involved 

with the local churches around Stratton 

where they now live, writes to let us 

know that Derek’s ashes were scattered 

at St Swithin’s Church, Launcells. 

Anglo-Saxon Font 

This church, called by Betjeman “the 

least spoilt church in Cornwall”, was of 

particular importance to Derek. Whilst 

at Bude as a boy he did sterling work 

injecting the Elizabethan pew ends 

with a lethal mixture which Health 

and Safety would doubtless ban these 

days and, as a result, played a vital part 

in the restoration and preservation of 

these historic ecclesiastical treasures. 

Robert Bieber (PH 1954-1959) 

is a retired Solicitor, having 

specialised in Charity law with 

an interest in family mediation. 

He was awarded an MBE in the 

2011 New Year’s Honours. 

He is a former magistrate, having 

chaired the Wimbledon Family 

Proceedings Court and the South- 

West London FPC panel, and been 

Deputy Chairman of the London 

wide panel. 

He is Vice Chairman of the Ex- 

Services Mental Welfare Society 

(Combat Stress), an association 

going back some ten years. 

He is Hon. Secretary of the 

Royal London Society, a charity 

supporting serving prisoners, 

aiming to equip them with 

employable skills on discharge; a 

trustee of the Thomas Heatherley 

School of Fine Arts, Chelsea, and a 

former Treasurer of Mediation in 

Divorce (Richmond). 

He obtained his MA in War Studies 

from King’s in 2010. 

Emma Davey (OH 1987-1989) 

contacted Mrs Hallworth recently 

with the odd reminiscence or two 

about being one of the pioneering girls 

at Clifton: 

I remember arriving early (before the boys) 

for our first term at Clifton so we could 

be initiated into the ways of the school, 

specifically what happened in Chapel in the 

morning and how to sing the School Song. 

The first day of term, the girls arrived early 

at the Chapel and could watch everyone else 

entering; there was a strong air of intrigue as 

to who our fellow classmates would be. Trying 

to blend in was not easy when a skirt had not 

previously been part of the school uniform; 

I was surprised when we first had the chance 

to sing the School Song and as the girls 

carefully sang the tune we had learned, we 

realised that the boys sang it at a bellow. 

Having previously been to an all girls’ 

school where the approach to meals had been 

somewhat different to Clifton College, I was 

delighted to discover that the portion sizes 

were about double my expectations; perhaps 

the kitchen staff were used to feeding growing 

boys. My particular enjoyment was to have 

both chocolate cake and a jam doughnut at 

tea time. Thank goodness we had sport three 

times a week and the CCF to work it off. 

School protocol was intriguing, particularly 

the lower, middle and upper bench 

assignations in the Sixth Form. Due to the 

imbalance in boys and girls at the beginning 

there often wasn’t an “appropriate” girl to 

show prospective parents around. I remember 

on one occasion being temporarily assigned 

to the middle bench to take on a task. Not 

having grown up on the School history I was 

trying to swot up on the details whilst walking 

into the School Office, and simultaneously 

putting on a new tie. It was disconcerting 

to find that the father was an old boy and 

probably knew more than I did. In a flash 

of inspiration I encouraged him to regale us 

with his school time memories and thoroughly 

enjoyed my time as an impostor! 

Areas of interest 

Robert’s interests embrace the 

history and treatment of those 

suffering from mental trauma 

acquired during, or associated 

with, their military service; an 

interest stemming from his judicial 

observation of the numbers of 

veterans appearing before the 

Courts demonstrating issues raising 

concerns as to their mental health. 

His research interests extend, 

firstly, to writing the history of 

Combat Stress since its founding in 

1919 and, subsequently, outcomes 

to treatment, in the broadest 

context, provided to the ex-services 

population. 

NOTES & NEWS 

91

Clifton goes 

Digital 

The College servers have been 

expanding rapidly to cope 

with the increased demands 

that teaching methods have put 

upon band widths; youtube is now 

a common tool in the classroom. 

So we now have a media 

company that creates small clips 

on school events that are posted 

on the website and youtube. 

Cliftonians have been keeping in 

touch with one another through 

Facebook for some time and 

Linkedin, the professionals’ 

favourite, has been a 

great way of keeping in 

touch with Cliftonians, 

finding them and 

putting them in touch with one 

another. You will find an OC 

group on Linkedin and on 

Facebook co-ordinated by Lucy 

Nash, OC Society. 

There is another Clifton College 

in S Africa and so to maintain our 

profile on Facebook there is now 

a Clifton College page which links 

to the website and contains 

recent news. 

On June 28th 2011 

Clifton entered the 

world of Apps and 

there is now a free 

Clifton College App 

available from the Apple store. 

The Blackberry version is available 

from September and the Android 

version will follow on quickly. The 

App records news and events, maps 

of the school with a facility to direct 

you to the College, a quick click to 

the website, a photo gallery and a 

quick dial facility to key numbers. 

We are looking forward to getting 

your feedback and ideas for when 

we launch the next version. 



Bristol to 

Mongolia by 

Ambulance 

Last summer David Green 

(Clifton College, 1996-2008), 

Rob Figueiredo (2001-2008), 

George Greenbury (1992-2008) and I 

(Ashley Coates, 1996-2008) drove an 

ambulance 10,000 miles from Bristol to 

Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia. 

The trip was part of an annual event 

called the Mongol Rally where teams 

raise money for charity as well as 

donating their vehicle to the Mongolians 

at the end. 

You might think that this is a fairly 

unique thing to have done but as I 

bragged about the rally in the run up to 

us leaving in July, I increasingly found 

that everyone knew someone who had 

done the trip before, or was about to do 

it. Every year this event attracts about 

300 teams with an average of four team 

members, most of whom are students, 

so I ended up bumping into a number 

of Bristolians on the way to Mongolia. 

There was Tom, a University of Bristol 

student who drove his VW Polo into 

the back of a truck in Kazakhstan and 

finally broke down in Russia, where we 

picked him up and gave him a lift to 

Mongolia. Tom’s car had suffered from 

a number of issues since leaving Bristol 

but it was a faulty radiator that finally 

led him to breaking down, getting a 

tow from a Kazakh lorry and crashing 

into the back of the same lorry. An 

evening spent making ‘weight-saving 

adjustments’ brought Tom to smash out 

all the windows of his car, destroy the 

battery and then destroy most of his 

clothes when battery acid leaked into the 

boot. On the opposite end of the scale 

there was the super organised Bristolian 

couple Vernon and Gemma, who we 

first met at the rally start line where 

they accused us of having stolen all their 

media coverage in Bristol but claimed 

they would have their own back by 

getting to Mongolia before us. The trip 

took us six weeks and we arrived one 

hour before the illustrious Vern. 

There is a general feeling that these 

experiences make your friendships 

stronger but two months in the back of 

an ambulance with four of your friends 

will amplify all the little irritations you 

might have had with them at school 

by about ten thousand times. Maybe 

things would have been different if we 

had boarded at Clifton but by the time 

we had reached Astana, the capital of 

Kazakhstan, a Great Schism had taken 

place within team Bristol to Baatar. We 

could not agree on a single issue, be it 

something important such as how much 

food we had left for the 1,500km of 

desert we were heading into, or bizarre 

and surprisingly aggressive arguments 

about whether or not Barack Obama 

had visited Astana for the opening of a 

shopping centre designed by Norman 

Foster. 

Perhaps I am prematurely ageing but I 

still fail to find funny the hospitalisation 

by alcohol poisoning that my good 

friend Rob brought upon himself whilst 

in the Ukraine. The Odessa General 

Hospital was, in the words of the only 

English-speaking doctor in the city, ‘like 

a horror film’. After babysitting Rob the 

night before, where he had consumed 

a number of alcoholic drinks, I was not 

sure how sympathetic to be as I watched 

him getting wheeled into what could 

well have turned out to be his final 

resting place. The next 12 hours were 

some of the most bizarre of my entire 

life. The Odessa doctors condemned 

Rob to up to a week in the Odessa 

infections centre, a place crawling 

with crickets and helpfully described 

by a patient in the ward as ‘the most 

dangerous hospital in the Ukraine’. 

We decided that our friend was in 

mortal peril and that the only way to 

save him would be to steal him off the 

Ukrainians and drive overnight to Kiev 

where the British Embassy would give 

us sanctuary and find Rob a nice, clean, 

well-funded hospital. By the time we 

had come to this decision the Odessa 

doctors had closed off the dormitories, 

where a semi-conscious Rob was 

discovering what it feels like to have 10 

litres of water pass through his rearend 

via a bucket and hose. I pretended 

not to understand the doctors request 


for payment and after something of a 

struggle, Rob was out of the hospital 

and, amusingly, in the back of an 

ambulance. 

But at least it was our ambulance, our 

sturdy mountain-climbing Land Rover 

ambulance that had been checked 

by two garages and declared to be 

invincible. It came as something of a 

surprise, therefore, when the back-right 

tyre blew-out and then disintegrated 

during the six-hour journey to Kiev. 

Even more debilitating was the steam 

that began pouring out of the engine, 

creating rainforest conditions in the cab. 

We arrived in Kiev with Rob still taking 

toilet stops at an in-human rate and 

the ambulance wildly over-heating. 

Turns out that the British Embassy for 

Ukraine is, honestly, open Monday- 

Friday 09:00 to 17:00. The Americans 

had six security guards but, again, 

shared the same opening hours as the 

Post Office. Fortunately it did not take 

a huge amount of initiative to find 

the nearby American Medical Centre 

where we left Rob to be re-habilitated 

and in the intervening hours we were 

rescued by an Old Cliftonian, Ruslan 

Bass, who lived in the nearby city of 

Dnepropetrovsk. A few days in the lap 

of luxury soon sorted out Rob and apart 

from border delays and a wheel falling 

off in Mongolia, the rest of the trip 

passed without another major hold-up. 

The Mongol Rally is just one of those 

experiences that is easier to complain 

about than to be positive about but in 

reality we all had an incredible time and 

I would recommend anyone to go on 

it. The stockpile of potential Facebook 

profile pictures will last well into your 

thirties and you will hold all the trump 

cards in conversations about holiday 

disasters. We got to see Prague, Vienna, 

Amsterdam, Berlin, Kiev and Beijing. 

We got to hold a golden eagle, shoot an 

AK-47 and swim the Beijing Olympic 

swimming pool. We learnt how to fix 

an engine with gaffer tape and how to 

bribe foreign policemen with copies 

of Nuts and 20p coins. A home clothes 

day at Clifton, followed by funds 

from the Commem chapel collection, 

contributed over £1500 for charity. 

In total, we raised £5000, £2000 of 

which paid to equip a new St. John 

Ambulance local support vehicle in 

the UK. The remaining £3000 went to 

Mercy Corps and CNCF in Mongolia. 

After we left Ulaanbaatar, our 

ambulance was sponsored by 

Wagner Asia and had an additional 

6,164,000 Mongolian Tugriks spent 

on it (roughly £3000) and is now 

employed by the Mongolian state as 

a mobile family healthcare unit in 

Bulgan Province. The Mongol Rally 

is not organised by a gap-year tour 

programme, you are on your own, 

there are no safety nets and you get 

to decide what you want to do. It 

takes two months, your friends will 

annoy you and you will end up with 

a Gordon-Brown-sized hole in your 

finances but for sheer entertainment 

value and travelling experience, you 

will not be disappointed! 

We extend our sincere congratulations to Alexander Evans (WaH 1985- 

1990) on several fronts! He was awarded an OBE for his work as a 

British diplomat in Pakistan in 2011. He has also been appointed to 

the Henry Kissinger Chair in Foreign Policy and International Relations at the 

Library of Congress. This is a research appointment which is made annually, 

and he will be working in that vital area of US/Pakistan relations. Following 

that, he will join Yale at the Jackson Institute for Global Affairs as a Senior 

Fellow and Faculty Member in 2012. He writes: 

I am among a large group of OCs who owe much to Brian Worthington, who 

encouraged his pupils to think for themselves. 

NOTES & NEWS 

93

OC Business 

LORD MAYOR OC 

Behind the regalia and the pomp, 

the Lord Mayor of London has 

an important part to play in the 

nation’s economic life in general, and 

the welfare of the City of London in 

particular. The last Cliftonian to hold 

this prestigious post was Bernard 

Waley-Cohen in 1960 and it is thus with 

justifiable pride that we can report that 

this year’s incumbent – the 683rd – is 

Michael Bear (MH & PH, 1962-1970), 

who kindly found time recently to meet 

the Editor and talk about his life and 

experiences. 

Michael was born in Nairobi in 1953. 

His father was in the Colonial Service 

and was thus in Kenya during the Mau 

Mau risings before being posted to 

Cyprus which, thanks to EOKA, was 

no less challenging. It was from Cyprus 

that Michael was sent to Clifton in 1962 

on the recommendation of another 

Clifton family stationed there. Thus 

did a slightly nervous eight-year old 

arrive at Matthews’ House in September 

1962 under the benign regime of Tory 

Hankey! Michael recalls that he “was 

very well looked after” and that the 

House felt more like one big family than 

an institution: 

There were lots of expat families from all 

round the world and I spent my exeats with 

one such in London, the Palleys, who had 

been in Rhodesia; going there was like being 

at home. I was very happy. 

Looking back, it was the range of sport 

and the facilities that he remembers as 

being particularly influential, and he 

made full use of them. One of his abiding 

memories is going into Assembly in the 

Pre Hall to classical music - he cannot 

hear Bolero without being transported 

back in time to that area of the Pre – and 

he ended up at one stage operating the 

sound system from the Gallery! 

He feels exactly the same about his time 

in the Upper School. What struck him 

straightaway was the sense of tradition 

and history that permeated all aspects 

of the College. He went into Polack’s, 

the closure of which saddened him 

since he felt it was “unique”, and loved 

every minute of his career in the Upper 

School: 

I had a fantastic time. There was such a 

breadth of things on offer, and I enjoyed 

the freedom to go to the village or over the 

Suspension Bridge to BB. I sometimes wonder 

whether it was that regular contact with the 

Bridge which somehow inspired me to become 

an engineer! I was in the CCF and became 

Sgt. Major – very strict! Sport was important 

and I played in as many teams as possible. 

The School also encouraged my favourite 

hobby of woodwork – there was a very good 

facility and I remember making a coffee-table 

and a canoe. 

Michael is typically modest about his 

academic ability. He remembers that the 

Economics teaching was “inspirational” 

and, looking back, genuinely feels 

that the College gave him a wonderful 

foundation for the rest of his life. 

He took A Levels as a 17-year old but, 

since his family had now moved to South 

Africa, he ended up at the University 

of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg. His 

original intention had been to become a 

doctor but 

two weeks pre-Med on the Ward and in the 

Morgue turned me green! 

So he opted for Civil Engineering 

instead, graduating and joining 

the South Africa firm of Hawkins & 

Osborne, becoming involved amongst 

other projects with the design of 

airports. By his own admission he had 

a difficult time in South Africa. This 

was largely because Michael has, and 

has always had, a deeply rooted social 

conscience. At Clifton he was “truly 

inspired” by Ernest Polack who had 

consistently and gently encouraged 

his charges to empathise throughout 

life with the disadvantaged. Being a 

member of Amnesty International did 

not sit easily in apartheid South Africa, 

and neither did teaching science to local 

Africans in his garage, or joining the SA 

Voluntary Service which tried to build 

schools and classrooms in Lesotho and 

the Homelands. Whilst there were good 

things that came out of this determined 

liberal activism on his part – this was 

where he met his wife, Barbara – he 

eventually fell foul of “that particularly 

pernicious piece of legislation”, the 180 

Day Detention Act, whereby anyone 

could be arrested and held without 

charge for that period of time. He was 

duly arrested, and merely says of this 

harrowing experience, that the police 

gave him “a pretty unpleasant time.” 

It was this that led him to believe that he 

could do more for South Africans from 

outside the country than from within and 

he returned to England with Barbara in 

1978 with a mere R2000 (£200) between 

them. Their first choice was to buy a bed 

or a piano – given Barbara’s artistic bent 

the piano won and, thirty-two years later, 

it now sits proudly in the Mansion House, 

a symbol of the quite extraordinary 

journey Michael and Barbara have 

shared as a couple. 

He soon found employment as a Project 

Engineer for Sir Frederick Snow & 

Partners, moving in 1981 to Taylor 

Woodrow as their business analyst. 

An MBA having been successfully 

achieved at Cranfield University, he 

moved on to Balfour Beatty and was 

instrumental in helping the company 

move into property development during 

the financial crisis of the late 1980s. It 

was his growing success as a developer 


which caught Michael Heseltine’s eye 

and it was not long before Michael 

found himself as Chief Executive 

of the Spitalfields Redevelopment 

Group, the regeneration of this part 

of London still ranking as one of his 

greatest personal achievements. As a 

result of his involvement in trying to 

understand the real issues surrounding 

urban regeneration, he became 

heavily involved in local community 

work, especially with the Bangladeshi 

community in Brick Lane, that 

metaphor of mulit-culturalism since 

the 17th Century, and he was asked to 

stand as a Common Councilman for 

the Portsoken Ward, exactly the same 

Ward that Bernard Waley-Cohen had 

represented. It soon became clear to 

Michael that this was an area in deep 

need of proper resourcing: 

there was thirty per cent unemployment, so 

I began to make a nuisance of myself and 

within two years had become an Alderman. 

To his surprise, he was soon invited 

to be “franked” as a Sheriff and from 

thence his name was submitted as a 

candidate for the post of Lord Mayor. 

He is characteristically humble about 

this, but this rise to the highest position 

in the City of London was meteoric by 

any standards and speaks volumes for 

the respect in which he was, and still is, 

held along with the impact that he was 

clearly making. Although both he and 

Barbara were reluctant at first to go 

ahead with this for family reasons, in the 

end they agreed realising that not only 

was this a singular honour but would 

also give them a platform to continue 

trying to be an influence for good, and 

he was duly elected Lord Mayor in 

2010. His appointment was timely in 

more ways than one since his career 

was completely untainted as far as his 

banking connections were concerned; as 

an international developer and serviceprovider 

he brought no “baggage” to 

the office and this has done much to 

help restore trust within the City itself. 

We only see the surface rituals and 

ceremony that go with being Lord 

Mayor of London. The office, in fact, 

has many functions but its main one is 

to be a financial ambassador for the UK 

and for the City of London, and Michael 

has spent much of his year travelling 

abroad promoting the City and the 

financial services industry, looking for 

investment and trying to ensure that 

there is a better understanding generally 

of how the City of London supports the 

whole economy. He feels very strongly 

about this and is determined that his 

year in office will see a reconnection of 

the City to the national economy; as he 

puts it 

It needs to be understood more clearly that the 

City of London is part of the solution not part 

of the problem and that there is now a need to 

refocus on the future. 

pointing out for starters that the 

City of London contributes by his 

estimation over £800 million a year to 

philanthropic projects which, in itself, 

demonstrates publicly a sense of how 

responsible the City is in this aspect 

of the nation’s life. As he stated rather 

pithily recently to, amongst others, the 

Chancellor of the Exchequer, George 

Osborne: 

Bank bashing does not create a single job 

and he has little time for sound-bite 

politics or journalism. 

Michael, as one would expect, is “a glass 

half full man”, optimistic about young 

people and optimistic about the future. 

Schools like Clifton, in his view, should 

continue to produce well-rounded people 

who have more to their name than just 

academic qualifications and academic 

success. “Social roundness” is, for him, 

a critical attribute and he believes that 

Cliftonians should be encouraged to 

pursue a career where they can see the 

value of their contribution to whatever 

field they choose: 

They need to ask themselves the question, 

What does success look like? They need 

to have a mission and be excited about 

the future. They need to think ahead and 

appreciate that they are going to be very 

important cogs in a large wheel – they can 

make a difference. It’s all about remembering 

their privileges and putting something back 

during the course of their lives. 

As far as wider themes are concerned, 

he makes the point that the current 

world economy comes to some $32 

trillion – by 2030 this will have risen to 

some $142 trillion and Britain must be 

part of this growth: 

It all comes down to the three Cs. Commodities 

– we don’t have many of those and the oil 

is running out. Cash – thanks to the last 

Chancellor we have precious little sovereign 

cash. Creativity – we have this as a nation in 

spades. We must get back into the exchange 

knowledge industry, into understanding 

best selling practice; manufacturing, trade 

– all these need to be stimulated in the next 

few years. These are challenging times but 

governments have got to concentrate on trade 

and get out and support the export drive – 

this is what David Cameron calls “commercial 

diplomacy” – and he is right, and it is an 

important part of the Lord Mayor’s role to 

support this. 

It comes as no surprise therefore that 

Barack Obama’s recent speech in 

Westminster gained Michael’s wholehearted 

approval and he was deeply 

impressed when he recently met the 

US President, not least when Obama 

looked at his impressive Mayoral Chain 

of Office and remarked 

Nice bit of bling, that, Lord Mayor! 

When asked about his faith, Michael’s 

response was that it was important 

to him insofar as, along with the 

intellectual influence of Ernest Polack, 

it gave him an ethical foundation upon 

which to construct his life; the concept 

of social justice lies at the heart of the 

founding fathers of Judaism. Finally, 

when asked how he would like to 

be remembered, with characteristic 

humility he merely replied that he 

would like people to remember him 

as someone who, both as a man and 

as Lord Mayor, had made a practical 

difference for the better to people’s 

lives. He believes in the concept of being 

a role-model to others, of leading by 

example, of making a contribution in 

life and of being an influence for good. 

Michael Bear is a remarkable man. 

He and his family have been on an 

extraordinary path and Clifton can 

rightly be proud of him and the small 

part it played in his development. To 

meet him and listen to him is a privilege 

and a pleasure and he can rest assured 

that his quiet wish as far as his own 

legacy is concerned has been more than 

fulfilled within his own lifetime. There 

are not many people of whom that can 

be said. 

RJA 

OC BUSINESS 

95

JOHN COTTRELL 

– HIGH SHERIFF OF BRISTOL 

John was born in Downend and has 

always considered himself a Bristolian. 

Both his great-grandfather and 

grandfather were harness-makers and 

saddlers, and his father ran what he 

describes as a “low tec chemical business”. 

Having had his own education cut short 

by his father, who could not see the point 

of addressing a table in Latin and who, in 

1925, had declared that as business was 

bad his son would have to leave BGS in 

spite of having won a City Scholarship 

there, John’s father was determined 

that he would give his children the best 

education possible, and thus he sent his 

sons to Clifton (fees £47 per term!) and 

his daughter to CHS. 

John duly arrived in the Pre under 

Hankey and eventually into 4A in the 

Upper School where, in those days, “O” 

Levels followed the following year. It 

was in the 6th Form that he really began 

to savour life at Clifton and remembers 

being taught by exceptional characters 

such as John Thorn, Martin Scott and 

Tom Wells, the last of whom he describes 

as one of the finest teachers he has ever 

come across. Cricket was his main game 

and he recalls with pride appearing at 

Lord’s against Tonbridge and taking 

wickets with his first and third balls, 

the last of these being that of Roger 

Prideaux, whom he also dismissed in the 

second innings! The Sebag-Montefiore 

Scholarship followed, and he duly took 

up his place at Balliol, Oxford in 1961. 

After Oxford, and being determined 

to go into business in the knowledge 

that he would probably take on the 

family business, he went on to study 

Accountancy for three years and then 

spent five years at Robinson Holdings as 

their Financial Manager before moving 

back into his father’s business. The 

concern itself was built around chemicals 

for cleaning and paint-stripping – 

Nitromors being one of its well-known 

products – as well as providing the 

materials for paint-stripping of Aeroflot 

aircraft. Keeping regular contact with 

Clifton, when the Pre Staff asked 

Council for a rep/liaison member, John 

was approached and he took this on, 

eventually succeeding Tony Eve as 

Treasurer. Along with Louis Sherwood, 

he was one of the many architects of 

Clifton’s financial renaissance after 

years of drift in this critical area and 

it is no exaggeration to say that John 

was one of a team of half-a-dozen or so 

whose actions have borne fruit as far as 

Clifton’s financial security and success are 

concerned. 

His elevation to the office of High 

Sheriff was the result of a completely 

undemocratic process via a Nominations 

Committee. There is every reason why 

this should be so since there are no public 

funds, external support or financial 

assistance with this Office; everything 

that the High Sheriff chooses to do is at 

his own expense. Secondly, no powers 

are attached to the post and thus no 

accountability to any other body and no 

burden, either, on the public purse. 

The only required duty of the High 

Sheriff is to look after High Court Judges 

when they come to Bristol to deal with 

major trials, such as rape or murder. The 

post is thus very much bound up with 

law and order and part of John’s official 

duties is the entertainment of these 

judges. However, it goes beyond that in 

a day-to-day sense. It is a legal post and 

he spends much of his time supporting 

the police, joining the Chief Constable on 

visits to police units and generally playing 

a part in ensuring the smooth running 

of law-enforcement in Bristol. It is an 

area which he finds fascinating and he 

is quick to broadcast the many exciting 

initiatives which the police force in Bristol 

are pursuing yet which attract little 

interest from the media. One such is an 

initiative called IMPACT which involves 

targeting known criminals and creating a 

behaviour contract with them which has 

become increasingly effective; there are 

now over 700 of these in place and the 

result has been a 36% drop in offending 

by these men and women, figures which 

have attracted the interest of other forces 

and countries, such as Germany and 

America. 

Getting the good news across about the 

police, and supporting them wherever 

he can, John sees as his main priority as 

far as his year in office is concerned, but 

close behind also comes fund-raising. The 

High Sheriff ’s Fund is the annual charity 

which goes with the office and his main 

focus is to try to ensure that the Bristol 

Youth Community Action Group, which he 

chairs, receives sufficient funds to ensure 

that children from 8 to 13 from hugely 

disadvantaged backgrounds receive the 

opportunity to escape from this by going 

on Adventure Holidays and Activities in 

which they are challenged and in which 

their eyes are opened to possibilities other 

than anti-social behaviour. Although success 

is difficult to measure, he knows from his 

regular visits with these groups, that this 

sort of activity does change lives and he has 

just come from a meeting where over 31 

different projects received financial support 

to help to deal with these children; so far 

over 4000 children have benefited from this 

and it is an area that Clifton might consider 

supporting during his year in office. 

Other than that, he gets immense 

satisfaction out of visiting all sorts of 

areas and aspects of Bristol life, and 

ensuring that those quiet, responsible 

and hard-working individuals on the 

ground, who dedicate their lives to 

achieving such things as a 45% decline 

in ASBOs following the development of 

these youth scheme, get recognised and 

thanked. He has often found contact with 

Bristol groups humbling, as when he 

was invited to celebrate the Sikh Harvest 

Festival in April – never has he been so 

photographed in full regalia for family 

albums! On a more serious point, John 

and his wife had, by coincidence, just 

come back from a holiday where they had 

visited the Golden Temple in Amritsar 

where there are four entrances and exits 

so that anyone, irrespective of from which 

direction they have come or in which 

direction they are going, can enter or exit 

accordingly, rather too subtle, perhaps, for 

today’s fundamentalist! 

John has few regrets in life, is optimistic 

about the future and is constantly 

surprised and pleased to discover how 

many people in Bristol are just quietly and 

humbly working to make a difference to 

the lives of others, and it is this essential 

service to others that he sees is at the root 

of his year as High Sheriff. Recognising 

them, encouraging them, supporting 

them and, above all, thanking them and 

making them feel appreciated is, he 

believes, his key role, and Bristol will be all 

the better as a result for this. 

RJA 


GEOFFREY GOLLOP 

– BRISTOL’S LORD MAYOR 

Bristolian through and through, 

and proud of it, Geoffrey Gollop 

makes up the other part of the 

OC Triumvirate in civic office this 

year following his election in May as 

Lord Mayor of Bristol. Born in 1955, 

he went to the Pre when he was 10 on 

the recommendation of a friend of his 

father’s. “Very daunting” was how he 

describes his initial impression, since 

the school offered French, Latin and 

Algebra from an early age. He soon 

caught up and settled in, enjoying 

his time in the Pre. Although he was 

appalling at Art (his own words!), 

he enjoyed Peter Clay’s lessons and 

remembers with fondness Basil 

Townsend and Tony Williams. 

Into South Town in the Upper School 

he had a highly successful academic 

career, eventually gaining a place at 

Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge. He 

believes that he owes the College much: 

I am enormously grateful to Clifton. It 

taught me about myself and about other 

people and how to get on with them. 

Learning to work with other people and 

developing responsibility is important in life 

and the interaction Clifton gave me in this 

sense made it a very special time, giving me 

an inner confidence which is not arrogance 

but rather a self-belief in what one does. 

Geoffrey Hardyman, in particular, is a 

member of Staff for whom he retains an 

enormous respect: 

He was exactly what you would expect 

a Public School Housemaster to be – 

unassuming, knew exactly what was going 

on and wonderful at supporting and 

encouraging. He was the one great constant 

of my time at Clifton. 

His was a talented year group as far 

as the 6th Form was concerned – 

an unbeaten Rugby XV and many 

awards to Oxbridge – and being in 

that atmosphere he believes helped to 

set him on 

the path to 

success. 

After 

Economics at 

Cambridge, 

he returned 

to Bristol following his qualifying as a 

Chartered Accountant and has been 

here ever since. Like many Cliftonians, 

he has built a successful career back in 

Bristol and he is constantly surprised 

how many OCs he comes across who 

have done the same. 

Since 1972 he has been a Councillor 

and rose to lead the Conservatives 

in the City Council. It was this, and 

the work he has done as a Councillor, 

which resulted in his name being put 

forward for the Mayoralty. The office is 

for one year only and has a formal side 

to it since Geoffrey now finds himself 

chairing Council Meetings (which can 

be, as we know, a challenge at times!), 

of which there are five or six a year, and 

also chairing meetings of the Downs 

Committee. Aside from that, he is also 

patron of between 60 and 70 charities. 

As Bristol’s “First Citizen” it is his role 

– and one which he thoroughly enjoys 

– to support, encourage and thank all 

the hundreds of volunteers who work 

quietly behind the scenes in Bristol 

for a wide variety of charities, without 

which the city would be very much the 

poorer. “People need thanking” is his 

clarion call and he is very good at this 

side of his office – since May he has 

already attended over 100 engagements 

within this context. Finally, the role also 

involves representing the City Council 

at the official opening of major projects 

such as the Docks Restoration as well 

as hosting delegates from Bristol’s 

“twinned” towns overseas. 

As far as his year in office is concerned, 

he has a number of aims: 

First, I want to support as many community 

events as I can. It is important to make sure 

that people who work hard are thanked. 

Business, too, is a major issue for me. 

I want to play my part in helping in the 

creation of jobs and investment. Bristol 

needs every job. 

Finally, I see my task as promoting the 

office of Lord Mayor so that people know 

how much goes on in their city and what 

would be missing if the office of Lord 

Mayor ceased to exist. 

Great energy is needed for this task 

and Geoffrey has it in abundance; 

what shines through when talking to 

him is his great love of people and a 

“can do” attitude which he believes is 

what every school should be trying to 

develop in the young. As one would 

expect, he is optimistic about Bristol’s 

future; the city has weathered the 

current economic storm pretty well in 

his view and the relationship between 

the Council and business is one that 

he believes to be well-developed to 

take this further, although he is 

very aware that there is no room for 

complacency here. 

Geoffrey has few regrets because he 

believes in grasping opportunities in 

life when they occur and then dealing 

with the consequences. Highlights of 

his year so far have been Rush Sunday 

and the many people whom he has 

already met who have great stories to 

tell. Rather touchingly, too, was how he 

finished our meeting: 

Going to Commem as Lord Mayor was one 

of those very special occasions and it never 

occurred to me that this would ever happen! 

To return to Clifton as First Citizen to that 

very special Service and day will always be 

with me. 

Such a characteristically modest 

statement says much and we can all be 

pretty sure that Bristol is in very safe 

hands for the coming twelve months 

and beyond as long as Geoffrey is there 

bringing his influence to bear. 

RJA 

OC BUSINESS 

97

OC Sport 

Old Cliftonians Golfing Society 

Bristol and Clifton Golf Club. 

After the thrill last year of winning 

the HALFORD HEWITT, we 

followed this up in the Autumn 

by winning the GRAFTON MORRISH, 

another long standing Old Boys event, 

competed by well over 100 schools, with 

regional qualifying rounds then the 

finals in Norfolk. This was our third 

win in the GM – but undoubtedly the 

finest as only two other schools 

have won both the HH and GM in the 

same year. 

To celebrate our successes, we held 

a Celebration Dinner in Big School 

in November by kind permission of 

the Headmaster who also generously 

provided the drinks for a Champagne 

Reception before Dinner and of course 

joined us on the night. It was great for 

many ‘old boys’ to visit Big School after 

many years and we were looked after 

superbly (thanks to Caterer and Staff) 

and the speeches by the Headmaster 

(see marvellous pastiche of Newbolt 

below), the Society Capt Alan Mann 

and Hewitt Capt David Rowe were well 

up to the standard we expected for 

such an occasion! The food wasn’t that 

good in 1947! 

The Dinner raised some £500 which is 

earmarked to help our Junior members 

where we pay the Entry Fees whilst 

Juniors and also subsidise travel and 

accommodation costs. Here it is most 

important to thank the OC Society for 

generously increasing our annual grant 

which again will be dedicated to assisting 

with match costs for the Public School 

events. Thank you, Simon Reece, for 

this and for your support. We shall be 

entertaining Simon to Dinner at Bristol 

& Clifton in July after our annual Bristol 

Branch Match which includes some 

parents, masters and schoolboys. 

Then came the fall! At Burnham-on-Sea 

in March we failed in the first round of 

the Annual BRENT KNOLL BOWL; 

a trophy we had won some 

20 years ago. Despite this it 

was a useful “training run” 

as we included three young 

boys who were at school still, 

though finishing shortly. We 

now have a new membership 

category for those approaching 

the end of their time at Clifton; 

by invitation and free of 

any Subscription they join 

as “Junior School Members”. 

The plan of course is to retain 

them for fuller membership 

when school days are over. 

And what about the 2011 

HALFORD HEWITT you may 

ask? I have to record we lost 

in the first round to ETON. A 

tough 1st Rd draw! But I have 

reports that the team had a 

good trip and were immensely 

grateful to the loyal band of 

Alan Mann. 

supporters who turned up albeit just for 

one match! 

In May this year our second SPRING 

MEETING. Organised by Alan Mann 

a small group played at Thurlestone 

in South Devon on a lovely sunny but 

windy day. A most enjoyable trip where 

our Captain, who has a home locally 

and is a member at the Club, waltzed 

off with the prize with his partner Tony 

Garcia. 

We came 4th out of eight in the Public 

Schools Putting competition at Royal 

Wimbledon early June, thus ensuring 

we still qualify for next year, and the 

various Bernard Darwin teams are 

in action over the next few weeks at 

Woking. 

And now (early June as I write this) I am 

finalising the Start Sheet for the summer 

annual trip to The BERKSHIRE where 

we play 36 holes and then hold our 

AGM; all helped by the best Golf Club 

lunch to be found anywhere. Then 

in July the main event locally for the 

Bristol Branch; later a match with 

the Blundellians and Taunton Old 

Boys; in October a great day with the 

Colonials GS and a match against the 

Wellingtonians at Temple GC, near 

Henley-on-Thames. 


Three members to mention: Robert 

Skinner who in April finished his two 

years as Captain of Bristol & Clifton; 

then Robert Dyson, who is the OCGS 

Archivist for the Hewitt and Grafton 

Morrish, currently Captain of Walton 

Heath, a great honour and well done; 

and New Member Martin Hazard who 

recently finished his year as Captain of 

Royal Cromer. 

My photos this time are in sharp 

contrast; first Bristol & Clifton in the 

snow last December which was made 

into a Christmas Card. Then a lovely 

sunny day at Thurlestone with OCGS 

Captain Alan Mann, and behind him 

Burgh Island and Bantham Creek. 

Finally a picture from The Berkshire; 

James England, a great supporter (and 

Halford Hewitt player) lining up a putt 

with Chris Bromhead who does so much 

work for us in the Bristol Matches. 

We are probably the smallest of the Old 

Public School Golf Societies, but we do 

have a jolly good time when we meet, 

and are greatly encouraged by the 

younger players coming through. 

So why not join the OCGS? £20pa and 

only £5 for those under 21, so if you are 

leaving Clifton this year, get in touch, 

and keep in touch through golf with 

your old school friends. My details at the 

end of this magazine. 

Bob Bennett 

(Honorary Secretary) 

‘Coming Back From the Dead’ 

There’s a breathless hush on the 

greens tonight 

Five up and seven to play 

The sign writer’s hand, dextrous 

and light 

Poised to make it a Charterhouse day 

Sixteen times winners were closing in 

As spectators imbibed their tonic 

and gin 

On a seventeenth title, a proud 

golfing name 

Play up, play up and play the game! 

The sand of the seventeenth entraps 

the ball 

No shot to the pin; Clifton win it in par 

The golfing gods are giving their all 

To Baker and Carney, emptying the 

bar. 

The eighteenth is holed from just 

off the green 

The thoughts of the captain turn to 

the dream 

Through fading light the siren 

of fame 


James Hewitt and Chris Bromhead. 

There’s masking tape now on that board 

in Deal 

Over the place the school’s name is set 

The Royal Cinque Ports feels slightly 

surreal 

As a scene unfolds none will forget 

Hapless Carthusians sigh with dismay 

As a burn takes their ball a watery way 

The spirit of Clifton triumphs again 


M J Moore 

(with apologies to Newbolt) 

Those freshly painted capitals besmirched the golf 

club wall. 

To cap it all, they’re tainted now and raise Carthusian 

gall. 

Here’s to our health, their blundering, inspiring cheers 

that roll, 

As that last putt’s meandering into the 19th hole. 

We’ll honour yet the win we saw, the finest we recall. 

We’ll honour those ten heroes who rallied to the call. 

For practice-days or match-play days, and stormy 

golfing brolly days; 

Are Halford Hewitt jolly days, so let’s have a ball. 

It’s good to see the cup they said we’d never win at all. 

It’s great therein Champagne to sup, stand up, 

Cliftonians, tall. 

Salute the flag that’s waving now; the purple, white 

and green, 

Three cheers for Halford, Hewitt and the best match 

we’ve seen. 

(reprise second verse) 

Brian Marber 

OC football team v CC Staff match, OC Sports weekend September 2010 

OC Football 

This year sees the launch of the first ever Old Cliftonian Football 

team in the legendary Bristol Downs League. The Downs 

League was formed in 1905 with 30 founder members, but over 

the years due to its competitiveness and popularity it grew to boast 

four divisions. The one thing that separates the Downs League from 

any other is the fact that all four divisions play on the same site and 

is the only League in the whole of the UK that provides this. The 

Old Cliftonians will be joining the 4th Division and will be aiming for 

League honours, being led by Club Captain and Chairman Damien 

Kelland. The idea of launching this team has been a dream of his 

for many years, and due to the commitment and keenness of fellow 

OCs this is now a reality. Our first match will be on Saturday 3rd 

September so please come and support, and all news/fixtures/results 

will be posted on the website to keep everyone up to date. 

Adam Graveney 

OC SPORT 

99

OC Cricket Week 

OC Sport 2011 

Real Tennis 

Henry Leaf report 

‘ 

Victory at all costs, victory in spite 

of the terrible odds, victory 

however long and hard the 

road may be; for without victory there 

is no Neptune cricket jumper...’ These 

were our thoughts as we arrived at the 

Middlesex University Real Tennis Club 

to compete against the finest (Canford 

fortunately didn’t play their pair) the 

British schools had to offer in old pupil 

Real Tennis players. There are now two 

parts to the Henry Leaf; straight play 

and handicap, Charterhouse holding 

the former and Clifton the latter, after 

a sterling performance by Jeffery Avery 

and the Earl of Buckinghamshire last 

year. Clifton this year were represented 

by Will Greig and John Beale and, 

although one doesn’t like to be defeatist, 

the team had their sights solely on the 

handicap competition. When seasoned 

veterans such as James Acheson-Gray, 

Charlie Danby and John Prenn, a 

distinguished former rackets world 

champion, take to the court, your 

prudent competitor has his eyes on 

the bar and handicap draw. Will, the 

D’Artagnan of the crease, brought to the 

game those skills which make him such a 

fearsome low order batsman, and John 

tried to bring a level head and some 

tactics, which baffled all participants 

regardless of affiliation. 

The first match was against Eton, which 

tested the Clifton pair’s mettle as they 

came back from 3-0 down to win 4-6. 

After this warm-up, Clifton dominated 

Rugby 2; much of the credit here must 

be given to Will for blasting the cover 

off the ball at every opportunity, and 

executing ‘Operation Brown Trousers’ 

with expert precision. This blistering 

performance put Clifton into the semifinals 

of the handicap against Worth. 

The handicap against Clifton here 

was harsh to say the least, so a radical 

alteration in their tactics was required, 

the practical upshot being that Will was 

sent to the galleries. The final was against 

Wellington 2, who were represented by 

Robert Allison and George Tyso. George 

had only played 3 or 4 games before, 

but had won the public schools rackets 

in his day and so his handicap did not 

do him justice, or his opponents any 

favours. However, by some miracle, 

Clifton managed to beat them 10-8! 

Charlie Danby and John Prenn won the 

main event for Harrow in a great final. 

Many thanks go to Christopher Griffith- 

Jones for his organisation, and to the 

MURTC for putting on such a delightful 

tournament. If anybody would like to 

play next year, please get in touch with 

either John Beale or PJ Probyn. 

John Beale 


Branches & Reunions 

1988-94 Reunion: 14 May 2011 

Exactly 50 OCs travelled back to 

Clifton for a very convivial reunion 

weekend. Many thanks to those 

who had whipped up support, especially 

to Nessie Walsh who was responsible for 

a substantial party. I was very grateful 

that a good number were able to get 

to the Chapel Service at mid-day. This 

is the School’s normal service, moved 

for the reunion from the Sunday to the 

Saturday, and about half the Reunion 

attendees were present to hear Phil 

Cansdale, of ST and of this era, preach. 

Alas, he was unable to stay for the 

dinner but we were delighted he could 

join us all for drinks and lunch. 

A number of OCs had not been back 

since they had left and although they 

haven’t been away all that long, the 

number of changes here have been 

is considerable. Since that time, two 

houses have merged (DH and BH), one 

reconstructed (SH) and morphed into 

two (SH and WaH) and two have moved 

(WaH and WiH). Two new houses have 

opened (WT and HH) and another 

closed (PH). The Percival Library, 

Science School and Music School have 

all been completely refurbished. I’m 

not sure any got as far as BB, but that 

has been much further developed and 

the latest addition has been a splendid 

water-based hockey pitch. 

It was a great pleasure to show a group 

round the Music School. There was 

some considerable amazement at what 

was available and it was good to get 

Oliver Chapple behind a drum set 

again. Teenage desires for stardom were 

found to be merely quiescent rather 

than extinct: if any OCs wish to have an 

afternoon in the recording studio, I’m 

sure that could be arranged! 

Adding some former and current staff to 

the party and some brave OCs’ spouses 

and partners, we were some 75 for 

dinner in Big School. As ever, Nick Potts 

and his team produced a splendid meal 

during which we were delighted to be 

entertained by Julia Hwang who played 

violin quite beautifully for us – have a 

look at her website www.juliahwang.com 

This was followed by a ‘What do you 

remember about the late ‘80s?’ session 

from the Head Master, with Tom Wilton 

answering most if not all successfully, 

and then a resumé of recent progress 

and future aspirations. Chris St. John 

treated us to an hilarious version of 

‘Heads and Tails’ much at the expense 

of some of those present and we finished 

with reminiscences from Nessie Walsh, 

a mixture of anecdote and re-enactment 

by the look of it! As her own card said: 

“I’d forgotten that ‘keeping up with the 

boys’ is just not advisable.” 

A happy crowd slipped away into the 

night and an excellent day came to 

and end. Very many thanks to those 

who came and for all the appreciative 

messages received since. 

Suzanne Boudier, OH 1987-1991 writes: 

The OC Reunion, for those who left school 

between 1988-1994, was held on Saturday 

14 May. I had spent a good week, prior 

to the day, feeling a tad nervous about 

revisiting Clifton: Who would be there? 

Will it be all pomp and ceremony? Will I 

pass as “successful”? I wrote that little bit 

with a wry smile! I’m sure it’s only human 

to feel this way before reconnecting with 

old friends you haven’t seen for over 20 

years. The event completely obliterated all 

my small anxieties. 

Not wishing to be late, I left the hotel on 

foot at 11am and arrived at Chapel at 

11:15am, just as the doors were closing!! 

I couldn’t help but smile to myself, as 

this was my normal drill when I was at 

Clifton and it immediately made me feel 

at home. I skipped up the steps and was 

ushered in by one of the Masters. The 

Chris St. John Giles Barnes Michiel in der Rieden Suzie Boudier 

organ had piped up, so rather than walk 

through Chapel to where all the other 

OCs were seated, I squashed in with 

some of the Clifton girls. In hindsight, 

my arrival time was actually a blessing 

as the experience of sitting with the 

girls in Chapel flooded my memory 

with nostalgia. My eyes darted about 

like a paranoid action man observing 

all the students. In them, I recognized 

characters from my school days: the 

leaders of the pack, the popularazzi, 

the high achievers, the comedians, the 

geeks…they were all there. There was 

something so magical about being sat 

in Chapel. I felt like running up to the 

lectern and announcing “Carpe Diem, 

fellow Cliftonians”. However, thankfully 

the Rev. Phil Cansdale, Vicar of Trinity 

Churches in Shrewsbury, gave a 

wonderfully warm and sincere sermon, 

which resonated with everyone. 

A reception followed in the Newbolt 

Room and as each OC and old Master 

entered the room, I could feel my heart 

swell with joy, even for those whom 

I’d never had any strong affinity with 

at school. I felt akin to them now and 

was delighted to see everyone. The 

attendance was not as numerous as I 

had anticipated. This was unfortunate 

as I felt that we had been given a 

wonderful opportunity to reconnect 

and relive a day at Clifton. I honestly 

felt that the OCs who didn’t attend were 

missing something really special and I 

wished more of them had been there 

to maximize the day. The champagne 

started to flow as did the laughter and 

warm, humorous conversations. It was 

truly jovial and felt like no great length 

of time had passed between us. 

The fun and laughter continued at 

lunch in Big School. I’m sure we all 

paid attention en route to every fine 

detail; the familiar smell of cooking as 

you walked upstairs, the ghosts of past 

praepostors telling you to get in line. 

However, on this occasion were certainly 

given the VIP treatment. 

Following lunch, we embarked on a 

tour of the school and I felt like I had 

descended on my previous life in a 

Tardis. The old walls that we all walked 

past without a second thought twenty 

odd years ago, certainly felt more 

significant now. It was very pleasing 

to see the old mixed with the new. 

BRANCHES & REUNIONS 

101

The facilities are very modern whilst 

retaining the good, old character we 

are accustomed to. The Science Block 

in particular was first class, yet still 

maintained that all too distinctive smell. 

Simon Macfarlane was hunting through 

cupboards trying to find artefacts from 

our heydays in Chemistry and, much 

to our delight managed to find the 

original clamps and test tubes we had 

once used! Oakeley’s House will always 

hold a unique space in my memory. We 

visited OH and met some of the girls. It 

was fantastic to talk to them and learn 

of their experiences. They seemed very 

happy and content with Clifton life. I’m 

convinced we were far naughtier when 

we were there! However, it was lovely to 

share stories with the girls and learn of 

their experiences at Clifton. 

The event was attended by: 

Paul Albone ET 1991 

Rachel Andrew and 

Richard Goldklang OH 1987 

Alan Bailey ET 1991 

Andy Bailey ET 1994 

Giles Barnes DH 1991 

Suzie Boudier OH 1991 

George Bretten WiH 1992 

Dan Brown WiH 1992 

Phil Cansdale ST 1991 

Rebecca Channack OH 1990 

Oliver Chapple SH 1991 

Matt and Jane Cretney ET 1994 

Ash Dunn WaH 1991 

Daniel Durie WiH 1991 

Luke Facey BH 1991 

Daniel and Kathryn Fox NT 1991 

Jeremy Grainger WiH 1991 

Fergus Hall WiH 1991 

Nick Howe ST 1992 

Seb Hoyle DH 1991 

Michiel in der Rieden WiH 1991 

Rob and Helen MacAlister BH 1991 

Simon Macfarlane ET 1991 

Robin Macfarlane ET 1989 

David Maggs DH 1992 

Paul Matthews DH 1991 

Moira McCallum OH 1991 

In the evening, we indulged in a few 

more bubbles at a pre-dinner drinks 

reception and gathered in Big School 

for a lavish dinner with entertainment 

intermittently by some of Clifton’s 

finest music students. They were 

staggeringly brilliant. I had the great 

pleasure of sharing the evening with 

my fellow Oakeley’s girls and Mr and 

Mrs Hallworth. Speeches ensued by 

Head Master, Mark Moore, outlining 

the School’s recent successes and future 

developments. Nessie Bird and Chris 

St John embellished the after-dinner 

schedule further with witty accounts of 

Clifton. Chris St John’s game show style 

performance had the room in tears of 

laughter. The dinner drew to a close 

following a rendition of the School Song. 

I had typically forgotten my goggles, 

Richard Moffat SH 1991 

James Neale DH 1990 

Julian Pearce ET 1993 

James Pegg ET 1993 

David Pye and Louise 

Channing ST 1989 

Dan Robb WiH 1991 

Lucy Roberts 

(née Boardman) OH 1990 

Chris St John WiH 1991 

Miranda Stavrou OH 1992 

Ben and Sascha Stokes SH 1989 

Hazel and Stuart 

Sullivan (née McIntosh) OH 1993 

Andrew Taylor WaH 1991 

James Toogood DH 1990 

James Trafford WiH 1992 

Chloe and Jonathan 

Turner (née John) WoH 1994 

Nessie Walsh (née Bird) WoH 1991 

Fergus Wheatley SH 1990 

Jim Williams DH 1991 

Thomas Wilton SH 1990 

Matt Windows WiH 1991 

Stuart and Marie Andrews 

Former Head Master 

Michael Butterfield ST 1966 

Treasurer of OCS 

didn’t have a song sheet and was aghast 

that I remembered every single word. 

Hence, I sang the song with gusto even 

if I do having a singing voice like Cilla 

Black on helium, I gave it my all! 

As OCs, the show must go on, and 

in true Cliftonian style we made the 

most of the opportunity to spend time 

together by descending en masse at a 

nearby nightclub and talking into the 

early, by that I mean ungodly early, 

hours at the Avon Gorge Hotel. By all 

accounts, the occasion was quite simply 

momentous and one I will always 

cherish. My sincere thanks to all those 

involved in organizing such a wonderful 

event and of course to my fellow OC 

comrades. You made it very special 

indeed. 

Wendy and Kevin Bowring 

Head Mistress, Butcombe 



Phil Hallworth 

Director of Admissions 

Katherine Jeffery (née Virgo) OH 1994 

House Mistress of Oakeley’s 

Mark Moore - Head Master 

Lucy Nash - PA of OCS 

Alan O’Sullivan 

House Master of Moberly’s House 

Simon and Sue Reece ST 1968 

Secretary of OCS/Former House Master 

David Rodgers 

House Master of North Town 

Tim Ross - Chairman of Council 

Ian Scott - Former Master 

Simon Tait 

House Master of South Town 

Stuart Taylor - Former Chaplain 

Jonathan Thomson-Glover SH 1980 

House Master of East Town 

Nick Tolchard ST 1980 

Chairman of OCS 

Mike and Maggie West 

Former House Master, Wiseman’s 

Brian Worthington 

Former Master, College Council 

West 

Midlands 

Dinner 

Back row: Claude Joseph, Karl Cook, Brian Dicker, George Struthers, Simon Reece, Charles Galletly, Jef Avery, 

Martin Richards, Jon Davey, Jeremy Vowles, Peter Fowles. Front seated: Brian Bramson, Fiona Hallworth, 

John Dayer, Graham Clowes, Mike Leek. It was Jeremy’s first OC event since leaving 35 years ago! 


Bristol Branch 

As I sat at this year’s Upper 

School Commemoration 

Service preparing to sing 

‘Jerusalem’ it dawned on me that I 

was about to become a ‘double-lifer’. 

A ‘lifer’ is a term that has arisen 

recently to denote someone who has 

been at Clifton from the Nursery 

in Butcombe (or Lower School) 

through to leaving the Upper 6th. 

Having completed twelve years as a 

pupil I have just completed fifteen 

years as a parent! You would have 

thought after this time I would 

have had enough of Clifton but 

when Simon Reece approached me 

to become the Branch Secretary 

for the Bristol Branch I had no 

hesitation in saying “Yes”. It is 

apparent that since Nigel Bishop 

gave up the reins this Branch has 

struggled for no particular reason 

and I am delighted to have the 

opportunity to try to re-establish 

momentum. One important 

innovation is the establishment of 

joint-secretaries, making it easier for 

events organising, easier to reach 

a wider number of OCs and in the 

end, better for succession planning. 

James Rose joins me in this capacity, 

making it a North Town double act: 

James and I overlapped between ’78 

and ’84. We hope that the Bristol 

Branch will once again become one 

of the strongest and most active, 

especially as the School itself is our 

near neighbour. 

To get us all going there will be a 

couple of drinks receptions that 

will be advertised to all existing 

locally-based O.C.s, the first in the 

Pavilion on the 21st of September 

from 7pm. In addition please put 

into your diaries this year’s Bristol 

Branch O.C. Dinner which will be 

held in Big School on the 11th of 

November with the Headmaster and 

the current Bristol Lord Mayor (and 

O.C.) addressing us. 

I am interested in creating a network 

of active O.C.s within the branch 

to act as contact points amongst 

their respective year groups. If you 

are interested in becoming one of 

these people please contact me on 

bplhcs@aol.com. Please also write to 

me if you have any interesting ideas 

for gatherings in the future. 

Bruce Lloyd (Pre, N.T. 1973-1984) 

Cambridge 

Branch 

The re-energised Cambridge Branch 

organised two events this year. 

The first, the dinner, was masterminded 

by George Greenbury whose 

patience was much tried by the late (and 

welcome) addition to the guest list from 

Clifton, prompting this email to HQ: 

Hi Simon, 

It is a good thing that I practically 

run the College otherwise it would have 

been impossible to fit Mark in! 

Do ring if you have any more questions. 

All the best, 

George 

Good to see Cambridge is in safe hands! 

George writes: 

‘The Cambridge Branch Annual 

Dinner on 11th March was attended 

by former pupils: Charles Beresford 

(WiH 57 – 62), Jonathan Burton (ST 55 

– 60), Matthew Dixon (ST 05-10), Alice 

Ferguson (WT 02-07), Adam Fielder 

(MH 03-08), Alexander Gordon (ST 04- 

09), George Greenbury (NT 03-08), Alys 

Holland (WT 03-08), Richard Hoole 

(WaH 61 – 65), Peter Lloyd (guest), Joo 

Ching Lloyd née Chua (WoH 01 – 02), 

James Robinson (MH 02-07), Olivia 

Robinson (OH 03-08), and Nigel Le 

Sueur (DH 72 – 77); and staff: Mark 

Moore (Head Master) and Simon Reece 

(OC Society Secretary). This year’s 

Annual Dinner was a convivial affair, 

held at Gonville and Caius College, with 

a number of OCs in attendance who 

were new to the Cambridge Branch 

as well as many familiar faces. The 

Head Master spoke about the state 

Olivia Robinson, top right, in the 

Cambridge Netball team 2011. 

Charles Beresford and George Greenbury. 

of the school, and forthcoming plans 

for improved facilities, and the OC 

Society Secretary gave a lively address 

about plans for a new website and 

scholarship fund. Next year’s Branch 

Secretary, Alexander Gordon, was also 

announced; he will be taking over from 

George Greenbury at the beginning of 

October 2011.’ 

The second event was organised by 

Olivia Robinson, a drinks party in the 

Fellows’ Garden, Clare College, on 

13th June by kind permission of the 

Bursar Donald Hearn (BH 61 – 65). 

Alas this excellent event proved to be 

a virtually impossible date for many, 

and the numbers dwindled away, but 

we nevertheless hope we might try 

again, perhaps earlier in the year if it 

is possible. 

Congratulations to Olivia Robinson 

on winning a netball Blue! She was 

selected for the Varsity fixture on 19th 

February when Cambridge beat Oxford 

40-34. 

We send our best wishes to George for 

all that he has done in the joint and 

then solo running of the 

Branch over the last two 

years. As you can see from 

the email quoted above, he 

clearly reckons he has a grip 

on things, and perhaps we 

will welcome him back again 

in the future? Good luck 

to Alexander Gordon who 

takes over (though it was 

not at all clear that he had 

been asked when George 

announced the fact at the 

dinner!). 


103

Oxford Branch 

Dinner 

This year the Oxford OC Dinner 

was held at St Edmunds Hall, and 

as we always find with Oxford 

Colleges, they did not fail to impress. 

Not surprisingly, the friendly Clifton 

College spirit contributed to the warmhearted 

atmosphere that was present 

throughout the evening. Having said 

that, it was also no surprise that by the 

end of the evening every drop of wine 

had vanished. The Head Master, Mr 

Mark Moore, spoke of the recent success 

Clifton has seen in every field of school 

life, and although this also came as no 

surprise to many of us, it was a pleasure 

to hear of the School’s triumphs and 

achievements. Following the Head 

Master, Simon Reece said a few words 

including some memorable stories 

which raised a few eyebrows, but were 

unquestionably enjoyed and laughed 

at by all. In fact, sharing stories seemed 

to be the common thread amongst the 

OCs who finished at Clifton some fifty 

years ago, and OCs who may have only 

left last year, all equally outrageous – 

I’m sure, indeed, that some of the older 

ones may have been worse! All in all, 

the night was a great success and it was 

good to see so many come along 

LUNCH AT DEVORAN 

to support and reminisce about life 

at Clifton. 

Meghan Williams (WoH 2008) 

Present at the Dinner were: Mr and 

Mrs Philip Allen (WaH 1976), David 

Allchin (Former Master), Matthew 

Barnes (ST 2008), Mr and Mrs Robin 

Carr (DH 1964), Bruce Crichton (SH 

1959), Gemma Crowther (OH 2009), 

Ian Fishpool (ST 1979), Fiona Hallworth 

(Staff), Harriet Holliday (WoH 2008), 

Alex Lang ( MH 1998), Mark Moore 

(Head Master), Tim Norris-Jones (DH 

1974), Mr and Mrs John Phelps (WaH 

1981), Edward Phelps (WaH 1984), 

Jim Rankin (SH 1985), Simon Reece 

(OC Society Secretary), Steve Richards 

(ET 1959), Alex Tebay (Staff), Mr and 

Mrs Roger Trafford (former Pre HM), 

Christopher Waller (NT 2010), Christian 

Walters (NT 2010), Richard Wilkes (SH 

2008), Meghan Williams (WoH 2008) 

and Brian Worthington (former Master). 

Israel Branch 

Retiring secretary of the Devon and Cornwall Branch, Rowland Cole, being presented with 

an engraved fruit bowl in recognition of all his work for the Branch over many years. 

OC Israel Branch drinks - December 2010. 


British Columbia 

I 

can report that we had a fine group 

of 10 former and current Cliftonians 

together here yesterday. They were: 

Simon J Evans (OC); Christopher D 

Ogden (OC); Hamish C Earle (OC); 

Anoush Poursartip (OC) (accompanied by 

Mahshid Poursartip); Michael S Davies 

(OC) (and Sandra Davies); Kenneth K 

Fok (OC); Rhodri Windsor-Liscombe 

(OC); Emma Windsor-Liscombe 

(current Cliftonian); Anthony R Sinclair 

(OC) (accompanied by Anne Sinclair); 

David P Lalonde (OC) 

The event was very enjoyable. The 

Windsor-Liscombes gave brief but 

glowing reports on their recent 

experiences at Clifton. 

There was agreement that the group 

should meet again before too long - 

(l to r): 

Anthony R Sinclair, 

Hamish C Earle, 

David P Lalonde, 

Christopher D Ogden, 

Emma Windsor- 

Liscombe, Anoush 

Poursartip, Rhodri 

Windsor-Liscombe, 

Michael S Davies, 

Simon J Evans, 

Kenneth K Fok 

perhaps at a BC location that might allow 

other BC OCs to attend conveniently. 

David Lalonde has volunteered to organize 

a Vancouver Island OC group. 

Ontario 

Seventeen of us, in all, congregated 

at the ‘Duke of York’ Pub for a 

social ‘get-together’ - of which 

eleven OC’S were present together 

with spouses, partners, friends, and a 

daughter of an OC. Those present were 

as follows:- 

A Brian Jackson, Bath, near Kingston, 

Ontario; Antony R Harborow, Cherry 

Valley, near Picton, Ontario; John 

C Clements, Aurora, Ontario; Peter 

J & Jill Barr, Brampton, Ontario; 

Christopher G Walker, Ancaster, 

Ontario; John H Laing, Dundas, 

Ontario; Professor Edward Spooner, 

City of Toronto; C Ian & Janet 

Markham, North York, City of Toronto; 

Patrick Fancott, City of Toronto; Mrs. 

Anne Jones (wife of John B Jones, OC), 

Etobicoke, City of Toronto; Philip F 

& Elaine V Jones, and their daughter 

Glynys A Jones, Etobicoke, City of 

Toronto; Dr. David R & Dr. Joan Bevan, 

Huntsville, Ontario 

Sadly, Jonathan Green of Collingwood, 

Ontario, at the last minute, was struck 

down by ’flu, and could not make it. 

Thanks everybody for coming; it was 

great to all meet up again. 

Tony Harborow; Chris Walker; Dr. David Bevan 

(front-row) Prof. Ed Spooner; Peter Barr 

A 

second event was held at 

the home of Tony and Elna 

Harborow, Cherry Valley, Prince 

Edward County, Ontario, Canada on 

Saturday 6 August 2011. Photograph 

beautifully taken by Mrs Shelley Klein 

in the front garden of Tony and Elna’s 

home and many thanks to her for lining 

us up! 

The ten OCs in the photo are listed 

below. The figures in brackets are 

the dates the OCs left Clifton and the 

number sign preceding the 5-digit 

number is each person’s Clifton College 

School number or OCS number. 

Back row: 

David M Jones, 

Peter J Barr, 

Dr. David R Bevan, 

A Brian Jackson, 

Chris G Walker, 

C Ian Markham, 

Tony R Harborow. 

Front row: 

Adrian C Flash, 

Philip F Jones, 

Thomas V Klein. 

#20295 Thomas V Klein (’92) Montreal-West, Montreal, 

Quebec 

#14165 Adrian C Flash (’66) Saint-Hubert, Quebec 

#14080 A Brian Jackson (’62) Bath, Ontario 

#13163 Antony R Harborow (’56) Cherry Valley, Prince 

Edward County, Ontario 

#14754 Peter J Barr (’66) Brampton, Ontario 

#12472 Christopher G Walker (’52) Ancaster, Ontario 

#15358 C Ian Markham (’69) North York, Toronto, Ontario 

#12955 Philip F Jones (’57) Etobicoke, Toronto, Ontario 

#13547 Dr. David R Bevan (’59) Huntsville, Ontario 

#12674 David M Jones (’55) Cowbridge, Vale of Glamorgan, 

South Wales, UK 

President of the Old Clifton 

Society at Bristol, England. 


105

Masonic Lodge 

OLD CLIFTONIAN LODGE NO. 3340 

Nick Brook (DH 1956-61) is this year’s Worshipful Master 

and he was duly installed at our London meeting in April 

2011. This is Nick’s second time in the Chair and he 

returns determined to ensure that the Lodge continues to thrive 

and enjoy another excellent year. Nick is also Senior Warden 

of the Phoenix Lodge No. 257 which meets in Portsmouth and 

is likely to be Worshipful Master next year. Several other Old 

Cliftonians are members of the Phoenix Lodge and we are 

hoping to hold a Ladies Festival in the Phoenix Lodge Rooms in 

June next year (2012). 

Nick has set the specific charities which he wishes to support 

during his year to be the Clifton Masonic Fund and the 

Metropolitan Grand Lodge’s CyberKnife Appeal. The 

Metropolitan Masonic Charity is purchasing a CyberKnife for St 

Bartholomew’s Hospital in London. The Clifton Masonic fund 

currently stands at over £18,000 and it it is hoped eventually to 

establish a Clifton Masonic Bursary. 

David Mander (WiH 1952-61), who was elected as our 

Worshipful Master in April 2010, had a most successful year 

in the Chair. He was able to visit a large number of our sister 

Public Schools Lodges and, in return, we were favoured by 

return visits from many of our sister Lodges. With his strong 

Masonic connections in Bristol and Gloucestershire, David also 

invited many senior Brethren from the two Provinces who were 

able to join our meetings in both London and Bristol. 

David also represented the Lodge at the Public Schools Lodges 

Council Festival which was held at Rugby School on 3rd July 

2010. The Council consists of 33 Public School Lodges which 

meet in London and each year one of the member Lodges takes 

it in turn to host the Festival, normally at its alma mater. Rugby 

last held the event in 1990. We were blessed with good weather 

and, after coffee, all guests both Masonic and non-Masonic 

adjourned to the Temple Room where they were addressed by 

Mike Woodcock, the President of the Royal Masonic Trust for 

Girls and Boys. A rousing Chapel service followed at the end 

of which Rugby School’s Director of Music, Richard Dunster- 

Sigtermans, gave an exhilarating performance of the Tocatta 

& Fugue from Widor’s Symphony No. 5. The Old Rugbeian 

Lodge had organised an excellent champagne reception and 

lunch which was held in a grand marquee on the Close. A 

strong contingent from the Old Cliftonian Lodge attended to 

support David and a very enjoyable day was had by all. 

The OC Lodge has, once again, had a busy and enjoyable year. 

In November we made our annual visit to Bristol and received a 

fraternal visit from the Robert Thorne Lodge (Bristol Grammar 

School). The members of the OC Lodge presented a lecture 

(based on one given by the Provincial Lecturer for Hampshire 

and the Isle of Wight 2010) which explained certain aspects of 

the Emulation Ritual which we use in the OC Lodge. Since our 

guests were more familiar with the ‘famous’ Bristol Working, it 

proved to be an informative and enjoyable meeting for all. 

The November meeting was also the occasion when the Lodge 

welcomed two new joining members, Bro. David Peters (WTP, 

HH, ET 1988 – 98) and Bro. Duncan White (DH 1956 – 1960). 

The Provincial Grand Master of Bristol, RW Bro. Michael 

Flynn (who is an Honorary Member of the Lodge) had given 

his apologies for absence since he was attending a celebration 

dinner elsewhere held to mark his retirement. We hope that 

this will make it easier for him to 

join our meetings in the future. 

In February 2011, the Lodge held 

a meeting at the old Theatre Royal 

in Bath. Bro. Barnaby Houlford 

(LS, MHP, HaH, WaH 1974 – 

1985) was welcomed as a joining 

member. Barnaby’s joining further 

increases the number of Bristol 

Masons who are now members of 

the OC Lodge. Ladies and other 

non-Masonic guests joined the 

members after the meeting for an 

excellent and most convivial lunch 

in the Theatre Royal dining room. 

This was followed by a guided tour 

James King in SLGR regalia. 

of the Theatre led by the Curator 

who allowed the visitors to inspect the fine collection of Masonic 

jewels, ornaments and memorabilia which are held in the 

Museum and which forms part of the Royal Theatre. Afternoon 

tea was taken before the members and guests departed at the 

end of a most enjoyable day. 

In December 2010, the Lodge was delighted to learn that 

W.Bro. James King (NT, ET 1955-59) had been promoted to 

Senior London Grand Rank. His investiture took place in the 

Grand Temple at Freemason’s 

Hall in London at the beginning of March 2011. 

On 28th March 2011, in accordance with the wishes of the late 

V.W.Bro. Brigadier John Howell Mallard TD (NT 1926 – 35), 

his ashes were scattered over the rose garden outside School 

House. The Brigadier’s daughters, Sally and Judy, attended the 

ceremony which was performed by the School Chaplain. The 

family have arranged to have a plaque commissioned to be put 

in the Chapel. 

On Saturday 12th November 2011, we shall be the guests of 

the Robert Thorne Lodge when we make our return fraternal 

visit to Bristol. All Old Cliftonian Masons, whether members 

of the OC Lodge or not, are most welcome to come to this very 

happy meeting which has now become an eagerly anticipated 

annual event. We normally meet for tea at the School before 

proceeding to Freemason’s Hall in Park Street. 

The year has been marked by a considerable increase in 

approaches from Old Cliftonians who are interested in joining 

the Lodge. 

2011 

Thurs 20th October OC Lodge Meeting 

London 

Sat 12th November OC Lodge Meeting Bristol 

2012 

Thurs 19th January OC Lodge Meeting 

London 

Thurs 26th April OC Lodge Installation Meeting London 

Sat 26th May OC Lodge Meeting with Families 

and Friends at the Public Schools 

Lodges Council Meeting Winchester 

Sat 23rd June OC Lodge Meeting with Families 

(Provisional) and Friends Portsmouth 


Book Reviews 

LANDFALLS - On the Edge of Islam with Ibn Battutah 

Tim Mackintosh-Smith, London, 2010 (ISBN 97807195678720) 

Rarely has it been such a pleasure to 

review a book than that afforded by 

Tim Mackintosh-Smith’s (Pre, NT 

1971-1978) latest volume which forms 

the final part of his trilogy tracing the 

steps of the 14th Century traveller Ibn 

Battutah. There is a clue for the reader 

of the pleasure in store on the fly-cover 

at the back of the book; 

For the past twenty-five years his home has 

been the Yemeni capital San’a, where he 

lives in a tower-house on top of the ancient 

Sabaean city and next door to the modern 

donkey market. 

Like its author, this is no mere ordinary 

travel book. Tim’s fluency in Arabic 

has allowed him greater and deeper 

access to his subject than that which 

an historian might possess. But there 

is more to this than just that. This is 

the third book tracing the footsteps 

of Ibn Battutah, or IB as the author 

has come to know him, and whilst 

The Times reviewer may have seen this 

as something of an obsession, other 

readers will simply detect that most 

important ingredient when it comes to a 

“good read”, and that is genuine passion 

on the part of the author for his subject. 

The book is instructive. Tim’s easy prose 

style makes a potentially complicated 

subject very accessible to the layman 

and the reader can learn more about 

the Muslim world seven hundred years 

ago and its relationship with Islam 

today from reading this book than from 

what most other what might be termed 

“scholarly” treatments of this vast topic. 

This is, however, not to undervalue the 

author’s writing style, for there is much 

wisdom in this account. Time and again 

he returns to the theme of the religious 

tolerance of the past in stark contrast to 

what we observe today as East collides 

with West. Tracing IB’s steps in Sri 

Lanka to look at Adam’s Foot on Adam’s 

Peak, he remarks 

Following in these multifarious footsteps, 

adherents of different creeds have jostled for 

a place on the Peak. As a site of polyphonic 

prayer, it is not unique; but it seems to have 

escaped the disharmonies of other sites, 

like Jerusalem or Ayodhya. IB’s visit is a 

good illustration of how different faiths 

got on. He, a Muslim, was provided by the 

Hindu Tamil ruler of northern Sri Lanka 

with a few yogis and three Brahmans to 

guide him to the Foot through territory 

ruled by Buddhist Sinhhalas. Whatever the 

differences in dogma, Adam’s Peak rises 

above them. 

and later on noting, with no small 

degree of pleasure, that the crucifix in 

Gibraltar’s Cathedral hangs suspended 

in what was clearly a Moorish arch 

testifying to the building’s earlier 

incarnation as a mosque. 

So, informative certainly. And wise, too. 

Reflecting on the ease with which IB 

travelled across the known-world of the 

time, in stark contrast to some of his 

own experiences, Tim suggests that 

Borders may be one of mankind’s more 

idiotic inventions 

and the book is peppered with such 

observations which, in turn, force 

the reader to pause and think, other 

examples being 

It is in the nature of faith to spin cables 

from cobwebs 

and 

Silk roads are now Microchip Motorways 

On top of this, anecdotes abound, 

revealing the author’s very real 

understanding of his subject, my 

favourite out of the many being 

The sight of it reminded me of a story told by 

the twelfth-century Syrian prince Usamah 

(Osama) Ibn Mundiqh – on the scale of 

religious tolerance the polar opposite, it has 

to be said, of his latter day namesake, Ibn, 

or Bin, Ladin. Usamah was in Christiancontrolled 

Jerusalem and some friends of 

his, Knights Templar, lent him a church, 

converted from a mosque, for him to perform 

his Islamic prayers in. While he was bowing 

towards Mecca another knight came in and 

tried to shift Usamah bodily to the east, 

the Christian direction of prayer; at this 

Usamah’s Templar Friends appeared and 

kicked out the unknown crusader. “Sorry 

about him,” they said. “He’s new.” Usamah 

finished his devotions, Mecca-ward and 

undisturbed. 

Finally, to being informative and wise 

can be added another dimension to 

Tim’s writing, a lyrical quality which 

often borders on the poetic 

To sit at midnight in the prow of a boat 

leaving a harbour, sliding into the dark, 

with two hundred miles of ocean, half a 

dozen atolls, half a thousand islands ahead, 

a universe of stars above and, all around, 

voices murmuring in an unknown tongue – 

that is freedom. 

CS Lewis once suggested that we read 

to ensure that we are not alone; thanks 

to this book, a whole new world opens 

up for the reader and, by the end, he or 

she shares with the author experiences 

and friendships which linger long in the 

memory. “Antum al-sbiqun, wa nahnu 

al-latiqun (You have gone before, and 

we will follow) – this quotation at the 

end of the book is amply illustrated in 

the reading; it is now in the Percival 

Library; open its pages and follow. You 

will not be disappointed. 

RJA 

BOOK REVIEWS 

107

ON AND OFF THE FLIGHT DECK 

Reflections of a Naval Fighter Pilot in World War II 

Henry “Hank” Adlam, South Yorkshire, 2007 ISBN 9781848841956 

I 

never asked my father-in-law, who 

had been a navigator on the Berlin 

bombing runs, or my father, whose war 

encompassed Africa, Italy, Germany and 

the Nuremberg War Trials, both lovely 

men, about their war memories. I regret 

that. With their passing, and the passing 

now of many of that generation, we are 

beginning to let real contact with the past 

slip through our fingers like dry sand. 

History will thus soon become legend and 

then myth. It is thus a pleasure to have 

received Hank Adlam’s reflections on his 

war service on a variety of levels. First 

and foremost, of course, he is well-known 

to Clifton; of equal importance is that 

this book puts us directly in touch with a 

world and with experiences which, and 

for this we should be grateful, we have 

never had to confront. 

Hank’s clear prose and sharp recall takes 

us straight into a world of tension, of the 

unique smell of glycol and oil associated 

with a Hurricane’s Rolls Royce engine, 

of the exhilaration of soaring to 8000 

feet, of life in a Squadron and at sea 

flying a variety of aircraft, of exhaustion, 

relief at survival, camaraderie, courage 

and, above all, of coming to terms with 

loss. Technical in parts this book may 

sometimes be, yet Hank never loses sight 

of the extraordinary humanity that can 

be found in times of war in the most 

unusual places, and we rejoice with him 

as his book concludes with his marriage 

to Heather in 1948, a union which was 

to last 53 years. To his late wife the book 

is dedicated along with the many friends 

he flew with who did not survive. This 

account has sold over 3000 copies and 

it is easy to see why, for Hank gets, with 

characteristic modesty, behind the detail 

to give us a very personal account which 

is all the more powerful for that. This 

extract, his reaction to the loss in battle 

of Basil Bartlett, a close friend, is one of 

the many that forms a fitting conclusion 

to this review: 

Feeling sick and breathless I turned to 

scramble my way blindly out of the FDR. 

I should never have gone there and how I 

wished that I had never done so. Would I 

ever be able to forget hearing Basil’s voice 

on his final call “I’m hit…..”? The awful 

thought of him, probably wounded, striving 

to get a damaged canopy open and unable 

to get out of the aircraft as it plunged 

seawards….I sat there trying to come to 

terms with the realisation that Basil had been 

killed and was gone. In those wartime days, 

the pace of life was such that a month was 

almost as a year normally would be, and our 

friendship had been formed eight months 

ago and sustained over a very long period 

therefore. Memories of all our good times 

together went through my mind. And sitting 

in that empty cabin, I wept for the loss of 

him and at the awful manner of his going. 

Typically modest, Hank had waited 

until now to share his reflections and we 

should be glad that he has done so. The 

past is, indeed, another country where 

things are done differently, but 

It is only relatively recently that the 

West has begun to recognise that 

Africa had a long and complex history 

long before it was subject to colonial 

rule. David Stuart-Mogg (ET 1955- 

1959) has published a study of one of 

the more extraordinary characters, 

Mlozi bin Kazbadema, a slaver who was 

eventually overthrown by a combination 

of British and German action against 

him, and in so doing has raised the 

veil on the hitherto complex period of 

transition in this part of Africa in the last 

part of the 19th Century. 

it is worth a visit and, in the hands of 

this guide, the trip is both fascinating 

and humbling. 

MLOZI OF CENTRAL AFRICA 

Trader, Slaver and self-styled Sultan 

David Stuart-Mogg, Central Africana 2010 ISBN 9789990814255 

RJA 

Whilst Mlozi’s “rule” was destroyed in the 

name of anti-slavery by British might, it is 

clear from this fascinating account that his 

presence was actually a barrier to further 

colonial expansion as a result of a wellfortified 

stockade that he had constructed 

from which to develop his commercial 

interests. The strength of his position, 

and the influence that he wielded in the 

Lake Malawi area, was such that it took 

nine years to eventually dislodge, capture 

and execute what was pretty summary 

justice on this figure in 1895. It was not 

until the British deployed several armed 

steamships, including a German vessel, 

that he was eventually defeated, freeing 

what was then Nyasaland from his brutal 

regime based on the slave trade and 

replacing it with colonial administration 

which remained in place until 1966 when 

Nyasaland became Malawi under the 

guidance of Dr Hastings Banda. 

For those interested in Africa in general, 

and the slave trade in particular, this 

is a well-written, well-researched and 

important book and, as one reviewer 

has put it, the author is clearly gripped 

by this story, producing a well-balanced 

and eminently readable book which does 

much to increase understanding of the 

roots of this part of Africa. 

RJA 


Obituaries 

DKF Adams (OH 1959-1963) 

CB Bell (BH 1949-1953) 

BCW Bevan (WaH 1947-1958) 

Professor JP Blandy (DH 1943-1945) 

AH Body (NT 1941-1947) 

DF Boyle (WiH 1958-1962) 

RM Burton (PH 1931-1935) 

GM Chinn (PH 1952-1957) 

RW Clifford (WiH 1935-1939) 

JF Coates (ST 1931-1940) 

HL Cleave (NT 1921-1925) 

Professor R Creese (ST 1932-1939) 

DH Darbishire (NT 1931-1941) 

Rev R C Dowson (NT 1941-1949) 

MA Edwards (PH 1945-1949) 

MB Edwards (DH 1961-1965) 

MG Evans (OH 1962-1966) 

Rev AM Fairhurst (BH 1944-1949) 

Rev O Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes 

(School Chaplain 1958-1963) 

EW Foster (NT 1931-1935) 

DRM Frise (ST 1970-1981) 

PE Gibson (WiH 1937-1946) 

JWM Graham (BH 1927-1931) 

DS Green (BH 1947-1950) 

TR Gurney (WiH 1943-1947) 

RD Hartley (OH 1943-1952) 

GS Hatch (WiH 1940-1949) 

DM Hewlett (WiH 1935-1939) 

HG Hyams (PH 1936-1939) 

GW Isgar (WaH 1934-1938) 

RT Johnson (NT 1938-1949) 

NTH Jones (Staff 1952-1993) 

NP Keeling (NT 1959-1969) 

JPG Kidd (SH 1972-1981) 

GF Laurence (ST 1929-1930) 

JH Lawrence-Archer (DH 1936-1941) 

O Longley (OH 1946-1950) 

MS Marriott (WaH 1937-1941) 

HW Mason (WiH 1928-1933) 

A McDonald (Staff 1949-1986 ) 

ND McIntosh (WiH 1946-1955) 

JF McKeown (Staff 1950-1992) 

JS Meighan (NT 1946-1951) 

PF Middleton (BH 1934-1939) 

FPG Musson (BH 1940-1944) 

GM Newton (PH 1933-1940) 

AGCW Peck (OH 1943-1947) 

JAP Phelps (DH 1924-1927) 

TJ Pocock (ET 1953-1964) 

NJ Randell (WaH 1959-1970) 

IW Reynolds (DH 1942-1947) 

MF Robins (ST 1939-1945) 

JH Sarafian (ET 1976-1986) 

KFR Schiller (SH 1941-1945) 

DJ Stirling (NT 1939-1945) 

RS Young (NT 1924-1933)

CHRISTOPHER BELL 

Christopher Basil Bell was born 

in December 1935 and was 

educated at Clifton from 1949- 

1953 from whence he went on to 

Sandhurst. His daughter has sent in 

this account of her father: 

My father, Daddy, Pa, Pops and 

for some reason for a little while 

‘Norman’. Perhaps it was his comic wit 

that inspired the alias! 

He was Cynthia’s husband, Philly and 

Jacky’s big brother known to them as 

Topher, Georgina and James’s Grandpops 

and Keith’s father-in-law, a son, a 

brother-in-law, uncle and cousin. 

A friend and a mentor to many. His life 

in the local community included the 

setting up of the Neighbourhood Watch. 

His tireless efforts sought to engender 

a sense of community and encouraged 

people not only to be more aware of the 

neighbours but to be more observant of 

other factors in the area. 

A one time chairman of the local 

Conservative party he used his skill 

with words to encourage the members 

to be more involved. 

With my mother he shared an interest 

in the National Association Fine 

Decorative Art Society. Together they 

would go to lectures on subjects that 

captured their interest and sometimes 

on the outings the group organised. 

It is clear that he was a man whose 

company many people enjoyed and 

people liked to talk to him because he 

listened and actually heard them. It’s 

not until you reflect on someone’s life 

that you realise how many layers there 

are to it and how hard it is to be true 

to oneself and to who you really are. 

I think in the last few years of his life 

that he was finding that path. 

Christopher was a man with an infinite 

imagination, a loving and patient carer 

to my mother, an entertainer, an artist 

and a teacher. 

An image that is stuck for ever in 

my mind is going for walks from my 

grandparents’ home in Brighton along 

the path down to the seafront and 

pretending the hedges on either side 

were the Indian forests and we would 

‘hunt’ tigers. On one particular walk we 

found a pile of builders’ sand and he 

crouched down, made his hand in to a 

fist, made several imprints in the sand. 

Adding impressions of his fingertips it 

looked as though a very small person 

had appeared from nowhere, walked 

a few inches across the sand and 

disappeared again! 

Members of the family will remember 

many Christmases when he was ‘the 

master of ceremonies’ for games evenings 

that could become a little raucous but 

were enjoyed by all the participants. 

Christopher had a great affinity 

with children and entertaining came 

naturally. My family will recall an 

instance of him smartly dressed in 

blazer, tie and trousers charging 

around our garden on a toy broomstick 

impersonating Harry Potter. This was 

followed by him lying on the floor with 

Georgina and James patiently moving 

a selection of cars, plastic figures and 

various other paraphernalia to make a 

short movie on James’s camera. 

More than twenty years ago 

Christopher made the decision to leave 

his job at Lloyds Bank and embark on 

a teaching career. He came into contact 

with many people and the letters and 

comments I have read that his ‘pupils’ 

sent him clearly indicate a man who 

had the ability to help people realise 

that they were much stronger people 

than perhaps they first thought. 

Since the end of 2005 up until the 

middle of last year he was a devoted 

carer to my mother. The patience may 

have become a little frazzled at times but 

he stuck at it. As a result, physically she 

flourished in his care. I am immensely 

proud of what he achieved in that time. 

He took great pride in his newly honed 

cooking skills. Dogged determination 

saw him perfect making the perfect loaf 

of bread and a desire to create tasty 

food saw him eagerly experimenting in 

the kitchen. 

The combination of food may have 

seemed a little odd at times but the most 

important thing was his will to succeed. 

At the start of that period in his life he 

might not have known where the “on” 

switch was on the washing machine but 

there were never any laundry disasters! 

He even turned his hand to a spot of 

hoovering and dusting. 

So I want to say farewell but not 

goodbye to this special man who was 

my Father. I have a feeling he will be 

with us all in spirit keeping an eye on 

us all and keeping his guiding hand on 

us, like he did when he helped me to 

learn how to ride a bicycle many years 

ago and only let go when he thought I 

was on a steady path! 

RAYMOND BURTON 

Raymond Burton, who died on 

February 5 aged 93, led the modern 

development of the eponymous 

high-street clothing chain founded by 

his father Sir Montague Burton, and 

was a generous benefactor of the Jewish 

Museum in London and the University 

of York. 

Montague Burton was a Lithuanian 

Jewish immigrant, born Moshe David 

Osinsky, who arrived in England in 

1900, aged 15, with £100. He started 

work as a peddler, opened his first shop 

in Chesterfield in 1903, and within a 

decade had developed a small chain of 

outlets under the name of Burton & 

Burton, offering made-to-measure suits 

and overcoats at prices working men 

could afford. 

“Good clothes develop a man’s selfrespect” 

was his dictum; “a five guinea 

suit for 55 shillings” was the offering. It 

was often said that the phrase “the Full 

Monty” originally referred to a complete 

Burton outfit. The clothes were made 

up by tailors in a workshop in Leeds 

which grew into a vast factory complex, 

producing 30,000 suits a week and 

noted for its pioneering high standards 

of staff welfare. 

During the Second World War, Burton 

made a quarter of all British military 

uniforms. At the end of it - when 

Raymond joined the business and 

became a director alongside his twin 

Arnold and elder brother Stanley - the 

company also made one third of all 

demob suits. 

Raymond took responsibility for the 

property portfolio, which grew to 616 

shops and 14 factories by the time of Sir 

Montague’s death in 1952. Burton was 

by then the world’s largest “multiple 

tailor”. 

In 1955 Raymond moved to London 

to become chairman of Peter Robinson, 

the women’s fashion store at Oxford 

Circus which his father had acquired 

just after the war. Outlets were opened 

in the provinces, and in 1964 the Top 

Shop brand was launched as a younger 

fashion department within Peter 

JOHN BLANDY 

OCs will be sad to learn that Professor 

John Blandy died on 27 July. A full 

obituary will appear in the 2012 edition 

of The Cliftonian. 


Robinson. In the 1970s Raymond went 

on to develop it into a highly successful 

stand-alone chain. Raymond Burton 

counted Top Shop as one of the two 

proudest achievements of his life - along 

with his support for the Jewish Museum 

in London, of which he was chairman 

and president. 

Founded in 1932, the museum was for 

many years based in a single room in 

communal offices in Bloomsbury. But in 

1988 Burton purchased a listed building 

in Albert Street, Camden Town, to 

provide it with a new home - and more 

recently he helped it to buy an adjoining 

former piano factory and thus triple 

in size. 

Despite fading health, he was able 

to celebrate the completion of the 

remodelled museum in March last 

year. The museum’s director called 

him “a person of vision, understanding 

and acute intelligence, who combined 

exceptional generosity with great 

modesty”. 

Raymond Montague Burton and his 

identical twin were born in Leeds 

on November 3 1917. Raymond was 

educated at Clifton College and went on 

to study at Trinity College, Cambridge, 

and later at Harvard. During the war he 

was commissioned in the Royal Artillery, 

serving in India and Ceylon and rising 

to the rank of major. 

In the last phase of his business career he 

served as joint chairman and president 

of Burton, which continued to expand 

with acquisitions of fashion brands such 

as Evans and Dorothy Perkins - and 

eventually, after the family withdrew 

from hands-on management, became 

part of the Arcadia group. 

In 1981 he retired to concentrate on 

philanthropic activities which took many 

forms - both in Yorkshire, where he 

made his home and established a model 

farm, and further afield in projects such 

as the founding of the Shaarei Shalom 

Synagogue in St Petersburg. 

His support for York University 

included a long-standing sponsorship 

of its concert series and culminated 

in the opening in 2003 of the 

Raymond Burton Library for 

Humanities Research (though he was 

characteristically reluctant to see his 

name attached), which received his own 

scholarly collection of Yorkshire-related 

books, manuscripts and playbills from 

the 18th and 19th centuries. 

He also contributed to the York Civic 

Trust, the Company of the Staple 

(a York-based livery guild which he 

helped to re-establish), the “Kew at 

Castle Howard” Arboretum project, 

and the Ryedale music festival - 

which at his request and under his 

sponsorship staged a spectacular 

performance of Beethoven’s Ninth 

Symphony in York Minster to celebrate 

the Queen’s Golden Jubilee in 2002. 

A man of great vitality and wideranging 

enthusiasms, he collected 

silver and fine furniture and was 

a lifelong car buff, having enjoyed 

international rallying with his brother 

Arnold in the 1950s; he owned 

Bentleys and Ferraris, and declared 

himself pleased with a small MG in 

his sprightly mid-eighties. 

Raymond Burton was a regular 

worshipper at the West London 

Synagogue, where he endowed the 

library, and a vice-president of the 

Movement for Reform Judaism: a 

fellow member spoke of him as “the 

very essence of what it takes to be 

both British and Jewish”. 

He was appointed CBE for his 

charitable work in 1995. 

He married, in 1946, Pamela Flatau 

- whose sister Barbara married 

Arnold. Pamela died in 2002, and in 

2005 Raymond married, secondly, 

Diana Stuttaford, from Cape Town. 

He is survived by Arnold, Diana 

and his two daughters by Pamela. 

OBITTUARIES 

111

HUGH CLEAVE 

Surgeon Captain HL Cleave CBE 

RN died on 18th November. He 

was 100 last February. I doubt if 

he was the oldest living OC, but he must 

surely have been one of the most senior 

OCs. I do not have his exact years of 

attendance at Clifton, but he left in 1925 

to read medicine at Bristol University. 

He did his matriculation at Clifton at 

age 15 - so went to University at that 

age, and consequently was admitted 

to the Royal College of Surgeons of 

England at the age of 22, which was an 

astonishing achievement. He lived in 

Henleaze Road while at Clifton, and was 

in North Town. Both his son (myself) 

and my own son (Nicholas) followed him 

to Clifton, but we were both boarders in 

School House. 

He had a very good and interesting life 

and survived a period as a POW in a 

Japanese camp just outside Tokyo. 

Noel Cleave 

ROBERT WILLIAM CLIFFORD 

Robert Clifford died on 26th February 2012 after an illness 

following a fall. After leaving Clifton he went to Phillips 

Academy in America on an English Speaking Union 

Scholarship and then spent the following year at Harvard on a 

Bursary. He joined the Royal Canadian Air Force in Montreal 

where he trained before returning to England and serving 

with RADAR until 1946. He much admired Douglas Fox 

when he was at Clifton and was delighted to have been able 

to attend the opening of the Joseph Cooper Music School 

in 2009. He spent his life music making and teaching and 

ultimately was Music Adviser for Gloucestershire for 25 

years. He is survived by his widow Nancy. 

JOHN COATES 

John Coates died on 10 July 2010, 

aged 88. He had been the chief naval 

architect at the Ministry of Defence. 

Born in Swansea in 1922, his father was 

Professor of Chemistry at University 

College, and his interest was sparked at 

an early age in all things nautical partly 

because of the fact that the city then 

possessed a very active dockland. He 

joined Clifton in 1931 and went on to 

win an Exhibition at Queen’s, Oxford, 

where he read Engineering Science. 

After graduating in 1943, he started a 

cadetship at the Royal Corps of Naval 

Constructors based in Devonport and 

Greenwich. During the war, he served 

on the Russian convoy run and in 

torpedo boats operating off Norway. 

After the war a distinguished career lay 

ahead in naval construction. He was 

awarded the OBE in 1955 and in 1957 

came to Bath to lead ship design on 

guided-missile destroyers, eventually 

retiring in 1979. In 1983 he was 

approached by Professor John Morrison, 

recently-retired President of Wolfson 

College, who had been one of the main 

protagonists in a heated academic 

debate about the nature and efficacy 

of the Greek trireme as a battleship. As 

a result he was encouraged to attempt 

a full-scale reconstruction of a trireme 

and, under his expert guidance, a mockup 

was built which was displayed at the 

Henley Regatta in 1985. As a result of 

this, the Greek government backed the 


building of a full-scale trireme and this 

was duly completed in 1987 where she 

– the Olympias – was rowed around the 

Aegean, visiting the Thames in 1993 as 

part of a celebration of 2500 years of 

Greek democracy. The construction of 

this ship confirmed Morrison’s views 

about its viability and crew numbers 

and, in spite of weighing 

22 tons when fully-laden, 

Coates was able to show 

that a speed of nearly 

9 knots at 46 strokes a 

minutes was realistic. 

In 2000, he turned his 

Coates, below front, 

demonstrating the three-level 

system of the trireme with 

oarsmen from Cambridge 

University; and, above, the 

Olympias during sea trials 

in the Aegean. 

attention to Bronze Age shipping and 

was able to show that long-distance 

trade was quite possible in such early 

vessels. He married Jane Waymouth in 

1954 and together they created a muchadmired 

home and garden in Bath. She 

died in 2008; he is survived by their 

two sons, both Old Cliftonians.

RICHARD CREESE 

Gordon Catford kindly sent us 

details about Richard Creese, TD, 

MB, PhD, who died recently. He 

was a retired Professor of Physiology 

at St Mary’s Hospital Medical School, 

and a Liveryman of the Society of 

Apothecaries, a Fellow of the Royal 

Society of Medicine and a Freeman of 

the City of London. Gordon goes on 

to say that he remembers Richard as 

a regular attendee at the OC London 

Branch Dinner in “former days” and 

that he used to bump into him from 

time to time at the Apothecaries and the 

History of Medicine Section in the RSM 

– “my impression was that he was the 

retiring, quiet, professorial type.” 

DAVID DARBISHIRE 

Son of Professor Otto and Margaret 

Darbishire, he was born on 1 

April 1923. David was educated 

at Clifton College (1931-1941), Balliol 

College, Oxford (1941-1942 and 1946- 

1949), where he won swimming Blues in 

1948 and 1949. During the war he was a 

pilot in the RAF, and following the Staff 

Navigator Course, taught advanced pilot 

navigation to instructors. Following his 

degree in Physics at Balliol, David became 

a schoolmaster, first at Haileybury (1949- 

1955) and Charterhouse (1955-1985) 

where he was also a Housemaster. Upon 

his retirement, David was a Godalming 

Town and Waverly District Councillor for 

the Liberal Democrats from 1978-2003. 

He was a passionate glider pilot and 

instructor, taught adult education 

astrononmy courses from some 45 

years, and was a lover of nature and the 

arts, including poetry and literature, 

particularly Thomas Hardy. David 

married Gaynor in 1959 and was a 

loving father to his four children: Helen, 

Francis, Owen and Adrian. He also had 

three grandchildren: Alexander, William 

and James. 

An astronomical Education Fund has 

been established by the family. To register 

an interest or to make a donation please 

contact Adrian Darbishire (Adrian. 

Darbishire@qebhw.co.uk) 

THE VERY REV THE HON OLIVER TWISTLETON-WYKEHAM-FIENNES 

O 

liver Fiennes, Chaplain 

at Clifton from 1958 

to 1963, died in June 

2011. On his departure to 

be Rector of Lambeth, the 

Cliftonian said: “As Senior 

Chaplain he has so completely 

identified himself with the life 

of the school that he will be 

sorely missed in a wide range 

of activities. In particular, of 

course, we will miss him as 

one who has never flagged in 

his endeavours to make Christianity and 

the Chapel prominent in our lives – by 

the eloquent directness of his sermons, 

by innovation, by experiment, and by the 

force of his own personal example. He has 

not hesitated to criticize when criticism was 

due; but no one could have had a more 

sympathetic friend, when friendship was 

needed, and very many of us have reason 

to be grateful to him.” 

In 1969 he was appointed Dean of 

Lincoln, where it was felt that a man 

with refreshing ideas and reforming 

zeal was clearly needed. An intransigent 

Cathedral Chapter made 

his progress difficult, but 

he persevered, with a sure 

pastoral touch, never too 

busy to see anyone. In 1987 

he accompanied Lincoln’s 

copy of Magna Carta on a 

fund-raising expedition to 

the United States – being 

himself a descendant of 

Lord Saye, one of the 

barons who witnessed Magna 

Carta at Runnymede in 1215. 

On his retirement in 1989, 

Oliver Fiennes moved to 

Colsterworth near Grantham, 

and then, after his wife Juliet’s 

death in 2005, he returned to 

live in the Cathedral Close. 

OBITUARIES 

GVH 

113

DEREK STANLEY GREEN 

Derek’s time at Clifton was quite 

brief as he left aged 17, destined 

to join the family pottery business 

of TG Green and to study Pottery 

Management at Stoke Polytechnic. He 

spoke rarely of his studies but always 

dwelt on the fun elements of his school 

life, of boxing lessons, rugby games, 

climbing and caving, visits to the newlyopened 

wildlife centre at Slimbridge 

with Peter Scott, of woodwork and 

photography, and I saw how these 

elements reflected in his future life 

and career. 

His days at the family factory were 

rather tame and he lived for Saturday 

afternoons to play rugby and be with 

the local cadet force. National Service 

came to his rescue and, after a brief 

training, he joined 807 Squadron, flying 

Sea Fires from HMS Ocean off Korea. 

During the 1950s and 1960s he flew 

Sea Fires and Sea Furies as well as Sea 

Vixens and 35 other types of aircraft, 

including the legendary Spitfire. He 

undertook operational tours in Korea 

and Suez, clocking up over 3000 flying 

hours on 2900 sorties with 809 and 

890 Squadrons. He was a member of 

the Jet Blacks aeronautical display 

team and was subsequently seconded to 

the RAF as a Flying Instructor, ending 

his flying days with BOAC, which he 

likened to “the life of a long-distance 

bus driver….” 

He had a succession of motorcycles 

including BSA, Douglas and Triumph 

and progressed to restoring a 4.5 litre 

WO Bentley during his night-fighter 

days, based at Yeovilton. 

His woodworking lessons at Clifton 

came to the fore when he furnished his 

first home on a meagre naval gratuity, 

making one chair from four broken 

ones, and soon recognised the quality 

and value of antique pieces that were 

then readily available. 

In 1963, he and his wife Jan opened 

their first shop in Hartley Wintney 

selling Country pieces that Derek had 

restored. The new business blossomed 

and ten years later Derek was elected to 

the British Antique Dealers Association 

and was internationally recognised as 

one of the foremost experts in Country 

furniture. Cedar Antiques continued to 

operate in Hartley Wintney and Derek 

exhibited in Europe, Australia and 

America. 

Derek sold his beloved Bentley soon after 

he married and hankered to get back to 

vintage motoring but, by now, prices of 

such vehicles were prohibitive. A chance 

find of a 2 litre Lagonda, all in pieces, 

changed the course of his life once again 

and, having restored this, his second 

wife’s Aston Martin and a string of other 

Lagondas, he founded Cedar Classic cars 

in the mid 1980s. It ran concurrently with 

the antiques business and gave Derek the 

opportunity to race and exhibit his and 

clients’ vehicles both here and in Europe. 

Whenever possible, he chose to drive a 

vintage vehicle and was often to be found 

at Clifton reunions behind the wheel of an 

Invicta or Lagonda. 

Derek was always a keen photographer 

and when in 2007 he finally retired he 

embraced his old Clifton hobby, swapping 

the Leica for a digital Nikon. In 2009 he 

published A Return to Photography. 

He died on his 77th birthday after a 

short and courageous fight against Acute 

Myeloid Leukaemia. 

Whilst sorting through his many papers 

I came across a series of black-and-white 

photographs and remembered his Clifton 

tales of a holiday spent with chums on 

the Norfolk Broads and of hitch-hiking 

to Le Mans to watch the early Jaguars. I 

have no idea who these two other young 

men-in-a-boat may be, but perhaps they 

may fondly remember that summer and 

the gentle boy who became a wonderful 

husband, loving Father and Grandfather 

and friend to so many across the world. 


GUY SYDNEY HATCH 

Guy died on 28th May 2010 after a long period of dementia. He was 84. 

He had no direct close relatives. Both his brothers were dead and 

neither he nor they had produced offspring. In fact only one of the 

brothers Christopher, Clifton Register #10938, ever married but there was no 

issue. As far as I am aware he could only boast three blood relatives, all cousins 

of varying distance, of whom I am one. 

Nigel Armstrong-Flemming 

ROGER HARTLEY 

Roger spent a couple of years at Butcombe 

before returning to Clifton after the 

War. He was a good rugby forward, 

but did not develop as he might because he 

left early as he had decided to become an 

accountant, which in those days involved 

being indentured. However, as a teenager he 

did not overcome the divorce of his parents, 

a fairly rare event in those days. As a result, 

he did not do too well at accountancy, and 

emigrated to Canada in 1957. 

There, he found work as a book-keeper in 

Halifax, Nova Scotia, where he was to spend 

the rest of his life. He decided to become 

a qualified accountant, and then met Jean 

whom he married a few years later. Roger was 

a keen motoring enthusiast, and bought the 

first Mini to be landed in Canada, which gave 

him a lot of fun but which did not enjoy the 

harsh winters and heavily salted roads. 

Unfortunately, Roger suffered a serious 

brain aneurism in 1963, and was reckoned 

to be lucky that he lived almost opposite 

one of the best hospitals in brain surgery in 

Canada. He survived, but did suffer from 

some brain damage which prevented him 

working and driving – he had just qualified 

as an accountant – but did not prevent him 

remaining good and amusing company, 

not least because he never lost the sayings 

and mannerisms that were common in the 

1960s. At the time of the aneurism, he was 

renovating a 1952 Aston Martin DB4 in his 

spare time. 

Roger did work as a volunteer, though, at 

the Camp Hill Hospital Library, and later at 

the QEII Health Science Library one day a 

week for 25 years. He was a gentle soul who 

enjoyed reading, music and crosswords, 

which he managed to do with a great skill 

until he was over 70. 

Roger died of pneumonia, peacefully in 

hospital on 30 March 2010, his father’s 

birthday, and is survived by his widow, Jean. 

They had no children. His younger brother, 

John, also went to Clifton. 

John Hartley 

OBITTUARIES 115

DONALD HEWLETT 

(WIH 1935-39) 

Donald Hewlett, who has died of 

pneumonia aged 90, was already 

in his mid-50s and had a long 

career as a screen character actor 

behind him when he was cast as Colonel 

Reynolds, commanding officer of a 

second world war Royal Artillery concert 

party, in It Ain’t Half Hot Mum (1974-81). 

In public, he found people recognising 

not just his face, but also his voice. 

While Battery Sergeant Major Williams 

(Windsor Davies) tried to instil discipline 

into Bombardier “Gloria” Beaumont 

(Melvyn Hayes), the singer Gunner “Lofty” 

Sugden (Don Estelle), the pianist “Lah-de- 

Dah” Gunner Graham and others, Colonel 

Reynolds enjoyed the easy life, lounging 

around, sipping gin and conducting an 

affair with Daphne Waddilove-Evans 

(Frances Bennett), whose husband was away 

in the Punjab. 

The sitcom was written by the Dad’s Army 

creators David Croft and Jimmy Perry. Perry 

himself had taken charge of a concert party 

while serving with the Royal Artillery during 

the war. Croft and Perry later gave Hewlett 

the role of Lord Meldrum in the “upstairs, 

downstairs” sitcom You Rang, M’Lord? 

(pilot 1988, series 1990-93). As head of an 

aristocratic, 1920s family, George Meldrum 

ran the Union Jack Rubber Company and 

was a respected member of the gentry – a 

position threatened by his extra-curricular 

activities with Lady Agatha Shawcross 

(Angela Scoular). It was often left to the 

butler, Alf Stokes (Paul Shane), to create 

diversions and cover up the relationship. 

Despite his wealth, the peer paid his staff 

badly. 

Hewlett, who came from a wealthy 

family himself, was born in Northenden, 

Cheshire. His father, Thomas, owned the 

Anchor Chemical Company, based in the 

Manchester suburb of Clayton. Hewlett was 

10 when his mother died. While attending 

Clifton College in Bristol, he started 

producing revues. Then, at Cambridge 

University, where he studied meteorology 

and geography, he was a member of the 

Footlights revue. 

However, his course was curtailed by the 

outbreak of war, during which he served 

in the Navy as a meteorologist in Orkney 

– providing reports for Lord Mountbatten 

– and set up Kirkwall Arts Club in a 

temperance hall. He was later responsible 

for looking after Japanese prisoners-ofwar 

in Singapore, where he organised 

entertainment for British troops. 

After the war, Hewlett trained at RADA, 

winning the Athene Seyler award for 

comedy. He left it to his younger brother, 

Clyde – who was later made a life peer for 

his services to the Conservative party – to 

take over the family business. Hewlett 

started his professional career with the 

repertory company at Oxford Playhouse, 

where he soon became a leading man, 

acting alongside Christine Pollon, whom he 

married in 1947. He also helped to boost the 

career of Ronnie Barker, who was working 

for the theatre’s publicity department. He 

got chatting to Barker after seeing him 

sticking up posters, and recommended him 

for a speaking role in the next production. 

In 1951, Hewlett and Barker – in costume 

– provided a local spectacle as they shared a 

pony-and-trap trip around Oxfordshire to 

promote a production of Charley’s Aunt. 

Hewlett also toured with the husband-andwife 

team of Cicely Courtneidge and Jack 

Hulbert, and appeared in the West End 

musical Grab Me a Gondola (Lyric Theatre, 

1956-57) and the revue … And Another Thing 

(Fortune Theatre, 1960). 

He made his film debut, alongside Sid 

James, Tony Hancock and Peter Sellers, 

in the comedy Orders Are Orders (1954). 

Although Hewlett subsequently appeared 

in the school comedy Bottoms Up (starring 

Jimmy Edwards, 1960), most of his screen 

career was spent on television. He played 

Captain “Snooty” Pilkington, son of the 

retired army officer of the title, in the sitcom 

The Adventures of Brigadier Wellington-Bull 

(1959). He then appeared mostly in dramas, 

including episodes of The Saint (1965), 

The Avengers (1966) and Callan (1967), as 

well as the Dennis Potter plays Vote, Vote, 

Vote, for Nigel Barton (1965) and Message for 

Posterity (1967). 

In a 1965 episode of Coronation Street, he 

was Bob Maxwell, a married solicitor who 

offered Elsie Tanner a lift, had a heart 

attack at the wheel and died. He also played 

Sir George Hardiman in the 1971 Doctor 

Who story The Claws of Axos. More comedies 

then came Hewlett’s way, including the 

regular role of Colonel Sutcliffe in Now Look 

Here (starring Ronnie Corbett, 1971-73) and 

Carstairs in the shortlived Come Back Mrs 

Noah (pilot 1977, series 1978), written by 

David Croft and Jeremy Lloyd. 

Hewlett’s last screen appearance was in a 

1995 episode of the sitcom The Upper Hand. 

The following year, he took to the stage for 

the last time, alongside Ronnie Corbett, 

in the pantomime Mother Goose (Churchill 

Theatre, Bromley). Epilepsy, caused by a 

damaged heart valve, led him to retire and 

he later developed Alzheimer’s disease. 

Hewlett’s first marriage ended in divorce, 

as did his subsequent 1956 marriage, to 

Diana Greenwood, a dressage rider. He is 

survived by his third wife, the actor Therese 

McMurray, whom he married in 1979, 

and their children, Patrick and Siobhan; 

and by two sons, Jonathan and Mark, 

and a daughter, Sophie, from his second 

marriage. 


HENRY GEORGE HYAMS 

Henry George (Harry) 

Hyams was born in 1922 at 

Stockton-on-Tees and entered 

Polack’s House in 1936, leaving 

Clifton in 1939. After a short time 

articled to a firm of accountants in 

Middlesbrough, Harry volunteered 

to serve in the RAF becoming a pilot 

with the rank of Flight Lieutenant. 

Leaving the RAF in 1946, he 

eventually settled in South Africa. 

As a successful businessman, he was 

to become the Managing Director 

of an advertising firm. Living in 

South Africa for many years did not 

soften his love and affection for both 

England and Clifton. For many years 

he was Secretary of the OC Society 

for those living in the South African 

region. His love for England can 

certainly be confirmed by his long 

and loyal support for Middlesbrough 

football team. A very sociable man 

who loved company and enjoyed 

a pint or a dram with friends, he 

died on 16 March 2011 at Sandton, 

Johannesburg. He will be sadly 

missed by his family and friends. 

Derek Hyams 

Harry proudly wearing his medals at the 

Veterans’ Parade in Johannesburg in 2006 

NIGEL JONES 

A 

true Renaissance man, 

Nigel Jones had a lifelong 

love of painting, poetry and 

languages. Even when, in later years, 

he was subject to poor health and 

failing eyesight, he continued to take 

a positive and creative approach 

to life, painting, composing haiku, 

and responding to the vicissitudes 

of ill health with irrepressible good 

humour. “All part of life’s rich 

tapestry,” he’d say, quoting Inspector 

Clouseau, and would greet his friends 

with mock self-pity “Good to partially 

see you.” 

Nigel was educated at Winchester 

and won a scholarship to Corpus 

Christi, Cambridge. National Service 

intervened and he was posted to 

Jerusalem before spending the rest 

of his time as an Education Officer 

in Egypt. Although he remembered 

this as a time of boredom when the 

only thing to do was to swim in the 

Great Bitter Lake, it was clear from 

the stories he told to the end of his 

life that he had also relished (as a true 

linguist would) the colourful language 

of many of his fellow soldiers. 

At Cambridge he studied French and 

German, co-edited a student arts 

magazine and continued to paint. In 

the long summer vacations he worked 

for a fruit packing firm in the south 

of France and improved his Provencal 

accent. Throughout his life Nigel 

mastered an amazing number of 

languages; he taught himself Russian 

and Mandarin Chinese and went on 

to teach both. He was a member of 

the first group of British teachers to 

visit the Soviet Union in the 1950s, 

and also visited Beijing in 1987. 

Other languages he studied included 

Spanish, Czech, Polish, Pali and 

Japanese. While he never wanted 

to visit a country and not speak the 

language, he also never wanted to 

read a book in translation if at all 

possible. 

He came to Clifton in 1953 and was 

here for forty one years, teaching 

French and German and subsequently 

Russian and Chinese. Nigel’s range 

of interests was impressive, as was his 

willingness to embrace new challenges 

when called upon. One of his first 

appointments at Clifton was as Master 

in charge of Fencing, a sport of which 

he knew nothing and had to learn 

from scratch, but which position he 

went on to enjoy for ten years. He was 

a self-taught painter, and painted oils 

and gouaches throughout his time at 

Clifton, many of which became valued 

gifts for his colleagues. He shared his 

expertise in oil painting by teaching 

it as a recreational half in the 1960s. 

Perhaps some of his most memorable 

outings in the public life of Clifton 

were his appearances in the French 

language plays, where he wholeheartedly 

embraced his roles in Molière 

comedies and Feydeau farces with great 

expressiveness and the love of wit and 

humour that always characterised him. 

After serving as a House Tutor in 

North Town and Polack’s, Nigel took 

over as Housemaster of Oakeley’s in 

1965. This must have been something 

of a challenge, as he was a newly 

married man with a young family in 

tow. He had met Elizabeth when she 

was working in the school Sanatorium, 

and they married in 1964. They 

went on to enjoy many years of 

happy married life, having three sons 

Nicholas, Martin and William. 

After his time at Oakeley’s Nigel spent 

eleven years as Head of Modern 

Languages. He was a popular and 

effective teacher: former pupils will no 

doubt remember both his jokes and 

the reams of work he set. He always 

expected his pupils to give of their best 

and, in return, they certainly knew 

that he was giving his full attention to 

them. (Simon Smith has contributed 

OBITTUARIES 

117

a memoir of studying languages at 

Clifton during Nigel’s tenure as Head 

of modern languages, and of Nigel 

as a teacher, which serves as a fitting 

tribute to his enthusiasm and the 

effectiveness of his approach.) His 

sense of humour and love of jokes 

ensured a good relationship with his 

pupils, among whom at various times 

were his three sons. It is a testimony 

to his skill as a teacher that he taught 

them without any embarrassment for 

them in front of the other boys. 

Overall, in his time at Clifton, Nigel 

will be remembered for his calmness 

and approachability; his kindness to 

pupils and his welcoming attitude to 

newcomers, whether staff or students; 

for his enthusiasm for teaching 

and learning languages – he always 

believed that learning was also the 

business of teachers and would often 

spend his breaks in the SCR reading 

or learning his Chinese characters 

from flashcards - and, of course, for 

his quick wit and seemingly endless 

fund of stories, limericks and jokes. 

Retirement in Beaminster in 

Dorset was an active time when he 

expanded his interests and pursued 

them with enthusiasm. He painted 

in oils and gouache in his garden 

studio, exhibited in local galleries 

and for several years organised the 

Beaminster Festival art exhibition. 

His long interest in Buddhism and 

Eastern philosophy led him to study 

and practise Reiki healing with some 

notable successes. In 2004 he started 

to go blind. His response to this was 

to paint larger, more abstract oils and, 

then, as his eyesight worsened, he 

turned to writing haiku as a way of 

recording his impressions. In 2008 

he and Elizabeth moved to Backwell 

where they enjoyed the company of 

some of their grandchildren. Rather 

than raging against the dying of the 

light, Nigel carried on to the end 

with acceptance, good humour and 

a thoughtful interest in everyone he 

encountered. 

WBHJ & JDF 

JPG KIDD 

T 

he untimely death of Jon Kidd 

produced a flood of tributes which, 

as a result of issues of space, cannot 

all be reproduced in full here . The 

following, therefore, represent a selection 

of observations about a remarkable man 

who clearly made a huge impact upon all 

whom he met. 

Tom Gover writes: 

Of the three hundred or so boys in 

School House during my time as 

Housemaster Jon Kidd was among the 

most staunch and loyal. He had the most 

delightful smile which seemed to include 

a chuckle with warm appreciation and 

affection for his fellow men. He would 

know instinctively and intuitively about 

their worries and would bring to bear 

his own innate wisdom to solve their 

problems. 

Jon, son of Brian Kidd (S.H. 1945-1948) 

was a strong and rock-like prop on the 

Rugger field and played a prominent 

part in a rare victory over Sherborne 

in 1979. In addition he was captain of 

rowing. After leaving Clifton there were 

one or two vicissitudes, but by the time 

of his untimely death in December, 

2009, Jon had become a successful and 

outstanding headhunter. 

At Jon’s funeral Peter Davies (WiH 

1976-1980) gave a moving tribute to a 

packed congregation including friends 

from all over the world. His closest 

friend in School House was William 

Tricks, who sent a moving message 

form Abu Dhabi: ‘Many people might 

have thought that advice went one way 

in our friendship but it did not. Jon 

was a constant source of advice to me 

throughout our post Clifton years He 

was a rock when at times in my life I 

needed one!’ Will had worked under 

cover in Northern Ireland during 

his military career and would return 

to their shared flat stressed from his 

ordeals. Evidently Jon was the perfect 

antidote. ‘He would put up with my 

bossiness with a patience that no one 

else has ever shown to me and he was 

not afraid to tell me difficult things, 

and was always there for me when I 

needed him. He came out to the UAE 

to help me with my boys - they often 

talk about the time on the beach with 

‘big uncle Jon’ as they called him. 

Strong and fun - something that boys 

love! James Cole (‘Buxton’) another 

School House contemporary expressed 

similar praise: Jon had evidently been a 

brilliant source of advice over business 

problems. A telling story from another 

friend, Andrew Biggs, described 

when he accompanied Jon on the 

Liege-Rome rally in a Sunbeam. They 

encountered another competitor by 

the roadside in a 30’s Le Mans Bentley. 

They stopped to ask if he needed any 

help (Jon always stopped for anyone 

broken down). The driver said he had 

broken a half shaft and was trying to 

arrange for someone to pick up the 

car and bring him another (he was 

evidently very rich) but his phone had 

run out of battery. Jon simply gave this 

unknown man his phone, told him to 

to let him have it back later, and drove 

on without a second thought. The 

competitor did complete the rally in 

another car and gave Jon his phone 

back several days later (with no great 

thanks and no compensation for all the 

long distance calls on it) and was given 

the prize for ‘spirit of the rally’ for 

his efforts. Adam felt that Jon should 

have received the prize! We send 

our warmest sympathy to Brian and 

Joanne. 

Peter Davies, who gave the main address at 

Jon’s funeral, observed: 

Jon was a big, influential and important 

character in so many of our lives . . . there 

have been many, many tributes from all 

around the world from people close and 

not so close to Jon, but in every instance 

Jon made an impression that was, and 

always will be, lasting and positive. 

Will Tricks writes: 

He was always so caring about my whole 

family, especially my parents. That 

was because he understood the role of 

parents and had the greatest respect for 

Mums and Dads the world over. I see 

this having come from his amazing love, 

admiration and pride for Brian and 

Joanne and Debbie. 

Sometimes life was not lucky for Jono, 

BUT how he dealt with such issues 

was incredible. He was the most stoic 

of men; he never moaned or wanted 

people to feel sorry for him. It was a 

great source of pride for me that the 

role as headhunter had ultimately 


proved so successful - he was brilliant at 

the job and it suited him so well. 

There are also such fun memories for 

me. 

I loved it when at school he would argue 

with the referee! I loved it when, in 

Abu Dhabi, he was trying to do wake 

boarding off the beach being towed by 

a speed boat. Rather surprisingly I had 

managed it first go but Jon was having a 

problem with it. He got more and more 

frustrated until brute force won with 

Jon refusing to let go of the tow rope 

and he kept level, but under water, and 

emerged to huge applause intact and on 

the surface and on the board! 

I will miss Jon dreadfully, I give huge 

thanks to Brian and Joanne for giving 

him to us for the 46 years he was with 

us. He was an enormous man in my 

eyes because of his care for people, his 

modesty, his intelligence, his style, his 

appreciation of a beautiful woman, his 

love of cars, his devotion to close friends 

and their families and his wonderful 

smile. He was my closest friend. 

David Buchanan writes: 

When I think of Jon, apart from 

the aforementioned good looks and 

intelligence, I think of features that are 

far more human and engaging. Jon 

never put himself first, he was always 

thinking of someone else in that selfless 

team way. I image it would be difficult 

getting through a doorway if Jon was 

with you (“you first, no you, no-no-nono-no, 

I insist, I insist more, beauty 

before wisdom, after you old chap”, 

etc etc). he was generous, he had great 

humour. He didn’t dominate a room 

but you were always glad he was in it, 

and he was an obvious choice to make 

a bee line for; His company was easy, 

accepting and non judgmental. He was 

supportive of his friends and loyal. 

JOHN MCKEOWN 

I 

knew 

John McKeown, who died 

in October 2010, well as a Form 

Master when in the Upper Fifth 

in 1958. A somewhat reserved man 

but with a ready laugh, he was a very 

versatile teacher of Latin and English 

but with a mastery in many other 

fields, languages and history among 

them. I let him down over Latin fifty 

years on; I am not proud to admit 

that Latin inscriptions often escape 

me. However, it was to him (aided 

and abetted by Tom Wells) that I owe 

my love of the English Language 

in all its variety. He encouraged us 

to take our first forays into creative 

writing, poetry – or more probably 

doggerel – included. We read most 

of Shakespeare’s plays, with his wife 

Gilly invariably taking the role of 

Queen or Princess, sitting in the 

living-room of their flat opposite the 

Downs. 

John loved to take us on excursions 

out of Bristol including to a Greek 

Classical play at Bradfield or to 

nearby Roman sites. The only other 

time I have seen ancient Greek 

drama was at the Herodes Atticus 

theatre at the foot of the Acropolis. 

I would never have been inspired to 

go to such a performance but for my 

experience at Bradfield. He was also 

an enthusiast for school drama and I 

can well remember shifting scenery 

for King Lear at the Pre School 

Hall, well before the advent of the 

Redgrave Theatre. 

Drama aside, John’s passion was 

rowing. He rowed for Jesus College, 

Cambridge and coached the Clifton 

Eight. His oars, which I remember 

from the Downs flat, still hang in the 

family home in Clifton. 

I renewed my acquaintance with 

John and Gilly McKeown when, at 

an advanced age, I decided, almost on 

a whim, to do an MSc at what was then 

called the School for Advanced Urban 

Studies at the University of Bristol. I 

was invited to their home and they were 

just as hospitable and kind as ever. The 

last time I saw John was in November 

2009 when Roger Seaton and I visited 

him at Southmead Hospital. He bore 

his illness with fortitude and even 

though his breathing was laboured, he 

was as courteous and erudite as ever. 

During the ensuing year, I would 

phone at regular intervals from 

Brussels to hear of his progress and 

had several agreeable telephone 

conversations with him. During the 

course of one of them, I made a 

remark that one never forgets a good 

schoolteacher, which he appreciated. 

John was above all a good teacher who 

was able to impart a love of learning 

and even down the years, at the age 

of fifty, I was inspired to return to an 

institution of higher learning. He was 

part of a generation of exceptionally 

gifted teaching staff at Clifton, a group 

of men who are passing out of our lives 

but whose legacy lives on. 

Richard Lewis (PH 1955-1960) 

OBITTUARIES 

119

ALICK McDONALD 

Dr Johnson wrote, ‘the noblest 

prospect which a Scotsman ever 

sees is the high road that leads 

him to England’, Alick did not wait long 

in his youth to enjoy the prospect of an 

English education, first at Sedbergh, 

then at Cambridge. As befits one born 

near the Athens of the North, the 

Classics were his chief love: to encourage 

his pupils, though in no spirit of 

boastfulness, he would show the steady 

progress from gamma to alpha grades 

in his composition book, and his edition, 

with Sidney Miller, O.C., lately Head 

of Bedford School, of pieces for Greek 

Unprepared Translation is a monument 

to his scholarship. In an age when the 

study of Greek and Latin is increasingly 

under threat, he succeeded in arousing, 

especially among able senior pupils, the 

love of precision and clarity inspired by 

the ancient languages and of the high 

ideals inherent in their literature. 

Yet his interest in the Classics extended 

to their lighter side and an Aristophanic 

broadness of humour could at times 

be found in his performances in 

the classroom - or in the House 

Entertainment, that Ultima Thule of 

dramatic art. 

While his breadth of knowledge as a 

Greek scholar did not quite rival that 

of Juvenal’s ‘hungry little Greek’, he 

could nonetheless quote long passages 

of Homer by heart and discourse 

eloquently on the speed of a trireme or 

on the romantic heroes and heroines of 

the Scottish novel. For in his teaching he 

was the true humanist and could have 

claimed with the Latin poet Terence: 

Homo sum; humani nil a me alienum puto. 

This humanism was in his young 

manhood sorely tested in war, when, 

as a Signals Officer in Burma, he was 

twice mentioned in dispatches and 

involved in scenes that his kindly nature 

would shudder to remember and his 

modesty forbear to mention. 

Such military experience was 

however to be of lasting use in 

his teaching of Ancient History 

and his commission in the CCF 

Signals Section in the Good 

Old Days when membership of 

School and CCF coincided. His 

fellow CCF officers, after Field 

Days and camps, would tell of 

his 

. . . moving accidents by flood 

and field, 

Of hair-breadth scapes i’th’ 

imminent deadly breach; 

Of being taken by the insolent 

foe. 

and in particular of one 

Famous Victory, the Battle of 

Larkbarrow, brought to an end 

by Alick’s secret weapon, the 

explosion of a paraffin stove. 

How many modern schoolmasters 

have the dash to leave the Mini or the 

Anglia in the garage and go courting 

on a motor-cycle? This, according to a 

reliable source, was one of the factors 

persuading Gill Clark-Kennedy, then 

the San Matron, to accept a pillion seat 

and an offer of marriage (Alick, it is said, 

had to get married, as he had only three 

socks). 

It was Gill’s constant support of her 

husband which, with the presence of 

their daughters Lucy and Rose, made 

his work in the House System, as House 

Tutor of North Town and Housemaster 

of South Town and Wiseman’s, a happy 

time for the McDonald family amid all 

the stresses of those rewarding jobs. 

When Mr Fakhr Imam, late of South 

Town, subsequently Speaker of the 

Pakistan National Assembly, visited the 

school recently, his main desire was to 

see his old Housemaster again, a wish 

expressed by scores of other exmembers 

of ST and WiH on their 

visits here. 

The crowning achievement of his 

career at Clifton was his twelve years 

as Careers Master. Once again, 

his military training was useful in 

welcoming the large number of gold 

braided or bepipped officers that came 

recruiting to the school; but it was the 

immense care and thoroughness that 

Alick brought to career problems and to 

every applicant to the Careers Service, 

as well as his success in placing them 

in suitable posts, which won universal 

praise. 

In retirement, Alick continued to live 

close to the College and could often be 

met watching cricket by the railings on 

The Close, or watching the Pre 1st XI 

and 1st XV on New Field, accompanied 

by that delightful smile and that 

characteristic twinkle in the eye. A 

gentleman, and a “gentle man”. 

Photo: C.A.D. 


JOHN MEIGHAN 

Chris Bromhead gave the following 

eulogy at John’s funeral: 

I am pleased to have been asked 

to say a few words on behalf of some 

of John’s oldest friends – a sort of 

elderly diminishing Bristolian Rat Pack. 

70 years ago at the close of Day 1 at 

Braidlea School, he announced that he 

would not be back tomorrow, or indeed 

at any time in the future as he had not 

really enjoyed it at all. Unfazed Miss 

Sampson quietly pointed out that this 

was a shame because tomorrow Anthony 

Davis was bringing in the new Rupert 

Bear Annual for everyone to enjoy. 

John considered this information and 

duly declared that he had changed his 

mind, and would indeed return next 

day – thus showing an early aptitude for 

re-evaluation of a situation. 

It is just over 65 years since John 

entered my life – in May 1945 when 

he arrived to join me and other future 

friends at Clifton. A tall 11-year old, slim 

as a beanpole. We continued through 

school as chums until 1951 when he 

left to join the real world. He spent two 

years as an articled accountant and one 

day realised this was not for him. He left 

to find pastures new – and discovered 

his true calling. He had always been 

a social animal and now he relished 

his new position as a salesman in the 

building and construction world. 

We will now move on to what I call “The 

Party Years”. We had all left school and 

scattered. But we all seemed to regather 

around Christmas time. Each year, John 

threw a party at 31 Downleaze where he 

still lived with his long-suffering parents. 

This charming but formidable couple 

were sent away for the night, and we 

all hoped to get everything straight by 

the time they returned in the morning. 

These parties went on for years, until 

one year the Meighans returned early 

before midnight. An enthusiastic game 

of Sardines was under way, and the 

imposing and dignified Mrs Meighan 

was less than enchanted on retiring to 

find a couple hiding in her wardrobe. 

The Christmas parties at No 31 were 

less frequent after that…. 

The Bristol Christmas season in those 

days had many attractions. Clifton 

Rugby Club, HMS Flying Fox, The 

Royal Artillery – they each had a 

splendid Ball. And it all culminated in 

the New Year’s Eve Rotable Ball. We 

attended all these, and the leader of the 

pack was John…. 

No longer deferred he was called up 

for National Service and soon was 

commissioned 2nd Lieutenant in the 

Royal Artillery. Posted in his second 

year to Cyprus, he was appointed Port 

Security Officer in Paphos. For some 

time the story persisted that one day 

a terrorist insurgent had the temerity 

to shoot at a car taking John back to 

base. A furious John grabbed a Sten 

gun, and fired off a magazine in the 

general direction. The opinion seemed 

to have been that it might have been 

better to have opened the window first. 

He always denied the story, and I don’t 

believe it either….. 

His two years over, John spent a further 

15 military years in the TA, rising to the 

rank of Major and appointed Reserve 

Brigade Major of 1st Artillery BAOR, 

Germany, and awarded the Territorial 

Decoration. This apparent confirmed 

bachelor startled us all when in 1968 he 

married the impossibly pretty Wendy. 

Soon there were two more pretty girls 

in the family, Philippa and Belinda, 

and today our thoughts are with them 

together with other family members. 

John completed his career after totalling 

37 years in the construction supply 

business. He then moved on to a host of 

new challenges as a freelance consultant. 

He had been a JP since 1978 and work 

on the bench and on various standing 

committees occupied much of his time. 

He was a caring man, someone blessed 

with supreme generosity of spirit 

and kindness. He was a long-serving 

member of Bristol Round Table and 

involved in many community service 

projects. Right up until recently he was 

fully involved with local community 

activities. 

Yesterday I spoke to his old friend Bob 

Reed who cannot be with us today. I 

asked him for some memories. There 

were many, but one stuck firmly in 

my mind. Years ago they went skiing 

together – yes, they both went up 

the chairlift. Bob went off down the 

mountain, and stopped halfway – no 

sign of John. Suddenly he appeared, full 

speed, totally out of control, a whirling 

17-stone heap of skis, sticks, anorak, 

with a cigarette firmly in his mouth. 

Before disappearing into another white 

space, he managed to demolish at least 

four different ski classes. They did not 

go skiing again…. 

As with many of us, John suffered 

various setbacks in life. These he faced 

with fortitude and resolution. His sense 

of humour and sociability helped him 

through some difficult times. John was 

a large man, often larger than life. The 

early beanpole image had long since 

disappeared and the fear of anorexia 

faded. Within this large man was a large 

heart. Throughout his life he was always 

ready and willing to help others. 

I am pleased to have been his friend and 

we shall all miss him. 

CJ Bromhead (NT 1944-1953) 

OBITUARIES 

121

PETER FRANCIS 

MIDDLETON 

(BH 1934-1939) 

Peter Francis Middleton was born 

in Leeds in 1920, the third son 

of Richard Middleton and Olive 

Lupton, a family of mill owners and 

solicitors. After early tutoring at home 

where he developed a love of music 

and nature, he went to Clifton before 

gaining a place at New College, Oxford, 

to read English. Within months of his 

arrival, however, he joined the RAF 

Volunteer Reserve. 

In 1942, he was posted to No 37 Service 

Flying School in Calgary, Canada, as 

a flying instructor training Spitfire, 

Hurricane and Lancaster pilot. Canada’s 

open spaces were regarded by the War 

Office as ideal for the training of pilots 

under the Commonwealth Air Training 

Plan which, by the end of the war, had 

handled the training of over 130,000 

British aircrew. In August 1944 he 

joined 605 Squadron which was based at 

RAF Manston in Kent in August 1944. 

Flying Mosquito fighter-bombers, he 

was detailed 

to try to tip 

the wings of 

German V1s 

in order to 

steer them 

away from 

their London 

target. As the 

end of the war 

approached, he 

was stationed 

in Belgium, 

Holland and 

then Germany 

before leaving 

the RAF in 

1946. 

After the war, he joined the Lancashire 

Aircraft Corporation. In Leeds he met 

his future wife, Valerie Glassborow, who 

was the daughter of a bank manager. 

She was nearly a foot shorter than he 

with a lively temperament and sense 

of humour, and together they had 

four sons. 

In 1952, he joined BEA and the whole 

family moved to Beaconsfield in 

Buckinghamshire, living there until 

retirement some twenty-two years 

later at which point they moved to 

Vernham Dean in Hampshire. It was 

whilst working for BEA in 1962 that 

he acted as First Officer to the Duke 

of Edinburgh who was making a twomonth 

flying tour to South America; 

he was to receive as a result a personal 

letter of thanks from Prince Philip 

along with a pair of gold cufflinks. 

On the last page of his flight logbook 

he calculated that he had flown over 

16,000 hours and had travelled the 

equivalent distance of 220 times 

around the world. 

In retirement he pursued another of 

his favourite occupations which was 

sailing. He had built his first dinghy 

in the family dining room and sailed 

it with his children on the Thames. 

In August 1976 he and his wife set 

sail from the River Hamble in their 

35ft boat Nainjaune with the aim of 

crossing the Atlantic Ocean. Christmas 

in the Caribbean was followed by a 

trip to the Bahamas but, in February 

1977, ten miles off the coast of the 

small island Mayaguana, they ran into 

a reef. The boat could not be saved so 

husband and wife struck out for shore 

in a life raft with as many essentials as 

Peter Middleton with HRH Duke of 

Edinburgh in 1962. 

they could muster and landed on what 

appeared to be a deserted beach where 

they settled down for the night, dinner 

being a combination of Scotch and 

ginger biscuits. In the morning they set 

off for the main town on the island and 

were entertained by a local family who, 

without turning a hair, served them tea 

on crockery which they had “liberated” 

from the wreckage of the Nainjaune! 

For the next 20 years, Peter Middleton 

continued to pursue his love of sailing 

and his grandchildren recall being on 

board with him, responding to every 

one of his commands by crying out 

irreverently “Aye, aye, Kipper”. They 

never tired of spreading the underside 

of his toast with peanut butter, which 

he hated but characteristically which he 

took with immense good humour. 

He had a great enthusiasm for life. 


As well as an avid sailor, he was 

a photographer, writer and a 

carpenter of considerable skill, 

making tiny tables and chairs for 

his grandchildren and a pirate ship 

for them to play in in the garden, 

as well as repairing the pews of his 

local church. 

His 90th birthday was attended by 

the whole family as well as Prince 

William, and his granddaughter 

Catherine visited him just before he 

died, upon her return from Kenya 

where Prince William had just 

proposed to her. 

His wife died in 2006 and he leaves 

four sons and five grandchildren. 

He died on 2 November 2010. 

TIMOTHY JOHN POCOCK 

Tim Pocock died peacefully at home 

on Sunday 1st May after battling 

oesophageal cancer. 

Born in Bristol on 2nd July 1946, he 

was the second of three children, of 

John Arthur Pocock, a distinguished 

General Surgeon at the Bristol Royal 

Infirmary and his wife, Cicely Barbara. 

He attended Clifton College 

Preparatory School from 1953-59 and 

Clifton College Senior School from 

1959-64 where he started in East Town 

as a day boy, then moved into Watson’s 

as a boarder. He was known for his 

rugby and cricketing skills, his sense of 

humour, intelligence and wit. 

He decided to follow in his father’s 

and grandfather’s footsteps and 

pursue a medical career, studying 

at Bristol University from where he 

qualified in 1971 with MB ChB (and 

some kind of qualification in building 

a pedal car named Thrombus Three). 

After house jobs he worked first in 

orthopaedics then a year in General 

Practice and a further six months in 

urology before commencing his career 

in Obstetrics and Gynaecology. 

Tim started his O&G rotations in the 

Bristol hospitals, the Bristol Maternity 

Hospital, Bristol Royal Infirmary, 

Southmead and Frenchay. He gained his 

MRCOG in 1976. In 1978 Tim moved 

to London where he worked at the 

Westminster hospitals, first as registrar 

then Senior Registrar. During this time 

he gained his FRCS (Edin). 

In 1984 Tim was appointed as 

Consultant Gynaecologist and 

Obstetrician at Southend University 

Hospital. At that time the Department 

was on the Rochford hospital site. With 

friends at Round Table he was a very 

active fund raiser for the colposcopy 

service. Laser equipment was installed; 

to this day the fund is still active. 

Tim was also instrumental in setting 

up the gynaecological oncology service 

in Southend, enabling the Hospital to 

obtain accreditation as a Gynaecological 

Oncology Centre in Essex. 

He was a highly skilled surgeon, able to 

perform a wide variety of gynaecological 

surgery and had an enviable reputation 

amongst his colleagues and local GPs. 

His skills in Obstetrics and Gynaecology 

were highly respected. His leadership 

IAN REYNOLDS (DH 1942-1947) 

Ian was branch secretary in the 

following areas: Cambridge, South 

Africa, Paris, Merseyside and 

North Wales, North West including 

Manchester. 

skills were recognised when he was 

appointed as the specialty clinical 

director. 

Patients remember him as calm, kind, 

and compassionate; his colleagues that 

he was an easy person to get on with 

and with a great sense of humour. 

On the home front – he enjoyed 

DIY and undertook sustainable 

home alterations before they became 

generally popular, by installing his 

own heat exchange system in the loft 

and enormous rain water storage and 

recycling tanks for which he did 95% 

of the work of digging the pipes and 

plumbing the tanks himself. His garden 

is a real tribute to his love of growing 

and building with ponds, gazebos and 

arbours all constructed by him. 

He had a tendency to be somewhat 

impatient and did not like to waste 

time at work or at leisure. He skied 

– always trying to be faster than the 

rest of the family, sailed – trying to 

be the boat at the front of the fleet, 

and he drove his beloved old Series 

II Morris Minor as fast as possible 

on the John O’Groats to Lands End 

Endurance run. His love of classic 

cars also prompted him to purchase 

a beautiful Series II E-Type Jaguar, 

though he didn’t have long enough 

to fully appreciate it. 

In his final months he showed great 

bravery and dignity and left a legacy 

of which his family are very proud. 

He is survived by his widow, Deborah, 

and their sons, James and Nicholas; his 

first wife Jessica, their son Christopher 

(his wife Nicola and two granddaughters), 

and daughter Helen; his sister Susan and 

brother Richard. 

Tim will be greatly missed by many. 

Ian went to school with his two 

brothers Keith and Roy. He sent 

his two sons to Clifton also, Nick 

and Neil. 

He was also a Governor at Clifton. 

OBITUARIES 

123

MICHAEL ROBINS (ST 1939-1945) 

Died after a short illness on 5th February 2011. Beloved husband of Patricia, 

much loved father of Joanna and Nicholas, father-in-law of Lisa and grandad 

of Amy and Gemma. The funeral service was held at St. Giles Church, 

Standlake, Oxford. Donations if desired to Diabetes UK. 

17474 SARAFIAN, Jonathan Haig; 

b 1.7.68; LS, MHP, STP, ET; LSC-U6; 

L. 1986.2; Westminster Coll., Lond.; 

with Savoy Group of Hotels 1988-90; 

now Accnt. Manager with Asset Div. 

of Bristol & West Building Soc.; Red 

Lodge, Horse St., Chipping Sodbury, 

Bristol BS17 6DF. 

KLAUS SCHILLER 

(SH 1941-1945) 

Another of that extraordinarily 

talented Bude generation, Klaus 

Schiller died in July 2010 at the 

age of 83. 

Born in Vienna, he enjoyed a happy 

childhood until the rise of national 

Socialism and the resultant Anschluss 

between Hitler’s Germany and his home 

country. His father, a gynaecologist, 

was arrested and his mother decided 

to send the children to England in 

1938, his parents joining them some six 

months later. Although he embraced 

England and everything English, 

Austria remained close to his heart and 

he returned at the age of 80 to hike up 

a mountain just to have one last look at 

native alpine flowers. 

After an academically promising career 

at Clifton, both in Cornwall and back 

in Bristol, Schiller followed the family 

tradition and went into medicine, 

studying at The Queen’s College, Oxford 

and then gaining a scholarship at the 

London Hospital where, by 1951, he 

completed his training. 

By 1962 he was back in Oxford as Senior 

Registrar at the Radcliffe and it was here 

that he teamed up with Sidney Truelove. 

Together they made gastrointestinal 

bleeding their own according to The Lancet. 

But perhaps their most important 

contribution was their early 

championing of the flexible endoscope 

capable of taking biopsies under direct 

vision, and together they pioneered its 

early use, despite some opposition to 

this new technique. In 1967, he became 

a consultant physician in Chertsey and 

was a founder member of the British 

Society of Digestive Endoscopy which, 

unlike some of the more traditional 

medical societies, opened its doors to 

all who had an interest in this field. 

Along with Roy Cockel, he produced 

two important works – A Colour Atlas 

of Gastroenterological Endoscopy and 

Gastrointestinal Endoscopy and Related 

Pathology. 

ELIZABETH ‘BETI’ SKINNER BA, FRGS (née DAVIES) 

9TH MAY 1931 - 18TH JULY 2010 

Elizabeth “Beti” Skinner held the 

distinction of being the first female 

member of staff at Clifton when 

she stood in for Dudley Fromant when 

he was granted a sabbatical term in 

1977. Educated at Notting Hill and 

Ealing High School, she was a keen 

sportswoman – tennis and cricket 

especially – before going on to qualify 

as a geography teacher. Her research 

into National Land Use earnt her 

membership of the Royal Geographical 

Society. 

After her term at Clifton, she joined 

the Staff at CHS and worked there 

until 1995, serving as Director of the 

Sixth Form and Assistant Deputy 

Schiller was an energetic, passionate man 

whose single-mindedness was sometimes 

open to misinterpretation by those who 

did not know him well. A profound 

supporter of the NHS, he was increasingly 

critical of the application of managerial 

techniques and the increasing political 

interference which manifested itself during 

the 1980s and which, he felt, made it very 

difficult to 

be a good doctor as a result. 

Active throughout his life, his daughter, 

Ginny, observed: 

He loved his family and his work, and 

he loved life. He had no God to thank, he said, 

but was nevertheless grateful. 

He is survived by his wife, Judy, his daughter, 

three sons and seven grandchildren. 

Headmistress. In retirement, she 

remained active, working as a lecturer 

on a variety of cruise ships and 

remaining active up until the end of 

her life. 


NIGEL JONES - An Appreciation 

STAFF 1952–1993 

Simon Smith writes: 

I 

studied French, German and Russian 

in the Upper School at Clifton during 

the years 1971 to 1975. We were by no 

means the first generation of language 

laboratory guinea pigs. But it must have 

a time when this method of learning was 

much in vogue, as my memories tell me 

that our lessons often took place attached 

to headphones and recording apparatus 

in the rooms perched above the Fives 

Courts on Guthrie Road. 

Lessons in the language labs were seen 

by some as a bit of an opportunity to tune 

out. We knew our teachers could listen 

in at any time to see whether we really 

were practising the use of the conditional 

tense, or just strumming/humming the 

latest Led Zeppelin number. But there 

never seemed to me to be a totally effective 

way for them really to determine whether 

behind the many collected silences there 

had been a serious attempt to wrestle 

with the syntactical challenge of the day, 

or whether our minds were off and away 

somewhere completely different. 

Then there was the added discomfort 

of the rather nasty sweaty-plasticky 

earphones (the ergonomics of these 

things has much improved over the last 

three decades, as the current generation 

of I-pod devotees will no doubt testify). 

As a result, I wasn’t the only pupil to have 

found language lab drills a sub-optimal 

experience, and to have preferred less 

technologically impeded sessions in 

more orthodox classroom settings. But 

what I do now recognise - after over 20 

years of intensive professional use of 

foreign languages - is how valuable the 

emphasis on absorbing structures was 

and still is. Parroting endless variations 

on a grammatical theme was never going 

to be the most intellectually stimulating 

activity in the curriculum. But I remain 

convinced that it’s proved an effective 

and enduring way of implanting a solid 

framework of structures on which to 

build creative, spontaneous and flexible 

use of a foreign language in real life. 

We were encouraged to commit quite 

a few things to memory too. Some are 

no doubt just there in the subliminal or 

sub-conscious regions of the brain, but 

still, I’m convinced, underpin the more 

or less automatic functions that even a 

50+ plus year old brain can still perform 

when called upon to operate in French, 

German or Russian. Others weirdly stick 

in the memory with no apparent practical 

usefulness – vehicles with no engines 

cluttering the carpark of the brain. I’m 

still waiting for the occasion to arise 

where I’m called upon to use the phrase 

“Ach ja, Kaffeebohnen sind doch keine 

Diamanten.” But somehow it won’t go 

away. (“Können Sie uns bitte sagen, wo 

die Jugendherberge ist?” was on the face 

of it more promising – although by the 

time I got to travelling around Germany, 

it wasn’t really youth hostels I was 

looking for). 

More usefully, I still remember some of 

the key grammatical points illustrated in 

Nigel Jones’ apparently limitless series 

of weekly sentences for translation from 

English into French. Each one of these 

sentences had a point: they were the 

equivalent of Czerny exercises – a bit 

dull in themselves, but good solid brain 

food to equip us to do fancier things in 

the Beethoven and Schubert (or even 

Brahms and Liszt) areas of the French 

language. I remember even now Nigel’s 

reminder that, if you want to say “She 

only laughed” in French, “Elle n’a que 

rit” might do as the name of an Egyptian 

politician. But only “Elle n’a fait que 

rire” will cut it as an adequate translation. 

Another method of encouraging us to 

memorise chunks of language lay in 

the various prizes offered for poetry 

recitation. My rendering of Goethe’s 

“Erlkönig” clearly failed to excite either 

of my German teachers to feel they’d 

heard anything more interesting than 

a reading from the telephone directory. 

As a result, I suffered the ignominy of 

taking part in a competition in which only 

three competitors performed, but where 

neither gold nor silver nor bronze medals 

were awarded. But to this day I can still 

recite “Erlkönig”. 

And it was, after all, the literary part of 

modern languages study at Clifton that 

really fired me up, and that sticks in my 

memory even now as a starting point not 

just for learning about language, but for 

learning about life. 

I don’t recall literature in modern 

languages study being terribly inspiring 

until we’d got into the A-level years. I 

have dim memories of a really seriously 

dire pre-A-level illustrated story called 

“Les skis de Virginie”, the title of which 

promised to the imagination of the 

adolescent boy a great deal more than the 

wholesome folksy content delivered. 

I suppose it’s to a large extent inevitable 

that real books have to wait until students 

have a reasonable basis on which to 

make their way without being chained 

to a dictionary. But I hugely valued the 

approach of teachers like Ian Scott, who 

encouraged us not to worry excessively 

if we didn’t understand every word, but 

to develop our Sprachgefühl through 

hoovering up the rhythms of the 

language by getting to grips with real 

literature. And who chose just the best 

kind of book to get us started – Friedrich 

OBITUARIES 

125

Dürrenmatt’s “Das Versprechen”, a 

riveting and unorthodox “Krimi” which, 

once you’d got past the scene-setting 

pages, you just couldn’t put down. I 

still remember, when I’d finished it (at 

the cost of some serious negligence of 

just about all my other studies), the 

feeling not just of having read a great 

novel, but of knowing that reading a 

book in German from start to finish was 

achievable. And fun. I’ve read it again 

since about once every ten years. And I 

still think it’s brilliant. 

Our German literary studies were pretty 

serious in the A-level years; and they 

were directed by two teachers – Derek 

Clarke and Ian Scott – whose enthusiasm 

for what they were teaching has ensured 

that for me the German language and its 

literature have remained my friends for 

life. Of our set texts, I certainly preferred 

the more immediately graspable post-war 

setting of Heinrich Böll’s “Und sagte kein 

einziges Wort”, and the folkloric-ghostly 

“Der Schimmelreiter” of Theodor Storm 

to the historical drama of Grillparzer. 

But to find myself 35 years later in 

Grillparzer’s Vienna, able to quote bits of 

“König Ottokars Glück und Ende” - the 

play that re-opened Vienna’s totemic 

Burgtheater after Austria’s re-emergence 

from the catastrophes of Nazism – hasn’t 

been entirely unhelpful. And Thomas 

Mann’s “Tonio Kröger” and “Der Tod in 

Venedig” (the latter introduced to our 

studies with perfect timing, hot on the 

heels of the Visconti film) were small but 

perfectly-formed foretastes of the immense 

combustion of emotion and erudition that 

you get from this colossal author. 

During this period, the practice was 

for the top French set (around twenty 

of us) in the 4th form to tackle the 

O-level exam a year early. Those who 

succeeded could then move on in the 5th 

form to add another language – either 

Russian or Spanish – to their timetable, 

while still continuing to keep the French 

engine running with a couple of lessons 

a week. I and about six others chose 

Russian. I can remember two motives 

shared by most if not all of us. First was 

the interest in studying something we 

thought would be really hard. Second 

was the feeling that the Soviet Union was 

likely to continue to be a large fact of our 

lives, and it might not be a bad idea to 

speak its language. On the first count, 

the difficulty of the language exceeded 

expectations. On the second, I don’t 

think many of us would in the early 1970s 

have envisaged quite the degree of global 

dominance the English language would 

acquire, nor perhaps how fully Chinese 

would have replaced Russian as the 

“language of the future”. I don’t know 

how many of the others in that classroom 

in September 1972 had much to do with 

Russia in later life. For me, it came late, 

but big, as I spent most of the period 

from 1998-2007 professionally engaged 

with, or working in, Russia. 

For that reason, and for many others, I 

never regretted the decision I made to 

carry on with Russian to A-level. Nigel 

Jones was heroic enough to take me 

through this, even though I was the sole 

stayer-on after O-level. This had its odd 

side: we both had to assign ourselves 

multiple roles in our sessions reading 

through Chekhov’s “Uncle Vanya” – 

and at that stage the language itself was 

enough of a challenge for me, without the 

added burden of switching between Sofya 

Alexandrovna and Ivan Petrovich. And 

when you’re the only student, there’s just 

no hiding place for that neglected essay 

or translation. 

Unwisely perhaps, I let my Russian “rest” 

for many years after clearing the A-level 

hurdle. But twenty six years after my 

first encounter with the Cyrillic alphabet 

and Chapter One of “Russkiy yazyk dlya 

vsyekh” it was with huge pleasure and no 

little emotion that I wrote to Nigel to tell 

him I was about to go to Moscow for four 

years as the British Embassy’s Economic 

and Commercial Counsellor. And these 

were four years during which I was 

repeatedly made conscious of how lucky 

I was to have been so wonderfully well 

taught: with, here too, a strong focus on 

absorbing the structures of the language, 

and a dazzling introduction to the 

literature (Pushkin as well as Chekhov). 

In contrast to the last-man-standing 

experiences of Russian A-level, the 

French A-level set remained pretty 

numerous – about fourteen of us if 

memory serves. French was no exception 

to the assumption that even distracted 

late teens needed early introduction to 

the big beasts of the literary jungle. I 

only learned later about what Aristotle 

said about classical drama inspiring 

pity and terror. But having had the 

first Racine experience in the first 

weeks of a pitiful and terrified UV 

IB, I felt I already knew what he was 

driving at. (Welcome to “Britannicus”, 

whose pungently subjunctive closing 

words - “Plût aux Dieux que ce fût 

le dernier de ses crimes!” somehow 

never leave the memory when lots of 

other useful stuff has long left town). 

Molière’s “Misanthrope” was scarcely less 

frightening; for the first generation of 

Monty Python devotees, this was serious 

comedy. It all made Voltaire’s shorter 

tales (“Zadig”, “Micromégas” etc – I think 

we were regarded as too dumbed down 

to do “Candide”) seem like light relief. 

But at least the larger numbers in the 

class meant there was a bit more cover 

for those times when the required essay 

on Racine just couldn’t be squeezed 

into a busy timetable of cricket nets, 

the next home game at Ashton Gate, or 

admiring the bullfighting posters in the 

“Greyhound”. Or did it? Inspired by 

Nigel Jones’ words about Racine writing 

his plays in his head before putting pen 

to paper (“ma tragédie est faite; je n’ai 

qu’à l’écrire”) I tried out what I thought 

was a clever line: “Monsieur Jones, mon 

essai est fait, je n’ai qu’à l’écrire” - to get 

the immediate reply “Bien, assurez-vous 

que ça ne sera pas une tragédie!” 

Nigel too was insistently exhortatory 

on the benefits of reading as much as 

possible in the language. My brother 

David had already been through his 

French A-level class, so I was prepared 

for the endlessly repeated (but endlessly 

valid) slogan “Read some French!” 

And for the follow-up, which was often 

“Anything… even Mickey Spillane in 

French!” David and I duly returned 

from one summer holiday having toured 

most of the bookshops of the Languedoc 

to find what seemed to be the one living 

example of …Mickey Spillane in French. 

And to this day, I’m afraid I still haven’t 

got beyond page ten of “Un mariage 

hors série”. 

In the mid 1970s it remained the practice 

for most of us who were attempting the 

Oxbridge entrance exams to stay on for 

a term to expand our range of study in 

preparation for them. By September 

1975 I had already decided that German 

would be the principal platform for 

launching my Oxford bid. So I had a 

final term ranging more broadly over the 

German literary landscape – discovering 

the wealth of 19th century short fiction 

which serves as such an enticing window 

into wider and deeper journeys in the 

history and culture of the German 

speaking world; and discovering German 

poetry (beyond “Erlkönig”!) including 

my first meeting with Goethe’s ecstatic/ 

charismatic “Große Hymnen”. 

As before, my guides on these journeys 

were Derek Clarke and Ian Scott. They 

and Nigel Jones were the three legs of 

a teaching tripod that made learning 

languages at Clifton in the 1970s an 

experience of enjoyment and inspiration 

for me, and a choice I have never 

regretted. 

Simon Smith 


Letters 

Lucy, 

Many thanks for my Clifton Magazine which has arrived safely. 

I have already skimmed through it and, exactly as my brother 

had commented on the telephone previously, it is a magnificent 

publication with apparently no expense spared! 

I very well remember the Chapel in the 1930s, especially as I was 

deemed to have a voice of sufficient quality by no less a person 

than Douglas Fox, who considered me as a suitable candidate for 

the Choir. 

However a certain A Hitler had other ideas and I spent most of 

my remaining Clifton days having to be content with the chapel 

at Poughill, near Bude, where I was later confirmed by Peter 

Brook, a wonderful experience, but no substitute for Clifton 

Chapel. 

Thank you again. 

Dear Sir, 

Courtenay Bennett (Pre, WiH 1934-1945) 

I was very interested in the letter in your 2010 edition from Mr 

Allen Edwards (page 126) about his time at Bude and specially 

about Tubby Merrick, whom I remember very well. He was a 

most engaging character and, as Mr Edwards says, the subject 

of very good stories. While at Bude he was a pg in a big house 

right at the bottom of the town and nearest to the sea, called, 

I believe, The Castle and the house of a retired admiral. 

When we asked Tubby about his lodging, he said, “You’ve 

heard about the room you could swing a cat in? Well in mine 

you could swing a brace of leopards” – a typically graphic 

description which delighted us all. Tubby and CF Taylor were 

by far the most memorable masters of my Clifton career. 

Yours sincerely, 

Pat Lloyd (WiH 1938-1943) 

Dear Lucy, 

Thank you very much for kindly sending me a fresh 

copy of the “Clifton” Magazine 2010. A most interesting 

read and I’m pleased that my little offering on page 139 

(“Incredible Journey” found a place amongst other more 

substantive contributions. 

I see that my former Housemaster, Nigel Jones, has died 

and that an obituary will feature in the next edition of 

the Clifton Magazine. 

Nigel was a man of formidable intellectual and academic 

ability. But he was also a Housemaster who excuded 

qualities of charm, compassion, kindness, good humour, 

approachability and fairness. Most certainly a libertarian, 

hence popular with the boys in Oakeley’s House at a time 

of severe upheavals as Clifton struggled to cope with its 

transition from the earlier Victorian “Tom Brown” values 

and traditions of an English Public School, through the 

social turmoil of the 1960s “Permissive Society” and 

resultant rather naïve discontent amongst the younger 

generation (spurred on by the Paris Riots of 1968), 

Labour Governments hostile toward Private Education, 

growth of drugs misuse and disgruntled fee-paying 

parents. Nigel was certainly very supportive when I 

served as Head of House in 1971. 

In this context, the Oakeley’s centenary colour photo 

(to which I referred below) would be a particularly 

good item to accompany the obituary – featuring as it 

does a beaming Nigel Jones (and his wife Elizabeth) in 

the persona many of us will remember. I hope that it 

can be duly located, retrieved and maybe reproduced 

accordingly? Incidentally, I organised the standing 

seating plan for this photo, being the House “VIth” 

responsible and drawing upon a thorough analysis 

of everyone’s height before hand – much to their 

bemusement/banter/scorn at the time! 

Regards, 

Neill Mitchell (Pre, OH 1962-1971) 

Dear Bob, 

Congratulations and thanks for the latest “Clifton Magazine”, especially the articles about the Chapel which I found 

enthralling. 

Our two Chaplains were a great contrast: I sat at the feet of John Grove in UV Classical, and went to his confirmation classes. 

He was a stimulating teacher at that stage of school and a good classicist and expositor of Christian doctrine. Many years later 

(by which time he was at Durham Cathedral Choir School) I had occasion to travel by car with him from Hull up to London, 

and he told me how much he regretted not having married. 

Peter Brook of course was a “Clifton Treasure” with his sporting and evangelical background and always welcoming if 

sometimes with a quizzical smile, and charming family. I suppose these two Chaplains illustrated well the variety and breadth 

of the Anglican communion! Chapel was certainly well run and most stimulating, with Douglas Fox and Evan Prentice at the 

organ and baton, and Desmond Lee’s great dignitas. 

The Pre-Raphaelites were a great lot. I met them again in Jesus College Chapel, Cambridge; and now in Birmingham they 

featuire very large in our museum and Art Gallery, and Burne-Jones’ windows in Birmingham Cathedral are absolutely 

superb. 

With regard to Henry Newbolt, I acquired about 30 years ago a 78rpm record of Newbolt reading his own poems, especially 

the School Song and Breathless Hush. You may have heard it – Geoffrey Hardyman made a tape copy of it. The voice of 

Newbolt is a tight, clipped one, almost a parody of the “stiff upper lip.” 

With renewed thanks for an excellent magazine and best wishes for Clifton. 

Yours 

Brian Dicker (OH 1948-1953) 

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR 

127

Dear Dr Acheson, 

Congratulations on another splendid Clifton Magazine – yet again an issue to be kept and treasured. The 

glossy illustrations are exceptionally fine and the text almost always interesting. The history is particularly 

fascinating to an OC family like mine and even the obituaries can be fun. This issue you contrived to make the 

history of compulsory Chapel a compelling read. As a former editor of a very dull Cliftonian which compelled 

no-one to read it, not even the proof readers, I cannot praise the Clifton Magazine enough. What a good 

advertisement for Clifton past and present. 

A suggestion touched on under Myth 2 of the Head Master’s thoughtful Commem speech. Salvete/Valete 

describes the comings and goings of Staff. But what of the comings and more especially the goings of pupils? 

A list of leavers and their destinations (including scholarships if any) should be a regular item, I suggest. 

Public Schools, that old misnomer for independent secondary schools, can be considered preparatory schools, 

I would argue, that is to say, preparatory to the university of pupils’ and parental choice if possible. As always, 

it is for the school to tell the pupil and the parents in advance, whether their choice is achievable. A school 

achieving a high proportion of Oxbridge entrants demonstrates its own achievements - “You can send your 

child to Clifton and they will come out the other end clutching a fistful of high alphabet grades and an offer 

at a good university.” 

In my time, my father’s time and my grandfather’s time Clifton had overseas pupils, mainly from the Indian 

sub-continent. We had many other foreigners, particularly from such exotic places as South Wales and North 

London Jewry. Academic and many other standards were improved by their presence – the Welsh at Rugby for 

instance. We all benefited from Clifton’s international reputation. We all knew it and were proud of it. Myth 

3, namely that Clifton has many overseas pupils, should never be a myth, I hope; Clifton is not merely a good 

local day school in Bristol. 

The Head Master said “Let us have no more talk of Clifton not being an academic school.” I am delighted to 

hear of an improvement in academic results but I fear Myth 1 has some way to go before being laid to rest. As 

we are all only too well aware, Clifton was allowed to slip down the League Tables, ranked well into the 200s. 

The Clifton Magazine reported government statistics of “value-added”, particularly fallacious because these 

chiefly apply to failing State Comprehensives, I think – hardly good examples for Clifton. 

76.3% A/B Grades for 2009 A Levels would have brought Clifton up to a ranking of, say, 150 on 2005 but in 

2009 it will be more like 200. Our peers or rather the schools we considered our peers in my generation and 

earlier, rank within the top 100. There is plenty of competition, of course, but Clifton should be equal to it. 

Reading the Clifton Magazine, it seems that in many respects Clifton pupils are more talented than our lot 

or even more talented than my father’s and grandfather’s generations – more talented especially in sports 

and Performing Arts – but there is no reason at all why arties at school cannot also be hearties nor both be 

swots. The rise of Loughborough and Bath Universities suggests that sport specialities are good for League 

Table rankings. The Art Colleges have not yet followed suit, it seems, but I can see the value of sports and 

Performing Arts scholarships as well as academic scholarships. 

Competitive academic scholarships seem to be on the wane in English Public Schools. Why? Surely 

scholarships not only attract pupils who ought to improve League Table ranking, but also give opportunities 

for those less well-off – pupils from families who have never gone to university. A good social mix is another 

important element of diversity at a Public School like Clifton, but really competitive exams also attract the top 

competitors – Prep schools like The Dragon at Oxford for instance. If other Public schools now do not offer 

that competition, there may be an opportunity for Clifton. 

The Shenstone Scholarship is an excellent OC initiative – Andrew Thornhill and I belong to the bad old days 

when the Classical Side did only a year of Science before dropping it entirely after O Level. Next issue please 

can we hear much more about Clifton’s academic achievements, past, present and future - for instance, the 

range of Clifton Scholarships including something of their history perhaps. How has teaching in Clifton 

developed over the years? What makes Clifton teaching (and teachers) different? What plans are there to 

do (even) better? How can OCs and parents help? 

Sorry for writing too much – well done to the Head Master for his thought-provoking speech. 

Yours sincerely, 

Colin Cornes (SH 1955-1960) 

[Editor’s Note; with the 2012 Jubilee coming up, any reminiscences about the 1960s and 1970s at Clifton would be most welcome.] 


Clifton Past 

The Clifton Pecks 

In the 2009 Clifton Magazine, there 

were short obituaries of the cousins 

David Peck and Sir Edward Peck. 

There was also an interesting account of 

the Clifton Whittys, with whom the Pecks 

have much in common. There have 

been 14 Pecks of my family at Clifton 

over four generations; there is also a 

smaller group of Pecks in South Town, 

unconnected to us as far as I know. 

David and Ted Peck were both at 

Clifton in the Thirties, both won Neale 

scholarships in Modern Languages to 

the Queen’s College, Oxford and both 

went into the Foreign Office. David was 

in Oakeley’s but Ted was in Wiseman’s, 

not in South Town as mentioned in the 

obituary. In fact, you can see his name 

on the board of heads of house behind 

the shoulder of the present housemaster 

of Wiseman’s in the article he wrote for 

the 2009 magazine. David’s career is 

shrouded in mystery and I think we can 

say his work in intelligence was highly 

secret. Ted was involved in intelligence 

also but had a more conventional rise 

through the diplomatic ranks. He 

was proposed as Head of Chancery in 

the embassy in Moscow but that was 

sabotaged by an article in Pravda which 

referred to him as the “monarchofascist 

beast Peck, who fixed the Greek 

elections.” He had postings to Greece, 

Delhi, Berlin, Singapore and became 

High Commissioner in Nairobi. Back 

in England he became chairman of 

the JIC; reporting to Harold Wilson 

he would solemnly say each week, “we 

do not anticipate that war with the 

Soviet Union will occur in the coming 

week.” His final job was in Brussels as 

Permanent Representative to NATO. 

He was appointed GCMG in 1974. 

Ted and David were sons of the younger 

two of four brothers who went to 

Clifton. These brothers were sons of 

William Bishop Peck, who ran a wine 

company founded by his father on a 

site that became the Grand Hotel in 

the centre of Bristol. None of them 

went into the family business; they all 

pursued medical and military careers 

in the British Empire in the East. 

The eldest brother, Frank, my greatgrandfather, 

entered the school in 1871. 

He became a professor at the medical 

college in Calcutta. On leave in England, 

Frank was carelessly run over by a train 

while playing golf at Sheringham in 

Norfolk; this did him no good and he 

died on the ship returning to India in 

1908. The second brother, Herbert, 

fought in an obscure war called Gaika- 

Galeka in South Africa in 1878. He then 

went to work for the Brooke family, 

the famous white Rajahs of Sarawak. 

He was commandant of the armed 

forces and founder of the Sarawak 

civil service. Back in England he 

married the daughter of a wealthy man, 

who refused to allow her to go off to 

Sarawak. Herbert remained in England 

leading a life of leisure. He died 

young but there was enough money to 

send three sons to Clifton. The third 

brother was Edward, father of Ted. 

One of two Pecks to go up to Christ’s, 

Cambridge, he followed Frank into 

the Indian Medical Service, achieving 

the same rank of Lt-Colonel. He was 

invalided out. The youngest brother 

was Arthur, who was commissioned in 

the army and spent time in India. He 

rose to be Major-General. On my last 

visit to Clifton, I called on Tom Gover 

at 32 College Road and noticed that 

there was a life-size photograph of the 

dedication of the Memorial Arch with 

General Arthur Peck standing next to 

Field Marshals Haig and Birdwood. 

Edward and Arthur were good athletes 

at Clifton, each winning both the Long 

Penpole and the Challenge Cup. 

My grandfather, another Arthur, 

preferred to be called Peter; he was the 

first of the second generation to enter 

Clifton. He was at Christ’s when his 

father, Frank, died. He gave up his 

medical studies supposedly because 

of shortage of money but I suspect he 

wanted to do other things. He spent 

6 years in Australia with various jobs 

including pearl-fishing and arrived back 

in England for the war in 1914. Joining 

first the Devonshire regiment, he moved 

to the Royal Flying Corps, eventually 

making the RAF his career. He had 

postings to Turkey, Singapore and Hong 

Kong. As a Group Captain when the 

second war started, he should have risen 

to a high rank; however, disagreements 

with Sir Arthur Tedder (not uncommon) 

led him to command Kinloss air station 

in Scotland for most of the war. He 

retired to Cornwall and lived to 85. 

Others of the second generation were 

the three sons of Herbert and Arthur’s 

two boys; they were all in Oakeley’s, as 

was Peter. Edward’s son, Ted, was in 

Wiseman’s. 

If Tony Whitty, in 1933, entered the 

school as the first Cliftonian to have 

father and both grandfathers as OCs, 

then my father, Ronnie Peck, was 

probably the second. His maternal 

grandfather, Clare Smith, joined 

South Town in 1875. He became 

a highly successful accountant and 

company director in Bristol. He was 

the first Bristolian to be President 

of the Council of the Institute of 

Chartered Accountants, in 1933. His 

younger brother was even more 

distinguished; Sir Hubert Llewellyn 

Smith was permanent secretary to 

Winston Churchill at the Board of 

Trade and the mentor of Sir William 

Beveridge, architect of the Welfare 

State. Unfortunately, Hubert was sent 

to Bristol Grammar School, rather 

than Clifton. Ronnie, while boarding 

at Clifton, lived with his mother at his 

grandfather’s elegant house at the very 

top of Percival Road. Sundon House 

subsequently became Fanum House, the 

headquarters of the AA in Bristol, and is 

now, I believe, the office of an insurance 

company. Ronnie followed his uncle, 

A.R. Clare Smith, into Brown’s. He 

was two years in the XI as well as the 

Running VIII. He was at Sandhurst 

when the war broke out, joined the 

Wiltshire regiment and then transferred 

to the Black Watch. He was with the 8th 

army through North Africa, Sicily and 

Normandy, being wounded at Goch and 

losing a leg. After the army, he worked 

in computers; even with one leg, he was 

a superb golfer and tennis player. 

When I entered Brown’s in Clifton’s 

centenary year, I was the fourth 

generation Peck and nine of that 

term’s 11 new boys were sons of OCs. 

Perhaps my claim to fame was to be the 

first fourth generation OC to teach at 

Clifton, which I did, at the Pre, for two 

terms before going up to Cambridge. 

My career continued in teaching. I 

have taught in England, Australia, the 

Philippines and Thailand, where I now 

reside. 

Nicholas Peck 

CLIFTON PAST 

129

The Oldest 

Cliftonians 

You may have rested in 

their shade on a warm 

summer’s evening, scored 

match-winning tries under 

their ever-present canopy, 

or fielded in their dappled 

shadows; whatever your 

role at Clifton College, 

their presence will not 

have evaded you . . . 

These are Clifton’s oldest living 

residents and one of its most 

distinguished features. I am, of 

course, referring to the avenue of Lime 

trees that surround the College and 

its Close.Tom Gover reliably informs 

me that these remarkable trees were 

planted within the first ten years of the 

establishment of the College, which 

makes them, at the very least, 140 

years old. During this time they have 

witnessed world record-breaking cricket 

scores, survived Luftwaffe bombing 

raids, and escorted you, me and 

countless generations through life at 

Clifton College. 

They are not only a well-loved feature 

of the school, but also a landmark of 

the City of Bristol. I have a special 

affinity with them. I literally grew up 

under their boughs. My father (Alan 

Brown) was housemaster of what the 

older OCs will remember as Dakyns’ 

and the younger ones as East Town. My 

childhood was spent using these trees 

as goal posts or cricket stumps until 

a piercing whistle from Jim Andrew 

would have me scampering! It is for 

this reason that I feel such an enormous 

amount of pride and responsibility now 

that it is my duty to look after Clifton’s 

eldest statesmen. 

Having 15 years’ experience as a 

professional arborist in Bristol, I have 

had the good fortune to work on 

hundreds of fabulous trees - from 900 

year old veteran oaks in Ashton Court 

to pruning giant Copper Beeches at 

the Lord Mayor’s house. However, it 

is the tree work at Clifton College 

that, without doubt, gives me the 

most pleasure. My company ‘Bristol 

Tree Care’ has, for the last five years, 

carried out all the tree surgery at 

Clifton College. We work closely with 

Andrew Matthews, Paul Flook and 

all the ground staff at Clifton, as a 

small part of the team that keep the 

College always looking its glorious best 

throughout the seasons. 

Examples of some recent projects 

include reshaping the Oak and London 

Plane trees that bookend the Memorial 

Arch and a series of remedial work 

to the avenue of Horse Chestnuts to 

protect them from the Phytophthora 

disease that has devastated large areas 

of chestnut trees in this country. 

If you attended the Preparatory School, 

these are the trees from which you will 

have collected your conkers. However, 

it is always the re-pollarding of the 29 

Limes surrounding the Close that has 

become the flagship project for my 

company, and the project that gives 

me a warm pride as their incumbent 

custodian! 

Pollarding is an ancient method of tree 

management that is still practiced in 

modern arboriculture. Its purpose is to 

promote rejuvenation and thus ensure 

longevity for many of Britain’s oldest 

trees. This process involves de-limbing 

the entire tree to the same points to 

which they have been cut back over 

decades. It leaves the tree looking 

bare, but in doing so ensures that these 

veteran specimens are kept to a size 

that is safe for their environment. This 

procedure takes place every five or six 

years and, in short, it means that the 

trees can happily continue to co-exist 

with all the bustle of College life. 

Planted with foresight by the College 

and donated by the OC Society the 

inter-planting of semi-mature Limes 

between each veteran tree has ensured 

that generations of future Cliftonians 

will enjoy the familiar feel that the 

trees bring to the atmosphere at 

Clifton College. With the tallest of 

them standing 80 ft above the ground, 

it is hard to believe these trees can go 

unnoticed, but for Clifton life, they 

have become ‘part of the furniture’. 

So next time you visit the school, take 

a minute to look up and think that 

if ‘there’s a breathless hush in the 

Close tonight’, maybe it is just slightly 

tempered by the gentlest rustle of the 

leaves on these familiar giants. 

Josh Brown OC (SH 89 – 94), BA(Hons), 

NC arboriculture Bristol Tree Care 


HF Oakeley (OH 1954-1960) 

Reminiscences from 55 years ago November 2010 

The Housemaster was ‘Flunky’ 

Footman, a nice man, although he 

beat me on my first term for letting 

off a Catherine wheel in my study. I fagged 

for DJ Partridge, who went on to take holy 

orders. Fagging was not onerous; cleaning 

his shoes and cooking toast for him seemed 

the major requirements. 

My GCSE ‘O’ level exams were Latin 

(needed to get into university), French, 

Maths, English Language, English 

Literature, History, Chemistry with Physics, 

Biology. 

I was taught Latin by Gee. He spent most 

of the class time talking about digging 

drains as a prisoner of war in Germany. 

Nevertheless most of us did very well with 

Latin - I got 83% in my ‘O’ levels, my 

highest mark if I remember correctly. He 

treated us well and we never got bored. I 

think he may have spent more time with 

previous classes talking about drains, as he 

did seem to try not to. 

Zoology was taught by Stubbs who chainsmoked. 

I took him up the cliffs of the 

Avon Gorge in a quarry to see some fly 

orchids and when he was about 100 feet 

up on hands and knees on a ledge, clearly 

petrified, I realised that older people did 

not enjoy climbing. A kindly man, but 

not the greatest teacher although he did 

encourage one to be interested in the 

subject. 

Classes were 9- 4 except Monday afternoon 

when we stopped early for Combined 

Cadet Force. Wearing army, navy or 

airforce uniform we would parade up and 

down in the Quad, or if we were lucky 

go off to Beggar’s Bush sports ground 

on the far side of the Avon Gorge to fly 

a glider propelled by a long elastic rope 

which, having been stretched to fullness 

by one’s colleagues, was released to soar 

for perhaps 100 feet a few feet from the 

ground. Someone did manage to crash 

into the trees once, but the rest of us had 

to put up with less excitement. Later in my 

time at Clifton a non- military option was 

available and we went climbing, abseiling 

etc in the Avon gorge which at least seemed 

useful. Learning how to fire an ancient 

breech loading .303 or marching drills, 

and cleaning cap badges and boots to a 

satisfactory shine, always seemed a waste 

of time. I went climbing in the Avon gorge 

with the rather dour Maths master on one 

occasion and was belaying him up a climb 

when he fell off. As he was 80 feet above 

me, he came cart-wheeling past to end up 

on the end of the hemp rope 80 feet below 

me. Nobody wore helmets, nobody used 

running belays, and we were probably 

climbing on wet rock in gym shoes; the 

rope was ancient and ran through my 

hands and over the belay rope - burning 

through one of the strands - but everything 

held; he climbed back up and we finished 

the climb. He never said ‘thank you’ or 

even mentioned it - I suspect he was as 

embarrassed as he was shaken. Health and 

Safety was an unknown phrase in 1958. 

On Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday we 

played team games. I think it was rugby in 

the winter term, football in the spring term 

and cricket in the summer. I managed to 

never play cricket and to enjoy tennis or 

cross country running instead. 

In Oakeley’s House we slept in unheated 

dormitories with a chair between beds for 

one’s clothes. Clean clothes were provided 

once a week. All our clothes had nametags, 

so while they all went off to the laundry 

at the same time, we could find our own 

when they returned. A bell rang at 7. l0am, 

7.20am, 7.23am and 7.25am. If one was not 

out of the dormitory by 7.25 one accrued 

one ‘point’. Call-over (and? prayers) in the 

House hall was at 7.30am and if one was 

late for that (or not dressed -and we had 

detachable collars which required skilled 

fingers with collar studs) one accrued 

another ‘point’. One was inspected as one 

left the house to go to breakfast in Big 

School (the main building on the school 

site) and if one’s shoes were not clean, laces 

tied, and sartorial standards not seen to be 

good enough, one acquired more ‘points’. 

Weekday chapel was at 9am and if one was 

late for this one acquired another ‘point’. 

These points could be acquired for walking 

with one’s jacket undone, hands in trouser 

pockets, not wearing a school cap etc. and all 

manner of minor misdemeanours. 

All our meals were held in Big School, and 

I remember them as being sufficient with 

lots of potatoes and sponge puddings. We 

sat at long tables; there was a Latin grace 

at the beginning of every meal which was 

either short, Benedictus benedicat (May 

the Blessed One bless) or long, Benedic 

nobis, Domine Deus, atque eis donis tuis 

quae de largitate tua sumus iam sumpturi, 

per Jesum Christum, Dominum Nostrum. 

Amen (Bless us Lord God, and these Thy 

gifts which of Thy bounty we are now 

about to receive, through Jesus Christ our 

Lord, Amen). This latter grace originated 

at Winchester College and is one of the 

oldest known, but we added ‘iam’ (now) to 

it for some reason that may seem obvious 

but perhaps unnecessary. 

Saturday chapel included singing practice, 

preparatory for the Sunday service, with 

Douglas Fox, the one-armed organist and 

Director of Music. He had lost his right arm 

in the first World War, but played organ 

pieces written for one-armed organists as 

well as for two-handed ones. 

Sunday chapel started with Holy 

Communion at 7am for those of us who 

had been confirmed, full Matins with a 

sermon from the headmaster (Hammond 

for all of my stay) on the first Sunday 

of each term. He had a 5-year cycle of 

sermons as I discovered when hearing 

the cycle start again, with an account of 

his time in Crete in WWII, in my last term. 

Other sermons were given by visiting 

priests or the chaplain. 

There was also Sunday Evensong at 6pm 

and prayers at evening call-over in the 

House, every night. By the time I left 

school having attended some form of 

religious service up to 15 times a week for 

the previous ten years, I never went to 

church again (except for other peoples’ 

weddings, christenings and - up to now - 

funerals). 

The boarders could have family visits or go 

home at half term, but otherwise were not 

expected to see their families except in the 

holidays. Lunch or tea out with relatives on 

Sunday occurred occasionally. The school 

was all boys, and our only contact with 

girls was dancing lessons held with Clifton 

High School for Girls, where we became 

proficient in Scottish reels, waltz, quickstep 

and even rock and roll. Our evenings were 

spent doing ‘prep’ - work preparatory for 

the following day’s lessons in our studies. 

Younger boys shared a study of four; older 

ones had a two-desk study, and House 

Sixths usually had one to themselves. There 

was space for a desk, a chair, a bookcase 

CLIFTON PAST 

131

CobiUK 

and perhaps a small table. During ‘prep’ 

hours one was confined to one’s study 

and expected to keep quiet. During the 

few free hours - in particular Sunday, we 

read, listened to gramophone records, 

or indulged in hobbies. I kept moth 

caterpillars and - for one term - a one-eyed 

grass snake. Elvis Presley was at the peak 

of his fame, and You ain’t nothing but a hound 

dog is inseparably fused in my memory 

with Sundays at Clifton. If we went out 

of the school grounds we merely entered 

our whereabouts in a notebook in the 

housemaster’s hallway, but after six in the 

evening we were, in theory, confined to 

the house. Most of Bristol city was ‘out of 

bounds’ without special permission. I went 

running in Leigh Woods, on the Downs, 

cycled off to Wotton-under-Edge looking 

for wild orchids in the summer, and to the 

greenhouses in the zoo (tropical orchids). 

I joined the Bristol and West of England 

Orchid Society at a time when famous 

orchid growers like H G Alexander from 

Westonbirt were still active, and attended 

their meetings. 

Living in such a curious environment 

really only fitted one to join the army 

and live in barracks in a male-only 

lifestyle. One missed all the benefits 

of being brought up by one’s family 

(remember, most of us were at boarding 

school from age 8 to 18). Many of us, 

as now, had parents living overseas, but 

our only communications were weekly 

letters through the post (no phone calls, 

no e-mails) and we would stay with 

guardians during the holidays, seeing 

our parents during the summer holidays 

sometimes. 

We learnt to cope with communal 

living and tolerating others. Despite its 

shortcomings we received a better than 

average education, and the facilities of 

music, sports, mountaineering, etc were 

all appreciated and helped in later years. 

I did not enjoy most of it and hope 

that the formative years of the present 

generation are better protected than 55 

years ago. 

Since leaving Clifton I have had a career 

in medicine, specialising in psychiatry, 

and kept going an interest in orchids (and 

now medicinal plants), photography and 

writing which has taken me to almost 

every region of the world. Good hobbies, 

started at school, are just as valuable as a 

good education. 

Most people’s first thought upon 

seeing a seven seater circular 

bike is not “That’d be the 

perfect vehicle on which to cross the 

UK”. It is not usually their second or 

third thought either but most people 

are not Cliftonians. Clifton gives you 

a different sense of what is possible. 

The huge range of opportunities on 

offer throughout your school career 

helps to instil the belief that, with the 

right combination of hard work and 

planning, anything can be achieved. 

Ever since my aunt Charlotte died 

of breast cancer at the age of 43 my 

family have been raising money to 

help fight this terrible disease. My 

cousin, Chris, was keen to do an End 

to End ride though I worried that 

this lacked the originality needed 

for a meaningful fundraising drive. 

However, as soon as I saw the seven 

seater Conference Bike, or CoBi as 

it is affectionately known, I had that 

fateful first thought. I immediately 

got in touch with the Dutch American 

artist Eric Staller, who came up 

with the idea of the bike, and things 

gradually gathered pace from then 

on. So, after the metaphorical ups 

and downs of the months of planning 

we reached John o’Groats on 31 July 

2010, hoping we were now to tackle 

the literal ups and downs of our route 

across Britain. 

As if the roughly 800-mile conventional 

route from North East to the South 

West was not challenge enough, on 

a bike with no gears and weighing 

200kg, we planned to go via six of 

Cancer Research UK’s centres and 

institutes along the way: Dundee, 

Newcastle, Manchester, Birmingham, 

London and Southampton. The aim 

of this was to help raise awareness 

about the work being done by Cancer 

Research UK, as well as much needed 

funds. It meant we now had to cross 

the Pennines but seeing the passion 

and dedication of the scientists and 

researchers put our own hard work 

into perspective and certainly helped 

us keep pedalling. 

We wanted as many people to take 

part as possible and around 200 

riders did, of all ages, from less than 8 

to over 80. We had people pedalling 

from all over the world and from 

all walks of life: acrobats, actors, 


Reflections on Clifton 

in the 1950s 

rock bands, brass bands, bagpipers, 

pilots, policemen, engineers, soldiers, 

comedians, kings, queens, rugby 

players, footballers, Olympians and 

of course Cliftonians. Many had 

organised their stint on the bike 

through the website but lots just 

pitched up because we needed help 

and got stuck in. The bike helped 

the riding team to bond from the 

moment they started pedalling 

together and the great camaraderie 

on board was matched by the good 

humour shown by people walking 

and driving by. It was so gratifying 

to see the occupants of almost 

every car smiling, waving and in 

some cases even leaning out of the 

windows to donate money on the 

move. People’s generosity, with food, 

accommodation, spares or a cup of 

tea, gave you a real warm feeling 

inside; quite literally, in the case of 

the tea. 

There were tough moments along 

the way, when we had as few as 

four riders, the hills were long, 

the weather unforgiving and bits 

of the bike were coming off, but 

despite this we kept pushing on. 

There were some nerve wracking 

moments too: Although our average 

pace was around 6 or 7 miles an 

hour, on one hill in Devon we hit 

47. Finally, after over four weeks 

of pedalling at 3.15pm on 29 

August, we climbed the last little 

hill at Land’s End and crossed the 

finishing line, to be doused in hugs 

and champagne. Reaching the finish 

was an incredible team effort which 

has raised over £37,000 and made 

it into the Guinness Book of World 

Records. But without Clifton and the 

belief it gave me to pursue those first 

thoughts, however crazy they may 

seem, a seven seater circular bike 

might never have made it to 

the start. 

You can see videos and photos of the 

ride at www.cobiuk.com and it is also 

still possible to donate. 

Ed Greig (WaH 1998 - 2003) 

Derek Winterbottom’s coverage of 

the 1950s at Clifton is surprisingly 

disappointing. For the second 

half of the 1950s, for example, he 

relies on the reminiscences of three 

American scholars, who spent a year at 

the School, and editorial comment in 

the Cliftonian of July, 1958. 1 He does 

devote some pages to the Hammond 

years (1954-1962), with an emphasis 

on the teachers that this headmaster 

appointed with a view to maintaining 

impressive academic results, but he does 

not seek to convey any notion of what 

it was like to be on the receiving end. 

Certainly, Hammond was following the 

practice of his predecessor H. D. P. Lee 

[later Sir Desmond] in adding to his staff 

Oxbridge appointees, often those with 

spectacular academic records. 

An example was J. L. Thorn (appointed 

in 1949), the boxing blue with the 

Cambridge double first in history, later 

to become headmaster at Winchester. Yet 

for Thorn, Clifton was a stage which he 

could dominate with the able assistance 

of his fellow-historian, the affable Martin 

Scott. By the mid-fifties, with impressive 

results achieved in his subject area, 

his influence was certainly equal to 

that of the headmaster. Thorn, in his 

autobiography, perhaps unwittingly but 

one could never be sure, confirmed the 

pre-eminence that he enjoyed when 

Lee’s resignation was announced in 

1954: ‘I went to his house and pleaded 

with him to stay with us’, something 

of an impertinence, one would have 

thought, for a recent appointee in 

his early thirties. In the event, he was 

mightily relieved with the appointment 

of Nicholas Hammond: ‘He let us get on 

with our jobs and did nothing to damp 

our enthusiasms. It was a pleasure to 

work for him. Had he been a man of 

more decided views on details of the 

school’s life we would probably have 

been much less happy. He had, though 

perhaps unwittingly, the headmaster’s 

art of sometimes keeping out of the 

way.’ 2 In other words, Hammond 

allowed Thorn virtually a free rein, 

and did not interfere. This may not 

necessarily have been a bad thing for the 

School, nor is it an uncommon feature 

of a school’s ethos, but it was a fact of 

Clifton life in the 1950s that a small 

group of masters, amongst whom 

Thorn was prominent, controlled 

the destiny of the School, while the 

reserved and scholarly headmaster 

stayed very much in the background. 

Certainly, the Headmaster was not 

‘high profile’ as far as the boys were 

concerned. To my knowledge, he 

did not meet them individually, 

being preoccupied, presumably 

with maintaining the academic 

impetus imparted to the school by his 

predecessor. He would always go about 

with academic gown flowing behind 

him, a remote and inaccessible figure. 

It is probably true to say that, in the 

1950s, the masters at Clifton with 

whom one came into contact fell 

into two categories. On the one side 

there were the traditional ‘old school’ 

masters, those pre-war appointees such 

as Martin Hardcastle, C. H. R. Gee, Y. 

P. Lidell, S. P. Beachcroft, and notably 

the Rev. P. W. P. Brook, housemaster 

of Wiseman’s, ‘who chiefly fended 

off the brickbats of the intellectuals’. 3 

They championed outside activities, 

predominantly sport, and mainly had 

a ‘mens sana in corpore sano’ attitude. 

Boys should fulfil their talent, grow in 

self-confidence, test their ability to its 

limits within a system that had been 

tried and tested since the Victorian 

era. In the opposing camp were those 

who, following the examples set by the 

two previous headmasters, Hallward 

and Lee, sought to promote Clifton’s 

academic reputation. These were able 

scholars such as the two historians 

already named, John Thorn and 

Martin Scott, N.T.H. Jones, H. G. 

(Harry) Edwards, and the formidable 

T. U. Wells, to name only some of those 

with whom I came into contact. The 

last named, Thomas Unwin Wells was 

a New Zealander who had Cambridge 

Blues at rugby and cricket. He taught 

English and had an enormous chip on 

his shoulder, perhaps because of his 

modest stature. He used to say to his 

class, ‘I may be small but I’m mighty 

strong’. There was no doubting either 

of these attributes and he kept order 

1 Derk Winterbottom, Clifton after Percival. 

A Public School in the Twentieth Century, 

Bristol: Redcliffe Press, 1990, pp. 213-4. 

2 John Thorn, The Road to Winchester, London: 

Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1989, p. 67. 

3 Winterbottom, op. cit, p. 178 

CLIFTON PAST 

133

with an iron glove. He was a vigorous 

and stimulating teacher, who somehow 

managed to get his class enthused in 

texts of such diversity as The Prologue to 

Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, passages of 

which he used to read out with gusto 

in Old English: ‘Whan that Aprile 

with his shores saute’, rolling his ‘r’s 

and accentuating the final syllables, 

Milton’s Samson Agonistes, of which I have 

absolutely no recollection whatsoever, 

and King John. We shall never know why 

he chose this, of all Shakespeare’s plays, 

especially as Macbeth may have been 

the other one on offer in the ‘A’ Level 

syllabus, but reading King John with Tom 

Wells was a memorable experience. He 

showed how Shakespeare brought the 

characters alive, especially the roles of 

Arthur and the jailer, and he exhorted 

his class to appreciate the sheer poetry of 

it all. Yet, one always felt a certain unease 

in his presence. He carried around with 

him an air of disgruntlement, perhaps 

because the first XV at rugby was now in 

the charge of Kendall-Carpenter, a big 

name in rugby circles, and known for 

his prowess as an English international. 

After ten years or so, Wells was to return 

to his native New Zealand, where no 

doubt he enjoyed the role of being a 

bigger fish in a smaller pool. 

Harry Edwards taught Spanish. He was 

the epitome of urbanity, and had what, 

in retrospect, may be seen as a healthy 

cynicism to all around him. If he had a 

late afternoon class, it was not uncommon 

for him to turn up in evening dress, to 

enable him to make a quick getaway to 

his evening social appointment. He had 

links with the Theatre Royal in Bristol, 

and would take selected pupils with him 

to the theatre, and to meet the actors 

afterwards. One recalled this side of his 

character when, at his Memorial Service 

in the Clifton Chapel, Patricia Routledge 

gave a moving tribute. He was, though, 

committed to teaching, which was never 

a drudgery for him or his pupils, and 

to Watson’s House, where he became 

housemaster in 1955. Of him, it may be 

said that he always created an impact 

whatever his arena, and he relished 

arenas. In the holidays, he would return 

to Cambridge, where, at the time for 

the afternoon service, he could be seen 

processing in the King’s College Chapel 

ornately garbed in black satin gown. 

Boys were in awe of Nigel Jones who 

was reputed to be fluent in Russian in 

addition to the French that he taught 

with such efficacy over many years. He 

took over as head of French from Guy 

Lageard, a gentler spirit, a Frenchman 

who sadly died in office. 

The master who I remember with the 

greatest respect and affection is Philip 

Polack, a Cambridge modern language 

scholar who had become housemaster 

of Polack’s in 1949, staying there until 

his appointment as Senior Lecturer in 

Spanish at Bristol University in 1965. 

Along with Harry Edwards, he taught 

Spanish to ‘A’ Level, and it was as a 

member of his class in 1956 that I first 

came into contact with him. He was an 

inspiring teacher, who set the highest 

levels for his pupils. The ‘A’ level literary 

texts that he chose were demanding, 

including La hermana San Sulpicio of 

Armando Palacio Valdes, Garda Lorca’s 

Mariana Pineda, an abbreviated Don 

Quijote, and a Golden Age play. Yet he 

coaxed his class through the difficulties 

patiently – he was invariably patient – 

never raising his voice, never showing 

any sign of exasperation. He had the 

skill, too, of instilling life into grammar 

teaching, such that we acquired a sound 

grounding almost without realizing what 

had been happening. In the spring of 

1957, he invited all the class to join him 

and his daughter on a walking trip in the 

Pyrenees in the summer holidays. Five 

or six out of the ten or so of us accepted. 

We then were given basic details and 

told to plan the journey, calculating the 

costs in Spanish, and therefore putting 

into practice the lessons we had learnt. 

We went by train to Barcelona, and 

thence to Huesca, to coincide with the 

annual festival there, and Jaca, before 

reaching Torla which was to be the 

starting-point of our journey. Our first 

meal consisted of hard-boiled egg soup, 

an unappetising-looking palish liquid 

with half of an egg floating around in it, 

though eagerly consumed. The dessert 

consisted of those Spanish peaches, later 

exported with such success, a sweetlyflavoured 

luxury. We duly walked up 

Monte Perdido [Mont Perdu], through 

the valley of Ordesa, where we picked 

the now protected edelweiss, and 

eventually arrived at Benasque via 

Sabinanigo which we adapted from 

the current song ‘Last train to San 

Fernando’... Philip Polack coped goodnaturedly 

with the vagaries of sixteen 

and seventeen year olds, and appeared 

to enjoy it all as much as we did. The 

point of this diversion is not only to 

indicate how willing he was to go above 

and beyond the call of duty, but to admit 

that under his tuition, I developed an 

interest that was not only to last me a 

lifetime, but which was to be my life’s 

work as well. He was later to publish a 

translation of Gongora’s Soledades, one of 

the most notoriously difficult poems in 

Spanish, or indeed in any language. As a 

postscript, I can record that, forty years 

after leaving Clifton, and recovering 

from an operation in Frenchay Hosital, 

Philip Polack visited me, just a few years 

before he died. I owe him an incalculable 

debt of gratitude. 

My housemaster was Y. P. Lidell, an 

avuncular figure who commanded 

universal respect, and who invariably 

wore large broad check sports jackets. 

He was by no means authoritarian, and 

perhaps was inclined to leave the running 

of the house and disciplinary matters 

in the hands of his prefects. Yet he was 

kindly, approachable and an enthusiastic 

participator in all the House’s activities. He 

accompanied the sportsmen to Beggar’s 

Bush; he sang lustily in the Christmas 

review, a favourite of his being ‘The rich 

man who went by in his carriage and pair’, 

carriage being pronounced with three 

syllables, and the whole accompanied by 

actions matching the words. He drove a 

battered Triumph convertible, which he 

invariably left with the hood down and 

the keys in the ignition, testimony of his 

belief in the goodness of human nature. 

To my knowledge, the car was never 

stolen. His book-lined bay-windowed 

study revealed a little of his past, with a 

great many volumes on cryptography and 

the deciphering of codes, a legacy of his 

wartime activity. I do not know whether 

he took these with him on his retirement 

to Moorlinch in Somerset where for some 

years he ran the local Post Office. Some 

of us were in awe of him when we learnt 

that his brother was famous World War 

Two newsreader Alvar Lidell. For a while, 

his deputy was John Kendall-Carpenter, 

a giant of a man with an enormous 

reputation as a rugby International. He 

was a genial chain-smoker. One could 

always detect the class-rooms in which 

he was teaching as there would be 

cigarette stubs in telltale piles beneath 

the brass hinges on the door where they 

had been stubbed out. This habit of his 

seemed to contradict his reputation as 

the great ‘corner-flagger’, yet he was 

associated with all that was admirable 

in the game of rugby. He radiated sport 

and sportsmanship and, given these 

restrictions, it was perhaps something 

of a surprise that he was later appointed 

to a succession of headmasterships in 

other schools. 

Amongst those in the eccentric category 

were Hillary Crawfurd and Ray 

Barkway. Crawfurd was the archetypal 

eccentric schoolmaster, invariably clad 

in his ankle-length dark overcoat, 

frequently seen padding to and from his 

home in the small house by the Alma 

Vale side of the Close. He taught Classics 


and Theology, somewhat impatient 

perhaps when students did not respond 

to his high standards of teaching, but a 

talented exponent of Biblical exegesis. 

To be on the receiving end of his deft 

exposition of the first chapter of St. 

John’s Gospel was a once in a life-time’s 

experience. His reserved outward 

manner was dropped when a request 

was made to him for further explanation 

and enlightenment. One never saw 

him communing with any of his fellow 

masters. He was master-in-charge of 

the ‘Q’ Society, named after Sir Arthur 

Quiller-Couch, OC and Professor of 

English at Cambridge. The Society met 

occasionally in the Percival Room on 

the Library, but I cannot recall anything 

about the proceedings. Barkway had 

the reputation among the boys for 

having an anarchic attitude towards the 

School. It was certainly tragic when he 

died in the plane that he was piloting, 

but some thought that it was divine 

retribution. It was generally reckoned, 

with what accuracy I do not know, that 

he owned his own private plane; it was 

known that he would bug the Chapel 

when the Sunday service was taking 

place, an indication of his scorn for the 

proceedings. 

Perhaps, however, the most eccentric 

of them all was Douglas Fox, Dr Fox, 

who had lost his right arm in the 

First World War, and who had been 

appointed in 1931. Music classes were 

compulsory and his procedure was to 

explain a symphony – he was partial 

to the grander musical compositions 

– motif by motif. Often, he had the 

non-musically minded in his class 

spellbound, wholly captivated by his 

enthusiasm which frequently caused 

him to overrun, thus causing chaos in 

the timetable. His lasting achievements, 

though, were with the musically gifted, 

and their excellence in music is a 

testimony to his genius. When Fox 

conducted concerts in the Big School, 

the gesticulations of his one hand had 

to be seen to be believed. For me and 

for many others I suspect, conducting 

was thought to have been naturally 

and exclusively a one-handed exercise. 

When I was later to see conductors 

operating with two hands, the use 

of a second hand seemed somehow 

unnatural and awkward. A final 

observation that one can make about 

Dr Fox was that he had an aura about 

him. He may have been disorganized 

to the exasperation of his colleagues, 

but he was revered by his pupils. One 

of the musical traditions over which 

Dr Fox had no control was the School 

song, ritually sung at the end of every 

School concert. Even to the younger 

boys the triumphalist words were an 

embarrassment. The words, written by 

Henry Newbolt in the 1890s, were an 

anachronism in the 1950s, even when 

sung to the rousing accompaniment 

of Hubert Parry’s musical setting. It is 

with some great surprise and dismay 

that one sees perpetuated as the title 

of the School’s lavishly produced 

publication to celebrate 150 years of its 

existence, the lines ‘The best School of 

all’. It is not, nor ever has been, by any 

yardstick, and the phrase should now 

have moss growing over it. Newbolt 

wrote some stirring lines, and was a 

distinguished poet and novelist. Even 

he, one suspects, would cringe at seeing 

the inappropriately high profile this 

particular line of verse was enjoying, out 

of context, over a hundred years after it 

was originally written. 

The chaplain since the Bude years was 

Rev. J. M. Grove, seen by the pupils 

every day in Chapel. In those days there 

was no inherent hostility towards men 

of the cloth nor for what they stood, and 

he is remembered as an amiable figure. 

He conducted confirmation classes every 

year in his flat in College Road. When 

he moved to another post in 1958, his 

replacement was the charismatic Rev. 

Oliver Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes 

presumably appointed to invigorate 

the spiritual life of the School in time 

for the Centenary of 1962. He was a 

High Anglican, and although this made 

little impact on the boys, apart from the 

awe automatically created for someone 

with a triple-barrelled name, one felt 

that a certain feeling of resentment 

was generated amongst his more 

traditionalist colleagues. The practice for 

the Sunday morning service was to have 

visiting speakers to deliver the sermon. 

Four, in particular, come to mind. One, 

by Mr S. P. T. Wells, a mathematics 

master at the Preparatory School with 

a tall and distinguished appearance, 

was noteworthy for his introduction 

of ‘x’ as the unknown factor. Here was 

someone who was using the familiar 

language of his professional sphere to 

throw light on the ‘problem’ he was 

seeking to clarify. Pause for thought. The 

other three made an impact through 

their personalities. The first was Father 

Dennis Marsh, I think of the Franciscan 

Order, who came to the Chapel 

discalced, or perhaps with sandals, and 

captivated his congregation with his 

unique blend of goodness, godliness and 

worldliness. He had been an actor in the 

1920s before entering the Order and 

had a natural gift for communication. 

The second, and the most eccentric of 

the trio, was Rev. Richard Blake Brown, 

chaplain of Horfield Prison, Bristol. At 

the time of his sermon at the School, he 

must have been in his sixties. He had 

had a chequered career, having been 

in and out the Church twice, on the 

second occasion being readmitted by 

special licence from the Archbishop of 

Canterbury, enabling him to become 

a naval chaplain in World War II. He 

was author of a number of novels, some 

with outrageous titles, such as Miss 

Higgs and her Silver Flamingo [1931], and 

Rococo Coffin [1936]. He was thoroughly 

entertaining, I remember, basing his 

sermon around the works of Robert 

Louis Stevenson. The third was the 

anarchic Mervyn Stockwood, socialist 

and High Anglican, later appointed 

Bishop of Southwark who, in his quirky 

and sometimes irreverent addresses, 

sought to shock, and antagonise the 

masters, as much as, if not more so 

than the boys. I might conclude this 

section by mentioning the role of the 

Chapel. As a building, it was taken for 

granted, its Victorian splendour going 

wholly unappreciated. It was a place 

where one was required to attend daily 

for brief morning prayers, and the 

hour-long Sunday service. Attendance 

was obligatory, except for members 

of Polack’s House; I cannot recall any 

antagonism because of this. The Chapel 

has a central aisle, so that it is and was 

not possible to slink in late unnoticed. 

Central aisles do not encourage spiritual 

observance, especially among teenagers, 

who have much to look at opposite them. 

On the occasion of my first communion 

at 8 am on the Sunday following my 

Confirmation, the representative of my 

family who had come to support me on 

this important occasion, an uncle, put in 

an appearance twenty minutes into the 

Service. It was his first [and only] visit to 

the School. He had been lodging on the 

other side of Pembroke Road, and quite 

lost his way. The eventual appearance 

of this tall and distinguished-looking 

man striding up the aisle peering to the 

left and right for signs of his nephew 

brought stifled guffaws from both sides. 

For me though, there were no feelings of 

embarrassment, just those of gratitude 

for someone who had braved the arena, 

as I left my seat to join him, and we 

walked up to the altar together. 

Another notable visitor during my time 

in the 1950s, was Gilbert Harding, who 

came to give talk on Saturday morning. 

He was another who cultivated the cult 

of personality. I recall that he spoke 

CLIFTON PAST 

135

engagingly about jargon and his odium 

for phrases such as ‘in that case’ [‘Whose 

case? I did not bring any case with me’, 

and such like]. At one Commemoration, 

the distinguished guest was Mrs Pandit 

Nehru, later as Indira Gandhi the Prime 

Minister of India, and in 1999, fifteen 

years after her assassination in office in 

1984, voted the greatest woman of the 

previous 1000 years in a BBC poll. Her 

grace and elegance in flowing garments, 

and her haunting voice made a lasting 

impression on those present. One sensed 

the aura around her, and there was 

absolute quiet when she spoke. 

The dominant physical feature of 

Clifton, then and now, was and is 

the Close, a large expanse of grass 

dominated by the cricket square and 

imposing pavilion. One felt that other 

pitches, such as the rugby pitch, were 

there on sufferance and permitted in 

the outfield in winter months, when 

cricket could not be played. Yet, it was 

the sense of permanence that the Close 

represented that gave it its value for 

all those associated with the School. 

Everyone would see it every day, so it 

acted as a kind of constant reassurance. 

It was not prohibited ground, neither 

was it something that should be violated. 

When a helicopter landed on the Close 

at one Commemoration to deposit 

a distinguished general, there was 

no excitement, just a feeling that the 

revered gentleman should have arrived 

by other means of transport. There was 

the famous morning when a number of 

peacocks escaped from the Zoo, strutting 

and prancing across the grass, avoiding 

attempts to round them up; this was 

more decoration than violation, and 

there was a feeling among some that they 

should be allowed to stay. When cricket 

was played on the Close during the 

summer months, it seemed as though it 

was fulfilling its natural function. W. G. 

Grace had played on the same turf many 

decades earlier and his grandson, J. R. 

Bernard, was a gifted cricketer during 

my time. The cricket professional was 

Reg Sinfield, a former Gloucestershire 

player. He had been appointed in 1951, 

and exerted a considerable influence 

in his undemonstrative fashion. He 

was essentially an encourager of young 

talent, notably spin bowlers; he had 

been and was still a proficient exponent 

of spin-bowling himself. The quality of 

cricket played by the School during the 

1950s flourished as a consequence of 

his coaching. Nigel Bloy was the high 

profile cricket master, a successful minor 

counties cricketer, yet capricious in his 

selections, and prone to favouritism. 

The boys knew, though, that for any 

advice on cricket matters, Reg Sinfield 

was the person to approach and to be 

depended upon for his common-sense 

answers. One could also mention the 

annual cricket match at Lord’s against 

Tonbridge. How it originated I do not 

know, but it was still going strong in 

my time, and I can remember being 

awestruck on the one or two occasions 

that I formed part of the partisan crowd. 

It has long since been abolished from 

the cricket calendar; it rather 

represented a bygone era, when those 

privileged to have a ‘Public School 

Education’ spent a day in one of the 

most elite Clubs in sport. 

The Cadet Corps was a prominent 

feature of weekly life. All those at the 

Upper School in the 1950s had been 

born during or just before World War 

II, and yet were generally unmilitary 

in outlook. National Service was still 

obligatory for those born before 1st 

September, 1939. To have to train as an 

Army cadet once a week was not, except 

for a minority who, for this or that reason 

were excused and allowed to practise 

other pursuits, baulked at. Boys then did 

not realize, I think, that peace for most 

people was not at that time regarded as 

lasting. The Cold War era had begun, 

and a future generation of soldiers 

needed to be in readiness. Hence, staff 

had territorial rank, and the boys were 

given the rudiments of military training. 

This consisted of infantry drill, and 

most memorably, rifle training. A large 

number of First World War Lee Enfields 

were kept in the armoury in the East 

cloisters, and trainee soldiers were taught 

how to load a rifle, and rifle drill. These 

rifles were in a later decade the subject of 

a carefully planned raid, and were stolen 

en bloc. There were periodic inspections 

when the corps paraded on the Close, 

and were required to remain stock still 

for quite a length of time. There was 

always a detachment on hand to pounce 

on and deftly remove any private who 

had the misfortune or temerity to faint 

during the proceedings. Few involved 

viewed the exercise as much more than 

going through the military motions. 

Some boys who were promoted from 

cadet revelled in the supremacy that 

their new ranks conveyed. Every cadet 

had to attend army camp. My own ended 

in farce. On a hot Monday in August, 

1956, we all decamped to Tidworth 

Camp on Salisbury plain, and were 

exposed to NAAFI food, and a ‘night op’. 

In the middle of the first week, maybe 

the Thursday, we were all suddenly 

told to return to our respective homes 

as the billets we were occupying were 

required by troops preparing for urgent 

transfer to Egypt. The Suez Canal crisis 

thus affected us individually and put 

in perspective our military play-acting. 

It prompted questions about politics 

among 15 and 16 year olds, and began 

an awareness among some of the political 

realities of the 1950s. It was not that 

the rights or wrongs of engaging in 

the Suez War were debated, but rather 

that the cocoon in which we had lived 

was now irrevocably pierced. Maybe 

as Winterbottom wrote: ‘Suez brought 

home even to those determined to close 

their eyes to reality the unwelcome 

fact that Britain was no longer a first 

rank power’. 4 I rather think that this 

may have applied more to some of the 

masters than to the boys. The majority 

of fifteen and sixteen year-olds were not 

‘into’ ‘closing their eyes to reality’. The 

fact may have been ‘unwelcome’ to their 

parents’ generation, but the boys were 

largely, except in specific circumstances, 

such as that mentioned above, indifferent 

to issues of imperial import. 

The broader question is the one of the 

School’s ethos. In effect, the way things 

happened in the School in the 1950s 

reflected pretty much the circumstances 

fifty years earlier, perhaps even, in 

some respects, the late Victorian era. 

Boys growing into men were, in their 

first two years, on the receiving end 

of countless impositions and forced to 

accept many arcane practices that had 

been sanctioned by decades of tradition. 

Boys who had an elder brother or 

brothers at the School were always at an 

advantage, because they knew how the 

system worked. Ignorance was never an 

acceptable excuse. By the time boys were 

fifteen or sixteen, they were by and large 

indoctrinated and immune from most 

things irksome. In their final two years 

at School, they, in their turn, doled out 

the same treatment that they themselves 

had received, thus perpetuating the 

traditional practices. This ethos was not, 

as I recall, ever seriously questioned, 

although it may have come under 

periodic threat. The paradox here is 

that, in an educational environment in 

which pupils were encouraged to think 

independently, the one inviolable rule 

was that the nature and circumstances 

of their own education should not be 

challenged. It is the old truism; the 

end justifies the means. Great store 

was set by achievement, yet this was 

often ephemeral. For example, A 

Level results were and are regarded 

4 Winterbottom, op. cit, p. 213. 


as a sign of intellectual quality. Yet, 

it was and is a well-known fact, that 

certain teachers can invariably achieve 

excellent results because of the efficacy 

of their coaching. Most people have 

the ability to memorise, and one does 

not have to think to remember. Many 

who arrived at their university with 

high percentages at A level found the 

standard required hard going, and it 

would soon be recognized that their high 

percentages did not match their true 

scholarly ability. There were exceptions. 

If someone excelled in a certain field 

of activity, music or sport for example, 

then exemptions could be made that 

were not available to others. I can recall 

that a gifted French horn-player was 

allowed to practise his instrument in his 

house study, yet an equivalent level noise 

caused by other means was prohibited. 

There was no feeling of resentment that 

a musician should be thus favoured. 

It was just how things were. Likewise, 

sportsmen were let off classes if the latter 

interfered with their schedule, which was 

a distinct incentive to excel. This is not 

necessarily to criticise this practice, nor 

can I recall either any resentment on the 

part of ‘non-sportsmen’, but it is to point 

to the privileges received, and indeed 

expected by such ‘high achievers’. 

Any passionate outburst of individualism 

was frowned upon and, as often as 

not, snuffed out. One was meant and 

required to conform. If you strolled 

around with the buttons of your jacket 

unfastened, and you did not have the 

necessary seniority to do so, then you 

were duly castigated. Those coming 

from overseas in particular, found this 

and other petty nonsenses difficult to 

comprehend. Similarly, any sign of 

exhibitionism caused embarrassment 

both to the protagonist and to the 

audience. As if to compensate for these 

legitimized prohibitions, there was a 

month or so in every year in which selfexpression, 

in the form of playacting 

and drama, were greatly encouraged. 

There were standards to maintain. Two 

Old Cliftonians, Michael Redgrave and 

Trevor Howard, were household names 

in the 1950s, particularly Howard who 

was admired for his action roles in 

contemporary cinema. The aspiring 

actor thus had living models to revere, 

but neither to my knowledge put in an 

appearance at the School during my 

time. Approximately four weeks in the 

Lent term were devoted exclusively to 

drama. There was a competition among 

all Houses to produce and perform the 

play which would win the prize. Those 

not involved in acting were found roles 

backstage. Plays were chosen irrespective 

as to whether they had female parts. 

The only occasions on which these 

parts were played by females was in 

the annual School play, when masters’ 

wives would be drafted in. Otherwise, 

Houses followed the Shakespearean 

tradition. A certain licence was allowed 

during performances: alcohol could be 

consumed, and actors could smoke on 

stage, if either or both were called for by 

the text. These plays were enjoyed, and 

they represented times when boys could, 

within the conventions of the School, 

slough off their inhibitions. Parents were 

invited to performances, and thus were 

able to gather, at first hand, impressions 

of their offspring’s talent. 

Other extra-curricular activities 

included chess, mentioned because 

of the visit of the International Chess 

Master, Bob Wade. He was a New 

Zealander who played for England 

and who, in the 1950s was in his midthirties 

and at the height of his chessplaying 

powers. He had been British 

champion in 1952, but he achieved 

his fame later on as an International 

Chess Arbiter, and as one of Bobby 

Fischer’s off-the-board team as the latter 

prepared for his epic encounter with 

Boris Spassky in Reykjavik in 1972. 

Youngsters dream of aspirations of 

becoming good chess-players, but Wade 

shattered these dreams, defeating every 

school boy soundly in his simultaneous 

display, without uttering a word. His 

contemporary, A. R. B. Thomas, was 

less forbidding, when I observed 

him conduct a simultaneous display 

against an array of young school-boys 

in Exeter, some years later. Perhaps 

Wade felt obliged not to make any 

concessions, but his ruthlessness, quite 

understandable and correct as a chessplayer, 

may have enabled those reeling 

from the experience of having been 

thoroughly thrashed, to buckle down 

and put in some hard practice. I do not 

recall having played him myself, but do 

remember some advice he gave in a talk, 

perhaps on a second visit. This stood 

me in good stead when, years later in 

Exeter, the Grand-Master Lajos Portisch 

came to conduct a simultaneous display 

against all-comers. Keep the game tight 

for as long as you can, I think was what 

Wade had said, or something equivalent. 

After 26 moves, and without so much 

as a pawn having been removed from 

the board, Portisch offered me a 

draw, which was gladly and gratefully 

accepted, by a very great distance the 

highlight of my career, such as it was, as 

a chess-player. 

There was an inherent division within 

the School which was much more 

apparent than real at the time, but 

which from this distance of time seems 

decisive. I refer to so-called day-boys, 

those who lived in the surrounds of 

Bristol and who commuted daily. It was 

not that they formed any less part of 

the School than boarders, but that they 

left after classes and, unless there were 

any special occasion, did not return 

until the following morning. In other 

words, they had a home life, and were 

not subject to the evening regimentation 

of supervised prep [essentially the 

preparation for the next day’s lessons], 

when we were all herded into the House 

hall, and required to study. Their daily 

and week-end life was much more 

normal, being able to mix with family 

and non-School friends of both sexes. 

There were two houses in the 1950s, 

North Town and South Town, both 

having been in existence since 1875. 

That day-boys enjoyed the same status 

as boarders was never an issue, but it 

could be argued that they had the best 

of both worlds. They could appreciate 

the benefits that the School had to 

offer during the daytime, secure in the 

knowledge that they would be leaving 

for a freer environment to pass the 

evening and sleep. They could endure 

the daily restrictions, and the quirky 

conventions that governed the behaviour 

of boys, knowing that they could shrug 

everything off after 6 o’clock. 

In such a close-knit environment, where 

twenty or upwards shared a dormitory, 

epidemics were an annual occurrence. 

The autumn flu-bug that visited the 

School annually decimated the classes, 

but chicken-pox outbreaks were 

equally disruptive. The tiny sanatorium 

behind the cricket pavilion would fill 

to capacity at irregular intervals, and 

the sanitised precincts were also used 

for those in quarantine. I cannot recall 

any systematic vaccination, nor any fear 

of illness. It was just a periodic hazard, 

with a sliding-scale of nuisance value, 

depending on the time of year. Nobody 

bothered very much about being ill 

in the autumn, but to be laid low in 

the summer term was another matter 

altogether. To be fretting in a ward in the 

San in the heat of a June day, with the 

knowledge that cricket was going on the 

Close, was deeply frustrating. Not even 

the luxury of the ward radio blaring 

out the Pop songs of the 1950s, could 

do much to mitigate the gloom brought 

on by this enforced confinement. I 

can remember being segregated there 

for a fortnight because of a chickenpox 

outbreak one hot summer, the 

CLIFTON PAST 

137

only consolation being Eddie Calvert’s 

ineffable trumpet-playing in ‘Cherry 

Pink and Apple Blossom White’. This 

had been recorded and made famous 

earlier in the 1950s by Calvert, along 

with O Mein Papa, but in 1955 when 

I was in the San it was still very much 

the melody of the season. One did tend 

to freeze in the winter, particularly at 

night when the windows of dormitories, 

left permanently open for sanitation 

purposes presumably, let in the chill of 

the Downs, but I cannot recall anyone 

having to be treated for hypothermia. 

In the School Inspector’s report of visits 

made in 1953, the Biology facilities 

were called into question. Not taking 

any scientific subjects myself, this had 

no impact, but there is one pertinent 

memory, and two later thoughts. 

The memory is of an organized visit 

to the Biology Department to see 

the renowned collection of stuffed 

animals. Whether they formed part of 

a donation, or whether taxonomy had 

been practised at some time, one never 

knew or was told, but the impression 

made by the visit was a lasting one. 

There was no feeling of revulsion, nor 

any patent misgivings expressed by the 

visiting groups. One has to remember 

that collecting birds’ eggs did not attract 

any opprobrium in those days. Our 

guide was Mr Tom Stubbs, recalled as a 

kindly man with a forbearing manner. 

The first of the later thoughts is that 

one of my colleagues in the University 

of Exeter was his brother Hugh Stubbs, 

a lecturer in Classics and a known 

eccentric. He was an annual finalist in 

the Times Crossword competition, and 

would complete the Common-Room 

daily Times crossword puzzle regularly 

in fifteen minutes or so. He was proud 

of his brother’s achievements, and 

saddened at his early death. The second 

thought that has been triggered by these 

reflections on science at Clifton relates 

to the Head of Science, E. J. Holmyard, 

appointed in 1919, and arguably the 

most distinguished master ever to have 

been at the College. He remained in 

post until 1941, when the School moved 

to Bude. He was author of Practical 

Chemistry (London: Bell, 1923), and of 

many other works, including Alchemy, 

published as a Pelican Original in 1957. 

This became the standard work on the 

subject, but I did not know this when 

I went into George’s Bookshop, at the 

top of Park Street, Bristol in 1961. 

Having just begun the study of Arabic, 

I was in quest of a copy of the Qur’an in 

Arabic. On the shelves I located one that 

had been edited by Gustav Flueg and 

published in Leipzig in 1841, for a price 

of, I think, 30 shillings. On one of the 

endpapers it carried the inscription in 

Arabic ‘bism Allah ar-rahman ar-rahim’, 

‘In the Name of God, the Merciful, 

the Compassionate’, followed by the 

signature, in English, of E. J. Holmyard, 

underneath which was the Arabic 

phrase, ‘fi madrasa Kliftun’, that is to say, 

‘in Clifton School [or College]’. The date 

was 1919, the year of his ingress into the 

college. Whether he was a Muslim when 

he wrote this inscription, and remained 

so during his tenure at Clifton I do not 

know, but clearly he was able to write 

Arabic and understand Arabic. At the 

end of the text there are two pencilled 

notes by Holmyard: ‘Finished reading 

Qur’an for 1st time 7 Oct, 1920, 2nd 28 

Nov, 1920’. These two notes indicate not 

only a remarkable rate of progress, but 

also a deep commitment to Islam. His 

Introduction to the facsimile edition of 

the seventeenth-century Thomas Norton 

of Bristol’s The Ordinal of Alchemy 

(London: Edward Arnold, 1928), is a 

testimony of the work of an Arabist, as 

was, if not more so, his rendering into 

English, of Ibn Ahmad ai-iraqi’s Book 

of Knowledge acquired concerning the 

cultivation of gold (1923). He died in 

Clevedon on 13 October, 1959. I am 

not aware whether any or part of his 

library passed to the College, or whether 

it was dispersed, and acquired by 

George’s for resale. 

On reflection, Clifton in the 1950s may 

be seen as something akin to an open 

prison, at least for the boarders. One’s 

entire daily existence was meticulously 

regulated, from having to rise in the 

morning at a certain hour, breakfast at 

Big School, attend morning Chapel, 

and so on through the day. Failure to 

observe any of the necessary rituals 

resulted in punishment. Boys were 

assigned studies in boarding-houses, 

usually shared with another of the same 

year. These were tiny, but nevertheless 

represented bolt-holes in which to take 

refuge. There was no privacy, and it 

was certainly considered unnatural to 

be a loner. One had to fit in, conform, 

or go under, reminding one of the 

lessons raw recruits had to learn when 

entering the Forces. The Colonial 

Empire was in its dying embers, 

yet the bellows that had fanned the 

flames for the previous hundred and 

fifty years or so, were still inflated 

in this Public School, and no doubt 

in others. The insidious aspect of all 

this was that intelligent teenagers 

adopted the system without question, 

except exceptionally, thus wittingly 

sacrificing their intellectual curiosity for 

a safe angst-free environment. By this 

I mean that many had wit enough to 

recognize what was happening to them, 

but preferred to ‘let sleeping dogs lie’. 

Their place in society beyond school 

and university was assured, so why ‘rock 

the boat’? There were frequent periods 

of leisure, mainly dedicated to varying 

sporting activities, but these were always 

supervised, and often on the basis of 

inter-House competition. Looking back, 

it all seems brittle, insubstantial and 

artificial. 

Richard Hitchcock (DH 1951-59) 

From the Archives: 


Des Glaciers 

April 2010 

Two years ago, the Patrouille 

des Glaciers from Arolla to 

Verbier nearly finished me. I 

struggled over the seven hours we 

raced, overwhelmed by the intensity 

of the journey, wilting at altitude, and 

labouring to maintain the pace. 

Yet here I was two years on, 

attempting the longer version, from 

Zermatt to Verbier. This was twice the 

distance, overnight and significantly 

more demanding. 

But, I convinced myself that I was 

prepared. My training had been 

continuous since December. I had 

been at the gym four times a week, 

with hours on versaclimbers, running 

machines and the other mechanical 

paraphernalia. Long evenings 

running uphill with ski poles, over 

ever-increasing gradients had made 

me stronger and faster. Still, these 

were training slots stolen between 

work and sleep, and could never be 

more than two to three hours at a 

time. However, I reasoned, I had also 

been in the mountains at weekends 

and skinned up over 100,000 feet over 

that period, the equivalent of three 

Everests. So, little to fear, then…. 

Zermatt is a village of charm, 

wonderful views, great food and where 

you go for holiday. When you arrive 

with 700 competitors, to attempt to 

travel overnight the 105 kilometres to 

Verbier, via 3 mountain ranges, against 

the clock, and for over 15 hours, then it 

loses some of its allure. 

Arriving at lunchtime of the Friday, 

you register, and then your kit is 

examined extensively. Avalanche 

shovels must be wide enough, the 

probes long enough, and the batteries 

in your transceivers strong enough. 

Skis, skins, poles and ropes are easy 

enough, but must be inspected, as 

are your helmets, glasses, gloves, ID 

cards and survival bags. Everyone 

has trained for this. It is not an idle 

activity or a decision made lightly over 

a glass of Fendant. This is a journey of 

extreme duration, an event cancelled 

for 40 years because one team died 

in a crevasse, and like the ocean, the 

mountains can switch from benign to 

treacherous in a flash. It is also, as I 

looked around the pre-race meeting 

in the charm of Zermatt’s St Mauritius 

church, a race typically undertaken by 

younger men than Jeff, Anders and me; 

all in our mid to late forties. 

But there we were, signed up and kitted 

up, and with our preparation complete, 

our band of brothers was ready. There 

was Jeff, muscular and mountain–mad, 

the Chris Bonington of the party. 

Anders, Swedish, slight and serious, but 

an alpine guide. Finally there was me, 

office-hardened and ready . . . for dinner. 

We were lucky – it was mild – the snow 

had held off, and outside the Bahnhof 

at 10pm, head torches were turned 

on and the gun was let off. 70 teams 

each of 3 people left, with other teams 

following on the hour, until 3am. 700 

were due to race that night. People lined 

the streets and applauded, encouraging 

and appreciative of the endeavour, or at 

least the attempt. Within minutes the 

familiar and inviting streets of Zermatt 

gave way to darkness. As if in military 

order, the teams proceeded up the path 

towards Zmutt and from there to Stafel. 

The first 3,000 feet had to be covered in 

3 hours, or you were sent back. At the 

snow line, running shoes were replaced 

with the boots and skis that had been 

on our backs, and with head torches 

guiding the way, we started our climb on 

skins. The Matterhorn towered above us. 

The clouds broke ranks and a clear night 

emerged, exposing a golden moon. 

And so we climbed, to the sound of 

swishing skins and the jab of poles. At 

12.34 a.m. we passed the Schonbiel 

checkpoint. The first goal was made. 

From then on we gained height quickly 

and the terrain became increasingly 

steep and difficult. Two trenches had 

been cut to ease the climb, but on the 

icier sections competitors slipped back 

and tense exchanges could be heard. All 

team members were roped together and 

with the increased gradient, losing your 

grip was scary. To the left you could 

make out a long hostile drop and so the 

need to move forwards was even more 

urgent. We fixed harscheisen, or snow 

crampons, on our skis to help grip, and 

climbed and climbed. 11,500 feet had 

never seemed so high. 

Still roped together as the terrain 

remained glaciated, we passed the Tete 

Blanche at 2.57 a.m. Behind us the 

Matterhorn and Dent d’Herens loomed, 

slightly less imposing at this altitude. 

Exhaustion was racking me, nausea had 

to be stifled, and I was disorientated. 

Teams jostled for position, and urgency 

was everywhere despite the calm that 

altitude would usually bring. We had 

been going for almost 5 hours.. 

With skins off we then descended into 

the night – the lights of the Bertol hut 

were visible and in arrow formation, at 

least before it morphed into something 

less geometric, we skied as a unit towards 

the bottom of the 1000 feet slope. 

Skins had to be fixed again, and this time 

a short incline to the next check point. 

4.17 a.m. Skins and ropes were taken off 

and bindings fixed again into downhill 

mode. Boots, I almost forgot, had to be 

tightened, and then we were off. The 

next descent - 4,000 feet of steep, icy and 

rocky terrain with a thin snow covering... 

A panoply of headlights as skiers picked 

their way down – and sparks, as skis hit 

uncovered rocks and skiers fought to 

stay upright. 3 successive skiers lunged 

into Jeff, knocking him over each time. 

CLIFTON PAST 

139

Teams were descending at mad speeds 

and without much apparent control. 

In the dark, amidst the ice and rocks, 

Anders tumbled and was lost from sight. 

He picked himself up, his head torch 

casting a frail beam, and we continued 

with the descent. 

Skis then had to be taken off to cross a 

snow-less patch of mountain track. In 

the distance, far below us the lights of 

Arolla came into view. We descended 

again, and then the push through the 

forests and in just over six hours from 

the departure we had reached the 

midpoint; 4.52 a.m. 

Arolla -this was where we had raced 

from two years earlier – le petit 

“Patrouille des Glaciers” that at the time 

did not fit any description of “petit”. 

Refuelled with the help of the valiant 

Roger Murray who had driven from 

Verbier at 3 am, we shed some kit, took 

on some provisions and started out 

again. 30 feet into the next 3,000 feet 

climb my skin detached from my ski 

and flapped like a piece of dying wet 

cod – not allowing me to grip the snow. 

A spare skin was dug out of the back 

pack – then a knife was borrowed from 

one of the soldiers to trim it, and we 

continued. Exhausted, nauseous, and 

overwhelmed, we progressed painfully 

slowly. I held back the team as we ground 

our way higher. A sunny dawn did 

not bring the uplift I had hoped, but 

instead we trudged on, with the next 

checkpoint never appearing over the 

next brow. Dispiriting. My food intake 

had been insufficient, a night of no sleep 

had drained me and the enterprise was 

proving just too much. So much for all 

that training... 

For the first time I realised that I might 

not finish this. The enormity of this 

undertaking began to overwhelm me. 

I felt as if I was being swallowed up by 

this challenge. It was proving to be my 

Bridge Too Far, and would end up as 

Saving Private Brewer. The triumph of 

reality over hope. 

I pushed on and after an eternity we 

came to the Col de Riedmatten. It was 

6.55 a.m. We paused, took on board 

some food and drink and prepared to 

climb. Jeff avoided my gaze, fearful I 

suspected, that the game was up for me. 

Skis were off and clipped on to our back 

packs, or in my case on Anders’ back 

pack, we scrambled up the mountain 

face with the hundreds of others 

fighting for a space in the line. The 

world champion who had started at 

3 a.m. overtook all of us with ease, 

and on summiting the col, we abseiled 


down the narrow gullies cut into the 

mountain side. Competitors struggled 

to get footholds; they banged into those 

below them, all desperate to reach the 

point where skis could be reattached. 

And so back on downhill skis. With over 

9,000 feet of mountains climbed since 

we began, we made our way round the 

Lac de Dix for the next 8 kilometres. 

Our team’s pace began to quicken, 

thanks to my food intake. Rejuvenation. 

I felt as if I had been pulled back from 

the brink - and I knew then that we 

would finish this, and not be finished 

by it. To the Barma hut and a further 

timed gate, the last cut off we had to 

make to be allowed to continue. It was 

9.31 a.m. A quick refill of water, an 

energy bar consumed in two gulps and 

we were off again. With the sun now up 

and relentlessly hot, we forced our way 

on up towards the Rosablanche and its 

imperious edifice. We arrived an hour 

later, and looking up the 1000 feet of 

the snow wall it seemed like the scaling 

of Gondor. Only we were not the Orcs, 

but a frailer breed. With skis on our 

backs again, we climbed, a thousand 

steps, beginning to crumble in the heat. 

Unbeknown to us, it would be closed to 

competitors within the hour for fear of 

rising avalanche risks. 

Before sight of the top, the cow bells 

and whoops could be heard from those 

who had journeyed out pre-dawn to 

cheer the competitors on. We reached 

the top, with pulse rates in excess of 

comfortable zones, put on skis and 

descended again before the last climb. 

Two friends greeted us with Cokes and 

Mars. Nothing has ever tasted better. 

We were rallied for the last effort. It 

was 11.44 a.m. We reaffixed skins for 

the final time, and climbed up to the 

Col de la Chaux and there, at 9,000 

feet, looked down to see Verbier in the 

distance. Clipped into our skis, skins 

put away and boots locked, we made the 

descent. Through a blur of competitors 

and skiers, we descended swiftly. Past 

Ruinettes, down the Combes, on to 

Mayenzet, to Medran, and Verbier. 

And there the crowds awaited the 

finishers. They smiled with the same 

appreciation as those who had done 

so in Zermatt, so long ago. Swathed in 

sunshine we came down the main road, 

were greeted by family and friends, 

and cheered by those who seemed to 

understand what we had been through. 

Sunglasses shielded them from my tears 

as we passed the finish line and the last 

checks were made by the Swiss Army to 

ensure we had complied with the race 

regulations. It was 13.23 – just over 15 

hours after leaving Zermatt. 

So there you have it. This was not 

an everyday journey, though it was 

undertaken by an everyday band of 

brothers. We didn’t win, but the goal 

was to finish together. Many teams were 

unable to continue or had to leave a 

member en route. Some failed to make 

the timed gates, whilst many others just 

pressed on as we had. Many were faster, 

but others were certainly slower. 

With the journey ended and a beer 

in hand, I tried to weigh up just how 

hard it had been? Well, a few days on 

and the pain has started to fade. The 

lenses are now rose-tinted, the muscles 

are mending. The sense of satisfaction 

follows from the mission accomplished. 

Jeff had been keen to remind us before 

the ordeal, of Theodore Roosevelt’s 

words that “the credit belongs to the man 

who is actually in the arena, whose face is 

marred by dust and sweat and blood…” 

Well, there wasn’t much blood that’s 

for certain, but if I ever tell my 

grandchildren, be sure it will end up as 

a tale of unrivalled heroic endurance… 

Simon Brewer (Pre, ET 1970-1981)

Accounts & AGM 

Minutes of 113th AGM of the Old Cliftonian Society and the Old Cliftonian 

AGM Society Endowment Fund Trustees - Thursday 4th November 2010 

Present: David Jones (President), Bob 

Acheson, Chris Pople, Julyan Capper, Lucy 

Nash, Mark Eldridge, Michael Butterfield, 

Nick Tolchard (Chairman), Richard Moffat, 

Simon Reece (Secretary), Richard Harris 

Apologies: David Tosh, Jim Williams, 

Nessie Walsh 

1 The minutes of the 112th AGM 

were discussed. The minutes were 

approved. 

2 The 112th Annual Financial report 

was discussed. No comments were 

made and the Accounts were adopted. 

3 The President’s Remarks. 

The President discussed the Shenstone 

Scholarship. A new brochure has been 

produced and distributed within the 

Clifton Magazine 2010 mailing. The 

Secretary plans to write to each Branch 

Secretary encouraging the Branch to raise 

funds to buy a ‘Branch Element’ along 

the lines that a group of Polish OC’s had 

already jointly purchased Polonium. 

4 The Chairman’s Review 

The Chairman updated those at the 

meeting on the administrative situation in 

the OCS office. Since the last AGM Trine 

Jensen was a very part-time temporary 

secretary and was then replaced by Kati 

Halden back from maternity leave on 1st 

January. Kati redeployed to admissions 

and was replaced by Lucy Nash, 22nd 

March, on a permanent part-time basis. 

Whereas all three were superb, there is, at 

last, stability in the office! 

The 2010 Magazine was due to be 

distributed by mid November. Thanks are 

due to Bob Acheson for his work as Editor. 

It was agreed that the distribution date for 

the Magazine should be 1st October. It was 

agreed that the OCS should join with the 

School to review the current printers to 

try to find a more cost effective and time 

efficient alternative. 

Fund-raising for the Colquhoun 

Scholarship will be launched in 2011. 

The OCS events in the last year were 

discussed. It was agreed the long list of 

events had been a success. Dinners or 

lunches held in Bristol, London, Oxford, 

Cambridge (resurrected), Cardiff, 

Devon and Cornwall (2), Edinburgh (2), 

Birmingham and Toronto. DC/marketing 

events were held in Far East and Dubai 

with the HM present and involving 

prospective and existing parents. A Hong 

Kong event is planned for next year. The 

Bristol Dinner was cancelled recently as 

it clashed with another event involving 

a large number of local OCs and many 

others were drawn to the Golf Dinner only 

a fortnight later. 

In May 2010 the School hosted the Annual 

Reunion for those born between 1967 and 

1972. 57 OCs attended. The date span was 

unfortunate as it cut across the arrival of 

the first girls, so a deliberate date overlap 

is planned between this and next year’s 

event. Despite low attendance it was a very 

happy and successful occasion. 

The Sports Weekend was discussed 

and although a success it was agreed 

the format needs to be reviewed going 

forward. The event was held in September 

for football, girls’ hockey, netball and 

rugby over three consecutive days. The 

Bretten Hockey Fixture was restructured 

to be Bretten XI vs School. This was 

favourably received and will be repeated. 

The Cricket Week in July was a great 

success. There were 4 one-day fixtures, one 

20:20 (which morphed into a 30:30) charity 

game for the Fairbridge Trust, OCs vs. Max 

Boyce’s XI. The Cricketer Cup campaign 

crashed at the first round vs. Marlborough 

who won handsomely. Our first seven 

players selected were unavailable! Rupert 

Swetman was thanked for his role as 

captain and organiser. Rupert is now on the 

Cricketer Cup committee. 

The OC Golfing Society won the Halford 

Hewitt, the largest amateur tournament 

in the world, for the first time ever. They 

also won the Grafton Morrish in October 

(tournament for Old Boys Associations). 

Clifton is only the second school to ever 

win both in the same year. A celebratory 

dinner will be held Saturday 6th 

November 2010 in BSK. 

It was agreed that the timing of the next 

AGM should coincide with the Bristol 

Branch Dinner. It was agreed that this 

should be held in mid October once the 

2011 Magazine had been distributed. 

The need for a Branch Secretary for 

both London and Bristol were discussed, 

it was agreed each region should aspire 

to have a full and varied social calendar. 

The Secretary will continue to search for 

suitable candidates as a matter of urgency. 

Charles Knighton’s work with the new 

Register and Archives is on-going. The 

new website will enable OCs to update 

their own personal details. Charles 

produced several superb archival 

exhibitions for various events (reunion, 

Commem. and a recent visit by Prof Stern 

who was a young soldier in residence 

in WWII). It was suggested some of 

his leaflets could be reproduced in the 

2011 Magazine, especially those for the 

historical displays he has produced. 

A decision was taken that OCS should have 

a much improved website. Web-alumnus, 

Blackbaud and Potentiality pitched for 

website, Potentiality was selected. Work 

since has focused on School’s database 

Raiser’s Edge. A number of problems are 

being rectified and much data cleansing 

is in progress. Potentiality is working via 

remote access to make the requisite API to 

interface between RE and the website. 

5 Finance Report 

The Treasurer gave the financial report 

which is shown on page 142. The accounts 

were adopted. 

6 Election of Officers 

The Chairman gave thanks to Georgie 

Wooler, Richard Harris, Jim Williams 

and David Jones who have come to the 

end of their term of office. Thanks were 

also given to Chris Barnard-Jones who 

has stepped down from the OC Exec 

Committee due to work commitments. 

SJMR was thanked for the success of his 

first year as OC Secretary. 

The following were proposed and 

agreed: Nick Tolchard was re-elected as 

Chairman for another term. Proposed 

by David Jones and seconded by Michael 

Butterfield. David Jones was re-elected 

for another term and has agreed to stay 

on for at least one year until a suitable 

replacement is found. Mark Eldridge 

was elected Vice Chairman. Michael 

Butterfield continues as Treasurer. Vice 

Presidents: Nessie Walsh and Richard 

Moffat were elected. SJMR proposed Kate 

Holland-Smith and Matt Kendry join the 

Committee. They were elected. There is 

still one place on the committee. It was 

agreed that a much younger, Bristol-based 

OC would be a valuable asset to the OC 

Exec if one can be found. 

SJMR will investigate other possible candidates 

to bring to the Executive Committee for 

review with a view to co-option. 

7 It was proposed and agreed that Tim 

Baines is retained as Auditor. 

The Meeting closed at 5.00pm. 

ACCOUNTS & AGM 

141

HONORARY TREASURER’S REPORT 

This report consists of two parts. 

First, there are the accounts of the Old Cliftonian Society. This is a members’ club and the 

accounts are not published elsewhere. The full audited accounts are presented below. 

Second, there are the accounts of the Clifton College Endowment Fund. This is a registered 

charity. The full accounts are available on the Charity Commission website. The Trustees are 

the members of the OC Executive Committee. A summary of the accounts is presented below. 

The Old Cliftonian Society 

The Society receives life membership subscription 

income and voluntary contributions from past and 

present members of the school. These cover the 

costs of running the society, including subsidies for OC 

reunions, Branch dinners, the Clifton Magazine and the 

website, as well as various OC sporting activities. 

The Society’s funds can also be applied for the benefit 

of the school. During the year the Society purchased 

an electronic organ. This is kept in the Joseph Cooper 

Concert Room in the Music School where it is used for 

concerts as well as for organ practice. However it is 

moveable and is used for reunion dinners in Big School 

to accompany the School Song, and is also used as a 

chamber organ in the Chapel as at Commem 2011. 

The Society has invested in the Potentiality Online 

Community. This is a website offering advanced 

facilities for OCs to be kept up to date with the school’s 

activities and to maintain contact with each other. 

Grants and exceptional expenditure can be met from 

capital, but it is the Executive’s intention that the 

Society should always keep an amount equal to at least 

one year’s expenditure on deposit. Current reserves 

comfortably exceed this level. 

Many OCs contribute by annual standing order. These 

contributions do not gain Gift Aid tax relief as the 

society is not a registered charity. 

Report of the Independent Auditors to the members of The Old Cliftonian Society 

We have audited the accounts of The 

Old Cliftonian Society for the year 

ended 31 December 2010. These 

accounts have been prepared under 

the historical cost convention and the 

accounting policies set out on page 4. 

This report is made solely to the 

Society’s Members, as a body, in 

accordance with our engagement 

letter. Our audit work has been 

undertaken so that we might state 

to the Members those matters we 

are required to state to them in an 

auditor’s report and for no other 

purpose. To the fullest extent 

permitted by law, we do not accept 

or assume responsibility to anyone 

other than the Members, as a body, 

for our audit work, for this report, or 

for the opinion we have formed. 

Respective responsibilities of the 

Committee and auditors 

The Society’s Committee is 

responsible for preparing the Annual 

Report and the accounts. Our 

responsibility is to audit the accounts 

in accordance with relevant legal and 

regulatory requirements and to report 

our opinion to you. 

Basis of opinion 

We conducted our audit in accordance 

with International Auditing Standards 

(UK and Ireland) issued by the 

Auditing Practices Board. An audit 

includes examination, on a test basis, 

of evidence relevant to the amounts 

and disclosures in the accounts. It also 

includes an assessment of the significant 

estimates and judgments made by the 

Committee in the preparation of the 

financial statements, and of whether the 

accounting policies are appropriate to 

the Society’s circumstances, consistently 

applied and adequately disclosed. 

We planned and performed our audit 

so as to obtain all information and 

explanations which we considered 

necessary in order to provide us with 

sufficient evidence to give reasonable 

assurance as to whether the accounts 

are free from material misstatement, 

whether caused by fraud or other 

irregularity or error. In forming 

our opinion we also evaluated the 

overall adequacy of the presentation 

of information in the accounts. 

Unqualified opinion 

In our opinion the accounts give 

a true and fair view, in accordance 

with United Kingdom Generally 

Accepted Accounting Practice, of the 

state of affairs of the Society as at 31 

December 2010 and of its income 

and expenditure for the year then 

ended. 

Crowe Clark Whitehill LLP 

Chartered Accountants & Registered 

Auditors 

Cheltenham 

Dated: 17 March 2011 


Income & Expenditure Account – Year Ended 31 December 2010 

Notes 2010 2009 

Income 

1 £ £ 

Subscriptions – OCs 13,010 14,880 

Subscriptions – Current pupils 40,220 39,500 

Interest and dividends 172 2,618 

Sale of OC Stock - 3,580 

Sundry receipts 851 1,928 

Reunions and dinners 10,324 17,601 

64,577 80,107 

Expenditure 

Secretary including admin expenses 22,950 28,698 

The Cliftonian 14,826 21,249 

OC sports 5,218 5,431 

Audit fee 881 750 

Miscellaneous expenditure 3,205 2,522 

Reunions and dinners 16,752 23,805 

Total expenditure 63,832 82,455 

Regular income less expenditure 745 (2,348) 

Donations and bequests 10,550 (26,341) 

Exceptional income 620 

Exceptional expenditure (795) 

Grants and Potentiality (22,895) (8,255) 

Net surplus/(deficit) (11,775) (36,944) 

Realised gain/(loss) on investments - (2,154) 

(11,775) (39,098) 

Balance brought forward at 1 January 2010 134,738 173,836 

Balance carried forward at 31 December 2010 122,963 134,738 

The notes on the right form part of these accounts. 

Balance Sheet – Year Ended 31 December 2010 

Notes 2010 2009 

£ £ 

FIXED ASSETS 

Investments - - 

CURRENT ASSETS 

Cash on deposit 143,958 143,787 

Cash at bank (20,995) 3,701 

122,963 147,488 

CREDITORS: amounts falling due within one year - (2,750) 

NET CURRENT ASSETS 122,963 144,738 

TOTAL NET ASSETS 122,963 144,738 

Loan from World War Memorial Fund 

(gifted to OCS during 2010) - 10,000 

ACCUMULATED FUND - Unrestricted 

At 1 January 2010 134,738 173,836 

Surplus for the year (11,775) (39,098) 

At 31 December 2010 122,963 144,738 

Approved by the Members on 17 March 2011 and signed on its behalf by: 

NC TOLCHARD Chairman 

MJ BUTTERFIELD 

The notes below form part of these accounts. 

Notes 

1. ACCOUNTING POLICIES 

Treasurer 

Accounting Convention: The accounts have been prepared under the 

historical cost convention in accordance with applicable accounting standards. 

Incoming Resources: Subscriptions, entrance fees and donations are 

recognised when they are collected. 

Interest received is accounted for as it is earned. Donations are recognised at 

valuation at the time of receipt. 

The Clifton College Endowment Fund 

The income of the fund consists of dividends and income 

from a portfolio of investments. During the year Smith & 

Williamson were appointed investment managers in place 

of Newton Investment Management Ltd. The funds have 

increased in line with stock markets generally and have been 

further increased by gifts from OCs. The fund is currently 

worth about £2,600,000. 

The Charity Commission have authorised the trustees to use 

total return accounting. This allows us to use a wider range 

of investments with the expectation of generating greater 

overall returns from the fund. We are no longer restricted to 

distributing investment income but can also distribute some 

capital gains within strict guidelines. 

The distributions are used to provide certain specific 

scholarships and grants to members of the school for a range 

of purposes. Assistance may also be provided towards 

school fees in cases of unforeseen financial need, especially 

but not exclusively for those with an OC parent. Finally, the 

distributions may be used to provide particular items or support 

for specific projects identified in discussion with the school. 

OC parents of pupils in the school who run into financial 

difficulty should approach the School Bursar in the first 

instance to apply for support in paying fees. 

Distributions have recently exceeded the fund’s income but this 

situation will cease when the 2012 sports scholarships are no 

longer payable. 

Contributions are invited from OCs. These may be given to 

the fund in memory of Charles Colquhoun, to the Shenstone 

Science Scholarship Fund, or to the general fund. Gifts from 

UK taxpayers gain Gift Aid increasing the net value of the gift 

by 25%. 

CLIFTON COLLEGE ENDOWMENT FUND 

Summary Of Accounts 

31st December 2010 

INCOME 2010 2009 

£ £ 

Dividends And Interest 78,208 77,028 

EXPENDITURE 

Investment Management Expenses 15,889 12,971 

Audit Fee + Costs 4,341 1,600 

TOTAL EXPENSES 20,230 14,571 

INCOME LESS EXPENSES 57,978 62,457 

Educational Grants 71,631 69,162 

Capital Projects 5,000 35,000 

TOTAL CHARITABLE EXPENDITURE 76,631 104,162 

INCOME LESS EXPENSES 

AND CHARITABLE EXPENDITURE - 18,653 - 41,705 

DONATIONS 14,360 37,692 

GIFT AID TAX REPAYMENTS 1,806 7,119 

EXCEPTIONAL ITEM - 10,905 

NET INCOMING RESOURCES - 2,487 - 7,799 

CAPITAL RESOURCES 

Cash 67,123 57,444 

Investments 2,660,625 2,412,035 

TOTAL CAPITAL 2,727,748 2,469,479 

ACCOUNTS & AGM 

143

OC Clubs 

OLD CLIFTONIAN LODGE NO. 3340 

The regular meetings of the Lodge are held at 

Freemasons’ Hall, Great Queen Street, London 

on the third Thursdays in January, October and 

November, and the fourth Thursday in April. 

The November meeting is usually moved by 

dispensation to Bristol and is held at Freemasons’ 

Hall, Park Street, Bristol on the Saturday nearest 

to Remembrance Sunday. 

Secretary: John Acton 

01732 886955 

jmacton@cheltnm.freeserve.co.uk 

Old Cliftonian Golfing Society 

Honorary Secretary: Bob Bennett 

01275 392 529 07817 281 887 

rcbgolfer70@aol.com. 

Bob would like to hear from any OCs wishing to 

join the Golfing Society, also from any members 

wishing to play in matches. 

Old Cliftonian Rackets & Fives Club 

Peter Dunscombe 

0773 001 9104 0117 924 5314 

peterdunscombe@gmail.com 

Old Cliftonian Shooting Club 

Andrew Venables 

01686 440782 07767 365 804 

andrewvenables@aol.com 

Old Cliftonian Real Tennis Club 

PJ Probyn 

0777 558 3908 0117 973 8884 

enquiries@artatbristol.co.uk 

Anybody interested please contact me by email 

to play in social Real Tennis against other clubs/ 

old boys, home or away, please state other Real 

Tennis clubs and handicap. The Bristol and 

Bath Court at BB is to be our Home base. 

Old Cliftonian Soccer Club 

Adam Graveney 

079 0044 8349 

larry_316@hotmail.co.uk 

and 

Damien Kelland 

07828841386 

damienkelland@googlemail.com 

Old Cliftonian Rugby Club 

Bruce Elliott, 07818 098 268 

bruce.elliott@cliftonclothing.com 

Old Cliftonian Cricket Club 

Rupert Swetman, 

07773 786004 

rupertswetman@hotmail.co.uk 

and 

John Davies 

07866 440958 

jfadavies@hotmail.com 

Old Cliftonian Cross Country 

Simon Tait 

Clifton College 

0117 315 7360 

Stait@clifton-college.avon.sch.uk 

and 

Alex Patton 

07834 043952 

alexander_patton@hotmail.com 


Branch Secretaries 

ENGLAND 

Birmingham 

Peter Fowles 

23 Westfield Close 

Dorridge 

Solihull 

West Midlands B93 8DY 

peter@pnfsurveyors.co.uk 

pfowles@blueyonder.co.uk 

01564 771 217 

07747 101 189 

Bristol 

Bruce Lloyd 

143 Reedley Road 

Stoke Bishop 

Bristol BS9 1BG 

bplhcs@aol.com 

0117 968 5289 

07768 527 065 

and 

James Rose 

24 Duchess Road 

Clifton 

Bristol BS8 2LA 

United Kingdom 

roses@blueyonder.co.uk 

0117 9735323 

07771 561272 

Cambridge 

Alexander Gordon 

Gonville & Caius 

Trinity Street 

Cambridge CB2 1TA 

Cambridgeshire 

aag34@cam.ac.uk 

alexagordon@btinternet.com 

07765 100928 

Cumbria 

Bob Johnson 

Badgers 

Cartmel 

Grange-Over-Sands 

Cumbria LA11 7NR 

bob@cartmel.net 

01539 536 536 

Devon & Cornwall 

Christopher Parrish 

12 Exmouth Road 

Budleigh Salterton 

Devon EX9 6AQ 

candjparrish@madasafish.com 

01395 442 275 

07815 129 959 

East Midlands 

Colin Sinnett 

3 Kirklands Yard 

Main Street 

Kneeton, Nottingham 

Nottinghamshire NG13 8JS 

colin@kneeton.eclipse.co.uk 

07980 600 069 

Hampshire 

George Harris 

6 Chaveney Close 

Dibden Purlieu 

Southampton 

Hampshire SO45 4JW 

gharris@eprimus.co.uk 

02380 848 655 

07968 233 361 

London 

Rachel Andrew 

Old Hall 

Green Lane 

Mistley 

Essex CO11 2NL 

rachelandrew@rulefinancial.com 

07990 570 009 

and 

Matt Howard-Cairns 

27 Aragon Court 

8 Hotspur Street 

London SE11 6BX 

matt@howard-cairns.co.uk 

07734 295653 

Northumberland & Co Durham 

David Penny 

Estate House, 

Matfen, 

Newcastle-upon-Tyne, 

Northumberland NE20 0RR 

davidspenny2003@yahoo.co.uk 

01661 886861 

07855 430 811 

Oxford 

Meg Williams 

Lydes Farm 

Stowey 

Pensford 

Bristol BS39 4DW 

09074086@brookes.ac.uk 

megpie@hotmail.co.uk 

01275 333 619 

07766757456 

Yorkshire 

Christopher Gibbs 

27 Morritt Avenue 

Halton 

Leeds LS15 7EP 

West Yorkshire 

poffgibbs@tiscali.co.uk 

0113 294 6953 

UNITED KINGDOM 

Channel Islands 

Nicholas Landor 

Pres Du Moulin 

La Rue Du Moulin 

St. Martin 

JE3 6AH 

Jersey 

landor@jerseymail.co.uk 

n.landor@consortia.je 

01534 852 772 

Eire 

John Comerford 

Chestnut Farm 

Ockham Lane 

Ockham, Woking 

Surrey GU23 6NP 

01483 224 271 

Isle of Man 

Derek Winterbottom 

37 King Edward Bay Apartments, 

Sea Cliff Road 

Onchan 

Isle Of Man IM3 2JG 

derekw@manx.net 

01624 670 732 

Northern Ireland 

Michael Ridley 

2 Shelling Ridge 

Ravarnet 

Lisburn BT27 5DW 

County Antrim 

rmridley@rmridley.force9.co.uk 

028 92 662048 

Scotland 

Ian MacFarlane 

Tarlair 

11 Hawkcraig Road 

Aberdour 

Burntisland KY3 0XB 

Fife 

ian.macfarlane@hotmail.co.uk 

01383 860 626 

07803 933 684 

Wales 

Nick Jones 

3 Howells Crescent 

Llandaff 

Cardiff CF5 2AJ 

nick-jones@o2.co.uk 

02920 568438 

07890 588 373 

and 

Becky Jones 

3 Howells Crescent 

Llandaff 

Cardiff CF5 2AJ 

becky@rebeccajones.orangehome. 

co.uk 

02920 568438 

07890 588 373 

REST OF THE WORLD 

Arabian Gulf 

Charlotte Partridge 

Dubai English Speaking College 

Academic City 

PO Box 125814 

Dubai 

United Arab Emirates 

charlottep@hotmail.com 

+971558102182 

Australia –Western Australia 

John Foulsham 

12 Florence Street 

Cottesloe 

WA 6011 

Australia 

jwmfoulsham@hotmail.com 

+618-93832398 

Australia - Queensland 

Roger Griffiths 

70 Peary Street 

Northgate 

QLD 4013 

Australia 

grifo@optusnet.com.au 

pugriffo@hotmail.com 

+61 07-32662794 

+61 4 07326627 

Australia - NSW 

Piers Hogarth-Scott 

81a Cliff Avenue 

Northbridge 

NSW 2063 

Australia 

piers@hogarth-scott.com 

+61 2 9315 7167 

+61 405 151 971 

and 

Matt Bromhead 

13/83 Broome Street 

Maroubra 

NSW 2035 

Australia 

mattbromhead@gmail.com 

+61 2 9977 0907 

Australia - Tasmania 

Peter Newsom 

2/10 Claremont Street 

East Launceston 

TAS 7250 

Australia 

peterpanaus@tadaust.org.au 

+61 3-63315837 

Belgium 

Richard Lewis 

Afrikalaan 6 

B-3080 Tervuren 

Belgium 

richard.lewis@telenet.be 

richard.lewis@pandora.be 

+322 767 8153

Canada – Atlantic Provinces 

David Baird 

181 Waterford Bridge Road 

St John’s, 

Newfoundland 

A1E 1C7 

Canada 

drbaird@nl.rogers.com 

DRBaird@Seascape.com 

+1 709 726 9093 

Canada – British Columbia 

Ken Fok 

3584 West 40th Ave 

Vancouver, BC 

V6N 3B8 

Canada 

zedbadee@shaw.ca 

+1 604 266 8578 

Canada - Quebec 

Christopher Pickwoad 

363 Redfern Avenue 

Westmount 

Montreal, Quebec 

H3Z 2G4 

Canada 

cpickwoad@securenet.net 

+1 514 937 0438 

Canada – Ontario 

Philip F Jones 

179 La Rose Avenue 

Etobicoke 

Toronto 

Ontario 

Canada M9P 3WI 

+416 249 7676 

philip.jones@bell.net 

East Africa 

Simon Johnson 

DMJ Architects 

Dalgliesh House 

East Church Road 

Nairobi 00100 

Kenya 

dmj@daginternational.com 

dag@africaonline.co.ke 

+254 20 520 647 

+254 733 721 200 

Far East – Hong Kong 

Nicholas Pirie 

11th Floor Baskerville House 

13 Duddell Street 

Central 

Hong Kong 

China 

nicholaspirie@dragonch.com 

nicholaspirie@baskervillech.com 

+852 2179 5657 

and 

Vincent Law 

6/F Waiga Mansion 

8 Hawthorn Road 

Happy Valley 

Hong Kong 

China 

vkmlaw@netvigator.com 

+852 9840 0096 

Far East - Taiwan 

Simon Wong 

338 Nan Chang Road 

Nan Tzu Distrist 

Kaohsiung 

Taiwan 

no5354@hotmail.com 

+886 7 3623000 

Far East - Thailand 

Decho Sariputra 

233/2 Park Avenue 

Srinakarin Road 

Bangkok 10250 

Thailand 

decho.sariputra@gmail.com 

+66 2 397 4108 

Far East - Japan 

Masa Usui 

5-9-1 Nishi-Kasai 

Edogawa-Ku 

Tokyo 134 0088 

Japan 

usuim21@hotmail.com 

+813 3687 9893 

Far East – Republic of Korea 

Jane Lee 

jane_lee16@hotmail.com 

+821037064111 

France 

Colin Yeandle 

Le Bois Renault 

61320 LaLacelle 

France 

colalyeandle@aliceadsl.fr 

+33 233 28 1037 

Gibraltar 

Bruno Callaghan 

c/o Callaghan Insurance Brokers 

Ltd 

Suite 827 

Europort 

Gibraltar 

bruno@callaghaninsurance.com 

+349 5661 5160 Home 

+ 350 200 43636 Office: 

India 

Refer to OCS 

Israel 

Stephen Kurer 

KJJ Dental Office 

Keren Hayesod 29A 

Jerusalem 

94188 

Israel 

Stephen@kjjdentaloffice.co.il 

+972 2 673 1965 

+972 522864519 

Mexico 

John Gibbs 

Francisco Sosa 74 

Coyocacan 

Mexico City 04000 

Mexico 

john.gibbs@prodigy.net.mx 

+52 55 5658 5376 

The Netherlands 

Charles Mander 

Jozef Israelsweg 19 

2061 AJ Bloemendaal 

The Netherlands 

Charles.mander@aegon.com 

+31 6 10619262 

New Zealand 

Clive Weston 

184 Kepa Road 

Misson Bay 

Auckland 1071 

New Zealand 

cweston@negociants.com 

+649 521 8031 

+642 190 5565 

Russia and CIS 

Boris Yaryshevskiy 

Bolshaya Filevskaya street, 16/1, 

flat 59 

Moscow 124360 

Russia 

yaryshevskiy@gmail.com 

+7916 580 1721 

07854 059 131 (uk) 

South Africa – Western 

Provinces 

Nigel Drury 

61 Paradise Road 

Newlands 

Cape Town 7700 

South Africa 

n.h.drury@gmail.com 

+27 79165 8824 

South Africa – Gauteng, 

KwaZulu-Natal and 

northern provinces 

David Williams 

PO Box 731131 

Fairland 2030 

Johannesburg 

South Africa 

davidwilliams.rsa@gmail.com 

davidw@kesfoundation.co.za 

+27 11 478 0483 

+27 72 597 3792 

Sri Lanka 

Anthony Newman 

Rangala House 

92B Bobebila 

Makuldeniya 

Nr Teldeniya 

Central Province 

Sri Lanka 

anewman@sltnet.lk 

email@rangalahouse.com 

+94 81 2400 294 

+94 776 004687 

Switzerland 

Anthony Travis 

Roosstrasse 10A 

CH - 8832 Wollerau 

Switzerland 

+ 41 78 609 51 86 m 

ant.travis@gmail.com 

USA - East Coast 

David Royle 

5415 Potomac Avenue NW 

Washington DC 20016 

USA 

d.royle@mac.com 

+1 202 966 7622 

+1 202 361-1903 

USA - West Coast 

Paul Evans 

123 Locust Street 

San Francisco 

CA 94118 

USA 

padevans@paladincap.com 

+1 415 922 6557 h 

+1 415 981 1725 w 

The Secretary of the 

O.C. Society asks O.Cs 

who are going abroad to 

work, to communicate 

with him, so that he may 

put them in touch with 

the local branch in the 

district to which they 

are going. 

Old Cliftonian 

Society 

OFFICERS AND OTHERS 

President: 

David Jones 

Vice Presidents: Richard Moffat 

Vanessa Walsh 

Chairman: 

Nick Tolchard 

Secretary: 

Simon Reece 

Treasurer: 

Michael Butterfield 

OTHER MEMBERS OF 

THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE 

Mark Eldridge 

David Tosh 

Chris Pople 

Bob Acheson 

Matt Kendry 

Kate Holland-Smith 

FINANCE COMMITTEE 

Michael Butterfield (Chairman) 

Nick Tolchard 

Simon Reece 

Chris Pople 

Mark Eldridge 

David Tosh 

Charles Newington-Bridges 

Richard Moffat 

CLIFTON COLLEGE ENDOWMENT 

FUND 

(Registered Charity No. 1113320) 

TRUSTEES 

All members of the Executive Committee 

Assets held by 

OC (Clifton College) Nominees Ltd 

DIRECTORS of OC (Clifton College) 

Nominees Ltd 

Nick Tolchard (Chairman) 

Simon Reece 

(Secretary) 

Michael Butterfield (Treasurer) 

Editor of the Clifton Magazine 

Dr Bob Acheson 

The Old Cliftonian Society 

The Garden Room 

3 Worcester Road 

Bristol BS8 3JL 

0117 315 7115 / 315 7665 

Email: sreece@clifton-college.avon.sch.uk 

Websites: www.cliftoncollegeuk.com/ocs 

www.oc-online.co.uk 

Back cover: Beggar’s Bush from the South, 

with the Bristol Channel in the distance.

Old_Cliftonian_Mag_2011

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