SGSOBA Magazine July 2017 (A)
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SUDBURY GRAMMAR SCHOOL OLD BOYS' ASSOCIATION<br />
Old Boys Lunch<br />
Dates<br />
Friday Sept 22nd <strong>2017</strong><br />
Sudbury AFC Ground<br />
Brundon Lane<br />
Sudbury CO I 0 7HN<br />
1200noon for 1245 lunch<br />
Guest Speaker will be Dr Peter Cooper who will speak<br />
on 'The Humphrys Revisited'<br />
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••<br />
Copy and comments are always welcome<br />
Copy for the Jan 2018 issue should be sent to the Editor.<br />
If you prefer, send the copy electronically to<br />
robinfarbridgel 5@gmail.com<br />
Deadline is Dec 20th <strong>2017</strong> but this is somewhat elastic.!<br />
The opinions expressed in the letters and articles in this<br />
magazine are those of the writers, who are responsible<br />
for the accuracy of the information contained within<br />
them.<br />
Secretary:<br />
J A Geddes<br />
7 The Chase<br />
Foxearth<br />
Essex<br />
COlO 7LD<br />
Tel 01787 374632<br />
johngeddes242@gmail.com<br />
Registrar:<br />
J H Turkentine<br />
237 Barnard Road<br />
Galleywood<br />
Chelmsford, Essex<br />
CM2 8RU<br />
Tel 01245 475263<br />
john. turkentine@gmail.com<br />
SGS Old Boys Association Annual General Meeting<br />
The Annual General Meeting held on 17 March <strong>2017</strong> at AFC Sudbury. As<br />
our Chairman Mr John Geddes was still recuperating and not fit enough to<br />
attend, Mr Tim Underwood welcomed the 28 members present and stated<br />
that he would be chairing the meeting.<br />
1 Apologies for absence: John Geddes, Duncan McLellan, Ray Hammond,<br />
Brian Beaumont, David Goldsmith, Michael Baker, David Brampton, Henry<br />
Ruse, James Stannard, Robin Farbridge.<br />
2 Deaths of Members. The following Old Boys were remembered: Tim Angelbeck<br />
1933-41, RE Chamberlain 1931-39, PW Fletcher 1935-40, B D<br />
Leech 194 7-52, Eric Charles Jennings 1945-50, J C Tricker 1951-58, Lionel<br />
D Bell 1928-34, Fred W Pawsey 1930-35, 0 TS Panton 1941-46, MA Nutton<br />
1961-69, Brian Palfreyman 1945-51 John Pawsey 1948-50, Henry Riches<br />
1955-60.<br />
Lionel Bell was our oldest Old Boy and was over 99 years old when he died<br />
in May this year. Fred Pawsey who died in September, was 97 years old.<br />
Both had been at the 2008 Sausage Supper (a photo was given in the January<br />
2009 magazine) together with three other Old Boys; all had reached 90 at<br />
that time. Tributes /obituaries for Bell and Pawsey give later.<br />
On behalf of the Association, a letter of condolence has been sent to Tim Angelbeck's<br />
daughter Kate in Texas and to his son Nigel in Italy.<br />
Since the AGM, we have been advised of the death in February this year, of a<br />
former master of the School, Eric Britten.<br />
3 Minutes; Copies of the Minutes of the AGM held 18 1 h March 2016 were<br />
distributed to members and were unanimously agreed to be an accurate re-
cord of that meeting.<br />
4 Matters arising.from the last meeting: The plaque presented by Neville<br />
Tribe commemorating the school has been installed in St Peters Church.<br />
Background information on the meaning of the plaque, in the form of a brief<br />
history of SGS and some of its famous Old Boys (such as Sir George Humphrey)<br />
would be produced and the OBA will then have a commemorative<br />
gathering at the church.<br />
5 Chairman's report: There had been two committee meetings. Ormiston<br />
Academy, the BBC in association with Falklands veteran Simon Weston, had<br />
been making a programme on Great War casualties, using 'March On In<br />
Firm Endeavour' and Free Press Reports. The programme was screened on<br />
Saturday 18th March <strong>2017</strong> at 7.30 on BBC2.<br />
6 Secretary's Report: Legal problems with the McLellan Wheeler Trust have<br />
been overcome and the assets are now invested for income. The Trust Chairman<br />
has died and the trustees will be electing a new one. The SGS OBA<br />
committee has donated £300 toward costs of a study trip to Pompeii and<br />
Naples by Ormiston Sixth Formers. Representatives of the OBA attended the<br />
Memorial Service for Fred Pawsey and for Lionel Bell.<br />
7 Treasurer's Report: Tom Welsh distributed copies of the audited accounts<br />
to 31 December 2016. Although receipts were slightly down so were payments,<br />
due to fewer luncheon attendees and a lower insurance premium. The<br />
excess of £93 had increased the cash in bank at the year end to £4692. The<br />
Association subsidised the May visit to Bury Records Office by £42.00 The<br />
Independent Examiner Paul Garrard had only charged for the cost of printing<br />
the accounts. The Treasurer thanked the Registrar for pursuing outstanding<br />
subscriptions and recruiting new members. The cash at the bank this morning<br />
was £5734.29. Michael Laflin proposed that the accounts be approved, which<br />
was carried unanimously. There was no need to increase subscriptions. The<br />
meeting Chairman thanked Tom Welsh for his work as Treasurer.<br />
8 Registrar's report; He welcomed two new members, Jervase Jordan and<br />
Ian Harris to the meeting. There were now 114 members (148 last year). He<br />
followed up lapsed members and hoped members would encourage form<br />
mates to join. He had the facility to record our meetings although unfortunately,<br />
today's recording failed; he had recordings of previous luncheon<br />
speakers which he could make available to members. The Registrar is now<br />
able to pay in subscription cheques through his local post office hence avoiding<br />
a trip into central Chelmsford to Lloyds Bank. He encouraged payment<br />
through BACS. He had the equipment to make Oral History recordings and<br />
was happy to build an archive of SGS Old Boys recordings. Colin Garwood<br />
thanked John all his hard work as Registrar.<br />
9 Archivist's report: The archive is gradually being dispersed; unnamed photographs<br />
are being passed to the Sudbury Ephemera Society. The Suffolk<br />
Regiment Museum is not interested in the Cadet Flag. When the Association<br />
folds, the Sudbury Museum could take all the material. In the meantime a<br />
certain amount of material is being kept for display at AGMs and luncheons.<br />
From the floor it was suggested that Facebook could be used to show material.<br />
The Registrar had created a Facebook page; he will look into how it<br />
could be administered.<br />
10 The Editors report: Old Boys were thanked for several interesting contributions.<br />
The January issue showed a rare car and members were invited to<br />
guess the make. To date very little copy has been received for the <strong>July</strong> magazine<br />
yet in our collective memories there must be a wealth of stories on hobbies<br />
and careers.<br />
11 The Social Secretary's report: There was a successful luncheon at the<br />
Granary last September with a talk by Sue Tibbitts of the Sudbury Ephemera<br />
Society. The Luncheon this year will be at AFC Sudbury on September 22nd;<br />
Dr. Peter Cooper will speak on the Humphrey Family<br />
12 Additional Activities: Over 20 Old Boys have signed up for a visit to Long<br />
Melford on May 9th 201 7 [see page 6]<br />
13 Elections and Appointments. A summary of the constitution regarding<br />
elections and appointments was read. John Geddes has advised that he will<br />
be happy to continue as chairman subject to a recovery in his health. There<br />
were no additional nominations for any of the positions and the following<br />
were approved by the meeting. Chairman John Geddes, Secretary Vacant;<br />
minutes by Colin Garwood, Treasurer Tom Welsh, Registrar John Turkentine,<br />
Archivist Tim Underwood, Editor Robin Farbridge, Social Secretary<br />
Michael Wheeler, Committee Ian Brewster, Colin Garwood (minutes), David<br />
Webb, Independent Examiner Paul Garrard.<br />
14 Any Other Business: Tom Welsh had received an Award from the Norwegian<br />
Government for his service in liberating Norway from the Nazis.<br />
A member had attended the funeral of former teacher Eric Britten. Mrs Britten<br />
was still alive; the committee will discuss how to locate any survivingstaff.<br />
Jervase Jordan would be happy to be involved in an SGS OBA Facebook.<br />
Charlie Barber had found that some of his classmates were deceased but<br />
wondered if they had been commemorated by the Association, i.e. Percy<br />
Fletcher, Francis Lincoln.<br />
The Chairman declared the meeting closed at 1.15 pm.<br />
2<br />
3
Phillpotts meets Lord; Canada 2016<br />
Early summer of 2016 saw myself and my wife Anne putting together an<br />
itinerary for the Vancouver Island part of our forthcoming holiday to Western<br />
Canada. The first part had been taken care of by the Travel Agent - starting<br />
with the Rockies Tour, Banff, the Icefields Parkway, including a walk on<br />
a glacier, the Rocky Mountaineer train from Jasper to Vancouver and Vancouver<br />
itself.<br />
Before a final cruise up the coast to Alaska and back, we wanted to spend a<br />
week on Vancouver Island. The first part was actually spent relaxing at the<br />
northern end of the Island in a hotel overlooking the sea, and being entertained<br />
among other things by wild black bears peering in the hotel restaurant<br />
window and their general presence on the hotel campus. The rest of the time<br />
was intended to be used in continuing Anne's family history research into the<br />
members of her mother's family who had emigrated to Canada in the 1920s<br />
from the South West of Scotland.<br />
The planning stage of this part of the itinerary was leading us to the town of<br />
Duncan, but a lack of a decent map and responses to emails to local information<br />
centres meant that it was not possible to assemble the final pieces of the<br />
jigsaw. That is until I realised that a certain gentleman from Sudbury Grammar<br />
School going under the name of Peter Lord, had emigrated to Western<br />
Canada in the late l 960s/early 1970s with his wife Heather and according to<br />
the SGS Old Boys Directory was actually resident on Vancouver Island in<br />
Duncan! Although Peter left the School in the summer of 1958 and I started<br />
in September of the same year, I had known him and his family as fellow<br />
residents of Stoke-by-Nayland. I had also played cricket with his father and<br />
later Peter and his brothers for the<br />
local cricket team, Tendring Park.<br />
... IS I fired off an email and oh boy did I<br />
hit the jackpot!! Nothing was too<br />
much trouble for Peter particularly as<br />
family history research was a passion<br />
of his. When we finally met up, not<br />
only had he located the smallholding<br />
where Anne's folks had lived, but he<br />
had been in touch with the current<br />
occupiers to arrange for us to make a<br />
visit; additionally he had also located<br />
in a local cemetery the graves of the older members of the family.<br />
A few days in the company of Peter and Heather quickly showed why they<br />
had uprooted themselves to this part of the world with its very laid back lifestyle<br />
and pace of life to go with it; the type of property they have called<br />
'home' over the years demonstrates quite clearly this way oflife. The current<br />
home, situated on a quiet lake with its own ospreys and eagles, was designed<br />
by them on a single level with its own basement ('crawl space' to Canadians)<br />
which Peter is turning into his own play area and workshop. The large integral<br />
garage has room enough for the two cars, Peter's boat and two produce<br />
freezers . The surrounding garden is being cultivated primarily for vegetables<br />
although his allotment is being kept on, which all goes to show that you can<br />
take the farmer out of Suffolk but not the farmer out of the boy; the boat is<br />
used for regular fishing trips to keep stocked the other freezer.<br />
The water and the sea have played a big part in their lives on Vancouver Island<br />
both from the location of their homes and from a recreational point of<br />
view. A Saturday afternoon spent with Peter watching a group of First Nation<br />
people fishing from a bridge for salmon on a tidal river was something to<br />
behold. In the group were two young lads with fishing spears in one hand and<br />
mobile phones in the other; trying to spear fish and surfing the internet at the<br />
same time is quite a feat! Suffice it to say that whilst we were with them<br />
nothing was caught, although they came close on a couple of occasions. To<br />
cap it all, whilst this was going on, the rest of the local First Nation Community<br />
were performing a ritual in an adjacent barn like hall to the accompaniment<br />
of their rhythmic tom-tom drums - what a surreal experience!!<br />
One final mention must relate to Peter's passion for cricket. There is a thriving<br />
cricket club in the locality at nearby Cowichan in which Peter has over<br />
the years played a keen role, and which is now being well looked after by his<br />
friend Howard Martin who also hails from the UK. The pavilion, needless to<br />
say, is full of cricketing memorabilia with Suffolk well represented and about<br />
people I actually knew!<br />
On return home the family history research goes on with contact being made<br />
with one part of the Duncan family, which has established itself on the<br />
mainland in one of the satellite towns of Vancouver. It is clear that another<br />
trip to Canada is on the cards in the not too distant future to pursue this new<br />
link and with it hopefully further time to be spent on Vancouver Island with<br />
Peter and Heather.<br />
Roger Phillpotts (SGS 1958-1965)<br />
4<br />
5
Long Melford Visit on May 9th<br />
The party of 30 Old Boys were welcomed to the Old School, Long<br />
Melford by Chairman John Geddes, who explained that the speaker on<br />
the history of Long Melford was unable to be present due to illness,<br />
but he had been able to prevail on Ashley Cooper to step in at the last<br />
moment. Ashley said he hoped that he could do justice to the History<br />
of Long Melford as he had put the talk together at short notice during a<br />
busy time on the farm. He had been delayed at the dentist that morning<br />
which had not helped in his preparation for the presentation.<br />
He started by showing a slide of an underwater scene where the village<br />
was the bed of the ocean in prehistory. The skeletons of the swimming<br />
creatures depicted would form the chalk found in the area.<br />
Using a watercolour artist's impressions of various historical periods,<br />
he took us through successive eras, Bronze Age, Roman, Saxon, Tudor,<br />
etc. A map of the Roman road from Gestingthorpe through Long<br />
Melford showed that contrary to their usual practice of building<br />
straight roads, the Roman engineers had veered to one side, which<br />
Ashley explained was to cross the river once, instead of the three times<br />
that the winding river course would have dictated. He asked if anyone<br />
knew the name of the local river, and was somewhat disappointed to<br />
hear the Chad; no one fell into trap of assuming the village was named<br />
after the ford over the Mel. Mel was a corruption of mill; the village<br />
name denoted the ford near the mill.<br />
Other correct answers to questions were rewarded with cards of some<br />
of the water colour slides. Famous Melford visitors mentioned included<br />
The Peasants' Revolt, Queen Elizabeth I, Will Kemp, Daniel<br />
Defoe and Charles Dickens.<br />
Richard Kemp, Parish, District and County Councillor, then spoke<br />
about the village at present. He apologised if his talk became political,<br />
but he was describing the situation as he saw it, as an Independent unrestrained<br />
by party policies. There had been a decline in employment<br />
in the village but an increase in the demand for housing. Councils<br />
faced tough decisions on planning, sometimes approving schemes<br />
knowing that developers could afford to make legal challenges that<br />
would be exorbitantly expensive for the council to defend. Developments<br />
in Bull Lane would add to traffic chaos, the exit into Hall Str~et<br />
6<br />
was extremely restricted, and that onto the A134 had already seen serious<br />
accidents. Most new houses were priced beyond the means of local<br />
people.<br />
In a series of personal anecdotes, he described how in respect of Long<br />
Melford the machinery of Council worked and in some cases did not<br />
work. An example quoted was the 50 local potholes which were dealt<br />
with by the arrival oflorries, traffic lights, and workmen in hi-viz jackets,<br />
who only repaired two holes before packing up. The remaining 48<br />
were still being analysed by the assessor.<br />
On a positive note, he was associated with a local charity which would<br />
be building a number of dwellings in High Street specifically for local<br />
people. It was evident from the passion with which he spoke that Richard<br />
cared deeply for the village and the local people.<br />
Old Boys at lunch in the Bull.<br />
With apologies to Charlie Barber<br />
for the partial introduction of a<br />
postage stamp like object into the<br />
photo. Likely cause; technical ineptitude.<br />
The party then adjourned to the Bull where lunch was enjoyed and we<br />
were able catch up with classmates. All agreed we had heard two excellent<br />
talks. On a personal note Richard Kemp admitted to being descended<br />
from a Garwood of Stanstead, who had lived at Cut Throat<br />
Farm.<br />
(reported by Colin Garwood)<br />
Ownership Change for Local Press<br />
Old Boys who read the local press may soon notice changes in layout and. content. Owners<br />
Johnson Press, in January 2016, identified a number of newspaper brands and publishing assets<br />
that it did not consider to be strategic priorities, particularly those that (i) fall outside its<br />
selected geographic markets; (ii) did not match its audience profile; or (iii) did not offer the<br />
levels of digital growth sought by the Group! In December 2016, it was announced that Johnston<br />
Publishing East Anglia Limited had been sold to Iliffe Media Limited for £17.0 million; 13<br />
publishing titles and associated websites in East Anglia and East Midlands have been disposed<br />
of, including the Bury Free Press, the Haverhill Echo and the Suffolk Free Press. Do we, Old<br />
Boys, now fail to match this 'audience profile'?<br />
7
Frederick William Pawsey [SGS 1930-35)<br />
Old Boy Fred Pawsey lived an adventurous and interesting life. He won the<br />
Victor Ludorurn at SGS, flew both Hurricanes and Spitfires in World War 2<br />
and later had a long and successful career in education.<br />
Fred was born in Alpheton Suffolk, attended Alpheton primary school and in<br />
1930, age 10, passed a scholarship to attend Sudbury Grammar School, cycling<br />
fifteen miles each day. He passed the Cambridge School Certificate in<br />
1935 and won the school Victor Ludorurn<br />
After encouragement from Headmaster Gillingham, he entered No 1 School<br />
of Technical Training at Halton in 1936. On completion of his aircraft engineering<br />
studies, he was posted to 56 Squadron at North Weald in 1939 and<br />
then to 328 Squadron and later 109 Squadron.<br />
Following his 1941 promotion to sergeant, he was selected for training as a<br />
pilot in Georgia, USA under the Arnold Scheme. He graduated and then<br />
spent 6 months at the Advanced Flying School at Napier Field Flying School,<br />
Alabama (flying Harvards) where he qualified as an above average pilot and<br />
was presented with the Silver Wings badge of the USAF. On return to the<br />
UK, he converted to Hurricanes and Spitfires and was posted to 253 Squadron<br />
in the Mediterranean. He flew many types of operations including convoy<br />
and bomber escort sorties, attacking strategic targets and axis trains and<br />
road transport as well as supporting the partisans in Yugoslavia, Greece and<br />
Albania. Awarded the DFC in 1944.<br />
Fred left the RAF in September 1946 as a Flight Lieutenant and returned to<br />
Alpheton and worked initially for his father, a fruit farmer. Then in 1948, he<br />
trained as a teacher and in 1949, started his 30 year career at Hedingham Secondary<br />
School. In 1957 he took temporary charge of Ridgewell C of E aided<br />
school, returning to Hedingham school later that year; he became Headteacher<br />
at Hedingham between 1972 and 1975. In 1972 he moved to Cavendish<br />
and in 1980, retired from full time teaching.<br />
He took part in many activities in the community, including parish council<br />
chairman, magistrate, local historian and chairman of primary school governors.<br />
He was also secretary of Hedingham parochial church council, lectured<br />
to Chelmsford and Canterbury diocesan summer school, was lay-chairman of<br />
the deanery synod, a youth centre teacher and was secretary to Halstead and<br />
District NUT amongst other things. He gave many talks to associations in<br />
Suffolk Norfolk and Essex and was author of three books.<br />
Fred Pawsey died September 2016 aged 96, and was remembered at a<br />
Thanksgiving Service at Cavendish Church<br />
8<br />
Lionel Douglas Bell [SGS 1928-34)<br />
Lionel Bell was born on 22 June 1917, the son of G H Bell, a painter and<br />
decorator from Long Melford. He won a scholarship from Melford Junior<br />
School to Sudbury Grammar School where he became a prefect and passed<br />
the Cambridge School Certificate in 1933. On his school record card, his<br />
later occupation was noted as engineering which suggests that on leaving<br />
school, he became apprenticed to an electronics/engineering company and<br />
later joined Post Office Telephones.<br />
Lionel had a long record to service<br />
to Sudbury masonry and in<br />
2012, a special presentation was<br />
made to him, to mark 68 years in<br />
masonry and 60 years in reaching<br />
the Chair. Lionel followed his<br />
father into Stour Valley Lodge,<br />
was initiated in 1943, and became<br />
WM in 1951.<br />
Lionel frequently wrote for the<br />
Old Boys magazine, on subjects such as the early days of the School playing<br />
field (he mentions stone picking to prepare the field for seeding), recollections<br />
about school friends, some perspectives on age (with Tony Wheeler)<br />
and a knowledgeable article on WW2 Liberator bombers over Melford (the<br />
<strong>July</strong> 2012 <strong>Magazine</strong>)<br />
Lionel attended a memorable Sausage Supper in 2008 together with 4 other<br />
Old Boys [Dick Colson (SGS 1928-32), Bob Jackson (SGS 1930-32), Harold<br />
Cooper (1928-32) & Fred Pawsey (SGS 1929-35)]. All had reached 90 years<br />
and had attended SGS in School Lane during the late 1920s and early 1930s<br />
and had stayed in contact ever since, a friendship spanning an incredible<br />
eight decades.<br />
Lionel Bell died on 19 May 2016. At his funeral, held in June, a tribute to<br />
Lionel was given by the Worshipful Brother J W Yeldham of the Stour Valley<br />
Masonic Lodge; two members of the OBA committee also attended the<br />
funeral.<br />
9
North Street School, 1955<br />
Our President, Duncan McLellan, has sent this charming photograph<br />
of pupils of North Streer Junior School in <strong>July</strong> 1955.<br />
It shows the cast of "A Gipsy Tale" as performed by the top (oldest)<br />
class in the school.<br />
In the September of that year, 9 of the boys would have started at SGS.<br />
They were:<br />
EN J {Tim) Angelbeck [SGS 1933-41]<br />
Tim Angelbeck was the son of E J Angelbeck, geography master and latterly,<br />
acting Headmaster of SGS. Tim was educated at Cambridge and then followed<br />
a career in the agricultural advisory services.<br />
His son Nigel recalls how his parents met; In 1946, Tim was a student at<br />
Cambridge he suffered from impacted wisdom teeth. He went into Bury St<br />
Edmunds hospital to have them removed, came round from the anaesthetic<br />
and was promptly sick over the nurse. That was how he met my mother! Despite<br />
this messy start a friendship grew and eventually my father took my<br />
mother punting on the river Cam at Cambridge where he proposed to her.<br />
My father managed to get the pole stuck in the river bed but he hung on and<br />
slowly keeled over into the water while my mother sailed serenely on down<br />
the river. He managed to recover the pole and swim after the punt and clamber<br />
wetly back on board. All ended well and they had 67 years together.<br />
Tim's son Nigel also recalls a visit to SGS: In about 1960, Tim and his son<br />
Nigel were shown around S. G.S. by Ted Angelbeck who was still teaching<br />
there. He remembered lots of dark echoey corridors. They went into the gym<br />
and his grandfather Ted got the ropes out and the three of them had a go at<br />
climbing them. In no time grandfather Ted was swinging about at the top,<br />
Tim was half way up and Nigel was just off the floor!<br />
Michael Croft, Peter Elmer<br />
David Goldsmith, Jonathan Lowshak<br />
Robert Loades, Duncan McLellan,<br />
Peter Postle, John Turner,<br />
Raymond Wacey<br />
Duncan asks:' But where are they now? Only 2 or 3 are in the Association!'<br />
Tim was a jovial and popular President of the Sudbury Grammar School Old<br />
Boys Association and much enjoyed his biennial visits from Worcestershire<br />
to Sudbury for Association activities. He steered us through several memorable<br />
Sausage Suppers, often deploying warm and vivid memories of his old<br />
school which were much enjoyed by Old Boys! He even wrote an explanation<br />
of the confusing informal names given to his father ('Angus equals Angelbeck'<br />
SGS <strong>Magazine</strong> January 2011)<br />
Many of us will have fond memories of an occasion when President Tim,<br />
doubtless rushed after the journey from Evesham, started the Old Boys meeting<br />
using the minutes of the Evesham National Farmers Union. Soon<br />
prompted to read from the more relevant paper work, Tim in good humour,<br />
resumed his duties amid some laughter.<br />
Tim resigned as President in 2012.<br />
He died on 7 feb <strong>2017</strong> being pre-deceased by his wife who died in 2014.<br />
10<br />
11
Grammar Schools & selection; an endless debate?<br />
In 1972, West Suffolk adopted a fully comprehensive non-selective system and SGS<br />
was no more. There were 1298 Grammar schools in England and Wales in 1964 and<br />
now over 160 remain, mainly in SE England. No new ones have been established<br />
since 1998 when a Labour Government (under the School Standards and Framework<br />
Act 1998) made their creation illegal.<br />
The arguments for and against grammars and selection, and their function of furthering<br />
social mobility, have continued ever since. For example; 'selection inevitably<br />
gets best results' [yet in 1959, when the Editor was at SGS, 40% of grammar school<br />
pupils failed to get 3 0-levels. So selection didn't benefit everybody}, or 'grammars<br />
are engines of social mobility, the benefits of a grammar education accrue to all<br />
classes' [Currently, 3% of grammar school pupils are eligible for free school meals<br />
whereas the England average is 17.5%. It appears that middle class children benefit<br />
most from grammar schools.]<br />
The numbers of students attending Grammars are now increasing and currently, over<br />
5% of children in England and Wales are educated in grammars. In 2012, the Conservative/Lib<br />
Dem coalition government, made it easier for all schools (including<br />
grammars) to grow on their existing sites without consulting their local authority.<br />
Further, grammars were given the right to expand onto different sites if they could<br />
show that the new buildings constituted an "annex, extension or satellite" of their<br />
existing operation. Implementation of this change led to some creative expansion.<br />
An all-girls grammar in Tonbridge, Kent was given permission in October 2015 to<br />
build an annex ten miles away in Sevenoaks; to get approval, the school had to show<br />
that it would run a single school across two sites with common staff and timetable;<br />
some of the Sevenoaks annex pupils will spend some time at the Tonbridge site once<br />
a week. Other schools were considering this cunning strategy when chaotic UK politics<br />
intervened. Following the 2016 Brexit referendum, and PM Cameron's resignation,<br />
his replacement Mrs May, announced a policy U-turn which would overturn the<br />
ban on new or expanded Grammar Schools. These new selective schools would recruit<br />
pupils at ages 14 & 16 as well as 11 and would have to accept some children<br />
from lower income households. In May <strong>2017</strong> the Conservative government duly unveiled<br />
plans for this new generation of grammar schools and planned to fund up to<br />
140 new free schools. A particular objective was to offset the existing situation in<br />
which a different sort of 'selection' exists, that based on house prices and parental<br />
income; the children of the well-off can choose a better school for their children by<br />
moving to a different area or paying to go private.<br />
After a bad election result and Brexit indigestion, the Conservative government has<br />
been forced to shelve these plans. The debate continues, perhaps forever or until the<br />
next government!<br />
[In my opinion, the sensible option is the all-ability non-selective school in which<br />
streaming, generally by subject rather than year age, is the normal and educationally<br />
efficient practice. Editor}<br />
12<br />
)<br />
Some School History 1856-1909<br />
Aspects of the history of SGS in the period from 1857-58 and 1888 was<br />
given in articles by J G Webb and T H Underwood, published in 2006 and<br />
2007. [see references below]. These articles prompted a review of minutes of<br />
meetings of the trustees and governors of SGS which cover the period from<br />
1856 until 1909 [SGS Minutes of Proceedings EE501!19/J]. They give interesting<br />
background on the evolution of the school up to 1909 when the West<br />
Suffolk Education Committee (WSCC) took over control of the school.<br />
The Trustees seem to have constantly been worried about school finances;<br />
academic matters are seldom mentioned. The minutes invariably give details<br />
of bills, payments and fees unpaid together with threats that parents must<br />
withdraw boys if these fees remain unpaid; no fee rebate was offered if a boy<br />
was absent through illness. It is possible that the school may have been on a<br />
financial shoestring with few reserves.<br />
Between 1856 and 1857, the Trustees negotiated a project with architects and<br />
builders to dismantle the old school house and to build 'a new school room<br />
and master's house'. A Long Melford builder, Charles Fordham, got the job,<br />
price £2264-10. The works were evidently done on time at the school reopened<br />
on 1st February 1859 and at the opening, it was noted that foundation<br />
boys were accepted; their ages were reported as 7 -14 years and the quarterly<br />
charge was £30, excluding books and stationery.<br />
A meeting of the Trustees in 1862 records that a foundation boy, Arthur Hibble<br />
Higgs, joined the school aged 11. The Trustees also resolved that the<br />
boys should wear 'the usual college cap in going to and returning from<br />
school'<br />
In 1897, the Headmaster's salary was about £100, paid in termly instalments;<br />
the Head and an assistant master looked after 47 boys, including 12 boarders.<br />
In 1900, the headmaster Mr W G Normandale was reminded by the Trustees<br />
that 'no master of the school be allowed to be absent from his duties for more<br />
that 1 week without communicating to the Clerk'; we are not told why the<br />
Head was absent !<br />
In 1901, the grants from Suffolk County Council were discussed and in respect<br />
of science teaching, the sec found that no part of the building was<br />
available for a laboratory. Things moved slowly and in 1905, a letter from<br />
the Board of Education in London stated 'that the school should be provided<br />
13
with a laboratory under the regulations for secondary schools'. Concurrently,<br />
the school Clerk was asked to write to SCC asking for funds for a new<br />
lab building.<br />
Maybe school finances were never robust because in 1906, the Governors<br />
produced an 'Application for a new Scheme' which proposed 2 options;<br />
'Either the governors lease the school buildings to WSCC at rent, and WSCC<br />
raise a loan to provide for the additional new buildings, or the Governors<br />
raise the loan by mortgage, provide additional buildings, and lease them to<br />
WSCC at increased rent'.<br />
Eventually, in 1907, the Governors agreed to the WSCC proposal, to 'hand<br />
over the school unconditionally to WSCC subject to the consent of the Charity<br />
Trustees (or Board of Education)'<br />
On 9 <strong>July</strong> 1909, at a meeting of the 'late governors', accounts are presented<br />
and recommended to WSCC for payment. It was also resolved that the Clerk<br />
'Mr George Lancelot Andrewes 'be authorised to hand over all books and<br />
papers relating to the school to WSCC'.<br />
Financial responsibility for SGS having changed, the minutes end as do presumably,<br />
the functions of the Governors.<br />
RA Farbridge (SGS 1953-60)<br />
Documents;<br />
-John Gambart Webb; Sudbury Grammar School in 1888; SGS OBA <strong>Magazine</strong><br />
<strong>July</strong> 2005; John Gambart Webb; Continuing the History of Sudbury<br />
Grammar School, A New Building 1857-58 SGS OBA <strong>Magazine</strong> <strong>July</strong> 2006;<br />
John Gambart Webb; Continuing the History of Sudbury Grammar School,<br />
The Revival of SGS 1858; SGS OBA <strong>Magazine</strong> Jan 2007<br />
-Tim Underwood; Extracts from an Order from the Court of Chancery dated<br />
26 july 1858 for The Management and Regulation of the Grammar School at<br />
Sudbury Suffolk and the Application of the Income Thereof SGS OBA<br />
<strong>Magazine</strong> Jan 2007<br />
-other information from the minutes of meetings of the trustees and governors<br />
of SGS [SGS Minutes of Proceedings EE501/19/J; document held by<br />
the Suffolk Records Office in Bury St Edmunds].<br />
MARCH ON IN FIRM ENDEAVOUR<br />
To commemorate the master and two Old Boys who died in the last half of<br />
1917 we are printing more extracts from 'March On In Firm Endeavour',<br />
researched by Old Boy Arthur Potton and published in 2007. Footnotes are<br />
by Colin Garwood<br />
Arras 1917: A Quiet Time on the Front Line<br />
Private Herbert William Crouch<br />
7th Battalion the Suffolk Regiment<br />
1893- 11 <strong>July</strong> 1917 Aged 24<br />
Herbert Couch was born in Birmingham, where he attended the grammar<br />
school and then the university, where he gained his bachelor's degree. He<br />
was appointed to teach history, modem languages and geography at Sudbury<br />
Grammar School in April 1914. He enlisted in Sudbury in January 1916 under<br />
the Derby scheme, which urged men to register with the condition that<br />
they would only be called upon to serve if needed. After his prompt call up<br />
and training, Couch found himself in the 7th Battalion of the Suffolk Regiment.<br />
Herbert Couch's records have not survived<br />
at the National Archives, so one can only<br />
try to reconstruct the story of his time on<br />
the Western Front. The 7th Suffolks, like<br />
the 4th Battalion in which Edward Hills<br />
served, was at the Battle of Arleux on 28<br />
April 191 7, so Couch may well have<br />
fought there. After that fight, the remnants<br />
of his battalion (two weak companies, less<br />
than half of its established strength) went<br />
into reserve. Couch was apparently in hospital,<br />
lightly wounded, at that time.<br />
[letters to his sister Winifred follow; in<br />
italic}<br />
14<br />
15
Dear Win, Thursday 1015117<br />
I am getting on quite well and my leg doesn 't cause me much inconvenience now. In<br />
fact, it is getting better almost too quickly for my liking.<br />
Your affectionate Brother XXX<br />
Couch's wound gave him little respite from the trenches. He returned to front<br />
line duty soon enough:<br />
Dear Win, Wednesday 2016117<br />
I am writing from the trenches once more, but by the time you get this I shall probably<br />
be out of them again. I am getting on quite well and we are in cushy part (the<br />
Monchy Sector) compared with last time though we are near the same spot. Don 't be<br />
anxious about me. I shall turn up right in the end, you know, like a bad penny.<br />
Much love, Herbert. XXXXXXX<br />
Dear Win, Sunday 117117<br />
Just a line to let you know that 1 am getting on quite well. We are out on a few days<br />
rest just at present- in a large town (Arras) with several cinemas & YMs etc. I wish I<br />
had the chance you have of sea-bathing, I should just enjoy a dip every morning to<br />
wash off the dirt & lice & elephants off me. Give my love to all- Father, mater, & the<br />
youngsters. I must close now to go on parade.<br />
Much love from your affectionate brother XXXXXX<br />
Herbert Couch wrote no more letters to his sister. He could not; he died of<br />
wounds on 11th <strong>July</strong> 1917. The war diary of 7th Suffolks does not explain the<br />
circumstances. He was a "daily wastage" casualty:<br />
7 <strong>July</strong> Relieved the 11th Middlesex Regt in left subsector (of the front line).<br />
8 <strong>July</strong> Quiet day in front line. Orchard Trench shelled during the afternoon.<br />
9 <strong>July</strong> Quiet.<br />
10 <strong>July</strong> Quiet on our front.<br />
21 <strong>July</strong> Relieved by 7th Norfolk Regt. To Monchy defences. Relief complete at 3 am.<br />
He was buried in the British Duisans Cemetery at Etrun.<br />
Footnote: Arthur Potton acknowledged help from Shirley Smith of the Sudbury<br />
Information Centre. On the Sudbury Roll Of Honour she noted that Herbert was exempt<br />
from conscription being the main breadwinner of the family due to his father's<br />
failing health. A family member had said 'On more than one occasion he was sent a<br />
white feather' and 'found the remarks in the street very painful' The Suffolk and<br />
Essex Free Press on 19th <strong>July</strong> 1916 reported that 'Private H W Couch, of the Suffolks,<br />
who was one of the Masters at Sudbury Grammar School, was wounded in the<br />
head by a shell, which smashed his rifle. Private Couch is in hospital in Edinburgh'.<br />
He must have been wounded again as in the letter quoted above he refers to his leg.<br />
16<br />
The Birmingham Mail of <strong>July</strong> 25th 1917 reported his death, stating he had been<br />
wounded twice before. At the time of his death he was owed £8/ 111 in back pay,<br />
which was forwarded to his father, followed later by a gratuity of £6. In his will he<br />
left £106/14/7 to his father.<br />
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••<br />
The Air War<br />
Major George Bernard Ward MC & Bar<br />
10 Squadron Royal Flying Corps<br />
18 August 1891-21 September 1917 Aged 26<br />
The years leading up to the outbreak of WWI saw fundamental developments<br />
in technology; the demands of the war itself ensured their rapid expansion<br />
wherever they applied to weaponry. Nowhere is this as true as in air warfare,<br />
in which one of the Sudbury Grammar School men distinguished himself<br />
with gallantry on the Western Front.<br />
George Bernard Ward was the elder son of David Ward, a licensed common<br />
brewer ofFoxearth, and Louisa, his wife. Bernard Ward went up to Malvern<br />
College after attending school in Sudbury. He was quick to volunteer for<br />
military service at the beginning of the war, first as a motor transport driver.<br />
However, it was not long before he was commissioned into the North Staffordshire<br />
Regiment. Nor was Ward destined to serve long as an infantry officer.<br />
He gained his Royal Aeronautical Club Certificate as a pilot a week before<br />
his 24th birthday in August 1915 at Hendon (where the RAF Museum<br />
now stands) and so guaranteed himself a different fate.<br />
From the Suffolk and Essex Free Press 1December1915:<br />
The visit of Mr Bernard Ward of Foxearth who flew from Farnborough on Friday<br />
afternoon, created considerable interest in Essex as well as in Foxearth, Sudbury,<br />
Melford, Lyston and adjacent villages.<br />
Aeroplanes have been from time to time passing in the vicinity of the town, but none<br />
have flown over the town as this one did. The throb of the engine was as distinct as<br />
that of a motor-cycle a street or so away. He flew low to salute the inhabitants of<br />
Sudbury, no doubt, and they were out in crowds, for they knew who it was.<br />
On Saturday he made several flights over Melford and Sudbury, encircling several<br />
times. A large crowd was in the park, morning and afternoon to see the ascent and<br />
descent, and to inspect the machine at close quarters. Mr Ward took to the air again<br />
on Sunday and manoeuvred the machine over Melford and adjoining parishes, and<br />
left for Hendon in the afternoon with best wishes from his numerous friends.<br />
17
With effect from 2 February 1916 Ward was posted to 2 Squadron RFC which was<br />
employed on tactical reconnaissance, artillery spotting and later, bombing duties. In<br />
May he was appointed commander of one of the squadron's flights; in October he<br />
was awarded the Military Cross for work in artillery spotting whilst under heavy fire.<br />
After a year's combat flying, he was posted to 10 Squadron RFC as its commander in<br />
February 1917; seven months later he was awarded a bar to his MC.<br />
During Ward's time with 10 Squadron, it was gradually re-equipped with Armstrong<br />
Whitworth FK8s and by <strong>July</strong> or at the latest September 1917 flew nothing else. The<br />
FK8 was a large aircraft, rugged, strong in a dive, which carried a substantial bomb<br />
load and flew at the then considerable speed of 90 mph.<br />
In August 1917 Major Ward and his observer, 2Lt Wilson, flying an FK8, drove an<br />
enemy Albatross fighter down out of control. One might suppose that Ward loved<br />
flying; at any rate he enjoyed a joke on duty, as this extract from a diary shows .<br />
.• , , ,.. ,_... ,., . . 1 1· 1 1<br />
, . 1· " IC RF(. From an Anonymous Canadian Signaller's Di-<br />
J' ' ~ r 'iultif'- .l'' I tl1U1 '"' 'J'" ' '<br />
. . , ary:<br />
Majors Ward and Cooper were given to night<br />
flying together. One night Ward was at the controls<br />
taking off and on return Cooper was there.<br />
Many there were who firmly believed they<br />
changed places in flight. I lean to the view it was<br />
done at the end of the runway before take off or<br />
on return.<br />
On 21 September 1917 Ward and his observer<br />
2Lt Campbell were flying FK 8 B270, probably<br />
at low level in infantry support or bombing. The<br />
entry in the Chocqes Cemetery Register says<br />
that they took on five<br />
enemy aircraft. If so,<br />
it is hardly surprising<br />
that their luck ran out. They crashed behind British lines;<br />
when the aircraft was found, Major Ward was already<br />
dead; Campbell died shortly afterwards.<br />
Major George Bernard Ward's<br />
Grave at Chocques CWGC<br />
Cemetery<br />
Footnote: The Suffolk and Essex Free Press of October 3rd 1917 reported a Memorial<br />
Service at Foxearth Church. At the express wish of his family the service also<br />
commemorated others from the village who had given their lives in the war. Major<br />
Ward had been a member of the company of bell ringers. Muffled peals were rung<br />
before and after the service. At the time of his death he was owed £275/4/7 in back<br />
pay, and a gratuity of £7/19/3 was paid after the war. Probate records indicate that<br />
his estate was worth £820/10/8.<br />
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••<br />
Palestine 1917: The Battle of Beersheba<br />
Lance Corporal George Frederick Christie Mauldon<br />
15th (Yeomanry) Battalion the Suffolk Regiment<br />
8 August 1892-6 November 1917 Aged 25<br />
George Mauldon was born in Sudbury, son of Christie and Alice of Ballingdon.<br />
His father was mayor of the town in 1892, 1893 and 1904. George<br />
Mauldon enlisted in the Suffolk Yeomanry.<br />
From the History of the Suffolk Regiment 1914-1927 by Lt Col CCR Murphy,:<br />
The Regiment setted down to intensive training at Martlesham Heath. Later in the<br />
war, when the battalion was in the trenches, one Suffolk Hero was heard to call out<br />
to his neighbour; "Dew you keep your head down Bar, dew you'll never see Martlesham<br />
Lion agin"<br />
All yeomanry regiments were now asked to volunteer for service overseas; as<br />
a result of the appeal the Suffolk Yeomanry were soon instructed to hold<br />
themselves in readiness for active service. Their orders to proceed to Gallipoli<br />
arrived at the beginning of September.<br />
A total of 8000 yeomanry, including the five hundred Suffolks, said farewell<br />
to their horses and sailed on the 'Olympic' from Liverpool on 25 September.<br />
They arrived at Gallipoli via Mudros, where they landed on 10 October 1915.<br />
The 15th Suffolks were employed on front line duty in the trenches but took<br />
part in no major assaults.<br />
They were withdrawn to Egypt for recuperation and retraining in December.<br />
Although the Suffolks were reunited with their horses for a while in Egypt,<br />
they were soon dismounted once more and joined General Allenby's Army in<br />
Palestine in time for operations against the Turks at Beersheba before the<br />
18<br />
19
advance to Gaza and eventually Jerusalem. George Mauldon was killed in<br />
action on 6th November 1917.<br />
The 15 Suffolks' War Diary for that day describes it simply, as follows:<br />
With the support of a section from the Machine Gun Corps, an attack was carried on<br />
very rapidly, the Turks being driven out of all objectives. A considerable number of<br />
prisoners were taken and a battery of guns captured intact. During the day the Turks<br />
tried to counterattack and capture the guns but were driven off by machine gun fire.<br />
From the Suffolk and Essex Free Press 28 November 1917:<br />
All who had the pleasure of his acquaintance will learn with keen regret of the death<br />
of a well-known Sudbury young man. Mr C. E. Mau/don received notification from<br />
the War Office on Thursday morning this week of the death of his brother, Lance<br />
Corporal G. F. C. Mauldon, who was killed in action on the 6th inst in Palestine. He<br />
enlisted in the Suffolk Yeomanry and saw service in the Dardenelles campaign. He<br />
was the youngest son of the late Alderman C. E. Mauldon and was in his 25th year.<br />
Two other brothers are serving with the colours.<br />
Footnote: In 1911 George was a Farm Pupil to his uncle at Wood Street Farm Ixworth.<br />
As the fifth son he could not<br />
have expected to inherit the family<br />
brewery and had looked to farming<br />
as a career. The 'Olympic' on<br />
which he sailed was the first of<br />
three sister ships to be built and was<br />
in service until 1935. Her sisters<br />
were the Titantic (sunk by an iceberg<br />
in 1912) and the Britannic<br />
\: ~ which was sunk by a mine in the<br />
'~ · Aegean Sea in 1915, with loss of<br />
only 30 lives, while serving as a<br />
hospital ship. The Essex Newsman<br />
of December 8th 1917 reports that<br />
George had been shot by a sniper.<br />
He left £1871 /11/l He is remembered<br />
on his parents' grave in the<br />
Sudbury Cemetery, the Sudbury<br />
War Memorial and the Ixworth War<br />
Memorial (pictured)<br />
A Rare Car Indeed<br />
In the Jan <strong>2017</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong>, we published a photo of a strange car and asked<br />
Old Boys to guess at its identity. The first correct answer was received from<br />
Colin Garwood so congratulations to him.<br />
The car under restoration was:<br />
-An Invicta Black Prince model, one of 16 built between 1946 and 1950.<br />
-It is one of 4 built in 1949 with a Jensen coachbuilt, drophead 4 seater body<br />
-has a 120bhp twin camshaft 6 cylinder engine by Meadows, with twin igni-<br />
.-. ,.. · ' ,.,_..,..: tion; starts on 24 volts and runs on<br />
12 volts.<br />
· -it was fitted with a torque converter<br />
which replaced a gearbox<br />
-it had built-in electric jacks.<br />
It sound like a very complicated car.<br />
When it is fully restored, we do hope<br />
to see it at one of the gatherings of<br />
Old Boys.<br />
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••<br />
l!!f1<br />
I<br />
'<br />
~ \<br />
-i~'.·, ~<br />
~ u ,.,. , ,<br />
\\ ~ .... ·'r" \<br />
:~;. · I ·.~<br />
Restoration in Action<br />
These 2016 photos show our<br />
Chairman at the controls of a<br />
fully restored 0-6-0 saddle tank<br />
20<br />
21
Eric Britten [SGS 1956-1972)<br />
Eric Britten was born in llminster, Somerset where he attended the local<br />
Grammar School and eventually became Head Boy. He won a<br />
place at Keble College, Oxford in 1941 to read history but only stayed<br />
there for two terms before being called up for war service. Initially he<br />
was selected to be an officer cadet with the Queens Royal Regiment,<br />
but as a result of his breaking a leg at school playing football and the<br />
break not being properly set, he was not classified as Al. He transferred<br />
to the Intelligence Corps and before long found himself posted<br />
to India where he was based at an RAF station intercepting messages<br />
being sent by the Japanese forces.<br />
He returned to Oxford after demobilisation and after graduation studied<br />
at the Institute of Education in Russell Square, London. In 1956 he<br />
applied for a position as a history master at Sudbury Grammar School.<br />
He loved his profession and really enjoyed his time at the Grammar<br />
School; he had very many supportive colleagues and motivated pupils.<br />
In 1972 West Suffolk went comprehensive and Eric was appointed<br />
Head of Sixth Form at the new Upper School. He took retirement in<br />
1981 at the age of 5 8. He then became a volunteer at the local Citizen's<br />
Advice Bureau until he was 70. Eric died on 21st February <strong>2017</strong> aged<br />
93 after a long illness. (contributed by Mrs Betty Britten)<br />
Below is a tribute from one of Eric's pupils, Michael Younger.<br />
It is a truism, I think, for all teachers, that pupils rarely thank them<br />
enough when they are actually experiencing education or when they<br />
leave school, but I wanted to share with you, even now, the impact that<br />
Eric has had on my education and subsequent career. In teaching history<br />
to me, over a period of 7 years, he opened my eyes to the joy of<br />
history, and gave me a sense of enjoyment, fulfilment and curiosity<br />
about historical events, peoples and heritages which I retain to this<br />
day. I remember him as a man of principle and intellect, the epitome of<br />
an academic school master concerned for the welfare and well-being<br />
of his principles. Never accepting specious or ill-founded opinions, he<br />
demanded evidence, rational argument and coherent theses, and he<br />
taught me the worth of literature, reason and inquisitiveness in academic<br />
discourse. In my subsequent career in teaching and in academia,<br />
I often returned to memories of him and quoted his example to stu-<br />
22<br />
dents here at Cambridge; in my memories, Eric will always remain a<br />
man of quality, of charm, a schoolmaster who demanded rigour but<br />
gave so very much in return.<br />
Michael Younger (SGS 1959-66)<br />
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••<br />
A Grammar smaller than SGS: Halstead Grammar School for<br />
Girls.<br />
With support from local educationalists, Halstead Grammar School for<br />
Girls opened as a fee paying school in 1909. [A small grammar school<br />
for boys had existed in the High Street in Halstead but this was replaced<br />
in 1897 by the Earls Colne Grammar School.]. The school, on<br />
the Colchester Road, was built for £698 and was funded by Halstead<br />
Educational Charities. The school could accommodate 100 pupils with<br />
5 free places by examination; annual fees in 1924 were £10.00. The<br />
school remained fee paying until the 1944 Education Act when the<br />
school became free to girls who had passed the 11 + examination. In<br />
the early 1960s the school was expanded to include a science block,<br />
dining room & kitchen, art and domestic science rooms. The girls'<br />
grammar school, one of the smallest in the UK, existed for approximately<br />
66 years. In 1975 it was amalgamated with the Earls Colne<br />
Grammar School and Halstead Secondary Modem School to form the<br />
Ramsey School based in new premises in Colne Road in Halstead. The<br />
HGS site eventually became redundant and was sold for development.<br />
The website comments that Mrs Rachel Hales, the last Headmistress,<br />
had the unenviable task of overseeing the amalgamation of the school<br />
with Earls Colne Grammar and the Secondary Modem School. The<br />
late SGS Headmaster, Alec Strahan, would have had some sympathy<br />
with this opinion.!<br />
The Association has two aims: To maintain the history and spirit of<br />
Halstead Grammar School and to promote communication between all<br />
former staff and pupils. The website gives current membership to 88;<br />
the SFP reported that the Association recently held an AGM in May<br />
and they have a lunch annually in September. The website holds a<br />
photoarchive. Robin Farbridge (SGS 1953-60)<br />
23
TREASURER'S REPORT<br />
For the year ended 31 st December 2016<br />
Receipts 2016 2015<br />
[£) [£)<br />
Subscriptions and donations 2230 2340<br />
Interest<br />
Buffet I Luncheon tickets 570 735<br />
Donations - 20 45<br />
Visits 300 285<br />
3,120 3,405<br />
Less payments<br />
Cost of Buffet/Luncheon 920 1,276<br />
Postage & telephone 298 245<br />
Printing & stationery 621 521<br />
Hire of Hall etc 255 195<br />
Awards 350 250<br />
Accountancy fees (printing) 63 60<br />
Donations 50 100<br />
surance 115 274<br />
Miscellaneous 13 74<br />
Visits 342 285<br />
3,027 3,280<br />
Excess of receipts over payments 93 125<br />
Balance at bank 1st Jan 2016 4,599 4474<br />
Balance at bank 31st Dec 2016 ~ ~<br />
Statement of Assets & Liabilities<br />
Monetary Assets<br />
Cash at bank 4,692 4,474<br />
Liabilities<br />
Subscriptions paid in advance 25 10<br />
(Tom Welsh Treasurer)<br />
24