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Versa: Issue One

Versa is a biannual publication and will be published every autumn and spring term. Versa will replace the former magazine, OA Bulletin and will offer a comprehensive insight into the many facets of alumni life.

Versa is a biannual publication and will be published every autumn and spring term. Versa will replace the former magazine, OA Bulletin and will offer a comprehensive insight into the many facets of alumni life.

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VERSA<br />

OA NEWS<br />

SUCCESS IN THE DEN<br />

ASK THE ARCHIVIST<br />

LA GRANDE FINALE<br />

A DOUBLE FOR COX<br />

POPPING<br />

BACK<br />

From unauthorised tuck shops to a<br />

team of 50 and a product in Selfridges<br />

- ADAM SOPHER (OA 2003), REVEALS ALL<br />

AUTUMN 2017


Inside<br />

this issue<br />

Editorial Team<br />

Chris Harbour<br />

Sarah Osborne<br />

Sign up to receive <strong>Versa</strong> magazine 2<br />

OA President’s notes 3<br />

OA News 4<br />

OA Events 6<br />

Reunions8<br />

Lines by Niall Matthews 9<br />

Featured OA: Adam Sopher 10<br />

Ask the Archivist 12<br />

Announcements13<br />

Play your Part 14<br />

OA merchandise 15<br />

La grande finale 16<br />

The OA Lodge 17<br />

Sports News 18<br />

Your say 22<br />

Upcoming events /<br />

How we use your data 23<br />

@oldalbanianclub<br />

@OldAlbanianClub<br />

St Albans School<br />

Archives<br />

Old Albanian<br />

Networking:<br />

St Albans School<br />

St Albans School Foundation | CHARITY NO. 1092932


2<br />

OA CLUB<br />

President<br />

Mike Hodge<br />

07774 161624<br />

mike@mikehodge.co.uk<br />

Secretary<br />

David Buxton<br />

01727 840499<br />

davidbuxton36@gmail.com<br />

Treasurer<br />

David Hughes<br />

07701 027881<br />

hughespost@hotmail.co.uk<br />

Membership Secretary<br />

Roger Cook<br />

01727 836877<br />

rogercook@btinternet.co.uk<br />

OA SPORTS<br />

RUGBY<br />

www.oarugby.com<br />

President<br />

Paul Richardson<br />

07918 633 031<br />

paulrichardson@gmail.com<br />

Chairman<br />

Rusty Osman<br />

07976 292737<br />

rustio@hotmail.com<br />

Treasurer<br />

Rick Powdrell<br />

07795 200125<br />

rpowdrell@sky.com<br />

Secretary<br />

Peter Lipscomb<br />

01727 760466<br />

peter.lipscomb@oarugby.com<br />

Mini Chairman<br />

Mike Fisher<br />

mikefisher2001@hotmail.com<br />

Junior Chairman<br />

Ian Tomlins<br />

07867 971585<br />

juniorchairman.oarugby@yahoo.co.uk<br />

OA Saints Chairperson<br />

Kate Barnes<br />

07841 706250<br />

oasaints@gmail.com<br />

FOOTBALL<br />

President<br />

Nick Jackson<br />

oldalbaniansfc@gmail.com<br />

CRICKET<br />

www.oacc.org.uk<br />

President<br />

Tony Dalwood<br />

07958 522261<br />

adalwood@yahoo.com<br />

Chairman<br />

Richard Morgan<br />

01727 843844<br />

richard.morgan50@btinternet.com<br />

Treasurer<br />

Richard Ransley<br />

07878 499432<br />

richransley@gmail.com<br />

Secretary<br />

Alison Finley<br />

01727 853985<br />

ajfinley@ntlworld.com<br />

TENNIS<br />

Membership Enquiries<br />

Maureen Harcourt<br />

07710 270361<br />

m.harcourt@ntlworld.com<br />

RIFLE & PISTOL<br />

President<br />

Andrew Wilkie<br />

01202 424190<br />

Andrew.Wilkie@ymail.com<br />

ANGLING<br />

President<br />

Geoff Cannon<br />

01727 861622 /01582 792512<br />

cannon.morgan@btconnect.com<br />

GOLF<br />

President<br />

Peter Dredge<br />

015827 834572<br />

pjdredge42@aol.com<br />

OA LODGE<br />

Assistant Secretary<br />

John Williams<br />

01438 715679<br />

johntwilliams@talktalk.net<br />

SCHOOL<br />

www.st-albans.herts.sch.uk<br />

Development Director<br />

Kate Gray<br />

kgray@@st-albans.herts.sch.uk<br />

01727 515177<br />

Alumni Relations &<br />

Development Manager<br />

Chris Harbour<br />

charbour@st-albans.herts.sch.uk<br />

01727 515185<br />

Development & Archives<br />

Assistant<br />

Hannah Nelson<br />

hnelson@st-albans.herts.sch.uk<br />

01727 515178<br />

Campaign Assistant<br />

Sarah Osborne<br />

slosborne@st-albans.herts.sch.uk<br />

01727 224540<br />

Editorial Team<br />

Chris Harbour<br />

Alumni Relations & Development<br />

Manager<br />

Sarah Osborne<br />

Campaign Assistant<br />

OA CLUB AGM<br />

The Old Albanian<br />

Committee will meet for<br />

the 125th Annual General<br />

Meeting on the 6th December<br />

2017 to be held at 20:00 in<br />

the ‘948’ room of the OA<br />

Pavilion, Woollams.<br />

All members are welcome<br />

to attend and new members<br />

to the committee are<br />

encouraged to join.<br />

SIGN UP<br />

to receive<br />

<strong>Versa</strong> magazine<br />

This first edition of <strong>Versa</strong> magazine (previously the OA Bulletin)<br />

has been sent to all Old Albanians. However, in order to continue<br />

receiving a postal copy of this publication, you will need to opt-in.<br />

We understand that the majority of OAs prefer the ease and<br />

convenience of reading about the School and its alumni online;<br />

therefore, we will only produce hard copies of <strong>Versa</strong> magazine<br />

for alumni who have requested to receive it.<br />

On page 23 you will read further information about how the<br />

School handles your data and the updates we are making to our<br />

communications and data policies, in light of the GDPR regulations<br />

which are due to be enforced.<br />

If you would like to continue to receive a copy of <strong>Versa</strong> by post,<br />

you can opt-in via the following methods:<br />

Sign up online:<br />

visit www.oaconnect.co.uk<br />

and follow the instructions on the homepage<br />

or<br />

Email us at<br />

development@st-albans.herts.sch.uk<br />

or<br />

Phone us on 01727 515184<br />

or<br />

Complete and return the slip below:<br />

Name: ................................................................................................<br />

Address: ............................................................................................<br />

............................................................................................................<br />

Telephone:.........................................................................................<br />

Email:.................................................................................................<br />

I would like to receive a free copy of <strong>Versa</strong> by post, sent<br />

to the address above.


3<br />

OA PRESIDENT’S NOTES<br />

Mike Hodge, OA President<br />

In the June 2017 edition of this publication, I closed my<br />

President’s Notes with “We have an interesting summer of<br />

politics ahead”. Maybe that was not one of the best things I<br />

have written and I will now avoid political comment! There<br />

has been much to applaud in the OA arena so let’s get on with<br />

some more positive stuff.<br />

Back in May, I had a splendid session with John Meulkens<br />

who, at 99, is our oldest OA – now living in Amsterdam.<br />

John was over here visiting and proved to be as sharp as the<br />

proverbial tack. He plays the piano every day and this keeps<br />

his fingers nimble and his brain sharp. He was at the School<br />

in the 1930s where, he reminded me, he was taught Maths by<br />

my grandfather, Frank “Pi” Walker. John still remembers his<br />

Maths lessons with affection. I remember my Maths lessons<br />

too – I am not sure “with affection”. You will see a write up of<br />

John’s visit on page 16.<br />

June was packed with OA and School events. Early in the<br />

month I met with seven of my School year in The Digby Tap<br />

in Sherborne – more of this on page 8. Then, there was a<br />

reunion lunch for the years of 1967 and 1974. I saw the name<br />

Niall Matthews (OA 1974) on the list and tracked him down.<br />

Niall’s father, John, had been instrumental in teaching me<br />

in my early days when I worked for Customs and Excise. It<br />

was wonderful to catch up with Niall, though sadly his father<br />

had died comparatively recently. You must read his thought<br />

provoking poem on page 9.<br />

On Sunday 18th June, we had the OA President’s Summer<br />

Lunch at Woollams. About 80 of us attended and a good<br />

time was had by all. Roger Cook and Geoff Cannon were<br />

made Honorary Life Vice Presidents of the OA Club for their<br />

fantastic efforts over the years. Nick and Andy Chappin were<br />

also presented with the OA President’s Cup for their work<br />

on the OA Bulletin over the last twenty years. June was the<br />

last edition they created, with the School now picking up the<br />

reins of production (see Headmaster’s Notes in the reverse of<br />

the magazine). As I have said before in previous editions, the<br />

Chappin brothers have, doublehandedly, masterminded the<br />

whole production of the OA Bulletin. The OAs cannot thank<br />

them enough.<br />

The weekend of 24th June was filled with my old School<br />

Hockey Players’ Golf meeting followed by an OA Legends<br />

XI cricket match against the OAs select XI. Both events were<br />

blessed with wonderful weather. The sun – as we all know –<br />

shines upon the righteous.<br />

I attended the School Graduation ceremony the following<br />

week where the School said ‘goodbye’ to 140 or so Upper<br />

Sixth leavers. Whilst the School might be saying goodbye, the<br />

OA Club is saying welcome to all these students. The best way<br />

to keep in touch is through the School’s Development Office.<br />

They issue a quarterly e-newsletter with updates and event<br />

reminders. In the words I delivered to the students, I cribbed<br />

from an article I had seen in the Daily Telegraph about the<br />

‘Five Life Skills’ which are said to bring health, wealth and<br />

success throughout life. I should have read this in June 1965<br />

when I walked, for the last time, out of the gates at Upper<br />

Yard. The skills are – Emotional Stability, Determination,<br />

Optimism, Control and Conscientiousness. I have to say that I<br />

don’t agree with all of this – I would certainly add ‘try to make<br />

people happy’. The future is what you make it. Try to keep<br />

smiling. The Head of School, Will Stewart, gave one of the<br />

best speeches I have ever heard delivered. Quite brilliant – he<br />

has a great future.<br />

Then into July and the annual Founders’ Day service, which<br />

was exceptional both in music and content. The Headmaster<br />

involved students from various years to take the congregation<br />

through the history of the School. It is so interesting as one<br />

would expect from a School founded in 948AD! Please do<br />

read the Headmaster’s Notes in the flipside of this magazine<br />

where he mentions the exceptional results from this year’s<br />

GCSEs and A levels. I will not comment further except<br />

to say that I compliment everyone at the School on these<br />

magnificent results.<br />

Elsewhere in the magazine, you will find reports on the<br />

various sports sections. Of special mention must be the OA<br />

Cricket where the 1st XI kept their place in their league<br />

for the next season, the 2nd XI were promoted and the 3rd<br />

XI were Champions and promoted. The newly formed OA<br />

Football side has now been accepted into the Arthurian<br />

League where I am sure they will work their way up through<br />

the leagues.<br />

Finally, I am just about to start working with the Development<br />

Office on putting together a ‘Diamond Geezers’ reunion for<br />

mid-September 2018. ‘My’ year started at the School on 18th<br />

September 1958 so 2018 will be our 60th anniversary. There<br />

will, undoubtedly, be more on this in later editions.<br />

Meanwhile, I wish all readers health, happiness and fitness.<br />

The OA Club is in very good heart and the School continues<br />

to flourish. All is good then.


4<br />

OA News<br />

A GRAND<br />

Design<br />

Former St Albans School parents, Chris and Kayo, appeared on<br />

Channel 4’s Grand Designs in September. They discuss with us<br />

the highs and lows of building your own home...<br />

We’ve been lucky enough to live within the grounds of the Abbey<br />

since 2005, which was convenient for our son who would often<br />

roll out of bed 10-minutes before registration and run up the hill.<br />

Next door to us sat a three-acre area of land that was owned by<br />

a St Albans family for around 60 years. The land was overgrown<br />

and ragged, often used as a secret den for St Albans School boys.<br />

In 2008, I approached an architect friend of mine about the<br />

prospects of designing something to fit on the site. We knew it<br />

fell within the Scheduled Ancient Monument boundary and so<br />

would need the blessing of Historic England. Any development<br />

in that area has to be signed off by the Secretary of State. A little<br />

daunted, we began on what would become a 10-year journey to<br />

build a one-off, unique house that would do credit to the amazing<br />

location. Historic England played a key role in helping us<br />

determine the position, shape, size and design of the house, but<br />

we found them very positive to work with. The Abbey were also<br />

very kind in supporting the project.<br />

The project has also been followed by Gary Calvert, Head of<br />

Creative, Technical & Performing Arts, and some of his students<br />

over the years. Kevin McCloud even filmed part of the Grand<br />

Designs programme in the Gateway.<br />

Fast forward to 2017 and the house is finished and we’re in<br />

residence. It’s a beautiful house in amazing grounds with great<br />

views of the Abbey and the river flowing through our garden.<br />

You can watch the episode at www.channel4.com/programmes/<br />

grand-designs<br />

ROOKIE<br />

of the Year<br />

Ranked 100 at singles and 44 at doubles by the NCAA<br />

(National Collegiate Athletic Association), tennis<br />

star Charlie Broom (OA 2016) has been named Ivy<br />

League Rookie of the Year – the first time a player from<br />

Dartmouth has achieved this status.<br />

Broom spent his summer playing against and training<br />

with some of the best players in the world. The rising<br />

sophomore tested and honed his skills in five ATP<br />

professional level events and capped off the summer by<br />

winning his first professional title in Belgium, teaming up<br />

with Colin Sinclair of Australia to win the doubles event.<br />

Charlie has since been training back in the UK.<br />

“I’m very pleased with my achievements<br />

this summer… but I’m looking forward<br />

to training hard and competing for<br />

Dartmouth this season”


5<br />

SUCCESS<br />

in the Den<br />

We were ready to do something different and so started<br />

brainstorming ideas. As big travellers, we thought about our<br />

biggest bugbears when backpacking. <strong>One</strong> was definitely the<br />

towel. Traditional cotton towels were nice to look at but big<br />

and bulky and would get damp and collect smells. Microfibre<br />

towels were small, dull and rough against the skin but had<br />

great benefits such as being compact and quick drying. So we<br />

set out to reinvent the towel and Dock & Bay was born.<br />

After six-months building the business, we made the leap and<br />

quit our jobs. Ben moved back to Australia and I took out a<br />

£30k bank loan to invest in the business and moved over there<br />

temporarily. Following that, I returned home and built the<br />

business on my parents’ kitchen table. We’ve now sold over<br />

200,000 units worldwide and sell in 11 different markets, the<br />

growth has been rapid!<br />

FROM LEFT TO RIGHT, ANDY JEFFERIES, DEBORAH MEADEN<br />

AND BEN MILLER<br />

After a grilling in the Den, Andy Jefferies (OA 2007) talks to<br />

us about his time at School, new company Dock & Bay and<br />

recent investment by Dragon Deborah Meaden...<br />

It’s 10 years ago since I left St Albans School. Good times were<br />

always had on those grounds and I think I was nicknamed<br />

‘cheeky chappy’ by Mr Gould!<br />

After leaving Leeds University, I worked in one of the UK<br />

retail banks for three years and in the last year, I worked for<br />

their Digital Division where I met Ben (my business partner).<br />

We applied for Dragons’ Den as it’s not often you get to stand<br />

in front of five investors worth a combined total of close to<br />

£700m and pitch your business.<br />

The Den was a daunting place with a gruelling one-and-ahalf-hour<br />

questioning, much of which you don’t see on TV –<br />

but we came out with a new investor in Deborah Meaden.<br />

She had been the most supportive of us, making fair<br />

challenges and putting forward a fair offer based on our<br />

business position.<br />

We have since signed on the dotted line with Deborah and<br />

have a great opportunity to work closely and use her wealth of<br />

knowledge, experience and contacts to take our brand to the<br />

next level!<br />

Get your Dock & Bay towel at: www.dockandbay.co.uk<br />

DOUBLE WORLD TITLE SUCCESS<br />

In August, Robbie Lightowler (OA 2015) represented GB at the ITU Multisport<br />

World Championships in Penticton, British Columbia, and was crowned World<br />

Champion in both the Duathlon and the Aquathlon.<br />

His first event was the Sprint Duathlon, in which Adam Thorpe (OA 2015) also<br />

competed. In the Age Group category, there were 440 men. Robbie finished first in<br />

the 20-24 age group with Adam second.<br />

In the second event, the Aquathlon – a 1000m open water swim followed by 5k run<br />

– Robbie competed in the Elite Race. In the Age Group category there were 400 men<br />

and Robbie finished first in his age group and first overall. If he had been competing<br />

in the Elite Men’s category, his dad, David Lightowler, estimates he would have<br />

placed third:<br />

“The reason for an estimate is that it cannot strictly be done on time since in<br />

Robbie’s race, wet suits were allowed but in the Elite Men they were not.<br />

Over a 1000m this would give an approximate 40 second advantage to the wet suit<br />

wearer, less about 12 seconds for having to take the suit off in transition”.<br />

“Robbie’s swim time was exceptional at 12.36<br />

– with the fastest Elite man recording 13.04”


6 OA Events<br />

1ST VII NETBALL TEAM<br />

GIRLS’<br />

NETBALL<br />

and afternoon tea<br />

On Saturday 16th September, we welcomed the return<br />

of OAs to play in our annual netball match against the<br />

first VII. Seven OAs, all of whom left St Albans School in<br />

2014, came back to brush up on their netball skills and<br />

try to defeat the current squad. Although the OA girls<br />

were unable to secure a victory, they thoroughly enjoyed<br />

their nostalgic visit to Woollams. Afterwards, the OAs<br />

and the current squad enjoyed a well-deserved Prosecco<br />

afternoon tea while they reminisced about their time at<br />

School and discussed their future plans.<br />

HAILEYBURY<br />

Sixes<br />

The annual Haileybury Sixes competition is always a<br />

highlight in the hockey calendar for OAs. On Sunday<br />

24th September, St Albans School alumni put in a<br />

sterling effort against teams such as Bryanston, Clifton<br />

and of course Haileybury.<br />

We reached the Quarter Finals, losing to this<br />

year’s winners of the competition, St Edwards.<br />

Congratulations go to OAs Robin Pendock (2011),<br />

Bradley Hudson (2010), Alex Terry (2013), Harry<br />

Di-Lieto (2013), Nial Parkash (2013), Michael<br />

Grimshaw (2010) and our two current students, Bertie<br />

Arbuthnott and Chris Fletcher.<br />

It was great to see some recent leavers returning to play<br />

after three years at University. The Development Office is<br />

keen to organise future events which encourage female OAs<br />

to get together with old friends at the School. Whether it’s<br />

a netball match, a curry night or even a gin tasting evening,<br />

please do let us know what kind of event would interest<br />

you. We are keen to hear your suggestions!<br />

Please contact the Development Office at<br />

development@st-albans.herts.sch.uk


7<br />

AN<br />

EVENING<br />

WITH…<br />

Mitchell<br />

Zhangazha<br />

We were delighted to welcome back Mitchell<br />

Zhangazha (OA 2013) on Thursday 5th October<br />

for one of our ‘An Evening with…’ events. West<br />

End actor Mitchell kicked off the evening with a<br />

fascinating discussion about his career, followed by<br />

a Q&A session hosted by Danny Swanson (Drama)<br />

on his experiences working in theatre, including<br />

the West End productions of Thriller Live!, Peter<br />

Pan, Oliver!, The Lion King and Chitty Chitty Bang<br />

Bang. Mitchell also treated us to some stunning<br />

vocals and sang ‘Signed, Sealed, Delivered’ by<br />

Stevie Wonder, ‘Who’s Lovin’ You’ by Jackson Five<br />

and ‘Reet Petite’ by Jackie Wilson. Mitchell has<br />

acted in the West End since the age of seven and is<br />

making an excellent start to his professional career,<br />

having recently taken a lead role in the Edinburgh<br />

production of Five Guys Named Moe. We look<br />

forward to following his career in the future!<br />

Read more about this event on the School side of<br />

the magazine.<br />

OA DINNER<br />

A big thanks goes to all of the OAs who joined us for the OA<br />

Dinner on Friday 22nd September. It was a great success and<br />

one of our biggest OA Dinner turnouts!<br />

The evening started with optional School tours, a drinks<br />

reception with prosecco and culminated with a two-course<br />

Steak & Guinness pie dinner and a lemon mousse to finish.<br />

With around 100 people in attendance, tables were organised<br />

chronologically by year group and we were able to reunite<br />

many OAs with old friends. It was a walk through time and a<br />

great chance to not only reminisce with contemporaries, but<br />

also a chance to meet OAs from other years and see how the<br />

School has changed over time.<br />

MILL HILL<br />

v<br />

St Albans 1st XV<br />

We were delighted to see a great OA turnout on Friday<br />

15th September for one of the first big rugby fixtures of<br />

the term – St Albans School 1st XV v Mill Hill. As we had<br />

brought in floodlights for the occasion, OAs were able to<br />

meet in the School Pavilion and enjoy a bar and bacon and<br />

sausage butties, whilst watching a great game. SAS won the<br />

match 17-7 so it was a great end to a successful evening!<br />

We hope to invite more OAs back to Woollams for<br />

future matches so please keep an eye on your emails<br />

and social media.<br />

Alan Philpott (OA 1962) brought in a long-lost piece of St<br />

Albans School history; an old toy bear sporting a St Albans<br />

School uniform, owned by Paul Gismondi (OA 1970). The<br />

bear was Paul’s mascot during his School days, and his mother<br />

created the kit out of an old scarf and badge.<br />

Mike Hodge (OA President) gave one of his famous speeches<br />

at the end of the Dinner and paid the OA Club’s ‘annual fee’ of<br />

one peppercorn to the Headmaster.<br />

We were pleased to launch our new book, Inspiring Old<br />

Albanians, at the Dinner which proved a great success –<br />

selling out of all of the stock on the table! If you would like to<br />

buy a copy, please take a look at page 15 for details on how to<br />

purchase merchandise.<br />

We hope that next year’s OA Dinner will be equally successful<br />

and you should expect to hear from us in August 2018 with<br />

news of the next theme!


8<br />

Reunions<br />

CLASS OF<br />

1963 reunion<br />

by Mike Darby (OA 1963)<br />

MOST OF THE MEMBERS OF ‘MATHS UPPER’<br />

The 19th July 1963 was the last day of term and the nine<br />

members of Maths Upper went their separate ways (most<br />

of whom are pictured above). Fifty years later, to the day,<br />

six of us had a reunion meal at Lussmanns. <strong>One</strong> other<br />

of our number, Andy Lister, was traced to Australia, but<br />

said it was rather a long way to come! Since then we have<br />

met biannually and in 2015 managed to fix a date so that<br />

Andy could join us. On 4th July this year we were hosted<br />

by the School’s Development Office. We were given a<br />

tour of the School, and reminisced about the Walnut<br />

tree in the Orchard and the former CCF rifle range, and<br />

many other things. We were disappointed that the ‘maths<br />

room’ where we spent so much of our time with Harry<br />

Schofield (and other teachers) at the top of the Science<br />

block no longer existed, having been amalgamated with<br />

the former TLR (Top Lecture Room). We marvelled at<br />

the new swimming pool and contrasted it with the pool<br />

at Belmont. Afterwards, we went into St Albans and had<br />

a coffee in St Peter’s Street before returning to 5, Fishpool<br />

Street for an excellent meal prepared and served by the<br />

School’s caterers. All in all, it was an excellent day.<br />

If any reader of this piece has knowledge of the contact<br />

details for our two ‘missing’ members, P(eter) N R<br />

Chadwick (last heard of in Germany) or D(avid) M<br />

Griffiths (last heard of in Canada), I would be pleased if<br />

you would let me know via the Development Office.<br />

EIGHT<br />

old boys meeting<br />

by Mike Hodge (OA 1065)<br />

In June, eight of us OAs from the 1965 vintage, made our<br />

annual pilgrimage to the Digby Tap in Sherborne. We first<br />

met on 18th September 1958 on our first day at School and<br />

motivated by the first 50th year reunion in 2008, our splinter<br />

group has carried on with a small annual reunion. Apologies for<br />

absence were received from Pete Smith who was attending his<br />

Godmother’s 95th birthday. Fair enough.<br />

We chose The Digby Tap because it is a sort of ‘central’ point<br />

for us travelling OAs. Our homes range from Sidmouth, Bath,<br />

Fairford, Oxford, Belgium, Hoddesdon and Harpenden. Mike<br />

Nurton now lives in Sherborne and also gets an invite. All of us<br />

have had very different careers, which shows the benefit of the<br />

wide educational basis provided by the School. Many subjects<br />

were discussed and many things were put right. It was as if none<br />

of us had been away – the humour and stories were endless. The<br />

landlord at The Digby Tap is keen to have us back next year (8th<br />

June 2018) as it is a very good day for his takings!<br />

We ‘Diamond Geezers’ are now contemplating another reunion<br />

on or around 18th September 2018 to celebrate 60 years since<br />

we were ‘new bugs’!<br />

1967 & 1974<br />

GOLDEN JUBILEE<br />

reunion<br />

This summer marked 50 years since the Classes of 1967<br />

started, and the Class of 1974 left St Albans School. In<br />

celebration, we held a Golden Jubilee Reunion for these two<br />

year groups, bringing together just under 50 OAs, some of<br />

whom had not seen each other since their School days!<br />

The group enjoyed a tour of the School site and an<br />

update from the Headmaster on where we are today<br />

and future plans. It was then up to Woollams to enjoy<br />

lunch and a drink in the School Pavilion. For some, the<br />

reminiscing continued long into the night in the local St<br />

Albans pubs!<br />

Thank you to all who attended and we hope to see you<br />

again soon.<br />

(IN THE CHAIR) DAVE CHAPMAN, (BACK ROW, LEFT TO RIGHT) SID OWEN, BARRY MACKENZIE, MIKE NURTON – OA STAFF<br />

FROM 1966 TO 1971, MIKE HODGE. (FRONT ROW, LEFT TO RIGHT) RICK MOORE, BILL NEALE AND DAVE MERRIOTT.


9<br />

LINES<br />

by Niall Matthews<br />

(OA 1974)<br />

time<br />

takes a cigarette i<br />

the park<br />

breathed<br />

come to a strange place<br />

we’ll talk over old times ii<br />

twentieth century boys iii<br />

distant memories<br />

diffracted<br />

reflected<br />

refracted<br />

by different shards of glass<br />

my salad days<br />

when I was green in judgment<br />

cold in blood<br />

to say as I said then<br />

but come<br />

away<br />

get me ink and paper iv<br />

fingers stained royal blue<br />

the smell of ink in the bottle<br />

when the white eagle of the north<br />

is flying overhead v<br />

arma virumque cano vi<br />

I sing of arms and a man<br />

cross-country runs along the flint<br />

wall<br />

where roman boots<br />

once beat in cadence<br />

boot caliga caligae<br />

spit<br />

polish<br />

blanco on khaki webbing<br />

the last post<br />

construe<br />

so many, many songs were waiting<br />

to be sung vii<br />

the ablative absolute long forgotten viii<br />

somehow<br />

I still conjure latin roots<br />

e ducere<br />

lead out<br />

education<br />

ductile<br />

the duke of edinburgh<br />

swiss time was running out<br />

it seemed that we would lose the race<br />

smoke on the water<br />

fire in the sky ix<br />

we mixed emotions<br />

in clever retorts<br />

we used<br />

slide rules<br />

logarithms<br />

irony<br />

sarcasm<br />

I got a silver machine<br />

it flies sideways through time x<br />

pocket chess<br />

the french defence<br />

cela se fait à paris! xi<br />

but that’s what’s done in paris<br />

baguettes and bottled beer<br />

hey babe, take a walk on the wild<br />

side xii<br />

il pleure dans mon coeur comme il<br />

pleut sur la ville xiii<br />

tears in my heart like the rain on<br />

the town<br />

je t’aime<br />

moi non plus xiv<br />

I love you... me neither<br />

me<br />

neither<br />

can’t even think of a word that<br />

rhymes xv<br />

subjunctive<br />

mood<br />

détente<br />

detention<br />

writing<br />

lines<br />

bet you’re wond’ring how I knew xvi<br />

gowns unfurling like black wings<br />

jackets of tweed or beige linen<br />

teachers<br />

some were kind<br />

going back to find<br />

to a simpler place ’n’ time xvii<br />

I could last forever<br />

outlast the sea<br />

the earth<br />

and all men xviii<br />

in our paintings<br />

the teacher<br />

always found a line to admire<br />

the smell of oil paints<br />

this my hand will rather<br />

the multitudinous seas incarnadine<br />

making the green one red xix<br />

no more will my green sea go turn a<br />

deeper blue xx<br />

der die das<br />

a sharply-dressed<br />

german german teacher<br />

carried a brown leather<br />

accusative case<br />

we rowdily<br />

declined<br />

adjectives<br />

über den wolken muss die freiheit<br />

wohl grenzenlos sein<br />

above the clouds freedom has no<br />

borders xxi<br />

do I der to eat a peach? xxii<br />

cabin’d, cribb’d, confined, bound in<br />

to saucy doubts and fears xxiii<br />

a gentle english teacher<br />

showed us the jokes in shakespeare<br />

you were half blasted ere I knew<br />

you xxiv<br />

he collected shopping bags<br />

tonight I’ll lose my head<br />

tonight I’ve got to get<br />

tonight xxv<br />

film club<br />

old oak pews<br />

film reels flickering<br />

strangers on a train xxvi<br />

fingers stretching for a lighter<br />

is there concrete all around<br />

or is it in my head xxvii<br />

walking home through the park<br />

in my striped school blazer<br />

three boys from the secondary<br />

modern<br />

looking grim<br />

fell into step<br />

a girl called out<br />

“he’s my brother”<br />

and reluctantly they faded away<br />

I never saw her again<br />

kicking around on a piece of ground<br />

in your home town xxviii<br />

at a rock concert<br />

a girl from the grammar school<br />

smiled<br />

though the music is lethal<br />

let the night take me in xxix<br />

visiting years later<br />

on the hill<br />

is the shop where I got my first<br />

camera<br />

still<br />

somebody’s shouting<br />

up at a mountain<br />

only my own words return xxx<br />

in the high street<br />

a man sitting on the pavement<br />

shouts<br />

“change please!”<br />

but we had already changed<br />

time may change me<br />

but I can’t trace time xxxi<br />

in the end<br />

maybe there were no answers<br />

only questions<br />

and I know where to find some good<br />

ones<br />

the park<br />

breathed<br />

and as for<br />

time<br />

he’s waiting in the wings xxxii<br />

i David Bowie, Rock ‘n’ roll Suicide<br />

ii Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel, Somebody called me Sebastian<br />

iii Twentieth Century Boy, title of a song by T Rex<br />

iv Shakespeare, Antony and Cleopatra act 1 scene 5<br />

v The Moody Blues, The Dream<br />

vi Vergil, the Aeneid, opening line<br />

vii Dusty Springfield, Yesterday When I Was Young<br />

viii = an ablative absolute<br />

ix Deep Purple, Smoke on the Water<br />

x Hawkwind, Silver Machine<br />

xi Gustave Flaubert, Madame Bovary part 3 section 1<br />

xii Lou Reed, Take a Walk on the Wild Side<br />

xiii Paul Verlaine, Il Pleure dans mon Coeur… from Romances sans paroles<br />

xiv Jane Birkin and Serge Gainsbourg, Je t’aime… moi non plus<br />

xv Alice Cooper, School’s Out<br />

xvi Marvin Gaye, I Heard It Through the Grapevine<br />

xvii Gladys Knight and the Pips, Midnight Train to Georgia<br />

xviii Joseph Conrad, Youth<br />

xix Shakespeare, Macbeth act 2 scene 2<br />

xx The Rolling Stones, Paint it Black<br />

xxi Reinhard Mey, Über den Wolken<br />

xxii Do I dare to eat a peach? T S Eliot, The Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock<br />

xxiii Shakespeare, Macbeth act 3 scene 4<br />

xxiv Shakespeare, Antony and Cleopatra act 3 scene 13<br />

xxv Easybeats, Friday on my Mind, covered by David Bowie on Pinups<br />

xxvi Strangers on a Train, directed by Alfred Hitchcock from a novel by Patricia Highsmith<br />

xxvii Mott the Hoople, All the Young Dudes<br />

xxviii Pink Floyd, Time<br />

xxix Mick Ronson, Music is Lethal<br />

xxx Deep Purple, Pictures of Home<br />

xxxi David Bowie, Changes<br />

xxxii David Bowie, Time


10<br />

10 Featured OA<br />

ADAM SOPHER, (OA 2003), FOUNDER AND DIRECTOR OF HIS FAMILY<br />

BUSINESS, JOE & SEPH’S GOURMET POPCORN<br />

JOE &<br />

SEPH’S<br />

Gourmet Popcorn<br />

From unauthorised tuck shops to a team of 50 and a product<br />

in Selfridges – Adam Sopher (OA 2003) talks to us about<br />

School life at St Albans and his globally successful family<br />

creation, Joe & Seph’s Popcorn.<br />

While you were at the School, did you have any idea<br />

what sort of work you wanted to go into?<br />

No, at the time I knew I wanted to go into business in<br />

some shape or form, but I didn’t really know how to<br />

get there. So I did the ‘usual’ and went to university<br />

and studied something broad to keep my options<br />

open. I went to Nottingham to study Economics, as<br />

I was quite motivated by doing something analytical<br />

and in the City, but I was ultimately interested in<br />

business.<br />

Were there any teachers who were particularly<br />

influential or memorable?<br />

I particularly remember Mr Walker, Mr Tolman, who<br />

left to join Harrow School at the time, and my French<br />

teacher Mrs Percival. They were great teachers. Mr<br />

Tolman was my Form Tutor and Economics teacher<br />

– he got me really passionate about economics. Mrs<br />

Percival taught me French which has become very<br />

useful in my business.<br />

Was there anything during your School experience<br />

that you feel was particularly valuable?<br />

I guess it’s all the different elements that School teaches<br />

and provides you with, like the academic side as well<br />

as extra-curricular activities like sports – which wasn’t<br />

really my thing! I met some really good people who<br />

I have stayed friends with too. There are two or three<br />

people from School in particular who I’m still close<br />

to, so that has a long-lasting impact. I even ended up<br />

sharing a house with a lot of the people who went to<br />

Nottingham from School, so there was that continuity.<br />

On the side, I set up a website whilst at School. At the<br />

time the web was relatively new, so I taught myself<br />

basic HTML and launched a website. I put my GCSE<br />

revision notes on the website and called it GCSE<br />

Guide. I sold that about three years ago. I also ran<br />

a tuck shop from my locker which the Headmaster<br />

actually closed down!<br />

What did you do after leaving Nottingham<br />

University?<br />

I graduated with a First and got a job in the City at<br />

Deloitte management consulting – they allowed me<br />

to defer my start date for a year so that I could go<br />

travelling with a guaranteed job offer at the end. I<br />

travelled all around the world including Australia,<br />

New Zealand and Asia. It was a great experience<br />

and I learnt about all different customs, cuisines and<br />

cultures. It definitely broadened my horizons.<br />

I spent two years working for Deloitte’s telecom and<br />

media clients, such as BT, Daily Mail and various<br />

others, doing consulting projects all over Europe.<br />

From there, I made the move to Dixons where I<br />

learnt an awful lot, as they were going through quite a<br />

challenging time. I then started getting itchy feet again<br />

and wanted to do something in a smaller business<br />

where I would have more of an impact.<br />

“Take advantage of all of the opportunities that<br />

school and university have to offer. They will<br />

always help at some point in life”


11<br />

How did you end up in your current job?<br />

My dad was retired and had been making popcorn<br />

(which he’d been making since we were kids). My<br />

mum was a stay-at-home-mum and was eager to<br />

do something in a work environment. The three of<br />

us decided to have a go and launched a premium<br />

popcorn company. The recipes are so different to the<br />

norm with unique flavours and premium packaging.<br />

We air-pop the corn and don’t fry it. We also sieve out<br />

all the small pieces so you won’t get any corn kernels<br />

leftover. All of it came together well and we really<br />

loved the taste. I took some tasters into Dixons and<br />

everyone really liked them, and so did our friends and<br />

family. In October 2010, we attended a BBC food show<br />

in West London, which is a big consumer show with<br />

lots of stands where people can taste and buy products.<br />

In the course of two days we sold out and said “Ah,<br />

this has gone well, we might have a business here”.<br />

After the food show, Selfridges got in touch and said<br />

they were interested in working with us. It was here we<br />

decided to develop the business.<br />

What do you do on a day-to-day basis?<br />

Too much is possibly the answer! Today I’m visiting<br />

a new building that we’re hoping to move our offices<br />

to because we’re out-growing our existing offices<br />

in London. I’m working on a new product. I am<br />

catching up with my team, including the operations,<br />

marketing and sales teams. In September, I was in<br />

Dubai selling popcorn to the Middle East, and there’s a<br />

lot of customer management too. We work with many<br />

large customers such as Cineworld and Waitrose, so I<br />

respond to them daily. There’s a real variety.<br />

I work with my parents, and my brother has joined<br />

the business now. We are spread across the building<br />

though, so we’re not stepping on each other’s toes all<br />

the time. My dad looks after popcorn production, my<br />

mum looks after our warehouse and I look after the<br />

sales strategy and marketing side of the business.<br />

What have been your biggest challenges to date?<br />

<strong>One</strong> of the biggest challenges with any business is cash<br />

flow. We need to make sure that we have enough cash<br />

to fund growth, especially with a business growing<br />

as fast as ours. It’s especially important because some<br />

retailers don’t pay for 60 days after we’ve delivered the<br />

product.<br />

We manufacture in our own production kitchens<br />

and don’t outsource. We have a large team of over 50<br />

people and we’re growing rapidly, which is a challenge.<br />

Six years ago, when we first launched popcorn flavours<br />

such as the Gin and Tonic popcorn, people asked us<br />

what we had done with the usual salted and sweet<br />

popcorn, because that was all the UK knew. There were<br />

a number of challenges getting customers to actually<br />

try it!<br />

And your biggest success?<br />

The first was seeing our products in Selfridges. It’s<br />

great seeing your product on a shelf but the biggest<br />

success is seeing it sell. I also get a lot of pleasure<br />

seeing a number of our team start as graduates and<br />

develop and grow into bigger roles in the business,<br />

as well as going on to do really interesting, cool jobs<br />

elsewhere.<br />

Is there anything surprising about your work?<br />

When you get to where we are now, and you walk<br />

into a bar in London, I start to notice our popcorn<br />

on the shelves which is cool but also quite a scary<br />

feeling. We don’t necessarily supply them directly<br />

because we’re working through a distributor, so we<br />

don’t know where our products are always going to<br />

be. It’s also cool seeing celebrities and people tweeting<br />

and Instagramming about our popcorn. It keeps our<br />

momentum going.<br />

Do you have any advice to pass onto current<br />

students at St Albans School?<br />

Take advantage of all of the opportunities that school<br />

and university have to offer. They will always help at<br />

some point in life. People you meet may end up being<br />

your customers in later life. Languages that you learn<br />

may also be useful, especially when communicating<br />

with customers and distributors overseas. Make use of<br />

your connections. It’s not easy starting a business. From<br />

the outside when you watch Dragons’ Den for example,<br />

it can look very easy, but it’s tough work. You’ve got to<br />

have a great, strong product and work really hard for it.<br />

If all of your ideas come together and you’re lucky, you<br />

can do really well and it’s the best career!<br />

For more information about Joe & Seph’s Gourmet<br />

Popcorn, visit www.joeandsephs.co.uk


12<br />

ASK<br />

the Archivist<br />

St Albans School dates back to 948AD and as such,<br />

there is a wealth of historical records to look after in<br />

our Museum. Our archives are extremely important in<br />

providing evidence of activities and telling a story of<br />

the institution and the individuals who are connected with it.<br />

The archives also increase our understanding of culture and<br />

beliefs of the time, both in education and in the city of<br />

St Albans.<br />

This ‘Ask the Archivist’ section will be a regular feature in<br />

<strong>Versa</strong> and we encourage you to do just that, ask the Archivist!<br />

If you have any questions about the history of the School or<br />

would like to know about the records in the Museum, please<br />

write to us and let us know. It can be anything from; ‘who<br />

are the famous alumni of the School?’ to ‘what was the most<br />

successful 1st XV rugby team at the School?’.<br />

In this edition, we ask Archivist, Nigel WoodSmith, how<br />

have we commemorated fallen OAs and do we have a<br />

complete record of all OAs who went to war?<br />

Alderman Major Nigel WoodSmith writes…<br />

In 2012, HMC (the Headmasters’ and Headmistresses’<br />

Conference) asked schools what they intended to do to<br />

commemorate the centenary of the First World War. We<br />

had already been thinking about this since commemorating<br />

the hundredth anniversary of the foundation of the OTC<br />

(Officers’ Training Corps), whose training programme had<br />

been put forward in 1906 by St Albans, Uppingham and the<br />

Imperial War College.<br />

Paul Downey (OA 1977), a brilliant 15-year-old in 1974, had<br />

started a project to obtain more detailed information about<br />

the names on the two War Memorials in the Upper Yard. We<br />

decided to find and publish a record of all those who served.<br />

The first task was to make a list. Michael Hollins (OA 2012)<br />

and Gareth Hughes (former parent) each produced a list of<br />

over 400 boys who they thought had fought and the combined<br />

list was the starting point.<br />

The initial request to OAs for help in finding names<br />

produced the remarkable and sad story of Arthur Skett which<br />

we immortalised in two books: The Death of Arthur Skett and<br />

The Life and Death of Arthur Skett (available on Amazon).<br />

Also discovered were the names of three OAs who were<br />

missing from the First World War Memorial; George Alfred<br />

Scott, Leslie Harry Shrewsbury and Frank Walter Wilks. They<br />

joined the 87 other Old Albanians on the Memorial, at the<br />

time, to be remembered.<br />

Soon we had collected over 1200 pages of information which<br />

remains an archive. Current students, Ben Plumer and Ben<br />

Craig, have been editing the pages down into seven volumes,<br />

which are soon to be published as A Headmaster at War.<br />

Extracts from the diary of Major E Montague Jones can be<br />

read on our archives website st-albans-sch-archives.co.uk.<br />

Montague Jones was the Headmaster of St Albans School<br />

from 1902 to 1931. In 1914 he had gone to war, writing simply<br />

to the Governors: “I have been called upon to serve with the 1st<br />

Herts Regiment…in consequence I have been obliged to make<br />

temporary arrangements for the carrying on of my work during<br />

this period”.<br />

Each year the School holds a Remembrance Service in the<br />

Abbey at which OAs, especially servicemen and women,<br />

are welcome to attend. The Service is followed by the Act of<br />

Remembrance at the War Memorial, commemorating all<br />

Old Albanians who made the ultimate sacrifice in defence<br />

of freedom as a result of war, peace-keeping operations or<br />

terrorist actions.<br />

So what research is left to do? Well, Volume 7 is partially a<br />

workbook – as Gareth Hughes and Michael Hollins will tell<br />

you, the work never ends – we hope that some of you will find<br />

the time to investigate some of the names we still have little<br />

information about.<br />

If any OAs are inclined to research the School’s history and<br />

War records, please contact Archivist Nigel Woodsmith at<br />

NAWood-Smith@st-albans.herts.sch.uk for names of OAs<br />

and tips on how to research.


13<br />

ANNOUNCEMENTS<br />

OBITUARIES<br />

It is with regret that the following deaths<br />

are announced:<br />

Ronald Francis Tarling (OA 1955)<br />

Informed by Ronald’s sister, Mrs Wheeler,<br />

that Francis died on 14th February 2017,<br />

at home.<br />

John Hulett (OA 1946)<br />

Died 4th March 2017.<br />

Richard James French<br />

(OA 1947)<br />

1931 – 2017<br />

Obituary by daughter,<br />

Gillian French<br />

Richard (Dick) French attended St Albans<br />

School on a scholarship between 1942<br />

and 1947. After an enthusiastic start:<br />

‘always cheerful and willing, but not<br />

very good’ (Algebra, 1942), he settled<br />

into a respectable School career earning<br />

commendations for his sporting prowess<br />

in rugby, shooting and swimming<br />

and he left with a credit in his general<br />

matriculation.<br />

Selected for officer training during his<br />

National Service, he afterwards embarked<br />

on a period of travel and adventure in<br />

a series of postings which took him<br />

to Hong Kong, the Cocos Islands and<br />

eventually to Indonesia, where he met his<br />

wife Franceline. They lived first in Suffolk<br />

before settling in the West Midlands<br />

with their three children. Dick’s affable<br />

character afforded him a steady career<br />

in sales management and he devoted<br />

his time to his family and his hobbies,<br />

including sailing and camping. His great<br />

love was for music: he played cornet,<br />

guitar and ukulele, sang in a barbershop<br />

quartet, sang in and conducted Male<br />

Voice Choirs and was a member of the<br />

local operatic society. He died on 8th<br />

August 2017 after a short illness.<br />

Philip Maxwell Eden<br />

(OA 1952)<br />

1934 – 2017<br />

Obituary by son, Roland<br />

Eden (OA 1981)<br />

Dad attended St Albans School from<br />

1947 to 1952. He was grateful to “Jumbo”<br />

Jenkins his Maths Master, and his English<br />

teacher who taught him the essence of<br />

writing clearly. I remember one story of<br />

dad placing a rotten fish behind a radiator.<br />

In 1952 he joined the Navy where he<br />

reached the rank of Sub Lieutenant. He<br />

had an interest in languages which may<br />

have contributed meeting his first wife<br />

Barbara, a German Au Pair working in<br />

Harpenden. He travelled to 52 countries<br />

during his career at Shell and Barclays<br />

where he became Assistant Director of<br />

Technical Service advising on the viability<br />

of energy related projects.<br />

Philip was a Buddhist and wrote<br />

articles for The Middle Way as well as<br />

teaching and recording a number of<br />

lectures. He became Vice President of<br />

the Buddhist Society.<br />

I recently found this caption on his<br />

bookshelf: “Death is not a cessation of<br />

life but the laying aside of one form of<br />

existence and transition to another”.<br />

William F. Harwood (OA 1947)<br />

1929 – 2017<br />

Obituary by the family<br />

Born in 1929, William (Bill) Harwood<br />

had an enjoyable childhood with<br />

amateur dramatics and visits to the sea.<br />

He attended the School from 1939 to<br />

1947. He was a keen rugby player and,<br />

influenced by his father’s love of music,<br />

an accomplished pianist. His School<br />

friends remember his playing of the<br />

Chopin Polonaises.<br />

Aged 19, he joined the Army and<br />

developed practical skills, including car<br />

mechanics, which became useful when he<br />

toured Europe by motorbike.<br />

He was always in love with water,<br />

grabbing every opportunity to sail. He<br />

bought a 25ft yacht “Nim” and frequently<br />

set sail on the Crouch in Essex and the<br />

Thames estuary.<br />

He met Anne at a wedding in St Albans;<br />

they were married in 1961 and had four<br />

children: Melanie, Vanessa, Justin and<br />

Melissa. After the divorce, he moved to<br />

Ruislip and took lessons in ballroom<br />

and square dancing to keep up with his<br />

partner, Rita’s bronze and silver medals.<br />

He was a good listener, and showed an<br />

interest in people, with an open-minded<br />

and non-judgemental disposition and,<br />

above all, was a loving and caring dad and<br />

grandfather; always wanting the best for<br />

them. He was devoted to his partner, Rita.<br />

He showed strength, love and humour<br />

right up to his last days with us all.<br />

WEDDINGS<br />

Congratulations to the following<br />

OAs who have recently tied the<br />

knot!<br />

Isabel Gilbert (née Currie), OA<br />

2006<br />

My husband, James, and I got married<br />

on the 17th December 2016 at the<br />

Tower of London. We were honoured<br />

to be able to use such a special<br />

location which has been James’s<br />

regimental home since 1685. It was<br />

also the first place James took me<br />

for dinner, when we both returned<br />

from serving in Afghanistan in 2013.<br />

After the service at the beautiful<br />

little chapel, we had our reception at<br />

Trinity House, just across Tower Hill.<br />

Amongst our guests we had 10 OAs,<br />

including Ed Roberts who kindly did a<br />

reading during the service, and Maddy<br />

Buckley and Katie Wade-Wright (née<br />

Lilly) who were bridesmaids. We had<br />

an incredible day, made even more<br />

magical by the twinkling Christmas<br />

trees everywhere! Since our wedding<br />

and honeymoon, we have moved to<br />

South West London and are currently<br />

planning how to celebrate almost one<br />

year as Mr and Mrs.<br />

William Bestelink, OA 1967<br />

After leaving St Albans School in<br />

1967, I had four years at Hull (where<br />

I studied History and Theology) and<br />

two years at Cuddesdon College,<br />

Oxford. In 1973, I was Ordained in<br />

the Church of England in Cromer<br />

Church, Norfolk and spent the whole<br />

of my Ministry in the Diocese of<br />

Norwich. I did two assistant curacies<br />

and for 30 years held three positions,<br />

most in rural parishes. I also became<br />

Rural Dean, Rural Officer and a<br />

Canon of Norwich Cathedral.<br />

In 2009, I retired early and moved<br />

to Cromer. I continue to take<br />

Services and play the organ at several<br />

Churches. My rural work continues<br />

serving on a helpline. I also participate<br />

in The Cromer Society and volunteer<br />

at Felbrigg Hall, a local National Trust<br />

property, where I met my wife, Genny.<br />

We had a small family Wedding, as it<br />

was the first for both of us, at Metton<br />

Church near Cromer, and today we<br />

continue to live in Cromer.


PLAY<br />

YOUR<br />

PART<br />

Support the future of the arts at St Albans School<br />

The success of our Building Futures fundraising campaign has enabled the start of the refurbishment of<br />

New Hall into a modern Centre for the Performing Arts. With Phase <strong>One</strong> of this project on schedule to<br />

be completed by mid-April 2018, our fundraising endeavours continue apace to enable Phase Two of this<br />

project to proceed.<br />

Play your Part – a continuation of the Building Futures campaign – aims specifically to redevelop the<br />

main and balcony floors of New Hall, and provide a 300 seat multi-use auditorium. The development plan<br />

focusses on providing current and future students with the best possible opportunities available to unlock<br />

their potential.<br />

Play your part and help our students to be their very best<br />

At St Albans School, we believe that the arts are vital to our vibrant community and bring out the<br />

best in our students. The Centre for the Performing Arts will engage and inspire on a grand scale,<br />

enabling students to thrive in an atmosphere that fosters creative expression and personal growth.<br />

Students will be immeasurably enriched by a modern and innovative facility that impacts their<br />

academic and student life.<br />

How you can play your part<br />

Fundraising target:<br />

£1 million<br />

For further information,<br />

please contact the<br />

Development Office or visit<br />

www.st-albans.herts.sch.uk/<br />

Building-Futures<br />

Our fundraising target for Phase Two is £1 million. As part of the Play your Part campaign, we are<br />

seeking gifts from donors who truly understand the great value of the arts to our School. Please help<br />

play your part by making a gift to support our budding actors and musicians. A one-off donation,<br />

or a transformational naming-gift, will enable us to achieve our vision to help each pupil flourish,<br />

develop self-knowledge and self-confidence.<br />

Take a leading role and play your part in supporting the future<br />

of the arts at St Albans School.<br />

t: 01727 515187 e: development@st-albans.herts.sch.uk<br />

FOUNDATION


15<br />

OA MERCHANDISE<br />

We have recently expanded our range of OA merchandise. Why not pick up a stocking filler for the OA in your life?<br />

3<br />

4<br />

1<br />

9<br />

8<br />

6<br />

11<br />

2<br />

7<br />

10<br />

5<br />

If you would like to purchase any merchandise, please contact oaevents@st-albans.herts.sch.uk or call 01727 515187.<br />

Alternatively, you can shop online at www.oaconnect.co.uk or complete the form below, and send to:<br />

Development Office, St Albans School, Abbey Gateway, St Albans, AL3 4HB. International prices may vary.<br />

[1] OA Umbrella<br />

£22 (+ £11 UK p&p)<br />

Lightweight storm proof umbrellas<br />

featuring the School crest and<br />

printed in OA colours.<br />

[2] St Albans School Mug<br />

£10 (+ £2 UK p&p)<br />

Bone china mug with School<br />

history on base.<br />

[3] St Albans School Tea Towel<br />

£5 (+ 50p UK p&p)<br />

Featuring a list of School rules<br />

from 1570.<br />

[4] Born Not For Ourselves:<br />

A History of St Albans School<br />

£25 (+ £5 UK p&p)<br />

A hardback book telling the story of<br />

St Albans School through the years.<br />

Qty<br />

Qty<br />

Qty<br />

Qty<br />

[5] St Albans School At War<br />

£15 (+ £2.50 UK p&p)<br />

A paperback book on collected<br />

memories of pupils who experienced<br />

a St Albans School education<br />

during World War II.<br />

[6] OA Socks<br />

£7.50 (+ £2 UK p&p)<br />

<strong>One</strong> size cotton socks in the official OA<br />

colours. Suitable for men’s size 8-12.5<br />

[7] St Albans School Tote Bag<br />

£4 (+ £1 UK p&p)<br />

Natural coloured tote bags with<br />

the School crest. Fashionable<br />

and handy for shopping.<br />

[8] OA Silk Tie<br />

£13.00 (+ £1 UK p&p)<br />

100% silk tie in OA colours.<br />

Qty<br />

Qty<br />

Qty<br />

Qty<br />

[9] St Albans School Hymn Books<br />

£10 (+ £2 UK p&p)<br />

School hymns throughout<br />

the years.<br />

[10] Inspiring Old Albanians<br />

£12 (+ £2 UK p&p)<br />

A paperback book which is a<br />

miscellany of famous former<br />

pupils and others associated with<br />

St Albans School.<br />

[11] St Albans School Notebook<br />

£5 (+ £2 UK p&p)<br />

High quality A5 notebook with a<br />

black matte finish, pen hold, ribbon<br />

bookmark and the School crest.<br />

Qty<br />

Qty<br />

Qty<br />

Name<br />

I enclose a cheque for £<br />

payable to St Albans School Foundation<br />

Address<br />

Please debit my: Visa/Delta MasterCard UK Maestro<br />

Name on card<br />

for £<br />

Card Number<br />

Telephone<br />

Email<br />

Expiry Date<br />

Signature<br />

/ Start Date /<br />

(if applicable)<br />

<strong>Issue</strong> No.<br />

(if applicable)<br />

Date<br />

Security code:


16<br />

LA<br />

GRANDE<br />

finale<br />

by John Meulkens<br />

(OA 1935)<br />

JOHN MEULKENS VISITING THE SCHOOL IN MAY 2017<br />

Notwithstanding the fact that I am very much<br />

in my twilight years, it was once again<br />

possible to pay a visit to my alma mater<br />

last May and profit, as so often from its traditional<br />

hospitality. With EasyJet to Luton, it’s a short 45<br />

to 50-minute flight from Amsterdam Airport.<br />

Comparing favourably with the taxi drive from my<br />

home to the airport that, depending on the traffic,<br />

might take twice as long.<br />

The programme was again executed in grand style: Tea<br />

at Woollams, a visit to the School Museum and drinks<br />

at the Fighting Cocks with the following OAs who<br />

so graciously came over to meet me; Roy and Merle<br />

Bacon, Ian Jennings, Mitch Parker, Chris Harbour,<br />

Geoffrey Dale and Robert Sharpe (all the way from the<br />

South Coast!). Then, to top it off, we had dinner in the<br />

Refectory with Headmaster Jonathan Gillespie and his<br />

charming wife Caroline.<br />

It was great to meet, for the first time, our OA President<br />

Mike Hodge, who so interestingly told me that my<br />

first Maths Master in 1929 “Pi” Walker was, in fact, his<br />

grandfather; a severe and much respected teacher. All in<br />

all, a truly delightful visit and again much appreciated<br />

by my cousin-by-marriage who, incidentally joins me<br />

on such expeditions, as it is not advisable to do it on<br />

one’s own – especially at the airport.<br />

Although life now is quiet and peaceful, there is<br />

“never a dull moment”. Besides working incidentally<br />

on an oil painting and reading a great deal in order to<br />

increase my knowledge of the world’s history – music<br />

is constantly an important element in my day-to-day<br />

life. Hardly a day goes by without playing the piano.<br />

In addition to this “homework”, I attend piano recitals<br />

wherever possible.<br />

As a result of these visits, I had the privilege of being<br />

introduced to a Hungarian master pianist (who now<br />

lives in Amsterdam) – Klára Würtz. Accepted as a<br />

student at the prestigious Franz Liszt Academy at the<br />

early age of 14, Klára went on to win a scholarship<br />

to study under Sir András Schiff in England. She has<br />

now performed over 200 concerts in countries such<br />

as America, Canada, Indonesia, Mexico, Slovina<br />

and Ireland. During our chat, after being told of my<br />

advanced age she promptly said; “I’ll come and play at<br />

your 100th birthday”. My immediate reply was; “you<br />

promise?” and her answer was, “yes, I promise”.<br />

Since then I have been present at several of her recitals<br />

in nearby towns and I am happy to say that she has<br />

become a very dear friend.<br />

As I still had to wait a couple of years and everything<br />

was very much in “the lap of the Gods”, I thought<br />

it practical to organise the recital a year earlier, to<br />

celebrate the start of my 100th centenary. The idea<br />

was readily accepted and a Saturday afternoon in<br />

November agreed. The organisational work involved<br />

has kept me busy during many months. The result may<br />

well be seen as a highlight in my long life.<br />

During my May visit to the School, Jonathan Gillespie<br />

told me about the plans for the New Hall development<br />

– to make it into the Centre for Performing Arts,<br />

complete with a purpose built Music Faculty. A project<br />

that most certainly enhances the School’s already<br />

impressive reputation. During our talks I suggested<br />

that we might consider having pianist Klára Würtz<br />

give a repeat performance of her November recital, as<br />

and when the Centre is officially opened. In order to<br />

discuss this matter, we have provisionally planned a<br />

visit to St Albans in January.<br />

Needless to say I will do my upmost to be present at<br />

the concert.<br />

“Although life now is quiet<br />

and peaceful, there is<br />

never a dull moment”


17<br />

THE OA LODGE<br />

then & now…<br />

by John Williams<br />

(OA 1964)<br />

The first Master of the Old<br />

Albanian Lodge was Edward<br />

Percy Debenham. He was born<br />

at Ivy House in St Albans in 1858 and<br />

educated at the School. He qualified as a<br />

Solicitor in 1881 and following the death<br />

of his father in 1883, joined the family<br />

firm of Thompson & Debenhams of<br />

London and St Albans. He was initiated<br />

into Halsey Lodge No. 1479 in St Albans<br />

in 1882 and was installed as Master in<br />

1890. Debenham was a Clerk to the<br />

Governors of St Albans School – at<br />

the time still referred to as St Albans<br />

Grammar School. After the ‘Great’<br />

war, in the 1920s there were numerous<br />

members of Freemason’s Lodges in St<br />

Albans who had been educated at the<br />

School. They established a committee<br />

in 1925, with the aim of founding a new<br />

Lodge in the Province of Hertfordshire,<br />

the Old Albanian Lodge No 4999,<br />

for the benefit of Old Boys, staff and<br />

those connected with the School. The<br />

Old Albanian Lodge was consecrated<br />

at Freemason’s Hall on Saturday 19th<br />

May 1928 by Bro. Charles E. Keyser,<br />

FREEMASON’S HALL<br />

Provincial Grand Master of the Masonic<br />

Province of Hertfordshire.<br />

For the remainder of 1928, Lodge<br />

meetings were held by dispensation in<br />

St Albans Town Hall. Afterwards, the<br />

members and their guests dined at the<br />

Red Lion Hotel. In early 1929 however,<br />

the Lodge began meeting in the Old<br />

Assembly room in the School’s Gateway,<br />

but continued to dine in the Red Lion.<br />

In the 12 months from October 1928<br />

to 1929, no fewer than 14 candidates –<br />

including the then Headmaster, Major<br />

E. Montague Jones – were initiated into<br />

the Lodge and with additional ‘joining’<br />

members, the Lodge was on course<br />

to becoming one of the foremost in<br />

the Province.<br />

Old Albanians who received a copy of<br />

the ‘black book’ containing ‘Notes on St<br />

Albans School’ at the start of their School<br />

careers may recall that Sir Francis was<br />

the son of Sir Nicolas Bacon, one of the<br />

School’s early patrons and instrumental<br />

in obtaining the ‘Wine Charter’ which<br />

was later confirmed and extended by<br />

Charters, granted by King James 1st.<br />

King James had been initiated into the<br />

Masonic Lodge of Scoon and Perth in<br />

1601. Sir Francis, also a Freemason and<br />

one of history’s finest philosophers,<br />

played a large part in the development<br />

of early Freemasonry. 20 years after his<br />

death, in 1645 during the turmoil of<br />

the civil war, Freemasons in London<br />

established what was to become the<br />

Royal Society. It was the world’s first<br />

assembly of scientists and engineers<br />

dedicated to understanding the wonders<br />

created by the ‘Great Architect of the<br />

Universe’. As continues in all Freemason’s<br />

Lodges today, ‘all discourses on divinity<br />

and state affairs’ is barred – i.e. there<br />

shall be no discussion of religion<br />

or politics!<br />

EDWARD PERCY DEBENHAM<br />

The Lodge ‘year’ commenced at the<br />

Installation meeting on 13th May, when<br />

the outgoing Master of the Lodge, Alex<br />

Bain-Stewart, installed the Master Elect,<br />

Alistair Cooper (OA 1988) as the 90th<br />

Master of the Lodge. The incoming<br />

Master was initiated into Harrow St<br />

Paul’s Lodge, and joined the OA Lodge<br />

in 2010. He is now a successful property<br />

developer and residential landlord. He<br />

was proposed into the Old Albanian<br />

Lodge by Colin Harris and Ian Parker<br />

(who taught him economics at School).<br />

Alistair was a St Albans councillor from<br />

1997 to 2005, chairing the Planning<br />

Committee from 2002 to 2004. He is a<br />

charity volunteer for the local homeless<br />

drop in centre, Centre 33 and is a keen<br />

supporter of the RSPCA and other<br />

animal charities.<br />

ALISTAIR COOPER (OA 1988)<br />

The Lodge meets five times a year<br />

and all those connected with the<br />

School, including fathers of past or<br />

present pupils are welcome to apply<br />

for membership. Members of other<br />

Lodges, be they OAs, parents, staff or<br />

Governors, are encouraged to visit<br />

the Lodge whenever they wish. The<br />

Secretary or Assistant Secretary will<br />

be delighted to hear from them.


18<br />

Sports News<br />

A DOUBLE<br />

for Cox<br />

by Peter Dredge (OA 1960)<br />

Golfers are avid followers of the weather forecast, especially in<br />

the locations where matches and events have been arranged.<br />

Experience this season has shown that long range (over<br />

a week) forecasts have been wildly inaccurate and even<br />

an indication for a following day is generally unreliable.<br />

Nevertheless, the fixtures this season have been played in<br />

mostly dry conditions due to good fortune, although the<br />

Secretary must be afforded some credit! The matches, as<br />

always, were great fun with our opposition and over the<br />

years we have established great camaraderie and friendships<br />

on and off the course. Results were mixed with a good<br />

victory over Mid-Herts GC, draws against Berkhamsted and<br />

Haberdashers, and a single defeat against Old Cholmeleians,<br />

the first loss to them for several years and, in a way, it was<br />

good to see them return happily back to Highgate.<br />

The OA Cup venue this year was Berkhamsted GC and John<br />

Cox succeeded in retaining the trophy he won last year<br />

at Sandy Lodge. A significant achievement by our lowest<br />

handicap golfer, 4. Graham Tate was runner-up with three<br />

players tied for third place, Mike Lamprell, John Cash and<br />

Brian Hayden-Smith. John Saunders secured the Dockree<br />

Tankard being the competition for the Antelopes.<br />

CAPTAIN GRAHAM TATE (OA 1960) (RIGHT) PRESENTING THE CUP TO<br />

WINNER JOHN COX (OA 1974) (LEFT)<br />

Our Captain, Graham Tate, kindly organised an open day at<br />

his home course, Dunstable Downs GC, and then proceeded<br />

to win the Pop Rush trophy from runners-up John Saunders<br />

and Peter Dredge.<br />

At the time of writing this report, the annual away trip this<br />

year will be to Lakeside Lodge, Huntingdon and full details<br />

will follow in the next report.<br />

All OAs are most welcome to attend any of our events.<br />

I would be pleased to provide details and to include any<br />

interested OAs on the mailing list. My email address is<br />

pjdredge42@aol.com<br />

OA<br />

Tennis<br />

by Maureen Harcourt<br />

We have had a very successful season in the Watford and District Tennis League.<br />

Our Men (Division 2) have come second, our Ladies (Division 3) have come first<br />

and our Mixed Team (Division 4) have come second. This means all three teams<br />

have gained promotion. Family sessions on Sunday mornings have gone well<br />

throughout the season and have enjoyed good attendance. We have instigated a<br />

new club session on Tuesday evenings for Ladies Team practice, ably lead by our<br />

Club Coach Margie Edge. Margie is building up her coaching sessions and is<br />

busy every day of the week delivering group and individual lessons. If anyone<br />

is interested in booking some coaching sessions she can be contacted at<br />

22safina@gmail.com<br />

The Sue Barnes Memorial Tournament on Sunday 11th June was a delightful event<br />

which was well attended and played in great spirit. Family and friends of Sue joined<br />

in, in some cases having to dust cobwebs off rackets and digging deep for suitable<br />

outfits! Nick Barnes officially “opened” the bench by cutting the ribbons – in OA<br />

colours of course! As it was such a success we have decided that it should become<br />

an annual event.<br />

For the first time this year we are entering a Mixed Team into the East Herts<br />

Autumn League and a Ladies Team into the Hertfordshire Senior Winter League.<br />

We shall also continue to put a mixed side into the Datchworth Autumn League.<br />

BENCH OPENING CEREMONY WITH<br />

NICK BARNES (OA 1966)<br />

We continue to welcome new players to the Club so do contact either myself<br />

(m.harcourt@ntlworld.com) or Margie if you are interested in finding out more.


19<br />

THE OA<br />

FOOTBALL CLUB<br />

returns<br />

by Nick Jackson (OA 2005)<br />

After several years of dormancy, OA Football has returned<br />

and in a big way. After dipping their toes in a few competitive<br />

Old Boys games earlier this year in a cup run that saw them<br />

reach the quarter finals of The David Willcott Trophy. The<br />

Old Albanian Football Club have now begun their crusade for<br />

league silverware as they embark on their 2017/18 campaign<br />

in Division Five of the Arthurian League.<br />

The Arthurian League, an English association football league<br />

for teams of independent school alumni, has existed since<br />

1961 and currently consists of 57 teams representing 36<br />

separate clubs. Driven by former students Alex Addison (OA<br />

2005) and Nick Jackson (OA 2005), St Albans School is now<br />

being represented by its alumni with a vision to field both<br />

Second and Third XIs in future years.<br />

The Club, featuring exclusively Old Albanians from the School,<br />

has been proactive with their recruitment drive, leading to<br />

talent being represented across decades of Old Boys.<br />

‘’I felt a warm welcome joining and despite age differences,<br />

the St Albans School unity that has been bred into all of us<br />

still holds strong no matter of current careers or stages of life’’<br />

– Bryn Edwards, OAFC member.<br />

With an ever growing talent pool available, it is an excellent<br />

opportunity to reconnect with old friends and establish new<br />

ones through competitive sport. For all those interested in<br />

finding out more or to receive the latest Club match reports<br />

and latest updates please email oldalbaniansfc@gmail.com<br />

The Old Albanian Football Club are currently first in Division<br />

Five of the Arthurian League.<br />

Latest Results:<br />

POS P W D L F A GD PTS<br />

1 Old Albanians 8 4 2 2 18 18 0 14<br />

2 Old Columbans 5 4 1 0 21 5 16 13<br />

3 Old Brentwoods III 5 3 1 1 18 10 8 10<br />

4 Old Brentwoods II 6 2 4 0 17 9 8 10<br />

5 Old Cholmeleians II 5 1 1 3 11 14 -3 4<br />

6 Old Foresters III 6 1 1 4 9 17 -8 4<br />

7 Old Chigwellians III 7 0 2 5 8 29 -21 2<br />

SAINTS FAIL<br />

to fire<br />

by Kate Barnes<br />

Hampstead has always been a tough away fixture and the<br />

match on 8th October was no different. We are slightly<br />

feared in this League due to our strong reputation.<br />

Hampstead had no reservations that beating us was the<br />

only option by any means necessary!<br />

Saints spent the first 20 minutes pinning Hampstead<br />

in their own 22. The question was; who would score<br />

first? To the Saints’ dismay, the home side prevailed. 5–0<br />

Hampstead. Saints upped a gear, creating some good link<br />

play between forwards and backs. Robertson crossed the<br />

line and converted her own efforts, 7-5 Saints half-time.<br />

The second half began at a fierce pace, until Saints lost<br />

front-rower Cook to a broken fibula, causing a reshuffle,<br />

leading to a loss in focus. Suddenly Saints started to chase<br />

the game, making some uncharacteristic errors. The home<br />

side capitalised on this scoring further tries to finish the<br />

game 22-7 victors.<br />

Two weeks later, Saints are taking on Lewes. An unknown<br />

entity to the League and the team had no intention of<br />

underestimating the newly promoted side.<br />

Saints score the first try through rapid winger McKenna,<br />

extras by Robertson, 7-0 Saints. It didn’t take long for<br />

Lewes to respond, firing back after some slick hands,<br />

producing a score 7-5 Saints. Both sides were producing<br />

attacking rugby and strong defence, Saints had a player<br />

in the bin but put on another score as King raced over<br />

converted by Robertson, followed by another to make it<br />

19-5 Saints. Just on half-time Lewes snatched a converted<br />

score, 19-12 Saints.<br />

Concentration after the break lapsed and Lewes scored<br />

within five minutes to level. Players started to feel the<br />

weight of extra work and Lewes scored another try and<br />

conversion to lead 26-19. Knowing the end of the match<br />

was approaching, Saints found some energy to score again<br />

through McKenna, 26-24 Lewes. Despite several attempts,<br />

Saints found no way through and were held up twice<br />

over the line. The home side eventually cleared their line,<br />

finding themselves in the Saints’ 22. Fast hands and using<br />

the overlap, they scored in the corner. Final score 31-24.<br />

Head Coach Brown said; “To come away with a bonus<br />

point was a credit to the players. Given the personnel<br />

changes, injuries being carried and positional switches,<br />

I could not ask for more from each player. A couple of<br />

better decisions could have swung the result, but that’s<br />

history now”.


20<br />

OA Rifle Club<br />

OLD<br />

TRICKS<br />

new tricks<br />

by Andrew Wilkie (OA 1965)<br />

SHOOTING AT 300YRDS<br />

Well, we’re still here and in a low key understated<br />

sort of way, flourishing. We hear from others<br />

at Bisley that we are actually one of the better<br />

off Old Boys’ organisations thanks largely to the School’s<br />

continued support and the elevation of shooting to a School<br />

sport. The even better news is that the new Maths building<br />

includes a basement range and has been given the go ahead<br />

by planners. There will of course be a disrupted period during<br />

construction but the future is looking positive indeed.<br />

Our Herts Rifle League winter season 2016/17 (Division 2,<br />

Team 4) resulted in our finishing fourth (ex6), not bad for<br />

such an unusually elevated division and it shows we held our<br />

own against declared averages. Our final position belies some<br />

very good scores; clearly the challenges of range closure put<br />

the team on its mettle.<br />

Martin Warr spent the season shooting for the Herts County<br />

Rifle Team. Congratulations to him. With his current average<br />

he should have another season of county shooting ahead in<br />

2017/18. Keep up the good work. I’m not so sure my own<br />

average will have the same result in Dorset but it looks like I<br />

might get a go at the new NSRA County Veterans competition<br />

seeing as I’m over sixty; ten years over!<br />

Herts Rifle League summer season 2017 (Division 2, Team 4)<br />

was a similar story but this time the damage was done in the<br />

early rounds and we ended up in fifth place. Not too shabby<br />

but could do better. Priscilla and John Simmons both had<br />

success at the NSRA Bisley Open Meeting in August.<br />

The annual Coles Trophy match against the School took place<br />

on 30th June. The result was a close win for the School with<br />

Macrae handicap scores of 400.076 to the school and 399.987<br />

for the OAs. Congratulations to the School team.<br />

Owen Simmons has dusted off his contacts list and called for<br />

competitors for this year’s BSSRA 25-yard competition. If<br />

you would like to take part then please let him know (contact<br />

details at the front).<br />

Our team for the winter 2017/18 (Division 2, Team 4 – again!)<br />

season comprises:<br />

:<br />

Andrew Wilkie 97.0<br />

Andrew Moore 93.4<br />

Martin Warr 97.4<br />

Nick Tubby 93.8<br />

Kris Gruber<br />

(Reserve)<br />

Full bore shooting kicked off on 1st April this year with a<br />

practice shoot at 600yds. A week later we shot the short range<br />

Q Match at 500 & 600yds, coming fifth out of six teams.<br />

Not one of our better performances given the early practice<br />

but shooting was disrupted by the delays getting target frames<br />

in place and by painfully slow marking. More delays followed<br />

during our match against the Old Lawrentians. This time we<br />

came second as expected with 458.24 against 466.36.<br />

The plan was to have a practice shoot at 1000yds before the<br />

Long Range Q match at 900 and 1000yds. Yours truly duly<br />

booked targets and then disappeared off to Australia for six<br />

weeks. Well thanks to the electronic booking system the team<br />

arrived at Bisley to find they were booked in at 1100yds.<br />

We don’t have kit to shoot at this distance so after much<br />

discussion they were offered an electronic target at 300yds<br />

(See photo).<br />

This summer Alun Lewis turned his wordsmithing talents<br />

to shooting, updating the NRA Facebook page during the<br />

Queen’s Final at Bisley. Tech savvy at 70, a new trick for an<br />

old dog. I wonder can you get a tingle from a lekky bone? At<br />

the time of writing we have just shot our last full bore event of<br />

the season The Arnold Cup match. First presented in 1936 the<br />

competition was balanced 32 to Alleynians and 31 to us with


21<br />

three ties (66 matches). This year the match was shot 2 & 7 at<br />

300 and 600yds. I am delighted to report that we won with a<br />

score of 272.29 against 250.16 to the Alleynians.<br />

Congratulations to all on levelling the overall total at 32 each<br />

and completing a run of five successive wins for the Old<br />

Albanians. The match was followed by our annual dinner in<br />

the London Middlesex where we were hosts to the Alleynians<br />

team and their partners.<br />

Club kit is available for all disciplines so if any of you would<br />

like to relive the excitement of corps camp or that first shoot<br />

on the School range, the opportunity is there. The grey hair<br />

count is still high and we need to keep working on reducing<br />

it. So go on – you know you want to!<br />

GONE FISHIN’<br />

by Geoff Cannon<br />

Notwithstanding our declining membership, we have<br />

continued our activities visiting local rivers and lakes around<br />

St Albans. Outings have been organised to Derbyshire,<br />

fishing the River Wye for wild brown trout and some<br />

members visited Galway, having degrees of success with trout<br />

and salmon. Our long weekend in Norfolk was a great trip,<br />

fishing the River Yare, a carp lake and a trout fishery nearby.<br />

Lots more outings are planned for the future and we would<br />

welcome any new members who wish to come along. If<br />

you’re interested, please contact Geoff Cannon via the<br />

details at the front of the magazine.<br />

OA CRICKET<br />

Club<br />

by Richard Morgan (OA 1979)<br />

OACC has had another excellent season on the pitch this<br />

summer with two promotions in our four sides. The 1st XI<br />

was captained this year by Alex Goldstone and played its<br />

third year in Division 1 of the Herts League after the two<br />

successive promotion seasons of 2013 and 2014. Without<br />

any star players or spectacular individual performances, a<br />

really good all round team effort by a small and dedicated<br />

squad of first-team players resulted in eight wins, two<br />

draws and six losses in the campaign and a creditable sixth<br />

place at the end of the season.<br />

Our 2nd XI spent a long time at the top of Division 6A but<br />

were pipped to the championship by London Colney in the<br />

penultimate game of the season. They finished in second<br />

place and were promoted to Div 5B for 2018. So that is two<br />

promotions in three years for Ghulam Rasool’s team.<br />

The 3rd XI, led by veteran Tariq Hassan, were allconquering<br />

in Division 10A, winning all but one of their<br />

league games, ending the season unbeaten and top of the<br />

division by a very large margin. They are promoted up to<br />

Div 9A next year. Another veteran and OA, Tom Preest<br />

(OA 1988), hit his first century for the Club after 20 years of<br />

trying, against Boxmoor on 27th May and promptly retired<br />

hurt 100, not out!<br />

We have successfully introduced a number of very<br />

good players from our thriving Junior Section into the<br />

senior teams over the last two or three years and that<br />

continues this summer with 14 to 17-year olds playing and<br />

contributing substantially in our 3rd and 4th XIs. This was<br />

the case particularly in the 4ths, captained by Simon Bates<br />

with great enthusiasm to third place in their division, just<br />

missing out on promotion this year.<br />

The Junior Section, led again with great vigour by Alison<br />

Curran, had another good season with boys and girls from<br />

age 5 up to 17 playing regularly on Sunday mornings and in<br />

midweek and weekend matches from Under 9s upwards.<br />

3RD XI CHAMPIONS<br />

However, all is not wholly positive as the Club is currently<br />

under-resourced financially and we are in need of more<br />

people to commit to running and supporting the Club so<br />

we can operate effectively in the Woollams environment;<br />

new sponsors and added income for the Club are now<br />

an urgent necessity; and we require admin support and<br />

committee leadership going forwards.<br />

We’re keen to hear from any readers who would like to<br />

support the Club, either with donations, sponsorships,<br />

becoming Vice-Presidents or indeed helping out off the<br />

pitch, and of course from any people who’d like to play for<br />

us, either regularly or occasionally. Please contact me at<br />

richard.morgan50@btinternet.com


22<br />

YOUR SAY<br />

Over the summer we conducted a survey of our alumni<br />

in order to both understand the needs of OAs and to<br />

improve the way we communicate with you. Here is a<br />

snapshot of the results obtained which are helping to<br />

shape our activities moving forward.<br />

303<br />

OAs<br />

took<br />

part<br />

Ages ranging<br />

from 18 – 99<br />

You want<br />

more casual<br />

events and<br />

gatherings<br />

£<br />

51% 91%<br />

of OAs received<br />

some form of financial<br />

support from<br />

St Albans School<br />

of OAs want to attend<br />

events on the School site<br />

CCF & Rugby most<br />

popular School interests<br />

£<br />

154 OAs<br />

offered some form of<br />

educational support to<br />

current pupils<br />

More<br />

articles<br />

+<br />

You want Class<br />

reunions at key<br />

milestone years<br />

about OAs, historic features and<br />

career profiles in this publication


23<br />

UPCOMING<br />

EVENTS<br />

Calendar<br />

Wednesday 13th December<br />

Carol Service<br />

St Albans Abbey<br />

Tickets are strictly first come, first served. OAs are welcome<br />

to bring a guest and are warmly invited back to School after<br />

the Service for some festive mulled wine and mince pies.<br />

Friday 15th December<br />

Recent Leavers’ Drinks<br />

(Class of 2017)<br />

The Peahen, St Albans<br />

To celebrate finishing your first term at university, we are<br />

inviting all recent leavers from the Class of 2017 to a get<br />

together this Christmas holiday. Hot food will be provided<br />

and your first drink is on us! (This event is exclusively for the<br />

Class of 2017)<br />

Thursday 1st February 2018<br />

An Evening with… Chris Wilkinson OA<br />

St Albans School Library<br />

Chris Wilkinson (OA 1963), the founder of Wilkinson Eyre<br />

and a world-leading architect, will be giving a lecture in the<br />

Library. Pupils, OAs and parents welcome.<br />

Saturday 3rd February<br />

1st XI Hockey Team V Aldenham School<br />

School Pavilion, Woollams<br />

OAs are welcome to join us in the School Pavilion<br />

to watch the 1st XI Hockey Team take on Aldenham.<br />

The match starts at 13.45 and refreshments will be available.<br />

Thursday 1st March<br />

Durham Regional Dinner<br />

Kings Lodge Inn<br />

Open to all OAs (including Undergraduates, Postgraduates<br />

and Graduates of Durham University) who live in Durham<br />

and the surrounding areas. We are planning to host a meetup<br />

in March at the Kings Lodge Inn, Durham. Please let<br />

us know if you are provisionally interested in attending by<br />

emailing Sarah Osborne on slosborne@st-albans.herts.sch.uk<br />

Tickets for most of our events will be available to book<br />

online via the OA section of the School website or by<br />

telephone/post/email via the contact details below.<br />

Development Office<br />

Tel: 01727 515187<br />

Email: development@st-albans.herts.sch.uk<br />

St Albans School, Abbey Gateway, St Albans, AL3 4HB<br />

HOW WE USE<br />

your data<br />

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)<br />

The General Data Protection Regulation will come into force in May<br />

2018, extending the data rights of individuals. It requires us as an<br />

organisation and a charity to update our data processing policies<br />

and adopt appropriate and extensive measures to protect your<br />

personal data.<br />

Presently, we hold information on you as an OA on our database,<br />

including your name, address, email and telephone number.<br />

Depending on the extent to which you have been involved with the<br />

School, we may also hold information on donations you have given,<br />

Gift Aid declarations and possible correspondence we may have had.<br />

It is important to note that we will never share your data with other<br />

organisations or individuals. We are committed to respecting your<br />

privacy and the GDPR will enhance our data policies, not replace them.<br />

Currently, we contact individuals on our database with School<br />

news, event invitations, fundraising campaigns and occasional<br />

surveys. We have always given you the opportunity to opt-out of<br />

these mailings. However, under the new regulations coming into<br />

force, we may need you to opt-in to specific mailings and how you<br />

receive them – giving us affirmative consent to use your data.<br />

We will continue to keep you informed about the incoming<br />

regulations and will be back in touch if action to opt-in is required.<br />

We hope you enjoy hearing from us and being part of the Old<br />

Albanian community.<br />

If you have any questions about how we handle your data,<br />

please do not hesitate to get in touch with the<br />

Development Team at development@st-albans.herts.sch.uk

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