OSAmag89

No 89 / July 2019
The Old Stationer
Number 89 - July 2019

The Yorkshire 3 Peaks Challenge in memory of Geraint Pritchard - see full article on pages 21 to 26

T h e O l d S t a t i o n e r - N o 8 9
The Old Stationer
Number 89 - JULY 2019
OLD STATIONERS’ ASSOCIATION
LIST OF COMMITTEE MEMBERS 2019/2020
President
Peter R Thomas
107 Jackdaw Close, Stevenage,
Herts. SG2 9DB ✆ 01438 722870
: peterthomas561@outlook.com
Vice-President
Stephen P Collins
85 Love Lane, Pinner,
Middx. HA5 3EX ✆ 0208 8687909
: spc@woodhaven.me.uk
Past President
Peter Winter
5 Oakways, Warrington, WA4 5HD
07795 450863
: prcwinter1@btinternet.com
Honorary Secretary
Tony C Hemmings
5 The Mount, Cheshunt,
Herts. EN7 6RF
01992 638535
: hemmingsac@hotmail.com
Honorary Treasurer
Michael F Hasler
8 The Glebe, Weston Turville,
Aylesbury, Bucks. HP22 5ST
✆ 01296 614352
: mikehasler.oldstationers@gmail.com
Membership Secretary
Roger Engledow
118 Hertswood Court,
Hillside Gardens, Barnet, EN5 4AU
07817 111642
: osamembers@gmail.com
Honorary Editor
Tim Westbrook
7 Goodyers Avenue, Radlett,
Herts. WD7 8AY ✆ 0845 8724001
: tim@timwestbrook.co.uk
Website Off icer
Peter Gotham
58 Humberstone Road, Cambridge,
Cambs. CB4 1JF
: peter.gotham@gmail.com
Honorary Archivist
David D Turner
63 Brookmans Avenue, Brookmans
Park, Herts. AL9 7QG
✆ 01707 656414
: d.turner12@sky.com
Event Managers
Roger Melling
43 Holyrood Road, New Barnet,
Herts. EN5 1DQ ✆ 020 8449 2283
: melling@globalspirit.net
Peter A Sandell
11 Maplecroft Lane, Nazeing, Essex,
EN9 2NR ✆ 01992 892766
: peter.sandell@hotmail.co.uk
Ordinary Members
Andreas H Christou
22 Woodgrange Avenue, Bush Hill
Park, Enfield EN1 1EW
07722 117481
: andreashchristou@yahoo.com
Peter Bothwick
52 Hither Green Lane, Abbey Park,
Redditch, Worcs. B98 9BW
✆ 01527 62059
: pedrotres@hotmail.co.uk
David J Sheath Ksg
12a Bolton Crescent, Windsor,
Berks. SL4 3JQ
✆ 01753 855021
: davidsheath@hotmail.co.uk
Honorary Auditors
Chris Langford, Dave Cox
Clubs & Societies
Football Club
Liam Gallagher
38 Hadley Way, Winchmore Hill,
London N21 1AN
07793 220472
: liam@network-stratigraphic.co.uk
Golf Society
Roger Rufey
07780 450369
: rrufey@gmail.com
Apostles Club
Stuart H Behn
l67 Hempstead Road, Watford,
Herts. WD17 3HF
✆ 023 243546
: stuartbehn@hotmail.com
Luncheon Club
Roger Melling
Details as previous column
SC School Lodge no. 7460
Michael D Pinfield
63 Lynton Road, Harrow,
Middx. HA2 9NJ
✆ 020 8422 4699 07956 931174
: secretary7460ugle@gmail.com
Magazine
Publishing Adviser
Tim Westbrook
Details as above
Design & Production Manager
Ian Moore
Homecroft, Princes Gate,
Pembs. SA67 8TG
✆ 01834 831 272
: ian@outhaus.biz - www.outhaus.biz
Printed by Stephens and George
Contents
Regular features
Editorial 4
Dates for the Diary 4
President's Address 5
Correspondence 16
Special features
Annual Dinner and AGM 2019 6
May Lunch 11
The Oldest Surviving
1949 Old Boys Cup winner 14
Reunions 14
Carruthers Brothers in Arms 20
Yorkshire 3 Peaks Challenge 21
As fast as you roam
Roger Mansfield on Concorde 27
Peter Thomas: My favourite walk 28
David Turner: Southern States 30
Sixty years on... Steve Trew 31
OSCC - Whitsun Tours preamble 35
The Rules of Cricket 36
Botany Bay CC extension 37
Stationers' Crown Woods
Academy meeting notes 38
Clubs & Societies
Golf Society 12
OSFC End of season report 13
Obituaries
Robert Brown 39
Alexander Grogan 40
Peter Jollie 41
Alan Mills 42
Alan Drake 42
Varia
Puzzle Corner 33
Membership Report 38
Minutes of the AGM 43
President’s Address 43
Treasurer’s Report 44
Balance sheet 45
Funds summary & General fund 46
Photographic Competition 47
Supplying items for publication
Text: Please supply as Word or typed documents if
possible. Images: Supply as original images or hi-res
(300dpi) digital files in tiff, jpeg or eps format.
Post or email to the Acting Editor, Tim Westbrook.
See Committee page for address details.
3

T h e O l d S t a t i o n e r - N o 8 9
EDITORIAL
Welcome to issue 89. I
had intended to allocate a
dozen pages to reviewing
the Brexit debacle but
since David Winter, our
guest speaker at the
March dinner, covered the
last three years of political
pontification in excruciating
detail, I have
resisted the temptation to
revisit this subject and I
can declare this, another
Brexit free issue.
I am pleased to confirm
that with the committee’s
approval, I have created a
small editorial board comprising Tony Moffatt, Peter
Thomas and myself in order to plan and contribute to
content development. This increase in intellectual
horsepower has already borne fruit with the introduction
of “Puzzlers Corner”, “A walk to the pub”, and the launch
of our first photographic competition in this issue.
Undoubtedly, the most significant OSA event to take
place in recent months has been “The 3 Peaks
Challenge”, conceived and organised by Roger
Engledow as a fitting tribute to Geraint with his
penchant for hill walking and exploring the countryside.
Congratulations to all those who took part and well
done on raising over £4,000 for Macmillan Nurses
Cancer Care.
Also in this issue we discover a traitor besmirching the
school name; an athletic hero with Olympic pedigree;
an Old Stationer who regularly broke the sound
barrier; plus a nostalgic recollection of the OSA
Norfolk cricket tours established in 1971 by Peter
Bullen which bring back wonderful memories of my
baptism by beer among the elders of the OSCC.
At our AGM in
March we appointed
Peter Gotham (right)
as Web Site Officer
who, with support
from Ian Moore will
help to improve the
saliency and timeliness
of our web
content. I am sure you
will join me in
wishing him success
in this important
communication role.
I hope you enjoy this issue and please remember it is
your publication so do provide feedback to ensure the
magazine retains interest and entertainment in the
years ahead.
Tim Westbrook
Editor
DATES for the DIARY
Presidents Day
Sunday 25th August 2019, 48th Annual cricket match,
Botany Bay Cricket Club EN2 8AS,
Lunch 12.30pm, Match 2pm.
Contact Peter Sandell for lunch bookings.
Luncheon Meeting
Tuesday 10th September
at The Royal National Hotel, 38-51 Bedford Way,
Bloomsbury, London WC1H 0DG.
Contact Roger Melling
Christmas Lunch
Wednesday 4th December 2019 at Stationers' Hall
See insert in this issue for booking details.
OSA Carol Service
Just to remind you that the annual Carol Service will take
place on Sunday 8th December 2019 at Hornsey Parish
Church, St Mary with St George, Cranley Gardens, N10
3AH at 4pm.
Attendance at last years’ service was very good, so please
continue to support this event. It would be a shame if we
were forced to drop it from our calendar of events.
We are very grateful to the Rector of Hornsey for
accommodating us and once again, we will welcome a
visiting choir, Voxcetera (pictured below) who were
excellent last year. As well as leading the congregational
carols they will also sing a number on their own.
Refreshments will be provided after the service.
Peter Sandell Past President
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T h e O l d S t a t i o n e r - N o 8 9
PRESIDENT’S ADDRESS
It is my personal honour to serve the Old
Stationers’ Association and you, its Members,
as your new President. When I joined the
School over 50 years ago, I never imagined
that one day I would sit on your Committee,
let alone receive the opportunity to become
President of this wonderful Association. I
would like to thank you all for this great
honour. I can assure you that over the coming
months I will serve you to the very best of my
ability.
I would like to thank Peter Winter, our Past
President, for his hard work and leadership during his tenure and
to your Committee in their commitment and efforts in striving
to deliver the very best for our Association.
My Presidential year ‘kicked’ off with the opportunity to watch
the OSFC football match against old rivals, The Warren at our
home ground in Barnet. An impressive display took the Old
Stationers to a 2-0 win, guaranteeing them a place in the Senior
Division 2 of the Southern Amateur League. I congratulate
them on their efforts and wish them good luck for next Season!
In May, I had the honour of witnessing a remarkable event - the
Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge. Organised by Roger Engledow
and Ian Blackmore, 18 inspiring ‘Old Boys’ took on the challenge
of climbing all three peaks whilst raising money for Macmillan
Nurses, in memory of Geraint Pritchard. We all had an enjoyable
few days, with great camaraderie and banter. We are all indebted
to the remarkable contribution Geraint made to the OSA over
many years. The very last conversation I had with Geraint, just a
few weeks before he passed away, was when I received a telephone
call from him the day after the 2018 AGM to congratulate me
on becoming Vice President - he was very supportive of his
ex-pupils, even to the very end!
From the questionnaire circulated late last year, you have
confirmed your expectations from the OSA and provided us
with some interesting ideas. I am happy to report that we have
now put your views and wishes for the future of our Association
firmly on the Committee’s Agenda! This is not to make change
within the Association or to alter the core fundamentals of what
we provide, but to expand on the services we offer to our
Membership. We are looking to broaden our appeal and make
the Association more inclusive and accessible, this we believe will
make us more sustainable for the future. In an effort to create
additional activities, Peter Winter and Stephen Collins are
looking to offer interesting city walks and have suggested
starting this event with a guided walk on the history of the
neighbourhoods surrounding the School. Whilst, Peter
Bothwick is investigating days out to major sporting events for
us to attend. We also want to reach out to some of the regions.
We know it is difficult for some of you to get down to London
for our events and return home in the same day, so perhaps we
could bring some of our new events to you. We all look forward
to taking part in these new activities.
Our events are the lifeblood of the Association, not only in
providing a platform for Old Boys to meet, catch up on news
and renew old friendships but to make new friends. If you have
never been to one of our events do come along you will receive
a very warm welcome. The lunches offer good food and wine at
an affordable price. The Golfing Club provides keen players the
opportunity to visit other courses where
perhaps they would not normally get the
chance to play. It is open to players of all
levels, where you will be able to meet in a
friendly atmosphere. It is important that we
all do our bit, no matter how small, in
supporting our Association whether it is
taking part in events, organising a reunion or
offering support to others who do.
The reunions are an important source for
bringing Old Stationers’ back in amongst us.
We are currently speaking with ‘Year
Champions’ to help them search for old classmates and organise
their own reunions. If you have organised a reunion for your year
in the past, I do urge you to continue holding reunions to avoid
losing touch with your fellow school mates.
Peter Gotham has been appointed to manage our website by
keeping it up to date and ensuring that it remains both relevant
and responsive. Our website is now a fresh, interactive and
inspiring digital window into our Association. It allows you to
keep up to date with our events and catch up on news. You are
invited to come on in and see our new space.
I had the honour of receiving Freedom of the Stationers’
Company at the Hall in March of this year. The Ceremony was
a very uplifting experience with its roots steeped in the
Company’s history and traditions. The OSA have always had a
very close relationship with the Company and many of our
Members support their work by sitting on their Committees. I
do encourage you to consider joining the Company and
supporting their inspiring work. They offer their members a full
and diverse programme of events throughout the year. Should
you wish to join, please contact Tony Mash for further details.
In August we have the annual President’s Day cricket match
against Botany Bay Cricket Club. I would like to invite you, your
family and friends to be a part of a truly wonderful day. Our
other events include the September lunch at our new venue in
the Royal National Hotel. We do struggle to achieve the
minimum numbers for our lunches, so I urge you to give them a
try and come along to our September lunch. Our Christmas
lunch is always a popular event so don’t forget to reserve your
place. Details for all these events are listed in the ‘Dates for the
Diary’ section of this Magazine. I look forward to meeting you
on one or hopefully more of these occasions.
The OSA offers real benefits
to our members in fun and
friendship and I do
encourage you to get involved
with the various activities on
offer, where I am sure you
will have a very enjoyable
time and meet new friends.
Peter Thomas
5

T h e O l d S t a t i o n e r - N o 8 9
ANNUAL DINNER 2019 - Stationers’ Hall – Friday 29th March 2019
The Worshipful Company of Stationers and Newspaper Makers and the Old Stationers’ Association
President’s speech - Peter winter
Master, Clerk, Executive Principal, fellow Old Stationers’...
First I must thank the two previous speakers for their entertaining
and informative speeches…I did not realise the bar would be set
so high!!
Gentlemen, As I know many people have said before, but it is
nonetheless true, it is a great pleasure and an honour to have been
your President for the last year. The year has gone by extremely
quickly and I’ve enjoyed it enormously. Despite living in the
north-west of England and the travelling it has involved: it was
worth it. It is great to see so many people here tonight in this
splendid setting which we are very privileged to be able to use.
Thank you David for the Company’s continued support and
engagement with the Old Stationers’ Association; it is very much
appreciated and valued.
I first came to the Hall in 1969, invited to dinner by the
Company, as head boy of Stationers’ School: it was my first black
tie event. However, after university at Birmingham I adopted
and was adopted by the north-west of England and consequently,
although I had and still have a core of friends from Stationers’, I
had very little day-to-day engagement with the Old Stationers’
Association until Steve Bensley, (who is here tonight) organised
a reunion of my year in 2013 to mark 50 years since we started
at Stationers. It was in coming to that lunch that I engaged very
much with the people from my year and then subsequently with
the Association: it has been a very good part of the last six years.
I have always had a deep affection for the school, as indeed has
my whole family…apart from Ed and me, we have our brother
David, who is somewhat older and lives in deepest Norfolk;
David was at the school from 1948 to 1955…. Stationers School
was extremely good to the Winter family: it changed our lives
completely. It is therefore really good to see David Miller here
tonight from the Stationers Crown Woods Academy: a new
project a generation on from the closing of the Stationers’
School, but nonetheless an opportunity to be a beacon that
changes young peoples’ lives for the better for good. David, our
recent survey of Old Stationers’ shows that there is significant
support for assisting you and those at the Academy: we are open
to help you in whatever way you may feel is constructive.
I recently sent out to all members, that I have an email address
for, a summary of the findings of a survey of members which we
carried out at the end of 2018. The findings provide a significant
number of choices on ways in which we can develop our
Association. If we are to continue as a thriving and lively group
it is important that we develop activities and events which meet
your needs; and this we will be doing. Peter Bothwick and I,
with the support of the committee and the incoming President,
will start to develop new activities as indicated by the survey and
we would welcome your support in doing this.
In terms of membership, as I touched on earlier, although I came
to Old Stationers late, it has nonetheless been a really good
experience. The survey revealed that many of you know old
stationers who are not members of the Association. It is not
clear to us yet what the critical mass is for the Old Stationers
Association to continue to both survive and thrive. We have
managed, because of the efforts of Peter Sandell and Peter
Peter Winter
Thomas in particular with the reunion groups, to maintain
numbers around the 500 figure for several years now, despite the
sad but inevitable loss of some of our older members. I really
would encourage you all to seek new members from the old
stationers that you know, bring them along to dinners like
tonight, or the lunches or any other event, maybe you are golfers,
whatever, but do try to assist the two Peters and the rest the
committee in maintaining a critical mass for the Association
going forward for decades to come.
In December we had the annual Carol service at Hornsey parish
church: this was a special occasion in which we rededicated the
war memorial window that had come from the School. The
service commemorated a hundred years since the end of the First
World War when so many old stationers died: 154 in the First
World War and 119 in the Second World War: it was an
excellent occasion with a fine choir and an excellent organist that
made it a pleasurable occasion, not just a duty.
This year has seen a number of people from our membership
pass away. Notable of course was the very sad loss of Geraint
Pritchard. We have what is, effectively, the final commemorative
action relating to Geraint’s loss when a number of us, organised
by Roger Engeldow, will be trying to complete the Yorkshire
Three Peaks challenge in May. This involves climbing Whernside,
Pen-y-Ghent and Ingleborough in a day, some 24 miles and
more climbing than I like to think about. Foolishly I’ve agreed
6

T h e O l d S t a t i o n e r - N o 8 9
to take part in this, there will be about 15 of us. I think in my
head I’m still a cross-country runner, but when I look in the
mirror I know that probably is not true. As part of my training I
was up Mount Vesuvius on Monday….a good place to seek
inspiration. We are collecting donations towards Macmillan
Cancer on this charity event; Roger has set up a just giving site
for this which I am certain he’ll be making sure you all know
about, indeed you will find details at your table.
Your Association has once again at tonight’s AGM elected an
excellent committee. When I agreed to be President I was
assured that the committee would be extremely supportive and
they have been absolutely true to their word and I know they will
continue to do so. A special mention to Tim Westbrook who has
seamlessly picked up the Magazine editor role (no small task) on
Geraint’s passing. You have, in electing Peter Thomas as my
successor as president, a committed member of the Association
who I’m sure will lead us extremely well in the coming year.
May I please record my thanks to those of you who have
attended any of our functions during the year, particularly the
Christmas, spring and autumn lunches, the presidents day and
the Carol Service. As I said earlier we will be adding to the range
of events, guided by your inputs. Let me also thank Peter
Bothwick for his excellent role as our MC for tonight.
The links to the company are important. I joined the company as
a freeman when there was a special scheme set up a few years ago
to give preferential terms to OSA members. That scheme has
been reopened in order to encourage you: so please consider the
many benefits of taking up this offer. I have found the number
of additional opportunities to socialise, dine and network within
the company very worthwhile.
I’m sure that many of you want to progress onto the Cockpit for
the less formal part of the evening. We have had two very good
speakers…. I do not intend to hold you longer so let me finish
by thanking both the master and our guest speaker for their good
wishes to the Association on this special night of all nights when
the direction of the UK is so much in the balance. It is good to
have stability and tradition amongst friends. Can I just reiterate
what a privilege and an honour it has been to be your President,
as I now, without delay, hand over the presidency to Peter
Thomas, knowing that, with the committee, your Association
will go from strength to strength. I look forward to communing
with you and being an active part of this Association for many
years to come.
Please note that the next lunch is on Tuesday 10th September.
Please let Roger Melling know if you are joining us.
Fellow Old Stationers’, may I wish you all good health, happiness
and prosperity in the years ahead. May I toast you all…
Thank you!
Peter Winter
Guest speaker
Ed Winter, the President's brother and Old Stationer (1958-65),
rather than giving the expected speech on his airline career
(including BA, Go and Easy Jet) surprised us all and decided,
given that the AGM coincided with the original 29th March
Brexit date, to give a topical speech. Ed, using many of the best
political quotes, gave a sometimes amusing, cynical and at times
quite shocking account of how our politicians had spent 3 years
reaching a total impasse on Brexit. Unusual and thought
provoking, it somewhat polarised the audience!
More wine Sir?
7

T h e O l d S t a t i o n e r - N o 8 9
New Vice President Stephen Collins receives the "Loving Cup".
David Winter, Guest speaker in full flow.
New President Peter Thomas tries the blazer for size.
More loving!
A galaxy of top table dignitaries pose with the President.
8

T h e O l d S t a t i o n e r - N o 8 9
Alan Palmer, Phil Geering and Tony Mash.
Winos holding their drink.
I think that's enough!
Mike Hasler and Peter Bonner swapping golf stories.
John and Michael share a joke.
9

T h e O l d S t a t i o n e r - N o 8 9
Attendees
Geoff Aanonson 1964-71
Nigel Adams 1963-70
Hugh Alexander 1964-71
Keith Allen 1961-68
Robin Baker 1964-70
Stuart Behn 1947-53
Stephen Bensley 1963-70
Don Bewick 1951-56
Marco Bittante 1972-79
Geoff Blackmore 1965-72
Ian Blackmore 1967-74
Peter Bonner 1955-62
Peter Bothwick 1962-69
Toastmaster
Michael Brady 1951-57
Adrian Broadbent 1977-82
Martin Brown 1954-61
John Cater 1956-63
Frank Clapp 1963-69
Paul Claque 1973-80
Peter Clydesdale 1949-54
Stephen Collins 1962-69
David Cox 1953-60
Nigel Dant 1963-71
John Dent Botany Bay
Anthony Eade 1973-80
Geoff Edis 1963-68
Richard Edis 1961-68
Roger Engledow 1954-61
Ivor Evans 1947-51
Michael Facey 1951-57
Richard Forty 1965-72
Bob Fry 1965-71
Douglas Fussell 1954-59
John Geering 1953-60
Michael Geering 1955-62
Phil Geering 1961-68
John Gray 1962-68
Peter Hames
Michael Hasler 1953-59
Zaki Hassan 1977-82
Michael G Heath 1961-68
Tony Hemmings 1954-59
Richard Hersey 1951-58
Brian Howlett 1955-62
Raymond Humphreys 1954-60
Peter Jarvis 1962-68
Alan Johnstone 1946-50
Michael Kahn 1964-71
Keith Knight 1955-63
Peter Knight 1953-58
John Lane 1973-80
Chris Langford 1957-64
Martin Lawrence 1963-70
Dave Lincoln 1956-63
Tony Mash 1961-68
Roger Melling 1954-62
Derek Mitchell 1961-68
Tony Moffatt 1954-61
Mike Mote 1955-60
Keith Mullender 1956-63
Colin Munday 1956-63
Alan Palmer 1961-68
John Partridge 1952-58
Frank Pearce 1955-62
Richard Phillippo 1954-62
Russell Plumley 1956-64
Nigel Powell 1961-68
Steve Presland 1965-72
John L Rowlands 1961-68
Peter Sandell 1965-72
Roy Saunders 1943-48
David Sheath 1955-62
Jon Stern 1963-70
John Taylor 1951-56
Peter Thomas 1967-73
Ross Thompson 1962-68
Michael Ttofi 1973-80
David Turner 1951-56
Kevin Waller 1967-73
Mike Weatherlley 1954-59
Tim Westbrook 1962-69
Andy Wick 1954-59
Chris Wilkins 1957-63
Chris Williams 1971-79
Mark Willison 1973-80
Dr Richard Wilson 1951-58
Peter Winter 1963-70
Chris Woodhams 1956-63
guests
The Master: David Allan
The Clerk: William Alden
Guest speaker: Edward Winter
The Executive Principal
Stationers' Crown Wood
Academy: David Millar
10

T h e O l d S t a t i o n e r - N o 8 9
May Lunch
On Tuesday 14th May, 32 Old Boys gathered at the Royal
National Hotel for our May Lunch. The Royal National in
Bedford Way, London, is part of the Imperial Hotels Group and
now serves as the new venue for our May and September
Lunches. Our lunch comprised of a starter of Thai Chicken
salad, followed by a main course of Steak and Kidney pie with
creamed potatoes. This was rounded off with a dessert of Bread
& Butter Pudding and custard, washed down with Champ de
Grenet Merlot and Richebaron wines.
Our new President, Peter Thomas then welcomed those present
and outlined the programme of events planned during his
Presidential year.
Those that attended were:
Behn, Stu
Engledow, Peter
Mote, Mike
Bewick, Don
Engledow, Roger
Mullender, Keith
Blackmore, Ian
Evans, Mike
Munday, Colin
Bonner, Peter
Hemmings, Tony
Pearce, Frank
Bothwick, Peter
Humphreys, Brian
Sandell, Peter
Brady, Michael
Knight, Keith
Sparrow, Sir John
Broadbent, Adrian
Linford, Alec
Thomas, Peter
Butler, Terry
Margree, Bob
Waller, Kevin
Clydesdale, Peter
Melling, Roger
Wilkins, Chris
Collins, Stephen
Metcalf, Sir David
Winter, Peter
Cox, David
Moffatt, Tony
11

T h e O l d S t a t i o n e r - N o 8 9
Old Stationers’ Golf Society
The society has met twice this year so far and due to clashes of
commitments and medical misfortunes we have been struggling
with numbers and availabilities. That having been said, we have
enjoyed two meetings as reported below.
We played a match against Old Tollingtonians at Aldenham in
April but sadly lost by 244 to 217. The prizes for Nearest the Pin
in both 1 & 2 shots went to OT’s and only Tim Westbrook with
33 points challenged a good OT’s side. We know that to beat
OT’s next year we need our strongest field of players as well as
some luck for those less talented.
The golf was however enjoyed by everyone and the course was in
good condition.
In May we held our Pairs Cup competition at Redbourne. Again
we were fighting to get enough players up until the day but the
ten who played enjoyed a very good course on a beautiful sunny
& warm day.
The winners were Bruce Kitchener & Alan Nowell with 40
points with Tim Westbrook and Colin Walker coming in a close
second with 39 points.
Colin Watkins won the nearest the pin, and Tim Westbrook won
the nearest the pin in two with a superb second shot that finished
up no more than a few feet from the pin.
And so we move on to the summer months with a meeting at
Brickendon on Tues 18th June and our annual match against the
Company at Aldwickbury on Tues July 30th. I do hope that we
will have a good turnout for these fixtures. here is a full summary
of remaining fixtures:
Bruce Kitchener and Alan Nowell.
Tuesday 18th June Brickendon *
Tuesday 30th July Aldwickbury Park Company match
Thurs 22nd August Knebworth *
Friday 11th October Mill Green Three ball comp
* denotes cup matches. Best two scores count.
Roger hands over the trophy to Old Tolly’s captain.
Competitors dining after pairs comp.
12

T h e O l d S t a t i o n e r - N o 8 9
OSFC End of season report
Back Row L-R James Keenan (Captain), Jimmy-Joe Lavelle, Danny Breen, Tom Jackson, Perry Langley, Ciaran Power, Steve Watts, James Chalk, Max Batram
(ex-player) - Front Row L-R Bradley Mace, James Phillips, Sean Derrick, Simon Jones, Matt Hennigan, James Elsey, Callum Anderson
You may recall that the Mid-Season report in the previous
magazine painted a fairly rosy picture of the early season fortunes
of the 1st XI (the only side the Club are now running).
Over the past few seasons similar optimism has unfortunately
proved to be largely overstated. However this season the early
promise shown by the group gathered pace in to the second half
of the season and a well deserved Runners-Up spot in SAL
Senior Division 3 was secured with a victory over The Warren in
the last game of the season. So OSFC will be playing Senior
Division 2 football next season for the first time in 15 years! We
will be joined by local rivals Crouch End Vampires who proved
worthy winners of Division 3.
Great credit must go to all the players, the majority of whom are
under 25, with a special mention to James Keenan for his
guidance and organisation as captain, ably assisted by his two
experienced lieutenants, Perry Langley and Tom Jackson. The
success was built on a great team spirit and work ethic, with all
players playing their part.
This season's improvement in the 1st XI's performances and
strength can perhaps be best illustrated in two games that we
actually narrowly lost in early Cup rounds, against much higher
ranked opposition.
Firstly a 1-2 away defeat to Old Carthusians in the Old Boys
Senior Cup......Carthusians would go on to win every competition
they entered this season including the AFA Senior Cup, The
Old Boys Senior Cup and the Arthurian League. Secondly a 3-4
home defeat to West Wickham in the AFA Senior Cup.....
Wickham ended the season as SAL Senior Division 1 Champions.
We hopefully proved with those two narrow set backs that we
can compete well against the strongest teams in AFA football.
The season's success was celebrated by the players, family, friends
and ex-players, at a 'Presentation' BBQ (formal end of season
dinners now seem to be a thing of the past). Trophies were
awarded to the following
Players' Player of the Season... Bradley Mace
Captain's Player of the Season... James Elsey
Long Service Playing Award... Tom Jackson
Supporters Player of the Year... Steve Watts
There was one final trophy given by the players to their Supporter
of the Season, which went to a richly deserving, Dick Hersey,
who followed the team in most games, home and away.
The team are fully aware that playing at a higher level next
season after so long in Division 3 will be a big step up, but we're
sure that with the same application and determination they will
relish the challenge.
Finally, just a reminder that the Annual OSFC Ex-Players
Re-Union Day will again take place in early October (last
October over 40 ex-players attended...we hope to see more next
October) please check out our website (oldstationersfc.co.uk)
nearer the time for exact details and to keep up to date with the
Club’s fortunes.
Ian Meyrick
ian.meyrick1@gmail.com
13

T h e O l d S t a t i o n e r - N o 8 9
Tim
ian.meyrick1@gmail.com
Sun Jan 28 2019
We recently received an email via the OSFC website from Ken
Rickards (see below) I have forwarded the email to Gordon Rose
to ask if he remembers Ken.
However, his message together with the Matchday Teamsheet
(which I have attached) may be of use for the magazine under
the Football Club section.
Vince Wallace, our Secretary, did send a reply to Ken thanking
him for his message and confirming that OSFC beat Old
Thorntonians 3-1 in the 1949 Old Boys Senior Cup Final.
I would have thought Ken must be one of the oldest, if not the
oldest, surviving ex-OSFC player, unless you know differently?
Is he even a member of the OSA?
Regards
Ian Meyrick
The oldest surviving 1949
Old boys cup winner?
k.rickards123@btinternet.com
28 January, 2018
I was delighted to access this website and discover in the Gallery
the team sheet for the 1949 Old Boys Cup final in which I
played. I'm afraid I can't remember whether or not we won. I am
now 97 and remember my days at Old Stationers fondly. Long
may it continue for another 100 years.
Ken Rickards
from the archives
Class of 1962 - From left: Copleston, Lucas, Cutts, Shaw, Smith, Jarvis, Gamester, Sloma, Hudson, Westbrook, Bone's arm.
14

T h e O l d S t a t i o n e r - N o 8 9
And they are off.... but where and when?
Reunions
CLASS OF OF '44
In 2018, the class of 44 again held their annual reunion at the
RAF Club Piccadilly which was generously sponsored by one of
our members. Eight old boys attended: Brian Cranwell, Bill
Croydon, Arthur Field, Brian Kill, John Miles, John Sparrow,
Ernie Stone and Stan Ward.
The usual conviviality prevailed, no doubt partly due to the
excellent meal and the good wine which flowed freely: most of
the stories had some basis in truth. We left the RAF Club with
hearts and stomachs contentedly full.
Seventy five years is a true landmark and deserves special
celebration, the more so because time will inevitably take its toll
on us. Please, would all who joined the class of 44 make every
effort to attend this significant reunion, which be held in the
RAF Club on Wednesday 4 September 2019 and, once again,
will be generously sponsored by one of our members.
More details from John Miles (johntmiles18@sky.com or
01480465777).
Call for class of '51
at The Old Manor, Potters Bar, Monday 28th October
2019 12.30 for 1.00 or thereabouts. Please contact Don
Bewick at don.bewick@hotmail.co.uk.
15

T h e O l d S t a t i o n e r - N o 8 9
CORRESPONDENCE
Hello Tim
Thanks very much for remembering this.
In the last edition of the magazine I wrote
a summary of our reunion lunch, which
you were kind enough to describe as
"amusing". Part of that amusement was
recollection of our Form 1 Outing in July
1964 to the Isle of Wight. I attached a
photograph (which included some of the
reunion attendees) taken at Carisbrooke
Castle. I attach it again with this email.
You included the photo with my article,
but without explanation or the names of
the pupils shown. Readers must have been
baffled!
The photo was taken around a cannon at
Carisbrooke Castle on the aforementioned
form outing. The boys in the photo are,
from back to front: Jim Butler, Rob
Bloomfield, Dave Clark, Chris Bell (right),
Frank Clapp (left), Alan Burgess, Steve
Bensley, Nigel Dant.
Thanks for taking time and an interest in
this, and for your work on the excellent
magazine
Steve Bensley
b. c.howlett@btinternet. com
1st March 2019
Dear Tim,
The Old Stationer - Januarv 2019
Having just returned from four weeks in
South Africa, I got round to reading the
latest edition of the Old Stationer
magazine.
I read with interest the article entitled
'The Seoond Best Job in the World' by
David Hudson.
I was fascinated by all the activities he had
taken part in, but my attention was grabbed
by his reference to Bridge Sessions on
cruise ships.
Last October my wife and I cruised with
P&O on Oriana to the Mediterranean
having enjoyed previous cruises with them
as well as other lines. As usual, I availed
myself of the Bridge sessions that were
offered, and consequently I met David but
did not have any idea that he was an Old
Stationer too - perhaps in future I should
take my OS tie on my holidays!
Having taken up Bridge on my retirement,
I felt in need of a much additional practice
as possible. David was an excellent tutor,
and ably assisted by Sandra provided me
with a lot of ideas to use with my regular
bridge partner on my return home.
Once again it shows that 'as far as you
roam' is very much in evidence.
With all best wishes.
Yours sincerely
Brian C Howlett
(1955-62)
Hello Tim,
rogermansfield@btinternet.com
13th July 2018
I have had today this e-mail from Cedric
Steet which you wanted to have for
inclusion in The Old Stationer Magazine .
I dont suppose that you will want to print
all the correspondence, but I am sure that
you will be able to pick the bones out of it
to make an interesting entry. I of course
wish to add my condolences to Geraint
Pritchard's family at this very sad time for
them all. He gave so much of his energy
and enthusiasm to editing the magazine,
which in turn gave so much happiness to
all its readers.
Best wishes,
Roger Mansf ield
ian.steet@icloud.com
13th July 2018
To: Roger Mansfield
A BLAST FROM THE PAST!
Hi Roger,
Saddened to hear the news of Geraint
Pritchard. Although I never had the
16

T h e O l d S t a t i o n e r - N o 8 9
pleasure of meeting him, I was in
correspondence with him only a few
months ago and had no idea he was in bad
health.
I have several postcards he sent me
picturing the Yorkshire Dales and North
Wales which were obviously very close to
his heart. I don't know whether you have
received the latest magazine but the
tributes tell us that he was a very special
person.
Believe it or not he was quite a bit younger
than us, so keep taking the pills, there can't
be many of us left.
Hope you had a good wedding anniversary
and that you are keeping well.
With best wishes
Cedric Steet
From: Paul Bateman
12th January 2019
To: george_copus@btopenworld.com
Cc: tim@timwestbrook.co.uk
Class of ‘33
Dear George,
I’m a fellow Old Stationer (1965-70) and
in the latest edition of ‘The Old Stationer’
I have seen the ‘Welcome’ of the new boys
from the 1933 school magazine. Your
name is of course there as is my father’s.
He was Eric Bateman and if things were
done alphabetically, as in my day, he may
well have been in your class. I don’t expect
you to remember him from such a long
time ago but the name may ring a bell.
Sadly he died in 1977 a few weeks before
his 55th birthday of a sudden heart attack.
He had worked for many years for the
Electricity Council at Millbank but for his
last 9 years was much happier as a grocer
and sub-postmaster in Lymington,
Hampshire where he was very popular and
was President of the local Chamber of
Trade.
Of course, one of the reasons that I went to
Stationers was because he was an old boy.
In the last few years it has been good to
catch up again with several of my old class
mates, most of whom have retired, but as a
classical conductor I shall carry on as long
as I am able.
You’re obviously still very active and I am
delighted to know of someone who may
have known my father at Stationers.
Warmest wishes
Paul Bateman
Dear Tim,
Richie Tyley
19th January 2019
Firstly, thanks for your prompt attention in
sending “A History of Stationers’
Company’s School” which I received this
morning.
Secondly, as requested, I enclose
photocopies of the relevant pages from
Richard Davenport-Hines book entitled “
Enemies Within” published by William
Collins (2018) which focuses on the Blunt,
Burgess, Mclean and Philby spy-ring but
makes myriad references to the similar
treachery of Wilfred Vernon who attended
Stationers' School presumably from 1893
onwards being born in 1882.
Wikipedia entry for
Wilfred Foulston Vernon 1882 – 1975
Wilfred Vernon was a labour Party
politician in the United Kingdom who
served as Member of Parliament between
1945 and 1951. Educated in The Stationers’
Company’s School and the City and Guilds
Technical College in London, Vernon
served in the RNVR during the First World
Way, before becoming a squadron major in
the RNAS and was a major in the RAF in
its early days.
During 1918 he worked in the flying boat
section at Felixstowe air base and after the
war became a draughtsman for the British
Aeroplane Company. From 1925 – 1937
he worked at the Royal Aircraft
Establishment from which he was
dismissed for failing to take proper care of
classified information. He had been earlier
implicated in encouraging sedition at the
Aldershot army camp. In 1952 he admitted
having been part of a pre-war Soviet
espionage ring.
Finally should you require any additional
information please do not hesitate to
contact me.
Wishing you the very best in your time as
editor.
Yours Sincerely
Richie Tyley
R.A. Horne
SA205 30 Ruakura Road,
Hamilton East, Hamilton, 3216
17th February 2019
Greetings Tim and congrats on another
great edition stirring the brain again. In
particular pages 30-31 on the Hogs Back.
I spent many many hours along the
footpath collecting engine numbers from
7-12 years of age and followed up by
visiting Kings Cross, St Pancras and
Euston stations on weekends to pursue my
collection and chatting with the engine
crews.
Thanks for publishing my letter of last
year despite my error in line 3 on page 81.
I am intrigued by the Welcome para on
that page. Does it refer to new members or
members of my era that I referred to, there
are many familiar names there and I see
George Copus has been in touch. I wonder
how many are still around. Are there any
other OS members in New Zealand I
could share experiences with?
I read the credits given to Geraint that I
share. I had the pleasure of visiting him at
Dunstable on one of our visits home and
thoroughly enjoyed his company.
Best wishes for the New Year ( a bit
belated) to you and all your readers,
Ron Horne
Tim Westbrook
21st February 2019
Hello Ron,
Thanks for your email.
The Welcome paragraph is lifted from the
1932 School Magazine and lists all the new
boys that joined in George Copus' entry year,
1932. I scanned it for publication so George
could look at his class mate names as I thought
he might struggle to do it himself.
There is only one other name on our members
database that started in 1932, ( your entry
year) and that is Alec Lindford.
There is also only one name of a member in
New Zealand - Tony Turner School years
1955-62 living in Aukland.
Best regards, Tim
17

T h e O l d S t a t i o n e r - N o 8 9
Hi Tim,
usukok@aol.com
31st March 2019
I sent this photo to you. I believe (my
memory is bad as well) it was taken on my
phone by Peter Sandell.
This was our gathering of 61/68ers in
memory of Stephen Jeffreys whom we lost
earlier this year as you know. From left to
right, Tony Mash, Richard Edis, Phil
Geering, Del Mitchell, Alan Palmer, Keith
Allen, John Rowlands and Nigel Powell.
Mike Heath had sadly already left the Hall
before the photo was taken.
Best regards
Tony Mash
usukok@aol.com
31st March 2019
Dear Tim,
I know you have plenty of material on
Stephen Jeffreys for the OSA magazine,
but John Rowlands has just reminded me
of a piece Stephen wrote, very tongue in
cheek about the Tiddlywinks Society, in
the last school magazine before the 61-68
year left the school.
You will find his humorous piece opposite.
Best regards
Tony Mash
Dear Tim
Congratulations on an excellent edition 88
of the Old Stationer. Among many
interesting articles, I particularly enjoyed
Alex Fleming’s on Impresssions of a Young
Trainspotter. It revived happy memories
of my own brief period as a trainspotter,
starting in my final year at Stroud Green
Primary School and extending into my
first year at Stationers’ in 1962/3. My own
forays began on the Finsbury Park
trainspotters’ platform, just across the East
Coast main line from Stroud Green
school, and, also locally, at the end of
Dagmar Road, N4.
I do, however, have a quibble with Alex on
his recollections of sightings of A4
‘Streaks’, which may reflect my relatively
late arrival on the trainspotting scene. He
says that the rarest in the south were
William Whitelaw (60004) and Kingfisher
(60024). Whilst I agree that William
Whitelaw never showed up (despite the
grandson of the locomotive’s eponym
becoming Margaret Thatcher’s deputy in
later years!), I do recall seeing Kingfisher
on several occasions. Much rarer, however,
was Union of South Africa (60009), and it
was the greatest thrill of my young life
suddenly to be able to “cab it” at King’s
Cross station on one of its very infrequent
runs south of York.
Of the 34 Gresley A4s, only six now
remain, all in private hands. In 2013 the
National Railway Museum brought them
all together for an exhibition entitled ‘The
Great Gathering’, some in original blue
livery, others in British Railways green
livery. The star of the show was of course
Mallard, the world steam record holder.
But also there was Union of South Africa
18

T h e O l d S t a t i o n e r - N o 8 9
– see photograph. Sadly, William Whitelaw
and Kingfisher are no more. [The railway
nerds among your readership may like to
know that the other survivors are Sir Nigel
Gresley (60007), Dwight D Eisenhower
(60008), Dominion of Canada (60010)
and Bittern (60019).]
Best wishes
Stephen Collins
osamembers@gmail.com
26th March 2019
To: OSA Committee
This has been sent to me by the wife of
Ron Richardson who was a teacher at
school and played for OSFC. He would
like to join the OSA so I have sent him the
appropriate forms.
Roger Engledow
ritar405@gmail.com
Riverline article : Wisbech evacuees
Dear Roger,
I'm attaching a transcription of the article
which includes the photograph of Geraint
Pritchard. Please could you circulate to
suitable recipients?
Any problems, please get back to me.
Regards
Rita Richardson
mikehasler.oldstationers@gmail.com
26th March 2019
Brilliant! I can remember Ron and also
his twin brother Len. He played for
OSFC for many years in the 50s, 60s and
possibly 70s but moved to East Anglia, I
am not certain, but about the time he
married Rita and we lost touch. I assumed
(wrongly) that Ron has died as she does
not mention him. I don't know whether
anyone would have a photo of Ron playing
either for one of the OSFC sides or on
Easter tour which he supported rgularly.
Kind regards
Michael Hasler
d.turner12@sky.com
26th March 26 2019
It may be interesting to add a bit more info
on the evacuation episode before everyone
connected with it passes away or no one
can remember what happened
But we do know that the school went up
there on the 1st September 1939 and a
photograph appeared in one of their local
papers of a coach and a line of boys under
the Headline “Boys arrive from North
London school “
Of particular interest to me is that we still
have that paper in our archives and one of
the pupils in the picture was Alec Linford
who Mike Brady and I knew from the
Calthorpe tennis club on the Crouch End
playing fields in the later 1950s. If anyone
wants to see the paper or would like a pic
of the article do let me know before Friday
and I will arrange it whilst at the Hall
Looking forward to Friday evening.
Regards DT
Taken from Wisbech Grammar School Magazine :
RIVERLINE 2012
19

prcwinter1@btinternet.com
10th December 2018
See letters and mementos
relating to two Old Stationers'
(brothers) who died in the
First world war. Their father
donated a chemistry prize,
which I think continued at
least until my time at school
Their great niece was at the
service on Sunday.
Peter Winter, BSc MBA CEng
FIMechE MIoD FHEA
imogenlevenson@yahoo.com
10th December 2018
Dear Peter,
It was very nice to attend the Old Stationer's Carol Service.
I am glad Richard Hughes rang me to let me know it was
happening. I had the letter from my great grandmother
scanned and the research done by one of my late father's
friends on my two great uncles who went to Stationers.
I have copied them to my brother and three Carruthers'
cousins.
Hope you can use the information for your newsletter.
Yours
Imogen Levenson (nee Carruthers)
T h e O l d S t a t i o n e r - N o 8 9
Carruthers' brothers IN ARMS
20

T h e O l d S t a t i o n e r - N o 8 9
Yorkshire three peaks challenge
in memory of geraint pritchard
Letter from Bethan and Marj
Dear Old Stationers,
How lucky we were to be invited along to this memorable day - in
memory of Geraint. How proud and touched he would have been!
We would just like you to know how delighted we are that we could
be present to witness your achievements – you are all winners and our
heroes!
With our very best wishes and thanks,
Bethan & Marj
The many tributes received in the July 2018 Issue of the
Stationer Magazine (Issue no. 87) stand as testimony to the
popularity of Geraint Pritchard as an inspirational teacher. He
motivated his students to get outside and explore the natural
world and in doing so many of us attended his legendary field
trips. One popular trip, which resonates with many ex-students
was a visit to the Yorkshire Dales and the Three Peaks – Pen-y-
Ghent, Whernside and Ingleborough. Those that joined Geraint
all those years ago accomplished a 24 ½ mile walk over
approximately an 11 hour period, including 5,200 feet of ascent
to cover all three peaks, leaving them with a sense of exhilaration,
and achievement. An experience that many still fondly recall
after more than 40 years!
Following Geraint’s passing, Roger Engledow came up with the
idea of repeating the famous expedition, inviting ‘Old Boys’ to
meet the challenge and at the same time raise money for
Macmillan Nurses through sponsorship, (Marj, Geraint’s partner,
was a Macmillan Nurse). Eighteen courageous ‘Old Stationers’
took up the challenge on the 21st of May of this year to complete
this memorable walk in under 12 hours, some of the walkers
completed the walk at a more leisurely pace over two days.
Geraint was obviously smiling down on the walkers that day as
the weather was near perfect for a marathon walk, warm with
reasonable cloud cover. The starting point, from the car park at
Horton-in-Ribblesdale and an early morning start sent the
walkers in a large group to attempt the climb up Pen-y-Ghent.
They would soon disappear from the road and into the distance
and would not be seen by the support group until they exited on
to the main road junction at Ribblehead, some 10 miles and 4
hours later. From here the walkers took a short break to take in
the spectacular view of the viaduct before their ascent up
Whernside, disappearing again for a further 7 miles and
approximately 3 hours. The support group were then able to
meet them again at the next crossing on the Ingleton road. After
a brief stop to replenish their water bottles and take on board
further snacks, the walkers attempted their final climb to ascend
Ingleborough. This final push would take in a 7 mile stretch in 3
½ hours to complete their circular course back to the start at
Horton. The supporters also took the opportunity to replenish
their reserves and visit the Old Hill Inn after an exhausting
morning of cheerleading. The support group later ‘staggered’
from the pub and gathered at the entrance to the car park in
Horton to cheer the walkers on to the home stretch. Towards the
end of the course the walkers had strung out, over a distance of
approximately 5 miles, finishing up to 2 hours from the leaders.
The walkers could be seen by the support group following the
footpath down the hill towards the village and the finish line.
The youngest were the first to cross the finish line, Liam
Gallagher and Steve Atkins finishing in an amazing, 9 hours and
40 mins! These were shortly followed by Peter Winter and Roger
Melling sprinting together for the last 20 yards to the finish. All
ten that finished were within the 12 hour target for completing
the course including those that were in Geraint’s year, 1954,
Roger Melling, Roger Engledow and Geoff Dawes.
Interestingly, Roger Engledow observed that 7 out of the 10 that
completed the course previously played for the OSFC - obviously
a good grounding for strength and endurance! Thankfully no
injuries were reported except for a cut to Ian Meyerick’s head
despite being explained to him beforehand that the challenge
was a walk and not a Caving expedition!
The support team included Marj (Geraint’s partner), Bethan
(Geraint’s Sister), Kathy Gallagher, Heather Melling and Peter
Thomas (Timekeeper). The Walk would not have been possible
without the sterling efforts of Ian Blackmore and Roger
Roger ready for the off.
21

T h e O l d S t a t i o n e r - N o 8 9
From Left: Chris Williams, Ian Meyrick, Ian Blackmore, Dave Gilligan, Peter Winter, Steve Presland, Roger Engledow, Roger Melling, Peter Bothwick,
Geoff Dawes, Keith Allen, Ray Humphreys, Steve Atkins, Liam Gallagher
Engledow’s meticulous planning. The walkers were extensively
briefed beforehand, with maps, time schedules and route planning
and eagerly supported along the route by Ian.
That evening everyone enjoyed a celebration dinner at a local
pub and swapped stories of the day’s events. Surplus cash of
£100, left over after payment of the dinner bill will be donated to
the justgiving fund and an additional £36 to the Yorkshire Dales
Charity for the upkeep of the paths. A raffle held amongst the
walkers on the night, for a Y3PC tie, raised a further £160. The
tie was fittingly won by Peter Winter who had “called in a few
favours” and generated over £1,500 on a separate website. So, the
total donated (including gift aid) now stands at around £4,000
and is still open for further donations. If you would like to make
a donation please go to: www.justgiving.com/fundraising/OSA-
Y3PC. Alternatively you can send a cheque payable to the OSA
to Roger Engledow who “will do the necessary”. Everyone
agreed that the past two days had been thoroughly enjoyable and
that maybe we should consider similar events for the future.
Peter Thomas
Reflections
by Ian Blackmore
Having been seen as an ‘experienced’ 3 Peaks’ walker, I appointed
myself as Roger’s main walking adviser for this challenge. Prewalk,
numbers fluctuated but finally settled on the 18 brave OS
souls who descended on N. Yorkshire in the third week of May.
Not knowing the extent of most people’s walking knowledge and
experience, I circulated what I hoped were useful suggestions on
route, clothing, equipment and, not least, training, but would
they be heeded?
With four of our number making the eminently sensible decision
to not attempt all three peaks in one day, it was with some
trepidation that I was one of 14 OS - with an age range of 55–76
- assembling at 07:30 hrs in Horton-in-Ribblesdale car park.
Obligatory group photo completed, we cheerfully set off together.
Although it was expected, we had probably gone barely a mile
Those that attended the walk included:
Keith Allen 1961–1968 Steve Atkins 1974-1981
Ian Blackmore 1967-1974 Peter Bothwick 1962-1969
Geoff Dawes 1954-1959 Roger Engledow 1954-1961
Liam Gallagher 1974-1981 Dave Gilligan 1971-1976
Tony Henfrey 1956-1963 Richard Hersey 1951-1958
Ray Humphreys 1954-1960 Alun Jeffreys 1966-1972
Roger Melling 1954-1962 Ian Meyrick 1966-1972
Steve Presland 1965-1972 Jim Townsend 1959-1966
Chris Williams 1971-1979 Peter Winter 1963-1970
22

T h e O l d S t a t i o n e r - N o 8 9
and the group was already strung out over a distance of about
200 yds. After that, things settled down and people found their
own ideal pace and natural walking partners.
Even walking with the rearmost groups, it was encouraging to
note that no-one was grumbling (well, maybe a little!), despite
the physical shock that many were experiencing on the hills. For
most of the day, I barely had sight of half the four 76-year-olds,
let alone the speedy front runners.
During the day, four of our number succumbed to injury or
fatigue and chose not to tackle the whole route. However, no less
than ten walkers did complete the challenge, all in comfortably
less than the target 12 hours. Special mention must be given to
the class of ’54 which saw three of them amongst the ten
finishers in their first ever attempt. I only hope I can be as fit as
them when I’m 76! In the end, the results far exceeded my
conservative expectations and the whole trip, involving 18
walkers and splendid support teams, was an unqualified success.
Ian Blackmore
one walker’s perspective
When Roger put forward the idea of doing the Yorkshire three
peaks challenge I was both interested in doing it but also a little
concerned that I had not walked anything like 25 miles in a day,
let alone including over 5000 feet of climbing, for many years (if
ever). However as the then President there felt like an obligation.
It turned out to be a major challenge but also a very memorable
couple of months building up to the walk on 21 May.
I think some OSA members recalled me as the cross-country
runner. However, I now carry something like 40 pounds extra
and it is a long time since I did any cross-country. I regularly do
walks of seven or eight miles on the flat areas of Cheshire and
have done some major multi day walks (Kilimanjaro and Macchu
Picchu).
At the beginning of April I went with Gillian to do each of the
three peaks at one per day. With hindsight I can strongly
recommend this as the best way of doing the three peaks. We had
different weather each day, but it was a great three day's walking.
We finally had to duck out of completing Ingleborough when it
became very misty and wet on some quite difficult rocks…..
Ingleborough was to become my “challenge”. In parallel to this
Ian Blackmore had suggested we should go and do some
“practice”. So at the end of April three of us met up at Ingleton
youth hostel; my first experience of a youth hostel since 1973
(they have improved). To my horror, Ian’s idea of practice was to
do the three peaks….. We had good weather and all went
reasonably well until the top of Ingleborough. Those last 5 miles
back to Horton, mostly downhill, but including limestone
pavements, were horrendous, by the end Ian was carrying my
rucksack and I was swaying from side to side, but we were well
under the 12 hours. That evening it took a considerable effort to
get to the Indian in Ingleton (across the road from the youth
hostel). Lessons learnt.
On 21 May, with some considerable trepidation I was back in the
Dales to do the challenge. Ian got me going by asking me to lead
off; very quickly a group of seven of us, later six, pressed on at the
front. By this time I knew the route well and map reading was
not needed, which speeded our progress. The weather was a
delight with about 30% cloud cover; fortunately the clouds
hovered over us much of the day which gave ideal walking
conditions. In my rucksack I had much in the way of rehydration
and energy bars and gels, more than you would see Federer have
at Wimbledon. I was strict with myself in making sure I took
energy, liquid and salts on board at regular intervals… By the
time we left the top of Ingleborough there was one pair in front
of me and I was walking with Roger Melling, we kept each other
moving and although my legs were weary I had dispelled the
problems of the practice run, indeed at the end Roger suggested
we should run to the finish….. Well I can never resist a challenge
View of Ribblehead Viaduct from the first rest point.
23

T h e O l d S t a t i o n e r - N o 8 9
The first Challenge - Pen Y Ghent.
and we did, crossing the line together in 10 hours 31 minutes,
over an hour quicker than I had done at the end of April.
One day I may do this walk again but not against the clock…. It
was a truly memorable day and one for which I will be forever
grateful to both Rogers, one for organising and cajoling us to
take part the other for being a great walking buddy…… The
following weekend I had promised Gillian a walking weekend in
the Lakes for her birthday…..will I never learn…
Peter Winter
A PERSONAL VIEW
from Roger Engledow
(but not of the scenery)
This article relates only to the time from 7.30 on the morning of
Tuesday 21st May 2019 until late that afternoon. All that I did
getting us all here has no place in this report (or in any other).
I’m impatient to get started. Mainly because the sooner we start
the sooner we can finish, whenever that might be. Also I’m cold
standing around even though it’s a gorgeous day for walking.
The sun is shining, there are fluffy clouds to stop it getting too
hot and little wind. OK I know there had to be a group photo
but why is that car boot still open? Eventually (at 7.32) Ian
Blackmore suggests to Peter Winter that he should “lead on” as
he knows the way.
Peter sets a fast pace from the start. I can keep up but wouldn’t
want it any quicker. It’s close to 3 ½ miles per hour but only a
gentle incline. My first disappointment comes when the incline
becomes steeper. I’ve always enjoyed walking up and can often
stride out to obtain full enjoyment. Not today though! Uphill is
a struggle. The pace has been such that we have split into two
groups very quickly. I turn round at one point to see how spread
out we are. When I turn back I’ve lost at least 20 yards. I steadily
lose more ground and start to do what I had said no-one should
do – walk on their own. OK, there are 6 ahead and 7 behind me.
(I end up spending much of the 24 miles walking alone.)
I now reach the steep part of Pen y Ghent. It is becoming a
relentless struggle. Geoff Dawes and others are now catching me
near the top where the path up is indistinct. We all scramble up
different routes with Geoff first. Now it is not far to the top.
Geoff persuades me to take a photo of him by the trig point. I
decline his offer to return the “favour”.
Geoff has been told by another group that our front 6 are (only)
4/5 minutes ahead. I now feel good (1 of the 3 peaks climbed)
so I don’t rest but set off in the (vain) hope of catching those
ahead of me. Fairly soon I can see a group in front but as I close
on them I can’t identify who is who. That’s because this is the
group that spoke to Geoff. As they let me pass I ask if they are
attempting all 3 today. They are, so I respond “might see you
later then”. To which I hear “not if you’re going at that pace”. (I
was to be proved right though.)
I feel good now that it is downhill and a reasonable surface and
after some time can see the group ahead. Of course, I don’t stand
much chance of catching them as they are the leading group for
a reason. However, it is very helpful to be able to see them
regularly (the footpath twists and turns with undulations so they
aren’t always visible). Walking is easy (for most people). You just
pick up one foot and move it forward. Then you do the same
with the other foot. You then repeat this process regularly and,
today, relentlessly. Being able to see those ahead enables me to
keep up with their pace which would have been difficult without
regular sightings.
Often my most creative thinking used to be achieved when
walking. I probably came up with the idea for this venture on an
HF Holidays walk (but don’t actually remember). There are no
specific new projects to think about so I let my mind flit across
many happy memories in order to stay as positive as possible. I
24

T h e O l d S t a t i o n e r - N o 8 9
can drink water from a pouch on the move and am nibbling on
various nut/energy bars, sometimes out of boredom. Now
another small group is between the leaders and me. I’m not sure
where they came from. Not a problem though until the correct
footpath is not quite as obvious and a signpost doesn’t help. I’ve
seen Ribblehead Viaduct so know the direction in which I
should be heading but there is only one group ahead now. What
happened to the other one and am I following the right one?
Peter Winter’s green Y3PC T-shirt in memory of Geraint is a
useful clue. I know that the last mile to the Ribblehead rest point
will be on the road. This is helpful as the path twists more than
usual and leads past farm buildings. Instinct tells me I am going
in the right direction even though I don’t see the leading group
again until I reach the refuelling point.
I had intended to try to use an 11 hour schedule (that Ian
Blackmore had circulated from the Internet). To my delight I
am 10 minutes ahead and 30 minutes has been allowed here. A
quick sandwich, some coffee (replaced with more water) plus
removing some grit from one boot and I am just about ready to
set off with the leading group again. The support group are
helpful and encouraging and I now have 20 minutes in hand.
Whernside starts with a flat walk beside the railway line before
crossing it and then begins a long, steady, relentless uphill stretch.
We seem to be going in the wrong direction in order to swing
round onto the top. Again, uphill does not suit me today. As soon
as we reach a tricky uneven part I have to let Peter Winter and
Roger Melling pull away from me. Stevie A, Liam, Ian Meyrick
& Gillie are ahead of them. Whernside is not as difficult from a
climbing point of view, but, because of that, it is a long, relentless
uphill struggle (for me, at least). For a number of reasons I have
to stop a few times which slows me down even more.
Those of a squeamish nature may prefer to ignore this paragraph
on the basis that it is “too much information”! I’d used the loo at
the hotel before leaving but am now feeling the urge to go again.
I hate doing so in the open and have only ever failed to resist this
urge a couple of times before today. Remarkably I am on a long,
straight(ish) path but can’t see anybody in either direction. I can
see a wall to my right which acts as cover and a back support
while I search for the loo paper in my new rucksack. I do feel
better for that! One of the side effects of radiation treatment (for
prostate cancer) is very occasional bleeding from the back
passage. Long walks can set it off and soon after restarting I stop
again to fit an absorbent pad, as I think a problem might be
starting. (At the end there is very little actual blood but it still
makes walking uncomfortable.)
Someone is coming towards me but only at the last moment do
I look up enough to realize that it is Tony Henfrey with his dog
Bobby. So, I stop for a short chat. I am getting near to the top
now but the cloud has thickened and the wind is stronger.
Another stop whilst I get out a bright yellow sweat-shirt as I
don’t want to get cold. Whernside flattens out on top so I’ve still
got some way to go before the trig point. I stop only long
enough to get out my watch (if I wear it I will look at it too
often) and the schedule. I can’t quite believe that I am now a
further 5 minutes ahead of schedule.
I push on and this first part of the decline is not too steep but a
problem has developed. My left knee is starting to hurt. As this
is the one that was fully replaced 10 years ago I am thinking that
metal and plastic don’t have nerve endings but stop again anyway.
I put an old elasticated support on, as a precaution. This also
allows me to shake out the grit from this boot. I’m walking
slower now and using my walking pole to take some of the
pressure off of the knee. The pain is still there but not a big issue.
I do decide that I won’t be playing walking football on Thursday
but am able to resist more negative thoughts. I am still expecting/
determined to finish. I shrug off thoughts about longer term
damage as the pain is fairly low.
Now I have reached a much steeper decline with large solid steps
that look recently laid. My daughter Fiona completed this
challenge on Easter Saturday (a very hot day) in 11 hours 48
minutes. She said that Whernside was the worst of the 3 peaks.
I didn’t fully understand why, other than it was the 3rd for her.
Now I am starting to understand. The Challenge is described as
24 miles and 5,200 feet of ascent. There is no mention of 5,200
feet of descent and this is the worst of it! I know I’m slower than
ever coming down this section, partly to protect the knee (which
is behaving itself ), and not really enjoying myself. Eventually I
reach level ground although it’s a tarmac road with about a mile
to go to the 2nd rest point. I am a 3 meals a day man so my
system is not used to this nibbling all day. I move over to find
a secluded spot again, which proves to be unnecessary. This
allows Keith Allen to overtake me without either of us being
aware of it.
At the Old Hill Inn rest point the supporters are encouraging
but I am asked if I’m sure I want to continue. I sure do. I am
now back onto the 11 hour schedule. Steve Presland joins Keith
and me. He asks what is involved in the next leg and decides that
it isn’t for his (legs). Keith does want to continue, so I now have
someone to walk with. I haven’t looked at my watch when we
restart, but Keith tells me we’ve been there nearly ½ an hour (the
schedule, bless it, allowed 10 minutes). I remembered that the
next stretch to the base of the climb up Ingleborough will be yet
another relentless uphill section, although the surface is often
grass (a blessed relief ). To my surprise and delight the knee is
free of pain, the stop must have helped.
Peter Winter and Roger Melling running to the finish (for the camera !)
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T h e O l d S t a t i o n e r - N o 8 9
The really steep part of Ingleborough is going to decide success
or not, although the latter has still not been an option as far as
my mind is concerned. I’m going to have to use hands for
balance and assist the muscles and knee joint in pushing me ever
upwards As long as that works the only thing that can stop me
now is the knee collapsing such that I won’t be able to put any
weight on it. This happened every 5/6 years (often for no known
reason) after I was forced to stop playing 11-a-side at the age of
40 – until I was told that an arthroscopy was no longer possible
– and a full replacement operation carried out (2009). 6 years
later is still collapsed for no reason (apart from a good memory)!
I take a short rest before attempting this climb/scramble. Still no
knee pain so up I go, but steadily. I let the group I had spoken
to on the downward side of Pen y Ghent pass me but I was
starting to feel confident. It’s not as tough as I had anticipated.
Before I reach the top Ian Blackmore and Geoff Dawes catch up
with me. So there are now 4 of us for the last uphill slog to the
trig point. As we pass the path down to take us back to Horton
I leave my rucksack as I know we will have to backtrack after
reaching the top.
The feeling that I really am going to finish starts to grow. The
early part of the descent is steep and uneven and therefore
unpleasant. Geoff and I take this very slowly. Keith has already
reached the flatter part of the path but is waiting for us. The 4
of us are standing together when Ian says to me “you can go on
if you want Roger”. I do want, so set off on the last leg. Much
of this path (but not all) is soft earth with only a few stones. No
pain in the knee and I feel energized so am able to set myself a
good pace. I doubt my ability to keep this up, so expect the
others to catch me, but think that the nearer I am to the finish
before any problems arise the better. My feet are getting hot,
sweaty and sore, but no blisters. Geoff has told me that he has
changed his socks twice. I have a spare pair but am going so well
I don’t want to stop. If I have to because of another problem I
will change them.
No problems arise, although I have slowed enough for Keith to
catch me again. So we walked the last 2/3 miles together. A
signpost pointing to Horton shows 2 miles. Unfortunately the
last 2 seem to be the longest (real “country” miles). I check my
watch. I’m going to finish well within 12 hours but am behind
the 11 hour schedule. Eventually we can now see Horton station
where we cross the railway line. Now that wonderful support
team is in view. Keith waves to them and they start to clap and
cheer.
It has been such a lovely day for walking. I am told later that
from at least 2 points Morecambe Bay was clearly visible.
Unfortunately, not just in front of my boots which is where have
been looking for most of the day.
We stop walking! Peter Thomas tells me a time of 11 hours 22
minutes. As we don’t cross the bridge to the car park immediately
maybe that should be 11 hours 22 minutes and 33 seconds. But
who’s counting?
How do I feel? I’ve known for a while that I was going to
succeed so euphoric is too strong. Maybe exhausted is too; but
very tired, in urgent need of a shower and pleased with myself.
This pleasure grows as it’s mixed with pride. Not just for what I
have achieved this day, at the age of 76, but how successful the
whole event has been now that Geoff and Ian have also finished.
I’m delighted for Roger Melling for the time in which he
finished too.
What a memorable day! We all took part because Geraint was
such an inspiration to so many. Perhaps I should have entitled
this article “When Perspiration meets Inspiration”.
Roger Engledow
P.S. The one thing I didn’t plan about this trip was to write this
article. It has been very much an afterthought written for my own
benefit, not for publication, but it now seems churlish not to offer it to
Tim for publication.
From left: Ray Humphreys, Roger Melling, Heather Melling, Peter Thomas, Liam Gallagher, Bethan Pritchard, Cathy Galagher, Marj Laundon, Geoff Dawes.
26

T h e O l d S t a t i o n e r - N o 8 9
as Fast as you roam
roger mansfield
on concorde
Before finally leaving British Airways, I arranged to have a
trip to New York and back on Concorde. I travelled in
uniform as extra crew and sat in the cockpit for the whole
journey. Before departure I did the walk around inspection
with the Flight Engineer and was taken with the beauty of the
aircraft from close up. The geometry of the wings was very
complex with slender variable curves flowing over the surface
in several different planes and directions.
Taxiing out was fairly normal, with the cockpit height rather
similar to the Boeing 757, except for a rather noticeable
bouncing motion from the long undercarriage legs whenever
we went over a bump in the taxiway. The droop snoop nose
cone was of course in the lowered position for take-off and
initial climb and the forward visibility was good.
Once we had lined up on the runway and had been given take
off clearance, the brakes were applied and the four Rolls
Royce/SNECMA Olympus 593 Mark 610 engines advanced
to take off power, the brakes being released during this
process. It was then just like a giant hand pushing you in the
back as Concorde accelerated to its take off rotation speed of
192 knots. A fairly smart pull back on the stick got the nose
moving upwards counteracting ground effect and then was
eased off to settle at a take-off attitude of 13.5 degrees. As we
passed 205 knots the aircraft left the ground and the take-off
safety speed V2 of 221 knots was soon passed. We now aimed
for our initial climb speed of 250 knots. When we got there
the captain increased the aircraft’s pitch attitude to 18 degrees
to hold the speed.
At 90 seconds after releasing the brakes the afterburners were
switched off and the throttles retarded to their noise abatement
setting and the nose was lowered again to 8 degrees to hold
250 knots, giving a rate of climb of about 1000 feet per
minute. All this time the noise abatement routeing was being
followed over the ground by use of radio signals picked up
from ground navigational transmitters.
At 4000 feet the aircraft was levelled off and we were handed
over to the outbound controller who gives the crew a course
to steer to keep Concorde away from any other inbound and
outbound traffic, then once the way ahead was clear we were
given further climb clearance up to the initial cruising altitude
of 31000 feet. Once so cleared the throttles were advanced to
full power and the aircraft accelerated to its normal climb
speed of 400 knots. The nose and visor had now been raised
and the rather agricultural rumbling and vibration which had
been noticeable until now ceased, and a smooth quiet climb of
3000 feet per minute was achieved.
Once clear of the Cornish coast we were further cleared to go
supersonic and climb to our final cruising level of between
55,000 feet and 60,000. The afterburners were ignited, two at
a time, and the speed rapidly builds passing M1 and on
towards M2 as the aircraft continues to climb. As the Mach
passed 1.7 the afterburners were switched off as the drag
above this speed actually decreases as the aircraft enters the
upper part of the performance envelope that it was designed
for. There is no one else up at this height except Concorde so
it is up to us to use the most economical level which is done
by holding M2.0 at 55,000 and allowing the aircraft to do a
cruise climb as the weight of the fuel decreases.
The crew were very friendly, and the engineering officer gave
me a running commentary during the climb, cruise and
descent, explaining the engineering systems in use and the
flying procedures which were somewhat different to those of
a subsonic aircraft especially in the acceleration and
deceleration phases. They had to make sure that no sonic
booms were heard over land and so the timings of these
phases were critical.
One interesting fact was that by watching the altimeter and
vertical speed indicator you could see exactly when the aircraft
went supersonic as there was a marked jump in the indicated
height and vertical speed indication as the supersonic shock
wave moved across the static plate on the outside of the
27

T h e O l d S t a t i o n e r - N o 8 9
aircraft which measured the static air pressure used by various
of the aircraft’s instruments. We were covering a distance of
almost twenty-two miles per minute and even at this height
the rearward movement of shipping below, as we overtook
them, was quite marked, whereas it is normally almost
imperceptible at the normal cruising speeds of subsonic jets.
Another impressive factor was the complete lack of vibration
whilst travelling at twice the speed of sound, which spoke
volumes for the wonderfully crafted wing shape which allowed
the supersonic shockwaves to leave the aircraft without
upsetting the smooth flow of air across the lifting surfaces.
The cruising speed of M2.0 or about 1350 miles per hour is
an awful lot of kinetic energy to lose when you have to slow
down to less than Mach 1 for the descent and landing phase
and this must be achieved before transiting the coast line so as
not to cause a supersonic boom over land. This is all worked
out beforehand but does require the deceleration to begin way
out in the Atlantic, holding level with the throttles closed
gently to the mid power position until the speed decreases, at
M1.6 the throttles are retarded further and the nose pitched
down to commence the descent which is now carried out at a
constant indicated airspeed of 350 knots. As the altitude
decreases at this constant indicated airspeed the Mach
number continually decreases until below M1.
The distance taken in the descent to reduce the speed below
Mach 1 is critical if you are not to infringe the sonic boom
restriction over land, but a useful rule of thumb is available
which is that whatever the decimal Mach number is behind
the 1 then this will be the number of miles required for the
aircraft to slow down to sub-sonic flight. For example, if you
are travelling at M1.47 then it will take you 47 miles to reach
M1. The sonic boom footprint also extends ahead of the
aircraft, so an extra allowance has to be made for this fact as
well. Once subsonic, the descent is continued at M.95. From
now on the speed will be reduced as required to conform to
local air traffic requirements and Concorde is handled much
like all the other jets approaching New York’s JFK.
Approach speeds are faster, however, with the final approach
carried out at somewhere around 160 knots depending on
weight. The angle of attack on finals is high, (13 degrees)
giving an attitude of the aircraft compared with the horizon
of 10 degrees compared with about 3-4 degrees for conventional
jet aircraft. This gives the impression that
you are getting too high, but as long as the
touchdown aiming point stays in the same
place on the windscreen you are coming
down a nice 3-degree glide path.
The height of the main wheels is called
from the radio altimeter by the flight
engineer in ten foot steps from one hundred
feet down, and at forty feet the auto throttle
is disengaged and a slight backward
movement of the stick raises the attitude by
about one degree to 11.5 degrees to arrest
the descent, at fifteen feet the throttles are
closed and shortly afterwards the main
wheels touch the runway. At this point the
pilot is still about 75 feet up in the air, about
the same height as a Boeing 747 pilot on
landing. After closing the throttles the pilot
has to hold the nose up, but once the aircraft
is on the ground he will need to ease the control column
gently forward to hold a constant high drag attitude initially,
and he then has to ease the stick further forward to fly the
nosewheel onto the runway and apply the brakes and reverse
thrust.
Our outbound flight to New York took 3 hours 46 minutes
chock to chock and the return flight 3 hours 33 minutes. The
Captain was Roger Dixon the First Officer Bob Winter and
the Engineering Officer Tim Smith. The aircraft was
G-BOAC (What else!) and the flight numbers BA19I/2. The
date was Saturday/Sunday 29th- 30th March 1986. And I
had a WONDERFUL trip!!
My Favourite Walk –
Nazeingwood Common
Distance 5½ miles
Time 2½ hours at a moderate pace
Nearest postcode EN9 2RY
OS Explorer Map 174
To coincide with ‘National Walking Month’ I joined Peter
Sandell, in early May, on one of his favourite local walks in the
County of Essex. The walk would take us on a five-and-ahalf-mile
circular route around Nazeingwood Common
taking in Bumble’s Green, Epping Green and Broadley
Common. The route consisted of established and well-known
footpaths that skirted mainly arable farmland and Common
land which has been laid to pasture. Some of the low-lying
areas can get muddy after heavy rainfall so it is important that
you take with you, suitable footwear. When we attempted the
walk, it was a dry sunny day with a slight fresh breeze and
fortunately for us the ground was firm. We began our walk at
the King Harold’s Head Restaurant in Bumble’s Green on the
outskirts of Nazeing situated on Nazeing Common. There is
limited parking in the area, but we were able to park in
Belchers Lane beside the restaurant. The footpath is well
signposted and begins on the opposite side of the road in a
gap in the hedgerow. The path leads along the back of some
houses and gardens where you eventually reach Nazeing Gate.
Here you take an immediate right turn to take you up a steady
incline towards Harold’s Park Farm and Stud. At the brow of
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T h e O l d S t a t i o n e r - N o 8 9
The route does not have many marker posts and can be
confusing in some places, so it is essential to take an Ordnance
Survey map with you to ensure that you stay on the correct
path. The walk is moderately challenging but there is an
upward climb for about a quarter of a mile at the beginning of
the walk, after that the ground gently undulates for rest of the
walk.
It is our intention to have ‘My Favourite Walk’ as a regular
feature in the Magazine. If you have a favourite walk that you
would like to share with our readers, please contact Peter
Thomas at peterthomas561@outlook.com for further details.
Peter Thomas
the hill you get a good view across the fields. To the North
West you can see Hoddesdon with Broxbourne in the
distance. If you look towards the North East, you can see
Harlow Town in front of you. Here you are at the highest
point of the walk at about 300 feet above sea level. Turning
left you carry on through Copy Wood crossing a small
footbridge over a gully. Beyond the wood you pick up Epping
Long Green footpath which takes you towards Epping Green.
Here we came across a small group of volunteers building a
replacement footbridge across an open ditch. We turned left
here and followed the path towards the village which takes
you between some farm buildings and cottages.
The path then terminates at the Epping Road (B181) next to
the Traveller’s Friend Pub. This is a convenient stop for
refreshments. The pub is managed by McMullens and stocks
a good range of their real ales and lager. Their menu offers
traditional fayre with Starters averaging £6.50 and Main
Courses from £11.95. Turning immediately left from the pub
you will find a footpath next to a house which runs alongside
its garden. The marker post indicates that this is Three Forest
Way which will take you up towards Lodge Farm to meet
Stort Valley Way footpath. We turn left here and head
towards Harknett’s Gate, crossing Nazeing Common road.
The footpath then commences on the other side of the road
towards Church Farm and joins Betts Lane. Some very
impressive large houses line the Lane. You can re-join Stort
Valley Way further down the road which then takes you past
Nazeing Park. In the middle of the park is a group of small
trees and a standing stone. These are the Millennium Oaks,
where there is a handy bench for those needing a short rest.
The footpath then crosses over Back Lane and enters the edge
of Nazeing Golf Course where a neatly clipped grass path
leads you past the fairways and exits into Belchers Lane next
to the King Harold’s Restaurant where we began. The
restaurant is owned by the Yiacoumi brothers (both Old
Stationers’) and offers an extensive menu of British and
Mediterranean dishes in a pleasant and modern atmosphere.
We chose from the Specials Menu at £12.95 for three courses.
The portions were very generous and the food delicious,
rounding off a perfect morning.
29

southern states
T h e O l d S t a t i o n e r - N o 8 9
We flew to Atlanta and arrived in the late afternoon so too
late to do anything there. There were 31 people in our party
none of whom were particularly lively so no opportunities for
jokes etc. as per OSGS. Anyhow we were taken the next
morning to Chattanooga of Glen Miller’s Choo Choo fame
and learned about the strategic battle which took place there
towards the end of the Civil War and went up the steepest
cable car railway in the whole of the US to see the magnificent
view of the land which used to be farmed by the Cherokee
Indians.
The next day was on to Lynchville and a tour of the Jack
Daniels whiskey establishment and then to Nashville and a
tour which included the Country Music hall of fame and
Elvis Presley’s pink Cadillac. Then an evening visit to a
famous theatre called the Old Grand Opry for a concert of
country music.
Then on to a poor area called Tupelo where Presley was born
in a 2 roomed house which we saw and which in those days of
1935 had no electricity or running water . We saw the small
Chapel where the family would attend on Sundays and where
Elvis would sing in the choir and take on board some of the
negro and African rhythms which would define his style in
later life. He also learned the guitar from the pastor of the
church before the family moved to Memphis to try to get
away from their impoverished state at Tupelo.
We were shown the balcony of the motel where Martin
Luther King was shot and learned a great deal about the
causes of the Civil War which was basically brought about by
the abolition of slavery which was welcomed in the North but
bitterly opposed in the South where they still relied on that
source of labour in the plantations.
Then on a lighter note we saw the Sun Studio where Elvis
and a number of others including Johnie Cash cut their first
records . The studio was owned by Sam Philips who charged
4 dollars for a two sided recording . Anyone could and did go
and the idea was that if Sam heard anyone of promise he
would try to promote their career.
At that time Elvis was concentrating on singing the gospel
songs he had learned in the church although he had picked up
a few others just by hanging around the streets of Memphis.
Anyhow Sam asked him to record some songs along with 3
backing musicians who he had never met and after a while
Sam suggested test they stopped for a while and Elvis
immediately sensed that things were not going well and
something must be done.
So he picked up a guitar and without saying anything went
into a solo upbeat version of “that’s all right Mama”.
whereupon Sam declared that this was the best rendition of
that song or any other song he had ever heard. He arranged
for recording contracts to be set up and the rest is history.
The thing which strikes you us that the studio is so small and
when the guide said that I was standing on the very spot
where Elvis made his first recording Lady Turner said that we
should dance and so we went into our 1960s jive routine.
Whilst in Memphis we also visited the house which he owned
from 1957 to his death in 1977 and called Graceland. Most
people’s initial reaction on seeing it for the first time is that it
is not very big but I did calculate that it is at least seven times
the size of our house so it contain lots of space. Also on
display in the grounds were 2 aircraft owned by him and
which he flew. There is in addition a collection of exotic motor
cars including a few Rolls Royces, Jags and a pink Cadillac.
Another feature of Memphis is Beale Street where reputedly
you can walk from bar to bar to take in the music but we
found it a bit seedy and departed fairly quickly.
Then on to Natches and the Oak Alley Plantation with its
beautiful house and history of making lots of money on the
back of slave labour. After leaving Natches we saw the State
Capital building which is impressive and then on to the final
major stop New Orleans where we went on a traditional
Mississippi River boat with dinner and a jazz group. It is also
possible to visit bars etc offering jazz although not quite as
much as we had thought. The city was once part of the French
Empire, hence its name, and has an area called the French
Quarter which is quite attractive and where we did not feel in
any danger. There is obviously wealth in the city because just
outside there are properties which would not be out of place
in Bishops Avenue.
Then on to Birmingham with its history of Civil Rights
followed by an overnight stay in Atlanta before flying home.
David Turner
30

T h e O l d S t a t i o n e r - N o 8 9
sixty years on...
I have these memories of sitting in the 6th form common room
(grand name….) filling in my University application forms and
thinking that – unlike all my academic mates around me who
were filling in the top half which wanted exam achievements and
expected grades at ‘A’ level – that my top half of the form was
pretty much blank, while the bottom half (“Have you any
interests?”) was taken up by swimming and running. So it was
then, so it has been pretty much all my life.
Any running success that I had was based on aerobic fitness
gained through swimming; I'd swum at National level in the 60s,
and then when I started teaching in 1969, I met a charismatic
coach teaching in the same area who persuaded me to take
running a bit more seriously. I took a silver medal at the AAAs
indoor Championships over 800 metres in 1974...... I had had a
few good years running and then started moving up the
distances, eventually getting caught up in the ‘marathon bug’ in
the eighties.
I decided to do a triathlon after racing in the Wolverhampton
marathon in March 1983. From the gun, this guy started telling
me that he was running the marathon as training for something
called a “triathlon” that he was racing in later that year…… I
really got quite thrilled at the idea and asked questions for the
first 20 miles of the marathon before being so buzzed that I ran
the final 6 miles as my fastest of the 26.
The idea of triathlon wouldn’t go away and on the 18th
September 1983 (how sad that I remember the exact date!) I did
my 1st ever triathlon, the big K in Knowsley, Liverpool. Life
changing? It was for me, absolutely. The Big K; a thousand metre
pool swim, 20 mile cycle and 6 mile run. I actually won, (I have
this memory of dismounting from my bike and then literally
falling down as I tried to get change my shoes for the run!) I
raced a lot in 1984, including doing the London to Paris
triathlon relay. We had teams of four and had to split a 100 miles
running from London to Dover on day one, swimming the
Channel 20 odd miles on day two, and then cycling the 200 miles
from the French coast into Paris on day three…………. . I won
my age group at European Triathlon Championships in 1986
and had my best finish of 10th at the World Champs in Avignon
in 1989.
Coaching
With my teaching background and coaching experience in
swimming and running, I got myself involved in triathlon
Commonwealth Games Melbourne 2006
with Chris Jones, Wales Head Coach
coaching; pretty much a natural progression. With such a new (at
that time) sport, I was fortunate to have a few coaching/training
books published.
Working with the Great Britain squads and teams led onto being
able to coach all over the World; Mexico, Yugoslavia (as was),
Malta, Bermuda, India, Hong Kong, South Africa. The British
team used Stellenbosch in South Africa as a winter, warm
weather base in the run-up to the Sydney Olympic Games.
Books and stories
When I was writing the first training book, I also started my first
novel, “Triathlon. A long day’s dying”. What got me going is the
fact that I’m an absolute sporting fiction junkie, particularly
running novels…. It’s that empathy with the emotion, the pain,
everything that goes with being an athlete… the training and the
racing but also all the bits that go along with it; relationships,
particularly with your coach –or, as a coach- with your athletes.
Loads of people ask, “Do you put people you know into the
books?” Sure, ‘course you do. But it’s not one real-life person
transported into fiction; it’s bits and pieces of people and
characters jumbled up and mixed together to make the fictional
characters, at least fiction gives you that option. There’re loads of
the athletes that I’ve raced with,
swimmers, runners, triathletes,
coaches I’ve known, but with
fiction you can squeeze that
extra bit out of the character, go
that little bit further.
Memories
Being involved very early on in
triathlon in Great Britain gave
me some amazing opportunities
including commentating and
broadcasting for the sport both
on-site at races and for BBC
TV and commercial channels.
31

T h e O l d S t a t i o n e r - N o 8 9
The school swimming team with Steve 4th from left, back row.His younger brother Gerry is second left front row
The Olympic Games, Sydney
Sydney was just the best thing! Coaching with the British team
and also part of the race commentary line-up was a once in a
lifetime! The absolute thrill and the excitement, the sheer buzz
of being there. My second novel, “Moment of Suffering” climaxes
in Sydney at the Olympics and being there made it real! The
British team were up on the Gold Coast for three weeks going
into the Games and there’s a lot of truth in the novel about the
final preparations and the athletes’ feelings before- what is, let’s
face it- the biggest sporting event in their lives
One particular athlete I was coaching going into Sydney was
Sian Brice, and we knew that she had a realistic chance of a
medal. She’d just won the European Cup final in Alanya, Turkey
and was getting consistent top ten places in the ITU World Cup
circuit. Then she took 6th
place at Worlds in Montreal
in ‘99 with the five in front
of her all Australians and
only three athletes from any
one Country can race.
So to the race itself… Sian
crashed.
I’ve been very privileged as a
race announcer at the major
championships. Apart from
anything else, you’re there on
the ground seeing all the
action and being a part of
it…. And being part of it in
Sydney; triumph and
disaster, all that stuff, yeah? When Sian crashed out in Sydney, it
was a very difficult thing to deal with. I was in the commentary
box with my very good buddy Marc Dragan of Australia who
was probably the first Australian pro-triathlete, we’d raced each
other in Europe in the eighties, we were co-commentators and
he knew exactly how I felt when Sian went down with Carole
(Montgomery) and Mariana (Ohata). Sian’s husband had flown
out literally the day before, and the first that Paddy saw of Sian
was her crashing. It was a very emotional few moments after the
event, believe me.
The World stage
We moved directly into then Commonwealth Games in
Manchester, and a first multi-sports Games medal for the Brits
in the guise of Leanda Cave representing Wales. Sydney of
course led to Athens, Beijing and then London. Athens, Beijing
and Rio. London was where it happened; Gold and Bronze for
Alistair and Jonny Brownlee, up to a Gold and Silver in Rio
where Vicky Holland also took bronze for Great Britain.
For me, TV and on-site commentary work were getting bigger.
The triathlon commentating led to other sports commentaries;
swimming at Commonwealth Games, BG open water swim
series, a lot of City Centre road races and, of course, the London
Marathon. Calling the triathlon, race walking and Marathon
swimming at the London games were fantastic, as were my
efforts as Stadium commentator at the track and field of the
Paralympics 2012. Watching Alistair Brownlee moving away
from everyone in the Olympic Games triathlon, wow! And that
a part of my job. Unbelievable! I love commentating……. It’s
almost as good as competing! Not a bad old life, is it? is it?
Steve Trew
32

T h e O l d S t a t i o n e r - N o 8 9
PUZZLE CORNER
Word search
DOC O'CONNELL
DICKY DASH
SYD HOLMES
FLICK LLOYD
JIM MORRIS
BEAKY DAVIS
SAM READ
PEANUT BARTLETT
DONK BRAY
WACR REES
JOHNNY GORE
KEN SOUTHALL
JOSH NUNN
RON BURGESS
FOUR LEAF CLOVER
LEN TOPLEY
RAZ HALLS
JOE SYMONS
GUS THOMAS
Anagrams
The following are all anagrams of members of the
OSA Committee.
1 DR GEORGE L OWEN
2 GHOST MINE MNY
3 WE INTERPRET
4 AD NUT DRIVER
5 DINOSAURCHESTRA
6 ATMOSTPHERE
7 SEMALKHERI
8 GREG R O’MILLEN
9 KISMET W ROBOT
10 WHITE ROCKET PB
Chemical Sudoku
The Sudoku puzzle below is rated “Easy” but, to make it more
interesting, has the numbers 1 to 9 replaced by the first nine
chemical symbols in the Periodic Table: H, Hydrogen; He,
Helium; Be, Beryllium; B, Boron; C, Carbon; N, Nitrogen; O,
Oxygen and F, Fluorine.
To solve the Sukoku Puzzle, fill the grid so that every column,
every row and every 3 X 3 box contains all the symbols.
Good luck. The solution is on page 47.
33

T h e O l d S t a t i o n e r - N o 8 9
Quo vadis - Identify the stops
Being a once avid follower of a
weekly ‘Where was I?’ newspaper
competition, I wondered how an
account of my recent travels in
this form might go down in the
pages of The Old Stationer. The
word ‘journey’ of course may be
used in different ways and the
question ‘Where are you going?
can be just as interesting as
‘Where was I?’ (This may help
people immediately see a linking
Geoff Arnensson
thread in the clues.) Unfortunately,
there is no Caribbean Cruise for the first set of correct answers
but the article does finish by looking forward to a prize.
This particular journey began at stop 1 with a statue: a writer is
depicted with broken fetters at his feet. The picture is an apt one
as he both did time in the town’s jail himself and wrote of a
character who was freed from imprisonment at a town fair.
My love of maps, itineraries and location games all started in Stan
(‘Sam’) Read’s Geography Room. The skill of drawing a floor plan to
scale and using all those coloured symbols of the ordinance survey
obviously took deep root in my young mind. Stan Read will never
know how my thirst for travel developed over the years to the point
where research before the journey became almost as enjoyable as the
actual journey itself!
Heading in a generally north westerly direction, stop 2 was to
visit the King of the car parks. He lies now in a newly designed
tomb, the top of which is deliberately set at an angle in order to
turn thoughts to the resurrection.
I think of John Young, our patience-of-a-saint RE teacher, who calmly
fielded pupils’ verbal opposition and then invited us to tea with
Audrey before church. It was in his Christian Union that I truly saw
Christ in the lives of fellow Stationers.
The double thread of my present journey and my life story now
becomes apparent.
Too easy? Stop 3 is to enjoy the society of some very friendly
people who keep a hall, said to be the birthplace of their
movement. Quite how they got their nickname is debatable,
though many point to the time a judge mocked their founder
who, on trial for blasphemy (a convenient charge for anyone who
dares question the establishment), had told the judge he should
“tremble at the word of the Lord”.
This much jailed man would unfortunately not have been impressed
that I am at present training for lay ministry in The Anglican Church;
he strongly believed himself that qualification for ministry came from
the Holy Spirit and not study.
I enjoyed the sheer fun of ‘studying’ with John Leeming and Mike Fitch
at Stationers so much that I went on to study Chemistry at University
and then train as a Chemistry teacher myself. This was despite having
supplied some of the entertainment in Stationer’s lessons. After
breaking yet another piece of equipment, I was shown by Mike Fitch
to the equivalent of an all rubber early learning station specially set up
for me! How many will remember the literary heights achieved in the
breakages book: ‘Lament for A Lost Test Tube’ was but one. I did briefly
work for a pharmaceutical company in Germany, but the prospect of
helping mould young people’s lives (as our own teachers had done) held
a much greater attraction. My teaching career began at one of
Stationers’ footballing rivals: Christ’s College, Finchley and ended,
significantly, at a school in Leyton, East London, where two alumni
had been awarded the VC, the first: a boy who very famously stayed at
his post on board ship. I stayed there too long and was invalided out
– but that begins another chapter in my story.
North of the border now on my itinerary, stop 4 achieved fame
after Ninian founded a church there. Its museum houses the
Latinus Stone, Scotland’s earliest inscribed Christian monument.
The Chi Rho symbol on it has all but faded away over the
centuries, though Christians in the town bear witness to the fact
that Christ Himself is not at all faded.
Back to my own life story: after Secondary Science teaching, I worked
as a London Tour Guide and then a Primary School Teaching
Assistant before finally retiring. Predictably I guess, the primary school
kept me doing some teaching – but of French? Anyone who taught me
modern languages at Stationers would never have believed it!
The word pilgrimage might come to mind for my journey but that
would not be quite correct- I’m just being selective in describing the
places visited in this ‘Tour of the North’. The journey of my life
however and where it is going is another matter.
For forty years now, I have been blessed with a travelling companion
- who while definitely not ‘navigationally challenged’ as to final
destination, does say when it’s time to stop for a sit down in the sun
and a cup of tea. Theresa, bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh, has
followed me through leech infested Vietnamese jungle and up
Norwegian mountain – but drew the line at diving under the sea.
The adrenaline rush of edging forward in full scuba gear on the back
of a boat to giant stride into the water, hoping the current doesn’t
separate you from everyone else on the drift dive, is something I can
now live without. Instead I gaze in wonder at the beautiful fish in the
tanks of Colchester Zoo with our little granddaughter and our only
concern is whether we are allowed an ice cream today. Our ten-yearold
grandson however has greater things on his mind. Already
thrashing me at chess, he just has to wait until his arms get a little bit
longer before he is able to do the same at fencing.
Turning more north easterly now (and somewhat paradoxically
crossing back into England) we arrive at stop 5. We actually
began our visit to this place when we looked at a ‘masterpiece of
medieval European book painting’ at The British Museum. It
was Aidan who set up a priory on the island in his mission to
evangelise the Northumbrians.
I shudder at the thought of the austere lives of those early missionaries.
A week at a time on visits to train teachers in Ethiopia was all I could
manage. Cold showers (if the water was working) and electricity when
the generator was on, certainly make you appreciate all the comforts we
now enjoy. I still see our bathroom as the ultimate luxury in a
millionaire’s palace.
But now we are heading back south and home: just time for
stop 6; one final call at a place that achieved fame in 664 with a
decision on the date of Easter.
Seems like a load of palaver today as the meaning of Easter is
justif iably more important to us than its date. Christ rose from the
dead having made it possible for us too, to have everlasting life. This
present holiday comes to a close but a new phase in my life is just
beginning. Second lease on life, second career; our journeys of life
continue. The prize of eternal life at our journey’s end is there for all
to receive.
34

In 1971, the Old Stationers Cricket Club embarked
on its first Whitsun cricket tour to Norfolk,
initiated by Peter Bullen, which proved so popular
that it became a regular annual event for many
years afterwards. Even in those days, equality was
prevalent in the Club and the fairer sex was
welcomed as OT (official tourists), although their
participation was strictly off-field and frequently
OTT (vocal encouragement).
With the passage of time, I cannot recall how it
befell me to produce a tour report but, since it was
the practice for team captains to write up weekly
match reports during the season, I presume it was
for this reason that I was given the task of recording
the significant highlights of the weekend.
Whilst I can vouch for the accuracy of the Tour
match reports and individual batting and bowling
figures, the remaining text is open to conjecture,
but not to litigation.
I understand that our Magazine Editor has also
unearthed my tour reports for 1972 and 1973,
before increases to my family interrupted my
involvement, so this article might become the first
of a magazine mini-series.
Tony Hemmings
T h e O l d S t a t i o n e r - N o 8 9
OSCC Whitsun Tours Preamble
1. Mike Saunders opens the batting; 2. Tim chasing the runs;
3. John Rowlands playing for the draw.
35

T h e O l d S t a t i o n e r - N o 8 9
Good evening Tim & Tony,
I have attached the articles from The Stationers'
School Magazine on the "Rules of Cricket" as
requested. I have scanned them as best I can but
the magazines are in a very fragile state, being 135
years old, therefore, I am wary of handling them
too much. If you are unable to reproduce them for
the Magazine, do call me and we can have a chat
as to how we can improve on the scans.
Regards
Peter T
36

T h e O l d S t a t i o n e r - N o 8 9
Botany Bay Cricket Clubhouse Extension & Refurbishment
opened by Mike Gatting
Old Stationers who have attended our annual President’s Day
cricket match at Botany Bay C.C. (East Lodge Lane, The
Ridgeway, Enfield EN2 8AS) may be interested to know of the
considerable extension and improvements made to the facilities
there, including 2 brand new changing rooms; refurbishment of
all former changing rooms and provision of a large machinery
shed for grounds equipment: a very worthwhile enlargement and
improvement of facilities funded both by the Club itself and
through grants obtained from (inter alia) the English Cricket
Board and Sports England.
On Sunday 28th April the club held an Open Day to bring all
club members together and attract new ones. Events took place
throughout the day as shown in the timetable below, and at
4:00pm Mike Gatting OBE assisted with the unveiling.
The programme for the day was:
10:00 to 12:30 Under 15s Colts' Cricket Match
Tea and coffee available
10:30 Petanque and Montessori School – facilities viewing
before trying out the petanque piste from 14:00
12:00 Bar Opened
13:00 Fresh Baguettes From The Kitchen
14:00 T20 Cricket involving guests, current & former club
members
14:00 Ladies Rugby Match - Cuffley Rugby Club took on an
invitation XV
14:00 Cricket Coaching For Juniors - coaching and fun cricketbased
activities for boys and girls (members and visitors) from
5 years upwards who joined in, had some fun and hopefully
learned a little from qualified coaches
14:00 Petanque - visitors were welcomed to try their hand at the
wonderful game of boule
14:00 Mg Owners Club - Club members showed off their cars
16.00: Opening Ceremony by Mike Gatting OBE - The ex
England Captain and current chair of WCC officially opened
the new changing facilities
16.15: Resumption of T20
and
Barbecue Opened
37

T h e O l d S t a t i o n e r - N o 8 9
Stationers Crown Woods
Academy Meeting notes
Monday, 3 June 2019
Present:
David Miller Academy Executive Principal
Martin Randall SCWA Governor and Company Court member
Sue Pandit SCWA Chair of Governors and Company Court member
Peter Winter OSA Past President
Gillian Winter Educational Consultant
David made us very welcome and took some time to show us around the
Academy. The Academy is divided into four schools; one of them being the 6th
Form and the other three being parallel years 7 to 11 schools. One of the Y7-11
schools is seen as teaching at grammar school standard. This small school model
has been adopted in a number of locations and is generally successful. The
physical facilities at the school are excellent, although there are some lingering
problems hanging over from the PFI structure, which restricts the use of certain
areas of the grounds. We met a number of staff, all of whom were responsive and
helpful. It was particularly noticeable at break time and lunchtime that the
pupils and students were cheerful, well-behaved and polite, with good courteous
relations with staff.
David said he would be happy to host a visit(s) from a larger group of OSA
members.
In terms of the alumni group the multi-academy trust (LAT) has been clear that
the schools within the LAT should develop alumni groups and they have been
keen to press various software which they think may be helpful in developing
this. We were introduced to Mick Willmott who has been drawing together the
names of alumni who are interested in attending events in and around the
Academy. He has 390 names recorded, although there are varying degrees of
commitment. There is no formal membership application or fee payment.
David Miller said there were five areas in which he would particularly welcome
support from the OSA:
1. Mentoring, especially from the 3rd term of Year 10 through to the 2nd term
of Year11
2. Opportunities for work experience placements at the end of Year 10
3. Talks at one off events, particularly career talks about the career paths of OSA
members
4. Careers support, e.g. scholarships and apprenticeships
5. Participation in Question Time type panels
The other area that was particularly attractive would be an annual prize at the
November prize-giving. Note this would need to have some definition of what
the prize is for and the nature of the prize.
Not for the OSA particularly, but David thought it may be useful to have a route
for SCWA alumni to become members of the Company.
MEMBERSHIP
SECRETARY’S REPORT
Paying members at 6th Oct 2018 485
Life member 1
Honorary members 11
New members 5
Deaths (1)
Resignations 1
Deletions (for non-payment) (4)
TOTAL 498
New member applications have been
received from
Andrew Clark 69-71
Costakis Yiacoumi 79-84
Nigel Adams 63-70
Ron Richardson – teacher from 67-73
Bob Margree 56-63
I have been informed of the death of John
Platford, who died late last year.
There are still 7 debtors owing a total of
£105 from members with whom I have
lost communication.
If anyone knows the current contact
details for David Ford, Brian Harris,
David Hartwell, Peter Hodgson, Andrew
Myers-Nobbs, George Sprosson &
Graham Young please let me know. A
stop will be placed on their next magazine
until payment is received.
I also need a phone number for Anthony
Tight. I believe he is living in a hotel in
St Albans but do not know which one.
Although a subscription was received
from Hugh Stockwell his last magazine
was returned. Again I have no contact
details for him.
Any information on any of the above
would be gratefully received.
Roger Engledow
11 June 2019
Discussion
We have here a list of possible ways in which we can engage with SCWA.
Within the questionnaire responses we had a number of members who were keen
and supportive of us being closer to SCWA. We need to identify someone from
the committee, possibly with non-committee support, who will take a lead on
this or it will drift as previous examples have done.
Peter Winter
38

T h e O l d S t a t i o n e r - N o 8 9
OBITUARIES
ROBERT BROWN
(1941-2018): A Memoir
For reasons which will appear towards the
end, this cannot be a proper ‘obituary’ of
Robert, only a ‘memoir’. From mid-life
onwards he seemed to prefer being known
as ‘Bob’; but I always called him ‘Robert’.
Whenever I visited his parents at 38,
Rosebery Gardens in Hornsey, his mother
would pronounce the first consonant of
the word with a strongly guttural Geordie
‘r’. She and his father, who in the 1950s
was the headmaster of a secondary modern
school at Crouch End, had come down to
London from Northumberland.
Counting both boys and masters, I regard
Robert as having been one of the most
remarkable people I got to know at
Stationers’. I can still hear the hearty
laugh in which all his great enjoyment of
life (especially its oddities) was so often
expressed. It seemed to fill his entire
frame, and in the 1950s this was rather
large. I think his later wish to slim down
arose about the same time as other
decisions that made him appear less extraordinary,
more ‘of the people’, so to say. To
be called ‘Bob’ was one of them; to become
more sporty was another.
At school in the 1950s it was hardly ‘done’
for a boy of one year to be friendly with one
of another. Robert was a year below me, and
we did not become friends until we were
both in the sixth-form – therefore not before
September 1957 at the earliest. We were
drawn together by a common love of music
and literature, but often he was the teacher
and I the learner. Teaching was probably
what he loved doing most in his life, and he
had unique gifts for communicating and for
getting you to share his enthusiasms. From
him I learned to appreciate the beauty of
Tudor church music, and I remember that
once during break-time he and I stood at a
high window in one of the school buildings
and sang something by Tallis or Gibbons for
the benefit of the boys in the playground
below. He was passionate about Chaucer,
Shakespeare, the Book of Common Prayer,
the Bible, Dickens, Eliot and many other
writers; later he enjoyed more contemporary
ones such as Barbara Pym and Anthony
Powell. He loved the sonorousness of
Milton, and he would intone with great
feeling the opening lines of Paradise Lost,
looking at you with keen interest, to make
sure that you too felt the impact of the words.
He was always likely to be gripped by
something he had come across in his reading,
such as the power and beauty of St Paul’s
words in Chapter 13 of the First Letter to
the Corinthians: ‘And though I bestow all
my goods to feed the poor, and though I give
my body to be burned, and have not charity,
it profiteth me nothing’. He made you feel
that if you did not relish such words you had
missed something tremendously important
in your life. He was quite right.
Clearly much of the music and literature
that Robert loved expressed Christian
faith and, then at least, I felt that his faith
was deep and strong. It was at the same
time broad and tolerant, and he disliked
certain things that he encountered at the
Evangelical church which had been a great
influence in my life and which he
sometimes went to with me. Thus he was
once indignant at a lay reader and English
graduate there (briefly also a teacher at
Stationers’) who argued that no art could
be regarded as art if it was not morally
uplifting. His was also a very English
Christianity, and perhaps for him its
greatest embodiment was Dr Samuel
Johnson, for whom – and for whose
dictionary – he had an immense reverence,
at a time when I had barely heard of him.
Robert loved paradoxes, and with his usual
hearty laugh he would tell you that towards
the end of his schooldays Mr Gore was
hostile to him because, although good at
Latin, as at all languages, he did not have
it as one of his sixth-form subjects. His
were English, French, and German, and
they secured him his place to read English
at Oxford. At Oxford a new passion
overpowered him – Old English, which
was then a compulsory part of the English
syllabus. When I once visited him at
home he came down from upstairs with
his eyes tired from poring over Beowulf.
The language he came to be most
immersed in apart from English of any
sort was Finnish: and this was the outcome
of the decision he made, soon after
graduating, to go to teach English in
Finland, first at Jyväskylä in the more
southerly part of the country, later at the
University of Oulu in the far north, close
to the Arctic circle. In the end he lived at
Oulu for more than half his life. Sometimes
in the middle of winter even his great
spirit was worn down by the cold and the
darkness, but I have no doubt that he was
very happy there. He once complained
that the Finns were too serious, but he
clearly did his best to make them laugh. A
story he told, with typical relish, was that
when the Finnish telephone directory was
Caption. Robert Brown - centre holding minutes of the Debating Society.
39

T h e O l d S t a t i o n e r - N o 8 9
being revised, everyone to be listed was
asked to add a title before his or her name
(the Finns, like the Swedes, being
apparently addicted to titles); Robert’s
contribution was ‘Frogman Robert Brown’.
I forget whether or not he got away with it.
Robert’s love of paradox was allied to his
constant contrariness, which in turn was
linked, I believe, to his true teacher’s desire
to make his students think and not to rely
on unexamined assumptions. So he
claimed that he preferred Handel to Bach,
held in high esteem Mozart’s last opera
La Clemenza di Tito, which is generally
held to fall short of masterpieces such as
Don Giovanni, and regarded Jane Austen’s
Northanger Abbey as the best of her
novels, when others would point to Emma
or Pride and Prejudice. If you expressed
love of the Authorized Version of the
Bible, he wanted to know if you had read
the Preface to it addressed to King James
I, which is not usually included in
published editions.
Delighting in Finland and the Finnish
language was certainly an important way of
being contrary, since Finnish does not
belong to the Indo-European family of
languages to which most European
languages belong. Robert became a highly
fluent speaker of it, and translated literary
texts from Finnish to English. Here I
could answer his contrariness with my own,
for as he made his life as a teacher in
Finland, I have made mine as a teacher in
Nigeria. I first came to Nigeria in 1963,
and I remember him saying to me before
my departure, perhaps rather disapprovingly,
that I should not stay there too long:
because ‘here’ – which meant England –
was where ‘it’ – which meant teaching –
‘mattered’. I did not heed his call. Nor,
however, did he. Although in the 1960s he
taught for a while at Malvern College, he
confided in me that as a teacher at a
boarding school in England he had no life
of his own; hence he preferred a university
in Finland. I understood him perfectly.
In the 1970s and 1980s Robert and I met
in North London whenever we both
happened to be there on holiday. In 1988
his parents decided to move back to
Northumberland, but we continued after
that to talk on the phone and to exchange
air-letters. He provided me with a good
reference when I applied for my first
university post in Nigeria, and was in other
ways very kind: by this time he was buying
CDs of all the music he loved, but he began
posting to me in Nigeria the tapes of the
same music, which he no longer needed.
Tim,
Richard Phillippo
18th December 2018
I am very sorry to advise you that I
have just learned that Bob passed
away in August this year very shortly
after lung cancer was diagnosed.
He joined the Association fairly
recently after an approach from
Geraint Pritchard and Bob and his
Finnish wife Piiastiina met up with
Geraint and Marj several times in the
Newcastle area where he had a second
home, the main one being in Finland.
Bob was at Stationers’ from 1953 t0
1960/61 and was a contemporary of
Tony Taylor, Charlie Cruden, Dave
Cox, etc and ended his days at the
school as Head Boy. Music was his
great love and he was involved in
many high quality choirs throughout
his life.
He got a coveted state scholarship and
went to New College Oxford where
he read English. In his time there were
3 ‘English’ courses – the standard Eng
Lang and Lit which nearly everybody
took, a course with a bias, I think, to
Middle English and an extremely
difficult course which only a handful
of people chose concerned with
English Language (syntax, philology
etc) and Bob opted for this. It included
having a working knowledge of
several European languages and Old
Norse as well as Anglo Saxon, of
course.
After university he taught in various
English schools but then moved to
Finland. He taught at a University
there and settled, marrying Piiastiina
who amongst other attributes loves
cricket which she both plays and
watches.
I am sad to report this news,
Richard
With Finland and music occupying such
large spaces in his life, it surprised me that
Robert did not seem to have any interest in
Sibelius; but to give surprises was of his
essence. He was also enigmatic: you were
often not sure what he was getting at. In
the mid-1980s I was for a while a candidate
for Anglican ordination, and I was accepted
by a selection conference. When I told
Robert, he looked at me with the hint of a
smile and said: ‘Well, you will never be a
bishop’. What did he mean by that – that
I was the kind of person who in holding
any post would be interested in promotion?
Robert surprised many people when, about
the time of his retirement in 2006, he
married one of his former Oulu students,
Piiastiina Tikka. I learned about it from a
third party – because by then our
correspondence had long since ended,
along with our chances of meeting: at the
end of 1990 he seemed not to wish to
continue our correspondence. This
explains why my reminiscences of him
pertain to the comparatively early part of
his life. When the Internet arrived I
occasionally received Christmas greetings,
and it was typical of his humour that the
first part of his gmail address, ‘smorltork’,
was the name of a character in Dickens’
Pickwick Papers. I would often ‘Google’
him, feeling that, although as far as I know
he never published any book, there must
be something about him out there. It was
while doing so again in January that I
happened to learn of his death in August
last year.
As I also learned, also in recent years, other
Old Stationers had suffered the same kind
of sudden dismissal as I had. I am sure,
however, or at least hope, that we all
forgive him. And I believe that all those
who knew Robert, or Bob, in Finland and
in Britain, regard him as one who added
great lustre to the name of teacher. It was
no surprise to learn from Piiastiina that
among students at Oulu he was ‘wildly
popular’. Many Old Stationers may also
agree that his working life was a tribute to
the many teachers at the school through
whom his life, like ours, was blessed. I am
also sure that he is happy to have said of
him what Dr Johnson said about the actor
Garrick:
I am disappointed by that stroke of death,
which has eclipsed the gaiety of nations
and impoverished the public stock of
harmless pleasure.
Peter Jowitt
Alexander
Michael Grogan
Hi Tim
tony.e.powell@gmail.com
7th February 2019
Just before Christmas I was informed of
the death of Alexander Grogan on 22nd of
December 2018 at the age of 64.He had
been ill for some time and was in care.
He attended the school between 1965 and
1972. A funeral service was held in Bruree,
40

T h e O l d S t a t i o n e r - N o 8 9
County Limerick, Ireland at the Church of
the Immaculate Conception on the 23rd
of January followed later by a cremation of
Alex and his Arsenal shirt.
I attach the short reading given by Alex’s
sister Maria, which could perhaps be used
as the basis for an Obituary.
Regards
Tony Powell
Alexander Michael Grogan was born on
1St May 1953 at Paddington Hospital to
the proud parents of James and Mary
Grogan of Crouch End, London. He
attended Rokesley Junior School where he
passed his 11+ and went on to Stationers
Grammar School also in Crouch End. He
had a large capacity for academic studies
for which he gained high grade
qualifications, this enabled him to attend
further education in Essex. However, after
a year or so he realised that he was not
happy at the University and returned home
to his family.
He settled back in Crouch End working at
an Insurance company and doing well, but
there was another calling for Alex by way
of him noticing there was a charity for
disadvantaged young adults which he
passed every day. After a short while he
spoke to our mother, asking her for advice
as to what he should do as he felt he
wanted to help the young adults who had a
bad start in life, our mother told him to
follow your heart and shortly afterwards he
joined the charity as a Community Worker.
Alex stayed for several years helping raise
awareness of the charity, suffice to say he
was very successful, using his academic
skills he persuaded many people to support
this charity, which included fundraising
ideas which helped raise the much needed
financial muscle to carry on the good work.
He also made sure the money was directed
towards helping the kids as much as
possible so admin costs and wages were
kept under control. He was dedicated to
his work and in turn the young adults who
came to the centre in Finsbury Park
respected and liked Alex immensely, he
was an honest man with a big heart.
Alex’s next challenge was Director of The
Huddlestone Centre in Hackney, London
which is a charity for disabled children and
young adults. Once again Alex gave total
commitment to his work and again raised
much needed funds.
I, Maria, was witness to his dedication
towards both these charities as he would
often call me to volunteer whenever he
needed an extra pair of hands. He was
loved by those who knew his true worth
and a great advocate for both the children
and their parents. He stayed for many
years and made many friends through his
hard work and deep commitment to those
with disability.
Alex was also a good friend to his Mum
and Dad and indeed after the death of our
mother became very helpful to our Dad,
one of his happiest times was going to the
Cheltenham Gold Cup with Dad, and he
would make all the arrangements every
year until Dad passed away. He was also
travelling back to Tipperary on a regular
basis to help both our Uncles who were in
failing health. They both died having spent
good times with their nephew Alex.
Alex loved music and reading and both of
those interests served him well during his
lifetime. He was a great cyclist and was well
known where he lived in Highgate, often
to cycle to a park with some sandwiches
and binoculars to look at the wildlife and
relax. He knew that simple pleasures gave
the most reward. He followed Arsenal
Football Club and was a season ticket
holder for some considerable time, he
enjoyed the atmosphere of a pub and
would frequent the local ones in Highgate
discussing his passion for literature and
poetry. Alex was a member of the Labour
Party and would campaign on behalf of its
members especially around local elections.
He was a man who had many interests and
these are just a few examples.
With the passing of Dad he decided to
move to Tipperary and left London for
good, which was the right decision for him
as it was time for another life, he attended
Limerick University gaining a bachelors in
Social Science which was a great
achievement for him. He travelled
extensively and would often write to our
sister Sheila and her family with his news.
Alex leaves behind a wonderful legacy of
hard work for what he believed in, the
children and young adults he encountered
were his family and for that he certainly
demonstrated God’s love for all. We will
miss him and remember him for who he
was and for the love he expressed to those
most in need. God speed Alex to the
rightful place you deserve and we hope,
when the time comes, we will meet again.
Love you Alex, your sisters Maria and
Sheila, brother Kenny, brother-in—law
Adrian, sister-in-law Barbara, nephews
and nieces, Kieran, Catherine (Goddaughter),
Robert, Ben and Claire.
Tony Powell
Peter Edward
John Jollie AM
14th July 1940 – 8th December 2018
I met my friend Peter one September
morning as like us all we started not
knowing where our grammar school place
would lead and I remained in touch over
the years latterly meeting up with him in
Sydney in the Winter of 2017 and lastly
over lunch last Summer at the Auberge du
lac in Brocket Park where we celebrated
his birthday – Bastille Day!
Peter died suddenly on the 8 December
2018 but I was sadly unable to attend his
funeral or memorial service in Sydney but
through my godson Guy Richards, son of
a mutual friend, I am lucky to have a copy
of Peter’s daughter Tania’s Tribute the
photograph above and the words spoken
by a Clinical Genomics colleague.
Peter and I did as we all did at Stationers
worked fairly hard and played very hard.
He was great fun and hugely humorous
belying his surname - an all round
‘Jollyman’. Coming from Farrer Road it
was inevitable that he played cricket for
North Middlesex where his lovely generous
parents were stalwarts of the clubhouse.
Am told by Dick Hersey that Peter’s father
Leslie umpired the occasional Colts game
in a truly biased fashion.
While Peter played cricket and golf I
played tennis so we were rarely on the
same pitch/course or court at the same
time but on the serious side we were
usually to found at the same pubs most
frequently The Flask in Highgate clubs or
church halls following the natural persuits
of healthy young men and both even
converted briefly to Methodism and
holidayed in Guernsey with the Methodist
Youth club in the same cause.
41

T h e O l d S t a t i o n e r - N o 8 9
Then leaving school Peter to take up
accountancy and me architecture. And
though our studies were our focus fun
remained a goal. Peter started work with
Peat Marwick Mitchell (now KPMG) and
qualified in 1962 not your quintessential
Chartered accountant for all that. He then
met and married his lifelong love Valisia
an Australian model at a perfect English
wedding at St Andrew’s church in
Highgate opposite The Flask appropriately
with a reception at The Ritz in Piccadilly.
And equally quickly from their flat in
Highgate he set off to be a manager at
Peat’s office in Enugu Nigeria.
Following two successful Nigerian tours at
a time of tense African volatility some
adventure and two successful pregnancies
later daughters Tania and Giselle joined
the Jollie band. Peter having been
appointed Managing partner of Peat’s
office in Ghana in 1967 became the
youngest partner in Peat Marwick
Mitchell’s history.
Our path infrequently crossed thereafter as
whilst he travelled to the other side of the
World to Valisia’s homeland I travelled in
the opposite direction to Bermuda and the
West Indies before returning to
Hertfordshire. For Peter commerce
beckoned and in 1971 he took up a job as
CFO in Australia of Hawker de Havilland
and later of Overseas Containers Australia
Limited (OCAL) project managing the
CTAL container terminal at Port Botany.
And, when P&O took over OCAL they
looked no further than Peter and between
1987 and 1997 he became a director then
CEO and finally Chairman of the company.
But he kept his feet in the profession and
in 1989 was made chairman of the NSW
Institute of CA Australia and then in 1993
President of the Institute of Chartered
Accountants in Australia and the first
President from commerce. During his
term of office he was proud to present
Giselle his younger daughter with her
Certificate of qualification as a Chartered
accountant. A truly enviable pleasure.
I am told that one of Peter’s particular
prides was his role in bringing the 2000
Olympics to Sydney, As a member of the
Finance and Communications committees
for the bid it is said that having listened
politely to the finance submissions and
complimented the presenters he quietly
asked ‘could someone send me over the
‘real’ figures’. His trademark approach – no
spin, no statistic just the real numbers.
Another battle Peter took on was the
independent directorship of the Medical
Research Compensation Fund created by
James Hardie. He had been assured that
the Fund for the compensation of victims
of Mesothelioma an asbestos related
disease was ‘fully funded’ but weeks into
the role he found otherwise and in a very
high profile case Peter was the catalyst in
successfully taking on a blue chip
Australian company and via a Special
Commission of Enquiry of the NSW
government/bitterly fought litigation in
the Supreme Court/Court of Appeal
James Hardie agreed to contribute a
further A$1.7B to the fund.
From 2000 Peter moved on to many
Independent directorships and was
Chairman of a multitude of ASX and
smaller companies but specifically of
Downer EDI with it’s 56000 employees
and interests around the Pacific in South
America and South Africa whilst at the
same time he chaired two syndicates of the
CEO Institute mentoring current and
prospective Australian business leaders.
I must mention his directorship since 2011
of Clinical Genomics an Australian
company bringing diagnostics for the
detection and monitoring of cancers and
latterly Peter was chair of their audit and
risk committee. Announcing his death the
Chief Executive wrote to the staff saying
in part ‘Peter was a strong voice of ‘think
outside the box’ and was a champion
challenging the CG management to be
‘bold and disruptive’ .A description with
which I identify particularly when I think
back to our not entirely innocent youthful
activities.
Peter was elected a Life member of the
ICA, was a Fellow of the Australian
Institute of Directors and the recipient of
the Order of Australia having become a
citizen no doubt on Valisia’s advice.
All a very very long hard fought way from
that September morning in Mayfield Road
to a life rudely cut short but a life full of
fun hard work and success and a family left
with the happiest of memories of shared
family adventures whether in Balmain or
at the farm at Oberon complete with it’s
cold showers in the early days brown
snakes cattle sheep and horses. Peter
clearly exported the values learned at his
loving family home in Farrer Road from
his very humorous father Leslie Company
secretary of a Mayfair advertising agency
and his ever welcoming mother Gerda a
lovely Danish lady to Australia…..our
loss…. Australia’s gain.
We have all heard the phrase ‘once met
never forgotten’ often for all the wrong
reasons but in the case of my old friend
and fellow Stationer Peter those privileged
to have known him will hold his memory
close.
Always…..
Michael Brady
Don
Alan MILLS
calpe6@sky.com
17th November 2018
I was sad to hear of death of Alan. I new
Alan from the time we joined Nursery/
Infants at Woodlands Park School
Tottenham then into Juniors. Thence to
Stationers.I also remember being in the
Wilderness chatting to the girls and also
watching them in their dance classes in the
hall next to it. I also walked home with
Alan his wife her friend Hazel and also
another friend of ours Roy Savage.I was in
the school ATC with Alan and also at 16F
ATC at Alexandra Palace. I lost touch
with Alan when he went into the Forces.
But I can still remember playing in the
street with him, the many adventures we
used to have as youngsters and visiting his
house which was just round the corner.
Les Reardon
Alan Drake
bakersilverfox@aol.com
5th April 2019
I first met Alan on my first day at school ,
we were both in the same form , we
quickly became friends, both sharing in
our love for sports especially football an
cricket, its fair to say we were among the
best players in our year in both sports , and
in that moment grew a mutual admiration
which turned into fierce competition ! I
think we pushed each other to a much
higher standard , and for that i will always
be grateful to him.
As we got older i was still spreading my
time between football cricket and golf ,
however “drakey” decided to concentrate
on one and that was golf, so much so that
he was a scratch golfer, and ended up
playing for the county of middlesex.
After we left school we lost touch ,but did
meet up now and again for lunch he never
really changed in looks and was always in
good shape, so it was a shock to hear of his
passing . He was one of the good guys, a
good friend and a good competitor. He
will be missed.
Robin Baker
42

T h e O l d S t a t i o n e r - N o 8 9
Minutes of the AGM OF THE Old Stationers’ Association
Stationers’ Hall, Friday 29th March 2019
Present: Peter Winter (President) in the chair
Tim Westbrook (Hon Secretary), Michael Hasler (Hon Treasurer), together with 39 OSA members.
The meeting was called to order at 5.30pm.
1. Confirmation of Minutes of the Annual General Meeting held at Stationers' Hall on 23rd March 2018
(Circulated in OSA Magazine issue 87 Summer 2018).
The minutes of the AGM held at Stationers' Hall on Friday 23rd March 2018 were unanimously adopted as a true
record on a vote taken on the proposal of Roger Melling, seconded by Peter Bothwick
2. President's Address See attached report.
3. Hon Treasurers Report See attached report.
The report and accounts for the year ending 31 st December 2019 were approved unanimously on a vote taken on
the proposal of Tony Hemmings, seconded by Peter Sandell.
4. Election of Officers and Committee
The Chairman invited nominations for the Association’s Officers and Committee for 2019/2020.
The following members were duly proposed, seconded and elected with no assenting voices from the floor:
Elected Proposer Seconder
President Peter Thomas Peter Winter Tim Westbrook
Vice-President Stephen Collins Peter Thomas Tim Westbrook
Hon Secretary Tony Hemmings David Turner David Sheath
Hon Treasurer Michael Hasler Roger Melling Tony Hemmings
Hon Membership Secretary Roger Engledow Peter Borthwick David Turner
Hon Editor Tim Westbrook Peter Thomas Tony Hemmings
Events Managers Peter Sandell Peter Winter Roger Engledow
Roger Melling Peter Winter Roger Engledow
Hon Archivist David Turner Tim Westbrook David Sheath
Website Officer Peter Gotham Tim Westbrook Peter Borthwick
Ordinary Members
Andreas Christou
Peter Borthwick David Turner Mike Hasler
Dave Sheath
5. Election of Honorary Auditors
Chris Langford and Dave Cox were unanimously elected Honorary Auditors on a vote taken on the proposal of
Roger Engledow and seconded by Tim Westbrook.
6. Other business
Tony Hemmings commented on the quality of the two recent OSA magazines produced by the new Editor.
There being no further business, the Chairman declared the meeting closed at 17.45 pm.
PRESIDENT’S ADDRESS
Good evening. Welcome to the Old Stationers’ Association’s annual general meeting for 2019.
The past year has gone very quickly. It has been another successful year for the Association, through the continuing
friendship and teamwork which makes our Association so strong.
We have had the normal calendar of events: the lunches which have been well attended; and the President’s Day which was
also well attended, even if completely rained off, thus securing our best result for a number of years. The next lunch is
Tuesday 14 May; please contact Roger Melling.
An important and I believe potentially long-lasting benefit for the Association has been the survey of members which we
carried out towards the end of 2018. I will touch more on that after dinner but it is important to say that we now have a
43

T h e O l d S t a t i o n e r - N o 8 9
OLD STATIONERS’ ASSOCIATION
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
good indication of what events people value and what events they might welcome in the future. A small group,
reporting to your committee, will develop events over the coming years to extend the range of activities within our
Association.
Of particular note this year was the Carol service to mark the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War
in which 154 Old Stationers died; a further 119 died in the second world war and they are also commemorated .
This service went particularly well, which was important given that the previous year’s service had been cancelled
due to heavy snow.
You will hear during the Treasurer’s report that your Association continues to be in a strong financial position; this
is due in no small part to the tireless efforts of your committee in ensuring that events take place and are properly
managed so that we may continue the Fellowship of our Association.
I would like to record my personal thanks to the committee who have been enormously supportive during my year
of office. Your association would not exist without their continuing efforts on behalf of us all.
Fellow old stationers I’ve been honoured to have served as the association’s president for the last year. Thank you
for electing me. Thank you for supporting me. I sincerely wish our incoming President every success for the coming
year and promise my full support to him and the Committee.
Peter Winter President 2018/19
Honorary Treasurer’s Report
For the year ENDED 31st December 2018
The audited accounts for the year ended 31st December 2018 were approved at the AGM are reproduced in the
following pages..
The Income and expenditure account for the year 2018 show a surplus of £1,828 last year a surplus of £1,507.
Ordinary activities of the Association show a surplus of £1,982, last year ££1,513. This year the surplus includes
a legacy of £1,000 from the late ‘Dickie’ Rundle. Magazine costs have reverted to 2 magazines, last year only one
was included. Website costs are now running on a maintenance basis. The carol service included a commemoration
of the centenary of the finish of the First World War and a booklet was reproduced for this purpose. Last year the
carol service was cancelled due to adverse wearher conditions on the day and a donation made in lieu thereof.
Other activities produced a deficit of £154 (last year a deficit of £6). The Christmas lunch was attended by 105
people and the 2018 annual dinner 98 people (93 paying+5 guests). The 2 lunch clubs at The Imperial Hotel
during the year and the annual dinner a deficit of £185 and an equivalent amount has been transferred from the
contingency reserve to cover this deficit. The Christmas lunch at the Stationers’ Hall produced a surplus of £63.
The balance sheet is still in a strong position with a healthy surplus and cash balances increasing to £19,982 from
£18,769 last year.
The magazine costs will increase due to the rise in the printing costs. The subscription to members remains the
same for the current year and barring exceptional circumstances I see no reason to increase it for 2020 even if
ordinary activities were to run into deficit for a year or two.
I would also like to thank the membership secretary, Roger Engledow, for all the work he does in collecting and
chasing the subscriptions. I would like to thank the President who has travelled down from the north-west regularly
to chair the committee meetings and also for his work on the questionnaire looking for ways to enhance the benefits
of membership of the OSA. Also the members of the committee who have assisted me over the year and for their
conservative demands on the funds. Finally I wish to thank the auditors David Cox and Chris Langford for their
work and advice. They have indicated their willingness to continue as auditors for the coming year.
Michael Hasler Treasurer
44

T h e O l d S t a t i o n e r - N o 8 9
OLD STATIONERS’ ASSOCIATION
Balance Sheet
As at 31st December 2018
ASSETS
31.12.18 31.12.17
£ £ £ £
Cash at bank on current account 7,017 5.816
Cash on deposit account 12.965 12.953
Total cash at bank 19,982 18,769
Stock of ties & badges (note 2) 776 930
Stock of books and programmes (note 3) 563 230
The Carpenter Painting 1,077 1,077
Display Cabinet 200 200
Debtors 895 424
Less Creditors
Christmas Lunch -4,978 -4509
Other -289 -4,372 -703 -4,788
TOTAL ASSETS 18,226 16,418
FINANCED BY:
Memorial Fund (Embleton) 1,701 1,721
Accumulated General Fund 14,296 12,283
Contingencies Reserve (note 4) 2,229 2,414
18,226 16,418
NOTES
1 The OSA also has in its possession a number of items of regalia and cups.
It is not proposed to show these on the face of the accounts, but the value for insurance
purposes is £2,950.
2 Stock of ties and badges
Stock 31.12.17 930 1,158
Less sales at cost 107 190
Less presented to The President 32 22
Less presented to The Master 15 16
Stock 31.12.18 776 930
3 Stock of books and programmes
Stock at 31.12.16 230 297
Purchases 525
755
Less cost of sales 76 67
Less stock written off 116
Stock at 31.12.17 563 230
M F Hasler Treasurer
Auditors Report
In our opinion the above Balance sheet and related Statements of Income and Expenditure, Accumulated Fund
and Memorial Fund present a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the Old Stationers’ Association as at
31 st December 2018 and of the surplus of income over expenditure for the year.
C Langford, D Cox
45

T h e O l d S t a t i o n e r - N o 8 9
OSA Funds Summary
Year ended 31st December 2018 31.12.18 31.12.17
MEMORIAL FUND (EMBLETON)
£ £
Balance per Accounts 31.12.17 b/fwd 1,721 1,721
Less Stock of Old Stationers' President's XI
40th Anniversary book written off -20
Accumulated Surplus on Memorial Fund 1,701 1,721
ACCUMULATED GENERAL FUND
Balance per Accounts 31.12.17 b/fwd 12,283 10,686
Surplus on Ordinary Activities 1,982 1,513
-Deficit on other activities -154 -6
Transfer from contingencies reserve 185 90
Accumulated Surplus on ordinary activities 14,296 12,283
CONTINGENCIES RESERVE (note 4)
Balance per accounts 31st December 2017 b/fwd 2,414 2,504
Transfer to General Fund, re Dinner and Lunches -185 -90
Total Contingencies Reserve 2,229 2,414
TOTAL OSA FUNDS AT 31.12.2018 18,226 16,418
Note 4: The contingencies reserve has been created from past provisions for luncheon and annual dinner
costs no longer required. It is to be used to subsidise these events, this year £185, and in future years.
GENERAL FUND
Income & Expenditure Account Year ended 31st December 2018
31.12.18 31.12.17
ORDINARY ACTIVITIES £ £ £ £
Income
Subscriptions 7,514 7,452
R Rundle Legacy 1,000
Bank interest 12 1
8,526 7,453
Expenditure
Magazine costs (see note below) 5,734 3,255
Stationery, Postage & Web expenses 316 2,585
Carol service 494 100
6,544 5,940
Surplus/-Deficit on Ordinary Activities 1,982 1,513
OTHER ACTIVITIES
Tie, scarves and blazer badge sales net-cost/income 14 31
Past President’s badge and tie at cost -32 -22
Baynes book net Surplus/-Deficit -14 75
Net -Deficit/Surplus on dinner and lunch club -122 -90
-Deficit?Surplus on other activities -154 -6
SURPLUS INCOME OVER (EXPENDITURE) FOR YEAR 1,828 1,507
Note: It was agreed by your committee that as the twice yearly magazine is now being produced in February/March and
July/August that it was no longer appropriate to provide for the cost of the earlier issue in the accounts of the previous year.
46

OSA Photographic Competition – “Sport”
Whether you are an experienced photographer,
or just one who takes the occasional photograph
with your mobile phone, this is the photographic
competition for you. As this is the inaugural
competition, we are making the theme “Sport” as
this is always a popular OSA topic.
Any OSA member can enter up to three
photographs which they should have taken.
They should illustrate the theme, “Sport” -
which can be anything you interpret this to
mean. However, it would be great if it relates to
either School or OSA activities.
To Enter: Each photograph should have an
“interesting” title, relevant to the theme, and be
accompanied by the sender’s name, postal address
and telephone number.
Send your digital or scanned photographs
(colour or black and white – or even sepia), as a
300 DPI JPEG file, to Tony Moffat at: a.
moffat@ucl.ac.uk
For those of the “old school” without access to a
scanner; send hard copy photographs, which will
be scanned and then returned to you, to: Tony
Moffat, 1 The Fairway, Bar Hill, CAMBRIDGE,
CB23 8SR. Please use a piece of cardboard in
the envelope to protect the photographs.
Closing date: 31st October 2019. Entries will be
acknowledged by email, telephone or post.
Image editing: Images may be digitally enhanced
to optimise a photograph, remove scratches etc,
but significant elements of the picture should
not be added or removed.
Judging: Judging will be carried out by a panel
of judges who will be using the following
criteria: composition, originality, interpretation
of the theme, technical quality and most
importantly – how does your entry stand out
from the crowd. Like referees, some people may
disagree with the judges decision, but their
decision is final.
Prizes: The winner will be announced in the
January edition of the Old Stationer and will
receive a bottle of champagne at the AGM in
March 2020 when some of the entries will be
displayed.
Publication of Entries: By submitting an entry,
you agree that the photograph(s) may be
published in The Old Stationer and on the OSA
web site.
Queries: Any queries, please contact Tony
Moffat at the email address above or by telephone
on 01954 782366.
Go on - have a go. Looking through your old
photographs will be fun anyway. If you don’t
have anything suitable, why not go out and take
some.
PUZZLE CORNER ANSWERS
Quo Vadis
1. Bedford. John Bunyan.
Christian in The
Pilgrim’s Progress.
Vanity Fair.
2. Leicester. Richard III.
Leicester Cathedral.
3. Swarthmoor Hall (near
Ulverston). The Society
of Friends (Quakers).
George Fox.
4. Whithorn, Galloway.
5. Lindisfarne (Holy
Island). The Lindisfarne
Gospels.
6. Whitby. Synod of
Whitby. Whitby Abbey.
Anagrams
1. Roger Engledow
2. Tony Hemmings
3. Peter Winter
4. David Turner
5. Andreas Christou
6. Peter Thomas
7. Mike Hasler
8. Roger Melling
9. Tim Westbrook
10. Peter Bothwick

The Old Stationers’ Association