OSAmag88

No 88 / January 2019

The Old Stationer

Number 88 - January 2019

Caption Competition

Penny for your thoughts

If you can produce an amusing caption for this picture of

Sam in his study, email your entry to the editor by

15th March and the winner will receive a bottle of bubbly

at the annual dinner on 29th March.

T h e O l d S t a t i o n e r - N o 8 8

The Old Stationer

Number 88- JANUARY 2019

OLD STATIONERS’ ASSOCIATION

LIST OF COMMITTEE MEMBERS 2018/2019

President

Peter Winter

5 Oakways, Warrington, WA4 5HD

07795 450863

: prcwinter1@btinternet.com

Vice-President

Peter R Thomas

107 Jackdaw Close, Stevenage,

Herts. SG2 9DB ✆ 01438 722870

: peterthomas57@yahoo.co.uk

Past President

Peter Bothwick

52 Hither Green Lane, Abbey Park,

Redditch, Worcs. B98 9BW

✆ 01527 62059

: pedrotres@hotmail.co.uk

Honorary Secretary

Tim Westbrook

7 Goodyers Avenue, Radlett,

Herts. WD7 8AY ✆ 0845 8724001

: tim@timwestbrook.co.uk

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

Acting Editor & website enquiries

Tim Westbrook

Details as above

OSA website: www.oldstationers.co.uk

Honorary Archivist

David D Turner

63 Brookmans Avenue, Brookmans

Park, Herts. AL9 7QG

✆ 01707 656414

: d.turner12@sky.com

Ordinary Members

Roger Melling

43 Holyrood Road, New Barnet,

Herts. EN5 1DQ

✆ 020 8449 2283

: melling@globalspirit.net

Andreas H Christou

22 Woodgrange Avenue, Bush Hill

Park, Enfield EN1 1EW

07722 117481

: andreashchristou@yahoo.com

Tony C Hemmings

5 The Mount, Cheshunt,

Herts. EN7 6RF

01992 638535

: hemmingsac@hotmail.com

David J Sheath Ksg

12a Bolton Crescent, Windsor,

Berks. SL4 3JQ

✆ 01753 855021

: davidsheath@hotmail.co.uk

Co-opted Member

Peter A Sandell

11 Maplecroft Lane, Nazeing, Essex,

EN9 2NR ✆ 01992 892766

: peter.sandell@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

President's Address 4

Dates for the Diary 9

Correspondence 25

Special features

OSA Christmas Lunch 2018 5

September Lunch at the Imperial 7

President's Day 7

Life at the end of a walking stick 11

The second best job in the world 12

Reunions

Class of '51 14

Class of '53 15

Class of '54: The Search is successful 16

Class of '54 17

Class of '55 18

Class of '63 19

The First of the Fallen 20

A Service for Geraint 23

Stationers' Company Update 23

Impressions of a Young Trainspotter 30

Walking Football Update 47

Clubs & Societies

Golf Society 8

OSFC Reunion Day 10

Far as you roam

Charlie Webster-Smith in India 29

Varia

Membership Report 33

Obituaries

Professor David Goodall 33

Stephen Jeffreys 34

Ian Snelling 38

Ralph 'Ben' Batchelor 43

Richard 'Dickie' Rundle 44

Geraint Pritchard 45

Bob Brown 46

Henry Douglas 46

Peter Jolly 46

Ernie Stone 46

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


EDITORIAL

A happy and healthy new

year to all our readers and

welcome to issue 88 which

has been declared a Brexit

free zone until further notice.

Our two most recent events,

the Christmas lunch and

carol service have enjoyed

bumper numbers with over a

hundred dining at the hall

and over 50 attending the

service at St Mary with St George in Muswell Hill. Overall,

thanks to the growth in reunion activity we are maintaining

our membership number at close to 500 which is very

encouraging. However, with our aging profile inevitably we

have lost several members in 2018 including, Barry Mcrae,

Ian Snelling, Dickie Rundle, Henry Douglas, William

Skeggs, Bob Brown, Ben Batchelor, Stephen Jeffreys and

Ernie Stone. In our obituaries column you will also come

across possibly our oldest ever ex- Stationer, Professor David

Goodall who took his own life through assisted suicide at the

age of 104.

Looking to the future, our President has initiated research

into finding out what you, the members wish to see changed

or added to our current program of events and activities with

an eye on sustaining our membership and encouraging

participation. If you have not replied to the questionnaire

emailed out recently please contact Peter Winter with your

thoughts and ideas.

Regarding our web site the committee would like to appoint a

web site manager with WordPress experience to ensure that the

investment we have made in refreshing the aesthetics and

navigation of the site are supported by regular updating of

content. If you are interested in taking on this key role please

contact me. In the interim, Ian Moore, our stalwart technical

support maestro has agreed to handle our updating requirements

until an appointment is made.

I am pleased to report that Nigel Wade is making good

progress recovering from his appalling injuries sustained in a

road accident some time ago and Gordon Rose, having missed

our Christmas and lunch through hospitalisation is, at the time

of writing back home for New Year celebrations with Eve.

Finally, can I repeat my plea for members to become more

active in submitting content to our magazine; photos, stories,

memories, news, activities, lottery wins, sporting endeavours,

embarrassing moments, are all of interest so don’t hold back.

Ed.

PRESIDENT’S ADDRESS

As I sit here to write this

note for the magazine we

are getting close to

Christmas, the Christmas

card address labels are all

printed, the cards bought,

but the assembly of one

with the other is still to do.

We know who is coming

for Christmas (in addition

to Santa of course) and we

are busily preparing menus

and shopping lists. By the time you read this we will all have had

Christmas… I hope it’s been a splendid one for all of you. On

5th December we had a splendid Christmas lunch in the special

surroundings of Stationers’ Hall that perhaps we take too much

for granted… you will be relieved to hear that there were no

complaints this year about the potatoes.

I have certainly been enjoying my year as President, which is now

nearly 9 months over. I have had many supportive messages

from members and a reunion of my year group, all of which I

have appreciated enormously…. so thank you to all those who

have been so supportive. A big thank you also to all of the

Committee, who quietly, year in, year out, make sure the OSA

delivers to its members.

This summer saw a welcome improvement in the President’s day

cricket match against Botany Bay CC, a long run of losses was

stemmed by a draw when the rain stopped a single ball being

bowled. Sincere thanks to Rick Slatford for assembling the team

for this.

As you know we have been carrying out a survey of the

membership to try and identify the way forward for the

Association; looking at what we do well, what we could do better

and also potential new events. That survey closed on 12th

December. We had a sizeable and significant response rate. We

are now proceeding with a full analysis of the survey, however,

there are some early aspects of the survey results which are clear.

Of importance to many respondents has been the magazine and

I would like to make a special thanks to Tim Westbrook for

taking up the mantle of magazine editor on Geraint’s passing.

The issue on which the responses have been most polarised is

how we should interact, if at all, with the Stationers' Crown

Woods Academy. There are also areas of possible future activities

for which we appear to have support, notably visits and sporting

events. We even have some interest in specialist areas like

rambling. We are now proceeding with a thorough analysis of

the data and will come back to you with the outcomes. I intend

that we will make some progress on the actions you are calling

for before my term as President finishes, but what I can also

assure you is that your committee will use this as an important

input to develop your Association beyond my presidency.

An area we are continually concerned with is increasing the

membership of the OSA. I know this sounds like an impossibility,

given that the number of potential members is continually in

decline, however, what we have seen with the work of Peter

Thomas and Peter Sandell on reunions is that there is still a

significant pool of eligible Old Stationers’ who would enjoy

being a member of this Association, but have not yet joined. The

survey indicates that most OSA members know other old

stationers who are not yet members of the OSA. This year Ed

Winter, the younger of my older brothers, has finally joined and

4


we have two new members from my year group…. I am still

working on David, the elder of my older brothers… if we all work

at this there is a pool of possible members out there. I am sure

that others of you could find new members.

On coming events can I mention that we have the annual dinner

here on Friday, 29th March 2019. Do please come for a splendid

dinner as the shutters go up on Europe and we do our best to

consume the pre barrier wine lake.

On Sunday, 9 December, we had the annual carol service at

Hornsey Parish Church. This year was a special service, marking

as it did the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War,

in which 154 Old Stationers’ died for their country. We started

with a rededication of the stained glass window at the church,

which came from the school when it was demolished. The

window is also dedicated to 119 old boys who died in the Second

World War and a solitary old boy who died in the Boer War. I

laid a wreath on behalf of the OSA. The service was led by

Bishop Stephen Platten (an old boy). We were accompanied by

the quite superb Voxcetera choir who did a number of pieces a

capella. For the renderings with the congregation Peter Sandell

was brilliant on the organ. I really would encourage others to

come to this in future years as a pleasure not just a duty.

We also had an excellent tribute to Geraint Pritchard by Richard

Phillippo.

On a final note can I encourage you to think that maybe you

might find interest in becoming a member of the Stationers’

Company….. about 12% of the OSA membership are members

of the Stationers’ Company: it offers benefits and a warm

welcome to all of you. Peter Bothwick, Tony Mash and Dave

Hudson would all be able to help you if you wished to join. A

reduced joining fee has been negotiated for members of the

OSA.

Let me close by wishing you all a prosperous and healthy 2019.

I look forward to seeing many of you at the annual dinner in

March, thank you.

Peter Winter

OSA President 2018/19

Peter Molinari, Dave Edwards, Harry Shacalis, Alan Dobbie, Josh Beadon,

Andreas Christou at the rededication ceremony.

OSA Christmas Lunch 2018

Kevin Waller and Peter Thomas

Chris Wilkins, Roger Rufey, Peter Clydesdale, and Stuart Bhen.

A brace of Goalies, Dave Lincoln, Pete Jarvis and Keith Hacker.

David Turner reveals his C&A label.

5


Football players from yesteryear.

Malcom Wandrag, Roger Turkington, and Ross Thompson

The Trew brothers plus Pete Prazsky and Danny Bone

Dave Dean, Jim Townsend and Dave Lincoln

6


There was a bumper turn out of 42 Old Boys for our September

Lunch, accompanied by our guests, The Clerk, William Alden

and Master David Allan. We had a wide range of ages in

attendance from the youngest at 51 years old to the eldest at 91

years young! This time we introduced name badges for each

attendee which included their school years – a great idea

suggested by Stu Behn and to be adopted for future lunches.

This was gratefully received by all and particularly useful to those

of us that forget our own names! On arrival, lively banter took

place in the Bar where discussions got excited between North

London clubs – ‘will they ever get that stadium finished!’ We

then sat down to an enjoyable lunch of Ham Hock Terrine for

starters followed by Roast Breast of Chicken with trimmings.

This was rounded off with Caramel Apple Crumble with

lashings of custard (Crème Anglaise’ to those of you with welltravelled

palates!) washed down with a choice of Red Bordeaux

September LUNCH at the imperial

PRESIDENT's DAY

or White Rhone wines. Our President, Peter Winter then gave

us an update on Association news and welcomed newcomer Nick

Henshaw 1964 -1971 to our lunch. Our guest, The Master,

David Allan gave an interesting talk on the Company’s

achievements over the past year and its plans for the future. A

welcome return by Nigel Wade was greeted after many months

of recovery and we all wished him well. Then a loud rendition of

the School song filled the Upper Floor and reverberated across

Russell Square! A small number then retired to a local hostelry

for further refreshment before the journey home.

This was our last lunch at the Imperial, due to their minimum

number of diners policy. Therefore, we will be moving to the

Royal National Hotel, nearby where they can accommodate

smaller numbers. Further details will be announced in the

Magazine and on our website in due course.

The annual cricket match was rained off with no play possible but a good time

was had in the bar at Botany Bay

Great to see Gordon and Eve in attendance

OSA 2018 Cricket Team

7


OSA GOLF SOCIETY

The Stationers’ Company v

Old Stationers' Golf Society

The annual match between the Company and the Old Boys has

become a regular event and on 20th June 2018 we did it all again

for the ninth year in succession.

It was a glorious day for weather and the parkland course at

Brookmans Park, just north of Potters Bar was in magnificent

condition.

18 players teed off with optimism, and with mixed results 18

players returned to the club house to recount the stories of “if

only” and tales of woe of balls lost in watery graveyards or trees

and bushes.

This competition played in June has usually been blessed with

good weather and its attraction, despite the need to secure a

victory for either team, the quality of golf and camaraderie

between players means that golfers with high handicaps are not

disadvantaged and without question everybody who participated

this year enjoyed their day.

After a late lunch which was truly appreciated by those

competing it was time for prize giving and the news of who was

the winning side. At this point, the author of this report is

somewhat embarrassed and will announce the results without

any comment!!

Winning team – The Company with 196 stableford points and

runners up not far behind - The Old Boys with 190.

Player with highest stableford score – Mike Kerlogue

Runner up, after a count-back – Tony Barker

Nearest the pin on both par 3 holes – Mike Kerlogue

(Needless to say some of my prizes were recycled to more worthy

golfers on the day)

To make these days run well you need an organizer who is

dedicated to work at getting things done, and Roger Rufey

Roger Rufey hands the trophy to Mike Kerlogue.

certainly made sure we had a great day. Thank you, Roger.

Finally, thanks to all who took part and hopefully you’ll join us

next year to do it all again, when the Company will endeavour to

retain the splendid silver trophy, which dates back to 1921, when

it was first used by the old school for an inter-house “sixes”

competition.

To all those reading this report – Liverymen or Freemen – who

would like to join us next year, you will be most welcome, if you

only swing the clubs once or twice a year then I am confident you

will enjoy the day out, as its ideal for all standards of golfers.

Mike Kerlogue

Bruce Kithchener wins best score at Brickenden Grange

Winners of the Mill Green team trophy, Paul, Colin & Tim.

8


Golf Society - The Players

DATES for the DIARY

AGM & Annual Dinner

Friday 29th March 2019

Stationers' Hall, Ave Maria Lane EC4

AGM – 5.30pm, Dinner – 6.30pm

Booking insert enclosed in this magazine.

Luncheon Meetings

Tuesday 14th May 2019 and

Tuesday 10th September

at The Royal National Hotel, 38-51 Bedford Way,

Bloomsbury, London WC1H 0DG.

Contact Roger Melling

There is an insert in this magazine for booking your place at

the May 14th lunch .

Christmas Lunch

Wednesday 4th December 2019 at Stationers' Hall

Peter Bennett receives the Player of the Season trophy

PETE BENNETT SCOOPS PLAYER OF

THE YEAR AT BRICKENDEN GRANGE

On a beautiful sunny day 14 players visited Roy Saunders course

at Brickendon Grange to compete for the final round of The

Player of the Year trophy. The winner was Peter Bennett. Best

score on the day went to Bruce Kitchener and the two nearest the

pin winners were John Taylor and Geoff Blackmore. The final

event of the season was the team trophy event played at Mill

Green where the winners were Colin Walker, Paul Butler and

Tim Westbrook who retained the trophy for the 4th consecutive

year and may now be banned from next year's competition!

Yorkshire Dales 3 Peaks Challenge

Tuesday 21st May 2019

Contact Roger Engledow

Presidents Day

Sunday 25th August 2019, 48th Annual cricket match,

Botany Bay Cricket Club EN2 8AS,

Lunch 12.30pm, Match 2pm.

OSA Carol Service

Sunday December 8th 2019,

4pm at Hornsey Parish Church, N10 3AH

9


OSFC REUNION DAY

A Saturday in late October at The Old Elizabethans Memorial

Ground in Barnet, the home of Old Stationers FC, saw a

gathering take place of a group of rather mature, greying, balding,

portly (in some cases) but still just about recognisable formally

finely honed athletes. This was the Annual OSFC Ex-Players

Re-Union Day.

Fortunately we were lucky to be blessed with a fine sunny day

which encouraged more than 40 ex-players to turn up to watch

the 1st XI take on SAL Senior Division 3 rivals, Cambridge

Heath in the AFA Senior Cup.

It was a game that we dominated for long spells but without

really creating many clear cut chances, and as time was running

out and the prospect of extra-time looming, the choice facing the

assembled masses, between watching a further 30 minutes of

football or retiring to the bar after the normal 90 minutes might

have proved a decision too tormenting for some! Thankfully we

snatched a deserved winner 15 minutes from the end to run out

1-0 winners and saved those with the weakest willpower having

to make a difficult choice!

It was good to see a bumper turnout of so many ex-players who

had worn the blue and gold colours of OSFC with such

distinction over the last 50+ years. After the game, stories and

memories of many past matches, representing the Club, were

exchanged. As the evening wore on and reminiscences became

more hazy, it begs the question, that if some players were as

talented as they seem to have recollected, how come we didn't

win more trophies!!

A few days later I attempted to list from my memory of the day

those that were in attendance (although an ageing brain and IPA

was not a an ideal combination). Apologies if I have missed

anybody out, and sorry if I have included anyone who wasn't

actually there... incidentally, you missed a great occasion.

Listed in alphabetical order:

Pas Acierno, Keith Allen, Marco Bittante, Gary Bhola, Ian Blackmore,

Terry Butler, Paul Cane, Chris Davenport, Dave Deane, Peter

Derrick, Bruce Donaldson, Pat Dunphy, Rudi Ellis, Roger Engledow,

Orville Gayle, Tony Hemmings, Dick Hersey, Ray Houldsworth, John

Jackson, Peter Jarvis, Tony Joyce, Dean Kassie, Mike Kassie, Chris

Langford, Bill Martindale, Ian Meyrick, Andy Mouzouri, Eddie

Naughton, Bob Pedersen, Dave Sheath, Harry Shacallis, Tony

Theodoulou, Russell Toone, Jim Townsend, Vince Wallace, Tim

Westbrook, Peter Whitecross, Chris Wilkins, Tony Wittich, Mike Wood.

OSFC 1stXI

Celebrating in the bar.

A near capacity crowd fill the terrace.

Turning to the state of the Club in general. You may be aware

that we, along with many other clubs in AFA football, have being

experiencing challenging times for a number of years. So

circumstances dictated that this season we would field only one

team, the 1st XI, competing in SAL Senior Division 3, a League

we have been desperately trying to get out of for far too many

years. However the team has been strengthen since last season by

the addition of a few young promising players....friends of

friends, as is the way of recruiting these days and encouragingly

at the end of November we sit second in the Division which is

currently topped by arch rivals Crouch End Vampires. It is still

early days but, following a number of lean years, we believe that

things are at last looking slightly more positive. We hope that

those that attended on the Ex-Players Day were also encouraged

by the team's performance. Fingers crossed that the improvement

can continue in to the second half of the season.

If you enjoyed the Re-Union Day or couldn't make it and haven't

been to the Club for a while, please pop along to a home game

before the end of the season... there is beer afterwards!

You can find details of the games and follow the Club's fortunes

on the OSFC website www.oldstationersfc.co.uk.

Only another 13 years until OSFC's 125th Anniversary!

Ian Meyrick ian.meyrick1@gmail.com

10


life at the end of a walking stick

On August 15th 2017 I was crushed against the side of my car

by a lorry manoeuvring in a narrow one -way street in Ilford. My

pelvis was badly fractured, but, fortunately, an ambulance rushed

me to the Royal London Hospital. I received surgery to pin my

pelvis together, then spent several months in the Royal London,

followed by a spell in Queen’s Hospital, Romford. I received

physiotherapy, and was ultimately transferred to a local care

home, where I stayed for several months.

I was so relieved to leave the care home to return home on

February 12th this year. The food in the care home was awful,

though the nursing assistants were generally helpful, kind and

considerate. Unfortunately the same could not be said for the

Senior Nurse in charge of the home. She was authoritarian, and

rude. She was accustomed to standing by a window in the dining

hall, barking out her instructions to her underlings. She told me

that she knew that I did not like her, presumably having picked

up some remark that I may have made to one of the staff. My

lack of response to her comment confirmed her suspicions. My

experience of the care home has convinced me that I have

absolutely no wish to end my days in one of those institutions.

My mobility was still very limited, so I had to be taken home in

an ambulance, and carried up the stairs by the paramedics. For

the first weeks of my homecoming I was confined to a first floor

bedroom, not being able to climb up and down the stairs very

easily. The local social services provided a modicum of help for

the first six weeks. A helper came at breakfast and dinner time to

carry meals up to me because it was too difficult for Rita to carry

out that task, though she prepared the food. Apart from that we

were left to our own devices.

I was fortunate to have regular visits from a physiotherapist. He

gave me daily exercises to do, gradually bringing me to the point

where I could slowly manage to climb up and down the stairs.

Social Services tried to pressure us into installing a stair lift, but

Rita pointed out that, if I became dependent on it, recovering

the use of my legs would be impeded. Instead she arranged for a

wooden stair rail to be fitted. Using this and the banister rail I

was able to navigate the stairs. The physiotherapist also took me

for short walks (eg: 25 yards) on the pavement outside.

Before my accident I had been in discussion with the editor of

The Square magazine. He had previously published my article

about the controversial eighteenth century Freemason, Count

Cagliostro. I had mentioned to him that I was a member of

Undine Lodge No 3394, which was founded by a group of

temperance Freemasons, and maintains that tradition to the

present day. He asked me to write a short article about the

Lodge, which I was happy to do so. I duly started work on the

article, but my accident intervened, obliging me to put it on the

back burner. Following my return home, although there had been

a change of editor in the interim, she agreed to publish the article

if I would like to finish it. I was delighted to have this project to

work on, and the article is expected to be published later in the

year.

Eventually I was able, with the aid of a walking stick, to make it

to our car. Some years ago Rita, myself and our two friends

Donna and Walter had taken to driving out into the countryside

on Sundays, weather permitting. We had visited every National

Trust property within a day’s drive of London. We decided to

start visiting pub restaurants along the River Lea. The Jolly

Fisherman at Saint Margaret’s near Ware was close enough to

Nigel Wade

the river to view the motor launches and narrow boats gliding by.

We dined Al Fresco to a sumptuous Sunday Roast. The Fish and

Eels pub at Dobbs Weir was pleasantly located by the river, but

the service and quality of food were somewhat mediocre. The

Princess of Wales at Clapton also nestled by the river, but the soft

drinks service was so slow that we complained robustly.

Fortunately the management compensated us by letting us have

the drinks for free. Unfortunately, once again, the food quality

was below par. Going for a change of cuisine, we tried the

Oriental Star Chinese restaurant at Cuffley. The buffet was

widespread and delicious. Unusual for a Chinese restaurant, they

offered a good range of dessert. Particularly delicious was the

toffee apple, the fruit enclosed in a crisp and mouth-watering

casing. I can thoroughly recommend the Oriental Star to any

Old Stationer looking for an inexpensive, but tasty lunch

Chinoise. We also went farther afield to Leigh-on-Sea. The old

town has a lovely cobbled high street. We found a pleasant art

deco restaurant with a splendid view of the Thames Estuary. I

had a delicious plate of steamed mussels in wine, followed by a

tasty Eton Mess.

One of our neighbours organises a swimming club for the

disabled. Every year she organises a coach trip to the sea side. We

joined the group for a pleasant trip to Clacton. The town seemed

more spruced up than I remember from a previous visit. The

sandy beach was comfortably peopled with day trippers and

holiday makers, enjoying the sunshine as much as if they had

been at the French Riviera. We sampled the delicious ice creams

and soft drinks at the Atlantic Cafe on the broad walk. The

proprietors were quite happy for us to lounge there under the

shade of a parasol.

I cannot thank the large number of Old Stationers enough for

their cards, letters, good wishes, telephone calls and visits. They

have played an important part in boosting my morale and

helping me on the road to recovery. As each day comes, I look

forward to making steps, literally, in the right direction. I am

optimistically looking forward to joining in with OSA activities

in the not too distant future. My sincere thanks to you all.

Nigel Wade

11


the second best job in the world?

I'm feeling really guilty because Geraint had often spoken to me

about my games playing and bridge teaching and asked for an

article on it, which I had agreed to do but never got round to it.

So with sincere belated apologies to Geraint here goes.

I've always played games from a very early age. My Dad taught

me to play football and cricket, my Mum taught me chess and

scrabble, my Grandad taught me draughts and cribbage and my

parents also taught me cards mostly whist and solo. I loved

playing games and soon ventured into boardgames. With junior

school mates I played Monopoly, Risk and Buccaneer but only

when it was too wet to play football over the park. I was intrigued

when my Dad played a table top cricket game with his mates

when they had team selection at our house.

At Stationers I played football constantly together with a little

bit of everything else like athletics, cricket and cross country. I

was also in the school chess team but games were rare. It was in

the sixth form in the Prefect's room that I learnt to play bridge

as did many of us. We had a knock out competition that I won

partnering Savas Levendi who is now sadly departed.

After my student years I started playing a bit of social bridge

with Tim Westbrook, Rob and Meryl Sloma, and Rob Ross. We

soon progressed to club duplicate bridge and partnering Rob

Ross started winning many events at our club. We got the call to

play for Hertfordshire when another pair had cried off. We did

well and stayed in the county team for many years until Rob

moved away buying a hotel in France. Rob has also now sadly

departed as has Rob Sloma.

Whilst playing for OSFC I had occasional get-togethers with

Geoff Blackmore and Steve Presland and our wives when we all

played superstars. We played cards, darts, dominoes, putting,

snooker, Scaletrix and whatever game Craig had got for

Christmas. I can still recall Craig saying to Geoff, “Dad if its my

Scaletrix when do I get a go on it”? The games were fun but for

the men at least it was deadly serious competition!

In my early working years I found out there was a British

Monopoly Championship. I thought I can do that. I won several

rounds and got to the final table of four only just losing. I have

since played in it a number of times and reached the final table

on four occasions but victory has still eluded me. As a Chartered

Surveyor I played with a friend in the National Association of

Estate Agents Monopoly Championship. We were representing

his employer the Halifax Building Society and duly won it

having beaten many of the city boys in the boardrooms of Jones

Laing Wooton and Knight Frank and Rutley etc.

I then came upon the National Scrabble Championships. I went

to the library and learnt all the two letter words and started playing

seriously. I always cruised through the regional finals to make the

final 100 in the national finals but my best finish was 20th.

When fantasy football first appeared in the newspapers I was

quickly addicted. I had entries running in the Times, Telegraph,

Mail, Express, Sun and Star. I got 5th place in the Star just

outside the prizes of first three. Ouch but I knew I was a

contender. I did a fantasy fund manager in The Sunday Times

where the first prize was £100,000. I was up to 9th with a week

to go and piled it all into a penny share. It crashed and I dropped

out of the leader board but the strategy was right!

I did a fantasy cricket in the Sunday Times the Ashes Challenge

in 1997. I moved steadily up the leader board into 8th place with

one test to go. They also gave the last test score of the competition

leader from which I was able to work out his exact team. I thus

had to make transfers and changes to be clearly different to him.

I had a brilliant test with my bowlers of Kasprowich, McGrath,

Caddick and Tufnell all coming good. I knew I'd done well. It

was wait for the Sunday Times to come out. It was the day

Princess Diana died. We saw the news on the television and I

then went to the paper shop with my daughter. We got the paper

and found the results. We had won it. We were leaping with joy

when everyone else in the shop was depressed about Diana. I

won a car an MGF sports car which realistically I didn’t need at

the time so sold it through the supplying garage and pocketed

£16,500. That puts me ahead for life on all fantasy competitions

so I have no qualms about any entries these days.

My Mum used to harp on about one of my cousins and how

clever she was and that she was a member of Mensa. I duly

rubbished that and said anyone could do that. My Mum

challenged me to and I'm never one to refuse a challenge. I duly

took the test passed and joined. I've still never been to any Mensa

meetings but I started playing in their games competitions.

These are run nationally with initially local heats in all games

and then a finals weekend in Birmingham. I've won many of

them, cribbage three times, backgammon twice, monopoly once,

and got to semi finals in scrabble and Settlers of Catan. I do

enjoy playing games seriously.

It was at one of the Mensa Games Finals that a mate of mine

said he was getting a team together to take on The Eggheads and

would I join him. Now I've never been afraid of making a fool

of myself, so I readily agreed. The team was arranged and the

application forms submitted. We were to be called the Ludophiles

meaning games players. They carried out a brief telephone quiz

of all applicants which we all duly passed and were given a date

for filming. It was at 7.15am on a Sunday morning in Glasgow

which didn’t seem ideal. They pay for a hotel overnight and

travel so I got them to agree an early Saturday flight up and a

Monday flight return from Edinburgh as my daughter Gemma

lives there. When I visit Gemma in Edinburgh I often take in a

football match and have been to Hearts and Edinburgh City a

few times. My early morning Saturday flight to Glasgow

enabled me to take in a game so I got the train down to

Hampden Park to see Queens Park v Montrose in Scottish Div

2. I was there by 2.30 and it was snowing heavily and no one was

in sight. I did a lap of the ground still seeing no one until I found

a single steward and checked with him. He said the game was

still on and that all fans were in the social club as usual for the

pre match pint and pie. I went into the social club and had my

pint and pie. At 2.45 all the fans move out of the social club and

pile into the one single stand of Hampden Park that is open. It

snowed all game and ended Queens Park 1 Montrose 1 in front

of a passionate crowd of 407. On the Saturday evening our team

of 6 went out for the evening meal with the TV company

covering it to the tune of £15 per head. The paperwork we had

received suggested we may not wish to indulge in alcohol in case

it impaired our performance in the quiz! I boldly announced

that I was having some wine with my meal to which they all

replied they were too. We had a memorable meal reaching nearly

£40 per head. The main debate throughout was which were our

good and bad subjects as we had to accept at least two or three

as our own. I was to be first choice for sport, geography or

12


politics. The following day dawned and we were whisked by cabs

to the tv studious very early for our start. We had to take three

shirts each from which the TV company made their selections of

what we would wear! We met all the Eggheads who were a

friendly bunch and then we were plied with many layers of

makeup before taking our positions on stage. The first subject up

was Film and TV which was our captains choice so he was on

and quickly beaten. History was next and our next man was on

and beaten. I was getting nervous by now as we had agreed to

keep our lady for the final which left me and one other and we

were dreading the idea of subjects such as Food and Drink or

even Arts and Literature. Sport game up next and that was for

me. By then it was very easy to choose Judith Keppel (the first

who wants to be a millionaire £1M winner) as my opponent as

she notoriously does not like Sport. We drew 2-2 with Judith

getting some easy questions! We went into sudden death which

I won on a cricket question thus securing my place in the final.

Our last man was up next and got beaten. That left just the two

of us for the final, me and our lady against 4 Eggheads including

the phenomenal Kevin. Of course its all down to the luck of the

questions and we got lucky getting our three right whilst they

floundered on one that we knew. We had beaten the Eggheads!

Our prize was £3000 which we split between the six of us.

Whilst you only have 5 taking part you have to have 6 there

presumably in case anyone loses their nerve at the last minute!

The episode appeared on TV about 4 months later. It's series 17

episode 37 and can still be found on digital downloads or on

YouTube. After the filming I got a train to Edinburgh to meet

up with my daughter who told me I looked ridiculous! I hadn’t

taken off my many layers of make up! That was quickly rectified.

We had a lovely evening and I flew home the following day. All

in all a memorable weekend.

I was on holiday once in Monte Carlo when I found the world

Backgammon Championship at my hotel the Fairmont. I

thought I fancy some of that and duly stumped up my 200 euros

to play in the novice section. I wasn’t up for the 1000 euros

professional section! I got stuffed in my first game but then went

into the plate and won a good three rounds before losing

unluckily. Its funny how I'm always unlucky when I lose!! I've

since studied the game and improved dramatically.

Dave on the Eggheads Challenge

About eight years ago my wife and I found cruising for the first

time and loved it . I could go off and play bridge whilst she could

go to a cooking lesson, and we would visit lots of lovely places on

the way. We found there was plenty of entertainment and

excellent dining. I always went to the bridge lessons and often

they were very poor.. One time there was an old American trying

to teach an English audience and I had to put him straight on a

number of points as the English system of Standard Acol is quite

different to the Standard American Yellow card system. I

thought I can do better than this! I was already qualified as a

Bridge Director and then took the tests to become a qualified

English Bridge Union teacher. I started my teaching at my

bridge club in Beckenham whilst having taught many other

friends over the years. I told my wife of the retirement plans of

combining our cruising with bridge teaching thus getting a free

cruise. It was difficult getting on the approved lists but eventually

I did so with P&O cruises. They clearly send out emails to all

their approved teachers and I got one asking if anyone could fly

to Venice in three days time to take over from someone taken ill

with a 12 day cruise back to Southampton. I had to cancel a

bridge match and a bowls match but otherwise jumped at the

chance and got my first appointment. It all went well. I had a

good audience and they took to me and gave me a good report

and I'm now annually asked as to my availability. It's not quite a

doddle. There's a bit of work to do. It's on every sea day. I do a

beginners lesson at 10.00 for an hour, an improvers lesson at

11.00 for an hour and then run a duplicate bridge session from

2.00-4.00. then I've got to do the scores and get them put up

and prepare some boards for the following days teaching. I love

it. My wife Sandra is my assistant and is with me. When its a

port day we have no bridge work to do and often get asked to

assist in running a trip which also comes for free. I've now done

two bridge teaching cruises a year since 2016 on Aurora and

Oriana and am already booked for two more in 2019.

I regret never really playing in the bigger bridge congresses in my

youth but they always seemed to be at weekends and I was always

playing football for OSFC. I'm now a Liveryman of the

Stationers Company and playing with fellow Old Stationer and

Liveryman Peter Bonner we won the inter-livery bridge cup for

The Stationers Company in 2017. This was run by the

Worshipful Company of

Playing Card Makers and

held at Drapers Hall.

I know I've never grown up

and frankly don’t intend to.

I was brought up to believe

that the greatest

achievement and my

destiny was the no 10 shirt

for Spurs and England. I

have to be honest and say

that at the age of 67 I'm

beginning to doubt

whether I will achieve that

and still don’t have the

courage to break that news

to my 97 year old father.

Maybe with my cruise

bridge teaching though

I've landed the second best

job in the world.

David Hudson

13


CLAss of '51

REUNIONS

Yet another reunion for the 1951 intake was held at The Old

Manor, Potters Bar, on 29th October Those attending - left to

right, pictured below, were David Cowling, Alan Marshall,

Michael Facey, Michael Brady, Dick Hersey, John Taylor, David

Turner, Richard Wilson, Nigel Wade, Manfred Evans, Don Bewick

and John Partridge.

Sitting next to me, John Partridge recalled his early days at

Cambridge University, when he had Mr and Mrs Gus Thomas

as visitors to the University - and from what he said he did see a

somewhat humbler side to the Gus some of us may have been

more familiar with.

With regret it was noted that Alan Mills died some few months

ago. In providing this information his widow, Anne, née Lewis,

mentioned she attended Hornsey High School and originally met

Alan "across the wilderness" which still separated the schools back

in the 1950's. A keen swimmer, Anne recalled visits to local

swimming pools together with the likes of Alan as well as John

Rampling, Michael Kill, Miller and others from both schools.

As regards Alan Canham, he has unfortunately not made much

improvement from the serious stroke he suffered some 2 years

ago. Of other non-attenders, it was noted that Tony Brook,

resident in Woking, although not seeming to have any interest in

attending our Reunions, continues to run his Geology group, of

which he seems to be a mainstay.

David Hall and Bill Scherer, well known regular players - centre

forward and outside right respectively in the football team for

our year - have kept in touch over the years with Bill driving in

from Chelmsford and picking up David, who lives in Upminster

David Cowling, Alan Marshall, Michael Facey, Michael Brady, Dick Hersey, John Taylor, David Turner, Richard Wilson, Nigel Wade,

Manfred Evans, Don Bewick and John Partridge

14


- en route to Potters Bar for our reunions. Unfortunately Bill has

been unwell, with some hospital visits recently.

David Darke - says unable to attend as he suffers from arthritis

and feels the 500 mile round trip from Woodbridge would be too

much for him. However he still plays golf locally with John

Sankey - an Old Stationer as well as John Taylor's cousin, Mike

Woollard.

Les Reardon - Enfield and David Colville - Bishops Stortford

- both of them tend to be in sunnier climes this time of year so

were therefore unable to attend.

Roger Croughton - is currently having to take constant care of

his wife who has recently had serious spine surgery.

Apologies were also received from David Sochon, David Davies,

Michael Davis (from South Australia), Ray Stavrou, Brian

Whitehouse and Ian Moore.

Michael Facey is still actively involved as Trustee for the English

Chamber Orchestra, who had a concert the same day as our

reunion, as per concert programme pictured, with his message of

welcome to concert-goers. Unfortunately only John Partridge

and myself were able to take him up on kind offer of

complimentary seats for the attractive concert and it rounded of

the day very nicely. Brian Whitehouse said he would have been

there but considered the round trip from North Wales maybe a

step too far. Dick Hersey said he would have been there but was

already committed to going to Marsden Hubbard's farewell

drinks the same evening - moving from Hertfordshire to Wales.

Don Bewick

CLAss of '53

Nine of the 1953 School intake had a very enjoyable lunch

together at a new venue for us Wetherspoons The Cross Keys at

9 Gracechurch Street in the City of London. Our previous

venue having shut for redevelopment this was recommended by

David Cox and is a converted banking hall.

Sadly two of our regulars have died during the year Michael

Johns and Ben Batchelor whilst Tony Taylor and Peter Critten

are recovering or awaiting operations and unable to make the

journey. Those who did attend were:

David Cox, Alan Green, John Geering, Mike Hasler, David Metcalf,

Peter Redman, Ernie Russell, Geoffrey Tapping and Richard Tyley

Peter Knight and Tony Richards were going to attend but were

unable to do so at the last moment. My emails to Alex

McPherson and Graham Arnold are now being returned and if

anyone has any information or is in touch with them please let

me know.

We all agreed that the venue was well suited for us and that

provide our numbers don’t get depleted further we should hold

another reunion next year at this venue at a similar date to be

advised. Hopefully some of the photos will appear in the

magazine.

If you are interested please let me know at mikehasler.

oldstationers@gmail.com. Or Peter Redman know by e-mail

pete.redman@pgra.co.uk or tel: 01707 654821. Alternatively

Alan Green email: alan.green61@btinternet.com

Mike Hasler

15


CLASS OF '54 - THE SEARCH IS SUCCESSFUL

As described in the previous Old Stationer, a task force of Roger

Engledow, Bob Harris and me was set up to search for a new

venue for the reunions of the intake of 1954. We previously held

our annual reunion lunches at The Cheshire Cheese in Little

Essex Street, but it is now due for redevelopment. Our

requirements were:

• A room for our exclusive use

• Free choice from a good menu for each person

• No room charge, deposit or minimum spend.

In this way, we could just book the room and tell our class mates

when it was and there would be no financial commitment other

than each person pays his own bill. Previously, the task force had

been to a selection of pubs chosen by Roger Engledow, but

without success. This time we were to visit some pubs chosen by

Bob Harris.

The Artillery Arms

This is a Fuller’s pub with a traditional character and was our

first stop. It is on Bunhill Row opposite London's famous

Bunhill Fields Burial Ground, now a public garden, near Old

Street Underground Station. The cemetery contains the graves

of many famous people: John Bunyan (died 1688), author of The

Pilgrim's Progress; Daniel Defoe (died 1731), author of Robinson

Crusoe; and William Blake (died 1827), artist and poet. The

Artillery Arms had six real ales on tap and a great menu. They

had a good room upstairs which would seat about 30 people and

would be suitable for our use. However, the manager was not

there so we could not ask him for a booking. That meant us

coming back on another day to drink more beer and investigate

further [see later].

Just round the corner is the Eglwys Jewin Church, a Presbyterian

Church of Wales. This is the church to which Geraint Pritchard

was a regular visitor when he was in London. Jewin is the oldest

Welsh Church in London, formed around 1774. The present

building, at the corner of Fann Street and Viscount Street EC1,

was completed in 1960 after the previous building was destroyed

during the Blitz.

The Old Doctor Butler’s Head

Our second stop, a Shepherd Neame pub near Moorgate

Underground Station and one of the City of London’s most

historic pubs, originally established in 1610. It is named after Dr

Butler who claimed to be a specialist in nervous disorders and

was court physician to King James I. To cure epilepsy, he would

fire a pistol near his patient to scare the disease from them and

he dropped plague victims into cold water to cure them. He was

also famous for his medicinal drink “Dr Butler’s Purging Ale”,

which became popular in the 17th century and was only available

from pubs which displayed Dr Butler's head on their signs -

fortunately this ale is not available today.

We spoke to the friendly general manager, Mariano, who showed

us two upstairs rooms, one of which would have been suitable.

However, the killer issue was that he wanted a minimum spend

of £800. Time to move on.

The Counting House

Another Fuller’s pub, The Counting House in Cornhill Street, was

built in 1893 for Prescott’s bank becoming successively taken over/

merged with other banks to finally become a branch of the

National Westminster Bank. The building’s foundations sit partly

on the north sleeper wall of an approximately 2,000 year-old

Roman basilica. Firmly embedded in the heart of the City, it is the

site where the money used to be counted for the Stock Exchange

(thus, the Counting House). It was in 1998 that Fuller’s opened it

as one of their Ale & Pie Houses. The refurbishments were so

sensitively done that Fullers were presented with the City Heritage

Award that year. It is a superb building, with a glass-domed ceiling

and sweeping staircase, where you can enjoy your beer and pies in

magnificent surroundings of times gone by. It has a huge island bar,

so you can get served easily.

We spoke to the assistant manager, Megan, who offered us one

of their four function rooms. However, she wanted a deposit, a

minimum spend and 12.5% service charge. Close to our

requirements, but not close enough.

The Old Bank of England

This building used to be the Law Courts’ branch of the Bank of

England and is now another Fuller’s pub. The Bank of England

traded on this site for 87 years, until 1975, when the premises

were sold to a building society. In 1994 it became a Fuller’s pub.

The basement still contains the original vaults used to store

bullion and some of the Crown Jewels during the First World

War. Whilst two safes have now been changed to hold the pub’s

cellars and kitchens, the main vault is intact and still contains the

huge steel bullion cupboards. It has a truly opulent interior and

claims to be one of the finest pubs in Central London.

The site lies between the barbers shop owned by Sweeney Todd,

The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, and the pie shop owned by his

mistress, Mrs Lovett. The story goes that Todd dispatched his

victims by pulling a lever as they sat in his barber chair when his

victims fell backwards down a revolving trap door into the

basement of his shop where he slit their throats with a straight

razor. It was in the tunnels and vaults below the present building

that his victims were butchered before being cooked and sold in

the pies to Mrs Lovett’s unsuspecting customers. Please note that,

although this Fuller’s pub is one of their Ale & Pie pubs, I am

assured that the pies no longer contain Sweeney Todd’s customers.

Charlotte, the pub’s functions manager, was very helpful – except

that she wanted to charge us £ 90 per hour for the room hire, a

12.5% service charge and was fully booked for the day we wanted

anyway. Ho hum, better try The Artillery Arms again.

The Artillery Arms – Again

We returned to The Artillery Arms a few weeks later to speak to

the manager, Tony Bennett, and to confirm that he could provide

what we wanted and to sample the beers and food again. Tony

showed us the upstairs room that we could have to ourselves and

we could see that it would seat about 25 people easily in tables of

four that could be pushed together. So the reunion for the class

of ‘54 was booked for Tuesday 2nd October.

The pub is a Fuller’s pub so it had: ESB, London Pride, Seafarers

and Oliver’s Island with a guest ale of Hophead from the Dark

Star brewery which Fullers had recently acquired. The menu

should fit all tastes, whether you want a snack or main course and

dessert, with a good choice for everyone. The prices are OK for

a central London pub. Roger and Bob had the Ham Hock with

Dark Star Ale Pie and I had the Gammon Steak, Duck Egg &

Triple Cooked Chips – delicious.

Tony Moffat

16


Eating at The Artillery Arms. From left to right: Roger Engledow,

Tony Moffat and Bob Harris.

Tony Bennett, manager of The Artillery Arms, showing off his ales.

The class of 1954 sample their new reunion venue

This was the eleventh reunion for those who joined school in

1954 – after our inaugural fiftieth reunion in 2004 we met again

in 2009 and have assembled on an annual basis since then.

Following a long sequence at the Cheshire Cheese, we met this

time just outside the City of London boundary at The Artillery

Arms in Bunhill Row on Tuesday 2nd October 2018.

As always, we soon dispensed with medical updates and moved

on to the more important issues of the day: how many would

Spurs let in against Barcelona, would Arsenal prosper in

Azerbaijan, and when would Jose Mourinho be sacked? Tony

Hemmings was asked to recount his three most egregious

decisions as a referee and he claimed that he couldn’t remember

any. We suspected that it was his memory at fault rather than his

perfect record with the whistle.

Ray Humphreys claimed that his union branch used to meet in

the Artillery Arms when he was a firebrand of the left. Again,

we asked him to recount what key decisions were made when he

was there, and he was either too bashful or also couldn’t

remember. Andy Wick has finally got a visa to visit Thailand but

he wouldn’t tell us what he was planning to do when he got there.

The delight in having a reunion every year is that so often a

“newcomer” joins us. This year it was Paul Edwards (who myself

and Bob Harris used to walk to school with every day for 5 years.

Why didn’t we get taken by car? Oh yes, that’s it – our parents

didn’t have one!). Richard Woods also returned for the first time

since 2004.

The 18 who attended (in order as per photo below) were, from

left to right standing: Richard Woods, Tony Hemmings, Roger

Engledow, Peter Weeks, Ron Johnson, Martin Brown, Bob Harris,

Graham Ling, Mike Weatherley, Roger Melling, Richard Phillippo.

Seated left to right – Paul Edwards, Tony Moffat, Alan Williams,

Tony McKeer, Ray Humphreys, Andy Wick, Geoff Dawes.

17


Apologies for absence were received from Nigel Chamberlain,

Doug Fussell, Mike Hiron, Ken Saunders & Bob Townsend. On

the day travel issues prevented Richard Mavro-Michaelis & Roy

Stevenson from attending. We remembered absent friends, of

course, which this year included Geraint but he was the only

addition since last year’s get-together.

The last group of six left the pub and adjourned to somewhere

else in search of more food. I left at 8pm so I’m not sure whether

some kept going any longer. The venue was sufficiently successful

for us to agree that we will return in 2019 on Tuesday 1st

October.

Roger Engledow

CLAss of '55

Our annual reunion of the 1955 cohort was held for the second

year running at Gray's Inn Hall, High Holborn courtesy of

classmate and barrister Keith Knight. 17 attended and enjoyed a

splendid meal in a wonderful setting. Already plans are in place

to meet up again next year.

Dave Sheath

In front of Gray's Inn Hall

L - R, Front row: Roger Edmondson, David Vicary, Brian Howlett,

David Sheath, Alan Hunt, Trevor Fenner, Adrian Andrusier

Second row: Mike Heath, Mike Stringer, Mike Smith, Geoff

Gascoigne, Keith Knight, Mike Geering

Back row: Mike Mote, Greg Levitt, Frank Pearce, Peter Bonner

18


CLAss of '63

On Wednesday 24th October 2018 at around midday eighteen

Old Stationers from the Class of ’63 met at The Parcel Yard,

King’s Cross, for their fourth reunion in recent years. Needless to

say a good time was had by all.

We were pleased to welcome three new faces. Richard Cotton, a

former Mayor of Camden, the recently retired Reverend Stephen

Mares and that émigré to Turkish Cyprus Geoff Quick were

warmly embraced into the fold! We have some contact with

about 45% of our year group, and aim to engage more next year.

Aided by a few well-chosen pints we rolled back the years and

reminiscences were bounced back and forth across two long

bench tables. Richard Cotton pretended not to remember falling

into the boating lake at Sandown on our first year Form Outing,

led by Messrs Betton and Davis. Those of us in Form 1 all

remembered Mr Betton leading us onto the wrong ferry on our

way home. Consequently we arrived at Southsea instead of

Portsmouth Harbour, missing our train back to Waterloo. We

arrived home at about midnight, although some got back even

later as a result of Stephen Boulton (sadly not present) getting

his rucksack stuck in the sliding doors on the underground.

We also recalled a school trip narrow boating on the Dutch

canals in the Fourth Year, led by Messrs Zarb and Thomas. The

most notable memory of this jaunt was that “Taffy” Thomas had

a stunningly attractive wife who accompanied us, bewitching us

adolescent boys into gibbering idiots.

And Dave Clark confirmed that our Headmaster, “Nosh” Baynes,

really did say “this is going to hurt me more than it will hurt you”

before caning him, in this case for getting three detentions in one

week!

There was further chatter ranging on subjects as diverse as the

fear of Gus to the boredom of university chemistry courses. All

too quickly the lunch was over and we said our farewells,

determining to meet again in the Autumn of 2019.

Left to right: Keith Hacker, Clive Jackson, Stephen Mares, Robert

“Neddie” Segall, Richard Cotton, Nigel Dant, Peter Gotham, Simon

Gouldstone, Chris Bell, Peter Winter (at back), Frank Clapp, Steve

Bensley, Martin Lawrence, Geoff Edis, Jon Stern, Dave Clark, Alan

Burgess.

Geoff Quick also attended but appears to have eluded the

camera!

19


THE FIRST OF THE FALLEN

Samuel Billing and Evan Hare were the first of 154 Old Boys

from Stationers’ School to be killed in the First World War. They

are both briefly mentioned in Robert Baynes’ book, ‘A History of

Stationers’ Company’s School’. Their story, like many, tells the tale

of a happy Edwardian life spent in Hornsey during the early part

of the 20th Century only to be abruptly interrupted by the turmoil

and carnage of war. I wanted to discover their stories and

backgrounds, their family lives and sad tragic endings. I could only

achieve this by extensive research into their families, schooling and

careers to fully realise their experiences and the paths they took in

life, coming from different backgrounds. Through their stories I

would discover the happy and comfortable childhoods they led,

with love and support from their families, through to adulthood

when their worlds were turned upside down in the chaos and

horror on the battlefields of France, culminating in their untimely

deaths, to become part of the ‘Lost Generation’.

Samuel Billing

Samuel Alfred Billing was born in King’s Cross on the 16th

February 1896 at 101 Gray’s Inn Road, WC1 to George and

Ellen Billing, he was to be the fourth of seven children. Their

father worked for the Metropolitan Borough of St Pancras but as

their family grew in size George soon realised that they needed

to move into larger accommodation. At that time, new homes

were being built in the fields around the village of Hornsey on

land acquired by the British Land Company to accommodate

overcrowding in Central London, offering clean air and spacious

living. With the building of Hornsey Station on the Great

Northern Line, commuting was to be the new attraction to

affordable suburban living. George applied for a new job at

Harringay Borough Council as a Meat Inspector and the family

put their name down for a house in Frobisher Road on the

recently built Hornsey Station Estate, later known as the

‘Harringay Ladder’. They moved into number 67 in early 1901

and a new Primary school was soon to be built in the same road,

just a few yards from their home. Samuel was enrolled at North

Harringay Council School in late Summer of 1902 where he

remained until 1907. It soon became apparent that Samuel was a

Peter Thomas lays a wreath at the grave of Samuel Billing

Poppy wreath laid on behalf of Old Stationers'

bright young boy of exceptional ability and plans were therefore

made to move him up into suitable higher education once he had

completed his final term at North Harringay. The recent building

of Stationers’ Company’s School within the local vicinity seemed

the ideal opportunity to further Samuel’s education, however it

was clear that his family would struggle to afford the school fees

of 62 shillings per term. A scholarship was therefore sought to

fund his education and the school Governors at the Stationers’

Company were approached by Hornsey School Board to seek

financial assistance. On recognising the potential of Samuel’s

abilities, the Governors awarded him a Thomas Brown

Scholarship (Thomas Brown was a wealthy Book Binder with

premises in Bishopsgate, on his death in 1869 he had bequeathed

to the Company the sum of £5,000 for apprenticeships in book

binding and a further £5,000 to create a scholarship for the

School). Once his scholarship had been secured, Samuel joined

the School in 1907 where he remained until passing his final

exams in the Summer of 1913. Whilst at the School the family

would move again into a larger house, in 1911. George, Ellen and

their family moved to 22 Ribblesdale Road on the other side of

Hornsey Station. On leaving school, Samuel remained at the

family home and trained as an accountant working for the local

firm of Barrow Fish who were accountants to the Treasury

Department at Hornsey Council in Hornsey Lane. It was whilst

he worked here that war broke out in 1914 and not long after

Samuel decided to join the British Expeditionary Force(BEF) to

fight in France.

Between the beginning of August and early September 1914,

Samuel reported for enlistment at the Territorial Army Offices

in Priory Road, Hornsey enrolling in the Queen’s Westminster

Rifles, later to become part of the 16th Battalion, London Rifles.

He joined at the same time as the Headmaster of the School,

John Huck, who before the

war served as a part-time

Territorial Army Officer

whilst teaching at the School.

Shortly after joining Samuel

received orders to report to the

Regiment’s headquarters at 58

Buckingham Gate,

Westminster for basic training

consisting of physical fitness,

military knowledge and drill.

On completion of his initial

training he was sent to

Leverstock Green Farm near

The Thomas Brown Scholarship

medal similar to the medal presented

to Sam Billing during his studies at

the school.

20


Hemel Hempstead, to learn fieldcraft and warfare, where they

camped in tents in the surrounding fields before leaving for the

Western Front.

The Queen’s Westminster Rifles arrived in France on 3rd

November 1914 as part of the BEF, landing at Le Havre. From

here they marched onto St. Omer where they were billeted for

several days for further training before reaching the Front,

marching on towards Hazebrouck, Bailleul and eventually

arriving in the Armentieres Sector. On 11th November they

joined the 18th Brigade when they were caught up in fighting on

the Rue-du-Bois near Neuve Chapelle which delayed their

journey. By December 1914 they had reached the German

Frontline under heavy bombardment and were now fighting in

flooded trenches opposite the German Saxon 107th Regiment.

Their eventual objective was to join the Houplines Operation

where the Territorial Units were sent to prevent the British lines

from collapsing. On 24th December they joined the now famous

Christmas truce, exchanging cigarettes and playing football with

German soldiers in no-man’s land. By January 1915 they had

advanced to the small village of Touquet on the Belgian and

French border, protecting the route to the bridge over the River

Lys. They had entrenched near Frelinghien where they were held

up for several weeks by heavy sniping from the enemy, meanwhile

Listening Posts were being built to monitor the German

positions and their activities. On 27th February Samuel Billing

was carrying out his daily duties when he received a fatal shot to

the head from a German sniper. His commanding officer,

Captain H J Flower wrote in his War Diary for that day:

“A certain amount of sniping all day.

A bitterly cold East wind making the trenches very unpleasant.

Visited at night by Canadian Staff Officers.

Our General arranged today to send in a largely increased

number of Miners to complete the Listening Posts more rapidly.”

In the margin of his diary he reported: “Casualties – 1 killed”.

That casualty was Rifleman Samuel A. Billing, aged just 19

years old. He was later buried in the Commonwealth War Graves

Commission sector of Houplines Communal Cemetery, France.

Evan Hare

Regiment (Artist’s Rifles) on 4th August 1914, reporting to their

headquarters at Duke’s Road, Euston. The Artist’s Rifles

recruited Lawyers, Architects, Civil Engineers, Doctors and

Artists for training to become officers in the British Army. Over

15,000 men passed through the Battalion during WW1 and

10,256 became officers. After Basic Training Evan’s Battalion

were sent to St Albans for further training, before leaving for

France. The Artist’s Rifles were mobilised in the Autumn of

1914 and landed at Le Havre on 14th October, in readiness to

join the Western Front. It was here on the 27th January 1915

that Evan was gazetted into the 2nd Battalion Middlesex

Regiment as Temporary 2nd Lieutenant. Their orders were to

join the fighting at Neuve Chapelle in a major offensive to

rupture the German Lines in a push towards Lille. On 10th

March 1915 they encountered resistance against their

advancement, which was recorded in the Senior Officer’s War

Diary, as follows:

“5am - Forward up in position of assembly at Letter E and

Point15.

8am – An assault was attempted from Point 15 on the German

Front Trench, this failed. Two others were attempted and also

failed.

11.45am – A second bombardment of the First German Trenches

took place immediately after which an advance was made and

the German Front line was occupied. Bombing parties moved

along the trench in the direction of Point 60.

12.15pm – The Battalion was reformed in the German Trench

and proceeded to consolidate this line.

5pm – Point 60 was occupied, the work of putting it in a state of

defence which had begun by the Royal Engineers was

continued.”

The position was occupied until 13th March.

On that fateful day of 10th March the casualties totalled to 7

Officers killed, 8 Officers wounded and in other Ranks 70 men were

killed, 299 wounded and 29 were missing. It was during the day’s

intense fighting that Evan Hare was killed, aged 27 years. Evan is

buried in the Royal Irish Rifles Graveyard, Laventie, France.

Evan Amyas Alfred Hare came from a very different backgound

compared to that of Samuel Billing. He was born on 14th

February 1888 at 46 Weston Park, Hornsey to Evan Herring

Hare and Emily Lucy Hare the Second of four children, his

father was a Medical Surgeon and General Practitioner. In late

Summer of 1893 Evan began his early school life at Holy

Innocents Infants School, a short distance from the family home.

By 1901 the family had moved into a larger home, Lightcliffe

House on Tottenham Lane and Evan was now attending St

Mary’s School for Boys in Hornsey High Street. Evan was a high

achiever and his parents decided for him to sit the entry exam for

Stationers’ Company’s School. He was successfully enrolled in

the Autumn of 1899 aged 11 where he continued his school days

taking his final exams in 1905. When Evan left school, it was his

vision to go to university and forge a successful career as a

solicitor. He trained for seven years, becoming a practising lawyer

and Member of the Law Society in April 1912. He began his

career at his Grandfather’s practice, Hare & Co. at 139 Temple

Chambers at The Temple in London, by now he was living at his

parents’ new home at Arlesford House, 159 Tottenham Lane

where he continued to stay until the outbreak of war.

Evan enlisted with the 1/28th Battalion, County of London

Peter Sandell lays a wreath at the grave of Evan Hare.

21


Evan Hare's grave at Royal Irish Rifles Graveyard, Laventie

Old Stationers’ Visit to France

On the 11th April this year, Peter Sandell and I travelled to

France to visit the battlefields and graves where Sam and Evan

fought and died in the First World War. We left St Pancras

Station, London, early in the morning, boarding the Eurostar

train to make our way across to France. A train journey of one

hour and forty minutes took us to Lille which lies in the heart of

many of the famous First World War battle sites including Loos,

Ypres and Armentieres. We soon arrived in Lille and collected a

hired car to drive the 20 kilometres or so to Armentieres and the

battlefields. Our first stop was the small village of Frelinghien, in

Northern France on the Belgian and French border where

Samuel Billing joined the War. With the use of trench maps,

War diaries and Ordnance Survey guides we were able to pin

point the areas where the trenches were dug and the fighting

took place in early 1915. This area has now been returned to rural

farming but with well laid out footpaths, parkland and signage to

inform visitors of the events of the War. We discovered a

reconstructed trench beside the road, lined with sand bags and

timber planking. Due to the high-water table in this region the

British trenches were constructed by partially excavating a trench

with walls built on top, either side constructed of soil and sand

bags to increase their depth and to minimise flooding. We then

drove to the Houplines Communal Cemetery to lay a wreath on

Sam’s grave which lies in the Commonwealth War Graves

Commission section of the Cemetery. This pretty little cemetery

is located opposite a Secondary school and as we arrived the

pupils were coming out for lunch, I could not help thinking that

Sam would not have been much older than those students

coming out of school. The CWGC keep their cemeteries in

immaculate order with neat green lawn paths and cottage style

planting in the borders, upholding the words from Rupert

Brooke’s poem, ‘The Soldier’, “[……..] that there’s a corner of a

foreign field, that is forever England”.

We then left for Laventie and the Royal Irish Rifles Graveyard

where Evan Hare is buried. This is a small cemetery, beautifully

laid out and nestled between houses on the outskirts of Neuve

Chapelle. Here we stopped to chat to a CWGC Inspector who

was visiting the site to assess the lawns which had a severe moss

problem due to the high-water table and high foot fall. He

explained to us that the last four years, the Centenarry of the

Great War,has seen an unprecedented number of visitors to the

cemeteries, searching for the graves of their fallen relatives and

consequently the pathways have taken their toll. After laying a

wreath at Evan Hare’s grave we then drove to the Rue du Bois,

the main road between Neuve Chapelle and Fauquissart where

Evan spent his final days in heavy fighting. We stopped at the

battle site where the trenches have now been filled in and where

a field of verdant green cereal crops grow. It is difficult to imagine

today, that these acres of beautiful lush fields were once a mire of

thick mud and water filled holes punctuated with the occasional

skeletal tree. Now the field remains peaceful where the sound of

distance skylarks can be heard among big, clear blue skies.

The battlefields of the Great War are evocative and fascinating

places to visit. I do recommend that if you are travelling through

France or Belgium to take a detour and visit at least one of the

many beautifully kept cemeteries that the CWGC care for. It is

only then, that one can appreciate the profound enormity of the

huge loss of life.

“They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:

Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning

we will remember them.”

L. Binyon

Peter Thomas 1967-1973

Houplines Cemetery

22


A SERVICE FOR GERAINT

On a late Summer’s morning, Old Stationers’, family and friends

gathered at the Jewin Welsh Chapel, near the Barbican, London

to attend a Sunday Chapel Service dedicated to the memory of

Geraint Pritchard. Geraint regularly attended the Presbyterian

chapel, which serves the Welsh community that live in Greater

London and beyond and where his grandfather was once

Minister. The service was conducted in Welsh, by the Reverend

Richard Brunt, and an English translation was also provided.

The service began with a hymn sung by the children from the

Chapel Sunday School after which the Minister spoke to them

of the importance of learning and Geraint’s enthusiasm and

dedication to teaching. Then followed a tribute to the life of

Geraint given by the Secretary of the Chapel, Mrs Llinos Morris

explaining his family roots in Anglesey and their move to

London followed by his teaching career at the School. The

hymns included ‘Make Me A Channel of Your Peace’ and ‘Guide

Me O Thou Great Redeemer’, set to the Welsh tune of Cwm

Rhondda. The Rev. Brunt then read the article from ‘The Old

Stationer’ Magazine written by Geraint’s partner, Marj. The

service was followed by a welcome cup of tea and an opportunity

for family and friends to recall happy memories of Geraint.

A CHALLENGE TO REMEMBER GERAINT

Something that occurred to me when I read the many tributes to

Geraint in the last edition of The Old Stationer was the number

of times that the Yorkshire Dales 3 Peaks Challenge was

mentioned. I enjoy walking (particularly uphill) but this is

something that I have never attempted; but, in memory of such

a fine individual, I think that I am going to have a go.

So I wonder how many other

Old Stationers might feel the

same. Some of you will have

done it once many years ago.

Some may have done it many

times. Some will be like me

and never yet tried it.

If you aren’t aware what the

Challenge is, or have

forgotten, the 3 peaks are

Pen-y-Ghent, Whernside

and Ingleborough. In total

walking a circular route to climb all 3 involves around 5,000 feet

and 24/25 miles. The Challenge is to complete it within 12

hours.

The Yorkshire Dales National Park organize such a challenge at

weekends during British Summer Time. People sign in at the

start and after returning to the same point within 12 hours

receive a certificate. So any of us could try it whenever it suits us.

Geraint died on 22nd April but the first anniversary falls on

Easter Monday. As very few of us live near enough to get there

for a very early start (soon after 6.00 a.m.) and get home again

the same day after a beer (to celebrate) and a meal at least one

overnight stay will be involved (two would make it more

practical). So Easter is unlikely to be a good time to attempt this.

If enough Old Stationers wanted to attempt it together a midweek

fixture might be easier. With 60 to 75 of us we could take

over the HF House in Malham (but that’s beyond my

expectations). However, the organization of such an event would

be formidable. Not just in terms of booking accommodation but

also controlling the walk itself. Apart from trying to find dates

that would suit enough people, maps, people walking at different

paces, making arrangements for those who can’t make it all

sound a more daunting challenge than the walk itself.

When I started to mention my interest in having a go the

question of which charity will I support was raised. It should be

possible to arrange one or two charities (I think Marj was a

MacMillan Nurse) such that we could all try to obtain some

sponsorship for the same charities.

The purpose of this note is to try to find out whether there is any

interest in undertaking this challenge to remember Geraint,

either as a group or individually. If the latter, we could photocopy

all the certificates and send them to Marj together with details

of how much had been collected.

More detail about the Challenge can be found on www.

threepeakschallenge.uk/yorkshire-three-peaks-challenge or

www.yorkshiredales.org.uk

If you think that you might like to participate in some way please

let me know.

Roger Engledow

osamembers@gmail.com

STATiONERS' COMPANY UPDATE

Promotional programme to encourage

membership of the Stationers’ Company

The relationship between the OSA and the Stationers’ Company

has been a long one going back not only to our school days but

also to the very start of the school in 1861. Of course, the history

of the Company goes back much further to its formation as a

printing guild in 1403. Many of its traditions developed even

earlier stemming from the illumination of parchments in the

grounds of the old St. Paul’s Cathedral.

With the closure of our school in 1983, Stationers’ Hall became

our long term home with which we can all identify. I know there

are many who share my view that our Christmas lunches and

Annual Dinners at the Hall are very special occasions. The

majority of our archives are stored at the Hall; one of our school

stained glass windows looks out from the Stock Room (even

though the Latin motto is grammatically incorrect! Gus would

turn over in his grave if he knew); nearby there is a display case

exhibiting OSA memorabilia, and the many paintings and photos

of past headmasters are on show on the staircase to the library.

Today, we have over 40 Freemen, 15 Liverymen and 2 on the

Court of the Company. Members of the Old School play

important roles in the management of the affairs of the Company

and Stephen Platten, currently Under Warden, is destined to be

the first Old Boy to become Master of the Company in two years

time. Some have joined the Company because they had a career

in one of the many sectors of the Communications and Content

Industry. The majority come from other walks of life and have

applied on the grounds of membership of the OSA.

23


The Company would like to see more OSA members joining the

Company and has in the past provided financial incentives in the

form of discounts on the entry fee over short periods of time.

Over 30 took advantage of such an offer in 2006, and the deal

was again made available in 2015.

I am delighted to report that, following a request from the

current OSA Committee, the Company has again agreed to

reduce the fee for joining the Company as a Freeman for

members of the OSA by £100 from £410.00 to £310.00. This

offer will last until the start of July 2020 when Bishop Stephen

becomes Master of the Company. To take advantage of this offer,

you should first approach Honorary Secretary, Tony Hemmings,

who will confirm your OSA membership and arrange for the

application form to be sent to you.

Freemen can attend the many social functions organised by the

Company Livery Committee, the Annual Lecture, archive

evenings, industry seminars, concerts in the Hall, the Ash

Wednesday service in St. Paul's and the twice yearly golf events.

Becoming a Freeman of the Stationers’ Company also opens the

door to Freedom of the City of London.

It is often said that people get out of an organisation as much as

they put in. This discount scheme is designed to encourage many

more OSA members to join the Company and take an active

part in its programme of events.

Tony Mash

The Company Invests in a

new Archive facility

Thanks to the generosity of Liverymen Duncan Spence and

Amy McKee, together with additional funds already held by the

Library and Archive Fund, The Company now has a magnificent

new archive facility within the Stationers’ Hall Estate. The state

of the art Climate controlled strong room has been named The

Carfax Room, the reading room has been named The Gateway

Room and the whole complex is called The Tokefield Centre.

This is in recognition of the bravery of the Clerk, George

Tokefield, who in 1666 transported the book registers and other

documents in a wheelbarrow from the then Hall, Abergavenny

House, to the safety of his house in Clerkenwell before the

somewhat rundown timber building was engulfed in flames and

razed to the ground. After many years of being almost inaccessible

at the top of a narrow flight of stairs off the Ante Room, between

the Hall and the Court Room, access to the Tokefield Centre is

now either through the office or there is wheelchair access via the

garden gate. The Centre was officially opened on 10th November.

Coinciding with the opening of The Tokefield Centre, the

launch of the digital version of a substantial proportion of the

archive by Adam Mathew Digital makes 2018 a bumper year for

archive matters. This huge resource

(10TB of storage) will be available

soon to all members of the Company

from the comfort of your armchair.

For further information on archive

matters at the Hall, contact Ruth

Frendo, Stationers’ Company

Archivist.

(Information extracted from

“Stationers’ News” by Tim Westbrook)

The Stationers' Foundation

The Stationers' Foundation is effectively that element

within the life of the Stationers' Company that underwrites

the costs of all educational work carried out in the

Company's name. Foremost in this work is the raising of

funds for the Stationers' Crown Woods Academy.

As the Academy is, in many ways, the lineal successor to

Stationers' Company's School, the Fund Raising Committee

of the Foundation felt that Old Boys from the School

might wish to support the excellent work of the Stationers'

Academy as a means of furthering the educational arm of

the Company and so prospering a similar activity to that

which gave them their own education.

The most effective way of giving would be by a monthly

Standing Order coupled with Gift Aid. We very much

hope that many of you may wish to assist our educational

work in this way. If you can help, please be in touch with

Pamela Butler, the Stationers' Foundation Administrator,

either by telephone, email or post.

Contact details are:

Telephone - 020 7246 0990

Email - foundation@stationers.org

Or by post to: Stationers Hall, Ave Maria

Lane,

LONDON EC4M 7DD

Stephen Platten

Chairman, Stationers' Foundation Fund

Raising Committee.

24

Hi Tim,

Ross-on-Wye,

25th September 2018.

I am forwarding this on to you as I believe

you are at present the acting OSA

magazine editor.

In 1954, a very long time ago, six of the

49-54 intake left the School and all

joining the Port of London Authority as

Junior Clerical Officers. At different times

during the following years five of us left

the Authority to follow careers elsewhere

until only Eddie Dennison remained. At

very infrequent intervals whenever I heard

anything about their subsequent careers I

passed this onto Geraint for publication.

Some three years ago I wrote to Geraint

bringing together all I had previously

heard into one final letter. However I then

heard from Eddie that quite by chance he

had run into Bruce Holloway who had left

the Authority in the early 1960’s and of

whose subsequent career I had only heard

the odd snippet.

With Eddie’s help I have been able to

contact Bruce who has sent me the

attached summary of all he has done since

he left the Authority. He has no objection

to its publication should it be of interest.

Regards,

Lucien

Lou,

Bruce Holloway

brucejholloway@gmail.com

23rd August 2018

So it was almost 4 months ago when I was

delighted to receive this email. One can

argue that pressures of retirement provide

an excuse for not replying sooner. Anyway

here goes. I will probably need one or two

sessions to complete it but if I don't start it

will never get finished.

Employment

As you correctly stated I left the PLA just

after finishing my National Service. This,

as I understand, many PLA staff were, was

with Movement Control section of Royal

Engineers. After initial training I was

lucky enough to spend most of my service

at the Hook of Holland seeing the transfer

of troops to and from Germany. I was

promoted to lance corporal but they took

the strip back as I was reluctant to get my

hair cut. (Problem would not happen

now!)


CORRESPONDENCE

As you say I joined the 600 Group in their

Raw Materials Division, scrap metal to

you, as a Management Trainee. I was with

them when I got married. I toured many

aspects of metal production throughout

the country which was most interesting.

However I wanted to get back into

shipping. I went to a company called the

Caribbean Steamship Agency which was

situated in Adelaide House on London

Bridge. It was a subsidiary of Elders &

Fyffes (bananas) which itself was owned

by The United Fruit Company. They were

huge in Central America.

This worked out quite well but I had itchy

feet and,since I had moved to Benfleet on

my marriage, I looked for something more

local. A neighbour offered me work in his

motor repair business on Canvey Island.

This suited me very well and after a few

years I rented a body repair shop again on

Canvey. Around 1970 the Oil Company

gave me some money to vacate their site as

they wanted to sell it.

I became Body Shop manager of a Vauxhall

main agent in Southend and then moved

to be Service Manager at Fiat main agent

in Dalston, near Hackney.

It was time to settle down, I thought, so

after a few years trading and selling

secondhand cars I applied for a position as

an agent operating service stations for

ESSO. This was now 1977. My first site

was on the A10 Cambridge Road, near

Enfield. I went on to operate other sites in

Seven Kings, Chelmsford, Barking and

Leytonstone. They dumped me when

they found I had arranged for my wife to

run a TEXACO site on the A127 in Leigh

on Sea. So, moving on I took over another

garage in Leigh on Sea.

We are now up to 1987. Itchy feet again.

We gave up the first TEXACO site and

my wife took over my one. Would you

now believe I wanted to improve my image

so opened an estate agents across the road!

This was called Belfairs Estates and was

quite successful until I had an offer to sell

out in 2002. We both worked for another

year for the buyer and then thought that's

enough.

Domestic Life

I married my wife, Maureen, in 1962 and

we are still plodding along very happily.

Two boys came along inheriting my itchy

feet. One is something big in Payroll. He

has just purchased a small holding of 8

acres in mid Wales with is partner. They

are working towards a holiday letting

business while still retaining his office job,

mainly on line and lecturing nationally.

The other is now running a Sporting

Injury Clinic and massage in top class

cycling events here and abroad. We were

both very much into cycle racing in the

past which has him enabled to have some

good contacts. He is married, living in

Amersham and has eventually produced

two grandsons. We waited a long time

while he tested the marriage market!

Hobbies

I am very keen on big band music and jazz.

(This is how I bumped into Eddie

Dennison at a music Pub). Cycle racing

was my main sport although I never

achieved much unlike my son who was

very successful.

Of course, when I was with the PLA I

played a little rugby for them to improve

my chances of promotion. I did get a

transfer to Port Rates through Henry

Greedus, I think. That's when I resigned!

Golf is now my game. My wife also plays

which is happy since it gives us something

to do if we are bored on holiday. However,

like cycling, I am only an average golfer

but it keeps us fit.

I was initiated into freemasonry in 1960 so

will be celebrating my 60th year soon.

This is something for which I am proud

although I have always kept it at arms

length. I am still active but meeting in

London is becoming a chore.

I think the Stationers Lodge is still going

and I ought to make an effort to attend

one day.

Enough. Done this in one evening while

wife is playing bridge. A game I am very

happy not to have taken up. Our health is

pretty good so long may that continue.

Hope this nonsense is of interest.

Bruce Holloway

rogermansfield@btinternet.com

Hello Tim,

I have had today this e-mail from Cedric

Steet which you wanted to have for

inclusion in The Old Stationer Magazine .

I don’t 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

25


Prichard’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

Cedric Steet

ian.steet@icloud.com

13th July 2018

A BLAST FROM THE PAST!

Hi Roger,

Saddened to hear the news of Geraint

Pritchard. Although I never had the

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

7th Mar 2018


Hello Cedric,

It’s great to be in touch again after all these

years, you were obviously pilot material, as

your cricketing prowess shows that you

have good hand/eye co-ordination and I

seem to remember you were one of the

brightest lads in our class, but pilot training

was pretty rigorous I seem to remember,

and only about 5-10% of the initial

applicants got through to their wings. I

must say that I feel very lucky to have

spent my life up in the air, nearly two

whole years in total and I loved every

minute of it. I finished up as a Training

Captain for the last sixteen years of my

time at British Airways and found this

very interesting, although it was a bit like

teaching ducks to swim, the standard of

the pilots was so good that I didn’t have

very much to do to get them through the

training course when they switched from

one plane to another, although I did earn

my money on a few occasions! Funny that

you were stationed at Debden as my family

started out from there about two hundred

and fifty years ago as I found out when

tracing my family tree. You must know

“The White Hart”” pub in the village

where they served the best fish and chips I

have ever tasted. Mind you this was about

fifteen years ago and I remember that the

landlord was called Chalky White – a

cheery cockney chap!

Well I mustn’t ramble on and will close

now, but please keep in touch,

Best wishes,

Roger Mansf ield

Hello Roger

Many thanks for your e-mail, it was good

to hear from you. Like you I am going

through a lot of memory searching- after

all it is 70 years or so.

I’m very envious of your times as a pilot ,as

when I was called up for National Service

I signed on for 4 to 8 years in aircrew but

didn't make it past the first few months

and finished up doing the standard 2 years

as a RT/DF operator on the ground. I had

always wanted to be a pilot and had a love

affair with the Spitfire from an early age.

Nevertheless I can’t complain as I got

plenty of sport in the RAF to compensate.

When I was at RAF Debden I was lucky

enough to play cricket for Technical

Training Command against Bomber

Command who had Freddie Trueman in

their team. He was already playing for

England and had arranged for his National

Service to be deferred until his twenties. I

don't remember much about the game but

I know I didn't have to bat against

him,thank the Lord.

As you know I also took early retirement

in 1985 at the age of 51 and I just cannot

believe that was 33 years ago-the time has

passed incredibly quickly.

Congratulations and best wishes for your

Wedding Anniversary in a few weeks time.

My wife Brenda and I celebrate our 56th

in September. I must have taken a few

years longer to take the plunge but have

not regretted it for a moment.

With very best wishes

Cedric Steet

6th Mar 2018


Good morning Cedric, how delightful to

find your letter when I opened my “Old

Stationer” magazine this morning. You

caused me much memory searching when

I tried to annotate the original picture as I

could not for the life of me remember your

name although your face is very familiar to

me and I remember you well. Even now

the name Steet, means absolutely nothing

to me, how very odd! Actually the caption

was printed wrongly and there should have

been a space where you were, which would

have made it correct. I certainly did not

think you were called Lamb as I knew who

he was. Any way all is cleared up now,

thank you.

It’s funny how little I knew of people’s

sporting prowess at the time. I knew that

Lewis and Rose were good at football, but

that was about all. Going through old

Stationers School magazines I found out

that Sibley (the likeable naughty lad of the

class) won the Victor Ludorum at the

school sports one year, for example, and

your prowess on the cricket field was quite

unknown to me. Eight wickets for two

runs was quite amazing! Also the fact that

Mr Thomas, our pleasant form master and

English teacher, had nick names like

“Ginger” or later on “Taff ” was again quite

unknown to me and a respectful “Mr

Thomas” suited him much better I think,

and I always wanted to do my best for him

in essays and examinations. I think that

this sometimes went to extremes as I read

“The Trumpet Major” thirteen times

during our School Certificate year, to the

detriment of other subjects; although I did

just manage to scrape through to gain my

School Certificate in the end.

When I left school I worked for a couple

of years at an Import and Export firm in

the City, before becoming a pilot in The

RAF for five and a half years, flying

Hunters and Sabres in Germany and then

joining BEA and later British Airways for

twenty nine years flying Dakotas,

Viscounts, Comets, Vanguards, Tridents

and finally Boeing 757s before retiring in

1986 at the age of 52. I now live in The

New Forest with my wife Hazel and we

celebrate our 64th Wedding anniversary in

a few weeks time.

Please keep in touch,

With best wishes,

Roger Mansf ield

Dear Geraint,

R.A. Horne

SA205 30 Ruakura Road,

Hamilton, 3216

Your fascinating edition as always set the

memory cells into frantic activity. Starting

on page 3 Roger Engeldow lives close by

26


my parents final home alongside which a

close friend has just passed on at 100 years;

you have move went to Harrogate

Grammar so we got to know the area quite

well in the two years we were there and

visited Harewood on a number of

occasions. They were happy years. I now

have an Australian great grand-daughter

living and working in York. Tony

Hemmings lives in Cheshunt a short

distance from my brother and my sister is

in Stevenage as is Peter Thomas so all

those mentions gave rise to much mental

activity.

Page 5 referred to John Partridge walking

in the snow from Finsbury Park where I

spent my early years off Stroud Green

Road.

As usual I enjoyed all your content even

though so many names and faces were

long past my generation. A great picture of

Taffy Hempstead on pages 18 and 19. He

was a great fellow in his dedication

particularly to the cadet corps which he

headed and in his years with us in Wisbech.

When I got to page 21 Cedric Street

referred to Les Wingrove and Tony Budd.

Les was one of my Corporals in the 2049

Squadron of the ATC. His father was the

local manager of the British Legion Hall

by town hall and ran the Friday and

Saturday night dances in the Town Hall. I

had organised a fund raising dance on for

the squadron on New Years Eve in the

Legion Hall in 1944 but the band did not

turn up so Les arranged with Dad to allow

us to move to the town hall for free by

which favour I met my wife of 65 years.

Tony was the youngest of the three Budd

brothers all of whom were great achievers.

Dereck was two years ahead of us and

Brian went right through with the A

stream to the sixth form with me and went

on to become the European manager for

Monsanto Chemicals of the USA.

And so on to another great family of the

era, the Moningtons, who again I

remember well, his departure letter was

another great trigger for my memory. In

Wisbech the three boys were my

predecessors at a billet in Victoria Road.

The Bell family of parents with a teen age

daughter found the combination rather

overwhelming so they were moved on and

I was transferred in and spent three years

in their home. The 17 year old daughter

wanted to attend the weekend dances at

the local town hall which was attended by

military members posted in the district but

her Victorian parents would not permit

without a chaperone so she taught me to

do ballroom dancing so that I could

perform that function and dancing became

a fascination for the remainder of my life

until 10 years ago.

The travel articles, especially the Baltic

were interesting particularly the Baltic area

where I again gained and maintained

connections.

I guess that's enough of my mytherings as

they would say in Yorkshire so I will close

with best wishes for a long and happy stay

there.

Ron

Hi Ron,

Could you resend your email to Geraint

(24/03/2018) as I have inherited the printed

copy with strange double spacing.

I would like to include it in our next issue.

Thanks,

Tim Westbrook

Congratulations Tim on your tribute

edition No 87.

I would be interested to know whether

there are any other survivors in the

Association from my era of 1937-43.

Ron

Michael Brady

mgb@bradyestates.co.uk

You will no doubt be aware that Stephen

Platten was made Under Warden of the

Stationers’ Company on Tuesday evening

and is in line to be the first Old Stationer

to be Master of the Company in I think

2020. Strange isn’t it how the pendulum

swings… Hope you are both well.

Sincerely,

MichaelJ

mail to: Peter.Sandell@hotmail.co.uk

30th May 2018

The Old Stationer magazine number 87

Dear Fellow Old Stationers'

Please see below a note from our acting

Magazine editor. Will you please respond

directly to Tim at the e mail address

shown.

As you will know from recent OSA magazines,

class reunions are now very popular events in

our social calendar and are proving to be an

effective source for new members.

The reunions all take place around September

time being the anniversary of joining the

school. Our next magazine, issue 87 will be

published in July and is therefore an ideal

platform to promote forthcoming reunions to

the membership.

Would you please notify me of any reunions

that are planned for later this year, or even for

future years so I can include the details in our

“reunion update” in the magazine and on the

web site.

Tim

mail to: george_copus@btopenworld.com

Dear George (Copus),

It was a pleasant if unexpected surprise to

receive your phone call this evening.

Did you know that all the school magazines

during your time at school are now

accessible on The Old Stationers web site.

Go to www.oldstationers.co.uk and click

the Library option, enter password,

0335OS-wwwOSA.

Volume 20, issue 3 has all 100 class mates

in your year group listed alphabetically by

surname.

27


I have attached a screenshot of their

names. Let me know if you can remember

any of them.

Best regards,

Tim

Brian Stokes

stokes_brian@hotmail.com

Tim

Just browsing through the latest issue of

the Magazine and noticed the letter from

Alan Cleps who was at the school 1946/51

the same time as myself but must admit, I

do not recognise the name but there was

about 110 of us, so not surprising. I do

enjoy keeping up with the activities of the

various members and it is now quite a few

years now since I last attended an Xmas

lunch. The problem is that, as one gets

older, the chances of meeting up with

someone from your particular era

diminishes and the common ground is not

there.

Brian Stokes

Abbot – a terrific footballer and leader ! As

I have said previously, it was an honour to

play in that side alongside some marvellous

footballers and 'good blokes' – a memory

that will remain with me forever.

Kind regards

Colin Munday

Colin Munday

colonelmunday@hotmail.co.uk

recollection of

the OSFC anthem

Following Peter Lack's nostalgic memory

of the OSFC 'Anthem', I seem to

remember it went:

We are old Stationers FC

A rough old crowd, as you can see

We've come up from Division 3

It's foolish, but it's fun !

Now listen friends, both old and new

We'll waste no time in telling you

We p**sed straight through Division 2


We aren't much good at football

But we're bloody good with beer

And 'old man' relegation is still our constant

fear

But cares and worries have we none

From out our backside shines the sun

We're the Champions of Division one !!!!!


I was lucky enough to play in that

wonderful Championship- winning side

of 1963/64 (or was it 1964/65 ?) and

nearly every 'apres match' was full of

laughter, beer and singing (especially the

above 'aria) often accompanied by the

alluring music of Trini Lopez, and most

especially, led by the formidable Frankie

Dear Tim

Stephen Collins

spc@woodhaven.me.uk

I promised to send you a couple of

Stationers-related photographs for the

Old Stationer..

The first is of the commemorative window

removed from the old school Library and

re-installed in the Stock Room of

Stationers’ Hall. Can you see the error in

the school motto? It is supposed to read

“Verbum Domini Manet in Aeternum”

(“The word of the Lord endureth for

ever”); but Domlni, the genitive, has been

replaced by “Domine”, the vocative, so it

means “The word, O Lord, endureth for

ever”. Was this error always present in the

Library, or was the mistake somehow

introduced when the transfer occurred?

Can any readers of the Old Stationer

enlighten us? (By the way, we were always

taught that the motto ended with the verb

Manet, as usual in Latin, but it is not

written that way here.)

The second picture is of the old street sign

for Stationers’ Hall Court. About 40 years

ago the Corporation of London auctioned

off the stock of street signs after their

replacement by the current design. In a

blind auction I bid £50 for this one

thinking it was of the previous design with

a City of London logo. I was successful in

the bid, but disappointed to find that it

was so old that it ante-dated even that

design and was bare of any adornment. It

has remained unseen and unappreciated in

my garage ever since.

I am also copying this to William Alden at

the Hall, who may be interested in both.

Best wishes

Stephen Collins

28


Charlie webster-smith

My life in india

FAR AS YOU ROAM

Tim Westbrook has been one of my best mates since school

days and we now only live 5 miles apart in the UK in

Herefordshire. He has asked me to put together a “as far as

you roam” article about my life in India.

We all have had different paths we have trodden but being

from the class of 62 I am so proud that there are so many of

us still kickin’ and actually all looking good. It’s been such an

honour to see everyone at the two get togethers we have had

and amazed at the high turnout we achieved both times.

So...... why India?

Quite simply, I got off a plane in 1978 as a buyer for a large

retailer and fell in love with the place and the people. One

thing has led to another and I now have built my own

21,000ft factory in the middle of fields 151kms east of Delhi

in a place called Moradabad. I am ½ hours drive from the Jim

Corbett National Tiger Resort... and 3-4 hours drive from

27,000ft peaks in the Himalayas.

The factory is a 100% eco-friendly completely compliant to

all regulations and is producing life style products for retailers

throughout Europe.

Shouldn’t I be retired..... hey... I have a workforce to feed and

not rich and massively pensioned like the successful class of 62

who worked loyally in banking and insurance etc etc..... I take

my hats off to one and all... me?... they will have to put me on

the funeral pile while I still have my overalls on. To be

honest... I luv it...

I had to have gates to let in container lorries and Indian gates

in general are awful. I could have copied the gates at

Buckingham palace... but would have probably have got

lynched...... so I decided to copy, exactly (although slightly

bigger) the Beatles Strawberry Fields gates.... and named the

factory after. Somehow.... all my buyers thought this was fun...

and it has snowballed now with Peace and Love signs, an

Abbey Road crossing, renamed our road to Penny Lane and

have 3ft high letters on the outside wall saying GOO GOO

GA JOOB.

We have a full size snooker table, Cricket Pitch, a Volley Ball

Court and three hole pitch and putt on the premises. So we

keep ourselves amused.

The good thing is... we have been visited by Stationers’ as well.

I met Barry Soames in Delhi, (although he really was suffering

with a dose of Delhi Belly). Ian Giles came out with his wife,

Pat, and we did the mountains together.... and “Archie” Fuller

and Gilly came also. 3 years later I have only just recovered

properly from being with Dave for 5-6 days... Glad I never

went on any of those Old Stationers’ FC tours... It was magic

having them here.

So... do I sell up and come back to live out my days in

Hertfordshire. The story ain’t over yet... there is life in this old

dog still.

While I have your ears... I really would like to say... That

personally the Old Stationers’ Association and especially

playing for 30 years for the OSFC... really has meant so so

much to me.

With Dave "Archie" Fuller

The Strawberry Fields Gates

29


Ian and Pat Gillies.

I honestly believe that if I have to put one thing and one thing

only on my gravestone... it would be simply.... “I played

football for OSFC and scored 300 plus goals”...... it seriously

will always be the best part of my life to remember.

To have “Ginger” say to me... “Charlie you are the worst

footballer I have ever played with”... or Geoff (along with

Archie the only other two in the 300 goal club) saying

“serious... did you score another six goals today... did you score

any with your feet?”

Proud to be a Stationer... As far as I have roamed.

Charlie

Impressions of a Young Trainspotter on

The Hog's Back, Harringay by Alex Fleming

Many people will be familiar with the East Coast Main Line

from King's Cross as it climbs out of the terminus through

Holloway and on past Finsbury Park station. Hardly noticeable,

the line crosses the Kentish Town to Barking route (Tottenham

and Hampstead line) known locally to the trainspotting fraternity

as the “Middie”. Arriving at Harringay station (from 1951 to

1971 Harringay West) a steep embankment looms up on the left.

This area is known as The Hog's Back.

The footbridge over the line at Harringay station leads from

Wightman Road in the east to Quernmore Road in the west.

A view from the Hog's Back in LNER days. St. Paul's church is top left with

Harringay Stadium next to that. Harringay Up Goods Box is perched in the

centre and the booking offices are to the right. Three of these buildings were

victims to fire. (Courtesy of Harringay Online)

This provides obvious access to the station, together with a much

needed pedestrian connection between the Hornsey and

Tottenham districts. The reason being, the next opportunity to

cross the main line is either Hornsey station to the north or

Stroud Green to the south, a round trip of an extra 1 ¼ miles.

When crossing this footbridge in the 1950s and 1960s from the

lower Wightman Road side, the Harringay Up Goods Box

dominated the station approach. This box was in place to control

access to and from Hornsey shed (34B), departures from the

Hornsey sidings, then part of Ferme Park Marshalling Yards and

crossings made over the main line on Harringay Viaduct. Part of

the footbridge was quite steep which children would love to turn

into slides during the icy winters of those years. The flatter

middle section of the bridge allowed access to Harringay station

which was then proudly adorned with all the finery of a building

erected in 1885 by the Great Northern Railway. With its wooden

booking hall sitting on brick supports and straddling the

platforms, this style became the template for other stations

further down the line.

At the end of the footbridge by Quernmore Road, a heavy

wooden gate was almost hidden on the right hand side. This

gate, which was open during the day, led to a sheltered pathway

on the Hog's Back with a spectacular view of the main line. All

the comings and goings to Hornsey shed and yards, including

Ferme Park yards, views across Hornsey Vale (Campsbourne),

Alexandra Palace and racecourse were a delight to see.

Along this pathway of the Hog's Back during the warmer

30


months, small viewing areas with park benches would be full of

mothers with prams and children indulging in what might be

termed a picnic. While the mums enjoyed either a nap or

especially a natter, the children would be mostly glued to the

action below on the railway. The clatter and clunk of coal trucks,

beyond the escarpment of allotments, as they were shunted in

Ferme Park Yards by the hoard of various old and dirty J class

0-6-0 steam engines formed a unique resonance to the scene.

For the trainspotters, most of the action would take place near

the heavy wooden gate on Harringay Station footbridge. The

down trains would appear belching smoke which billowed out

from under the bridge over the station platforms. Most of the

older children – around 11 or 12 – would know when the main

expresses were due and thus hope to “cop” the best engines.

Usually armed with a notebook to write down engines' numbers,

these would be underlined later at home in the Ian Allan

Locoshed Book. For the most fortunate this might even be an

Ian Allan ABC British Railway Combined Volume.

An array of steam engines from all sorts of duties were on display

throughout the 1950s and into the 1960s. Later the introduction

of brand new sparkling diesel locomotives somehow ranged less

splendidly. During the early and mid-1950s the only diesels on

view were the ubiquitous 0-6-0 diesel shunters. Gradually their

unique hum replaced the clunky old J class 0-6-0 steam engines

in shunting duties around the yards.

In between these menial engine duties, the pacific class engines

would be rushing express trains to and from King's Cross. They

ranged from the Thompson/Peppercorn A1/A2 classes to the

Gresley A3 and of course the famous A4. The latter was the

undoubted star of the trainspotting show. They lorded express

duties on the line and caused most enthusiasm among the

trainspotters of the day.

Indeed, “Kingfisher has been down” was perhaps the most

exciting news at the time. The Gresley A4 class known to the

initiated as “Streaks” were the favourite main line express engines

to many of the locals and perhaps the crack choice for all the top

link workings. Kingfisher No. 60024 and William Whitelaw No.

60004 rarely ventured so far south to London, their home shed

being Haymarket (64B) on the western side of Edinburgh. Most

trainspotters on the Hog's Back would have “copped” all the

Gresley A4s except for these two particular engines. Thus, they

were popular sights. Whether the pure truth was always told

about the appearances of these rare visitors, one is left to

speculate.

The engines were clearly the stars of any trainspotting show, yet

looking back one also recalls the many named trains, some of

them of the colourfully outstanding Pullman class. The

Elizabethan (previously the Capitals), the Flying Scotsman, the

Heart of Midlothian and the Talisman all travelling to and from

Edinburgh, the Master Cutler to Sheffield, the Cambridge

Buffet, the Yorkshire Pullman, the Queen of Scots (Pullman),

the Aberdonian departing King's Cross at 7:30pm with its

restaurant car at the rear for detachment at Newcastle, the

Northumbrian and the Tees-Tyne Pullman were all examples.

When caught from the front, these trains often appeared in regal

pose sporting a large insignia on the nose of the engine. If not,

they all proudly carried their names emblazoned along the sides

of their carriages above the windows.

While much of the type of traffic was predictable (although the

actual engines were not) occasionally, a complete stranger might

Inner Suburban Service behind Gresley N2 No. 69536 fitted with

condensing apparatus pulling a rake of ubiquitous Gresley (Photo by Ben

Brooksbank). “Quads” articulated stock heading for Hertford North. Note the

”John Bul” on the side of the large building and bearing down on the scene.

be sighted. Perhaps the guest appearance of

4-6-0 County Class No. 1000 County of Middlesex in fully

restored Midland red livery was a memorable if rather strange

sight. Moving into Hornsey shed she made for an antiquated yet

beautiful scene, especially the following day on the front of a

double-headed working, travelling north.

The sleek though smaller V2 or black liveried B1/B12 classes

would front the lesser duties to Grantham, Cleethorpes and in

particular the Cambridge Buffet Express, together with faster

freight workings. The Thompson B1 was easy to spot as it was

the only 'faster' locomotive to be painted in black BR livery,

whereas all the aforementioned classes would usually be sporting

British Railways green.

Outer suburban services to Hitchin, Stevenage or Letchworth

might see a B1 at the front. Inner suburban services however,

would usually be pulled by the stalwart Gresley 0-6-2 N2

complete with the condensing apparatus for working on the

Moorgate service via the Metropolitan lines. Gresley Quad

coach sets were still prevalent. The hand of further development

in BR non-corridor compartment sets often pulled by 2-6-4 BR

standard engines were equally commonplace.

Not quite as glamorous as the main line express engines or even

as neat as the suburban locomotives, the often filthy goods

engines had their own distinctive sound. The austere appearance

of the WD “Dub-Dee” 2-8-0 8F and the sheer potential power

of 9F 2-10-0 were regular visitors to the area bringing in the

heavy coal trains to Ferme Park Yards. Watching these heavy

locomotives shunting across Harringay Viaduct and back into

Hornsey shed could be a specific delight. The distinct clunkclunk

sound of the WD 2-8-0 8F and the array of driving wheels

Goods train coming off Harringay Viaduct while another awaits clearance with

yet a further standing in the shadows of the viaduct. (Photo by Ben Brooksbank)

31


on the 9F seemed to impart the immense power available in

these beasts.

A special, indeed unusual occurrence was to witness a goods train

passing almost out of view from the Hog's Back moving up the

down goods line and turning off on to the “Middie” heading

toward Kentish Town. Older, perhaps more knowledgeable

spotters reckoned the train was heading for Temple Mills Goods

Yard. This working required a rare manning of Harringay No.7

Box located near the entrance to Ferme Park Yards and perched

on the edge of the Hog's Back slope. Usually, fronted by what

looked liked Class 2 or 4 MT locomotives, this working was

indeed rare to the younger trainspotters, as it was usually in the

early evening after mother had already summoned them to tea.

Many an hour was spent hanging on the wire mesh fence and

looking down from the Hog's Back waiting for the next train. In

between one might rush off to the confectioner housed in the

first half-shop in Quernmore Road. A quarter of this or that, but

more likely a gob-stopper, a packet of Refreshers or maybe a

frozen Jubbly were the favoured little purchases. The brick-built

wall of the sweet shop sported the famous 'John Bul' advertising

a prominent landmark which can still be seen today.

In the mornings city employees would be rushing to catch their

trains into London – Broad Street (next to Liverpool Street) via

Finsbury Park and Dalston on the North London line or

Moorgate via King's Cross York Road and the Metropolitan

lines. The Up platform was kept pristine during the week

mornings by porter Sid Cooke, with a coal fire always burning in

the waiting room in colder weather.

Local residents off to work in the mornings would be confronted

with boys in royal blue blazers heading for Stationers' Company's

School. The school was located at the top of Denton/Mayfield

Road a few minutes walk to the north-west.

Each day after school, there were two trains at 4.36pm and 4.38

pm respectively – one to Hatfield and one to Hertford North - to

transport the schoolboys back home. These trains had been

installed some years earlier to accommodate the requirements of

the numerous pupils going north to the more outlying suburbs.

The Down platform would be packed in royal blue interspersed

with the black blazers of the sixth form just before the trains

arrived. Many of these lads would walk along the pathway

around the top of the Hog's Back simply to enjoy the excitement

of the railways and join in the banter with other less elite piers

who were members of the trainspotter's guild.

Of course, the prototype DELTIC was a fascinating appearance

in its light blue, white and silver livery as was the new English-

Electric Type 4 class No.

D200. The English-Electric

prototype DELTIC was a

regular on the East Coast

Main Line in the latter

1950s with the resulting

class of 22 locomotives

coming to dominate top link

proceedings from 1961 and

the ensuing decades. In

1959 the prototype came to

Hornsey shed and was thus

St. Paul's Church in the background.

Harringay Goods in the foreground.

behind the Deltic

seen moving under the

auspices of Harringay Up

Goods Box out of the shed

for duties from Kings Cross. Finsbury Park Depot (34G) had not

yet been opened.

Suddenly, in early 1960 a huge shock wave spread rapidly among

the trainspotters. The fallout lingered for some time as the words

“steam withdrawn” became common knowledge. Looks of disbelief

adorned many faces. A fear that railways were to be populated by

these new soulless machines called diesels took hold. Even worse,

the thought that one day they would become the new standard of

headless, characterless creatures of electric railways like the

Underground or the Southern was abhorrent to most.

A few years later when restored Gresley A3 Flying Scotsman

made its runs north in the days of ownership by Alan Pegler or

even later the new A1 build Tornado charged through below the

Hog's Back, the old path had been closed. The spotters had gone.

If anywhere, they were now on the platform. Of course, the station

itself was no longer manned. After all the years of past enjoyment,

the Hog's Back sadly provided the best views no more.

Alex Fleming

DELTIC resplendent in blue livery

War Veteran, Peter

Gouldstone, DIEs

after robbery

A 98 year old Second World War hero has died, (30th

November) three weeks after being beaten up in his home

in Bounds Green by burglars who stole a TV worth £50.

Peter’s son, Simon Gouldstone was at Stationers with our

President Peter Winter and was quoted in the Sunday

Times saying, “ I do not know how my father’s attackers

can live with themselves, the sooner they’re locked up the

better. As a

member of the

family I’m shocked,

as a member of the

human race I’m

lost for words at

man’s inhumanity

to man.”

The OSA offer our

condolences to

Simon and his

family.

32


MEMBERSHIP

SECRETARY’S REPORT

Paying members at 6th Oct 2018 489

Life member 1

Honorary members 11

New members 12

Deaths (11)

Resignations (1)

Deletions (for non-payment) (4)

TOTAL 497

Unless there are some additional new

members between now and the year end

the total number of members will drop

below 500. I have no intention of trying

to determine the last time this total was

below this number. It was probably many

years ago!

Since the last magazine the following new

membership applications have been

approved:

Paul Biddulph

1958 to 1963 Norton House

7 Loyne Close, Linslade

Leighton Buzzard, Beds LU7 2YR

Dr Geoffrey Quick

1963 to 1970 Meredith House

Whistling Pines, 70 Crooksbury Road,

Farnham, Surrey GU10 1QD

Mickey Wood

1967 to 1973 Caxton House

5 Patmore Link Road,

Hemel Hempstead, Herts HP2 4PX

Edward Winter

1958 to 1965 Hodgson House

Woodstock Farm, Gadbrook Road,

Betchworth, Surrey RH3 7DE

The following deaths have also been

notified:

Ben Batchelor, Barry McRae, Ian Snelling,

Ernie Stone & Peter Jolly. Not a good year

for ex-OSFC players. Obituaries will

appear elsewhere in the magazine.

The Association has lost contact with

Alfie Elliott (living in Canada) and Ray

Greenway, neither of whom has paid a

subscription in 2018. These 2 will be

deleted from the database. They can be

restored as members if we subsequently

manage to find any contact details.

Roger Engledow

Professor

David Goodall

Edited obituary from The Guardian:

Professor David Goodall, ex-Stationer and

renowned botanist, ended his life aged 104

in a Swiss clinic to the music of Beethoven.

When the celebrated plant ecologist David

Goodall was interviewed on the occasion

of his 104th birthday last month, his

response was typically forthright. "I greatly

regret having reached that age;' he said."I'm

not happy. I want to die. It's not sad,

particularly. What is sad is if one is prevented."

As it happened Goodall was not

"prevented", even though there were those

who had opposed him travelling to

Switzerland to end his life. While doctors

considered whether to try to detain him in

Australia, he boarded an airliner in Perth,

wearing a jumper that bore the slogan

"ageing disgracefully", on May 2nd. He

was not terminally ill, but had been a

member of Exit International for 20 years.

The group created an online crowdfunding

page to pay to upgrade his ticket from

economy to business class and rapidly

reached its target.

He flew to Bordeaux, where he visited

members of his family for the last time,

and then on to Basle, where the staff of the

Life Cycle Service helped him to bring to

an end the remarkable life of a renowned

scientist who was married three times,

loved acting, but never bought a television

and shunned radio.

Goodall had been one of the first scientists

to talk about the greenhouse effect as a

OBITUARIES

consensus began to form among scientists

about climate change, and he was regarded

as the godfather of "quantitative ecology",

applying the number-crunching rigour of

statistics and mathematics to his discipline.

He developed computer programs for

classifying vegetation and modelling

ecosystems, and was an early adopter of

the Fortran programming language.

Perhaps his overarching achievement was

his editorship of the 36-volume standard

work Ecosystems of the World.

David William Goodall was one of two

children born in Edmonton, north

London, to Henry Goodall, who was the

secretary of the National Wholesale

Federation, and his wife, Isabel (nee

Harlow). He attended the Stationers'

Company's School, a grammar school in

Hornsey, and St Paul's School, where an

inspirational teacher led him from an early

interest in chemistry into the field of

biology. He went to Imperial College

London, choosing botany over biology

because he felt it was a stronger department.

He received his PhD in 1941 for his thesis

Studies in the Assimilation of the Tomato

Plant.

His job as a senior lecturer in botany at the

University of Melbourne marked the start

of eight decades in academia, which

included several more spells in Australia,

including five years at the Tobacco

Research Institute in Queensland, and two

years as professor of agricultural botany at

the University of Reading. There were also

jobs in the US, including five years as

professor of systems ecology at Utah State

University.

He formally retired in 1979, but was an

honorary research fellow at Edith Cowan

University from 1998 until his death. It

was unpaid, but Goodall treated it as a

full-time post.

While his mind remained sharp until the

end, physical decline was inevitable. This

year Goodall was injured in a fall and lay

on the floor of his flat for two days until

his housekeeper found him. He then

attempted to take his life and was in

hospital for five weeks. He was discharged

after an independent psychiatric review.

In an interview in 2016 he was pessimistic

about the future. "It is too late to take

effective action on climate change," he

lamented. "At least as important is human

population, which will increase to ten

billion by the end of the century." Asked if

he had advice for younger scientists, he

33


said: "Keep aware of the history of your

field. The decline of libraries makes it easy

to forget."

Western Australia is still in the process of

introducing a law on voluntary euthanasia.

"I think my trip will contribute to changing

the legislation," he said, "but I think we've

got a way to go."

Dying was part of life, he said. "Why

should it make me sad? I don't regard it as

grim, 1 regard it as natural." Two days

before he died he was asked what his final

thoughts would be. "I'll be thinking about

the needle and hoping they aim right," he

replied.

He spent his last full day visiting Basle's

botanical gardens with three of his

grandchildren. His last meal was his

favourite: fish and chips followed by

cheesecake. On the day, as Beethoven's

Ode to Joy played, Goodall was injected

with a barbiturate, turning a wheel himself

to let the solution flow through his veins.

He gave it 15 seconds, then said: "It's a bit

slow, isn’t it?"

Professor David Goodall, botanist and

ecologist, was born on April 4, 1914. He

took his life on May 10, 2018, aged 104.

Stephen Jeffreys

Obituary from The Guardian website:

Tributes have been paid to the influential

British playwright Stephen Jeffreys, who

has died aged 68. Jeffreys was best known

for his play The Libertine, based on the life

of hedonistic Restoration rebel the Earl of

Rochester. The Libertine opened at the

Royal Court theatre, London, in 1994 and

was staged at Chicago’s Steppenwolf

theatre two years later, with John Malkovich

as Rochester. Jeffreys adapted the play

himself for a 2005 film starring Malkovich

and Johnny Depp; the play was revived to

great acclaim in the West End in 2016,

with Dominic Cooper in the lead role.

Jeffreys taught, nurtured and championed

a later generation of playwrights including

Simon Stephens, who tweeted: “When

many of his peers turned their noses up at

a generation coming after them, Stephen

Jeffreys encouraged and inspired and

provoked and guided us. His faith in us

was an astonishing force. His faith in

playwriting was towering.” Joe Penhall said

that “an entire generation of playwrights

was bonded to him, a symbol of selflessness

in a sometimes narcissistic profession”.

Samantha Ellis also paid tribute, saying

that Jeffreys had “hugely encouraged” her

and “gave me the writing gift of convincing

me that structure could be fun. He was

always full of humour, fizzing with

intelligence and very, very kind.”

Jeffreys was born in London and attended

Southampton University. He first worked

at the Royal Court in the mid-70s as an

assistant electrician in the Theatre Upstairs.

His play Like Dolls or Angels, about a

stuntman, was an award-winner at the

National Student Drama Festival in 1977.

After establishing the company Pocket

Theatre Cumbria he adapted Charles

Dickens’ Hard Times for a touring

production and, in 1984, his Edinburgh

festival hit Carmen 1936 was staged at the

Tricycle theatre, London. His 1989 drama

Valued Friends, about four housemates

who are offered a fortune to vacate their

home for property developers, was a hit at

Hampstead theatre. He returned there

with A Going Concern, about a failing

family business.

In 1992, he was invited by Max Stafford-

Clark to become a literary associate at the

Royal Court and, over the next 10 years,

played a key role in discovering future

classics, including Jez Butterworth’s Mojo.

Stafford-Clark commissioned Jeffreys to

write The Libertine, which ran in repertory

with George Etherege’s 17th-century play

The Man of Mode, whose hero Dorimant

had been inspired by Rochester. In 2000,

the Royal Court staged Jeffreys’ play I Just

Stopped By to See the Man, steeped in

blues music and directed by Richard

Wilson.

He returned to the Tricycle in 2009 with

Bugles at the Gates of Jalalabad, part of a

season covering Afghan history. In 2011

there was a West End run of Backbeat,

co-written by Jeffreys and Iain Softley,

about the fifth Beatle, Stuart Sutcliffe.

Two years later, he had a rare flop with his

screen adaptation of Kate Snell’s book

Diana Her Last Love, about the Princess

of Wales’ relationship with heart surgeon

Hasnat Khan.

Jeffreys had two sons with his wife,

Annabel Arden, the director of plays

including his 2007 drama The Art of War

for Sydney Theatre Company.

He continued to offer vital support for

new writers. John Donnelly was among

those recognising his encouragement,

calling Jeffreys “kind, generous, always

interested, never aloof. One night the man

just stopped by to see us: I’d written a show

for local teenagers at the Almeida. Two

night run. But he was there. He proclaimed

it the best show in town and made us feel

like it really was.”

FRIEND AND PLAYWRIGHT

When I learned of Stephen’s illness, I

spent a long time thinking about him and

of the many encounters we had during our

fifty years of friendship.

In March, I wrote him a long letter,

sharing thoughts and memories about our

lives, and recalling some of the many good

times we had shared.

One of the memories I shared was from

the early 1980’s. Stephen was living in

Earl’s Court in London and in his early

years as a playwright. I was living and

working in the north-west.

When my first daughter was born, it

prompted a lot of questions about my own

origins, as I had been adopted and knew

nothing of my background. I then

embarked on a long and detailed search to

find my birth mother and I came to

London regularly to use the records office

at St Catherine’s House in Kingsway. On

these occasions I often stayed with Stephen

and we would chat about the research

process and the very slow progress I was

making. I had discovered that I had been

born very near his flat, and one morning

Stephen joked that the best way of

publicising my search would be to write a

play about it. I went off to the Records

Office as usual, but when I returned in the

evening, it was no longer a joke. Stephen

had spent the day working out a rough

outline of the play and was now serious

about wanting to write it!

34


During the next few months, we met to

discuss the background, the impact of

adoption, the motivation to search and any

expectations of meeting one or more of the

natural parents. We also spent hours

talking about our experiences so far in life,

our relationships, our problems and our

potential futures.

Stephen developed the broader ideas he

wanted to present in the play – a caustic

assessment of Margaret Thatcher era

capitalism and City financiers - and

completed the script. He had a strong

association with Pocket Theatre Cumbria,

having been writer in residence, and

worked with the director and cast to

premiere the play ‘Futures’ in November

1984, before productions elsewhere.

The play did not lead to the immediate

response from a woman looking for her

lost ‘son’, but four years later, after much

further research, I met my birth mother in

London – a moment subsequently

celebrated warmly with Stephen.

Although ‘Futures’ is one of Stephen’s

lesser-known plays, it still has a very strong

place in my memory of our collective

experience - a great collaboration between

good friends, an emerging playwright, and

of course, two Old Stationers!

Alan Palmer

A Tribute

I am proud to be able to say a few words

about my best friend. Stephen always told

me that everything should have structure.

It was never a structure just structure. He

said that the underlying principles for the

process of his playwriting were the same as

my business management and I believed

him. I’ll try to follow his wishes in this set

of memories.

Implicit in everything he did was his

ability, when necessary, to make a serious

point in a humorous non-confrontational

way. So my plan is to show his amazing

quality of humility and ability to raise a

smile whatever the circumstances with

some examples over the 60 plus years we

were friends.

He was born in Muswell Hill on 22nd

April 1950 and was brought up at 45

Weston Park. We first met at Rokesley

Infants’ School in Crouch End and

continued our education together through

junior school and then to Stationers School

alongside John Margree, Lee Jackson,

Tony Pigden and Dave Matthews. He was

originally allocated to Meredith House

but in the 67/68 extension of houses

became a founder member of Rivington a

matter he considered much akin to Harry

Potter.

Throughout his school career he had a

significant yet understated presence. He

was a member of the choir and later in

typically supportive mood paid homage to

Keith Willis when Keith too was struggling

with a brain tumour. His love of the

theatre shone through and encouraged by

Clive Blenkinsop he was in the school’s

joint production of the Alchemist. Some

50 years later he had adapted the play for

the Royal Shakespeare Company at

Stratford and arranged a re-union for the

original school cast with the RSC cast.

He played a cerebral game of chess. A

talent he took with him in later life. His

love of music and in particular the guitar

twinned him with Tony Mash where at

youthful parties the ever competitive

Stephen would persuade Tony to try ever

more complex and error prone pieces.

Later he enjoyed playing in a geriatric

band “Smoking Mirrors”

Woody Allen said he was not afraid of

flying just of crashing. We too developed a

mutual hatred of swimming on the basis

that drowning did not seem an attractive

alternative to dry land. He never learned to

swim, dismissing it as unnatural. His

ability to construct anything beyond a

sentence had less than propitious precedent

in woodwork where under the teaching of

Messrs Naylor and Sloggett we built an

egg rack and then a table.

Stephen’s egg rack became the epitome of

his DIY skills and remains on show at

home alongside a magnificent teapot

stand. The table became a cause celebre

however. It was a 2 year project. Stephen

made a miscalculation on the wood for the

legs in the first week. He spent the next 2

years trying to cover it up as no more wood

was allowed and to admit such a basic

mistake was not worth considering. The

final outcome was an original piece of

furniture. If only we had hung onto the

only table that could have supported a

meal while sitting on a spiral staircase we

could have made millions.

Last but not least, we had a mutual interest

in Arsenal football club in my case

prompted by Stephen. We had access to a

bus route that would take us either to

Highbury or to Tottenham. We made a life

defining decision to follow the path to

success and go to Arsenal. We went to

every home game. As we got older we

persuaded the Secretary of Arsenal that

schoolboys over 16 should be allowed

access to the boys’ enclosure. Then as a

group including Phil Geering, Del

Mitchell and Richard Edis we could vent

our ire on whoever we chose with an

appreciative audience.

For those who complain about the lack of

success of Arsenal they should have been

us in our formative years when season after

season of mediocrity was all we saw. What

it did was prepare Stephen for later in

more affluent times when we had access to

seats and we could vent similar ire to that

of 30 years previous. For those who knew

Stephen as mild mannered they didn’t see

him at football. As he once said when I

remarked on his commitment “there’s no

point going if you don’t get involved”.

I was amazed at his fantastic powers of

recall. If you discussed any historic event at

Stationers he would describe it precisely.

Of course one never knew if he was

describing what happened or what he

thought should have yet more often than

not his recollection was verified.

At a boys school in the 60’s you were either

in the sporting camp or an arts person.

Stephen was unique in straddling both

groups by sheer force of personality. His

talent for the arts was self-evident whilst

his sporting prowess as a performer often

resembled Bambi on ice (he was a growing

lad at the time). But, his ability to analyse

sport was obvious and everyone listened to

his views on matters sporting. School

never improved his handwriting or his

fitness but it gained him friendships

lasting over 50 years. As evidenced from

the tributes below.

“I remember the last time that I enjoyed

his company, at the OSA Carol Service in

35


2016. His bright spirit and his witty and

generous personality was to the fore

making him such good company. I have

been awed by the achievements of his

career and the deep intellect that was “just

Stephen being himself ” ( John Rowlands)

“I had not realised what a prolific

playwright he was. An extraordinary talent

as well as really nice guy. Also, very humble

about his achievements. An enormous loss.

He will be sorely missed”. (Phil Geering)

“How proud Stephen must have been to

know of his sons' successes achieved whilst

coping with their father's illness. I will

always remember Stephen for his

enthusiasm for our reunions. Future

meetings will not quite be the same! No

mention of our School in the Telegraph

obit but very warm words from Stephen's

contemporaries and those he inspired

coming on behind. What a wonderful

legacy from a man taken far too soon”.

(Steve Young)

“I didn’t know Stephen’s family but please

pass on my condolences. Former theatre

colleagues of mine worked with Stephen

and from the Guardian obituary, I wish I’d

known him as a playwright as well as a

schoolboy thespian. The evening we had

together at the Alchemist was really

enjoyable.” ( John Samson)

“A sad day indeed. The loss of a wonderful

man and a great friend. When I saw him

last week, he was awake and alert. We

shared some friendship, warmth and a

little mirth. However, he made it clear,

with what little communication he could

muster, that he had had enough. As I left,

we kissed hands and bade farewell”. (Alan

Palmer)

“Dear Stephen will be greatly missed by

many people but mostly, of course, by his

immediate family all of whom I have met

when my wife and I participated in

Stephen’s annual Christmas carol Charity

singing in Muswell Hill. I was pleased to

have visited him in the hospice and at one

stage it did sound as if his condition was

improving with a view to returning home.

Sadly that did not prove to be the case. My

thoughts are with his family and also with

Michael as I know their close friendship

goes back to primary school”. (Robert

Hughes)

“A very sad day indeed, but the memories

will remain. I remember Stephen living at

a house in Weston Park and so probably

being the nearest to the school in our year.

We also were on holiday at the same place

(Swanage in Dorset) in 1965 and I met his

Dominic Cooper and Alice Bailey Johnson in The Libertine by Stephen Jeffreys at

the Theatre Royal Haymarket in 2016

parents and sister on the beach on a

number of days. Fond memories of a lovely

person - sincere condolence to his family.”

(Hugh Matthews)

“He is part of our legend and has already

created a huge legacy of which we are all

proud.” (David Ingham)

“It was Stephen who organised frequent

trips for members of our year to the Old

Vic during the early years of the National

Theatre. His love of words resonated with

those of his mother and sister, which

always made a visit to his home on Weston

Park a special moment. He enjoyed

humour, exemplified by one short piece in

the school magazine in which he railed

against the use of illicit fibreglass winks in

the fictitious school tiddlywinks society.

Stephen, you achieved so much in your life.

You have our admiration and leave me

with a smile and my thanks for being you”.

(Tony Mash)

On leaving school he took a gap year

courtesy of some indifferent French

teaching and worked in a Muswell Hill

shop delivering paint. From there he went

to Southampton University to read

English. What followed was an outstanding

literary career. On the basis that imitation

is the best form of flattery I have quoted

widely from the marvellous obituaries

printed in the Guardian and Daily

Telegraph.

After leaving University he took a company

to the Minack Theatre in Cornwall

directing Arthur Kopit’s Indians in which

he cast the Native Americans as women.

In 1977 he wrote Like Dolls or Angels

taking it to the National Student Drama

Festival where it won the Sunday Times

Playwriting Award. Later he would serve

for many years on the board of the NSDF.

Devoting himself to playwriting he had his

first notable success with Valued Friends

(1989) whose cast at Hampstead Theatre

included Martin Clunes (Doc Martin),

Peter Capaldi (Doctor Who) and Jane

Horrocks (Little Voice) which won him

the Evening Standard and Critics Circle

Awards for the most promising playwright.

He received the award ironically from

Princess Diana remarking later that it had

taken 17 years to become an overnight

sensation.

In 1990 he wrote The Clink for Paine’s

Plough for whom he was Arts Council

writer in residence (1987-89) and then a

Going Concern based on his experience in

the family billiard table business.

1994 saw his hit The Libertine at the

Royal Court Theatre where his 11 year

stint as Literary Associate brought him

into contact with a new generation of

emerging writers. In 1996 the American

premiere of the play directed by Terry

Johnson in Chicago led him to a continuing

association with John Malkovich which

lasted until he died, John visiting him in

the hospice in June this year. The play

became a film in 2004 starring Johnny

Depp. Stephen recalled the time in 1996

when John sidled up to him and said “do

you want to make a movie out of this?” In

Stephen’s words it was a question that did

not require an answer.

36


Whilst playing the lead role in the stage

version in 1996 John was too old for the

film version but he played a supporting

part and his company produced it. Stephen

also wrote Lost Land (2005) about

Hungary at the end of the First World

War with Malkovich in the lead.

By then he had written I Just Stopped by

to See the Man, a tribute to the blues

singers of the Mississippi delta directed by

Richard Wilson (Victor Meldrew).

He delivered the Art of War in Sydney

(2007) and in 2009 contributed Bugles at

the Gates of Jalalabad one of the plays at

the Tricycle Theatre about Afghanistan

which became compulsory viewing for the

British and American military strategists

involved there.

As well as new work he maintained a

steady stream of adaptions. A Jovial Crew

for Royal Shakespeare Company 1992,

The Convicts Opera based on the Beggars

Opera (2000) and Hard Times by Charles

Dickens.

His stage adaptation of Backbeat the film

about the early career of the Beatles ran for

several months in the West End to critical

acclaim. Demonstrating the value of a

Stationers' education he translated the

Libretto of The Magic Flute without

having learned a word of the German

language it was in. It has been performed

in Simon McBurney’s production across

Europe.

He was often asked to re-write screen

plays. His other film Diana was a hit in

most countries other than Britain where it

was, unsurprisingly, not a critical success.

Throughout his career he retained his

North London roots having been brought

up in a household where the going currency

was words and a series of eccentric

characters passed through. His monologue

Finsbury Park commissioned by Paine’s

Plough for their 2016 series “Where I’m

From” just summed it all up.

Stephen’s selflessness was demonstrated in

his support for other playwrights who he

saw as companions not competitors. He

was hugely interested in the practicalities

of the theatre and the art of playwriting

and his book on the subject is likely to be

issued posthumously. His plays were

described by one young writer as “simple

but sophisticated; warm but incisive;

unassuming but clever-never showy or

attention-seeking-just like the man”. His

long period on the Board of the Royal

Court Theatre enabled him to give support

and guidance to many.

He also went abroad on behalf of the

British Council coaching playwrights in

countries such as Cuba and Uganda where

the writers feared that any original work

might attract the wrath of the regime. As

he once said to me, his trip to Cuba was

hardly “our man in Havana” more like our

man in a deserted holiday camp since the

accommodation he was afforded was never

palatial. It did not bother him one jot.

We always joked about his failure to up his

income by putting a big sea battle into one

of his films as he explained the relationship

between the film’s budget and the writer’s

fee. So the film he nearly did about

Florence Nightingale was the one that got

away.

Looking back over our friendship I am

struck by how two such dissimilar

personalities got on so well. We genuinely

never had a cross word, perhaps because

we realised that our lives were multifaceted

and we could stick to what we

thought worked for us. We often

bought each other the same

Christmas presents, this year being

a prime example. We were best

men at each other’s weddings. I

look back at 1999 in the garden at

Weston Park when Stephen and

Annabel looked a delightful couple

who had just visited Woodstock.

Pan 17 years and he and I wore

blue suits with white shirts and red

ties. Only a few days before, a

certain reality TV performer had

been inaugurated as President of

the USA in the same colours. We

chose ours first. In his superb

deadpan style, Stephen commented

that at least we had our own hair

and some modicum of intelligence.

The fact that his hair had hardly

changed between the two events

was a matter of private jealousy for

me. For him, I had stood up with

some gentle mocking in the best

man tradition while he produced a

superb speech full of humour while

quietly skewering me in places. I couldn’t

have asked for a better best man as he

organised everyone for photographs as if

he had been herding cats all his life.

In January this year, he was diagnosed

with an inoperable Brain Tumour. He

resisted its effects which included

increasing immobility and a loss of speech

stoically. He could still recollect school

days memories even if he had difficulty in

describing them. He was so grateful for the

letters and cards and the visitors which

were a source of comfort for the family too.

He was determined to await the exam

results of his two sons Jack and Ralph and

when he heard that Jack had achieved

entrance to Cambridge and Ralph had 11

A stars at GCSE he knew he had achieved

what he had set out to do. He died

peacefully at the hospice on 17th

September with his family beside him.

Finally I am reminded that a young Jack

sang The Elvis song Blue Christmas. We

told him Elvis was dead. He said he knew

but his songs would live on. It’s the same

with Stephen. Although he is no longer

with us in body we can be comforted that

we were friends to someone whose

personality humour and generosity of

spirit struck us and will live on with us

through his work and our own memories.

I can only say it was an honour to have

been his friend for all this time even if we

never made those millions together. Rest

in peace dear friend.

Michael Heath assisted by Tony Mash.

A book Stephen Jeffreys’ Plays, a compendium

of 6 of his works is available from Nick Hern

Books. His book Playwriting which will be of

interest to many will soon be issued by Nick

Hern Books. Other plays like “I Just Stopped

by to see the Man” are available in single

edition.

Finally, there will be a memorial event for

Stephen at the Royal Court Theatre on

Sunday 24th February. Please save the date.

Ticketing arrangements will be circulated

when available.

37


Tributes to

Ian Snelling

AN OAK AMONGST SAPLINGS!

I was honoured to be asked by my beloved

aunt and godmother, Annie, to pay

homage to a man I admired hugely. For

many of you who only knew Ian during his

10 years in Hillcrest you probably

remember him for his love of bridge,

books and of course footie.

There were in fact three key pillars to Ian’s

life. His advertising career which dovetailed

into his book collecting and dealing

and his abiding passion for the Gunners

and enjoying life in general. Inextricably

linking all three was his incredible

partnership with Annie and their support

and love for each other.

My earliest memories of Ian are glasses on,

book in hand, intensely reading or

completing a crossword. He loved to tickle

us with his beard. We found his attire of

old fashioned shorts and long socks a bit

amusing.

As I grew older he became my wise

mentor who patiently shared his

remarkable mind through stories which

made the complex simple. I shared an

abiding love of books with him and for a

short while endeavoured to source modern

firsts to sell to him. My husband, Alex and

I would wait with baited breath to see

what he would make of our latest haul and

how much we would be able to add to our

overseas fund. He was known to drive a

hard bargain though I strongly suspect he

paid well over the odds for many of the

modern firsts we presented him with.

Ian was an amazing storyteller and it

seems fitting to celebrate his life by sharing

tributes from those who knew him during

his years in advertising and book dealing.

Combined the help encapsulate the

complex man that was Ian. He, always

marched to his own drum. I will always

admire for his thirst for knowledge, his

love of the good things in life but most

importantly for being an oak amongst

saplings.

Alex Garlick, affectionately called “Old

Tart” by Ian first met him 50 years ago in

the Clifton Hotel in Cape Town, a key

meeting spot for journos and those in

advertising.

Alex writes: “ I met Ian over a bottle of

vodka. The hotel was heaving, seriously

loud music playing, booze all over the

place and almost pitch black. One hellava

party, where everyone was more or less

legless.

And then one way or another, our paths

crossed all the time. There were children

and divorces and new lovers and ad

agencies where clients mostly did what we

told them to do. And wonderful evenings

with friends and then colleagues and

Snellers was there - and in his most

individual and specific way, slowly and

carefully making his point, so considered

and logical. Who then could argue with

him? But he was restless, ever seeking, ever

questioning. A little at odds with the life

he was leading.

Then Ian met Annie and suddenly,

everything dropped into its place. It was in

Forest Town, with his books, his media

planning, the last domino match with

Brewer and Huxham or the best red wine

for supper tonight that a solid vein of

contentment ran through Ian. That

contentment and his devotion to Annie

remained with him always.

Latterly we exchanged e mails, and so

typically Ian, I got sent quizzes and birds

and political polemic and just pure lovely

vulgarity.

I will miss him enormously and quoting

from a letter sent by Abraham Lincoln

"instead of an agony, the memory of Ian

will yet be a sad sweet feeling in my heart".

Chris Brewer first met Ian in the Sterling

hotel in Johannesburg in 1973 when Ian

was Chairman of the Media Association

and a shareholder of a ground breaking

advertising agency BDSTV. They shared

a love of card games and dominoes.

Chris writes: “He wanted to learn how to

play Bridge and I volunteered to show him

so we started a weekly game where,

naturally he soon became brilliant. Within

weeks he had mastered the game and told

me where I was going wrong. Within a

few months he was the best bridge player

I'd ever known from our amateurish

perspective.

At about the same time, I met Sam

Huxham (and shared a flat with him) who

was a good friend of Ian's. Sammy wasn't

such a good bridge player but he was a

whizz at dominoes and so we began a

weekly domino game - complete with an

annual trophy which understandably had

Ian's name all over it. Ian had the most

amazing brain and could calculate odds

within split seconds.

The difference between Bridge and

Dominoes is that, with bridge, you can be

dealt unlucky cards making it difficult to

win. With dominoes it's different. As Ian

always said "in the vast majority of games,

a good player with bad dominoes will

invariably beat a weak player with a lucky

hand" and that's true - as he proved over

and over again.

As a media planner he had little

competition and was quick to learn the

"new" technology of planning using

computer software. He taught me a great

deal about identifying target markets and

matching them to media opportunities.

He was one of the smartest men I ever met

and I was proud to call him my friend.

Shuffle the cards and mix the dommies

Ian!

Gordon Muller another advertising

colleague shared the following:

Before there were MBAs and Chartered

Marketers; long before there was Google

& eLearning; there were "fireside chats"

with mentors.

I have long held the view that if you

believe you will learn something new

tomorrow, you will never be afraid to share

what you know today. Ian epitomised that

ethos. For me and many of my peers, Ian

was our mentor and THE Oracle when it

came to understanding the media industry.

Sure, we had to buy him a beer or two but

he was unstinting in sharing his knowledge

and insights. Ian could have sold his

insights to the industry but he chose rather

to give them away.

The same guy, who wrote a novel without

feeling the need to plaster his own name

all over the cover.

That is how we in Media remember Ian.

38


Never a glory boy. Always a grafter. In

many respects he personified the very

values we most admire in his beloved

football team.

Many of us, who benefited from Ian's

wisdom have in turn actively engaged in

training and mentorship in the media

industry. That is his legacy. It is a living

legacy because the river of his spirit of

generosity continues to touch the lives of

many people in media today; even if they

are unaware of the original source of it.

Ian I shall always remember your quiet

smile of triumph when you had won some

intellectual exchange. You loved winning

but you were always a gracious winner.

Today I am wearing my Arsenal shirt and

raising a glass to your memory.

Cheers my dear dear friend.

You ARE the North End!

Our next tribute comes from Barbara

Cooke another industry colleague and

close family friend.

“Ian and I worked closely together during

the years we spent presenting his brain

child, the Print Media's Synergy studies, to

the industry and ultimately to an

international audience at a conference in

Madrid where it won best paper. It was a

time when I first began to realise what a

keen intellect and sharp brain he had, and

that he did not suffer fools gladly - if at all.

lan's thinking was ground breaking and I

never thought he received the credit for

this that was so richly deserved.

It was also a time when we began a

friendship that was fed by a shared interest

in books which were an abiding passion

for him. He developed a unique method of

rating books which became a universal

standard for judging the quality of a book

that was being bought and sold without

the buyer seeing the actual book but

trusting Ian's judgement all the way.

Nothing gave Ian more pleasure than

finding a rare volume for a client, or just

for the love of the hunt. His home housed

a library named in memory of Annie and

Ian's son Andrew.

Ian was the only person from whom I was

happy to receive almost daily jokes or pithy

comment via e-mall: I knew that this was

his way of keeping in touch and I in turn

was grateful to be on his list - I will miss

the daily dose of humour.

His usual sign off was 'from Ian 'n Annie'

and truly this was a case of mention one

and immediately think of the other.

They went together like a horse and

carriage! On a personal level I will miss

him very much. His was a special spirit

and I really valued his gift of friendship.

Debbie Farrell Ian’s former PA shared this

tribute:

My world will be a little less bright

without Ian in it. Even though we hadn’t

seen each other in years it was nice to

know he was on the other end of an email.

He was my mentor, saviour and second

Dad. When I first met him he scared the

bejusus out of me when he barked: “I don’t

hear the keys tapping”. It was my first day

on the job and I had no idea how to work

the computer I had to use to type up his

notes.

The years that followed showed me what a

kind, patient and loving man he actually

was, He took me in to work with him

when I lost my job. Took me out for lavish

birthday lunches and spoilt me with

bonuses and extra money when I needed it.

He treated me like a daughter not an

employee and that's why 20 years after the

day I met him he is still in my mind on an

almost daily basis.

Ian, I want to live my life the way you did.

Traveling with the love of my life; eating

good food, drinking fine wine and being a

wonderful friend to so many.

Geoff Klass first met Ian in the mid 1980’s

at a time when book collecting and dealing

was gaining prominence in Ian’s life.

My first encounter with Ian was a phone

call sometime in mid 1980's. The gruff

voice asked me 'What Ian Fleming first

editions do you have?" I responded that we

have a fine Moonraker in dustwrapper.

The voice said: “I’ll be there: please hold it

for me". Sure enough he pitched up within

the hour, looked at the book in his

characteristic intense close scrute, glasses

at half mast, and bought it. Over succeeding

years this was repeated at regular intervals,

and we moved from bookseller-client

relationship to chatting about books and

things in general and I always looked

forward to his visits simply because of

what they added to my day, relieving the

dulling effects of dealing with the public at

large. Ian was increasingly knowledgable

about books, condition and accuracy

almost a fetish, and I like to think that we

both benefited from the symbiosis that

developed.

Moving on to the middle 1990's. Ian had

established himself as a bookseller as well

as being a collector, moving with great ease

between the two categories, always

appreciating the finer nuances of both

sides of the scale. This was the time of the

great tragedy in his and Annie's Iife, the

death of their son Andrew. It was at that

time I moved far closer into the circle of

friends, becoming a regular visitor for a

glass of wine and a chat. Those were times

of great gloom, a time when friends can

help. The visits became a weekly event,

Friday nights booked for wine, cheese and

"boast books": those special items each of

us had uncovered in the previous week,

items over which we could share our

enthusiasm just for the simple pleasure of

admiring something rare, beautiful or

unusual.

The evenings grew into an informal Forest

Town "Algonquin Round Table"., the

New York circle of critics, literary persons

and wits who met for lunch each day at the

Algonquin hotel in the 1920's, and whose

members acquired a reputation for wit,

knowledge and sparkling conversation.

Our club included booksellers, and often

whenever the Snellings had interesting

visitors they would join in the evenings.

More wine, more cheese, endless talk

sometimes into the early hours of the

morning, each of us staggering home

having had a memorable evening.

Although we are here to share memories

of lan, they are incomplete without

mention of Annie and her role in

cementing the relationships that flowed. A

39


gracious hostess, and a perfect soulmate to

Ian, her contribution was immeasurable.

She was often a shoulder I could lean on

and tell troubles, always receiving support

and great advice.

So in celebrating Ian, I would like to

conclude with my impressions of the man.

A sociable companionable man, with a

fine appreciation of both the qualities and

the negative aspects of those he

encountered. No time for fools, sharp

tongued and direct when criticism was

needed, balanced by a similar capacity for

praise when anything deserved it. A bon

viveur, with great appreciation for the

pleasures of fife. A man who would enter a

new field with great passion, and seek to

make himself knowledgable about it

without ever ignoring input from those for

whom he had regard. An honest man, who

believed in fair business practice, and for

whom the shortest distance between two

points was a straight line. And above all, a

man who exuded passion for life, passion

for his interests, passion for his family and

friends. In short, I treasure the years in

which I shared his and Annie's friendship.

They are a high point of my life, and I

shall always have only the fondest

memories of them.

Prof Vishnu Padayachee, initially met Ian

through a well known book dealer in

Durban, Ike Mayet. His tribute follows:

I was deeply saddened to hear of the

passing of my dear friend Ian Snelling

after a long and painful illness. Ian was a

fighter and despite the prognosis of his

doctors fought on for over a year beyond

the time they gave him.

I tried to visit him and Annie as often as I

could and despite the circumstances he

looked forward to our lunches and we

always had an interesting and engaged

discussion over lunch. He remained

interested and knowledgeable about world

and South African affairs and was always

eager to hear my news, especially on the

economy, and of my academic

achievements, which he celebrated ( such

as they were) as only a good friend would.

As a former book-dealer myself and as one

who is well connected within the South

African book dealers and collecting

community, I can attest to the great respect

that Ian commanded in our community.

No one in the Johannesburg book

community where he was based for so

many decades had anything but good and

generous things to say about him. His

A poem read by Ian's younger daughter at the service

The old Syringa tree

Up the old Syringa tree

Were my brother, sister, and me

Building our thrones;

Entwined purple blossom, course vines, and ivy.

Bright sun glimmered through the leaves

There came a treasured voice on the breeze

Down the trunk I scrambled

My hero waited under the eaves.

Bare feet sprinted swiftly through the grass

The dry scent of summer hung thick and heavy

In the distance, the ha-ha-ing of a hadidaas.

Giggles of delight as strong arms held me tight

I stroked his bearded cheeks, then patted the bald bit on his dome

'Oh Daddy, I'm so glad you're home!'

Grabbing his hand I dragged him off to the land of sand

Where to cure me off my echolalia

He told me if I dug deep enough, eventually I'd reach Australia ...

Down I dug, dirt asunder

Faster and faster. Higher and higher. '

Making believe I was a bird flying through the sky.

At the bottom of the garden the Jukskei flowed by.

So many games we once played; me and my trusty big aide

Memories that will never fade

'Where's my nose?' 'Gee-up Tonto! And the singing,of silly prose

I can still see young me, perched on my dad's knee

Striking a hard bargain for 'just one more game of under the water,

under the sea'.

Time for dinner. Always a winner!

Bellies full and darkness setting

We all sat huddled round the table

Waiting in anticipation for the latest fable

From the Goons, Squad Cars, and Tracy Dark

What a lark.

My eyelids grew weary and thoughts of sleep filled my head

So my dad picked me up again and took me up to bed.

Downstairs the Commodors crooned a tune

As dim light threw shadows dancing round the room

'Daddy', I declared, 'I love you all the way to the moon!'

Laughing he kissed my chin before upping me one

'And, I love you, my baby girl, all the way to the sun!'

Quiet footsteps across the floor

Night, night. Sleep tight', he whispered, and closed the door.

I will always miss the dad I once had ...

Before all the tears and fears of the bramble years

When hugs came easy, and love was simple, and carefree.

Back in those days of the old Syringa tree ...

knowledge of books and especially of

modern first editions was encyclopedic

and I was fortunate to have benefited from

his wisdom and advice over a long period.

Ian and I built a special friendship despite

one of the greatest obstacles to such

relationships that one can conceivably

imagine. He was a passionate and lifelong

fan of Arsenal Football Club (and

that is a poor description of his dedication

to the Gunners), and with equal passion I

supported their North London rivals,

Tottenham Hotspurs, the "Spuds" to Ian.

But we always managed to keep our

40


jousting within limits of decency and

enjoyed a good laugh. Ian leaves us in the

same year that Arsene Wenger leaves

Arsenal. There's something magical about

that.

I first came across Ian at Ike's Bookshop

when it was located at Overport City in

the earlv 1990s. He was making his annual

trip around the country in search of

valuable items, and on one of those visits I

happened to arrive when he was already

there. I watched in fascination and curiosity

as he carefully inspected a volume, turning

it around and viewing it quizzically from

every conceivable angle to check for defects

or searching for crucial markers of value.

At other times when the spotted something

special, it disappeared from the shelf to

join the pile under his arm in a blistering

flash.

Neither Ike nor Ian could be described as

always easy going. Both were tough and

hard-nosed when it came to the industry

they loved passionately, but they became

very good friends and Ike always looked

forward to Ian's visits. Ian invariably left

with a pile of books and an endearing,

knowing smile on his lips.

Ike Mayet passed away in 2002 at the age

of 76 and I lost a special friend, with a

great bank of knowledge about books and

about the human condition, and someone

who had a wonderful and wicked sense of

humour.

Ian Snelling's loss leaves me with exactly

the same feelings. I will miss him very

much but I take comfort in knowing that

he gave so much to the world and that he

is at last at peace.

IAN GODFREY SNELLING

28 June 1942 to 7 June 2018

OBITUARY

Ian’s many sporting achievements at school

will probably have been related fairly

completely by other 1953ers but I

remember him best as a strong athletic guy

who was good at all sport and a high speed

100 yards sprinter. I understand from his

wife, Anne, that he could still run the

hundred yards sprint in the Olympic

qualifying time at the age of 35 years.

Ant Mann, who was also in our year, sent

his condolences, from Hong Kong, which

were passed onto me and it was interesting

to note that like myself one of Ant’s

striking memories of Ian was his semi

permanent seat in the front row of Gus

Thomas’s detention class. Interestingly Ian

often referred to Gus in our recent get

togethers and I feel sure that he secretly

enjoyed his sessions in Gus’s class.

Ian married his first wife Ronni in the UK

and together they had one son and two

daughters and wanting to live up to the

exhortation from the school song - “far as

you roam” - they, like myself but totally

independently, emigrated to South Africa

in late 1964. Being involved in the

advertising and media world Ian went to

Johannesburg which is the main

commercial capital of the country.

After a number of years his first marriage

broke up and some time later he met

Anne, who was also involved in the

advertising and media world. They were

soon married and enjoyed a devoted live

together for 40 years. Together they had to

weather the tragic loss of their only son

Andrew at the age of 15 years and Anne

cared lovingly for Ian right to the end.

After leaving school and like most young

men we had all gone our separate ways and

it was only when I transferred to

Johannesburg in 1980 that I learnt that

there were five of us 1953ers, namely Ian

Snelling, Mike Jinner Johns, Chris

Seabrook, Frank Abbott and myself, living

in Johannesburg plus Charlie Cruden who

was there on a working visit. We had

several convivial get-togethers and it was

there that I met Ian again. After moving to

Durban I rather lost contact with Ian until

around five years ago whereafter we

enjoyed regular drinks sessions generally

with our wives and on one particular

occasion joined by the late editor of the

Old Stationer magazine, Geraint Pritchard,

who referred to it extensively in his article

relating his trip to South Africa. Until Ian

became less mobile we met at Ian’s cosy

local pub which was appropriately called

The Stationmasters Arms.

The majority of Ian’s working life was

devoted to the advertising and media

industry in which he was regarded by his

peers as being ahead of his time and a

leader in problem solving and strategic

thinking. References to him by various of

his media colleagues included “ being a

pace setter in the industry”, “being ahead

of his time”, “a mentor who shared his

knowledge freely”, “an oracle for an

understanding of the media industry” and

being “an oak among saplings”.

After retiring from the advertising and

media industry Ian’s long term interest in

reading developed into him becoming an

enthusiastic and knowledgeable collector

of rare books particularly centreing around

modern first editions. He went on to write

his own full length novel entitled “The

Book Collector” under the nom de plume

of Dick Phillips. It includes interesting

references to Finsbury Park, Crouch End

and other North London spots so that I

found it to be a very enjoyable read and

enlightening on the value of old rare

books.

Ian’s other hobbies and pastimes generally

centred around thinking and problem

solving games including crosswords,

dominoes, chess and most particularly

Bridge for which both his and Anne’s

name could frequently be seen amongst

the list of winners in our local newspaper.

All of these pastimes compatible with his

love of good red wine. After playing in the

school team and Stationers Old Boys club

his interest in football never faded and he

remained a lifelong supporter of Arsenal

Football Club.

I regret to say that chronic lung disease

which developed several years ago took a

heavy toll on Ian so that in his last five

years he was but a shadow of the young

Adonis of school years. His full life and the

high regard in which his family, peers and

many friends held him are attested to in

the many tributes to him which were read

at his memorial service.

Ian, old friend, may you rest in peace,

content in the knowledge that you provided

a good example of the calibre of young

men educated at our Stationers' Company’s

School who have gone out into the world

and led a successful and meaningful life.

Roy Turner

Ian Snelling

early years 1953 to 1966

I first met Ian at the School field in

September 1953 when we were selected to

play for the 1st Form team which changed

little during the years to come and David

joined us in the second year replacing

Gerry Young at left back. An outstanding

footballer and cricketer all through his

years at Stationers; a first choice on the

right wing in the school football team and

1st choice fast bowler in the cricket side.

His main attributes were his strength and

his speed respectively: difficult to knock

off the ball when tearing down the wing

and pretty fearsome over 22 yards. Ian

could be an intimidating person both on

and off the field hence the reputation that

he had a permanent seat in the front row

41


of ‘Gus’ Thomas’s detention room.

However for all this he rarely if ever

missed a football or cricket match for the

School on a Saturday morning. He was

also a very loyal friend once you got to

know him.

One of the few, if any, to fail Economics ’O’

Level and pass Economics ‘A’ Level. Not

sure how he persuaded Joe Symons to let

him continue his studies to ‘A’ Level. One

reason for this may be attributed to his

obsession with statistics. Not Economic

statistics, rather analysing football league

tables ad nauseum. Devoted to Arsenal

Football Club. A number of fellow OS

Arsenal supporters in the UK looked

forward to a full report of the Club’s

weekend match shortly after its conclusion.

Always optimistic about the team’s

prospect even in the declining Wenger

years.

During his later years at the School he also

started to play football on Saturday

afternoons for the Old Stationers and

through this grew strong links with OSFC

which bore fruit over the coming years.

He soon became a regular in the OSFC

1st XI after leaving school.

At that time the Old Stationers Football

Club were strong at 1st XI level and up

and coming lower down with 6 sides

playing regularly. OS Cricket had one of

the strongest sides in North London.

Both the football and cricket clubs were

strengthened from the strong school sides

of 1952/3 &4 with larger numbers joining

the Old Boys.

The key position of team secretary filled

for 3 years by Dave Wilkins who brooked

no argument over scratchings was taken on

by Ian who was even more ruthless with

people trying to scratch. Snell was

possibly the most dedicated OSFC team

secretary ever to take on this onerous task

at a time when the number of Old Boys

teams were expanding to 9 plus a veterans

XI. Always to be seen on a Friday night

in the John Baird P.H. in Muswell Hill

Broadway ensuring that all teams from 1

to 9 were fully complete.

The teams of this era won many honours

including the prized Southern Amateur

League 1st XI championship, an AFA

Cup and numerous Old Boys Cups. It

was arguably one of the Clubs strongest

periods; if not the strongest. At the start of

1960 or 61 we saw the new OSFC weekly

team sheet and newsletter commence a big

step up from the previous postcard system

of notifying players of their selection.

This helped considerably in bringing the

club together and was a lasting legacy of

Ian’s involvement until further technology

i.e. email and the internet became the

main form of communication. He was

ably assisted by Keith Pope using the

stencil and hand roiling out to about 150

copies to be posted to members each week.

Ian was always at the centre of things and

saw the new clubhouse built, the old tin

baths go and new plunge baths and

showers built. Ian was always providing

help and enthusiasm.

Finally it is worth mentioning his passion

for books both as a collector and dealer.

This is not an area that either David or I

have much knowledge of but can recall

two instances of his involvement which

have been related in earlier issues of this

magazine. One was a very rare first

edition of a book which Ian came across

which was worth a lot of money but which

he philanthropically donated to a specialist

library (I think) and the second one was

related by him in OS issue 78 February

2014 where he came across a copy of an

OS magazine issued in summer 1998. He

spent a considerable amount of time trying

to trace the original owner but to no avail.

Michael Hasler and David Cox

My life with Ian Snelling

Having been asked to write some

reminiscences of Ian Snelling, who passed

away this year, I was shocked to realize

how little I knew about him. He seems to

have always been around Old Stationers’

(be it in South Africa) throughout all of

my lifetime, yet I only spent at most parts

of 13 years in his company.

I first met Ian in September 1953 on the

small football pitch in front of the pavilion

at the Stationers’ sports field at Winchmore

Hill. First form games day had seen me

put into the third tier of footballers, who

for many of my colleagues on the pitch the

highlight of the day had been the Trolley

bus ride from Harringey!

With my enthusiasm for football I soon

squeezed into the second tier group, but

the first tier from which the school team

would be chosen remained a distant hope.

However, just before the first school match

I joined the first tier as there was an

absentee, but in the “second” eleven rather

than the prospective first team. I scored a

couple of close range goals and at half time

Joe Symons promoted me to the first

eleven as inside right for the second half

period. There I met for the first time my

outside right (Ian Snelling), a confident

person, who required me to pass the ball to

him in an accurate and timely fashion

either inside or outside his full back.

Although, I then immediately deflected an

own goal from a corner, I did manage to be

included for selection for the first match

against another school.

Ian and I played together for numerous

years both for the School and the Old

Boys (including Easter Tours) and I even

spent time at his home in Finsbury Park.

We spent many a happy hour there after

school and we would play snooker (at

which I was rubbish) and darts. Ian was

always exciting company and on one

occasion threw a dart into my foot, while

he was lighting his next cigarette! Life was

getting a bit too dangerous so after some

months I moved on to pastures new.

I continued to play football with Ian as

well as witnessing the tremendous work he

did for the Old Stationer’s football club,

when for a few years I assisted Peter Bullen

also in his various roles for the Club. It is

probably true to say that prior to his move

to South Africa his lifestyle was not

conducive to the “flying winger” that I had

first met at Winchmore Hill.

Some years later our paths crossed again,

but this time by e-mail. Most Premier

League games are available on TV in

South Africa and Ian would write some

wonderful personal reports on each of the

games. Many of these reports I would

forward on to other of my family members

or friends, who were also “Gooners”.

Additionally, I mentioned by e-mail to

him that only a very “sensible” school shoe

had saved me from permanent disablement.

Ian replied that he remembered that he

had deliberately aimed for the welt of the

shoe and besides in any case it was only my

little used left foot! He did however thank

me for the numerous football passes I had

given him over the years and how I had

made him look a better player than he

really was.

Ian’s working career and esteem in the

book world I only learned about in recent

years, but based upon his work for the

committee of OSFC “if a job was to be

done it was to be done properly”. A good

guy sadly missed.

Tony Taylor

42

Ralph 'BEN' batchelor

Dear Peter

Stef Batchelor

3rd October 2018

He lost his long fight (15 years) against

cancer but is now out of pain. He will be

buried in our wood tomorrow. Being a

very private man he only wanted very close

family, his brother and sister, our children

and grandchildren to be present. He will

be remembered with a Cricket Tea, and his

favourite bat will go with him.

Precis of Ralph’s Life Story

Ralph was born in Stranraer, in Scotland,

on 12th May, 1942, to Ralph and Betty

Batchelor. His father was stationed in

Scotland in the RAF during WWII.

Ralph’s elder sister, Valerie, was born the

previous year. Betty and the children

returned to London in 1944 to live with

her parents at 23 Cavendish Road,

Harringay, where Ralph’s brothers, John

and Phillip were born.

His first school was South Harringay

Primary. Valerie had the unenviable task of

taking him to school and hearing constant

reports of, “Your Ralph is outside Mr.

Wilson’s door again.” Mr. Wilson was the

headmaster and administered the cane.

Ralph was usually in trouble for climbing

on the roof to collect the football or

fighting with his best friend, Eddie Plumb.

When taking him anywhere, Valerie always

said, “Ralph, please be good.”, but he never

was.

Ralph took the 11+ exam and was not

expected to pass because he had paid little

attention to his lessons. The class teacher,

Mrs. Gaze, asked those who had passed to

move to the side, and when Ralph went to

join them, she thought he had made a

mistake and asked to see his letter. He had,

in fact, passed the 11+ exam, and went to

the Stationers’ Company School for Boys.

His major interests were football and

cricket, and he continued to be in constant

trouble, leaving at 16 to work at Frederick

Sage, shopfitters, specialising in buying

timber and veneers, eventually gaining

HNC in Business Studies at evening

classes and becoming Purchasing Manager.

Ralph married Stefanya on the 1st of May

1965; having bought a house near

Royston and commuting to London,

Ralph was “headhunted” by one of Sage’s

suppliers and after working in Stourbridge

and living in hotels searching for a new

home for 9 months only meeting up at

week-ends, they moved to The Farm in


1971. Villagers apparently commented

“What do those two young people want a

big house like that for?”. Three years later

Grey was born, followed by Abigail in

1977 and Hannah in 1984, so the house

was soon filled.

You may be aware that Ralph better known

at OS as Ben formed part of a famous half

back line on the football field together

with Charlie Cruden and Mike Hasler

that carried the team through various

school years with a great deal of success.

He continued to play football and Cricket

for the Old Boy’s Association, however

this now had to be limited to yearly visits.

Despite working away regularly, Ralph was

always active in village life whether playing

cricket or in more recent years sitting on

the recreation ground committee and

working for the youth club.

Two years after moving to The Farm, he

was out of a job and decided to start his

own business as a Steel Mill’s Agent

finding customers for German and Italian

producers of very specialised steels. This

entailed a lot of travel throughout the UK,

Europe and latterly India, travel was always

something to be relished and enjoyed. His

young German and Italian colleagues, now

some 40 years older, have all said that his

experience and tutoring taught them a

great deal about negotiating and business,

expressing their admiration for his

generosity and honesty.

A wonderful father and grandfather,

savouring all the humour and love that

these roles bring with them. He recently

said that his only regret in life was not

living long enough to see the grandchildren

grow up and flourish.

He and I had wonderful memories of

happy times with old friends at OS

Football Matches and Cricket matches

from the early 60’s until our last visit to

Botany Bay a year ago. I have lost a good

man.

Stefanya (Steve)

Tribute

It was sad to hear of the death of Ralph

Batchelor known at School and by his

OSA friends as Ben. Why Ben no one

seems to know. He and I first met a the

School field on our first games trip there.

We were both in the same group of players

from which the year team would be

selected quite how they arrived at that

group I do not know and others would

come and go later. Ben, Charles Cruden

and I formed the half back line from the

1st form through to the 4th form when

Charles was called up to the 1st XI. We

all had a lot in common including

supporting the blue and white half of

North London.

Whilst at School Ben often joined me to

go to the West End on a Sunday night to

hear the recording of Hancock's Half

Hour as my father was able to get tickets

and Peter Critten and John Geering often

joined us. Another night we went to the

Adelphi Theatre where a very young

(probably about 18) Shirley Bassey was in

the supporting cast.

When we left School all three of us joined

the OSFC but we were not in the same

teams and so our friendship remained. I

recall that Ben was always good company

when I worked in Sheffield I found that he

often visited the City as his daughter lived

there as well as he did business there

buying and selling steel.

I remember travelling to Ben and Stef's

25th wedding anniversary in Shropshire.

and how well they entertained us.

Finally it was Ben who found me in the

Builders yard in Harringey after we had

been out celebrating the AFA Cup win

with another stalwart of our Ginner Johns

who also sadly passed away in December

last year.

Mike Hasler

Barry Macrae

Barry McRae died on 8th Oct. 2018 aged

83. He had been suffering from dementia

and had been in a home for 3 years. where

he died from an infection.

Barry was born in Harringay in 1935 and

lived there until he married Sylvia in his

twenties . He then moved to Wood Green

and then Potters Bar. He went to Stationers

school in 1946 having passed the

scholarship (now 11+). Clever and outward

going he was briefly in the academic form

in the 2nd year.

However, he played a great deal of sport,

mainly football, and moved to more

modest forms in later years.

After his "O" levels , aged 16, he joined

Gordons Gin where he worked until he

was 61. He was chief buyer for many years,

one level below board level, and received

many invitations to a variety of functions

including Garden Parties at Buckingham

Palace, Although he received free cases of

gin " for entertainment purposes" he

always preferred beer and whisky to gin.

43


Sport remained important to Barry

throughout his life . He played soccer for

Hendon in a team with current amateur

internationals. In Germany doing his

National Service he played in teams with

full professional internationals . However ,

at Hendon, twice a week training became

too much and he switched to golf.

He was a golf playing member at South

Herts. for 30 years getting down to a single

figure handicap.

Finally he had season tickets at Arsenal

and Spurs with the writer for over 20 years

although basically he was a "Gooner".

His other main interest was jazz where he

was an internationally acclaimed writer.

He had 7 books on jazz published and had

a column in Jazz Journal for over 30 years.

This interest took him to New Orleans,

New York and Nice for annual jazz

festivals.

He was a natural raconteur who could

hold an audience with humorous stories

and monologues although his pure London

accent was not to everybody's taste.

His wife, Sylvia, and daughter, Fiona,

supported him in all his activities and

interests and indeed Sylvia would often

travel with him on his jazz excursions.

Always gregarious and good humoured he

will be missed.

Stuart Behn

RICHARD IRVING

‘DICKIE’ RUNDLE

1937-2018

We are sorry to announce the passing of

Richard (‘Dickie’) Rundle on Saturday

17th February at the age of 90. He died

peacefully at St Richard’s Hospital,

Chichester; loving husband of the late

Barbara, cherished father of Nick and

Mandy and devoted grandad to Charlie

and Sam.

Dickie was a true stalwart of the Old

Stationers’ Football Club from the late ‘40s

onwards whether as a player, official or

supporter. He first began his playing career

while still at school (as did many who

followed in his footsteps). Fresh out of

service in the Tank Corps he was a member

of the side that won the Old Boys’ Senior

Cup final in 1949. He was 1st XI captain

for 3 seasons (1951/52 to 1953/54) and led

the side to the club’s first 3rd Division

Senior Southern Amateur League (SAL)

title in 1952/53. This was to mark the

beginning of the club’s climb up the ranks

of the SAL later in the decade. During this

time he was an inspirational skipper and

one who engendered an unrivalled team

spirit. He revelled in the thick Barnet clay

with a style all of his own - according to

folk-law six feet sliding tackles, bullet

headers and a kick like a mule. A centre

forward turned left back!

In an official capacity he served as Hon

Secretary from 1956/57-1960/61; then as

Club President from 1976 to 1994.

As a supporter he was often to be seen

during the later years with his great friend,

Ralph Read, standing on the line at a

variety of venues south of the river (he

lived in Cheam) encouraging mainly the

ones or the twos to redouble their efforts

on the field of play.

Dickie was, moreover, one of life’s great

administrators putting so much back into

the game he loved. He served on the SAL

Committee for many years having joined

in 1960. From 1967 until 1986 he held the

office of Vice-Chairman of the SAL

Committee and in 1987 he was elected

Vice President of the SAL.

In essence, Dickie had joined a select list of

Old Stationers who can truly be held in

near legendary status for their contribution

both on the playing and administration

sides of the football club over a significant

period of time; and for spreading the good

name of the club throughout the Southern

Amateur League and Old Boys’ Cup

competitions.

Dickie was always the perfect gentleman,

kind and generous to a fault. Friends and

colleagues will recall his infectious

enthusiasm and cheery demeanour. He

was invariably the life and soul of the party,

a raconteur par excellence in particular on

those Saturday nights in the fifties in the

old clubhouse when he was frequently

asked to perform his recitation ‘Harpin’.

Let us hope that he makes “The Golden

OSFC 1952/3 1st X1 Division 3 winners - Dickie Rundle is centre of the front rowrow

44

Gates Polishing Party” or the “Garden of

Eden Weeding Party” and doesn’t finish up

“Harpin’ on a Wet Cloud”!!

He was also a talented cricketer and

featured in that famous “Ally Pally” postwar

side whose batting strength meant

that Dickie due in at number 5 waited

patiently with his pads on, but often failed

to get a knock. 250 for 2 at teatime was a

common score-line at this time. Later on,

he and Barbara were often part of the

regular gathering of OS year on year in the

same row in the Tavern Stand on the

Friday of a Lords’ test match. To spend the

day there alongside this arch raconteur was

a special treat.

There were many more strings to Dickie’s

bow, in particular his long and distinguished

career as a director with ICI where

doubtless his social skills were much in

demand. It was only when he was clear of

his business responsibilities in the mid ‘90s

that he was at last persuaded to become

president of the OSA in 2000. An honour

highly deserved.

David Cox

Jack Hammond

Dear Tim,

It was so sad to read of Dickie Rundle’s

death in the July Magazine.

I got to know Dickie well in the fifties as a

player and a friend. He was always the

perfect gentleman, kind and generous to a

fault. I shall never forget those six foot

sliding tackles in the Barnet mud – he had

a style of his own!

The following quote from Liam

Gallagher’s book on the OSFC says it all.

“Dick Rundle joins a select list of Old

Stationers who can truly be held in near

legendary status for their contribution to

playing and administrating at the club over a

significant period of time, and for spreading

the good name of the club throughout the

Southern Amateur League and Old Boy’s Cup

competitions”.

Dickie was the life and soul of the party on

those Saturday nights in the fifties when

he was frequently asked to perform his

recitation ‘Harpin’.

I hope he makes “The Golden Gates

Polishing Party” or the “Garden of Eden

Weeding Party” and doesn’t finish up

“Harpin on a Wet Cloud”!!

Sincerely,

Jack Hammond


A Tribute to

Geraint Pritchard

by Richard Phillippo at the Carol Service

at Hornsey Parish Church of St Mary’s

with St George on Sunday 9th December

2018

Geraint , Sir, GP, Mr Pritchard , Graff or

Pritch was, as we know, a truly remarkable

man.

He was brought up in a close, Welsh

speaking, family - parents and 2 high

achieving sisters— a much respected

grandfather, minister of the Welsh Lewin

Chapel in the City which Geraint attended,

and an uncle on whose Anglesey farm he

used to work during summer holidays.

His father supplied medical instruments

and Geraint would sometimes accompany

him --- perhaps his love of geography and

travel started here. His family had a great

influence on him throughout his life.

As a boy he was not spectacular at school:

he served Meredith House well in sporting

activities, gained certificates for life saving,

won a Civics Essay prize, and once came

top of his form. He was an excellent

prefect and did very well at Geography

and Latin before moving to Sheffield

University to study Geography.

He was always very interested in what was

going on around him. For example,

although he did not study history at A

level himself, he discovered a few months

before the history exam that part of the

syllabus had been changed. A new topic

was rapidly substituted with the result that

some of us, not me unfortunately, passed

the exam at the first attempt!

Geraint’s most praiseworthy achievements

came after he left school.

After graduating he taught at St Alban’s

Grammar School, then as a geography

teacher joining his former geography

masters Joe Symons and Sam Read at

Stationers’ from 1969 to the time of the

school closure in 1983 ending as Deputy

Head Master. He then moved on to Nower

Hill School in the Borough of Harrow as

Deputy Head. His final post was at

Bethnal Green Technical College where

he did well despite being told by pupils in

his first week that ‘his days were numbered’.

His time as a teacher at Stationers’ was at

probably the most challenging period of

the school’s history ----- movement from

a grammar school to a comprehensive, a

split site and cramped facilities, major

changes in the ethnic mix of the school,

rises and then severe falls in school rolls,

recruitment and industrial relations

problems, the abortive fight to keep the

school open, and maintenance of

educational standards and morale through

all of this. His Head, Robert Baynes,

clearly thought he did a very good job and

in his history of the school praised the way

in which he welded the Geography

Department into a close knit and

supportive group, and complimented him

on the important role he played in trying

to keep the school open including making

a major contribution in the preparation of

the appeal against closure submission to

the Secretary of State for Education.

The Epilogue of this book contains fine

prose written by Geraint where he

describes returning to the school on a

Friday afternoon to watch the physical

dismantling of the school buildings...There

was a sort of grim resistance as the concrete

ball seemed to have little effect at first. The

structure had no wish to be demolished. It felt

it had not completed its task’. Stationers’ was

Geraint’s passion.

He was much respected by pupils and

colleagues alike and several pupils,

influenced by him, took degrees and

pursued careers in Geography or Geology.

Many relished the memory of field trips in

North Wales and particularly Mallam,

Yorkshire where a number managed the 3

peaks challenge. This influence continues

and Roger Engledow is currently planning

to take on this challenge himself and is

inviting others intend to join him. In

connection with this and in memory of

Geraint he is also setting up an appeal on

behalf of Macmillan Cancer Support.

Good luck all!

Geraint was extremely interested in people,

of course, and was a great listener. He

tracked down Stationers' old boys and

masters wherever he could find them and

got much pleasure from this, especially

when cream teas were involved! He

45


recruited many people to the Association.

Mostly these approaches were very

welcome but not always. Johnny Gore, a

fierce, formidable Scotsman, had taught

Geraint Latin and after Mr Gore’s

retirement Geraint would ring him from

time to time but finally Mr Gore in his

peremptory manner brought these calls to

an abrupt end saying ‘have you nothing

better to do than chat to an old man’.

He served our Association brilliantly –

firstly in Old Boy football teams ---

perhaps not so brilliantly, then on the

Committee where he made positive

contributions in his usual forthright way,

as President in 1980 and, of course as the

tireless editor of our magazine. As David

Sheath put it in his magazine tribute ‘he

was the glue that bound our Association

together’. He would, of course, want the

Association to continue to thrive.

Geraint was a man of surprises and he

seemed to know so much more about us

than we did about him. Most people

thought he was a confirmed bachelor until

he arrived at a recent President’s Day

cricket match with his long term partner,

the delightful Marj Laundon, a retired

Macmillan Nurse who was such a great

support to him in his last years. His links

with his Chapel were known but few knew

their extent or that he had become an

Elder. The extremely brave way in which

he faced his final illness was also

exceptional.

Last May, 18 Old Stationers attended

Geraint’s funeral service in Anglesey and it

was very fitting that we sang the school

song during the chapel service. It was apt

also that:

• his coffin was brought in to Alfie Boe

singing ‘Bring him home’ since Wales was

his spiritual home and

• that Geraint’s coffin left to the music of

‘Streets of London’ since Geraint was a

Londoner as well as a Welshman.

Perhaps Peter Jarvis best described Geraint

when he wrote in his magazine tribute

‘But it was Geraint’s warmth and genuine

interest in people which made him such an

exceptional man’.

Richard Phillippo

BOB BROWN

Dear Tim,

I have just heard from Bob’s wife Piiastiina

that he died of a particularly aggressive

form of lung cancer on the 2nd of August

at home in Oulu in Finland. Anne and I

were hoping to meet them in Newcastle in

October and had no idea that he was ill so

it all happened very quickly.

Bob was head boy when I arrived at

Stationers’ in 1960 and was the mainstay

of the choir and we immediately struck up

a friendship through his love of music and

when he was at Oxford he would always

come to sing for me at Waltham Abbey

when he was home on holiday. Later,

when he first went to teach English in

Finland we lost contact for about 25 years

and it was through Geraint that we began

corresponding again when Bob joined the

OSA. He had had some sort of illness

when he was young and missed a year of

schooling so he was older than his

contemporaries and having stayed on for

an extra year to do the Oxbridge entrance

exams he was certainly in his 20th year

when he left and was in fact only 5 years

younger than I was!

Best wishes,

Norman Rimmer

Dear Roger

Henry Douglas

Jane Douglas

17th July 2018

I emailed you a few months ago to tell you

that my father Henry Douglas (Stationers

1934 - 1940) had moved to the care home

in the retirement village where he lived

(Mayford Grange, Woking). I am now

writing to say that sadly he died on 23

March: I say sadly but he died unexpectedly

in his sleep the night after my brother and

I had taken him out for a good lunch. He

was 93 in February and kept his mind to

the end. So everyone says what a good way

to go.

I should also mention the deaths of two

other Old Stationers. My uncle James

Douglas died aged 90 in November 2013

and their great friend C. H. (Hugh)

Lawrence died aged 96 in January.

Although they were different ages, they

became friends over a production of

Hamlet in 1938 which the school put on

at Hornsey Town Hall. Hugh played

Hamlet, James was Horatio and my father

was the second gravedigger. I have a copy

of the programme and a couple of

photographs which were among my

father's papers. I know James was not and

I think Hugh was not a member of the

OSA but Hugh certainly saw some of my

father's copies of the Old Stationer and

liked to reminisce! My father also very

much enjoyed reading the history of the

school which I bought him from Tim

Westbrook a few months ago.

I have just picked up the latest Old

Stationer with the sad news of Geraint

Pritchard's death. I will pass it on to my

friend Jo Leech (nee Kitchin) whose father

Kenneth Kitchin was head boy in the

1930s and whose maternal grandfather Mr

Roberts was the classics teacher. I know

that Geraint went to see her and she was

able to give him her grandfather's papers

and photos. I guess there are very few left

now who were at Stationers in the 1930s!

Sorry to rabbit on but please amend your

records and pass the information on to

anyone else who needs to know.

Very many thanks

Jane Douglas

Jane

Thank you for letting my know about the

death of your father. Always sad news but

most of us would like to go that way. We do

still have one or two members who are in their

90s and may be interested in the news you

have provided regarding other Old Stationers,

although not OSA members, as well as your

father.

I will ensure that the Database is amended

appropriately.

Roger Engledow

PETER JOLLY

I have just heard about the sad and sudden

death of Peter last weekend. He was in the

same year as myself and Mike Brady who

maintained a friendship with him ever

since we left school.

I lost contact with him but I do know that

he went to Australia to work for P&O and

at one time formed a close friendship with

a close friend of ours and it was actually

that man’s widow who gave me the bad

news.

David Turner

Ernie Stone

We have just been notified of the death of

Ernie Stone, school years 1944-49. His

funeral was on Tuesday December 11th.

We don't have any further information at

this time and so close to ging to press but

tributes will be most welcome for the next

issue.

46

Most of you will not remember an article I wrote about 4

years ago about the walking football group that I had set up;

but here’s an update anyway!

In September 2014 a few ex-players (from a variety of clubs)

joined me at the Barnet Power League to play the newest

version of the beautiful game. We used an outdoor 5-a-side

pitch each Thursday morning when-ever we could get 10

players (which was virtually every week – but only just).

Slowly the word spread and RIPwfc (Running Is Prohibited)

came into existence. We started to use a 7-a-side pitch and

then moved to using 2 x 5-a-side pitches as numbers had

grown to 20+. Yes, running is prohibited and still causes

some controversy, particularly for newer players.

I wrote to the Herts FA and London FA as I wasn’t sure

which would be the relevant one for where we play (the

Power League pitches at the junction of the North Circular

Road and Colney Hatch Lane). I received a reply from the

Middlesex FA who have continued to support us.

I have to say that everyone who has tried it has loved it.

However, for some, physical or other issues prevented them

from continuing to play. Too many have picked up injuries

– even niggling little problems take a while to recover from

at “our” age. I am always telling new players that they should

expect to end up hot, sweaty and out of breath just by

walking around a small football pitch. Some didn’t believe

me until they‘d tried it.

We have evolved over the years as the game developed and

now play to non-contact (ie: full frontal tackling only) rules.

This allows a range of ages, sexes & disabilities to enjoy their

game. OK we’ve only had one lady play so far but ages range

from players still in their 50’s to those over 80 (I’m only 3rd

oldest playing at the moment – and all 3 of us used to be

Chartered Accountants!). Teams have played in the Walking

Football United Cup and the FA People’s Cup.

2018 has been an important year for us. We are now a

WALKING FOOTBALL – an Update

formal club with a constitution along the lines of community

sports associations. On one Thursday we exceeded 30

players. This involved 3 pitches with 6 teams playing each

other using 3 pitches. This worked by giving a “captain” in

each team a list of which team they played next and on which

pitch. We have now set up a session on Monday mornings

as well. This often involves the 7-a-side pitch but numbers

are not far short of Thursdays with some playing twice a

week. Quite a few do this anyway by playing at other clubs.

When RIPwfc was formed there wasn’t another place in the

North London area where you could play. Now there is at

least half a dozen.

Old Stationers who have played include Bob Townsend,

Keith Allen, Dave Fuller, Mike Mote, Danny Bone, John

Jackson & Tim Westbrook (with apologies to anyone I have

overlooked). More are welcome though. It must be worth a

visit even if only to watch me scoring goals with my right

foot (Syd Holmes should have explained that to me 60 odd

years ago)!

If you want any more information have a look at our website

– www.ripwfc.co.uk

Roger Engledow

The Old Stationers’ Association

OSAmag88

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