The Silhillian 2011

www.silhillians.net

THE SILHILLIAN 2011 Contents 1969 Leavers Alumni Matters Headmaster’ Letter Main Committee Editorial The President Elect President’s Letter erm a Ad:Layout1 7/12/0711:34Page1 Jan Jerroms

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4 4 7 6 3 2 6 4 5 4 8 4 “ T H E S I L H I L L I A N ” the magazine of the The Old Silhillians’ Association Limited (The Former Pupils of Solihull School) Memorial Clubhouse and Ground Warwick Road Copt Heath Solihull West Midlands B93 9LW

Telephone: 01564 777680 Facsimile: 01564 775151 Email: [email protected] Website: www.silhillians.net ISSUE 62 NOVEMBER 2011

President 2011 John Harrison 1 Dear Fellow Old Silhillian, When Malcolm reminded me that “it’s that time again – I need your report for the Silhillian”, my immediate thought was “it can’t be – where has the year gone!?” Of course, there are still a couple of months of my year in office to go and several very important events still to come, but it really has flown by and been thoroughly enjoyable throughout. It has been a busy year for the OSA and for the School, and I cannot remember a time when the relationship between the two organisations has been stronger. At the start of the year we took the opportunity to take a good hard look at the OSA - our objectives, what we do, whether there is more that we should be doing, how we work alongside the school, and, as best we are able, what the future might bring. The opportunity seemed appropriate with the Headmaster, David Lloyd and the Chairman of Governors, Mark Hopton (OS) both relatively new in their respective roles. David and Mark have engaged in ongoing discussions with us and their honest talking and clear

Letter from the President from Letter thinking have been invaluable in helping us to re-assess the role of the Association and ensure that it is ‘fit for purpose’ in today’s changing world. Our critical look at ourselves has actually concluded that we are pretty good at what we do, but that there are some things we could do more effectively and other things we need to address. One of these is the need to provide more real benefits for the increasing number of girls leaving Solihull School. Another is to take a more active role in helping current pupils and recent leavers in the increasingly difficult task of finding careers advice, worthwhile work experience and perhaps by providing mentoring; we former pupils have a huge range of experience, knowledge and contacts which the School would love to be able to better ‘tap into’ to assist today’s pupils. You’ll find a separate article about how we hope to achieve this elsewhere in the magazine, and I urge you to consider how you might personally help - it can make a huge difference to the younger generation of Old Sils especially. It has long been recognised that we also need to increase the awareness of the OSA within the School, and increase OSA membership levels among new leavers. I am pleased that we are making significant progress in this. We shall shortly have an OSA office on-site at the School (located in the Old Music School), and another room there is currently being converted to house an archive of school memorabilia and, of course, access to the extensive web-based archive of documents funded in recent years by the OSA Trust. I would like to hope that these developments, being undertaken in partnership with the School, should see increased ‘visibility’ and lead to increased membership levels in the coming years. Many of my predecessors as President told me that it is the visits to the School which are the highlight of the job, and I agree completely! Over the year I have been privileged to attend events such as the Carol Service in Chapel, the musical Grease and the Summer Concert - all of these have been quite excellent and demonstrate the outstanding levels of talent and ability of the pupils. The Speeches, only last week, highlighted that as well as playing hard and excelling at all things extra-curricular, today’s students obviously also put equal hard work and energy into passing their exams! Back to OSA matters, the re-structuring of the way we run the clubhouse and grounds, mentioned by Max Levenger in his letter last year, has continued to move forward. A special note of thanks and appreciation must go to Andrew Clutterbuck who has taken on the challenging role of leading the sports clubs and others who use the facility into managing it too (and thus leaving the main committee to concentrate on its primary function of looking after the school alumni). Andrew has drawn together a new team whose task has also been to turn around the trading position of the facilities at Copt Heath. In difficult economic times this is not an easy job and has required some tough decisions; Andrew has put in a huge amount of personal time and energy and encouraging 2 results are now starting to be seen. Letter from the President Whilst mentioning the grounds, I should also mention John Griffin, who has shown a commitment to the OSA and the sports clubs over the last few years which goes ‘way beyond the call’. John’s voluntary work in preparing pitches and on other ground maintenance, and latterly in finding us a new grounds-keeper, is very much appreciated by all of the many sportsmen who use the facilities. Another vote of thanks is due to Roger Flood, who has stood down as organiser of the Over-60s lunches, which continue to provide a highly popular occasion twice a year for more ‘senior’ former pupils to meet up. Mike Smith, Bob Standley and Nigel Holmes have taken over. I would like to also record my appreciation to the many people who put a great deal of time into the day to day running of various aspects of the OSA; thanks therefore to Keith Waterhouse and the clubhouse staff, the management team led by Andrew Clutterbuck, sports club representa- tives, and especially to the Main Committee under the chairmanship of Barry Allen, and to Mal- colm Lawrie for producing another excellent edition of The Silhillian. And finally, I am delighted that Peter Davies has agreed to take over from me in December; he will make an outstanding President at this exciting time for the Association. I wish him every success for his forthcoming year as your President, and pass on my best wishes to you all.

Kind regards John Harrison THE OLD SILHILLIANS’ ASSOCIATION - PAST PRESIDENTS 1921/22 Dr AV Bernays 1955 JT Rolfe 1983 DD Cox 1923 C Aldrin 1956 VO Hawley 1984 DW Edwards 1924 WR Ludlow 1957 FR Bishop 1985 SC Mackay 1925 PE Martineau 1958 LG Highway 1986 JRD Orrett 1926 PH Reading 1959 HA Steele 1987 G Stubbings 1927 HA Hughes 1960 CWD Cooper 1988 MS Saunders 1928 HS Matthews 1961 HT Wilcox 1989 HJC Taylor 1929 TA Furse 1962 WP Townsend 1990 MJD Smith 1930 CH Palmer 1963 DH Billing 1991 RJC Graves 1932 LC Reading 1964 HB Callaghan 1992 BW Allen 1933 LE Horton 1965 CT Coton 1993 GM Hughes 1934 F Burnett 1966 MJ Wheelock 1994 HE Blow 1935 RH Whitehill 1967 PJ Hill 1995 AJ Richardson 1936 CL Hughes 1968 BJW Swift 1996 P Callaghan 1937 FJ Osborne 1969 FAR Moon 1997 MC Bettridge 1938 HD James 1970 JEJ Baggs 1998 PA Thomas 1939/43 WRL Horton 1971 RG Toy 1999 JM Batsford 1944 FL Nock 1972 TG Jones 2000 J Woolman 1945 AG Bragg 1973 JMB Urry 2001 BJD Wilde 1946 JB Mayers 1974 DM Powell 2002 MA Cutler 1947 CW Bragg 1975 MJ Cusack 2003 N Smith 1948 EG Wilcox 1976 RC Young 2004 R Jerrom 1949 AJD Mansell 1977 KJ Foster 2005 BW Allen 1950 JM Urry 1978 T Jackson 2006 PA Thomas 1951 KW Highway 1979 DA Gurnham 2007 SD Allso 1952 Dr. KD Waters 1980 PBL Instone 2008 JA Platt 1953 BE Hatton 1981 JLR Hare 2009 RJ Young 1954 MAD Cooper 1982 RC Cupit 2010 ME Levenger 3 Dear Fellow Old Silhillian

My memory is certainly not as good as it used to be but I clearly recollect my early days at Solihull School. It was in the summer of ‘69 (to quote the words of Bryan Adams) that I joined 3A2, having just moved to the Midlands. The President-elect As I had no previous contact with the area I knew nobody when I joined, but I soon made strong friendships. Many of those last to the current day. Indeed, Keith Waterhouse, the Manager at Copt Heath, was one of the friends I made all those years ago, and he has been a best man at all (or should I say both) of my wed- dings!

I can honestly look back and say that I enjoyed (almost) every moment at the School. The last part of my time there was spent in the boarding house, as my parents had decided to abandon me and move to Scotland. The boarding house was certainly an eye opener!

Much of my time at the School revolved around my love of hockey. I was Captain of Hockey in my final year (1975/76). The memory of my first days at the School was jogged recently, when my 7 year old son, Rory joined J1. My hope is that his younger brother, Finlay (aged 2) will follow in our footsteps in a few years time. Come on Shenstone!

As you will have noted, I am what might be described as an older parent. While I do not feel (or act) older, I suspect that I will be working until I am 75! I am delighted that recently Rory joined the mini and juniors at Copt Heath. The photograph is of me, Rory, Finlay and my wife Heather at the Club a few weeks ago for Sunday morning training. I also have a 26 year old daughter who, at the time of writing this article, is on her honeymoon in India. Phoebe has just qualified as a solicitor, following in her old man’s footsteps.

After leaving the School, I studied law at Birmingham University and then attended the Col- lege of Law in Chester. I moved back to the Midlands for a training contract. I have worked in Birmingham as a solicitor since the early 1980s. I am Managing Partner of Gateley, a national practice with over 700 people. We also have an office in Dubai. Malcolm Lawrie thinks I spend most of my time there. He may be right.

My parents made a very wise decision while I was at the School. They made small annual payments which meant that, when I left the School, I was a life member of the Old Silhillians’ 4 Association. After I left the School I played hockey at Copt Heath for a number of years. More The President-elect recently (in 2006) I became Secretary of the OSA. During my six years as Secretary there has been an enormous number of changes. The most obvious physical evidence of this is the wonderful Astroturf facility. I have been asked to become President at an extremely exciting time, when a number of further projects are likely to come to fruition. These include the creation of an even closer working relationship with the School (which has been dealt with in more detail by John Harrison in his letter), the restructuring of the organisation (to draw a clear distinction between the Alumni activities and the business at Copt Heath) and the possible further improvement of facilities at Copt Heath (including much needed new changing rooms).

I was delighted when John Harrison invited me to be the next President of our Association. My only hesitation was that I am not that well known by the Membership and other users of Copt Heath. However, as a result of my role as Secretary I do have a very good knowledge of what is happening and Heather and I hope to meet many more of you over the next 12 months, by regular Sunday morning visits with Rory and by attending as many functions as possible during 2012.

I have no doubt that I will be supported by a hardworking and multi-talented Main Committee. Each member gives an enormous number of hours to the well-being of your Association.

I am honoured to accept John’s invitation.

Regards

Peter Davies

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Have a look at our website www.NonExecutiveDirector.co.uk or for an initial discussion contact us on 01797 270 920 or speak to Robbie Beak in our Birmingham office on 07764 497223. 5 Dear Old Silhillians I must really like doing this job. Issue 12 for me and I have now produced a fifth of all Silhil- Editorial lian magazines. The ‘News of Former Pupils’ section is a little thinner than usual. I am not sure whether that is because of the impact that the website and our quarterly emails to members has had or because Old Silhil- lians have not been very forward in, well, coming forward. Even with all of the modern forms of communication I believe one cannot beat the written word so please, next year, give me plenty of copy for the News of Former Pupils section. It was a pleasure to have been invited to lunch with the David Lloyd and Sean Morgan in the New Refectory one Tuesday. I say new, but it must be nearly 40 years old now. The last time I sat in there to eat surrounded by pupils was 1975. A main course of chicken jalfrezi caused the postponement of my normal Tuesday evening sojourn to Lloyds Indian Restaurant in Knowle. It was not the grey/green stuff smattered with raisins that we used to have; this was red, had big pieces of chicken in it and, what is more, it was all white meat. My disappoint- ment that jam roly-poly was not on the menu was tempered when I saw the marbled sponge PAST EDITORS and custard. I was immediately transported 1. Bernard Owens (1950, 53-55) back to the seventies and Beth Pittom, Kate 2. Brian Coglan (1951-52) Keeling (us boarders were really looked after by them - much bigger portions than the day 3. Arthur Upton (1956-60, 63) boys!) and charcoal grey suits peppered with 4. Robin Cooper (1961-62) mustard bombs. 5. Mike Cusack & There are no staff tables any more. The Mike Callaghan (1964) three of us sat at a long table that looked 6. Mike Cusack (1965-67) new and yet was strangely familiar. After 7. Brian Knight (1968-71) a few moments it dawned on me that these 8. Geoff Herne (1972-74) were the tables from the Old Refectory. No 9. Nick Atkinson (1975-76) longer dark with the patina caused by many, many decades of spilt and ingrained food, but 10. John Woolman (1977-79) now they were gleaming as if they were made 11. Simon Wilcox (1980-82) yesterday. I agreed with the Headmaster, 12. Martin Cotter (1983-85) well one does, that maybe they had been a bit 13. David Gilbert (1986-87) too well restored. 14. Robert Chetland (1988-89) Before lunch I was shown round the Old Music 15. Reg Instone (1990-91) School where the OSA office is to be moved 16. Richard Graves (1992-94) and where, on the first floor, the archives are to be located. We bumped into the 17. Claude Coton (1995-99) 6 School Archivist, John Loynton, who talked 18. Malcolm Lawrie (2000- ) Editorial us through his plans for the archives. The archive material will be housed in a large room that people can visit rather like a museum. John’s enthusiasm was incredibly infectious. He was like a cross between Magnus Pyke and David Bellamy and I, for one, cannot wait to see the results of his hard graft. Both John and Pete on the preceding pages have told you about the exciting / busy times the Association is going through. For ‘exciting / busy’ read ‘hard work’ for the members of the committees. In particular I would single out Andrew Clutterbuck who, with a great deal of help from John Griffin, is masterminding the formation of ‘Sportsco’, a company formed by the sports sections that will hopefully take over the running of Copt Heath. This will allow the OSA to concentrate more fully on alumni issues. As ever I must thank all of the contributors and advertisers and I have little doubt that, one way or another, I will see you on these pages in 12 months.

Kind regards

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7 462 Station Road, Dorridge, Solihull, B93 8HB Email: [email protected] • Order on-line at www.juel.co.uk O.S.A. Main Committee

John Harrison Peter Davies Max Levenger President President Elect Imm. Past President

Barry Allen David Lloyd Peter Davies Chairman Headmaster Hon. Secretary

Please note that all enquiries concerning membership issues, subscriptions, change of address, etc., should be addressed to: The Old Silhillians’ Association, Solihull School, Warwick Road, Solihull, West Midlands B91 3DJ emailed to [email protected] Joe Bates Max Levenger Malcolm Lawrie 8 Hon. Treasurer Hon. Membership Sec. Silhillian Editor or amended through the website as outlined on page 21 O.S.A. Main Committee

Andrew Clutterbuck Mark Lucas Johnny Dugdale Management Chairman London Representative General Member

Peter Thomas Simon Bright Rupert Young General Member General Member General Member

Please note that all enquiries concerning membership issues, subscriptions, change of address, etc., should be addressed to: The Old Silhillians’ Association, Solihull School, Warwick Road, Solihull, West Midlands B91 3DJ emailed to [email protected] or amended through the website as outlined on page 21 9 Dear alumni

Malcolm has asked me for a gripping, erudite and witty summary of the academic year! Whilst I can’t guarantee any of the above, I can promise to report on a very successful year indeed.

Starting with results, I am very

Headmaster’s Letter Headmaster’s pleased to inform you that at A Level we achieved 83% A*-B grade and out of a year group of 127, 47 pupils secured 3 A grades or better. At GCSE we achieved 72% A*-A grade, our best ever, and out of 118 pupils, 30 secured 8 A* grades or better. David Lloyd with Head Girl, Emma Johnson, and Head Boy, Michael Hawkes Turning to other matters, the year was very busy indeed. The Independent Schools’ In- spectorate found us to be “outstandingly successful” and rated us as “excellent” in almost all areas. Individually, I believe the inspectors took away with them many ideas for their own schools! As of September 2011, Drama and Classical Civilisation are on offer at GCSE and from September 2012, we hope to offer Government and Politics at A Level. We also launched our new school magazine, now appropriately named “The Greyhound” and the aim is to report termly highlights in glorious colour. Furthermore, you can even find us on Twitter! Our account is solsch1560 and is frequently updated.

We had many varied visitors to the School last year including one of the Chilean miners (José Henríquez and his wife), Lords Edmiston and Hunt (below), Garry Roberts of the

10 Boomtown Rats and the Olympic Bronze Medallist and USA 2010 Athlete of the Year, Dav- Headmaster’s Letter id Oliver. In addition, the Junior School welcomed author Adam Guillain, who delivered a super creative writing workshop. Whilst on the Junior School, I am delighted to report that for the first time ever we have a three form entry at J1. Well done to Mrs Brough and the team. Despite the prolonged and damaging economic turbulence, overall numbers remain strong.

Turning to sport, there is much to report, so I will try to be brief. In rugby, we won the U18 Dai- ly Mail Vase at Twickenham. What a day...great rugby, lots of travelling support, super hospitality for the Headmaster, Bursar and Chairman and victory of course! Mr Thompson and his team continue to set very high standards indeed.

On the hockey pitch, the 1st XI Hockey (girls) were crowned West Midlands County Cham- pions and the 1st XI (boys), U12 (girls) and U11 (Junior School) all won the Warwickshire Championships. In netball, the 1st VII secured the Borough Championships for the third year running. Out on the golf course, we were defeated in the ISGA Match Play Divisional Final against Rugby School, but got our revenge by beating Rugby in the semi-final of the HMC (Midlands) Foursomes, going on to third place in the National Stableford Final beating Berkhamsted, Bolton School for Boys and Canford. In total, our boys and girls played in over 1200 sports matches over the course of the last academic year.

As for individuals, there is much to be proud of. Alannah Griffin won “Warwickshire Jun- ior Tennis Player of the Year”, Georgia Lovett was selected for the 148 England Pony Team (showjumping), Cameron Pound was selected for the England U13 Ice Hockey Squad and Julie Whiting (pictured right) was selected for the Wales U18 Hockey Squad. In March, George Armstrong, Adam Beaumont and William Rigg in J4 competed in the British Schools’ Modern Biathlon Championships at Crystal Palace and came an impressive 8th.

Whilst referring to sport, it would be unfair of me not to mention the hard work of the ground staff who prepare and pamper our pitches every week. This was recognised at 11 Headmaster’s Letter Headmaster’s

12 Headmaster’s Letter the beginning of academic year, and referred to at Speeches, when we received the great news that our Head of Grounds, Karl Brotherhood, was to receive the prestigious national title of “Grounds Man of the Year”, beating off competition from Whitgift (Surrey CCC play there), Millfield, Eton, Harrow and many others. This is a much coveted award and well deserved, too. Whilst on the subject of Speeches, last September we enjoyed a thrilling presentation from polar explorer, Ben Saunders. This year, we have Olympian and com- mentator, Sharron Davies MBE joining us for the event. I look forward to hearing of her illustrious swimming career.

In academic competitions, we enjoyed similar success. In debating we were seeded “number 1” in Central England by Oxford University and qualified for the national finals at both Oxford and Cambridge. In the Bank of England 2.0 Interest Rate competition we were beaten national semi-finalists, but we did win the “Aim High” ACCA (Associa- tion of Chartered, Certified Accountants) West Midlands Business Challenge. We also enjoyed success in the Physics Olympiad, Maths Challenge, European Youth Parliament and Young Enterprise.

We have also been very busy on stage and in the Music School. Drama productions packed the calendar and we enjoyed Alice in Wonderland, Titanic, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Blood Brothers, What a Knight (pictured below), Animal Farm and 5 nights of Grease - The Musical (pictured left). In music, we are blessed with considerable depth of talent and have enjoyed a stream of recitals, both informal and formal concerts, as well as skilled performances in each and every school assembly. In May, the Choral Society wowed the Bushell Hall audience with Haydn’s Creation and I feel immensely proud and privileged to be able to lis- ten to the School Choir in Chapel every Sunday. Furthermore, the Chamber Choir continues to get out and about and performed Choral Evensong at Worcester Cathedral, St Alphege and most recently, Lichfield Cathedral.

During Charity Week we raised nearly £8,000, divided between our three nominated charities: Marie Curie Can- cer Care, Solihull, The Ogwen Valley Mountain Rescue Team, Snowdonia and The Coptic Orthodox Mission in Zambia. Over the course of the year we raised a total of approximately £18,000.

The CCF and Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme also continue to thrive. 13 Between them, there have been 14 camps as well as 26 Gold Duke of Edinburgh Awards, 44 Silver and 36 bronze. Life at Solihull School is far from dull and over the summer break our boys and girls enjoyed trips to Alaska, Colorado, Barba- dos and France.

Headmaster’s Letter Headmaster’s In terms of staffing, we had six re- tirements last year. On the teach- ing staff, Bob Melling and Martin Brough retired with 69 years of service to the School between them. In addition, Brian Parkes retired after nine years in the Art Department. Sue Trevillion, one of our Science Technicians, Lorraine Johnson, my PA, and Graham Hughes, Chairman of the Board of Governors, also retired. Our very best wishes go to all six and their families. Mark Hopton, previously Vice Chairman, became the new Chairman of Governors. Martin Brough and Bob Melling On your next visit to the School, please look out for the new signs. We have invested in increased signage to prevent the loss of old names such as “Coronation Drive” and “Queen’s Court”. You will also notice that the Sixth Form are now in business suits and the boys are wearing the new Sixth Form tie. In addition, we are working on a new, up to date website and prospectus - so watch this space! Sadly, you may have read that on the 24 August the Old Gymnasium burnt down in a very serious fire. I am aware the Old Gym brings back many happy memories for former pupils and I will, of course, keep you posted on future developments.

Finally, it is my aim that the School and OSA work even more closely together in the future. John Loynton, author of the recent book on the School’s history, is building a permanent archive in the Old Music School and our stock of whole school photographs going back many years will soon adorn Big School corridor. I sincerely hope that with John’s and Malcolm’s help, as well as the support of the Association, we can draw upon the vast expertise and experience of the membership and invite you to more school-based events.

Yours ever,

14 David EJJ Lloyd ???????

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39/40 Calthorpe Road, Edgbaston Birmingham B15 1TS Accountancy Firm www.clementkeys.co.uk of the Year 2009 6 to 25 Partners 16 Alumni Matters Careers advice, mentoring and work experience – how you can help...... During the year we have been in discussions with the School to identify activities which we could offer, especially to younger members, as part of our OSA membership benefits. For sixth formers, new school leavers and those of you who may have joined the Associa- tion relatively recently, we recognise that any help with ‘getting a step up’ in your chosen career can be invaluable. The Headmaster is also keen to be able to take advantage of the broad range of experience, knowledge and contacts of OSA members to help provide students with careers advice, mentoring and work placement opportunities. This might take the form of relatively simple things such as providing advice over the phone or speaking to small groups of sixth formers over lunch at school, through to running mock interviews to help students gain experience, or providing short term work experience placements. Any assistance we can provide can help enormously. It doesn’t have to take a lot of your time and is very much appreciated by the students and school leavers, and of course by the School. Our members are ideally placed to provide this help, and we already have some practical solutions. For instance, the regular Birmingham ‘Business Group’ networking meetings are attracting many more of our younger members, and we have established a fast growing Linked In group. However, we need to increase the information we have about those of you who would be willing to provide further help. The membership database we have developed provides the ideal vehicle for this, so please login via the website (or register if you haven’t already), and update your personal details to indicate areas where you have expertise - and of course your willingness to assist. (If you’re not sure how to do this, there are more details on the following pages). No matter what stage in your career you have reached, or whatever career path you have followed – business, academia, the arts, the professions, medicine, sport or any- thing else - there could be a valuable role for you. And don’t forget that your fellow members and future Old Silhillians can benefit from advice and help from others at all stages in their career – whether you’ve made it to the top or are still in training or still at university. If you are willing to get involved please update your profile now at www.silhillians.net or email us at [email protected] John Harrison Membership Membership of the Association continues to rise and interest has been significantly increased since the launch of the website and archive, paid for by the OSA Trust. This is continuing to gain interest with information constantly being added. We are continually looking to automate processes to help lower costs and save time, so please check and amend your personal details directly on the website (instructions are given in the OSA Website section of this article). 17 HJ0174 Silhillian Ad A5.qxd:Layout 1 3/10/11 17:35 Page 2 The OSA Trust The OSA

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www.gateleyuk.com 18 Alumni Matters We continue to provide an annual membership facility, however life membership proves better value and again reduces the labour costs of administration. If you are interested in converting from annual to life membership, please contact Max Levenger atmember - [email protected] or visit the website for more details. Max Levenger The OSA Trust Trustees Report The Trustees present their Annual Report and the audited Financial Statements for the year ended at the AGM in December.

Constitution The Charity is governed by a set of rules agreed by the founders on 3rd November 1999 when approval was obtained from the Registrar of Charities.

Objects and Policies The sole object of the Trust Deed is ‘The provision of full and/or part scholarships and to provide grants or support for pupils at Solihull School , West Midlands.

Reserves Policy The Trustees have considered it reasonable for the Charity to retain sufficient reserves to generate the investment income required to fulfill the commitments undertaken and the objects of the Charity.

Trustees’ Responsibilities The Trustees are required to prepare Financial Statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of the Charity’s affairs and its incoming resources and application of resources for that period. In preparing those statements, the Trustees are required to:

• Select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently; • Make judgments and estimates that are reasonable and prudent; • Prepare the Financial Statements on a going concern basis, unless it is inappropriate to presume that the Charity will continue its activities.

The Trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the Charity and to enable them to ensure that the Financial Statements comply with the Charities Act. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the Charity and hence taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

Despite the economic downturn and the realities that affect us all in this particularly un- pleasant and unpredictable financial climate, this has been a good year in many ways for the Old Silhillians’ Trust. I would therefore like to start by saying a big thank you to those collaborators that support us and who work so tirelessly in support of our endeavours.

I have said in the past that Old Silhillians have always been at the forefront of support for their school, and as the School continues to go from strength to strength in developing its reputation both locally and nationally I would like to think that this success reflects well on its ancestors. 19 This year has seen the arrival of a new, ‘forward thinking’ Headmaster in David Lloyd and I am pleased to report that David has already shown himself to be an intensely enthusiastic supporter of the Old Silhillians’ Association and the Trust in particular. During this past year an extraordinary amount of work has been done to improve and enhance the relationship between the Association and the School and certainly in the 40 years since I left Solihull School in my opinion our relationship has never been better. I am furthermore delighted to announce that the school has been kind enough to provide

Alumni Matters the Association with a permanent office on the school campus. The office, which will be situated in the Old Music School, now shares its accommodation with a magnificent permanent museum/archive which John Loynton is actively putting together.

As in previous years the Trust has during the year continued to support a number of sixth form students with scholarships, however, disappointingly, we did not receive any applications for the Lander Osborn Award this year, so to this end I cannot advise of any beneficiary. Details of who is eligible, and how to apply for this most useful award are shown elsewhere within this magazine.

In my report last year I indicated that the Trust was making application to the Revenue to obtain ‘Gift Aid’ in respect to all subscriptions. Something, which if accepted, would make a considerable difference to our ongoing income stream. I am delighted to advise that the Revenue has now confirmed acceptance and our Treasurer Joe Bates is currently embarking on a project to recover if possible ‘Gift Aid’ from the past four years subscriptions. Good luck Joe and a very sincere thank you for all your efforts as Treas- urer of the Trust during the past 12 months.

The website and archive have continued to successfully expand during the year and further financial resource was given by the Trust for the establishment of a proper database of members which is now linked to the website. Malcolm Lawrie has again this year devoted an enormous amount of time and effort into this project and we should all be eternally grateful to him for his efforts. Malcolm, thank you.

In conclusion, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the Trustees for their continued effort and support, most especially to Peter Davies who will relinquish his role as Secretary in order to become Association President in the coming year. Peter, many thanks for all you have done for the Trust over the years as Secretary and good luck and good fortune as President. Finally, I would like to thank David Lloyd who, though not a Trustee, allows us to conduct our meetings in the School Pavilion. David attends our meetings as an observer and gives us all a huge insight into the day to day workings of the magnificent Solihull School. David, thank you for your support and guidance; it is appreciated by all the Trustees. Peter A Thomas

The OSA Website - www.silhillians.net The OSA website must be the greatest achievement of the Association. Now, with the addition of the membership database sitting behind it, it has become an extremely powerful tool by which the OSA and former pupils can keep in touch, exchange informa- 20 tion and, providing they are registered, users can find and contact old school friends. Alumni Matters Whilst the majority of the website is freely accessible to anyone, users must be registered in order to access the many photographs and documents in the archives or to amend their personal details in the membership database. There are now just short of 900 former pupils, staff and former staff registered on the site and registrations continue to grow at a rate of about 30 a month.

For those interested in statistics - in September there were 790 visits (539 absolutely unique) to the site from 30 different countries. 350 of those visits were from new visitors. There were 3917 page views and visitors stayed on the site for an average of 3 mins 18 secs. I’m no expert, but I think that’s quite impressive. As has been mentioned elsewhere in this issue the OSA database sits behind the website and registered users can now access and amend their personal details. Registering as a user Go to www.silhillians.net and on the right hand side just above half way up you will see ‘Not registered? Join now!’. Click on that; complete the form then click on ‘Sign up’. We then match your application against your record in the database. We aim to have your registration authorised within 24 hours and, more often than not, quicker than that. Amending your personal details on the OSA database Once registered you can amend you personal details by logging in and to the right of the page under quick profile you will see a link ‘Update OSA Information’. Click on this, amend your details (If you can offer careers advice or work experience please do not forget to check the ‘Yes’ boxes at the bottom of the page) then click ‘Save Profile’. Job done! If you have any question about the website please drop me an email at webmaster@ silhillians.net Malcolm Lawrie

21 1969 Leavers’ Re-union 1969 Leavers’

Pam Felix Davies, Dave Felix Davies, Patrick Diggines, Graham Hollway, Laura Whieldon

A ‘69 leavers’ reunion was held at the Boot, Lapworth, on 7th August. I was kicked out from school in ‘67 after 8 failures in my O level results so I got in by default! Local lad Paul Synods organised the day, well, he used to be local and now lives in Australia. We’re not sure if he was kicked out of the country or just left. Anyway it was great to see him again. Paul ran the ‘disco’ at my wife’s 21st Peter Thomas

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22 Mention this advertisement when booking and £25.00 will be donated to the OSA Trust 1969 Leavers’ Re-union

Di (Martin’s friend), Martin Wiseman, Mike Turner, Paul Simmonds birthday at the Boot just a few years ago (according to Mrs H!!!). The amp blew up during the evening and someone had to nip home and get another one!!

Sorry, back to the reunion. Patrick Diggines was the star of the day, he rocked up in his Porsch 911 - what else!! He had much shorter hair than at school, but just as flamboyant and I think it’s an understatement to say ‘the boy’s done good’ - just Google his name. Richard Stait also turned up. Wow, I haven’t seen him for decades, but the smile was just the same. Rich has had many wives and businesses over the years with the expected success in all of them. Now a ‘highly honed athlete’ he looked trim and fit (well, that’s what he told me to put in!)

Many others came, I just can’t remember the names! No sign of Steve Bridgens, Andy Jupe, Meaty Whale, Brown, Eaves, M.A.D. Bache, Miles Hooker, Cham- bers, Curtis, Lyons, Thorne and many others. Any e-mail addresses would be gratefully received to get a full house at the next reunion in 2 years time when we will be 60!!! Happy days. Graham Hollway [email protected] 23 Michael Cox (Jago, left 1950) On leaving School in 1950 he joined the Department of Medicinal Chemistry of the Australian National University, based in London while the University was built in Canberra. He was employed as a laboratory technician while studying part-time for a chemistry degree. When the Department left for Australia in 1955 he joined University College London. After graduating in 1957 he remained at UC gaining an MSc (1958) and PhD (1961) in inorganic chemistry. After a short spell in industry with British Nylon Spinners in Pontypool he joined Hatfield Col- lege of Technology, later to become Hatfield Polytechnic and the University of Hertfordshire. He remained there for the remainder of his career and was ap- News of Former Pupils of Former News pointed Professor of Applied Chemistry. His research interests were mainly concerned with the recovery of metals from ores and waste materials using aque- ous /organic liquid extraction using organic chelating reagents and purification of drinking water with ion exchange. His achievements in these topics was recognised by the award of the Kurnakov Memorial Medal of the Russian Academy of Sciences; the Carl Hanson Medal, jointly awarded by the Society of Chemical Industry (U.K.) and DECHEMA (Germany) (2011) and the publication of a special issue in his honour of the Journal of Solvent Extraction and Ion Exchange (2011). His long distinguished service to the Society of Chemical Industry resulted in the award of the Lampitt Medal and in 2008 the University of Hertfordshire conferred the titles of Fellow of the University and Professor Emeritus.

E J ‘Sam’ Bloxham (Pole, left 1951) The mention of the match between the Old Silhillians and the Old Warwickians in the last e-newsletter stirred some memories of our encounters with them in the 1950s. At one stage the Old Warwickians played on a pitch in the park in Warwick. When we played there, we changed in part of a disused industrial building which if I remember aright was an old glue factory, part of which was used by Randolph Turpin as a gymnasium. At the end of the match we went back and there was a row of ten or more galvanised hipbaths. There was a large open boiler full of hot water and the baths were filled from it with buckets.

After the match we went into Warwick where they had a clubroom at the back of a building which also contained several solicitors’ offices. There were solicitors brass nameplates, three on either side of the entrance. On one occasion, as several of us left, one of the plates got unscrewed !!!!

On the Sunday night, back in the clubhouse in Dingle Lane saner councils pre- vailed. We realised it would be quite obvious who had taken the plate, so we decided to go back into Warwick and replace it. The brass plate was very tar- 24 nished and before we returned it, we spent some time polishing it with Brasso News of Former Pupils we found in the cleaner’s cupboard. The mission was successful and the plate was replaced. A couple of weeks later we played in Leamington and went back through Warwick. We called in at the Old Warwickians clubroom for a drink and as we went in, we saw that all six of the brass plates were brightly polished!!!!

Those were the days of Michael Green and “The Art of Coarse Rugby.” It was a very different game then. I played for the “Old Sils” from 1951 until about 1964, mainly from the second team downwards. I’m probably the only person who played for six Old Silhillian teams, and on occasion captained five of them!!!!!! As far as I know the sixth team only played once, and that was “coarse Rugby” at its best/worst.

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Call now on 0121 643 5531 25 www.coleyandtilley.co.uk Robert Greenwood (Shenstone, left 1953) Having succumbed to Mrs. Thatcher’s essential revolution in the early eighties, after successful spells with I.M.I. and G.K.N. in Birmingham, and enduring 2 1/2 years hiatus (don’t ask) I finished up in my old trade, purchasing raw materials for a Corning/B.I.C.C. joint venture manufacturing optical fibre at the start of the Dot Com saga. Some 40 years of buying activity, from domestic appliances through zip fasteners to screws, nuts and bolts have been considerably helped by French and German taught by Harry Morle and Leslie Mackenzie, and geography in all its forms, by Guy King-Reynolds. I was able to travel throughout Europe, to the United States, Hong Kong and Japan, a vast experience. News of Former Pupils of Former News Living in the delightful Cheshire town of Nantwich there is much to enjoy - golf, bridge, bell ringing, following the fortunes of rugby at Sale, there is much to enjoy. Still a single man, my fiancée contracted cancer in the aforesaid hiatus, I meet a wide variety of folk, many farmers and many having family names reflecting large manufacturing and trading companies active in the Mersey and Dee valleys. Demography has meant I know many widows whose company I appreci- ate. They seem to like my cooking and the bridge parties I have here.

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26 UK Regional Offices in Glasgow, Leeds, London, Manchester and Worldwide Representation News of Former Pupils I see few Old Silhillians except for my cousin, John Collier, now retired having been professor emeritus at Trinity Hall, Cambridge. He remains cheery and still a keen Aston Villa fan, though it used to be Barnsley.

As in Michael Pratt’s death notification in the Telegraph I am a scalp of the Equi- table Life, but hope to revive my financial fortunes in the next few months when full compensation to us annuitants is due. What a way to finish but what a party when the first payment arrives.

Bryan Thomas (Fetherston, left 1955) Coming Home!! Earlier this year we re-located our home to Ashleigh Road, Solihull having lived in Staffordshire for over 30 years. The reason, our daughter Libby is now in UV at Solihull School and the commuting each day was not only lining the pockets of the petroleum industry but also losing me nearly 3 hours per day in traffic.

Solihull and the School are very different places to some 50 years ago when my brother, David and I were there/here, but all is now proving most convenient and enjoyable. I am very involved with the SSPA committee, as a Young Enter- prise Adviser and “Team Manager” to the newly formed School Ski Group and, following a life long career in industry, I continue to act as a self-employed consultant and adviser/mentor.

Recently I have started working in partnership with First Flight Placements, a specialist UK based company placing Non-Execs Directors and Chairmen in mature companies and Non-Execs Directors in young companies wishing to grow and strengthen their Board, assisting with their funding.

My wife, Juliet, is a translator and interpreter in Italian/English, and we have between us four daughters and I have two granddaughters.

If any of my classmates read this and would like to get in contact, I would be very pleased to hear from them.

It’s great to be back!!

Email: [email protected]

Malcolm Blake (School House, left 1956) Happily retired, married, two daughters, four grandchildren, living near San Di- ego, Southern California. Play a lousy game of golf, but thoroughly enjoy it. Been living in the States since 1986. After leaving school went into the Air Force, and really enjoyed it. Following the Air Force, I went into the sales and marketing fields for many years. Eventually moved down to Havant in Hampshire where I joined Wyeth Laboratories (now Pfizer) and stayed with them for over 20 years as their packaging buyer. This gave me the opportunity to go to many countries 27 (especially the U.S.) on business. Wyeth gave me the opportunity of going to university – rather late in life, but better late than never. Upon leaving Wyeth’s I moved to the USA in 1986, where I have been ever since.

Life is good. If anyone remembers me, I would love to hear from them.

Email: [email protected]

Brian Callaghan (Pole, left 1966) Brian Callaghan moved to

News of Former Pupils of Former News Canada 40 years ago and recently on one of his rare trips back to the UK we decided to catch up on old times at the Blue Bell in Henley in Arden on 11th January 11.

From left to right - Phil Johnson (Fetherston, 57- 63) Pete Callaghan (Pole, 59-67) Andy Thorpe (School House, 58-67) Howie Westwood (School House, 62-66) Dick Potter (Windsor, 62-66) and Brian Callaghan.

Graham Hollway (Jago, left 1969) It’s been great taking up a new sport called golf. I’m still no better than when I started 5 years ago, but it’s been fun playing for the Old Sils 2nd team. We played the boys from the School this year and arrived to show the ‘youngsters’ a thing or two. Small, skinny little urchins practising on the putting green greeted my eyes as I rushed from a hot day in Birmingham just on time to get to the first tee. My partner, a ‘portly’ gentleman, was patiently waiting for me along with an 8 stone schoolboy. Laddy started and wound up in such a way that if either of us had done that we would have been in traction for a month, unleashing a drive that took off like an Exocet missile straight down the fairway!! We guessed he would need a pitching wedge for his 2nd. I got out my 3-wood and was grateful that my ball shaved the heathers in front of the tee and cannoned up the hill, it would take at least another 2 ‘big’ hits to get to the green for me. This was going to be a long afternoon!!!

As you can guess we lost the match but what a pleasure to play against a charming and complimentary (if I did manage to middle it) young man. I’m sure his 28 handicap will become very small very soon. News of Former Pupils However, some of the other Old Sils seem to be getting larger both in trouser waistbands and handicaps! And no wonder, after a match we sit down at Olton and are fed enough food for a table of 20 when there are only 8 of us. I must congratulate Tim Platt, Richard Blasdale, Levenger and many more for eating the lot! Many thanks to Max Levenger for organising it.

Email: [email protected]

David Chambers (left 1971 Shenstone) I have now been Bursar and Clerk to the Governors at Blundell’s School in Tiver- ton since emigrating to Devon in 2003, a job I still thoroughly enjoy. Randall Thane (OS) continues to be a brilliant Second Master. Judi and I have increased the number of grandchildren to five, pygmy goatherd to six and chickens to fourteen – still an accountant keen on numbers you will note. I still pop up for the Hockey Club and O.S.A. dinners and look forward to being eligible, and hence joining Mike Bettridge, for the over 60’s lunches from the second half of 2013.

Clive Richardson (Pole, left 1972) I left Solihull School in 1972 I believe with 8 ‘O’ levels but an undistinguished record as generally I had a bad attitude to both my studies and the plethora of other opportunities available.

I managed to land myself a job as a fashion buyer, which led to over ten years as a fashion agent with, principally, Monsoon. Between seasons I worked as a tour guide in France (maybe my knowledge of history and French was Silhillian inspired) and this in turn led to my being offered a position selling tours in Vir- ginia, USA. After I had been there a year I was asked to head the company’s new music tours division and, in 1998, I headed home with my American wife to start my own music tours company called Richardson and Gray Ltd. We choose to remain largely a husband and wife company with seasonal additional employees and have forged a reputation for specialising in providing choirs in residence at English (and Irish) cathedrals when the cathedral choir is on holiday. As a sideline we also operate battlefield tours, as military history is my hobby. In fact I had my first book published last September. Entitled “Till Ludlow Tower Shall Fall”, it combines a short history of the Great War with what happened to the residents of Ludlow, where I have lived for eight years, who were killed in the war.

Last year I contacted the Headmaster about possibly bringing an American choir to sing a concert at the school. He was very welcoming and his secretary spent about 45 minutes round the school. I admired the 450th anniversary medal and she was kind enough to give one to me. It has now become something of amuse- ment to my father that I finally received a medal from the school!

Email: [email protected] 29 Tim Schwersenz (Pole, left 1972) After 35 years with Lloyds TSB (the last 20 years in Head Office), I decided to take early retirement, and I now relax in North Warwickshire! Would be pleased to hear from any old friends at [email protected]

Mark Sherrington (Fetherston, left 1974) A Letter from Cape Town It’s been a long time since I was even in Solihull and even longer since I left the School. I will congratulate Malcolm and the team at the OSA for allowing me to catch up with developments since 1974 and you can blame them for asking

News of Former Pupils of Former News me to give a brief update of what I have been doing in the intervening 37 years. From the School I went to Bristol University and after a very wild social time, punctuated by the odd lecture, managed to graduate with a degree in Econom- ics and Sociology.

My elder brother David, also an Old Sil, had paved the way into brand marketing and I followed in his footsteps but with the opposition, Unilever (David was with P&G). I progressed through the ranks and ended up as Marketing Director in Spain followed by a stint in HQ in London. I found a staff job in Unilever a bit dull after an operational role so in 1988 I left and, together with another Unilever

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30 News of Former Pupils

renegade, formed The Added Value Group. AVG was/is essentially a marketing consultancy but we built up a nice design and communications practice as well and in 2001 we sold out to WPP where the business still flourishes I am told. I took up the offer to join the board of SABMiller Plc, a former client of mine, as their Global Marketing Director, where I stayed until 2006. These days I write a bit, consult a bit and am a non-exec director and investor in a couple of Digital Marketing businesses. • Residential & Commercial Conveyancing • Partnership, Company & Commercial That takes care of the business side. I have been married to Liz (originally a • Wills, Inheritance Tax Planning, Probate & Trust • Lasting Powers of Attorney Brummie but raised in Oxford) for 18 years and we have two boys, Hal and Will, • Court of Protection Applications 17 and 13 years old respectively. I also have two kids from a previous marriage. • Administration of Estates Some of you may vaguely have heard of my daughter Georgina (pictured above) • Motoring and Civil Law • Employment Law – she was Mildred Hubble in the successful TV series ‘The Worst Witch’. She is • Matrimonial, Divorce, Family & Finance issues a very bright girl and went on to get a degree from Princeton. Ed my eldest boy • Children’s Matters & Civil Partnership is studying at the University Of Cape Town – it’s been great having him so close. Inspired by the 5 chords I learned on the guitar while at Solihull from Brian Cur- ran, he has gone on to master the whole range of chords and plays really well.

So why Cape Town? Well, before moving here I had had a long association with South Africa. We opened an AVG office in Cape Town in 1997 and I finished my 31 corporate career with SABMiller, a South African business, which brought me over here often. Liz and I had decided to build a holiday house in a place called Knysna, about 500kms up The Garden Route from Cape Town. It is quite the most beautiful place in the world and while building the house we had this crazy idea of semi-retiring to South Africa. The good schools and the action are in Cape Town so we live here but spend as much time in Knysna and exploring Africa as we can.

Forgive me, but I will name drop for a second. One of my best mates here is Fran- cois Pienaar, his son Jean and my boy Will are in the same class and rugby team

News of Former Pupils of Former News and we share a family box in Newlands Rugby Stadium. The box is tricked out with all Francois’ memorabilia – his many caps for the Boks and various photos of his starring role in the ’95 World Cup final, and later at Saracens. He very kind- ly suggested I might like to hang some of my stuff as well. I looked at the photo of when I captained the Second XV at Solihull and a few snaps of when I played for London French in the ‘80s….. and decided to keep them in a drawer at home. My contemporaries will recall well that my enthusiasm for rugby was matched only by my lack of talent. I played for the firsts once and once only. We were up against Nottingham and I let in 5 tries (all scored by Alf Troughton I think) on my blind side flank, losing by what was then a record 47 points. I was never asked to play for the firsts again, however bad the injury list was.

However, the years have broadened me out somewhat. I am no longer the string bean with big nose and sticky-out ears I was in the ‘70s. OK, I still have the ears and the big conk but they are wrapped in a very substantial 110kg frame these days. So when, courtesy of Francois and who he invites to our box, I meet some of the greats from the game (John Eales, Philippe St. Andre, Eddie Jones, Bren- don Venter, Scott Gibbs etc etc) they always assume I was a useful player in my time and ask for my views about rugby. I tell them I ‘played a bit at school’ and later for the French in London and they assume I’m being modest. Modesty was never my strong suit but bullshit is, hence the career in marketing!

I have fond memories of my time at Solihull and a few painful ones. I did get ribbed quite a bit and was pretty lonely at times when I went into the boarding house as a 15 year old. My folks had moved down to Devon and I joined a gang of boarders who had been together since they were 8 or 10 years old. I never really fitted in. While my mates Nigel Harrison, Richard Graves et al were all having a great time down at the Punch Bowl in Lapworth I was often stuck in School House (it was hard to get a weekend ‘Exeat’ when you said you were off to get smashed with Nigel Harrison and drive his car back). That said, I remember well the generosity and hospitality of both the Graves and Harrison families who would often invite me to their homes to relieve the boredom of boarding. 32 I was terribly sad to hear of the death of Richard Graves. Those of you who News of Former Pupils knew him only in his successful business years (the boy did very well by all accounts) will have no idea of just how cool he was at school. He had hair like David Bowie and the looks of a young Robert Redford. We had all been inspired by the film ‘The Great Gatsby’ and wore that style of clothes – baggy flannels, cream shirts and checked tank tops. On him it looked fabulous, on me it looked ridiculous. Because of this Gatsby thing we actually enjoyed wearing our school boaters (straw hats). On our final day of school Pete- Fran cis brought his father’s gold Rolls Royce in and he, Richard, Nigel and I headed off to the Punch Bowl in our Solihull School blazers and boaters. On the way back we ran out of petrol and the local garage owner was treated to the sight of four over- grown school boys in a gold Roller turning out their pockets to find the 50p we needed to get us and the car home.

Over the years I have come across the occasional Old Sil. I skied a couple of times with Nigel Heath, and John Cahill and I have a great mutual friend. But sadly, the truth is, I have been very poor at keeping in touch with any of my schoolmates. It is a poor excuse but all my family moved away – David now lives in America and my sister Marion (former Head Girl at Malvern Hall) lives in France. Mum and Dad, who are long gone, gave us all a great education they could ill afford and for some reason a bit of wanderlust. I will keep in touch with the OSA via the web site and maybe one day soon there will be a reunion I can use as an excuse to look up some (very) old friends. If anyone who knows me is ever in Cape Town – and I don’t owe you money – please look me up. The School seems to have blossomed over the years (I checked it out on Google maps – incredible development since my day) and I can honestly say I am proud to tell people I went there – even if no-one over here has ever heard of Solihull. Best regards to you all from Cape Town. Email: [email protected] Carl Tandatnick (left 1974) 33 Since leaving Solihull School in 1974 after attending the 6th form (as a boarder) I returned to the U.S.A. where I attended www.silhillians.net Duke University and The School of the The website of the former pupils Art Institute of Chicago. I graduated from of Solihull School Duke University and went on to study Regsiter and ..... medicine. I became a Board certified An- esthesiologist and practiced Anesthesiol- .. see the archive of photos and ogy for 13 years then went back to school documents for pain management and became a News of Former Pupils of Former News Board certified interventional pain physi- .. receive the quarterly email cian as which practise and have practised newsletter from the Association for the past 11 years. .. find and contact old I also kept up with my art and have had school mates work travel throughout major museum .. update your personal details on venues throughout the world. Many of the OSA database my works are large-scale photo silkscreen on canvas of electron microscope imag- See page 21 for more details es of the AIDS virus and blood cells. My work is in the permanent collection of The National Gallery of Australia and also in the permanent collection of the Museum of Fine Arts in St. Petersburg, Florida. I have had video installations for “Day Without Art” on the Jumbotron (SONY billboard at the time) in Times Square, New York City (1994 and 1995). I continue to pursue new art projects and also to show the work and seek new opportunities to add the work to other museum collections.

I am happily married and have wild 8 year-old twin boys and would love to hear from anyone who remembers me from the Solihull days!

Email: [email protected]

Robert D Murphy (Jago, left 1991) Jill Spurrell reports that the title ‘Monsignor’ has recently been conferred on Robert Murphy. It is most remarkable that he has received this title at such an early age.

Robert already has a variety of experience as a priest: following some years of parish duties in Staffordshire, he was assigned to Rome. More recently he has completed five years as deputy to the Papal Nuncio in South America. Robert speaks five languages.

His next assignment, for approximately three years, will be as the Papal Repre- 34 sentative to the United Nations in Geneva. News of Former Pupils Rohan Kallicharan (Windsor, left 1992) It is rather difficult to encapsulate the 19 years since leaving Solihull, or indeed the last 13 since playing cricket for the Old Sils on a Sunday. Lo and behold, the 37 year-old body does not move between the wickets as quickly or as regularly as it once did. However, I am still involved in the game as a columnist forAll Out Cricket Magazine and CricketCountry.com in India. That is all a sideline to the regular day job as a Director of a recruitment firm specialising in HR and Ac- countancy. Am now settled back in the Birmingham area having moved back to the city in 2005. Was due to marry in August 2011, but my fiancée passed away in November 2009. Would love to hear from pals from years gone by – whilst So- cial Media has its plusses, there is no substitute for seeing people. I look forward hopefully to spending some time at the Sils during the months to come.

Email: [email protected]

Matt Lock (Jago, left 2000) When I finished school I went to Australia to do a gap year as a teacher’s aide, with a view to becoming a teacher myself. Whilst I was in Australia however, something totally unexpected occurred and I managed to find myself engaged to my good lady wife. I returned with her to England in 2001 where we married, but ultimately we decided to settle down in Australia in 2002.

Having conveniently forgotten about university, I opted to “start from the bottom” and found myself sweeping floors and painting at a local factory. I worked my way through from shop floor to front office. After a brief time as a travelling salesman (and a particularly interesting day spent working on a Lamborghini Countach) I realised that getting my hands dirty was not really my cup of tea.

Therefore, I moved to my current employer ANZ, which is one of the “big 4” banks in Australia. I have been working here for almost 4 years as a Senior Qual- ity Analyst.

I have 4 beautiful children and we have recently moved into our newly built home in the country town of Drouin, which is around 1.5 hours drive southeast of Melbourne.

I am planning on returning to the UK next year for a holiday, which will be the first time I have been back since 2002 - I will definitely by driving past the old school to see all the changes that have occurred since I left. In the mean time, I will have to “kick back with a cold one and put another shrimp on the barbie!”

Email: [email protected]

If you would like to contribute to this section please contact [email protected] 35

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SA57299 Solihull School MD DPS.indd 1 06/10/2011 13:26 SA57299 Solihull School MD DPS.indd 2 06/10/2011 13:26

Think property, think Savills.

Across every area of property, Savills has the right people, the right advice and the right knowledge. So next time you think property, think Savills.

If you would like a free market appraisal or to discuss any of your business needs, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

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SA57299 Solihull School MD DPS.indd 2 06/10/2011 13:26 Standing: Seated: Roger Cupit (1982) , John Platt (2008) , Darrell Edwards Peter Thomas Mike Smith (1990) , Mike Bettridge Bob Toy (1971) , John Harrison (1998 & 2006) , David Cox (2011) , Trevor Jones (1972) , John Woolman (1997) , Mike Cutler (1983) , Peter Callaghan THE PAST PRESIDENTS (1984) , Paul Instone , Barry Allen (2002) , Barry (1996) , Max Levenger (1980), (1992 & 2005) (2000) , John Richardson David Gurnham (2010) , David Lloyd , Howard Blow (1979) , John Taylor (1995) (1994) (Headmaster) , (1989) , 38 Luncheons & Dinners OSA Past Presidents’ Dinner OSA Past Presidents’ Society 54th Annual Dinner Held at the Memorial Clubhouse on 19th May 2011 Twenty one Past Presidents gathered at the Clubhouse for their Annual Dinner in May. Bob Toy presided and recorded apologies from Bob Young, John Hare, Rupert Young, Brian Wilde, Steve Allso, John Batsford, Martyn Saunders, Graham Hughes, John Baggs, Mike Cusack, Richard Jerrom, Neil Smith and David Billing. A moment of silence was spent in remembrance of Vic Hawley who founded the Old Silhillians’ Association Past Presidents’ Society in 1957 and David Powell who was President in 1974.

The Headmaster, David Lloyd, received a warm welcome at his first attendance and gave an account of his first few months as Headmaster, and Bob Toy welcomed President of the OSA John Harrison who reported on the success of the events held to celebrate the 450th Anniversary of the founding of the school and paid tribute to Mike Waters who had overseen the successful planning and installation of the astro-turf pitch at the clubhouse. Peter Thomas introduced Immediate Past President Max Levenger as the newest member to the OSA PP Society. A debt of gratitude was again rendered to Malcolm Lawrie for his continued service as Editor of the Silhillian. Peter Callaghan OSA Annual Dinner There were over 100 attendees at the Dinner which was a highly enjoyable occasion. We were entertained by Ian Richards and well catered for by the clubhouse’s resident chef, Rupert Davies. There were a wide spectrum of ages in attendance and it was good to see the growing numbers of ‘Old’ Girls attending this and similar events.

39 The London Dinner The 61st London dinner was a most enjoyable evening at the Royal Air Force Club in Piccadilly on Friday 12 November 2010. There were 59 in attendance. We were graced with the presence of Stanley Peck who left the school in 1934. I was absolutely delighted to welcome, amongst a number of staff and

Luncheons & Dinners former staff, my first teacher at the school, Lindsay Brough (left). Of course, for many old boys and old girls it was the first opportunity to meet David Lloyd who delighted us with his toast to the Old Silhillians’ Association and his report on the School. One could almost forgive his connections to Warwick School. Max Levenger completed a very successful year as President by addressing those assembled with his report on the year. A great tradition of the dinner is for the floor to be left open for those who want to share thoughts, memories, admissions and reflections on the school and the association. We heard from Messrs Bragg, Gandley and Thomas and the outgoing Chairman of Governors, Graham Hughes, and Mike Le Resche. This occasion is always a marvellous opportunity for people to renew old ac- quaintances. Bernard Hales, my immediate predecessor as the London repre- Mark Lucas, Lucy and Peter Cracroft

40 Luncheons & Dinners

Mark Lucas (centre) holds court with (l to r) Rob Schofield, Steve Ollerenshaw, Phil Smith and Robin Batson sentative, commented that he was astounded at David Smith remembering him so immediately after over forty years. One of the joys of organising this event is communicating with old boys, old girls and present and former members of staff throughout the year and, as ever, I was touched by the great number of people who took the time to send their apologies for not being able to attend and to wish those assembled a pleasant evening. The next dinner will be at the RAF club on Friday 11 November 2011. Please email me or call me if you would like to receive an invitation to future London dinners or lunches. Mark Lucas (Fetherston 1978 to 1988) 01483 748512 [email protected] Over 60s Luncheons – October 2010 & May 2011 92 members, 14 of whom were new, attended the October 2010 lunch. We had the normal spread of ages with almost a quarter being at School before or during the Second World War. Alas we had lost three regular attendees, namely Nic Cutler (left 1937), Richard Adams (1943-51) and Keith Foster (1945-58). Obituar- ies appeared in the 2010 Silhillian. 41 Steve’s Industries Ltd

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All work is Fully Insured and carried out to ISO 9001 Quality Standard and 42 BS 3998 recommendations for tree work Luncheons & Dinners The new Headmaster, David Lloyd, was introduced by Nigel Holmes (left) who reflected on the application process that was in place when Brigadier H.B.Hitchens applied for the post in 1947. His 2 references were Field Marshal Montgomery and General Eisenhower! The Headmaster referred to on-going achievements in all aspects of School life. OSA President, Max Levenger, updated the meeting on the Association’s activities. In May 2011, 77 members attended the lunch. We had the usual cross-section of ages and included a record number of new members, 16 in all. Sadly, 20 former pupils had passed away since the last meeting including Sir John Owen, 3 former Gover- nors of the School (Vic Hawley, David Lewis and John Talboys) and David Powell who was OSA President in 1974. The Headmaster provided us with an update on School activities and in particular referred to the excellent Ofsted report and success in the arts and on the sports field. OSA President, John Harrison spoke about the way in which the As- sociation was developing and to the proposed changes in the constitution. Denis Tomlin said that he had been asked to convey the best wishes of former colleagues Guy King- Reynolds, John Jammes (right, who had made the October meeting) and Derek Garnier (who lives in Bangkok) to the meeting. This was Roger Flood’s last lunch as organiser and Alan Cave made an impromptu speech referring to his many achievements. The lunch concluded with a toast to Roger. Heard around the Clubhouse H.B.Hitchens wrote on Stuart Crawford’s report, “He is in danger of becoming a mental lounger”. Denis Tomlin was relating in the bar his experience with Mr Hitch- 43 ens, the headmaster. In 1952 Denis applied for a post at Solihull School to teach English. At the interview Denis was asked if, at a pinch, there was any other subject he could teach. Denis said he had an “A” level in Latin and Geography. He was appointed but when he arrived at School he found his timetable was half English and the rest was Lat- in and Geography. “HBH” said to Denis, “It does you good to teach a subject in which you have only a little knowledge!!” Mike Smith Well done Floody! You can leave it in [email protected] the safe hands of the ‘youngsters’

Luncheons & Dinners / Lodge & Chapter / Lodge Luncheons & Dinners SHENSTONIAN LODGE No. 5544 Worshipful Master W.Bro. Roger Moore (2011/2012), W.Bro. John Currigan (2010/11), Secretary: W.Bro. Joe Bates (01675 442586) The Lodge is open to Old Boys, members of staff, both present and past, Gover- nors, Parents and Grandparents of present and past pupils. It continues to enjoy the unique combination of freemasonry and meeting at the Old Silhillians’ Club- house which provides a wonderful opportunity for Masonic and Old Sils’ fellowship. We are always delighted to welcome both initiates and joining members and also enjoy some excellent social occasions. The Lodge continues to attract new members of all ages and is one of the largest in Warwickshire. We are always pleased to hear from anyone interested as either new or joining members – please contact Joe Bates. Meetings second Monday in October (Installation), November, February and March. SHENSTONIAN CHAPTER No. 5544 Principals: E.Comps. Stuart Thorpe, Roger Moore and Ian Denton. Scribe E.:E. Comp. Derek Howie (01564 777120) The Chapter continues to welcome suitably qualified Master Masons whether members of the Shenstonian Lodge or not. Meetings will take place on the second Monday of December 2011, January and September 2012. Please contact Derek Howie. 44 Joe Bates Would you like to wake up to this view when on holiday,from a luxury Penthouse Apartment in Looe, Cornwall? En suite master bedroom with two further twin bedrooms. The penthouse sleeps 6 and is available 52 weeks a year

If so contact Brian Knight for details/brochure:- Tel No: 01789 488288 Mob: 07909 961757 Email: [email protected] 45 Stephen (S J B) Ashton (Windsor, 1962 - 1969) We regret to inform you of the death of Stephen Ashton.

David D Brown (Fetherston, 1940 – 47) We regret to inform you that David Brown passed away earlier this year. David lived in

Obituaries British Columbia.

Martin J Caldicott (Fetherston, 1950 - 56) Not many people leave the world at the age of 71 without retiring or finish their working days on the same land a stone’s throw from where they were born having devoted nearly 50 years to the same business. From early age it was clear that Martin liked the outdoor life and at the age of 12 he could be found looking after 2 pigs, a flock of flapping hens and driving a tractor.

After leaving school Martin joined Ransomes, Sims and Jefferies in Ipswich as a trainee engineer on a 3 year day release course. This was the only period that Martin was away and on qualifying returned to the business of market gardening which his father established in the 1930s.

Martin married Carol in 1971 and in August they were due to celebrate their Ruby Wed- ding. They have 2 children Alistair and Sara. Part of this tribute is taken from Alistair’s address at the funeral. Alistair and Carol are continuing to run the business and Sara is a qualified mechanical engineer, married and living in Scotland. Martin was a remarkable active, tough and energetic man and only 18 months ago celebrated his 70th birthday climbing to the summit of Snowdon. Martin was a member of The National Farmers Union for many years and a past Area Chairman. He was a keen supporter of The Royal Agriculture Benevolent Fund and raised money from the talks he gave to various organisations.

In recent years Martin and Carol enjoyed extensive travelling. Barely a week before Mar- tin died they were at the Iguassu Falls on the border between Argentina and Brazil where they got into conversation with another couple of tourists only to learn that they knew Solihull well and Old Silhillian Alan Cave was one of them.

Martin would never have enjoyed retirement but unfortunately this was never put to the test; having been diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukaemia he died just four days later. David Caldicott R (Bob) J Campbell (Shenstone, 1940 – 46) Bob started Solihull School in 1940, followed a few years later by his surviving, younger brother Gordon who, until his recent death, he always referred to as ‘nipper’. He was at school during the war years and apart from the normal curriculum, he enjoyed Espe- ranto under the tutelage of ‘Timber’ Johnson and was a member of the Chess Club. He was in the OTC and also held the rank of Drum Major in 492 Squadron of the Air Training Corps. He was a keen musician, and was proficient in both the saxophone and clarinet and played in a small dance band.

Bob enjoyed renewing school friends over recent years at the ‘Over 60’s Luncheon Club - especially Max Taylor whom he used to meet every morning at Robin Hood Island so 46 that they could cycle to school together. Obituaries Bob married Judy McCabe in 1959 and they had 2 girls and Bob proved to be a very supportive husband and father. He spent his working life in the electrical industry and was also involved with Coventry Electric Club, eventually becoming President. Bob was keenly interested in photography, computers, and British waterways. Unfortunately, for much of his life, Bob suffered poor health - asthma, bronchitis and in more recent years, cancer of the kidney. However, these afflictions did not prevent he and Judy travelling on holidays to many parts of the world and exploring the majority of the UK in a motor home they owned up until a few months prior to his death last November. He is greatly missed by his many family and friends. Gordon A Campbell Brian Curran (Staff) Brian, who was the Headteacher of St. Alphege C of E Junior School and (1977 - 80) Master of the Junior School Master at Solihull School, died at Warwick Hospital on 9th August 2011 following a long illness, aged 65 years. The much loved husband of Glad, father of Matthew, Paul and Hannah, Brian will be dearly missed by family, friends and colleagues. Councillor Mike Foster (Fetherston, 1959 - 66) Mayor of Brecon 2011 – 2012 Mike (Michael) was born at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham, on the 10th January 1949, to Sam and Barbara (Shottie) a young brother to Carolyn. Sam had returned from Burma and joined the family local Coal Merchants business in Soli- hull. Michael went to Solihull School with many of his Cedarhurst friends in 1959 and was in Fetherston House. He played a lot of sport and was awarded his cricket and rugby sevens colours. On leaving school he played rugby and cricket for the Old Silhillians and was an active member of Knowle and Dorridge Cricket Club where he had many friends. He joined British Anthracite’s Trainee Management Scheme, based at Hereford and then went into the family business, Foster Fuels, at Widney Manor working with Sam, his father. In 1974 he joined a vinyl graphics company based in Henley on Thames, and worked in the transport graphics industry ever since. His claim to fame is that he devised a way to cover a railway carriage with vinyl instead of paint.

Twenty years ago, Mike and his second wife Olwyn, ex Head Girl at Arden School, Knowle, moved to Brecon where he worked and helped to run Primographic Badgemakers. He continued to be at the forefront of Rail Liveries in Wales, Ireland and the rest of the UK but was made redundant in December 2001.

He became a Brecon Town Councillor when a vacancy occurred for the St John’s Ward in 2006 and following boundary changes in 2008, was returned unopposed as an In- dependent Ward Member for St John’s West and served on The Finance Committee. He was the Town Council representative on the board of Governors at Ysgol-y-Bannau School, and was amazed at the level of intensity of the work in running a school. He was 47 an active councilor and often visited residents in his ward and personally helped them with their problems and difficulties. He was installed as Mayor of Brecon in May and intended this year to be his last as a Town Councillor, “going out at the top” as he said. He persuaded the local brewery to

Obituaries mix him “Mayor’s Inspiration” to be sold in the town pubs to raise funds for Usk House, a local hospice. The beer was very popular and locals raised a great deal of money in a way Mike approved of. His biggest challenge of the year was the Mayor’s Chance, a monthly raffle which he hoped would emerge as the Brecon Lottery - ‘Brecon money for Brecon people’. He died after suffering a heart attack at home on the 25th July 2011 and leaves two children from his first marriage, Rebecca (35), Emma (33), step daughter Tarryn (31) and grandchildren Lucy (9) and Samuel (6). His funeral took place in Brecon Cathedral on the 5th August 2011. Harry Gaunt (Shenstone, 1939 - 46) Harry Gaunt died last November after a long illness. He was 83 years old.

Harry was at Solihull School between 1939 and 1946 and on leaving he worked for BSA. In 1960 he joined the American engineering precision tools manufacturer Starrett in Jed- burgh, Scotland, where they based their operation to cover entry into the European and Middle East markets. Harry worked in the Marketing Department of Starrett and when he retired in 1992 he was the Company’s Sales Manager.

Harry and his wife, Angela, lived in Jedburgh from 1960. Harry loved the Borders coun- tryside and was very active in field sports, he was also involved in many local affairs and was a Jedburgh Town Councillor for a number of years. Having played rugby enthusiasti- cally at school and for the Old Silhillians, Harry joined Jedburgh Rugby Club where he aspired to one of the lower sides at this leading Borders club. He was well known and highly respected within the Jedburgh community.

Harry travelled from Scotland in 2005 to attend an OSA Over 60’s lunch and was delighted to meet again a number of Old Silhillian friends. Above all, Harry was a family man, totally devoted to his children, grandchildren and great grandchild. Geoff Downman

Vic Hawley (Fetherston, 1924 – 1931) Vic was born in Lindsay, Ontario in March 1916 and passed away after nearly 95 significant years in November 2010. He attended Solihull School from 1924 to 1931, initially in Blythe House at the Junior School at Malvern House, New Road, and subsequently in Fetherston at the Senior School under Mr W F Bushell. He played for his house 1st Rugby XV, 1st Hockey XI, and 1st Cricket XI. After leaving School he played hockey for the Old Silhillians with names that were legends in their time, Bill Townsend, Jo Wood, Dink Steele, Mike Callaghan, Gordon and Taffo Wilcox. He also played cricket for the Old Silhillians and for Knowle and Dorridge. On 3rd September 1939, on a 48-hour leave from the Royal Warwickshire Regiment, and despite the efforts of a certain Austrian interior decorator, Vic married Joyce (nee 48 Partington), who pre-deceased him in February 2005. Obituaries Such was his love of the School and of the Old Silhillians, that Vic was elected as President of the OSA in 1956, which was a crucial time in the re-structuring of the OSA premises from Dingle Lane to its present site. With the love of his life, Joyce, at his side, he threw himself into the Presidential year and gave it his all. Vic was also Governor of the School from 1956 and through the 1960s. He was true to his beliefs and never shy of speaking his mind.

In his professional career, Vic was Man- aging Director of The Birmingham Box Company Limited and as a result he became President of the British Paper Box Federation, enabling him to influence and direct this industry sector from within.

In 1957, when his Presidency was handed on, Vic formed the Old Silhillians’ Past Presi- dents’ Association, which initially met at St Paul’s Square in Birmingham, and subsequently at the School. Despite failing health, and now without Joyce to support him, Vic remained at its helm, making what turned out to be his final unscripted but typically direct and humourous speech to the OSAPPA dinner 2 years before his passing.

He leaves behind their two children, Michael (Fetherston 1950 to 1958) resident near Henley in Arden, and Lynne (St Martin’s) now resident in New York. He remained reso- lute and determined to the end. The mould of that generation has been broken, he and his kind have been lost forever, but their legacy remains as an example to us all. MJH Raymond Harrison (Shenstone, 1923 – 1928) Raymond Harrison passed away on December 25th 2010 at the great age of 99 and was probably the oldest Old Silhillian.

Raymond arrived at the School in the spring of 1923. He played hockey for the School 2nd XI, cricket for Shenstone and was 2nd in the mile. However, it was boxing that was Raymond’s forte and he was the School heavyweight champion. Raymond was also a keen member of the OTC reaching the rank of Sergeant. At the OTC camp at Strensall in July 1928, Raymond combined these two interests. The Shenstonian reported –

MONDAY, AUGUST 6TH In the evening the Public School Boxing at camp took place. For the first time in its history Solihull entered this competition, and sent in four entrants: Harrison, Windebank, Ward and Winfield. Let congratulations be tendered here to those four who put up a splendid show, particularly Harrison who won his weight, and Windebank and Wind- field, who reached the finals. Harrison was escorted triumphantly to the NAAFI, and there we drank his health in lemonade and any other liquid(!) we could obtain. 49 On leaving Solihull School Raymond joined his father and an older brother in the insurance broking business established by his grandfather. In his personal belongings at the time of his death were letters of commendation from the Officer Commanding the OTC first to the RAF and, dated a few years later, to the Territorial Army.

Obituaries He left the family firm and set up a transport business with great assistance from his girlfriend who became his wife when this business became very successful. A brief illness proved that the business was too reliant on his total involvement so it was sold and he re-joined the family insurance brokers. A daughter, Judith, was born in April 1939.

His eldest brother John Harrison MC, commemorated on the school War Memorial, was killed almost at the end of the Great War so despite having a letter saying that he would be called up when required this proved not soon enough and when the Second World War started he enlisted in the Royal Warwickshire Regiment as his eldest brother had done in the earlier conflict. Initially he did not own up to his OTC training, but rather gave the game away at the first parade when his was the only squad with its webbing and kit correctly assembled.

Raymond was soon singled out for promotion and officer training then sent to India crossing paths with Mr Hutchings an Old Silhillian and later master at the school. Only the humorous episodes of his service were ever recounted, signing for a train and not being able to return it, cycling into the side of a camel in the dark, waking up covered in sawdust from the termites eating his billet and being warned about a haunted bungalow he had requisitioned. The locals were rather surprised at his response when, after a hair- raising night with little sleep, he ordered it to be burnt down. And there were the snake stories.

The accolades given to the “Chindits” annoyed him when his units had been using the same tactics, albeit sometimes accidentally, long before Orde Wingate appeared on the scene and he was still angry that recommendations for bravery awards were ignored because it was a retreat and yet “medals came up with the rations” in an advance.

Raymond served far above his substantive rank as a result of the incapacity of senior officers, but even his constitution was eventually worn down by a full set of tropical dis- eases and he was invalided back to the UK at the end of 1944. A life threatening injury during a training accident in June 1945 left him with permanent disabilities, but would have proved fatal had it happened in India.

Once he was discharged he returned to the family Insurance Brokers and in September 1947 a son, Roger, was born who would attend Solihull School in due course starting in the Prep form. Raymond with his older brother Arthur founded a successful Insurance Company and numerous brokers across the UK and abroad. He encouraged many who are in important positions today to undertake professional insurance training and several have expressed their gratitude for his mentoring.

Raymond was one of the very earliest members of the Inland Waterways Association, a founder of the Birmingham branch and the Lower Avon Navigation Trust which restored the Avon navigation from Tewkesbury to Evesham between 1950 and 1962. He was an 50 elected member of the Trust Council although he much preferred the practical side as a Obituaries contrast to his business activities and once when acting as Tugmaster with a couple of loaded barges and wearing his old army leather jerkin was delighted when a lady boater told him “how lucky he was to work out in the open air on such a leisurely job and that a day in the city would kill him”. He was also a founder member of the Upper Avon Naviga- tion Trust which restored the navigation from Evesham to Stratford upon Avon and assisted both trusts financially including the donation of an island which is used as a base for the craft owned by the now amalgamated trusts. While his son was attending Solihull School Raymond was a member of the Parents’ Association and assisted on visits to the mountain cottage, on one occasion rescuing a group who had a mishap on the A5 on their way to the cottage when his insurance knowledge was useful. He also donated a cup for the annual school sailing competition at Olton Mere. Following the sale of the businesses a year after the death of his brother Arthur he had more time to enjoy the river, but eventually decided to move to the Isle of Wight to be near his daughter and her family who are all keen sailors although he came up to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Lower Avon Navigation Trust in 2000 by which time his son Roger was Chairman of the Trust Council. He carried on driving until the age of 94 never having had an accident despite losing an eye in the war. The last 18 months of his life he suffered breathing difficulties and had to rely on oxygen, but remained cheerful and interested in events, being a strong supporter of his local church in Cowes since he moved there. His wife Gladys survives him and at the age of 101 still lives independently although very close to her daughter. A few weeks before Raymond’s death they were the second longest married couple in the UK and the longest married were only a few weeks ahead. I think he fulfilled the school motto, not taking the easy route or the quick fix, preferring sheer hard work and determination to get the job done no matter what difficulties were in the way. Dr J S Morley Hutchinson (Pole, 1941 – 1951) Dr Morley Hutchinson, who died on 5th August 2010 was a scholar, a gentleman and an inspiring teacher. He researched, taught and published on reproductive processes, con- trol of reproduction, and assessment of fertility and reproductive function including hormone assay.

Morley was born in Exeter on 6 December 1932 of Yorkshire parents and he considered himself a Yorkshire man. He was a pupil of Solihull School, won the quarter mile and represented his school at rugby. Yorkshire remained Mor- ley’s favourite place in the whole world – God’s own country he called it. It was while on holiday there with his beloved wife Helen, that Morley died suddenly, having spent the previous day with family.

Morley Hutchinson completed a B.Sc. (Hons) at 51 Nottingham University in 1954, followed by a diploma in Agricultural Science at Cam- bridge. He first arrived in Aberdeen in 1957 under a Wellcome Junior Research Fel- lowship in Biochemistry and graduated Ph. D. (Agricultural Biochemistry) at Nottingham University in 1959.

Obituaries Dr Hutchinson was appointed assistant lecturer in Chemical Pathology at St. Thomas’s Hospital, London in 1959, and lecturer two years later. Morley was a Visiting Research Associate for the Hormone Research Laboratories at Harvard University, and a Visiting Lecturer in Endocrinology, at the University of Cornell. He was appointed Senior Lec- turer in Chemical Pathology at St Thomas’s Hospital in 1968.

Morley was appointed as Lecturer in Developmental Biology at Aberdeen in 1978, and Senior Lecturer in Developmental Biology two years later. He then transferred to Agri- culture as Senior Lecturer in Animal Biology in 1984 until he retired in 1998. Morley was also appointed Honorary Research Associate at the Rowett Research Institute in 1986. Aberdeen University Website

Kathleen Keeling (Staff) Or Kate, as she was usually called, (though Miss Keeling to the boys) arrived at the school the day before war was declared in 1939 to be the cook for the Headmaster. She retired 45 years later as Catering Manager for the School. She thus joined a small group of ut- terly loyal and hardworking servants of the School who devoted their working lives to the welfare of the pupils and staff.

Of her staff in the kitchens she demanded and got the highest standards of work and in return she gave them her unfailing support. She was insistent that everything done in the kitchen should be done “properly” and no-one, whether staff or pupil, was spared a sharp reprimand if they said, or did, something that fell below her high standards. Unflappable in a crisis, she was heard having a sharp word with a fireman who dared to light a cigarette in her kitchen when relaxing after putting out a fire in a deep fat frier! Her concern for the boys, particularly the boarders, was deep and genuine and she was always happy to have news of them long after they had left.

To say that Kate was a cook at Solihull School gives little idea of the enormous body of work that she had to carry out nor of the manner in which she did so. The School was fortunate to have the services of such a skilled and gentle lady and we are the poorer for her passing. Harry Rickman

David (N.D.) Lane (School House, 1943 – 1953) David was born in Birmingham in 1934 and baptised Norman David which caused him a considerable amount of inconvenience for the rest of his life always having to explain that Norman was not the name by which he was ever known: in fact it should have been Newman but his father’s excited error at the time of registering his birth was forever to haunt him. David’s parents lived in Solihull; his father was a water engineer who spent the Second World War keeping the whole of Birmingham and much of the Midlands sup- plied while his mother spent a lot of her time playing games that involved figures and mental arithmetic. This gave David an incredible facility with figures and for the rest of 52 his life he played with numbers. He could recall, in a trice, every household telephone number that he had ever had, and those of all his friends and contacts; the registration Obituaries of every car that he had ever owned and every train that he had ever seen, he knew pre- cisely the number of miles he had done in his car each month and how much petrol he had used, everything that involved a number was neatly recorded and never forgotten.

David enjoyed his time at Solihull School and became Deputy Head Boy. He often spoke of his time at school and the lifelong friends that he made there. He was an athletic young man and especially enjoyed his sports’ activities.

Quite naturally his talent with figures made him a prime target to become a bell ringer and was he was quickly noticed by Edgar C. Sheppard who, in 1948, recruited the my- opic, geeky fourteen year old into the band at St Alphege, Solihull. Very soon David was a regular Sunday service ringer and for the remainder of his life rejoiced in his good fortune to be taught by such an accomplished ringer on such musical bells. He learnt to ring handbells simultaneously with tower bells and those who knew him best did not take long to understand that handbells came first in his life: yes, he loved his family, enjoyed tower bell ringing, would scamper after a steam train and stand on draughty stations to collect new numbers, assiduously follow Aston Villa no matter if they lost, but handbell ringing would always tip the balance and everything could, and should, be rearranged.

At the age of 24 David married Thelma, his childhood sweetheart, at St Alphege church. They had two sons, Mark and Adrian, who blessed him with six grandchildren. After two years National Service he established his career in engineering. He worked mostly in the food manufacturing industry, at Port Sunlight in the early years, and latterly in Slough and Buckingham. There were times, when building a career and bringing up a young family, that David’s passion for ringing had to be tempered by practicalities. Gradually, as the boys grew, David was able to enjoy his bells again. When David moved to Oxford in 1987, with Katie his second wife, a whole new way of life opened up for him. He was able to indulge and immerse himself in ringing with the Oxford Society and extend his handbell repertoire. He regularly made his way to Cornhill Vestry where he considered it to be an honour to invited to ring many peals of Stedman Cinques.

David could mimic any one of the Goon characters and his infectious laughter would regularly reduce him and his friends to tears of mirth. He was liked by everyone and so much loved by his mixed-up family of sons, stepsons and grand children; the astonishing large number of people, well over 200, who attended his funeral from so many aspects of his life bore testament to his gentle nature, his talents and honest goodness, and his delightful sense of humour – after all what more can be said about a man who quite regularly talked to his socks to make sure that they found their pair! Katie Lane David Lewis (Fetherston, 1927 - 1936) At the beginning of the Second World War David was commissioned in the Royal Artillery and served in a heavy aircraft battery. Rising to the rank of Major at 21 he commanded his own battery and was in action all over the country, including London, Lanark and Northern Ireland.

During his time in the Army he met Jeannie and they married in uniform in 1942. They had four daughters. David was awarded the MBE in 1945. 53 After demobilisation David set up David G Lewis Birmingham Ltd and started repairing and then building houses principally in the Midlands. He founded D G Lewis Estates in 1955, a property investment and development company that is still thriving today. David joined Round Table and became Area Chairman in the mid fifties as well as sitting on the national committee. Moving up to Rotary he became founder President of the

Obituaries Rotary Club of Yardley & Sheldon in 1959 and regularly attended meetings until shortly before his death.

In the seventies David joined the Board of Governors of Solihull School where he served loyally with the late George Hill for almost 25 years, advising on many matters including the School’s large property portfolio. David was a great supporter of the School, attending functions as long as he was able, especially the School’s Remembrance Day service each year where he often laid a wreath on behalf of the Governors.

He had a lifelong interest in the outdoors with fishing, shooting and golf being great pas- sions, which he passed on down the family. He and Jeannie were lifelong supporters of the Muscular Dystrophy Group of Great Britain, the Home Farm Trust, The Conserva- tive Party, hosting functions at their home for over 25 years. Many organisations were touched by his generosity, whether it was financially, with his time, his home or with his wisdom.

He is survived by his wife Jeannie, four daughters, sons in law, 6 grandchildren and six great grandchildren. David’s grandsons were all educated at Solihull School, Andrew Franck-Steier, Matthew and Jeremy Bragg.

Keith Howard Lewis (Fetherston, Left 1947) Keith Howard Lewis passed away on Friday June 10th in the Joseph Weld Hospice in Dorcester two weeks before his 81st birthday.

Keith Lewis was a scholarship boy at Solihull in the last years of the Second World War. Even during his schooldays he had been working on local farms (riding twelve miles each way from school to do so), and he went straight into farming on leaving Solihull in 1947, disregarding the Headmaster’s instruction not to “bury his head in a farm.” In fact, he made a considerable mark in agriculture and had a long and varied career that included managing the Farmers’ Weekly farm at Bulbourne in Hertfordshire in the late 1950s, managing the Astor Estate near Reading in the early 1960s, and winning a Nuffield Schol- arship for the winter of 1963-64. From 1968-77, he managed a large poultry and pig concern in South Africa before returning to England and managing the southern con- sortium of Fountain Farming farms. From 1980-86 he went it alone on the Weld Estate in Dorset, during which period he was the adopted dairy farmer for the South West for the BBC’s Farming Today programme. Having “retired” from farming he worked for the land agents Savills on a number of significant projects including a BP oil and gas pipeline from Dorset to Southampton, Southern Electric’s overhead line refurbishment, and Brit- ish Gas’s laying of fibre-optic cables as part of the national grid. He continued to work on a freelance basis with the Savills Wimborne office until a few years ago.

Shortly before his 80th birthday last June, he completed a privately circulated memoir, All Change, in which he chronicles the massive changes in British agriculture (and land- 54 use more generally) from the Second World War to the present day. Obituaries In 1953 he married Olive (neé Barratt) who had attended Malvern Girls School. In his spare time he was the main driving force behind preserving the local parish church at East Lulworth where he was buried at a well-attended funeral service on 17 June 2011.

He is survived by his wife of 56 years, Olive; children Mark, Joanna and Simon and five grandchildren. Simon and Mark Lewis

Rodney Meere (Pole, 1952 – 1959) We regret to have to inform you that Rodney Meere, a great supporter of the Golfing Society over the last few years, sadly passed away while on holiday in Italy after suffering a massive stroke, he was 69.

Derek Morgan (Fetherston, 1943 – 1951) Derek was born in 1933 and won a scholarship to Solihull School in 1944 from St Marga- ret’s School, Olton, following his older brother Vernon into Fetherston. His sports prowess soon established itself, eventually culminating in him becoming Captain of Athletics, Captain of Cricket, and also in the rugby, tennis and squash teams. Derek become Senior Bencher and his art work was regularly displayed at the school art exhibitions. His fine handwriting was in demand for crafting the timetable on one sheet for the whole school, with a mapping pen, before the days of computers. He played the side drum in the ATC and achieved the rank of CSM. He played the piano for many occasions, and both painted the scenery and acted in the school plays, winning acclaim for his portrayal of Macbeth in 1950.

In 1966 he started his own flooring company, Morgan Floors & Finishes. He met, and later married Cherrie Gurney in 1956 and they had a son Richard, and a daughter, Zoe. Richard, and later his son and daughter, all went to Solihull School, of which he was very proud.

Derek was an active member of Solihull Round Table and later of Solihull Rotary Club, where he was awarded a Paul Harris Fellowship for his outstanding work with the club.

After his retirement in 1994 he fulfilled his early potential as an artist and enjoyed membership of the Birmingham Watercolour Society and the prestigious RBSA, of which he became an Associate Member and regularly displayed his work in their exhibitions. He was an active member of the Solihull Society of Arts, Art Section, and also sold paintings of Greece at his daughter’s shops in Halkidiki. He was instrumental in raising funds for Rayner House and Yew Trees, an elderly persons home in Damson Lane, and was a Trus- tee for over 30 years. He enjoyed meeting up with old friends at the Over 60s lunches at the Old Sils. He and Cherrie travelled widely all their lives, culminating in a trip taking in New Zealand where they met up with John Hall and Peter Sperry, contemporaries at school.

He suffered a massive stroke in 2004 but never lost his smile or his cheery nature. With help from his loving wife, he still travelled to stay with his daughter in Greece, regularly went to Rotary and learnt to paint with his left hand still exhibiting new work at the RBSA and generally tried to live as normal a life as possible with his family around him. Richard Morgan 55 John E Myatt (School House, left 1938) John died in September 2010. He was born in Stechford in July 1920 and left Solihull School in 1938 having previously been at educated at Arnold Lodge preparatory school, Leamington Spa.

Obituaries After leaving Solihull he started his civil engineering training as an articled pupil. Soon after the outbreak of war he enrolled in the LDV (later renamed the Home Guard) but his national service was deferred. He finally got his chance to serve when he volunteered and was accepted for the Royal Engineers serving in Bombay, Lahore and ultimately Rangoon where from 1945-6 he was responsible for sewage systems, water supply and drainage. In 1946, he was mentioned in Despatches for services in Burma. Life in Burma was not all dull though. He played tennis on a local court that the engineers had repaired despite there being a few unusual hazards, deadly banded Krait snakes occasionally de- laying play. He also enjoyed swimming.

From Burma he went on to Malaya joining the British Military Administration. In July 1946 he was recalled from BMA duties and was put in charge of a unit looking after 4000 Japanese personnel. He then went on to special duties in Penang and was tasked with demolishing the Japanese gun emplacements and ammunition stores. He finally returned to England in May 1947 to his family home in Yardley.

He then restarted his civil engineering career firstly at London airport and then for 5 years in Ireland. From 1953 to 1967 he worked on a variety of sewage works, reservoirs and water mains projects and worked for Tilbury Construction from 1967 to 1986 when he retired. He continued to support various civil engineering committees before becoming a member of the DTI team set up to look at Professional Indemnity before finally retiring in 1989.

John was always a keen sportsman - Hockey for the Orientals (an East Birmingham club) and he also joined Olton Tennis club where he made many friends. John and his family moved to Harpsden, a small village near Henley-on-Thames in 1969 and contributed fully to village life - cricket, golf, the Village Fete and school, church and British Legion to name but a few. They moved to Chadlington, Oxfordshire in 2001.

John is survived by his wife, Susan, 4 children and 6 grandchildren. Mike Smith

Sir John Owen (Jago, 1934 – 1943) Sir John Owen, who has died aged 85, was a much admired High Court judge and presided at a number of ground-breaking cases.

Charming, even-handed and compassionate, he was also an exponent of Lord Denning’s ju- dicial approach of not allowing the letter of the law to get in the way of justice.

A case in point was RvR (1991), in which Owen 56 was the trial judge and which overturned the Obituaries common law position that a man could not be found guilty of raping his wife. The de- fendant was accused of attempting to rape his estranged wife after forcing his way into her parents’ house, where she had gone to live while seeking a divorce. He pleaded guilty after Owen’s unprecedented ruling that by the circumstances of their separation the wife had withdrawn her implied consent to sexual intercourse given upon marriage.

Owen’s decision was later upheld in the Court of Appeal by the Lord Chief Justice, Lord Lane, who declared that this “common law fiction” had become “anachronistic and- of fensive” in modern society, and also by the House of Lords, where Lord Keith said that marriage was no longer “one in which the wife must be the subservient chattel of the husband”.

John Arthur Dalziel Owen was born on November 22 1925 at Stockport, then part of Cheshire. He had a religious upbringing and his Christian faith underpinned his approach to life and the law. After Solihull School, he was commissioned in the 2nd King Edward VII’s Own Gurkha Rifles, and spent two years in India in the run-up to independence, which he came to see as not just inevitable but also desirable. On one occasion he saved his men from an angry mob by showing a presence of mind well in advance of his 21 years. Encountering a roadblock consisting of eight young virgins, dressed in white and lying in the path of his armoured vehicles, he ordered a good-looking young Gurkha to walk forward and drop his trousers. The virgins ran off screaming and the column moved on without a shot being fired. He had great admiration for the Gurkhas, and was incensed by the decision to exclude them from hotels and restaurants in India. He once placed his revolver on the table and insisted that his troops were served.

On his return to Britain in 1947, Owen met and married Valerie Ethell, and the same year he went up to Brasenose College, Oxford, to read Law, inspired by his two grandfa- thers, who were both lawyers. He was called to the Bar by Gray’s Inn in 1951 and began practising as a barrister on the Midlands Circuit from the same Birmingham chambers as Arthur Evan James, the outstanding advocate and later prosecutor in the Great Train Robbery trial.

Owen himself did a variety of work, including crime, personal injury and divorce. In one case, he asked his client who was seeking to divorce her unfaithful husband whether she had ever been unfaithful herself. She replied that she had, once — on the stopping train from Sutton Coldfield to Birmingham. When asked whether her paramour had spoken to her, she replied that he had not; but he had raised his hat as he disembarked at his stop.

Owen appeared in several IRA cases and became used to the threats that this entailed. On one occasion a package arrived at his home with an Northern Ireland post mark, whereupon the bomb squad was called. Their controlled explosion blew pages from a bible — sent by a Northern Irish bible group — all over the barn.

He took Silk in 1970, and served as deputy chairman of Warwickshire Quarter Sessions from 1967 until 1971, and as a Recorder of the Crown Court from 1972 until 1984, when he became a circuit judge at the Old Bailey. In 1986 he was elevated to the High Court, Queen’s Bench Division.

In 1985 the 12th Duke of Manchester was sent to the Old Bailey, accused of attempt- 57 ing to defraud the National Westminster Bank of £38,000. The Duke was acquitted, but Owen, summing up, described him as “absurdly stupid and negligent about his own affairs” and observed that “having the Duke on the board of any company should send shivers down the spine of any investor”.

Obituaries Among his high-profile cases on the bench was the trial of Tony Martin, the Norfolk farmer who had opened fire on two burglars who broke into his remote farmhouse, and was convicted of murdering one of them, a 16-year-old boy. After fresh medical evidence came to light, Martin’s conviction was reduced on appeal to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility, although Owen’s directions to the jury on self- defence and on every other matter were expressly approved by Lord Woolf in his appeal judgment.

Owen was also one of the longest-serving Deans of the Arches (1980-2000), advising the Archbishop of Canterbury on ecclesiastical law and acting as chairman of the Court of Arches, the ecclesiastical court of appeal, where he had the final say on a series of cases involving errant clergymen. He was also instrumental in the foundation of the first degree course in Canon Law since the Reformation, at Cardiff University, and was one of the first intake to take the degree in 1991.

A kind and generous character with a lively sense of humour, Owen was an accomplished raconteur and much sought after to give speeches. In retirement, he worked hard for a number of charitable organisations.

John Owen, who died on 9th December 2010, is survived by his wife and by their son and daughter. The Telegraph

John E G Pritchard (School House, 1939 – 43) John was a boarder and became a School Prefect and Captain of School House. This gave him the privilege of a study which a few of us used to visit for food/drink and Jazz. He was Company Quartermaster Sergeant in the JTC (as it was called at the time). John was noted for his quiet but infectious humour and his often good advice.

John left school in December 1943 and went straight into the Navy under the Y Scheme (a fast track to commission for 18 year olds with a secondary school education). The success of D-Day and resultant lower than expected casualty numbers meant the scheme was scrapped. John served on a fleet repair ship in the Pacific and saw the end of the war out in Australia.

At the end of the war John returned to the family manufacturing business which he later sold out to his partner.

He was a stalwart member of the OS Hockey Club always in the lower XIs where his captaincy was most valuable. He also came on hockey tours and on one occasion at Lowes- toft and playing right half he completely marked an English International left wing (Tony Hudson, Lincs. & Eng.) out of the game as a result of which we won (this always brought a smile to his face in later years). 58 Stan Lea et al David Powell (Fetherston, 1944 – 1952) Obituaries David had many fine qualities. He was essentially, extremely kind, respectful, polite, courteous, thoughtful and above all was always this way with all those he had dealings with be it through business or socially, in fact he was the perfect English Gentleman. As a life long friend, he could not be bettered.

We both attended our first primary school together but then went our different ways for a while. David went on to Hall Green Junior School while I was packed off to a school in Leamington for about 3 years up to the end of the war in 1945. During his time at Hall Green School, David had a very bad accident on his way home from school on his bicycle and spent a long time in hospital. For a while it was very much touch and go. However he eventually bounced back and I don’t think he ever saw the inside of a hospital from the patients’ point of view for years.

Although David lost a lot of schooling through this accident, being the brighter one, he soon passed the entrance exam into Solihull Prep School in 1944 going on through to the 5th Form, leaving in 1952. My eventual arrival at Solihull School in 1949 was considerably more laborious entering the shell forms - equivalent to today’s middle school - so we were never in the same classes together. My main memory of David at Solihull was for his sporting prowess. He had more ‘colours’ than the rainbow, being excellent at most games concerned with balls. Cricket he also played a bit but the pressures of other Summer activities such as gymnastics (his flick flacks had to be seen to be believed), tennis, athletics, squash and swimming rather prevented him shining on the cricket pitch..... there was just not enough of him to go around! He represented the School at rugby (1st XV), tennis (1st string), gymnastics and swimming and his House, Fetherston, in just about everything else. Dave’s school blazer was twice its normal weight with all the numbers, symbols and other emblems denoting his sporting achievements!

On leaving school in the summer of 1952 David commenced his long association with the family business, Powell Gee, for about a year before having to go off and do his National Service between 1953 and 1955. When his National Service was over David returned to Powell Gee where his brother Stephen later joined him. On the retirement of their father, Harold, they took over and steadily built it to such an extent that they could pass over a very successful enterprise to Ben and Caroline’s husband Michael. David continued as President, attended board meetings and gave help and support when required.

David met Letty Cross, one of the hockey knockers from Malvern Hall School, and after a few years courtship they got married at Solihull Church in June 1960 and in due course 59 three children arrived - Clive, Caroline and Ben and in the fullness of time Caroline got married to Michael and Ben to Jo. These unions then went on to provide Dave and Letty with their four grandchildren.

After his National Service David became involved with the Old Silhillians. He played

Obituaries for the Rugby Club and was a sprightly winger or full-back. He may have been small in frame but he was packed with heart and guts. He became their Captain and then Presi- dent. He was also involved with the OSA Main Committee which culminated in him becoming their President in 1974. At his ‘State of the Nation’ speech at the OSA Dinner he rose to his feet stating that “he did not know whether to wear his chain of office round his neck or as a sporran”. The resultant hysterics of the audience made the delivery of the rest of his speech very difficult. David took up Golf in the 1970s, firstly a member at Walmley and then at Olton. David was an enthusiastic member of the Old Silhillians’ Golfing Society being their Captain in 1998 and President in 2000. It was under his Cap- taincy that the team won the prestigious Grafton Morrish Trophy for the first time. It was an enormous thrill for the Society and a huge compliment to his leadership.

David’s passing has shocked us all to the core. He was always so fit, active and so full of life and enthusiasm. He had many friends and I have been privileged to have him as a good friend over all these years - I could not have found a better ‘best mate’. I know that Letty will come through this because she is a very strong lady and has the unqualified support of her loving family and loyal friends. I have been privileged to know David and Letty and feel a part of their family, but I cannot think of David with sadness for long. His kindness, sense of fun, his laughter and wide smile will be the way I will always remember him. He was a very special person. David Castle (Old Silhillians section - Roger Cupit)

Richard Ian Kenneth ‘Rik’ Shelton (Fetherston, 1966 - 1974) Richard was born on the 26th May 1956. He was the eldest son of Jean and Ken Shelton and brother to Mark. From an early age he was known as Rik because of his initials. Rik began school life at Solihull School in 1966 in the second form having left Cedarhurst. I first met Rik with Nigel Harrison whilst swimming for the School. Rik’s specialities were water polo and diving. Vincent Sorge, Rik and I used to dive for the school and would travel to compete in matches against other schools throughout the county. We used to spend hours training at the Tudor Grange pool, although as we grew older, the training regime changed. The breathing exercises were carried out behind the bicycle sheds with the use of Player’s No 6, the crawl was carried out after visiting The Punch Bowl and the breast stroke was carried out by the back gates of St. Martin’s!

I was always amazed how everybody knew Rik in Solihull. Whether they were from So- lihull School, Harold Malley, Tudor Grange or Lode Heath, everyone seemed to know Rik Shelton! He knew how to ‘network’ even before it was invented! A tribute to Rik’s affable character.

After leaving Solihull School Rik began a hotel management course at Chesford Grange in Kenilworth. This led to a career in hotels, pubs and clubs – both here and in New Zea- land. After Chesford Grange he moved to London and worked in Covent Garden with his brother Mark. He then moved to New Zealand and worked for New Zealand breweries in 60 Auckland, Wellington and Palmerston North. Rik returned home in 1991 and later mar- Obituaries ried Susan Ensor. Sue and Rik took over the Shakespeare Inn at Welford on Avon and at the same time spent many happy hours on their boat on the river Avon.

Rik’s second love was for his cars. He was either driving them, mending them, reading about them, or smashing them up! His knowledge however was extensive. He could tell what year a Morris Minor was made by the screws on the front bumper. Rik and Sue spent a lot of time in Dartmouth after buying a chalet there in 2003. With Rik’s childhood holidays in Salcombe and Sue’s in Torquay, Devon was an area they both loved.

Rik was kind, funny, caring and determined. He enjoyed his life to the full. However his greatest attribute was his strength during the battle against cancer. He faced his illness with fortitude and humour at the most unlikely times. Rik said, when they put a tube into his stomach, ‘I don’t know how they think they’ll get a ‘’T’’ Bone steak through that!’ When he was told that the cancer had returned, he said, ‘I’ve got 300 minutes left on my mobile and I’m determined to get my money’s worth’. He then went on to say, ‘when my contract comes up for renewal, I might change to ‘pay as you go’!. After being given a terminal diagnosis, he was accepted on a drug trial at the Royal Marsden in London. He was coping well with the treatment until he had complications with the collapse of his vertebrae. He lost his battle and passed away on 5th December 2010.

Rik valued his friendships and cared for those he loved. He was an inspiration in the way he dealt with his illness and will be sadly missed by everyone who knew him and loved him. Pete Francis John Talboys (Pole, 1943 - 1949) John Talboys,(Tall-ee to his old friends), in my recent eulogy such as it was, played on the fact that John was small in height but big in other ways. He was big hearted in every sense of the word. One who gives of himself to others. Although an electrical engineer by profession who took over the running of the family business when his father retired, John had many other talents. He was particularly skilled in all those jobs / emergen- cy repairs etc., which need to be done around the home and on numerous occasions, helped his friends when such emergencies occurred. The only reward he would accept would be a pint of beer.

John’s National service was in the RAF where he was a senior radar technician. He used to say that he was usually excused the more onerous military duties because he knew more about Radar than his immediate superiors, a quid pro quo for his usefulness to them!

John lived all his life in the Borough of Solihull, as a boy in Shirley and later on, after his marriage to Deanna, in Knowle. He was accordingly very well known in the area. He was a Mason, a member of The Avenue Bowling Club of which he was secretary at the time of his death, a member of the Old Sils’ Dining Club and for some time a governor of Solihull School. He will probably be best remembered for his service to Dorridge Cricket Club where he served on the general committee for over 50 years, a truly remarkable feat. He was President for some years and when he relinquished this position was immediately further honoured by the members by being awarded the title President Emeritus. John Shreeves 61 W John Upton (Fetherston, 1945 - 1953) John enjoyed being at Solihull School and had the companionship of John Anderson and David Wright living in the same road in Hall Green so many sporting activities must have been on the agenda! He Obituaries soon achieved recognition on the sports field and was awarded his school colours in squash, hockey and cricket and appeared in the 1953 copy of Wis- den.

Having achieved A levels John then went into the Army to do his National Service and obtained a Commission. Accountancy became his eventual profession and joined KPMG Peat Marwick in 1965 as a Management Consultant, both in London and Birmingham. He developed a successful career and became Finance Director of Heals in Tottenham Court Road but later decided to successfully set up his own consultancy business.

He played cricket for the Old Sils and was an active county squash player for Warwick- shire and a member of Edgbaston Tennis Club where he met Pauline. In 1967 he went on an amazing seven week squash tour to South Africa. John married Pauline in 1968 at Knowle Parish Church and bought a house in Edgbaston. They later moved to Lam- bourn, Berkshire before finally settling down in Buckinghamshire with their three children. Sport played a big part in John’s life, he continued to play squash at various county levels amazingly even into his 60s He had been county treasurer for Warwickshire followed by Buckinghamshire as he loved being in his study surrounded by so many papers! He still maintained his great love of cricket and proudly became an MCC member. He therefore regularly went to Lords and had a great knowledge of the game.

John attended the over 60s lunch and kept in touch with many of his Old Silhillian friends. He latterly became keen on golf again, after a long gap, and joined Gerrards Cross Golf Club, Buckinghamshire where he earned so much respect and admiration for the way he coped with his illness. He became treasurer of the seniors section followed by being their Captain but sadly died, during his year of office, at home on 28th April 2011 after nearly a 12 year courageous battle with cancer, aged 76.

John is greatly missed by Pauline, Sally, Lindsay, Christopher and his four grandchildren Alice, Beth, Jack and Amelie. Pauline Upton

To place an announcement of births, marriages or deaths on the OSA website please contact

62 [email protected] THE OLD SILHILLIANS’ ASSOCIATION TRUST

The Lander Osborne Award

The Old Silhillians’ Association is able to offer this award as a result of the generous bequest of John Lander Osborne. The Award is available to former pupils of the School who are in full-time education. The award can be to help research necessary for the completion of a full-time qualification, or to support work with a charity. The research or charitable work may be undertaken either at home or abroad. However, it must take place within one calendar year of the Award. The maximum Award is £750.00

Applications are restricted to individuals and it is a condition of the Award that a full written report is presented to the OSA Trust Committee not more than three months after completion of the project. Reports should be approximately 1500 words in length and may be accompanied by any documents, illustrations and maps, as may be deemed appropriate. Applications will be reviewed twice each year, at 1st March and 1st September.

Awards will be made within one month of the deadline for applications.

Applications should be sent to:

Peter A Thomas Chairman of the Trustees The Old Silhillians Association The Memorial Clubhouse & Ground Warwick Road Copt Heath Solihull West Midlands. 63 GOLF President John Stubbings 01675 470578 Captain John Platt 01564 777661 Vice-Captain Damian Kelly 01926 421252 Secretary/Treasurer Bob Young 01564 772556 www.silhillians.net/Sports-Clubs/Golf

Sports Sections The AGM of the Golfing Society takes place in April and this signals the formal appointment of the incoming Captain. I can honestly say it has been a real honour to captain the Society. It has given me the chance to play with fellow members and guests in the various competitions and matches that take place during the golfing year. When I joined the Golfing Society I assumed the Captain would be a golfer of some talent but my appointment has firmly disproved this theory! The first match in the calendar was the Presidents v Captains at Olton Golf Club for the AG Bragg Trophy. The result was a resounding win for the Captains Team 18-3! Moving on into May the next competition was the Wiseman Foursomes Cup which was won by the President, John Stubbings and his guest Robin Goodman with a nett score of 71.5. Our main competition is held in June, the OSA Challenge Cup. The main trophy was won by Will Westall with a nett 71, John Duncombe won the Charles Hill Salver for the best gross with 84, and ‘Bertie’ Parkes won the Senior Salver with a nett 71. Surely he’s not old enough, how time flies!! The Roy Letts Memorial Salver was played for in July as an invitation foursomes. It was won by John Lees and Mike Bowes with a nett score of 63.5. Bob Young and his guest Frank Lambert won the best gross with 79. My Captain’s Away Day was held at Tadmarton Heath on 9th September and we were blessed with superb golfing weather. It was well attended by 36 members and guests and all seemed to enjoy it immensely – I certainly did! The morning team competition was won by Nick Dav- ies, Richard Morgan, Simon Brown and Lyndon Eales. The afternoon pairs competition was won by Mike Cutler and Mike Cutler, Bertie Parkes and Tony ‘Doc’ Pearson Tony ‘Doc’ Pearson (again!). In addition to these competitions we have a schedule of matches against local clubs and societies. At best the results could be described as mixed and we need to encourage our better golfers to participate. The ‘A’ team played matches against Copt Heath G C halved 3/3, Ladbrook Park G C lost 2/4, Robin Hood G C lost 2/4 and finally the annual 24-a-side match against Olton G C losing 5/7. The ‘B’ team captained by Max Levenger (thanks Max!) played matches against The School losing 64 1½/4½, Olton G C losing 2½/3½, Old Edwardians winning 3/2 and finally Old Veseyans losing 2/4. Sports Sections I would like to take this opportunity to personally thank all members who have made themselves available for these matches. It is appreciated! The one bright spot in our team golf was our qualification for the Grafton Morrish Trophy finals in Norfolk. Olton G C hosted the Midlands region qualifier on 14th May and our team played well to earn qualification. Our team was Louis Meryon and James Hetherington, David Fleet and Harry Westall, Richard Turner and Will Westall. For the finals in October Will was unavailable due to business commitments and his place was taken by Barney Dowding.

The 2011 Grafton Morrish Team Standing - John Stubbings (President), James Hetherington, Louis Meryon, Harry Westall and John Platt (Captain) Seated - Richard Turner, David Fleet and Barney Dowding Last year the supporters played for ‘The Norfolking Cup’ for the first time on the way down to Norfolk and this year we played an 18 hole competition on Thursday morning at Kings Lynn GC. It was won by Tom Hare with a score of 33 points. The team were busy practising at Hunstanton! We started our campaign against Loughborough at Hunstanton on Friday 6th October at 9.00am. The weather was dry and sunny but windy and proved a good test of links golf! We secured a victory 2/1 and the losers eventually went on to win the Plate competition for 1st round losers! In the second round, also at Hunstanton at 1.40pm, we now faced a strong Bedford side but our team 65 performed superbly and we scored a resounding victory 3/0! All were playing well and we retired to the Lifeboat for some celebrations and rest. At 8.48am on Saturday we took on Glasgow Academy whilst England were playing France in the Rugby World Cup! Some spectators were torn by the choice but all witnessed (eventually!) a better golf result than the rugby and we powered on 2½ to ½ and into the quarter finals. I do not wish to single out individuals or specific shots but needless to say there were some moments of individual brilliance during these matches and the team were bonding well! The quarter final was played in

Sports Sections gradually worsening weather at 1.50pm. It was very windy and the rain clouds were threatening but it held off. Our opponents were Birkenhead who we beat in the final to win the Trophy in 2008. Their team was stronger than in 2008 with the availability of 2 new faces playing off scratch and 1! As you can imagine at this stage of the competition the standard was very high and the match was played in a very competitive spirit. We were under pressure in the 3rd pair for most of the match but the first two matches were nip and tuck until the last few holes. We eventually succumbed 2½ to ½. As always we wished our opponents good luck in the semis and retired to the bar to discuss the days activities! We subsequently heard that Birkenhead went on to win the trophy so our performances can be put into context! I should like to personally thank the team and the supporters (especially those who acted as caddies under the leadership of Paul Newby) for a great weekend. I was very proud to have led such a great group on such an enjoyable trip. Finally I would like to thank the members of the Society for their support during my captaincy. I have enjoyed it immensely. The Society could not function without the efforts of the Committee. My thanks go to President - John Stubbings, Secretary/Treasurer - Bob Young and Match Secretary - my brother Tim. Mike Wiseman relinquished the Match Secretary role after the last AGM after 17 years and I would like to thank him for his contribution over the years. After many years of devoted service to the section and his immense work with the During the year we lost David ‘Midgley’ Powell. David was an ex-Captain and President of the So- astro project, Mike Waters is awarded Honorary Life Membership of the Hockey Club ciety and was a committee member of the Grafton Morrish Trophy. There is an obituary for David elsewhere in the magazine and he will be sorely missed. My best wishes go to my successor Damian Kelly, who, I’m sure will enjoy the year as much as I have. I know he’s already planning his away-day! John Platt HOCKEY President Susan Maule 01527 585241 Chairman: Steve Tabb 07900 884100 Secretary: Mike Waters 07977 229541 Men’s Club Captain: Jamie Clapham 07974 648665 Ladies Club Captain: Sally Ann Ogden 07765 867952 Men’s Veterans Captain Ian Rosser 07831 197384 Youth Development: Lucy Steele 07800 940257 www.silhillians.co.uk At last, after all these years writing this report I get a prediction right! The theme of last year’s article was that since the opening of the astro turf the club had begun to reverse the decline in membership numbers, especially at the top end of the club and that the men’s 1st XI would gain promotion. They did so, finishing as Champions of West Midlands Division 1. 66 The importance of this success for the future of the club should not be underestimated. Sports Sections

After many years of devoted service to the section and his immense work with the astro project, Mike Waters is awarded Honorary Life Membership of the Hockey Club There has long been a surplus of clubs in the Solihull area and attracting new members has for some time been compromised by the fact that Old Sils was the lowest ranked in terms of playing standard. Not any more. It is not an exaggeration to say the standard of hockey produced by the side was the best we have seen from an Old Sils team for the best part of 20 years, winning 16 of 20 games played and finishing 8 points clear at the top of the table. A large amount of credit should go to Captain, Matt Fell, for the way he has organised the side and injected a sense of purpose to the team. While the club has long looked to increase its membership from all over the area, it should be noted that three quarters of this side are former pupils of Solihull School and the off season has seen the return of more Old Sils now graduated from University. They should more than hold their own in the higher league this season. The priority for the club is to increase membership. The key steps identified some years ago were to build an astro turf, secure promotion for the 1st XI (mens and ladies), invest in coaching and marketing (particularly in the juniors) and a revamp of the clubs changing and social facilities. The pitch is built, a project is well underway to revamp the clubhouse facilities, the men’s 1st XI has been promoted with the ladies hopefully not far behind. But perhaps the biggest turnaround has been the expansion of the clubs junior section. It was always expected that the astro would stimulate participation but thanks to the efforts of Lucy Steele, Louise Hirons and Chairman Steve Tabb, the rate of growth has been phenom- enal. This time two years ago the club had approximately 20 junior members. By the end 67 of last season this had grown to over 50. What none of us expected was that over 100 kids would register for this season. Such a huge upswing in numbers requires ever more volunteers to coach and I would like to thank all those in the club who have done so. This is by some distance the largest number of junior members the section has ever had and will stand the club in good stead in the years to come. Returning to the playing side, away from the first team the club had a mixed sea-

Sports Sections son. The men’s 2nd XI again diced with relegation but are improving and will benefit further from more new members that have joined or returned to the club this season. The ladies 1st and 2nd teams both enjoyed good solid seasons and will benefit immediately from a number of new members and the scale of the junior section. Not such good a good season for the men’s 3rd XI.Having gained promotion the year before, the side went straight back down again, not helped by poor availability before Christmas and a spate of injuries in the New Year. The men’s 4th XI again finished in last place but remain a highly sociable side boasting a string of true veterans. Additionally it was nice to see the 4th XI provide regular playing opportunities for a number of the juniors (many of whom are already playing 3rd XI hockey this season). In September, the hockey club hosted GB’s Dan Fox coaches an m & j player their club day in association with the Eng- in the art of tackling land Hockey Board. The day marked the kick-off to the new hockey season, and was a great indication of the positive steps that the club has been taking in recent years. Following the laying of the astroturf, the club came Runner-up in the England Hockey Board Club of the Year award last year, and then was rewarded for also being re-accredited with the ClubsFirst award in 2010, by being included as one of the very small number of clubs across the whole country who had an International sent to their club day to kick off the Olympic season. Dan Fox, who grew up in the local area, took the opportunity to return to his roots, and a crowd of around 150, including 100 juniors, assembled to be coached by a player who is in the current Olympic training squad, and has played 27 times for England and GB. The day saw a Junior training session, plus a target goal competition, and also an inflatable pitch, which even tempted some of the Mini and Junior rugby players and the footballers to give hockey a try. Finally on to the advertising bit. The Club trains on Tuesday nights with matches as ever on Saturday afternoons. If you are interested in joining or perhaps taking up the game for the first time please ring any of the contacts listed above. For the juniors training is at the club on Sunday mornings at 10.30am until noon. 68 Sports Sections For those looking for a slightly slower pace (though not much) or if you prefer to play midweek then the club runs a highly popular Men’s Veterans side generally playing on Wednesdays. Please contact Ian Rosser, for more information. Mike Waters RIFLE President Peter Upton 01564 770743 Chairman Clive Hollings 0121 706 1212 Secretary David Neal 0121 744 8751 Club Captains Liz Asquith (Rifle) 07966 695564 Bob Mann (Pistol) 0121 744 7872 oldsilhilliansrifleclub.org.uk The year has been one of consolidation upon our efforts and improvements of the past 3 years. Membership numbers and range usage have remained solid and in fact it was necessary to intro- duce temporarily a ‘waiting list’ in the Lightweight Sport Rifle (LSR) Section. Safety remains our main consideration. In the year we have ‘re-steeled’ the butts and introduced a more comprehensive ‘linatex’ cladding and adjustment system. We have some 15 members qualified as NSRA Range Conducting officers. Martin Clay has the responsibility of Child Protection Officer working to the guidelines of our National Association. Improvement of performance is also a major objective. On the coaching front Liz Asquith has successfully completed her Club Instructors course. Many of our shooters have won representational honours and medals in National, Midland, Kent and Worcester competitions. As a measure of improvement it is recorded that the team average of the current LSR ‘D’ team would have led to them being the clubs ‘A’ team as little as 4 years ago. The ‘A’ team now competes in the top division of the Midland league rather than languishing in Div 8 as was quite recently the case. The prone section in addition to holding two shoulder to shoulder matches with the GEC club successfully returned to old territory by running a prone Guest night for members of Knowle and Dorridge Round table, a good night was had by all. We hope to offer similar chances in the future. St Alphege Rotary club made their annual LSR Guest night visit. In prone we can accommodate up to 10 shooters per session, in LSR it is 15. If you have a group interested in a shooting session please make contact. At the annual Warwickshire Open Championship meeting the club was represented by 22 shooters in both the prone and LSR disciplines. The latter for the first time was raised in status from an informal event to the first running of the County Long Range (100 metres) LSR Cup. The ‘Sir Geoffrey Savage’ Cup was won by Dan Bickley of the OSRC. Mike Doble - lying down on the job! Social events have continued, we were able to support the sports sections’ ‘Car- ibbean’ Night held in the marquee and we have changed the nature of our AGM which is now split from our awards cer- emony to create 2 events – this move has been well received. Uniquely the County Junior Team was wholly made up from our club members. Sean Keegan, Michael Penny, Greg Lang- ley, Oliver Steel and Matt Prowse. They 69 went on to win their division in competition with teams made up from shooters in the ‘Open’ age group. This group of young shooters will soon be leaving us for University and beyond having been with the club since the age of 14. We wish them well. We would welcome new membership enquiries from young people either complete novices or those with previous experience, perhaps the County Junior team could be your goal? In conclusion again this article allows us to say thank you to all club members and committee Sports Sections stalwarts who have given so much of their time and energies to make the club a successful and happy group. Clive Hollings RUGBY Silhillians R.U.F.C. (the open club) President Duncan Stanley 07768 466193 Try! Does that sign on the squash court wall really say “no ball games”? Chairman Ian White Very strange at a sports club Secretary Graham Loader 07702 632219 www.silhillians.net After a very physical season in Midlands 2 West (South), with many bumps, bruises and the odd beer my recollection of the season is somewhat jaded but I look back on my first season as captain with fond memories. The season as a whole has provided a good platform for my second season in a privileged position as Silhillians 1st XV Captain. I have played rugby at Sils since the age of 6, progressed through the age groups and seen the club develop first hand. In many ways the Rugby Club is still very recognisable as a place that my father brought me to in the 80s when captains included “Bertie” Parkes, “Arnie” Thomas, Tim Platt and Graham Webb under the Presidencies of Messrs Atkinson, Jerrom, Taylor, Coton & Dave Green. Phil Green was just starting out as touch judge and as I write this he is preparing for yet another game with his flag on Saturday, 27 years on. Over the years the hard work of dedicated members mean that in 2011 Silhillians RUFC stand proud as veterans in the division since promotion in 2000-01. Over the years attention to detail from John Griffin and the ground staff ensure that we play on one of the finest pitches in the Midlands where regular battles with the likes of Droitwich & Dunlop are sandwiched between Berkswell & Balsall, Bedworth & Barkers Butts. At the beginning of 2010-2011 season I took over Captaincy from Lee ‘Window’ Jones. Together with many of the senior players, I have now played rugby with Window for over 10 years; we have

70 Sports Sections

Try! Does that sign on the squash court wall really say “no ball games”? Very strange at a sports club committed to training each week, battled hard fought games and enjoyed the social element of rugby at both home and abroad. Whilst we all know the code of ‘what goes on tour stays on tour’, we also understand that ‘Window’ is as loose lipped as a Bratislava escort so I’m sure many of you have heard him recount our ventures in the bar on a Saturday evening. Having a young family myself, the body creaks more by the week and so the promise of future talent excites us all. The heartbeat of the club is the Mini & Junior section. Jonathan Trace continues to provide enthusiasm and energy (although trying to keep up with those wingers in the U7s becomes more difficult for him as each season passes) and offers help and advice to continue the link from junior to senior rugby. Indeed his sons have and are in the process of making that transi- tion themselves. Players that have broken into the 1st XV over the past few years also include Nic Powell, Cameron Law and The 2010 Mills Ball Young Player of the year Steve Hawkins. Player development is something that is not exclusive to the training field. We all learn and develop through experience and there are many players that have a lot to offer both on and off the pitch. Chairman Ian White can still be found with a kicking tee in hand on a Saturday, the pendulum action of his kicking swing slows but the stories of halfway line penalty conversion are as healthy as ever. Piers Cooper, the winner of the Peter Styles Trophy for Exceptional Effort, his brother Jim, (or the Cooper Sisters as we know them) and Kevin Lane can often be found cooling down with a can of cider in the changing rooms after a game. Andrew ‘I’ll bench if you need me’ Clutterbuck brings passion and enthusiasm to the team during the season and these characters provide a backbone to the senior playing set-up. The spine of the 1st XV includes ‘Window’ and the ‘Wasp’ and Peter ‘Shelf’ Nichols. Shelf is Vice Captain. Shelf has been voted Players’ Player of the Season for more than a handful of seasons which shows how much respect the team has for the exceptional job he does each week. The 2nd XV, or self-proclaimed Peoples’ 1sts is captained by Rich McKenna. A vital qualification in modern day rugby organisation is the use of social networking. Rich regularly practises his stalk and talk technique to track down players of all abilities to add to his team. The team spirit and Rich’s leadership ensured that last season was one of the most memorable for the 2nd XV in recent history. Top Try Scorer Andy Thompson and Player of the Year Tom Barnfield were key cogs in Rich’s master plan as they achieved promotion and a very impressive win record. The 3rd XV, captained by Clubman of the Year Mike Leach, provides an opportunity for players to end their career with competitive rugby on a Saturday, whilst encouraging and developing new 71 players to the game at the beginning of theirs. We have seen players improve from this level all season, not least Karim Rolobah, who picked up the David Gill trophy for 3rd XV Player of the Year. 2011 saw us return to Newquay for our annual tour. Touring, for me, is one of the most important weekends of the season. An opportunity to create bonds between players that ordinarily do not mix ensures that new friendships are born and team spirit develops providing an additional weapon that carries momentum into the following season. The players understand their roles as ambassadors’ of the Sils, none more so than Tourist of the Year Tommy Grant, he managed to get the mix between educated banter and pure stupidity just right. Its always great to see fresh per- sonalities shine through in a tour environment, again resulting in a strong bond and team spirit. This season a change in coaching staff sees former Bees captain Ed Orgee offer his views and ideas to the team. His recent experience and success in modern rugby combined with a fresh approach are welcome. The Club can learn a lot from him. Sils have also secured the services of Bees backs coach, New Zealander Eugene Martin. Eugene played for New Zealand Maori during 6 years as fly half of the Waikato Chiefs. He was also a professional power lifter and his enthusiasm, ideas and experience in the professional game add an extra dimension to the coaching set-up. Strong links with Bees give a clear vision for player development and progression. Those who wish to play in the competitive level at the Sils are always welcome and encouraged whilst Eugene is on hand to spot and develop young talent to reach their full potential. The club looks forward to 2011-2012 season with optimism. Both the 1st XV and 2nd XV are in challenging leagues and we need to carry a spirit of friendship and commitment on to the field each week as we battle hard for league points. In sport there is nothing better than a hard fought win achieved by a side where all are pulling in the same direction. Wins against rivals Old Coven- trians, Pershore and Spartans were examples of this last season. We hope to emulate these suc- cesses again as we look forward to another season of Rugby at Copt Heath. We always extend a warm welcome to all, be they established or new players or supporters. I look forward to seeing you all in the coming months, on the field or in the bar! Jim Roper Old Silhillians Rugby (the Old Boys only team) The success of the old boys’ rugby section continues. Last season was a mixed bag of results which included a defeat to an Old Warwickian XV, a runners-up spot at a sevens tournament hosted by Bablake’s alumni, a glorious veni, vidi, vici moment at a similar event at Abingdon School and, of course, hosting the prestigious Old Boys Sevens at our Clubhouse. This year we consolidated and played less fixtures, with many of the OS boys focussing on playing for Silhillians RUFC, with a larger number of the old boys turning out for the ‘open’ rugby club at Copt Heath than for many seasons. Following last year’s frankly comprehensive defeat at the hands of the former Warwick pupils we were invited for the second annual OW fixture and were presumably seen as easy prey when we arrived at our opponents home turf on a summery Saturday 24 September. We had very different ideas. The number of spectators - aged 7 to over 70 - was impressive and the tension before kick off was fitting for a grudge match against the ‘old enemy’. From the kick off the impacts were not that of a ‘jolly good get-together’ but displayed intensity and vigour. The OS forwards grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck; Marc Baldrey led by example and carried the ‘egg’ into the heart of the Blue & White defence. Tom Hupfield, having travelled all the way from a far-away outpost known as London, played sensibly at fly half and controlled the tempo and territory by putting boot to ball where appropriate. He eventually bagged 72 himself a try, too. He brought his loose forwards into the game and this provided a great platform for the backs to attack from depth and, following quick ball and slick passing through the centres, we were the first to trouble the scorers with the lively Matt Lee crossing in the corner. Will McTighe’s boldness in running the ball from deep was profitable and gained good yardage and, on his second foray, produced a try following a side-step which bamboozled his opposite number and sent Will under the posts. Warwick clearly took exception and replied in kind, going some way to redress the balance. The ferocity was exemplified when 2007 School Captain Brandon Cooney’s selfless commitment meant he left the field with a deep gash to his eyebrow. I wonder how the Bloomberg board member he was flying to New York to meet the following day received Cooney’s bloodied, battered face. As half time neared the game was fairly evenly balanced. 2005-06 School captain, Aki Davies, proved a constant threat from scrum half and sniped and of- floaded like he was 18 again. After a period of tit-for-tat attacks and scores the game needed to be taken by the scruff of the neck. The second row pair of Ben Trenchard and Rohan Thompson deserve special mention here for their all-action second half performances: ball winners, ball car- riers and brave defenders. Warwick struck back and pressurised our line squeezing over for a try following our defensive mix- up. Will McTighe scored a second and then the OW XV bombarded us relentlessly. Gradually the OS tenacity and perseverantia spirit brought us back into the right areas of the pitch. The forwards maintained possession and strung phase after phase together. The ball was spun wide to a queue of backs in maroon and blue. James Wintle profited from Marc Webb’s vision and we broke the 22-22 deadlock to place ourselves a converted try ahead. 22-29. This meant only one question needed answering. “How long remaining, Sir?” We defended valliantly for 4 minutes - which felt like eternity - and when the whistle blew we had earned our stripes in a blood and guts victory. After the hospitality of our hosts we headed back to Copt Heath, then Solihull (and eventually Leamington to socialise with the Warwick squad!) for our celebrations. 73 Grateful thanks to all those who played and supported. The match was a thrilling spectacle. Thank you to the School for their continued support - it is very much appreciated. Finally, thanks to War- wick School and the Old Warwickians for the match and subsequent hospitality. OS Squad: M Baldrey, B Cooney*, D Wilson, R Thompson, B Trenchard, T Shanahan, J Brawn, G Hadley, A Davies*, T Hupfield, J Wintle, O Beech*, M Lee, D Super, W McTighe, S Bright (c), D Hartley, M Webb * denotes former School XV captain Simon Bright SQUASH President R.J. Standley 01564 772886 Chairman R.D. Taylor 01564 775883 Secretary R. Heighway 01564 742262 Treasurer J.S. Parrott 01926 842610 Captain P. Davies 01564 773814 Membership J. Milne 0121 733 6250 Maintenance B. Wright 01564 771013 League R. Mills 0121 684 6093 www.silhillians.net/Sports-Clubs/Squash I am writing this report as an ex squash player due to hip surgery in June this year. I have played squash for forty years so I feel I have done pretty well all things considered. If all goes well I intend to have a go at racketball as I have been reliably informed that it is less demanding on the joints. On Line Booking System The online booking system continues to be very reliable and ensures that we have a safe and trustworthy source of income. Again just a reminder from last year that any one wishing to view the new booking system or interested in joining the Squash Section can visit the squash booking website on www.squashbooking.co.uk/silhillians. The Squash Club also has a new website which is linked with the main OSA site. Warwickshire League Following relegation last year we competed in division 5 of the Warwickshire League. In reality this is probably our correct level and the results were a reasonable when considering our continued 74 shortage of players. We played 14 and won 5 to put us sixth out of eight and keeping us in the same division. Thanks go to Phil Davies for organising the team with limited resources. Players involved in winter squash were – Phil Guest, Arthur Adair, Phil Davies, Ray Mills, Andrew Tippings, Phil Nash, Teale Withers.

Anyone interested in playing team squash should contact Phil Davies (M: 07836 616851) and anyone interested in viewing the winter league results in more detail can visit the Warwickshire website at - www.warwickshiresquash.org/leagues Warwickshire Over Sixties Arthur Adair has continued to represent Warwickshire at Over Sixties level playing league matches twice this year against other counties in a three or four tier arrangement. Internal Tournaments In this year’s open tournament Phil Guest overcame John Parrot by three games to one – congratulations to Phil on his first open win. To date the handicap tournament remains unfinished. I will report on the outcome in next year’s report. Court Maintenance Again we have had a good year with regards to court maintenance with very little spent on repairs to either courts or changing rooms. However we are aware that we will need finances to cover the inevitable costly repairs to both court flooring and walls. Membership Levels Membership levels are slightly down on the previous year which obviously has had a knock on ef- fect on our income. We continue to push for new members, again promoting racketball but it is difficult in the current market and with the limited facilities we have to offer compared to other local squash clubs and leisure centres. More of our members are trying racketball but at the present time we have had only limited success with any new members who have specifically joined to play racketball. Again many thanks to John Milne our Membership Secretary who continues to work very hard in promoting membership and the running of the members squash accounts for the on line booking system. Committee Finally many thanks to all committee members without whom the club would not be able to operate. Special thanks to Brian Wright who has been in charge of court maintenance for many years. Brian is relocating to Dorset and his services will be greatly missed. Roger Taylor We acknowledge with thanks, the support and interest of the following:

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