“ 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) The Leonard Stevens Building Solihull School Warwick Road Solihull West Midlands B91 3DJ Telephone: 0121 703 2963 Facsimile: 01564 775151 Email: [email protected] Website: www.silhillians.net ISSUE 65 NOVEMBER 2014 President 2014 Julia Skan 1 From the President From Immediate Past President Joe Bates passes the Chain of Office to Julia It has been an amazing year for me and one I would never have imagined. Just over 12 months ago I was freelancing at home, sitting on the OSA committee and fretting over numbers for the Girls’ Reunion. In that very short time I have proudly worn the Presidential Gong, become Head of Careers at School, attended numerous dinners, spoken to more than 100 people on several occasions and made many friends along the way. I have undoubtedly grown in the process. This is a very exciting time for School and the OSA. The appointment of Alison Bond as Director of Development and Alumni Relations and new systems in place at school means we now have better ways to keep in touch and reach out to Old Silhillians we have lost. This year has been one of co-operation and collaboration and we have worked hard to combine and streamline our efforts, particularly with communica- tions, to keep you up to date whilst minimizing overload or duplication. Progress in this area continues to be made. With auto-enrolment of school leavers into the Association we are delighted to wel- come all leavers into the Association and we would like to see more of our younger members using the facilities at the Clubhouse, be it in the sports arena or the social arena or both and at events. Where possible we will offer reduced ticket prices for Old Silhillian events to the under 25s to encourage them to take part. At the EGM ear- lier this year we made all former pupils who left prior to auto-enrolment Life Mem- bers of the Association. We hope this will encourage you to use this membership to take an active part in the Association, school events and enjoy the many activities now on offer. As I write this the Clubhouse at Copt Heath is undergoing a significant facelift. Early next year we will have new changing rooms which comply with Sport England stand- ards and club rooms offering conference facilities in line with other local venues. A 2 huge amount of time effort and hard work have gone into the planning and imple- From the President From mentation stages and we are grateful to Rupert Young, Barry Allen, Pete Davies and Joe Bates for generously giving their time and professional experience to this project. One thing that struck me in the Association at large is the great camaraderie and sense of belonging that exists throughout. From the Golf Society, the Over 60s, Past Presidents Association, the Hockey Club to the OSA Committee itself, if meeting once a month, once a year, every weekend or for the first time in 20 years you are wel- comed as a friend with warmth and encouragement. I think that is a wonderful and precious thing. Having been in London for 20 years I am delighted to return to Solihull and feel like I belong to a huge family and I am grateful for that. I’ve also found great joy and amusement in the importance of your House at school, which stays with you. Shenstone always did produce the best characters! I will cherish the memories of singing Fauré’s Requiem, reading a lesson at the Carol Service in Chapel, speaking to a packed Refectory at the great Whole School Reunion in March, watching the first Big Debate at school with Michael Buerk as Chair, laugh- ing uncontrollably at Spamalot, and the dilemma of what to wear to have dinner with 100 men at the Golf Society dinner! I also cherish the old friendships I’ve rekindled and hope to do more. The Association is in great shape and has huge potential to grow and serve its members. I look forward to passing the baton to John Loynton, much-loved and well-known former History teacher and School Archivist. I am con- tinuing my journey as Head of Careers and enjoying the opportunity to connect cur- rent pupils with former pupils to help them with their career development in these challenging economic conditions. Many of us agree that we can improve, today and Immediate Past President Joe Bates passes the Chain of Office to Julia in the future, the careers service offered to our students at school. If you can support me in my efforts in any way I will be ever grateful and would love to hear from you. I wish John every success in his year as President. Kind Regards Julia Skan THE OLD SILHILLIANS’ ASSOCIATION - PAST PRESIDENTS 1921/22 Dr AV Bernays 1956 VO Hawley 1985 SC Mackay 1923 C Aldrin 1957 FR Bishop 1986 JRD Orrett 1924 WR Ludlow 1958 LG Highway 1987 G Stubbings 1925 PE Martineau 1959 HA Steele 1988 MS Saunders 1926 PH Reading 1960 CWD Cooper 1989 HJC Taylor 1927 HA Hughes 1961 HT Wilcox 1990 MJD Smith 1928 HS Matthews 1962 WP Townsend 1991 RJC Graves 1929 TA Furse 1963 DH Billing 1992 BW Allen 1930 CH Palmer 1964 HB Callaghan 1993 GM Hughes 1932 LC Reading 1965 CT Coton 1994 HE Blow 1933 LE Horton 1966 MJ Wheelock 1995 AJ Richardson 1934 F Burnett 1967 PJ Hill 1996 P Callaghan 1935 RH Whitehill 1968 BJW Swift 1997 MC Bettridge 1936 CL Hughes 1969 FAR Moon 1998 PA Thomas 1937 FJ Osborne 1970 JEJ Baggs 1999 JM Batsford 1938 HD James 1971 RG Toy 2000 J Woolman 1939/43 WRL Horton 1972 TG Jones 2001 BJD Wilde 1944 FL Nock 1973 JMB Urry 2002 MA Cutler 1945 AG Bragg 1974 DM Powell 2003 N Smith 1946 JB Mayers 1975 MJ Cusack 2004 R Jerrom 1947 CW Bragg 1976 RC Young 2005 BW Allen 1948 EG Wilcox 1977 KJ Foster 2006 PA Thomas 1949 AJD Mansell 1978 T Jackson 2007 SD Allso 1950 JM Urry 1979 DA Gurnham 2008 JA Platt 1951 KW Highway 1980 PBL Instone 2009 RJ Young 1952 Dr. KD Waters 1981 JLR Hare 2010 ME Levenger 1953 BE Hatton 1982 RC Cupit 2011 JN Harrison 1954 MAD Cooper 1983 DD Cox 2012 PG Davies 3 1955 JT Rolfe 1984 DW Edwards 2013 JR Bates The President-elect John Loynton in the Denis Tomlin Archive Room - Curator or exhibit? I was absolutely amazed when Julia invited me to become the next President of the Old Silhillians’ Association; deeply honoured, but well quite shocked, mainly because I am not a former pupil, having been educated elsewhere in Warwickshire! However, I was born in Solihull and have always lived and worked in the ‘village’ that has grown so rapidly into the Metropolitan Borough of today. As a boy, several of my friends were pupils during the time of Mr. Hitchens, so I have knowledge of Solihull school- boy life going back to the early 1960s. Some of the teachers I had heard about were still there when I realised my professional ambition and became a teacher at Solihull School in 1982. It was quite a moment when I met Laurie Bailey, Keith Berridge, Peter Arculus and a few others, legends I’d heard about from my friends. My arrival coincided with the departure of Giles Slaughter and the ‘interregnum’ of Denis Tomlin, before Alan Lee arrived as the permanent Headmaster. It was a fortunate privilege to serve under these gentlemen and benefit from their wisdom, humanity and professionalism. This made my decision to remain at Solihull School for the rest of my career an easy one, and many lifelong friends have been collected along the way, mostly connected to the game of golf. These include some of the pu- pils who came on the school golf tours run by Malcolm Swain in the 1980s and 90s, some of who now play leading roles not only in the Old Silhillians’ Golfing Society, but also in local clubs and county golf. It was a proud moment for me when I was elected Captain of the Society in 2001-2, but I am always just as delighted when former J4L boys step up to become Captain, as some of them have done in recent years. After 25 years my teaching career ended in 2007, having taught history to every age 4 group in the School, a wonderfully rewarding experience, as several generations reap- The President-elect peared in my classes on their journey through the School. As I was not an ex-pupil I cannot state my former House, something I appreciate means a lot to Old Sils of every era, but just for the record, I spent equal time in Windsor and Fetherston. But my time at Solihull was not over, as I succeeded Denis as the School Archivist, and was then invited by Headmaster Phil Griffiths to write a new history of the School as part of the 450th Anniversary celebrations in 2010. Phil’s successor, David Lloyd, has con- tinued to support the presentation of our history when he commissioned the aptly named Denis Tomlin Archive Room which opened in May 2012. Many Old Sils have not only visited and enjoyed an exercise in nostalgia, but made valuable contributions to the ever-expanding collection. Also, a second book,Solihull School during the First World War, will be available in November.