NEWSLETTER Spring 2017 Editor – Douglas Barr-Hamilton London drinks and Peel cooish Unreasonably late in the day a decision was made (largely by Douglas and Maron) to try to revive a get together for society members in the days leading up to Christmas and, believing the Island was going to be a haven for several mainland Manxies, we tried to set up gatherings in London and on the Island. In Peel, Mavis and Dave Bell kindly threw open their house for Society members on the Island. Only Terence and Chrissie Brack made Peveril Road almost entirely the result of the short notice but the neighbours had been invited too so they all enjoyed a jolly morning. It seems rather fewer London members made the Island in 2016 and those who did will almost certainly have experienced transport delays, of which there were too many. There was a slightly larger attendance in London itself although just five is still small but it was, nevertheless, an enjoyable occasion with something of the old Bonnington atmosphere in the modern ambiance of the Doubletree by Hilton in Southampton Row. David Hill made the long journey from Petersfield and kept the conversation flowing including his reminiscences of times with his grandfather in Port St Mary. He left a little before the rest, having decided to make the most of a day in town with a visit to an exhibition at the nearby British Museum and then a long evening at the Royal Opera House to see Manon. Bryan and Sheila Corrin came north from Beckenham and participated fully as the conversation ranged from the Island during WW2, through his lecturing career to the news that the family: they with all their children and grand-children have found a house to rent for a 2017 holiday on the north-west edge of Onchan - not the governor's! Your secretary and his wife Margarita came south from Enfield and made their contribution to the afternoon. There was one sad note: Maron Honeyborne, co- sponsor of the event, had tripped on a paving stone the previous day and tumbled, breaking her right arm in three places. It's now on the mend. Though numbers at both events were tiny, feed-back was encouraging and we plan to organise the gatherings again this year - but give notice of the dates much earlier: in September. DBH Obituary Allan Clague Allan collapsed suddenly at his home in Kent on 29th December 2016, age 89, and sadly died after he was unable to respond to attempts to resuscitate him. His wife June (née Corlett) was at his side. June and Allan were both members of the London Manx Society and always looked forward to attending the annual dinner in London and getting together with their friends from the society on outings and excursions, Allan's service as treasurer from 1995 to 2001 being much appreciated. Allan was the only child of Ellen and George (Chief Engineer on IOM Steam Packet) and grew up in Westminster Drive Douglas, attending Douglas High School for Boys. From 1943-45 he was an articled pupil at Kay & Gill Architects, Athol Street, Douglas where he started studying with the College of Estate Management towards his Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) exams. He enlisted for National Service with the Royal Engineers as a Pioneer Student in 1945, the war ending whilst Allan was still in training. Initially a sapper, he was never involved in any direct conflict. His main posting was in Kenya where roads and bridges needed to be rebuilt following the war. Returning to the UK he demobilized out as a Staff Sergeant from the Royal Engineers HQ in Chatham in 1948, remaining for a number of years on the ‘Reserve List’. In later years Allan’s career took him back to Kent and he finally retired in the Chatham area and would frequent the local Royal Engineer’s Museum and barracks, having also joined the Chatham Historical Society. Following National Service Allan returned to his RICS studies as General Assistant to W.C. Gill (partner at Kay and Gill) and after passing his RICS Intermediate exams was offered the position of Junior Architectural Assistant in the Borough Surveyor’s Dept, Shrewsbury Borough Council. During this period he returned to the island for his marriage in 1951 to June Corlett at St George’s Church, Douglas. The couple lived briefly in Shrewsbury whilst Allan completed his final RICS exams before later that year accepting a position with Lichfield City Council in Staffordshire. By 1958 he was Deputy City Surveyor and Architectural Assistant and had embarked on further studies in Highway Design and Road Construction with the International Correspondence School which led to him becoming a Professional Associate of the Institute of Municipal Engineers (later integrated into the Institute of Civil Engineers). Another move in 1958 to Kent took Allan to the position of Senior Engineering Assistant with Crayford District Council (later absorbed as part of Bexley Borough Council in 1965 during the creation of the GLC) where in the 1960s he was responsible for the design and construction of new council houses and flats. Following the introduction of the GLC and the reorganisation of local government Allan was employed as Group Engineer in the newly formed Bexley Borough Highways and Engineering Department based in Sidcup (from where he later retired as Principal Engineer for the London Borough of Bexley). The mid-1960s were the start of the boom years of motorway construction and Allan’s combined experience and qualifications in surveying and civil engineering, together with skills learnt in Kenya with the Royal Engineers, were brought to the fore on one of his biggest projects – the upgrade to motorway standard of the existing A2 along its route through the borough, creating the A2(M). During this period local government was also responsible for the supply of water, sewers and street lighting. These all fell under the management of the Highways and Engineering Department and Allan’s responsibilities included being on call in the event of flash floods – sadly an event which happened more than once in the village of Bexley which is low lying surrounded by hillside and intersected by the river Cray. Needless to say his stock of appropriate equipment, heavy duty gloves and hardened stomach made him the popular “go-to” man for blocked sewage drains amongst immediate neighbours!! By now June and Allan had three children and the family were settled in their home in Dartford where he and June remained until his retirement in 1985. Throughout these years June and Allan continued to return to the Isle of Man to meet up with their family and friends who had remained there. Annual holidays with their children were peppered with picnics, visiting old haunts and gathering a fresh sprig of heather from the moorland to fix to the grill of the car! After retirement June and Allan decided to move to Walderslade, Chatham and they embarked on a variety of new hobbies. The couple continued to play Bridge and to go to dinner-dances. Allan did a gliding course, joined the local bowls club and Probus where he later took the office of Chairman. They enjoyed holidays abroad, lunch groups, daily excursions and were now grandparents. Throughout his married life Allan was an enthusiastic “DIY-man” and utilised many of his professional skills in maintaining both his own home and in offering welcome advice to family and friends. Allan was not so much a gardener as a garden tidier but he would spend many an hour pottering around in his shed which was full of organised tins and boxes of all sorts of things he might need for DIY. He was no stranger to home computing having taken an interest since the early days of home micro-computers and enjoyed gaming, set up a Facebook account and was happy managing his affairs online. He also spent time researching his family history and worked with other family members to trace his Clague/Taubman line back through over 500 years of living on the island. His cheery smile and the twinkle in his eye when he pulled someone’s leg or cracked a joke will be sadly missed. Linda Green AGM This year, our AGM will be held on 27th March and will take place after a Society visit to the Cutty Sark in Greenwich. We plan to meet at the Cutty Sark at 11 a m, self tour until around noon and then meet in The Spanish Galleon (48 Greenwich Church Street, Greenwich, Greater London, SE10 9BL) between noon and 12.30 for lunch, ready to start AGM at 2 p m. If we can muster twenty people for the Cutty Sark, we can consider a guide at a cost £5 each. Please, therefore, let the secretary know on 020 8360 8001 if you are going to attend so we can book the guide in advance. A great way to travel is by river to Greenwich. From Westminster, London Eye, London Bridge or Tower piers; the cost is around £6.50 each way using Oyster or contactless Debit/Credit card (slightly more if you buy a ticket at offices). About 25 minutes from London Bridge Pier to Greenwich - run every 20 minutes. Details are available on www thamesclippers com There are a couple of train options as well. The restaurant, the Spanish Galleon is an interesting building too, designed and built by Joseph Kay in 1834, it survived two world wars and the blitz with little damage. The Entire Universe Like mother, like daughter.