Old Greshamian Magazine October 2016 Number 155 Old Greshamian Magazine October 2016 Number 155 Cover Old Greshamian holders of The Order of Merit 2 Old Greshamian Magazine Contents Contact details ............................................................................................................................ 2 Editorial ....................................................................................................................................... 3 From the Chairman ...................................................................................................................... 4 OG Club Committee .................................................................................................................... 5 From the Headmaster .................................................................................................................. 6 Headmaster’s Speech Day speech 2016 ..................................................................................... 7 Development at Gresham’s ........................................................................................................ 12 Dates for your Diary ................................................................................................................... 15 Reunions ................................................................................................................................... 16 Honours and Distinctions ........................................................................................................... 28 Engagements, Marriages and Births .......................................................................................... 31 OG News .................................................................................................................................. 37 The Most Influential 20th Century British Theatre Director .......................................................... 51 ‘Star Wars’ and Gresham’s ........................................................................................................ 53 Life in Crossways and Farfield in the 1940s ............................................................................... 53 The Assistant Chaplain who was not in Holy Orders .................................................................. 55 Too Late to Climb ‘The Needle’? ................................................................................................ 58 More Musings from Brovey Lair ................................................................................................. 60 The Restoration of the Theatre in the Woods ............................................................................. 64 The Shadow Man: At the Heart of the Cambridge Spy Circle ..................................................... 66 Frank McEachran: The real-life model for The History Boys’ Star Hector .................................... 69 An OG’s role in “the most important single event of the war at sea” ........................................... 72 A Greshamian at Waterloo .......................................................................................................... 74 An Old Greshamian Head of State ............................................................................................. 77 Gresham’s ‘Military Roll of Honour’ and ‘A History of Gresham’s CCF’ ....................................... 79 Our Somme Fallen: How we have remembered them ................................................................ 81 World War II Evacuation to Newquay ......................................................................................... 83 Flying Officer Benjamin F. Reynolds ............................................................................................ 85 The Chapel 100th Anniversary ................................................................................................... 86 List of School Chaplains ............................................................................................................ 87 An OG to the Canine Rescue ..................................................................................................... 88 Gap Year in New Zealand .......................................................................................................... 89 Martin Olivier .............................................................................................................................. 91 Obituaries .................................................................................................................................. 95 OG Sport ................................................................................................................................. 107 Letters ..................................................................................................................................... 118 Social Media ............................................................................................................................ 120 Merchandise ............................................................................................................................ 121 Gresham’s Venue Hire ............................................................................................................. 124 Advertising .............................................................................................................................. 125 Contact Details Jo Thomas-Howard (Alumni Manager) The OG Club, Gresham’s School, Cromer Road [email protected] 01263 714620 Holt, Norfolk. NR25 6EA Tel: 01263 714500 (main switchboard) Mary Cokayne (Development Administrator) Email: [email protected] [email protected] 01263 714629 Website: https://www.greshams.com/old-greshamians/ Richard Peaver (OG Editor) [email protected] 3 Editorial It is a pleasure to have been asked to take over the editorship of the OG Magazine – a position I last occupied for some years in the 1980s and 90s. My predecessor, John Smart, has edited the Magazine with great flair, erudition, patience and humour for the past six years. It will be the hardest of tasks to emulate the high standards that he has maintained throughout his tenure of office. It is good to know that he is continuing to serve in a different capacity on the OG Committee. Our cover picture this year draws attention to the remarkable fact that, with the recent appointment of Sir James Dyson OM CBE FRS (OSH 1956 – 65), no fewer than four Old Greshamians – the others being Ben Nicholson OM, Baron Britten of Aldburgh OM CH (F 1928 – 30) and Sir Alan Hodgkin OM KBE PRS (H 1927 – 32) - have been appointed to the Order of Merit since the establishment of the award in 1902. This is one of the highest honours that can be bestowed in Britain and the Commonwealth realms, taking precedence over all others apart from the ancient orders of chivalry (such as the Garter, the Thistle and the Bath) and is in the personal gift of the Sovereign. Founded by King Edward VII, the Order is limited to 24 members, and has been described as “quite possibly the most prestigious honour one can receive on planet Earth”. For a small school such as Gresham’s – there were only 182 boys in 1907, and a mere 170 returned to Holt from Cornwall in 1945 – to have produced so many outstanding figures is a quite exceptional achievement, and a tribute to the liberal education, strong in arts, science and sports, and in fostering individual talent, that was provided throughout the 20th century, and that, we hope, continues to be offered to Greshamians today. Richard Peaver 4 Old Greshamian Magazine From the Chairman Dear OGs, These are great times for both the School and the OG Club. With the land sales complete, the School has embarked upon improve- ments to Oakeley, Edinburgh and Britten (now Queens’) houses in the senior school and Crossways and Kenwyn in the prep school. The Oakeley plans are particularly ambitious, with essentially a rebuild of the entire centre of the house behind the current struc- ture, which will then be demolished. The jewel in the crown, though, is the fabulous new Britten Music School, which will be a facility for other schools to envy. In addition, the School has received ‘Excellents’ across all three categories in all three schools in the recent ISIS inspection. On a more sombre but equally impressive note, I attended the School’s centenary cele- bration of the inauguration of the School Chapel in January. It was quite the most moving service I have ever attended, and the sound of pupils in full CCF uniform - one for each OG who died in the Great War - marching off on the gravel into the distance that pervaded into the silence in the Chapel will stay with me forever. The Club is also in good shape. This is Richard Peaver’s first magazine as editor and I am pleased (but not in the slightest surprised) to say he is maintaining the high standards set by John Smart. In addition to all the usual sporting, cultural and social events this year there were a couple of stand outs. Jo Thomas Howard and her team organised a sensational night for nearly 180 OGs and other halves at the East India Club. The Club’s stock of claret took a real hammering that evening. Charlotte Coventry, our Vice-Chairman, and her committee also organised an excellent ball at the School in June, at which we discovered Sam Curtis’s hidden talent as an auctioneer. A huge thank you and well done to Charlotte and her committee and Jo and her team in the OG office for that memorable