“THE SILHILLIAN” 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 60 NOVEMBER 2009 President 2009 Rupert Young 1 Dear Fellow Old Silhillians At the time of writing this piece I have just over 3 months of my year as your President remaining. Time seems to have passed incredibly quickly, but it has been very enjoyable indeed. Looking ahead 2010 will be a time both of celebration for the OSA, and also probably of further change, so I wish my successor, Max Levenger, well and have committed to support him in my role of Immediate Past President. There will be celebrations next year because the School will be commemorating its 450th anniversary – quite a milestone. Change because we need as an Association to move on. Not just by altering the way we are structured, but also how the Memorial Clubhouse and Grounds are further developed and run. During my year of office it has been a pleasure for me to meet Old Silhillians from so many different years at the School at the various functions I have attended and where I have been made to feel so welcome. The over 60s lunch, which Roger Flood organises so well, would perhaps be my personal favourite if I had to make a choice. It is fantastic to hear those attending for the first time describe their delight at recognising old friends and recounting what they have been up to in the years since they left the School. One wonders whether friendships might have been re-forged earlier if all former pupils were members of the OSA and could therefore easily track each other down. Letter from the President the from Letter I have also attended many functions at the School itself and can reassure you that the very highest stand- ards of performance in all areas of School life are being maintained as you will read in the School Report. Earlier this year I attended a quite astonishingly professional performance of My Fair Lady and more re- cently the Speeches and Prize Giving. The prizes were presented by Laurence Rees BA (Oxon), a former pupil and until recently Head of BBC Television History. He spoke warmly and with some feeling of his time at the School and gave an excellent speech on the lessons of history. Having a child who is currently a pupil at the School, and as the OSA President, I visit fairly regularly. Even so I am still surprised at the quality of the facilities available to the pupils and the way these are being con- stantly developed. The new David Turnbull Music School is one such example. Those who have not been there for some time would be astonished at the changes but at the same time would have a comfortable feeling of familiarity. Perhaps 2010 is the year to revisit your old stamping grounds? The School, the OSA and the Parents Association are all planning events to celebrate the 450th. More information will follow in due course but reserving the weekend of the 3rd and 4th July is a good idea. If you want to register an email address to ensure that you receive details of the planned celebrations please send your details to [email protected]. uk. The Easter mail shot will also contain further information. I mentioned change earlier and I want to return to this point. As you will be aware the Memorial Clubhouse and Grounds at Copt Heath has performed well below even limited financial expectations for several years. There are a whole host of reasons for this which have been well documented in the past. The situation could not be allowed to continue unchecked. The management committee, led by Mike Waters, instituted a review of all costs and usage. As a result of this, cost cutting measures were put in hand and the financial situation has to an extent been stabilised. The facility is extremely well run by our manager Keith Water- house, himself an Old Sil. At the same time over two years of hard work by Mike Waters, Teale Withers, John Griffin and many others has resulted in the construction of a synthetic pitch suitable for hockey and a number of other sports including five-a-side football. This will generate new revenue for the Clubhouse both in pitch hire and bar takings and most importantly give the Silhillians Hockey Club a real home once more. Of the total cost of the new pitch at c.£450,000 the OSA has directly contributed approximately £70,000 raised via a loan facility which the added revenue will service. The remainder of the cost has been paid for from donations and two significant grants. To all who have contributed in any way a massive thank you. The completion of the synthetic pitch is a big change but more are to come. The clubhouse needs refurbishment and reorientation and the changing rooms also urgently need extending and upgrading. The money for this has to be found. Your committee are working up proposals and these will be presented to 2 the membership in due course. Letter from the President the from Letter Now to membership. Over the last 12 months we have undertaken a thorough review of our database and banking arrangements. This has been a difficult and complicated exercise, particularly as it has been dealt with in their spare time by volunteers. The inconsistent flow of responses to requests for information has not made this any easier. This process is nearly at an end. It really helps us if we have up to date contact details for all members. The list of current ‘lost’ Old Silhillians enclosed is disappointingly long. If you know one of these please either give us their details or ask them to contact us. Many thanks to our database administra- tor Sarah Young for all her hard work. I cannot write to you without mentioning Phil Griffiths, the Headmaster, who will be leaving Solihull School at the end of the current academic year after 5 years in post and 37 years at the School. He took on a difficult job, with co-education in its infancy, at a difficult time, after the two previous Headmasters had stayed only briefly. When a steady and firm hand was needed he was the perfect choice. You know where you stand with Phil. We wish him and Belinda all the best in their retirement. I have been extremely proud to be your President for 2009 and I would like to help Max Levenger build on what has been achieved this year as we move into 2010. Levenger is a well know Old Silhillian name and I am sure Max will do an excellent job. He is already part of the fabric of the Old Silhillian network through his involvement with the hockey club and golf society. Good luck Max. Finally a small group of people put a lot of effort into the OSA and Copt Heath and I would like to thank the OSA Main Committee, the Management Committee including the Sports Club representatives for all their endeavours, and Malcolm Lawrie for once again editing the Silhillian. I hope you enjoy reading it. With best wishes Rupert J Young THE OLD SILHILLIANS’ ASSOCIATION - PAST PRESIDENTS 1921/22 Dr AV Bernays 1954 MAD Cooper 1982 RC Cupit 1923 C Aldrin 1955 JT Rolfe 1983 DD Cox 1924 WR Ludlow 1956 VO Hawley 1984 DW Edwards 1925 PE Martineau 1957 FR Bishop 1985 SC Mackay 1926 PH Reading 1958 LG Highway 1986 JRD Orrett 1927 HA Hughes 1959 HA Steele 1987 G Stubbings 1928 HS Matthews 1960 CWD Cooper 1988 MS Saunders 1929 TA Furse 1961 HT Wilcox 1989 HJC Taylor 1930 CH Palmer 1962 WP Townsend 1990 MJD Smith 1932 LC Reading 1963 DH Billing 1991 RJC Graves 1933 LE Horton 1964 HB Callaghan 1992 BW Allen 1934 F Burnett 1965 CT Coton 1993 GM Hughes 1935 RH Whitehill 1966 MJ Wheelock 1994 HE Blow 1936 CL Hughes 1967 PJ Hill 1995 AJ Richardson 1937 FJ Osborne 1968 BJW Swift 1996 P Callaghan 1938 HD James 1969 FAR Moon 1997 MC Bettridge 1939/43 WRL Horton 1970 JEJ Baggs 1998 PA Thomas 1944 FL Nock 1971 RG Toy 1999 JM Batsford 1945 AG Bragg 1972 TG Jones 2000 J Woolman 1946 JB Mayers 1973 JMB Urry 2001 BJD Wilde 1947 CW Bragg 1974 DM Powell 2002 MA Cutler 1948 EG Wilcox 1975 MJ Cusack 2003 N Smith 1949 AJD Mansell 1976 RC Young 2004 R Jerrom 1950 JM Urry 1977 KJ Foster 2005 BW Allen 1951 KW Highway 1978 T Jackson 2006 PA Thomas 1952 Dr. KD Waters 1979 DA Gurnham 2007 SD Allso 1953 BE Hatton 1980 PBL Instone 3 2008 JA Platt 1981 JLR Hare Dear Old Silhillians My first visit to the Old Sils was before I can remember. Like my sister three years before me, I was introduced to the clubhouse and its es- teemed patrons on the way back from the hospital aged 2 days old in December 1975. I was lucky enough to spend the majority of my The President Elect President The weekends running around the grounds causing may- hem, usually with a hockey stick or a cricket bat in hand. To be asked to be President at 33 is a tremendous hon- our and I’m looking forward to performing my duties to the best of my ability in this special year for the School and development at the grounds at Copt Heath.