THE RED ROSE 2021 Contents FORMER CHAIRMEN OF THE ASSOCIATION ............................................................................................ 3 ASSOCIATION OFFICERS 2020-21 ............................................................................................................... 3 PRESIDENT‟S LETTER ................................................................................................................................... 4 CHAIRMAN‟S LETTER ................................................................................................................................... 6 EDITORIAL ..................................................................................................................................................... 7 OBITUARIES ................................................................................................................................................... 9 CENTENARY DINNER ................................................................................................................................. 24 THE OLD GEORGIANS‟ ANNUAL GOLF CHALLENGE ............................................................................. 25 SOCIAL EVENTS 2020 ................................................................................................................................. 26 MEMORABILIA ............................................................................................................................................. 27 NEWS OF OLD GEORGIANS ....................................................................................................................... 28 IN OTHERS‟ EYES......................................................................................................................................... 30 THORNLEY SOCIETY ................................................................................................................................... 35 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR .......................................................................................................................... 40 KGV & OGA MISCELLANY ........................................................................................................................... 54 The Brick from the Schools Foundation ................................................................................................... 54 Singing With The School Madrigal Group, 1961-67. ................................................................................. 61 It‟s Only Rock n‟Roll.................................................................................................................................. 64 LISTS .............................................................................................................................................................. 67 TALES OF THE UNEXPECTED .................................................................................................................... 68 Live Performances ..................................................................................................................................... 68 Writing at KGV .......................................................................................................................................... 70 A Leap of Faith .......................................................................................................................................... 72 PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES ......................................................................................................77 Hit or Miss ..................................................................................................................................................77 Queen of the Skies ..................................................................................................................................... 80 Southport‟s Railway – The origins ............................................................................................................ 82 Southport Railways: From the 1840s to the 1960s .................................................................................. 84 I Don‟t Do Sport by Neil Hunt .................................................................................................................. 87 CONTACTS ..................................................................................................................................................... 91 2 FORMER CHAIRMEN OF THE ASSOCIATION KGV Old Boys’ Association T P Spencer (24) W Beetham (25) R E Sanderson (26-7) C I Minshull (28) S J Hargreaves (29) A V Cunliffe (30) W M Towers (31) A V Cunliffe (32) R E Sanderson (33) A D Sawyer (35) P Slater (36) G K Bridge (47) D F Sutton (48) P Slater (49) T E Booth (51) G P Wakefield (52) L Duckworth (53) J W Lord (54) J Edwards (55) S C Wilford (56) K Rostron (57) J R Edwards (58) R A Lloyd (59) H E Nettleton (60) G Barnes (61) G Walton (62) H Long (63&4) M B Enright (65) H Evans (66) A V Langfeld (67) A Fairclough (68) H J M Royden (69) D Brown (70) R Abram (71) S B Rimmer (72) A J Chandler (73) J R N Petty (74) S B Fletcher (75) J N Rostron (76) C W Jerram (77) E G Cowen (78) The Old Georgians’ Association T H Dutton (79) G Livesley (80) M M Lockyer (81) R Fletcher (82) J C West (83) J J Marriner (84) G T Seed (85) M J Waring (86) R A Barnett (87) B M Rimmer (88) J R Pilling (89) P D Bagshaw (90) R C Fearn (91) E A Ogden (92) J R Elliott (93) R O Jeffs (94) M J Fearn (95) A Bond (96&97) C Threlfall (98) M R E Hyde (99) G F Dixon (2000) S L Bond (01) A D Hughes (02) J P Marsh (03) K F Edwardson (04) D Burton (05) R Abram (06) D Lonsdale (07) Catherine Lapsley (08) Janice Darkes-Sutcliffe (09&10) D Lonsdale (11) N Spencer (12) M Duffy (13&14) M Day (15&16) R Ellis (17) D Harrison (18, 19 &20) ASSOCIATION OFFICERS 2020-21 PRESIDENT Anne-Marie Francis VICE PRESIDENTS Former Chairmen & Presidents CHAIRMAN Dave Harrison VICE CHAIRMAN Ron Ellis SECRETARY Martin Fearn TREASURER David Lonsdale RED ROSE EDITOR Jonathan Elliott MEMBERSHIP SECRETARY Neil Spencer SOCIAL SECRETARY Jonathan Elliott WEB SITE MANAGER Matthew Duffy COLLEGE REPRESENTATIVE Pam Shea FOUNDATION TRUSTEES Catherine Lapsley, Neil Spencer GENERAL COMMITTEE Former Chairmen & Co-optees 3 PRESIDENT’S LETTER Dear Old Georgians It has been the strangest of years. Not without its highlights, but certainly with many and varied challenges both in educational terms and on a personal level for many of our College community. In January 2020 when we returned to College for the new term, we could never have anticipated the roller coaster to come. The students were expecting a term focused on study, mock exams and some exciting opportunities for trips and travel. A great many opportunities had already opened up for them including participation in the senior maths challenge and being ranked in the top 10 colleges; an Art trip to London, attendance at the Criminology conference, meeting Mary Beard and seeing the world renowned theatre company Frantic Assembly. Still to come were the Barcelona trip, the Duke of Edinburgh expeditions and many university open days and visits! February saw the mock examinations coincide with the much anticipated Ofsted inspection. That was quite a week and one that led to celebration as the students achieved excellent results in their mocks and Ofsted agreed wholeheartedly that the College is very securely „Good‟. We were excited to publish the report and let the wider community know how positive the Ofsted findings were about teaching and learning and student experience, Ofsted also surveyed students, parents, staff and employers involved with the College and reported on the warmth of the survey responses. They felt it was clear that the College is a great place to learn and work and that it is highly thought of in the community and region. We did not get to release our report however as, with the rest of the country, we faced the national lockdown in March and the College closed its doors to learners and staff and adjusted to a period of remote learning. This was quite a learning curve! We moved all our classes online and created virtual classrooms quite literally overnight! Staff and students were simply incredible and worked tirelessly in some of the most uncertain times we have ever known. The final results attained in August 2020 were some of the best we have seen. 91% of our leavers secured their first choice of university and these included Oxford University and 5 aspiring medics off to fulfil their dreams. Results day was unconventional, but I, and the staff, were bursting with pride not just for the almost 70% of A*-B grades but of the courage and resilience the students had shown. We continue to live with Covid and adjust our teaching accordingly and are committed to delivering as much face-to-face learning as we can. We are very conscious that It is a short period of time spent doing A Levels, but is a life changing two years for many and that is in part down to the friends made and the experience of being at College. We want to celebrate this and we are confident we can be Covid secure. 4 Trips and visits are temporally suspended for students, but there are a host of online activities in place to support their learning. Students are in year group bubbles so can still spend time with peers with social distancing in place. We have already welcomed Ofsted back on site; twice in one year must be a record and this time they wanted to hear how we had responded to the