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A R C H I V E S
2020
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Dates for your Diary Saturday 8 February OVS Football V Staff 2.00pm, Shiplake College, New Field
Saturday 4 July Henley Royal Regatta Drinks 4.00pm-6.00pm Henley Cricket Club
Saturday 28 March
Saturday 12 September
Sports Fundraising Dinner
‘FieldFest’ 11.30am, Shiplake College, New Field
7.00pm Shiplake College
Thursday 2 April
Saturday 12 September
OVS Netball V 1st VII
OVS Night Out
4.00pm, Shiplake College, Astro Pitch
7.00pm Henley-on-Thames
Friday 19 June
Date TBC
OVS Cricket V Staff
Revival Regatta
5.30pm, Shiplake College, Front Field
Saturday 20 June OVS Cricket V 1st XI 1.00pm, Shiplake College, Front Field
Eton Dorney Lake
Thursday 26 November London Drinks Reunion Venue TBC
You are welcome to join us at any of these events as they are open to all Old Vikings – please check the website or our social media pages for up to date information and events not listed here. 2|
Welcome From the President The early summer term weather set a cheerful mood for the OVS sixtieth anniversary lunch. Many attending had been at the College in the early 1960s and 70s and the Great Hall was full of Old Vikings and memories. Mr David Welsh, Mr John Wood and your president among them seemed to be well remembered. Safe to say everyone was impressed by the progress since the 2009 celebrations. Clear to see was that the retiring head had maintained the
Shiplake tradition of combining the best of new ideas with Shiplake’s long standing faith in care in the community. He warned us that we would be astonished by the range of activities that went on in a space we would have called a classroom. Some quieter years lie ahead for the OVS. Sporting events at the College and the London Reunion will bring us together but ever rising costs are such a problem. The capital sums just to finance one free place at Shiplake are enormous. Smaller efforts are important and as in the past, we must seek to help where we can.
Having arrived at Shiplake in May 1960 this gathering was a personal milestone and many of those who attended spoke kindly about my efforts to help young people. On the train home I had much to think about. Memories of OV members who had been building up a small community before I was invited to join the staff. The policy was the target of 120 or perhaps 200 boarders… we have come splendidly far from a basic target and created a very special place. HANS WELLS-FURBY
From the Chairman Welcome to 2020, The Old Viking Society is now entering its seventh decade! When the first boys left the College they strived to create a very active alumni society and that remains the same today; the current OVS Committee continually works to provide a platform of opportunity for all of our members to meet up with school friends or just keep in touch with our news. Every year we welcome new members, but our biggest challenge is that over time we lose contact with some for whatever reason. As a society we try to embrace all methods of communication and the technology that allows us to keep in touch, such as email and social media, which are now the normal way of communicating. This has meant
moving away from letters or our newsletter as a printed magazine, which has been such an important medium to us over the years. Today, this newsletter is read online by many more members than have requested printed copies. This just proves the need for this digital move and also emphasises the habits of our growing next generation of Old Vikings. I am fully aware that in order to keep up we need to move with the times; we are the Old Viking Society but we also want to be a Modern Viking Society. For a long time we have had an active presence on most social media platforms. We have also been working to make sure that all the past years’ archive pictures and material have been scanned for easy online viewing for all our members. Please feel free to
browse and look up your year in photos and see our Shiplake at 60 project: www.shiplake.org.uk/ shiplakeat60 Also, to keep ahead of the digital change, we are currently trialling face tagging technology on photographs within the digital archive and hope to launch this soon. In the mean-time, take a look at our extensive photo library: www.shiplake.org.uk/archives With these digital changes I would also like to ask all our members to help by keeping us updated with email addresses, and also to follow us on social media in order to be kept up-to-date. We are certainly open to suggestions so if any Old Vikings have any thoughts or ideas of ways we can communicate better with our members, please do get in touch to let us know. BEN FITZWILLIAMS
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News from Old Vikings
OVS NEWS
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DON EALAND (02S) We were so happy to learn in August that the Chiltern Valley Winery and Brewery’s Old Luxters blood orange liqueur received a bronze award in the International Wine & Spirit Competition. Old Viking Don Ealand (02S), who owns the business, said: “I am over the moon. We haven’t won awards for so many years and it’s the first time we have entered this liqueur. It has got a huge following and people absolutely love it so we sell a lot of it.”
MATT GODWIN (17B)
In April, Matt Godwin (17B) competed in the Marathon Des Sables in aid of Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity. Billed as ‘the toughest footrace on earth’, the challenge was a 7 day self-sufficient ultramarathon spanning 156 miles across the Sahara Desert and involved sleeping in a homemade shelter at night, rationed water, sand dunes, climbing and salt flats. We were thrilled to learn that Matt completed the challenge and raised £3,935 for his chosen charity. This was one of nine event marathons completed in 2019 by Matt and in December he was excited to announce that he has secured a place in the 2021 Ice Ultra across the Arctic Circle – a 230km race over five days with temperatures regularly hitting -35 degrees! We will keep you posted of Matt’s progress.
HENRY BLOIS-BROOKE (17S)
It’s been an incredible year for Old Viking Henry Blois-Brooke (17S). Currently studying Sports and Exercise at Oxford Brookes University, Henry, along with OV Seb Newman (17O) won the Temple Challenge Cup at Henley Royal Regatta in their OBUBC eight. After the success of HRR, Henry then flew to Florida to represent Great Britain in the Under 23 rowing championships and brought home the gold. Finally in August, he competed in the gruelling 192 mile coast to coast run, which is the equivalent of running seven marathons in six days! Despite it being ‘the most painful week of his life’, Henry completed the challenge and raised almost £3,000 to split between his two chosen charities: Myaware and Help For Heroes.
TIMOTHY ROHN (70S)
It seems like such a long time since I left the halls of Shiplake and Skipwith House in 1970. I have been married twice and
have three children and five grandchildren. I earned my keep as an engineer, in maintenance at an iron foundry, then as a mechanic for BMW. Sadly both these ended with redundancy. I then took my HGV license and ten years of ‘road pounding’ up and down the UK and Europe followed, ending with a move south to Bournemouth where I took up classic car restoration. A proposed move to the Southern Hemisphere was on the cards but the diagnosis of MS for my wife ended that. I now find myself semi-retired and spending time making my long term hobby of kite flying something that takes me around the UK and representing the UK in Europe. I can be found at most UK events normally with a very large purple dragon – one of only 18 in the world. I also help out a friend doing the electrical side of gate automation. I am still in contact with a couple of others from my years at Shiplake and still think about time spent at the College and on the river as both oarsman and later cox of the first four.
We’re a stone’s throw from the beach where my Irish Wolfhound enjoys taking me for a walk every day. I have two (now very adult) children – Tess who was until recently a flight attendant and lives with her husband in Darwin, and Tim who has his own landscaping business here in Melbourne. I enjoy reading the OVS Newsletter but rarely if ever see anything about people of my vintage. There are of course things I miss about UK but coming to Australia was undoubtedly the best thing I ever did. I hope that life has been as kind to all other Old Vikings as it has been to me.
TITUS DRUMMOND (75E)
JONATHAN MCGUIGAN (71W) Greetings to all Old Vikings (old and new). I left Shiplake at the end of the 1971 school year so I’m a bit dated I’m afraid. After leaving Shiplake I worked for a couple of years at a merchant bank in London, but as the UK economy was in such a terrible state with frozen wages (and me being stuck on a beginners’ salary) and no prospect of any improvements, at least in the short to medium term, I ventured forth to see the wider world. My first stop, and a permanent one as things turned out, was Australia, where for some reason I joined the army. Not exactly sure why – but then I was only 21! I think I had some notion about getting life experience and growing up so I intended to spend three years in the army and then resume my travels. Well it took me longer to grow up than I thought so 28 years later I left the army and joined the wider defence organisation as a civilian project manager. I ran various projects – all on time, on budget and to the required performance (of course), until my retirement at the end of 2018. My wife and I are now very much “emptynesters” and live in Black Rock which is a bayside suburb some 20km south of Melbourne.
I’m still in the Royal Fleet Auxiliary, over twenty one years now, but being over sixty I guess I will have to contemplate retirement vaguely soon. If only I had a retirement plan which didn’t rely on winning the lottery. My eldest son, Omar, seems to be permanently domiciled in Hong Kong now, while my youngest son, Errol, is doing another degree, maths, at Groningen in Holland. My beautiful daughter, Matilda-May, has just started politics at Southampton and I did actually promise her I wouldn’t retire until she’d finished – but her reply, “Oh good, because I’m going to do a PhD…” wasn’t quite the reply I was expecting. And, of course, none of them care about my lack of grandchildren. I’ve been riding motorcycles as much as possible, as much as work allows. I recently rode from Reading to the Arctic Circle (2017), and then to Dakar (and back) (2018). I also flew to Daker (2017), bought a bike and rode
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OVS NEWS
round the Senogambia – and then flew to Libreville in Gabon (2018) where I bought another bike and did much the same thing there. Prior to that, I flew to Delhi and bought a 500 Royal Enfield and did eight and a half thousand miles on the terrifyingly dangerous Indian roads… I’m not sure when I last updated you. Looking towards the future; in two days time (6 March 2019) I am flying to Sydney to visit my mother (who has lived in Australia since the late 50s). She lives five hundred miles north of Sydney but I have already bought a BMW motorcycle which is standing by (in Sydney) and Plan A is that I intend to set off in the opposite direction and ride around ten thousand miles to get to my mum’s house. But it kinda depends on the weather! I’ve been writing books but I’ve no idea if they are any good. My most recent publications (only available electronically, on Amazon) detail some of my motorcycle adventures but I’ve hardly sold any! You can see them if you put my name into Amazon BUT one book in the resulting list isn’t by me. It seems that someone else, a complete stranger, came up with the name Titus Drummond for one of his characters! I still spend as much time as I can studying invertebrates and last year (in Gabon) I found a stunning Nephila spider of a species no one (that I can find) has ever recorded before (photo included). I also have a number of Segestria florentina (a type of tube web spider originating from the Mediterranean) living in the front wall of my house and Steatoda nobilis (false widows) all over the place. I haven’t had any heart attacks since 2012 (which is good) but I was recently diagnosed as diabetic. I’ve been watching the inexorable increase in my blood sugar levels over the last few years but now it’s hit the magical 48 mmol/ mol and I’m worried someone might tell me to stop drinking beer… Sending love to everyone that served with me at the best public school in the world, Shiplake.
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EMILY BEVAN
Emily Bevan, daughter of former Headmaster Nick Bevan, has written a book entitled ‘The Diary of Losing Dad’. The book is a bittersweet journey through grief – pieced together with diary entries and poems. The Old Viking Society together with the school are proud to have supported Emily in getting her diary published via crowdfunding publisher, Unbound, and Emily is over two thirds of the way towards reaching her target. Please visit unbound.com/books/ diary/ to pledge or find out more.
JON COOKSEY (FORMER STAFF)
Jon Cooksey and Northampton Saints Director of Rugby Chris Boyd discuss the life of Sergeant John Goosey as Chris prepares to lay a wreath at his grave in Banneville-la-Campagne War Cemetery near Caen in Normandy
In July, ex-teacher Jon Cooksey – (Learning Development/Y9 Battlefield Tours 2006–2013) crossed to Normandy with Premiership Northampton Saints RUFC Director of Rugby Chris Boyd to tell the story of three Northampton Saints players who had played for the club before the Second World War, served in the same unit, and were all killed in Normandy in 1944.
Jon co-wrote and co-produced the documentary on the ‘Saints in Normandy’ with BBC Radio Northampton Sports Editor Graham McKechnie for a special programme which aired on BBC Northampton in August to mark the 75th anniversary of the Normandy campaign. Captain Richard Crofts and Sergeants John Goosey and Richard ‘Dick’ Powell were all soldiers in the 1st Northamptonshire Yeomanry – an armoured unit in Sherman tanks – which landed on Gold Beach north of Bayeux on 15 June 1944 – D-Day+9. Richard Crofts was killed on 27 June 1944 when the scout car he was travelling in hit a landmine in the village of Bernieres. John Goosey was hit by a shell whilst filling his tank with petrol near Caen on 26 July and Dick Powell was killed when his tank was hit during an attack north of St Pierre-sur-Dives on 16 August whilst driving the German Army out of Normandy towards the River Seine. Together Chris Boyd and Jon visited the sites where the three ex-Saints rugby men were killed and Jon told their stories before Chris visited their final resting places in three of the vast British war cemeteries in Normandy.
1985-86 1ST XV REUNION
At the beginning of November, a reunion was planned for members of the 1st XV 1985 – 1986. Those in attendance were Andrew Ridley-Barker (86S), Ebi Nafis (86W), Thomas Rochester (86W), Julian Buck (88O), Chris Haynes (87S), Jon Bartlett (87S), Paul Goodsir (87B), Richard Laing (88E) and Chris Howie (86O) who organised the gathering. Ebi Nafis said “It was an outstanding reunion much enjoyed by us all. Emotional, surreal and very funny; a great rendezvous indeed. A couple of the guys were unable to attend but another jaunt is planned for early next year”.
1989 & 1990 LEAVERS MINI REUNION
It was an emotional journey for Chris Boyd. The Saints Director of Rugby paid tribute to the three players who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country and who are still honoured by the club today as an integral part of the Northampton Saints rugby family. A short film was produced by Northampton Saints and featured on their website: https:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7DxPm-jTos The BBC Northampton documentary is still available to listen to or download at: BBC Radio Northampton – The Saints Show, Saints in Normandy (28/08/2019).
On 21 September, the Great Western Arms pub in Banbury, of which Old Viking Rene Klein (88S) is the proprietor, held host to a reunion for a handful of leavers from 1989 and 1990. Those in attendance were Andre Klein (89O), Christian Woollard (89O), Jeremy Blake (90S), Rupert Lawson Johnson (90E), Douglas McArthur (90O), Stuart Wetherall (89S), Richard Paxton (89O), Robin Graham (90O), Mike Adams (90O), Edward Rydon (89S), James Weedon (90W) and Charles Martin (89B). Charles said “Rene prepared a scrumptious feast consisting of seafood risotto to start, fillet steak, vegetables and home-made chips to follow, then a selection of delicious desserts. An evening of frivolity and fond reminiscing was had by all. Hopefully wiser, but certainly greyer and plumper folks in attendance!” OVS MAGAZINE 2020 | 7
OVS NEWS
Back to School Throughout the year the College has had a number of Old Vikings return for many different reasons and it is always a pleasure to welcome them back. Here is a selection of some of our 2019 visitors... In March we welcomed back recent leavers Jade Miller (18E), Charley Burgess (18S), Bilal Akeil (18E) and Tom Hallam (18S) who came in to talk to Sixth Form pupils about the processes they underwent to get where they are now as part of our Futures Programme. Ed Bowers (11B) attended one of the School’s careers events with his company Education2Sport, a sports career guidance resource. The event was aimed at inspiring Year 12 students to consider a range of different career options. Bill McAlester (76W) delivered a lecture to Year 12 in May as part of their PULSE programme. The students were fascinated to hear about his life experiences, including his time in the Marines and the part he played in the Falklands War. In June, Year 12 pupils were lucky enough to have one-on-one on-camera training with Max Tilney (91O) who runs video production and strategy agency, TaleFin, based in Henley. We were delighted to welcome back Ali Al-Kharusi (99B) for the first time since he left 20 years ago! He and his family enjoyed looking round his old school and finding him on the 1997–1999 Burr House photographs. Marcus Bagshawe (17S) and Quin Wagner-Piggott (17O) came back at the end of the Summer Term to perform at the inaugural ‘Shiplake Rocks!’ music festival.
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It was a huge pleasure to welcome back Alexander Entin (03B) and his lovely family for a tour of the College. They came to visit back in September as part of their week long holiday to the UK from their home in Russia. Very recent leavers Josh O’Hare (19S) and Ethan Caldeira (19S) gave up their time at the beginning of the academic year in September to help set up new pupils’ laptops before they both headed off to university to study computer science. Education Consultant Asher Majeed (08O) returned to speak at a Sixth Form PULSE lecture in October. ‘Mindset of Success’ was his inspiring topic. Guy Welbrock-Smith (73S) shared lots of memories when he returned for a tour of his old stomping ground at the beginning of November. Near the end of term in November the College’s Sports Scholars, along with a number of the Lower School boys, enjoyed a wonderful talk from former pupil and coach of the Olympic winning Fijian Rugby 7s team, Chris Cracknell (00O). We are always looking for ways Old Vikings can interact and enrich the experiences of our current pupils, if you have an idea as to how you may be able to help, please email: oldvikings@shiplake.org.uk
Vikings!
Come and take up the Swedish Otillo challenge In 2002 in a hotel on an island in Sweden, four men sat up late into the night talking and drinking beer. As so often happens when beer flows freely, a great new idea was born. They agreed to form two competing teams to have a circular race from the hotel later in the morning. There would be just one rule which would oblige each team to visit the three restaurants on the island before returning to the finish line at the hotel. The leading team would order drinks in each restaurant which the following team would have to consume and pay for. Alas, the great idea did not work very well. By 2006 they made radical changes to the rules and the sport of swimrun was born. They called it Otillo, a Swedish term for between the islands as the courses would involve swimming from one island to another and then running across that island to the next stretch of water. Most courses are around 40km in total length, with six or seven transitions from one medium to the other. In 2002 the year the race was invented, James Wilkinson (02O) and Nic Lowry (02O) left Orchard House at Shiplake to take a gap year before going up to university. James went to Nottingham to read Engineering; Nic went to UWE Bristol to read Business in Property. Nic then qualified as a member of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors and James, subsequently, added an MBA from the Henley Business School to his degree. James had represented the College in the 1st VIII on two occasions at Henley Royal Regatta and had played on the 1st XV in his final two years. Nic played a number of fixtures with the 1st XV in his final year and then rowed in the 1st VIII throughout his time at university. He later added London Rowing Club and Henley Rowing Club to his Royal Regatta appearances.
time employment. Marathons were run in New York, London, the French Riviera and Berlin. Many half marathons were run purely as pre-race training exercises. Then they progressed to IronMan triathlons and to the 100km Race to the Stones Ultra Marathon. Finally, they discovered Otillo, which, by then, fitted in better with work and the commitment of family life. James is married to Lindsay and Nic and his wife, Helena, have a baby daughter. So far they have competed in England, in Sweden and in Germany and Malta is on the cards for 2020. In all their endurance racing, they compete as Shiplake Vikings in recognition of the love of sport they developed during their time at the College. If any other Old Vikings would like to get involved in Otillo, then James and Nic would like them to get in touch, initially through the OV Office at the College. They believe it is a sport which would appeal to many OVs who wanted to continue to take focused exercise after they left the College. Men and women compete in pairs, which can be mixed pairs, so it should appeal to both male and female OVs and a new solo category has recently been added. The organisers always choose locations where the scenery is attractive and new entrants to the sport can now begin with shorter and sprint races before committing themselves to a full-distance race. It couldn’t be simpler or more inviting than that.
They took up endurance racing as a means of keeping fit. It was easier to train and compete as a team of two when they were both in full
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OVS NEWS
INTERVIEW WITH
Jasper Galloway Our digital archive features a number of albums featuring pupil artwork from the 1980s and 1990s. We were thrilled to learn that one of the pupils who’s work is featured, Jasper Galloway (87E), is now in fact living and working in Paris as a successful artist! We caught up with him back in October 2019 during his exhibition, Vanishing Point.
We can see that you enjoyed art as at School as we have one of your pieces in our digital archive, was it always a passion? Yes, painting has always been my passion, both my parents were creatives, there was always sketch pads, fabric samples, art books and wonderful paintings scattered around our childhood house. As a child I would draw, paint and stick things together at any given chance, my father encouraged me to build plastic airfix models to learn about being patient! (Don’t rush,
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stage by stage.) This helped me a lot when I started painting later in life. My father also encouraged me, as a child, to copy other paintings, that way I could learn the language. Where did life take you after leaving Shiplake? At first I went to Australia and very luckily got to work in the Art Department on a film called ‘The Punisher’. From there it was back to London and working as a Runner for a production company called MGMM and then working my way
OVS NEWS
up to being an Art Director and working on pop videos, adverts and small TV. In 1991 the recession kicked in, which was a perfect time to study, so I did my foundation course at Hereford Art College, followed by my degree at Wimbledon School of Art, BA Hons (Theatre Design), and then finally my MA at New York University Tisch School of the Arts (Production Design – Film). How did you end up in Paris? Sadly my wife and I split up, we had a design business and paint colours company together which she still runs. I had been professionally painting since 2014 and felt I needed new inspiration and as an artist, as you can imagine, Paris is it! I have been based here in my studio in Montparnasse for two years now. You have a very particular style, where do you get your inspiration? Interestingly I get asked this a lot. Because of my history in set design, interior design, the colour range – it all came together. My work has been looked at as inspired by cubism but interestingly I was drawing/painting like that as a child before knowing what cubism was! However yes, I love the works of Juan Gris, Picasso and Braque. Pop art and Hockney have very much influenced my work as well. Inspiration is a funny one! A lot of it is in my head but again colour and form has a lot to do with it. I still like to paint portraits and still lifes just to keep my eye in.
What are your fondest memories of School? My group of close friends comes to mind, fortunately we are still mates to this day. Rowing out in a scull on a beautiful afternoon. Winning the National Schools’ Shooting Competition. (303s) CCF. What has been your greatest achievement? Being asked by galleries around the world to show my work has been my greatest achievement. Just knowing other people will see my paintings makes me smile and also knowing that these paintings will hopefully out-live me and hopefully leave a little mark. If you are interested in seeing more of Jasper’s work, please visit: https://jaspergalloway.com/
Jasper’s school painting from 1986
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OVS BURSARY FUND
OVS Gap Year Bursary Fund The Old Viking Society Gap Year and Alumni Bursary Fund is open to current Year 13 pupils and all Old Vikings. There is up to £500 available for volunteering projects, further education or cultural enrichment trips. The funds are awarded annually and the closing date for applications is Tuesday 5 May 2020.
For further details, including conditions of award and the online application form, please go to www.shiplake.org.uk/ovsbursaryfund Old Vikings Ollie Brown (18S) and Emily Wilkinson (17S) both benefited from the award by receiving funding in 2019.
Emily Wilkinson (17S)
During the summer of 2019 I spent six weeks researching the effect tourism was having on the immature Green Turtle (Chelonia mydas) population found in Akumal Bay, Mexico. My research was part of a long-term study run by Operation Wallacea. Green Turtles, like all other sea turtles, are endangered, and exposure to tourism with its related water pollution and stresses, make the turtles vulnerable to disease. Operation Wallacea’s project aims to reduce the number of human-related turtle deaths while also making sure that tourists have the
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opportunity to appreciate and experience these amazing animals. The expedition was full on; we’d be on the beach from 7am to 7pm, swimming around the bay for hours on end. After which we had to identify individual turtles from a database of over 150 and input hundreds of rows of behavioural and distribution data… but I wouldn’t have changed a thing. The experience was amazing. It has solidified my love of research and marine zoology, but I was also able to experience so many new things. My accommodation was in the middle of the jungle, so putting a scorpion out at bedtime and sitting next to a tarantula at breakfast became the norm. Monkeys were an expected visitor at dinner time, while headtorches attracted moths the size of your face. I was introduced to scuba diving while over there which has now become my newest passion and I am already planning trips for the sole purpose of diving.
Going to Mexico alone was a massive step outside my comfort zone, but in the end, it meant I made many new friends and allowed me to grow in so many different ways. Working so closely with the locals allowed us to be fully immersed in their culture and lives, through which I learnt more than you can imagine. We had some lively interactions with the tours run by the local drug cartel (which were brought to a close by the Marines), while the water pollution posed a serious threat to my eyesight, but at least I found out I can tan (even if it takes six weeks)! I had to do a vast amount of fundraising for this expedition, and, at times, it felt like too great a task to be juggling with the rest of my life. I am so glad I decided to stick with it, and I am hugely grateful of the Old Viking Society for all of their help in getting me to my target. Now all that’s left for me to do is to write up my findings…
Ollie Brown (18S) During my year out between finishing Sixth Form and starting at university in Twickenham, I spent four weeks volunteering in Fiji, coaching rugby in schools and for a local club. Fiji is a very small country composing of 330 different islands, with a population of around 905,000. The national sports of Fiji are rugby and netball, they particularly excel in rugby 7s having won the Olympic gold medal in 2016, under the coaching of Old Viking Chris Cracknell. Whilst completing the program, which was run by a local company called Green Lion, I was based in Suva, the capital of Fiji, and stayed in group accommodation. The first week of the program was an introduction to Fiji and its culture, and included trips to other local islands, Fijian language lessons and Fijian cookery lessons. After the first induction week, my official program started and I began coaching in one of the local schools. My working day was from 8am till 5pm Monday to Friday and I was running
the school’s PE lessons and after-school clubs. In these sessions with the younger years we would run lots of relay races. Sessions with the older pupils consisted mostly of rugby and netball matches. The structure of a PE lesson in Fiji is very different to the way it is run at home; they begin contact sports from the age of five, which came as a huge shock when observing my first lesson! At the weekends, I had free time to travel to another part of the island and explore more of the country. During my time in Fiji I also coached one of the local rugby sides. I was introduced to a couple of the members of the team when I first arrived on the island, and was asked to come down to their training to help coach them. After a few sessions of working with the team they asked if I would carry on coaching them for the rest of my trip. During the rest of my time coaching the side I worked heavily with them and travelled the island with them. The highlight of coaching this team was heading to the sand dunes in Sigatoka for sunrise and fitness. Another highlight was coaching them at
the national 7s tournament where we finished 2nd in the whole of the country! I learnt so much during my trip away, the minimum wage in Fiji is only $2 an hour which is the equivalent to 70p, with the vast majority of children not even being able to afford pencils or pens for school. It made me realise how lucky and privileged I am. I thoroughly enjoyed coaching the men’s side but even more coaching in the schools, especially seeing how much the children benefited from and appreciated it. I would like to massively thank the Old Viking Society, as without being awarded the Gap Year Bursary Fund, this unforgettable trip would not have been possible.
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Farewell Mr Davies
COLLEGE NEWS
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It was announced in our previous magazine that after 15 years at the helm, Gregg Davies would be stepping down as Headmaster of Shiplake College at the end of the summer term 2019. Gregg joined Shiplake in 2004 and came from Fettes College in Edinburgh where he had been the School’s Deputy Headmaster. An elite rugby referee with a keen interest in rowing and football, his passion for sport was one that must have helped set him apart from the other 75 candidates considered for the prestigious role. During his first few years at the College, Gregg installed traditions that are now synonymous to Shiplake; he designed and launched our now iconic striped blazer, and it was Gregg’s idea to introduce the Year 9 overnight camp on the College’s Lynch Island in the middle of the Thames. Speaking of the inaugural enterprise in 2005 he said “Our ‘Island Adventure’, perhaps it should be renamed ‘I’m a Year 9 get me out of here,’ exemplified what Shiplake is all about. A team from the Royal Mechanical and Electrical Engineers came in to put our Year 9 through some initiative and team-building exercises before the boys crossed to our island in the Thames to construct their accommodation for the night. After a shower and breakfast, the next morning, the boys were back in lessons for 08.45. That is an educational experience that prepares pupils for whatever life has to offer.” Fifteen years later the tradition is still very much a highlight in the Year 9 calendar. The physical appearance and size of the College changed drastically during his tenure. In September 2009 our female pupils got their own house which was opened by and named after departing Chairman of Governors, Nigel Gilson. During the same term, it was an historic moment when the first group of elevenyear-old day boys arrived at the College. The plan had been to admit one class of Year 7 pupils but after selection and testing
there were 18 successful candidates so with the support of the governors, Gregg made the decision to expand to a two form entry. The decision was a successful one, as on 7 June 2013, a new Lower School building was officially opened. The £300,000 centre, which today houses over 60 day pupils in Years 7 and 8, has a kitchen, two study rooms for each year group and a day room. Gregg also oversaw the planning, building and eventual opening of the £4.3million arts block named after former pupil and Governor, John Turner, in 2014. The building houses the art, music and learning development departments, a 140-seat lecture theatre and a state of the art modern study centre called the Thinking Space. One of his final acts as Headmaster was to help ‘break the ground’ for the new multi activity centre and boathouse, to be named The Davies Centre, which is due to be completed this year. The increase in buildings and space saw record numbers of pupils and academic results continued to rise throughout his headship. What a proud moment it must have been in April 2015, following a full ISI inspection, when Shiplake College was judged as ‘excellent’ across every single inspection category – the highest possible grade of achievement. Commendation of this magnitude is rare in independent education, placing Shiplake amongst the leading independent schools in the country. Mr Davies will also be remembered for making the decision to ban mobile phones at the end of 2016, putting Shiplake College in the national spotlight. Banned during the day on College grounds, pupils are encouraged to interact with one another face-to-face rather than from behind a five-inch screen. This blanket rule and the liberating effects it has had have become a source of national interest and discussion, and has led to many other Schools up and down the country following suit. In 2019 Gregg’s impact was recognised publicly as
he was named as one of the independent school sector’s top 25 leading influencers and innovators. His legacy at Shiplake will be a long one, the respect he commanded from his pupils appeared effortless and it was clear from the turnout at his OVS leaving party at Raffles in London in May that he is admired and valued by those he led.
As like those who went before him, a portrait of Gregg was commissioned by the Governors to mark his tenure. The finished portrait was revealed at Speech Day in June 2019 and now proudly hangs in the College’s Old Viking Room alongside those of John Eggar, Peter Lapping and Nick Bevan.
Farewell and thank you write to 31st August and so, as I run from the 1st September dmaster Hea as day last my Teachers’ contracts typically ly tru gust, I do so knowing it is on this final Saturday in Au Excited for the new challenges I do feel sad but also excited. rse, cou Of and excited for Shiplake of Shiplake College. Director at Bellevue Schools on cati Edu as me for ad ahe which lie under new leadership. College as it enters a new era of eve that it needs a fresh pair it can do better and I truly beli est form) wid est, tru its (in l The school is flourishing but ona cati to evolve as a centre for edu rs. eyes to enable it to continue from our home of fifteen yea not have had a better send off ld cou I truly and been e hav we lls: ewe excellence. Alison far r e been so generous with thei hire joining Alison’s family Pupils, staff and parents hav amped to North Nottinghams dec ly ful me a commuter on Monday touched. We have now beco I A1 is now familiar and The ire. ksh Yor th Sou in who live commute from Courtmead to ford. No longer the 60 second ndings but, like Alison and when I hop on the train at Ret rou sur Perdi enjoy their new and nro e), the Mu s dog The dy! my stu ny times (but it remains tru a river. As has been said ma ies. It needs ght nou or s etie nin me, miss the easy access to the of very different to the school changed. Shiplake College of today is ntly, the general ethos has not orta imp very to be. However, and ool; and this is enjoy his or her time at the sch n’t did who yet ing Vik Old I have not met an redient in learning (academic at Shiplake: an important ing increasingly, a belief that fun ch mu is re The l. sua unu now, a great sense of purpose and sure or otherwise) but there is also wonder how one can truly mea n ofte I h. reac to e plac ible oss m imp exa an lic not pub is h wit izon ted hor the connec e is one simplistic measure of a school success in a school. I know ther alone in shaping the ability not is , ars pill core the of one lst by the whi ped , sha this is It but ne. lts resu t to defi of a school is so very difficul ability of pupils the is it ed; ggl to be successful. The success stru e onc ils in areas where they development of learning increasing confidence of pup and formal settings; it is the ups gro al tional soci in es selv to express them ing tolerance; gaining emo finding out and demonstrat k; t wor spen team you of; as nce but orta on go imp the I could gh at oneself and be humble. ates Cre ge llen Cha intelligence; learning to lau do. to d har s w what the school trie and In Knowing Our time at Shiplake you will kno ; Choice, Risk, Consequence; pect Res and esty Hon st, Character; Tru experiences at Shiplake have ength, are all adages which Str d Fin ll Wi We s esse akn We helped me develop. ager’s challenges are so change and the modern teen es tim but l wel rted) to era my ed They have serv respond (and has already sta know Shiplake College will r thei in l wel so i mn very different these days. I alu that ethos which has served our waters of this and, whilst adhering to pupils through the turbulent of s ion erat gen ure fut de itive pos the ce: tan dis a professional lives, will gui at l follow the College closely, but and we would very ng elli trav adolescence. Alison and I wil are we n whe We will do this even . It could not have been advantages of social media. tributed to our leaving present con who you of all nk tha much like to a better choice.
OVS MAGAZINE 2020 | 15
Farewell to Staff Leavers
COLLEGE NEWS
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THE OLD VIKING SOCIETY EXTENDS A VERY WARM WELCOME TO THE 2019 STAFF LEAVERS. Mr Alex Hunt’s time at Shiplake spanned over 20 years. He has now changed career and moved into industry. Mr Hunt started his Shiplake journey as a Design and Technology teacher and Housemaster of Welsh House before moving back to his home country of Australia. After returning to the UK, he came back to Shiplake and became a successful Head of Design and Technology and Assistant Head, Co-Curricular. Mrs Alison Davies joined Shiplake in 2004 and has had two very different roles; teacher of Learning Development and Headmaster’s wife. She moved to North Nottinghamshire in August 2019 with Mr Davies and their two dogs. She will now be part of two private fostering panels and continue her work as a Magistrate. Mr David Brenton and Mrs Joan Brenton after 14 years of ensuring that exam access arrangements, exam invigilation and the school’s timetable have worked smoothly, the couple have retired and moved back to their home in West Wales. Mr Jack Norris moved on to be a PE teacher at Highdown School in Reading.
Mr Tiki Ebun Cole. Following five years at Shiplake College, popular Deputy College Housemaster and Languages teacher Tiki relocated to Denmark. Miss Katie Hallam left her role as Head of Art to focus on her own Art company. Mrs Vanessa Hine left Shiplake to become Head of Drama at Newlands Girls’ School. Mr Byron Ward, Musician in Residence Byron is now a full time musician with his band. Mrs Jenny Nunes. Already an Old Viking as a pupil here in 2006, Jenny left her post as Head of Drama following her maternity leave, to set up her own Drama School. Mrs Judit Coulehan moved on to Davenies School in Beaconsfield, where she took the senior post of Head of Learning Support. Mr Adam Mallins joined Shiplake in 2010 after making a career change from television producing to Geography teaching. During his time at the College Mr Mallins progressed in his career, culminating in the position
of Senior Housemaster. Mr Mallins moved onto the new role of Deputy Headmaster at Crosfields School. Mr Alex Duncan moved to Shiplake from a senior post in a maintained school. Starting as a Geography teacher, he went on to become Skipwith Housemaster for five years. The Duncan family relocated to Malaysia where Mr Duncan is now the Head of Geography at an international school. Mr Ross Johnston left his role of Head of Geography after being at Shiplake for five years. Mr Johnston recently became a father and is relocating to Australia with his family. Mr Jim Reynolds departed Shiplake after five years to join the Biology Department at Epsom College. During his time at the School, he was a tutor in Welsh House and was Head of Biology for his final three years. Mr Aled Elmore was at Shiplake for almost three years and left to be a teacher of Physics and Resident Tutor at Reading Boys’ School. Mr Paul Green. Head of History Mr Green has relocated to Australia with his family.
Rev’d Stephen Cousins (The Rev) was the spine of Shiplake’s pastoral care over the last 10 years as the School Chaplain. He moved on to be Chaplain to the Ewelme Trust and Associate Priest in the village. Mrs Jennie Miles Thomas our wonderful Burr House Matron Jennie retired after spending 11 years at Shiplake College. Miss Karen Strickland. After 18 years at Shiplake, Karen decided to take a welldeserved career break and stepped down from her role as matron of Everett House in September 2019.
Mrs Marion Cousins spent 19 years at Shiplake College, starting as a Science Technician and finishing as the much loved Matron of Lower School. She retired from the College at the end of 2019.
Sister Debbie Mundy spent five years as senior sister in the College’s Medical Wing, Debbie left to join the medical team at Abingdon Prep School. Sister Hilary Kernaghan has now settled back in her native Northern Ireland doing acute Medical and Surgical Nursing with A&E.
Mr Charlie Jenkins. Rowing Coach Charlie relocated to Cornwall with his family where he is pursuing a career in boat building. As a former Shiplake pupil, Charlie maintains strong links with the School as a member of the Old Viking Society committee.
Sports Dinner Saturday 28 March 2020 Old Vikings and their friends are invited to the Shiplake College Sports Fundraising Dinner. All
Former England rugby player (and I’m a Celebrity 2019 campmate!)
James Haskell has been confirmed as the guest speaker and MC for the evening will be Sky Sports presenter Alex Payne. Dress code: Black tie Arrival drinks: 6.45pm Three-course meal, auction and raffle Carriages: Midnight Tickets: £65 each (£50 for OV Classes of 2016-2019)
To book tickets go to www.shiplake.org.uk/sportsdinner OVS MAGAZINE 2020 | 17
COLLEGE NEWS
Tyrone Howe’s First Impressions This week a prospective parent was returned to Reception having been taken on a tour of the College by a Year 11 boy. I overheard the final question, ‘So can you sum up Shiplake College in one sentence?’. After a short pause, the pupil replied, ‘Shiplake is a really strong and close community – it feels like a family.’ As you can imagine I was delighted to hear this spontaneous response and it simply reinforced my own early impressions of the College. Despite formally taking up the reins as Headmaster in September, Shiplake has felt like home since walking through the doors for the first time myself over twelve months ago. For much of this I owe a debt of gratitude to my predecessor Gregg Davies, who made me feel welcome from the start and included me in so many events and meetings in the first half of last year. Since my appointment I have met and bumped into a surprising number of Old Vikings – you are everywhere! And as much out of pure curiosity as professional information gathering I have asked about your time at the College, and almost without exception each person has said that Shiplake was transformational in their lives. What an amazing tribute to a school! But right from the start I have seen evidence of exactly this strongest of validations to be true. Firstly, Shiplake College is authentic and it genuinely lives its values – inclusive, individual and inspirational. I have witnessed a school in which the pupils look after each other and are given an incredible level of individual support by the teachers. Those same teachers, many of whom you will remember, do so with smiles on their faces and contribute to the incredibly positive pupil experience through their own enthusiasm and expertise. It is a challenging, stimulating, but working environment – I like to see it as serious fun.
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My core message is not that a first rate Shiplake education is about a conveyor belt of top grades, but about each individual setting their own personal best, being the best version of themselves. I think the pupils understand that this is our focus, but in setting high standards for ourselves, rigour has to be at the start of all that we do. That means getting the little things right. In any area of performance you rarely hear coaches talk about winning or losing but you will hear them say if they can get the process right then the outcome will look after itself. The arena of education is no different, and I have been stressing to pupils, teachers, and parents that if we can do the little things right then the outcomes should look after themselves. If I was putting together a highlights reel, music would feature strongly. It gives me enormous pleasure to report that this is a school that sings! Our Winter Concert had a genuine feel-good factor and literally had our Year 7s and 8s dancing in the aisles, while the Carol Service at the end of term was a proper occasion. Chapel continues to play an important role in the life of the College with our new ‘Rev’ proving to be a highly popular and well-respected figure for all. I have been on the touchline for hot-blooded, highly competitive rugby fixtures, and there appears to be strong strength in depth in our younger years, with almost unbeaten seasons for the U14s and U15s. And our rowing – well, it is amazing. Several national titles already in the bag at the Pairs Head and Scullers Head and I have no doubt that we will be highly competitive in all competitions for the rest of the season.
As you know, the magic in a school comes from the people, and above all it has been hugely rewarding getting to know the pupils. They are a great bunch – all at their various stages of development, but full of ideas, opinions, and heading in the right direction. While the staff body inevitably changes over time, there will still be plenty of faces who you remember and, if you have the chance, please come and visit us and say hello. Most importantly, I have seen plenty of signs already that pupils are stepping up to my challenge at the start of September that I want Shiplake to be known as a school in which it is cool to care and commit. This has to be at the core of a Shiplake education. It has been wonderful to find such a strong and vibrant former pupils’ association at Shiplake and my thanks to Ben, Henry and the rest of the OVS committee for the time they give up to ensure the relationship between the school and the thousands of Old Vikings is positive and productive. My thanks also to Catherine Brazil, the College’s Alumni and Events Officer, for bridging the two and helping organise and promote OVS news and events. I was sorry not to be able to make the London Drinks Reunion last November but the next one is firmly in the diary, as is the Old Vikings Rugby social in September. In the meantime, I look forward to meeting more Old Vikings during the course of this year.
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COLLEGE NEWS
Viking
Challenge Cup
On Saturday 12 October, three of the highest ranking rowing schools in the country came together to compete in the inaugural Viking Challenge Cup. For the first time ever, Shiplake hosted Eton College and St Edward’s School for a head style race over 2.7km, starting at Sonning and finishing at the Phillimore Island just downstream of the College’s boathouse. The match consisted of two divisions, the first had 60 crews competing and the second had 45 crews competing. Every boat contributed to the end result as the trophy was awarded to the school that had the best team results by taking their median result from all of their crew’s times. Despite the poor weather the event ran very smoothly and all three schools had some great racing, the end result had Shiplake College winning the team trophy followed by St Edward’s and then Eton College. The College’s Director of Rowing, Dave Currie said “This event has been a long time coming – between us, we have some of the best young rowers in the country and we were thrilled to welcome both of these local schools to our
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stretch of the river to compete. We would like to thank Eton College and St Edward’s School for taking part and we hope that they will return again next year. Thank you to the coaches from all the schools for helping out and enabling the event to run so smoothly, and thank you to our parents support group for manning the refreshments tent on the day and providing the much needed warm drinks. A special thank you, however, must go to the Old Viking Society for donating the wonderful Viking Challenge Cup Trophy for this event and to Old Viking Rob Robertson (77B) for presenting the trophy to the winners. We look forward to future crews competing for this prestigious trophy for many years to come.”
Shiplake at 60
A printed keepsake of the online project that commemorated the College’s 60th Anniversary. Email oldvikings@shiplake.org.uk to reserve your copy now!
From one generation to the next... Have you considered leaving a lasting legacy to Shiplake College? Leaving a legacy to Shiplake is one of the greatest and easiest ways of contributing to the future success of the school. Shiplake is a relatively young independent school and does not have the benefit of an endowment; all bursaries, improvements and future developments are funded from surpluses and any generous donations received. Leaving a legacy is a statement, in perpetuity, of your support for Shiplake College. Shiplake Court Ltd is a registered charity (309351). All legacies made to the College are exempt from inheritance and capital gains taxes.
If you have already included Shiplake College in your will, intend to do so, or would like to discuss the types of legacies and your options and plans, please email development@shiplake.org.uk. OVS MAGAZINE 2020 | 21
60TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS
Happy Birthday
Shiplake College
Wednesday 1 May 2019 marked 60 years to the day since the College first opened its doors to pupils as a School and this momentous day was marked in true Shiplake style! The College celebrated its 60th Birthday by laying the foundation stone of the multi-activity centre, which the Chairman of Governors unveiled is to be named The Davies Centre, much to the surprise of Gregg and Alison. Old Vikings and Olympic rowers Will Satch (07O), Ben Hunt-Davis (90W), Richard Lester (67S) and Malcolm Carmichael (74S) attended the ceremony to help ‘break the ground’, along with a number of governors and members of the Shiplake community. Lunchtime brought more celebrations, as the Catering Department provided a birthday lunch to remember. Along with hot dogs, jelly, ice cream and birthday cake the servery was decorated with balloons and bunting, with Stevie Wonder’s ‘Happy Birthday’ blasting out on repeat! In addition, the College’s Camerata, consisting of pupils and members of staff, sang Thomas Morley’s traditional May Day madrigal, Now is the Month of Maying, at the top of Skipwith Tower. Musical performances from the tower was a tradition at the College for many years, celebrating not only May Day, but also the College’s birthday. It was a beautiful rendition, which was complemented by the glorious weather. A memorable day indeed. 22 |
Glittering
Diamond Ball
On Saturday 22 June, 200 guests attended a lavish evening of fine dining, dancing and fundraising at our 60th Anniversary Diamond Ball on the Front Field at the College. The evening started with drinks on the front field as the sun set, before guests moved into the stunning marquee, which had been decorated by parent Dawn Greenaway with assistance from the Parents’ Association committee. Attendees were then treated to a special three-course meal by Thomas Franks Ltd, which included a salmon rillettes starter, followed by roast chicken with a celeriac and truffle puree and chocolate and Baileys cannelloni to finish. The evening included a raffle and auction which raised over £12,000. Proceeds were divided between the College’s More Than A Boathouse campaign and the Parents’ Association chosen charities for the year: Gap Africa, the John Radcliffe Neuro Ward and the OCE Rehab
Facility, which were chosen in honour of the support given to Shiplake pupil, Harvey Greenaway, after his life threatening and life-changing car accident in May 2018. Dawn Greenaway, who has had three boys attend the College spanning the last ten years, made a speech reminiscing about her sons’ experiences at the College, specifically mentioning Mr Davies and his leadership and commitment to bringing out the best in every pupil. Later on in the evening, there was a chance for guests to have a boogie to brilliant live band, Bloc Off The Wall. Headmaster, Gregg Davies said: “The evening was a fantastic occasion, with sumptuous food and great company. It combined
almost everything that I enjoy, including an energetic band which played some of my favourite 80’s hits, so I made full use of the dance floor! The speech from Dawn Greenaway was a real highlight, it was also so lovely for Alison and I to have so many friends there, who we have made since being at Shiplake.” The event was almost ten years to the day from the 50th Anniversary Grand Ball, which took place at the College on Friday 26 June 2009. Where does the time go? OVS MAGAZINE 2020 | 23
60TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS
60
th
Anniversary Lunch On Saturday 27 April, Shiplake College opened its doors to welcome over 100 former pupils and staff to celebrate the School’s Diamond Anniversary, with a very special lunch in the Great Hall. Representatives from every decade were in attendance as well as numerous former staff including David Welsh and Hans Wells-Furby who both joined the College 59 years ago back in 1960. Welcome drinks were served in the Old Viking Room where guests chatted and reminisced. Three out of the four members of our 1964 rowing crew were once again reunited, smiling for a picture next to their names on the Rowing Honours Board.
After finally getting everybody together for a group photograph out on the terrace, guests were seated for lunch and officially welcomed back by President of the Old Viking Society, Hans Wells-Furby, who also said grace. Following the smoked salmon starter, Chairman of the Old Viking Society, Ben Fitzwilliams (87S) stood up and proposed a toast to current pupils. This was then reciprocated by then current Deputy Head of College, Sophia Hahn, who toasted all of the former pupils. Guests were then treated to a delicious main course of roast beef with all the trimmings, prepared by the College’s onsite caterers Thomas Franks. Following the main course, former Headmaster Peter Lapping, who was in attendance with his wife Diana, stood up and toasted the governors and former staff of the College. This was followed by a heartfelt toast from former staff member Ian Lowry, to each of
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the College’s six Headmasters, and their wives and families. The College was delighted to host representatives of four of our Headmasters: in addition to the Davies family and the Lappings, Annabel Bevan, the widow of Nick Bevan and their two children attended as well as two of John Eggar’s sons Robin and Julian. Dessert was the now signature Shiplake dish, ‘Shiplake Mess’, followed by a toast from one of our first ever pupils, Mike Shingler (64B), who thanked the College and the Old Viking Society for hosting the event. Headmaster, Gregg Davies then stood up and gave a most inspiring speech about how ‘Nothing changes; Everything changes’, pointing out how much the College has
progressed in sixty years, yet how the ethos is exactly the same as it was on day one. Visitors were then given the opportunity to take a trip down memory lane, with a tour of the College grounds and buildings before meeting back in the OVR for coffee and petit fours. It was an absolute pleasure to welcome back so many former pupils and staff to celebrate such a milestone in our history. There really was a sense of celebration as we looked back at what the College has achieved in sixty years. The fact that so many of the people that make up our history were in attendance made it all the more special!
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SHIPLAKE HISTORY
The Man Who Designed Shiplake Court Have you ever walked around the outside of the main building at Shiplake and wondered at the many, unusual architectural features which make it a unique building? Have you ever stood below the south faรงade and spotted the sun dial high up on the wall and the initials and dates on the hoppers above the downpipes? Have you ever noticed the quirky designs on the brickwork of the tall chimney stacks? Have you ever wondered who designed it all? Probably not, as we seldom take much notice of the buildings in which we work or live. We are usually too busy doing other things.
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In a very early edition of Country Life of July 1898, a feature article appeared under the heading ‘Country House Gardens Old and New’ which praised the extensive rose gardens of Shiplake Court in Oxfordshire. ‘The Court is gloriously placed on a hill overlooking the Thames in its most beautiful parts and it is fitting that the gardens should be worthy of the mansion and its position’, the author gushed. The article was illustrated by a series of impressive photographs of rose beds in all their glory. It concluded with a brief reference to the parish church ‘famed for its association with Tennyson’ and in the same sentence there was a scant acknowledgement that the Court ‘is a fine example of modern architecture, having been designed by Peto and George.’ The gardener responsible for the design of the rose gardens is unnamed but we know it was Alfred Parsons R.A., the well-known landscape painter and correspondent of William Robinson, the Irish horticultural publisher and exponent of the informal garden. But who were Peto and George or, to put them in the order they were best known as, ‘Ernest George and Peto Archs.? That was the inscription which can still be seen engraved on a first floor sill to the right of the main entrance to the house. This fashionable, architectural partnership was formed in 1876 shortly after the untimely death of George’s first partner, Thomas Vaughan, at the age of thirty-nine. Ernest George had been born south of the Thames in Southwark in 1839, the second son of a wholesale ironmonger whose enterprise prospered thanks to hard work and a fortunate marriage. This allowed the family to move to a large, four-story house when Ernest was fourteen. He was educated locally, then at Brighton and later at William White’s private school in Reading. It was here that Ernest developed a fine talent for water colouring, thanks to White’s artistic influence, and it was here in Reading that he decided that he wanted to train to become an architect.
set up in practice together. So, at the ambitious age of twenty-two, Ernest entered the competitive world of architecture. His partner would be Thomas Vaughan, another talented prize-winner who had won the RIBA Soane Medallion, named in honour of Sir John Soane, the great neoClassical architect. ‘Vaughan and George’, as the practice was titled, soon prospered by accepting most of the commissions which came their way. They were fortunate to encounter two influential clients who would be of great assistance to them. Peter Cow was a local, Streatham business man and the Revd. Stenton Erdley was Vicar of Emmanuel Church, Streatham. For the next forty years Ernest would develop a close personal and professional association with both these men and with this increasingly prosperous, south London suburb. Then, greater fortune struck in the person of Sir Henry Peek of the well-known biscuit manufacturing company, Peek Freans. Sir Henry had acquired an estate of over a thousand acres in south Devon and he wanted it improved. And what an improvement Rousdon Estate would prove to be. It would take up much of Ernest’s time for the better part of the next decade and it would cost Sir Henry some thirty million pounds in today’s money. It was a daunting commission for two such young architects. Apart from the house itself, with its towers and courtyards, it would eventually include three entrance lodges, cottages for many of the farm-workers, a school for their children and various out buildings,
After three years’ apprenticeship in London, he won the Royal Academy Architectural Gold Medal. Shortly thereafter, he took himself off to France and to north Germany to observe and to draw many of the fine buildings he encountered there. He was back in London in late 1861 when he was approached by a talented, fellow apprentice with an offer to
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SHIPLAKE HISTORY
workshops and stables. Sadly, Thomas Vaughan did not live to see the ambitious project completed. A year after Thomas’ untimely death, Ernest George entered a new partnership with Harold Peto, a son of Sir Samuel Peto, the M.P. and civil engineer who, among other well-known projects, had built the new Palace of Westminster and Nelson’s Column in Trafalgar Square, as well as Reading Station. Harold Peto’s forte lay in landscape architecture and interior and garden design and he had a most impressive contact list of potential clients which helped the practice to expand quickly. Some of his finest work can still be visited at his eventual home at Iford Manor in Wiltshire, at West Deane House in West Sussex and at Illnacullin Island in Co. Cork. This partnership was a most successful one on both a personal and professional level, despite their different temperaments. Ernest was reserved and a patient, family man; Harold was a somewhat sardonic and impatient bachelor. The practice gained the nickname of the Eton of Architecture and included among the many pupils who studied there such future, eminent architects as Sir Edwin Lutyens and Sir Herbert Baker. Among the many impressive commissions Ernest and Harold shared were the tall rows of Flemish style mansions in Collingham Gardens and Harrington Gardens in Kensington, and Buchan Hill House in West Sussex. Two of their London houses which take the breath away for their unrestrained grandeur are 39, Harrington Gardens, built for W.S. Gilbert of Gilbert and Sullivan fame, and 52, Cadogan Square built for Thomas de la Rue, Chairman of the famous security printing
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enterprise. The delightful building which houses Thomas Goode and Co. at 19 South Audley Street is still there and is still open for business. It was once popular with Russian Tsars and is still patronised by H.M. the Queen. Soon after Shiplake Court was completed for Mr Robert Harrison, a successful London stockbroker, in 1891, Harold Peto left the practice and retired on the grounds of ill health. He eventually, settled in his manor at Iford where he developed an impressive, Italianate garden on the steep, south-facing slope of the Frome Valley. Ernest George then had to find a third partner and he eventually appointed an aspiring, former pupil from his own practice, Alfred Yeats. Yeats would continue in the practice until after Sir Ernest, as he became in 1911, had retired from the practice and after his death in 1922, at the age of eighty-three. Despite Harold Peto’s much regretted absence, the new partnership flourished and proved very popular among those with the financial ability to commission large country houses. Among some of their finest works at this time were Stoodleigh Court in Devon and Batsford Park in Gloucestershire. Other more philanthropic commissions worthy of note included rows of cottages at Port
Sunlight model village on The Wirral for workers at Lord Leverhume’s soap factory and Queen Alexandra’s Court in Wimbledon for the indigent widows of Royal Navy and Army officers. It is fitting that Sir Ernest’s final London commission was the architectural aspects of the new Southwark Bridge which connected the place of his birth south of the Thames with the City of London, the place where much of the money was generated to pay for the lavish buildings he designed. It was officially opened by H.M. King George V in 1921. Two decades earlier, Sir Ernest and Alfred Yeats had been commissioned to design Golders Green Crematorium in London. Ernest chose a distinctive Italianate style and he employed William Robinson to lay out the informal gardens which surrounded it. Cremation was a new method of human disposal in Great Britain at this time, the first crematorium having opened in Woking in 1875. The opening of Golders Green Crematorium in 1902 was by the President of the recently formed Cremation Society. It was considered to be the most important year in the history of the new movement for, at the same time, an Act of Parliament was passed for the Regulation of the burning of human remains. The year after the opening of the new Southwark Bridge, Sir Ernest’s died on 8th December 1922 and his remains were brought to Golders Green. The original columbarium there was to his design and was named in his memory by Alfred Yeats.
In July 1958 Shiplake Court featured, once again, in Country Life, on this occasion in the property section. It was being offered for sale ‘at an attractive price’ by Knight, Frank and Rutley, estate agents to the well-heeled. This was on the instruction of the executors of Lord Wargrave, a member of the Anglo-Irish, Goulding family, an M.P. and one-time Chairman of Rolls Royce. He had owned the house some time after Robert Harrison’s widow had sold it. Missing from the tantalising description of the house and its ancillary properties were the names of Sir Ernest George and Harold Peto, both, by now, famous in their individual ways. The story of its purchase and subsequent conversion to the school you once attended is well told in Wish and Fulfilment by H.E. Wells–Furby, President of the Old Viking Society and one time Second Master. Sir John Betjeman, the popular poet laureate and a founding member of the Victorian Society, wrote extensively about architecture. His advice to anyone who wanted to fully appreciate a building was to always look up. So, next time you visit Shiplake, take time to examine the building closely on the outside, and then look at the inside, and do remember Sir John’s advice, so make sure you look up. You may be surprised to discover features you had missed during your schooldays. I. R. LOWRY
With huge thanks to former staff member Ian Lowry for providing this fascinating insight into the architecture of our school. Our thanks also to current Shiplake pupils Hattie Austin and Bobby Howard-Jones for photographing parts of Skipwith House for this article.
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OVS EVENTS
Football Fever
Whilst watching a 1st XV rugby match at the end of 2018, Old Viking Brad Wilkins (18S) and staff member Tiki Ebun Cole conceived the idea of a football match between Shiplake Staff and Old Vikings. Previously an annual fixture, the event has not taken place in the last few years but all that changed on Saturday 9 February 2019 when the planned match came to fruition. Old Vikings from the classes of 2017 and 2018 returned back to the College for the match that took place on the New Field. The OVS team consisted of Brad Wilkins, Darius Braun (18B), Ben Westbrook-Burr (18O), Marcus Hillman (18O), Sam Neill (17S), James Grundy (18O), Chris Miller (17S), Elliot Whittingham (17S), Miles Bridgman (17S), Ben Monson (18S), Ben Tresidder (17S), Will Bailey (18S) and Harry Rees (17S). The staff team comprised of Language teacher and Deputy College Housemaster Tiki Ebun Cole, Geography teacher Jack Cooper, Assistant Head (Academic) Richard Ebbage, Luke Sharp from Catering, Head of Media Studies Marcus Millburn, Mr Ian Brown from Bespoke Condition, James Batchelor from the Science Department, Skipwith Housemaster Alex Duncan, Head of PE and Biology teacher Tom Walter, Paul Novell from IT, Harry Geyton from the Maths department, Teacher of PE and Burr’s Assistant Housemaster George Miller, Arnaud Cottey from the Grounds team and finally Old Viking Ian Brown (12S) who had split loyalties but was representing the staff on this occasion as he is the College’s strength and conditioning coach. The opening minutes were closely contested and the OVS saw a shot deflected onto the post. The staff team then began to take control of the game and soon found themselves 1-0 up through Arnaud Cottey. In a rare moment of brilliance, Brad Wilkins went on a mazy run on the right wing, floated a perfect cross into the box and Chris Miller leapt high to execute a perfect bicycle kick. Unfortunately it went narrowly wide. The first half ended 2-0 after Mr Geyton coolly slotted his first of four goals into the bottom right hand corner, after latching on to a long through ball that the OVS team couldn’t cope with. Geyton’s second goal came early in the second half – calmly side-footing a cross from the right into the bottom corner. A great poacher’s finish. His hat trick goal was undoubtedly his best of the afternoon – Paul Novell won the ball on the right hand side of midfield, did a Cryuff turn to lose his marker and
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picked out Alex Duncan with a left footed cross-field pass. Mr Duncan headed the ball into Tom Walter’s path and he headed it back to Mr Duncan up the line. Duncan drove into the box and cut it back for the on running Geyton, who guided the ball in off the right hand post for a sublime team goal. Mr Duncan was having a productive afternoon, winning headers in the midfield, carrying the ball into dangerous areas and linking up well with the forwards. His best contribution to the game was a sweetly struck volley into the top left hand corner of the goal, leaving Old Viking James Grundy with no chance, making it 5-0. The sixth goal, Geyton’s fourth, was scored after a looping cross from Walter from the right. A few men were lined up at the back post to score but Geyton’s shout was the loudest. Not even a slip could prevent him from making good contact with the ball, burying the half volley low into the net. The match finished 7-0 after James Batchelor grabbed a goal late on. A great day of football was had but most importantly, the staff really enjoyed reconnecting with former pupils and the Old Vikings enjoyed once again playing on the School’s pitch. Former Head of College Will Bailey said ‘It was brilliant to come back and play against some of our former teachers, we look forward to this event being a regular fixture in the Old Viking calendar. Thank you to the staff for giving up their Saturday afternoon to play with us, and to the Old Viking Society for providing refreshments.’
Old Vikings Score Record 36 Runs In A Single Over... …whelmingly Poor Innings, As Plucky 1st XI Scrape To Victory By 130!
After drawing with the Shiplake Staff the evening before, Saturday 22 June saw the OVS Cricket team meet for the annual match against the College’s 1st XI on the Front Field. Thank you to Ian Brown (12S) for providing us with the following report: It is with great pleasure that I report the scorebook for this match missing. Its whereabouts are likely to be on the Creighton family mantelpiece or cremated and forever sealed in a bottle of Hobgoblin, as a symbol of the death and rebirth of Old Vikings Cricket, to be fought over for centuries to come. Returning for the first time as an Old Viking, former staff member Jonnie Howorth’s testimonial game was antisocially ruined by aggressive shot making, consistent rotation of strike and general cricketing skill from a 1st XI seemingly ungrateful for his years of coaching wisdom. Without a breakthrough at drinks, the OVS side greeted their illusive 11th player. Already adequately hydrated after a day in the Ascot Royal Enclosure, Joe Tucker (18W) politely declined the perfectly diluted orange squash and parked himself at Fine Leg for the remainder; frequently and loudly requesting help with maintenance of fluid levels from Matron and the departing Headmaster, Gregg Davies.
Lead by the ever stoic Malcolm Liddell-Grainger (86S), playing in his 142nd consecutive OVS game, the batting side rallied to a more than respectable 4 for 4. With the clichéd directives of ‘take your time, get yourself in and bat long’, Ian Brown approached the crease and deposited the next ball over the New Field. Having already made inroads into the batting line-up, M Muralitharan set the offside trap. Inspired by his younger brother’s earlier dismissal, Brown obliged and cut the ball to all three Point fielders. With the game in the balance at 27-8, some tempting Slow Left Arm pies from 1st XI Bowler C Creighton brought the final 2 wickets, ending one of the most memorable run chases of all time. Man Of The Match: Catering A year of tough selection dilemmas lies ahead with 8 of this 1st XI now competing for coveted OVS caps. We look forward to welcoming them aboard and seeking vengeance in 2020. Dates for the diary are Friday 19 and Saturday 20 June.
After recent free transfers to OVSCC, the new found confidence from Freddie Bowcock (18W) and Lewis Bishop (18W) was clear to see and provided the inspiration needed. With both bowlers ‘consistent’ line and length drawing catches in the slips, it was evident that they felt much more comfortable bowling for edges than walking for them. A devastating collapse ensued with the College 1st XI finishing on a below par 166-8. As a schoolboy, Ollie Brown (18S) hit an historic 100 against the MCC, earning him an award during Lunch at a Lord’s Test Match. Today, he cut to 1st XI opponent J Shortland at Point on the first ball. 0 for 1.
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Henley Royal Regatta
OVS EVENTS
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What a week! With a phenomenal performance from the College’s 1st VIII, a record number of Old Vikings competing and three Old Vikings going on to win their races, Henley Royal Regatta 2019 was yet another unforgettable event. Regatta fever had started before HRR even began when, the week before, then Year 13 pupil Liv Morgan (19B) made Shiplake history by winning Henley Women’s Regatta, the first girl to do so while rowing for the College. The School was also excited to have learned prior to HRR that the first VIII had once again secured their place in the competition due to such a successful rowing season. Despite having a last minute crew replacement due to injury, the crew comprising of T Boret, Richard Adams (19S), T Fox, B Brockway, S HjortlandMarks, Dom Brown (19S), R Ash, S Burnand and (cox) J Kirby pre-qualified for the Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup. Marcus Brown (19O) is to be congratulated for his contribution to the crew all season prior to his injury. On the opening day, Shiplake walked out of their boating tent with the traditional Shiplake roar coming from the banks, where they faced The King’s School, Chester. The boys raced fantastically, taking control from the very start and winning by 2 lengths, proving that they were a crew to watch throughout the week. On a slightly cooler Thursday, Shiplake beat local rivals Reading Blue Coat by a length and 3/4. The crew were able to take their rating down to cruise over the finish line and save their energy for the next day.
Mentioned as one of the highlights of the day, Shiplake took on St Joseph’s Preparatory School, USA on Friday. As family and friends gathered in the stands of the Stewards’ Enclosure, nerves were heightened as Shiplake were down by a canvas at the end of the island. No doubt the boys must have heard the shouts of encouragement from the stands as they took back the lead, securing them a place in the semi-finals! For the semi-final, Shiplake were drawn against Eton College. In a nail-biting race, despite Shiplake holding their own for the first half, Eton pushed ahead to take the lead. The final result was Eton College winning by a length. Eton went on to become the eventual winners of the Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup. Everyone from the Shiplake community was extremely proud of the nine boys, especially Headmaster, Gregg Davies who said: “Of course we’re disappointed, but every year we inch closer and closer to our goal. We will win this within the next five years. “We’ve also lost to a school of 1,300 boys, whereas we’ve only got just over 400 boys (and 55 girls) and while we aren’t making excuses – they clearly have a larger pool to choose from. I can’t wait for what is to come for seven of these nine boys who are here next year, and the future of Shiplake Rowing.”
This year’s Henley Royal Regatta also saw a phenomenal number of Old Vikings race, with 15 ex-pupils racing and three OVs winning their event. Oliver Newton (18E) for Newcastle University, Andrew Turnill (16B) for Tyne B Rowing Club, George Emeny (17B) for University of the West of England, Harry Hogan (14S) for Doncaster Rowing Club, Harry Vardigans (14S) for Upper Thames Rowing Club, Jack Peck (17W), Fred Peck (18W) and James Hanson (08S) for Maidenhead Rowing Club, Austin Burnand (17E) and Will Carey (16S) for University of London, Will Satch (07O) for Leander and Oliver Morgan (12O), Henry Blois-Brooke (17S), Seb Newman (17O) and Michael Glover (13E) for Oxford Brookes University in various events. Henry Blois-Brooke and Seb Newman reached the final of the Temple Challenge Cup where they took on Northeastern University, USA and won their first Henley event. Michael Glover reached the final of the Ladies’ Plate and made his triple win for Oxford Brookes University.
this crew was also beaten by Eton College in the semi-final, in the year that Headmaster John Eggar stepped down. Now very much a tradition on the Saturday afternoon, our Old Viking Society annual Regatta Drinks were very well attended, with Old Vikings from across the decades out in force to celebrate. Henley Royal Regatta 2020 takes place Wednesday 1 to Sunday 5 July, and our OVS drinks will be held in the College Marquee on the grounds of Henley Cricket Club from 4.00pm to 6.00pm on Saturday 4 July. We look forward to seeing you there.
There was a real buzz in the Shiplake Marquee based at Henley Cricket Club throughout the week as the College hosted pre-race drinks for every day that Shiplake raced. During one of the days, Director of Rowing, Dave Currie presented Gregg Davies with a prestigious Shiplake rowing blazer for all his hard work and support for the boat club during his time as Headmaster. On Thursday, the majority of the crew who raced at HRR in 1979 gathered for a 40 years on reunion lunch, those in attendance were: Rupert Mackay (80B), Peter Leane (80W), Jonty Hearnden (79O), Stephen Arnott (79W), Nick Whishaw (79B), Mark Woodcock (Coach), Thomas France (79S) and Harry Ingham-Clark (79O). Unfortunately, Jeremy Hunt (80S) and Thomas Walker (82B) who completed their crew were unable to attend. In an interesting twist of fate,
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OVS EVENTS
‘War on Water’at the Revival Regatta! On Saturday 14 September, probably the last hot day of 2019, the OVS rowers returned to Eton Dorney Rowing Lake to compete in the now annual war on water against Eton. OV Rowing Captain Rob Robertson (77B) was there and gave us this report: The event consisted of three races: 1000m, 500m and 250m in that order. The first two races had the same results; Westminster first, Eton second and Shiplake third… something had to change. We were on to the final race, the 250m sprint and a change of seats put Sam Laurie at stroke who set us off at a punishing 5 strokes per minute. The Shiplake crew put in an amazing fight, really gave it everything they could and gave us the win we so desperately needed! Our master plan was to ‘beef up’ our team by inviting OVs who were now rowing at Oxford Brookes to come back to surprise Eton. Our crew consisted of Sam Laurie (00O), Hamish Brown (00W), Neil Srivastava (00B), Michael Glover (13E), Henry Blois-Brooke (17S), Seb Newman (17O), James Hanson (08S), Mark McCluggage (01E) and Jack Peck (17W). To prepare ourselves, we had an outing the previous Saturday with coxless fours rowing from Shiplake to Sonning and back, while two eights raced in the opposite direction. The rowing was followed by post-race rehydration in the Baskerville Arms as customary. When we arrived at Dorney we had some surprises: Eton had also beefed up with Oxbridge Blues and a couple of triathletes! The second surprise was the appearance of Westminster with their complete 1st eight from 2018! Everyone clearly wanted to win this one.
Much to our advantage, it turned out that the 250m sprint carried maximum points meaning that overall, Shiplake came second to Westminster, and Eton finished in third place. At last, Shiplake Old Vikings have beaten Eton on their home water. As always we all retired to the Eton Clubhouse for a sumptuous afternoon tea where we spent the rest of the day relaxing and enjoying the sunshine with lots of banter between teams. So we finally got revenge, now how do we beat Westminster next year?! This really is a great event and it is wonderful to be able to row free of charge on the famous Eton Dorney Lake with first class equipment. Any youngsters reading please put your names forward and come along and join in. You will get a stylish (limited edition no less!) OVS shirt, quality racing in a great venue and a superb afternoon tea. Friends, family and dogs are all welcome too. OVS coxes would be especially welcome! I would like to thank Shiplake College’s Director of Rowing Dave Currie for his staunch support, Neil Srivastava for logistics and general organisation and of course our gallant rowers. Go Shiplake!
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A Pawfect Day at FieldFest As the sun shone on Saturday 14 September, members of the Shiplake community and their four-legged friends came together on the New Field for FieldFest. The annual touch rugby tournament, heart-warming dog show and beer festival was a fun-filled occasion. The Parents’ Association kicked off the event with around 40 dogs entering five competition categories. Expertly judged by Karen Maher of Maher & Hound Dog Training & Behaviour, first up was ‘Loveliest Lady’ which was won by Mr Walter’s seven-month-old husky vizsla cross, Vixie. Following that was ‘Most Handsome Chap’, which saw Welly, the border collie cocker spaniel cross take the first place rosette. Up next was ‘Gorgeous Golden Oldie’ for dogs over the age of seven, won by Boris, the nine-year-old Hungarian viszla owned by the Hyman family. We had some very clever canines enter the ‘Best Trick’ category but it was eventually Storm, the eight-year-old black labrador belonging to Mr Settle, who won first prize. The final category was a new one for this year – ‘Best Sausage Catcher’. This category was one of the highlights of the day and very hotly contested, but it was the three-year-old collie lurcher cross Meg, owned by the Wallace family, who was crowned champion! A range of inflatables and games, as well as a face painter, were onsite to keep our younger guests entertained and the BBQ and tuck shop, together with the beer and prosecco bar complemented the balmy weather perfectly.
Finally it was the turn of our touch rugby competitors to take the limelight. Eight teams comprising of staff, Old Vikings, parents and friends of the College competed in the Touch Rugby Tournament, including last year’s winners ‘Rangas and Ringas’ led by Ian Brown (12S) who were back to defend their crown. The teams were split into two ‘pool’ phases where they played three games each. After a gruelling knock-out round team Baskerville, comprising of 2018 leavers, met Welsh Old Boys +2 in the final. After a closely fought match, Welsh Old Boys +2 led by Cameron Grossman (14W) clinched the victory. Formerly known as the Touch Rugby Tournament, Beer Festival and Dog Show, the event is now in its fifth year and seems to get better and better each year. It was so great to see members of the whole Shiplake community coming together for what was a brilliant, fun afternoon, thank you to all those who came along or helped out. This year’s FieldFest event will take place on Saturday 12 September, and for the first time will be followed by an OVS rugby social night out in Henley.
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OVS EVENTS
Annual London Reunion
Another successful reunion took place on Thursday 28 November at The Admiralty in Trafalgar Square. Thank you to all the Old Vikings, old and new, who were able to join us.
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CELEBRATE
at SHIPLAKE
In August 2019 Skipwith House played host to the reception after the wedding between two Old Vikings! Frances Nutt (11B) married former staff member Jack Norris, who worked at the College as a trainee PE Teacher between 2017 and 2019. With a beautiful 45 acre site and views over the River Thames and surrounding countryside, Shiplake College provides a perfect venue for wedding ceremonies and receptions. The Church of St Peter and St Paul is just 100 yards away or alternatively, the College is licenced for civil ceremonies. The Great Hall can accommodate up to 200 guests for the ceremony whilst the Old Viking Room hosts up to 60. The Great Hall and Old Viking Room are also fantastic options for intimate wedding
receptions, or if you are holding a larger wedding, a marquee can be erected on Skipwith lawn. With an exceptional in-house catering team and a range of rooms and areas available to hire, we can provide an extremely flexible service to cater for your specific needs.
Old Vikings are eligible for a 10% discount on venue hire For more information please go to: www.shiplake.org.uk /weddings or email: weddings@shiplake.org.uk
OVS ANNOUNCEMENTS
Obituaries
Our thoughts are with the families and friends of Old Vikings who have recently passed away. DENNIS SILK CBE (Former Governor) 1931 – 2019
Dennis Silk spent a decade on the governing board at Shiplake College as the HM Governor having joined in 1981. Former Shiplake Headmaster Peter Lapping recalls of Dennis: “He was particularly helpful to me and his sage and wise advice was invaluable at governors’ meetings, at the end of a phone and over the appointment of my successor, Nick Bevan. He was a true and valuable friend of Shiplake College.” Former pupil and governor, John Turner, adds: “Dennis had wide experience and although clearly a busy man, he was helpful and delivered sound practical advice that was much appreciated.” Born in California, Silk’s father was medical missionary on a Native American reservation in the Sierra Nevada desert. Silk’s mother, who was Spanish, died when he was five, and the family returned to Britain. Educated at Christ’s Hospital, and Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, Silk gained an MA in history and represented Cambridge University at
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cricket. He went on to play first-class cricket for Somerset as an amateur during the school summer holidays, but gave priority to his teaching career. Upon graduating from Cambridge, Dennis began as a teacher of History at Marlborough College. His highly successful teaching career took him from Marlborough to Radley College where he was Warden from 1968-1991. Silk retired from both Radley and his governor duties at Shiplake in 1991 and moved to Somerset. He became president of MCC (1992-1994) and acted as chairman of the Test and County Cricket Board for two years when he was strongly in favour of creating a national cricket academy. In 1995, Dennis was made a CBE in the 1995 New Year’s Honours List for services to cricket and education, in addition to which he succeeded George Mann as Governor of I Zingari, a position he held until 2015. Silk is survived by his wife Diana who he married in 1963 and by their two sons and two daughters. A memorial service was held at Southwark Cathedral on 19 November 2019. Thank you to Peter and Diana Lapping for attending on behalf of Shiplake College and the Old Viking Society.
ASHLEY GUY (78S) 1960 – 2019 pursuits, especially the winter pheasant shoots and summer cricket. He became fascinated with politics and was a huge Ron Paul and Daniel Hannan fan.
Ashley arrived at Shiplake in 1974 and was in Skipwith House. He was in the Naval Section of the CCF. Classmate Henry Summers (75S) reminisces “He was popular with his peers and had the ability to make you laugh. His impersonations of teaching staff are something of legend. No member of staff was safe from Ashley, especially Jack Eggar, Michael Charles, Mike Gilliat, George “Mini Man” Wright and Steve Keene to name but a few. Ashley was a very keen cricketer and was in the 1st XI team. Shortly after he died, Julian Nicholl (78W) contacted me and relayed how many evenings were spent by the two of them practising in the nets, Jules went on to say just how good a cricketer Ashley was and that he played at County level after leaving Shiplake. Ashley was also an accomplished angler and spent many hours down by the river fishing, his other school days passion.” After Ashley left Shiplake he played cricket for Worcestershire, he went on a cricket tour to South Africa and ended up staying there for over a year. He came back to London where he worked as an illustrator’s agent for a company called Folio for several years. He met Bekah in a nightclub in London in 1988 and two years later they got married in Florida. They lived together in Putney for a year before moving to Bekah’s native Alabama. There Ashley worked in medical device sales for a few years before turning his attention to renovating houses. Eventually they moved to Boise, Idaho, and started a family. He loved the US and eventually became a citizen, but he always missed the British countryside and country
Ashley will be remembered for his warmth... he had a way of making everyone feel comfortable and at ease. He was easily the most entertaining person in any room and was full of puns and impersonations. He impersonated everyone and everything, even dogs, birds and other creatures, with astounding accuracy! He also had a heart of gold, making friends everywhere he went. His wife recollects one trip back to London, 10 years after he had moved to Alabama, “we walked into the White Horse pub in Putney Green and within 5 seconds, several people shouted his name, he was almost immediately surrounded with people who remembered him from ten years ago!” Ashley died tragically on 2 January 2019 and leaves behind three daughters; Abigail, Maddie and Hannah whom he loved dearly. He is hugely missed by more people than he would have ever imagined. Henry kept in touch with Ashley and they met up occasionally after Shiplake and before he went to the USA permanently. He recalls “The White Horse ‘Sloaney Pony’ in Parsons Green was a favoured haunt of his, and as Bekah says, it was inevitable that he knew many of the other faces that were there as well. I last saw Ashley in around 2014 as his sister lived near me, Bekah tipped me off that the whole gang were over for a visit and I was lucky enough to spend some treasured time with him at a favoured hostelry in Marlborough. When we met, it was just like we had seen each other the day before. We laughed and laughed and shared so many memories and funny stories and that famous ‘Mini Man’ impression “Suppose I was to tell you...” had me creased over in fits of laughter! “I will miss his warmth, friendship and humour. As a society, our heartfelt thoughts go out to Abigail, Maddie, Hannah and Bekah.”
With thanks to Ashley’s wife Rebekah, and classmate Henry Summers for providing us with some memories of Ashley for this tribute.
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Obituaries
OVS ANNOUNCEMENTS
TIMOTHY BIRT (76B) 1960 – 2019 cricket for many teams over the years and passed this love of the game on to his son Thomas. He will always be remembered for his wicked sense of humour, infectious laugh and a glass of red wine before bed time. A man that worked very hard throughout his life to give his family a home and many happy memories to remember always.
From a very young boy his greatest passions were cricket, a sport he excelled in while at Shiplake, aeroplanes and his family. He carried on playing
Tim lived in Weston and leaves behind Jennie, his wife of 26 years and two children, aged 26 and 22. With thanks to Jennie for providing us with these heartfelt words.
The Development and OVS Office supports Shiplake College through contact with former and current pupils, parents, staff and governors. Our community is very important to us and we are committed to protecting your data. We use data to provide benefits such as access to events, reunions and publications and to provide services such as networks, the archives and opportunities to learn about volunteering and fundraising. We process your data in accordance with our legitimate interest in these areas and you will always have the right to opt out. We may contact you by mail, email, telephone and social media. Our full Privacy Notice is available at www.shiplake.org.uk/privacynotice. We aim to keep your data up to date; if you would like to change your details or communication preferences, please contact oldvikings@shiplake.org.uk or on 0118 9405231.
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Keeping in touch
Once a Viking, Always a Viking! There are many ways to keep in touch with the Old Viking Society: T: 0118 9402455 E: oldvikings@shiplake.org.uk W: shiplake.org.uk/OVS Twitter: @ShiplakeAlumni Facebook: Old Viking Society of Shiplake College Instagram: ShiplakeAlumni
Did you know that Old Vikings receive 10% off their children’s fees at Shiplake College? We accept registrations throughout the year. If you would like further information or would like to register your child for a specific year group, please contact the Registrar, Mrs Esther Pasmore on 0118 940 2455 or registrar@shiplake.org.uk OVS MAGAZINE 2020 | 41
Published by: Old Viking Society, Shiplake College Henley-on-Thames RG9 4BW Editor: Catherine Brazil 42 |
Design and Layout: Emma Fairclough Design The OVS Magazine is published by The Old Viking Society. The views expressed are not necessarily those of Shiplake College and the OVS. With grateful thanks to all contributors.