royal school association 2018
TRANSCRIPT
Royal School Association 2018
Joint Presidents Dr Judith McClure CBE MA DPhil (Oxon)
Mrs Emma McKendrick BA (Hons) Mrs Christine Edmundson BMus (Hons) MBA
Hon. Chairman Ms Patricia Vanreenen (17)
Hon. Treasurer Mrs Emma Johnson (Walker - 90) [email protected]
Hon. Editor Mrs Emma Johnson (Walker - 90) [email protected]
Hon. Registrar Mrs Carys Giles (Smith - 93) [email protected]
Hon. Secretary Mrs Alison Ward (17) [email protected]
Hon. Archivist Ms Sue Carden (17) [email protected]
The Royal School Committee e-mail: [email protected] The Royal School Association website: www.royalschool.org.uk
The RSA Digitised Archives website: theroyalschoolbatharchives.org.uk The Royal High School e-mail: [email protected]
The Royal High School website: www.royalhighbath.gdst.net
Next RSA AGM
The next AGM will be held in June 2020 at the Royal High School Bath Details will be sent out nearer the time.
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General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) I’m sure all of you will have received information during 2018 – from your bank, your utilities, clubs, societies and any other bodies that hold your personal details – about the new EU and UK Data Privacy regulations which came into force on 25th May 2018. The Royal School Association too has to let you know what we do to comply with GDPR when we hold your personal details, and what we use it for. This means any information which could identify you, such as name, address, phone number, etc. The Committee needs your details for the purposes of running the RSA and providing the benefits of membership to you. The Committee undertakes to use your information only:
• to send you information, such as this newsletter, • to invite you to events like the AGM, and • to update you on activities such as improvements to the
Archives. We promise never to disclose your details to any other club or organisation. The data is stored on a computer which is password-protected and is only made available to the RSA Committee. Any member who does not want the RSA to hold their personal details and asks for such details to be removed from the computer, will be assumed to have left the Association, since we will no longer be able to communicate with you. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office if you are not happy with how the Association holds and maintains your details. Patricia Vanreenen, Group 17 Hon. Chairman, Royal School Association
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Welcome to the Royal School Association Newsletter 2018. It seems like yesterday that I was writing my Editor’s note for the 2017 Newsletter. As an association we’ve had a productive year and this culminated in a successful Reunion and AGM in June. The event was well attended and it was wonderful to spend an afternoon with familiar faces as well as welcome new members. One of the primary aims of this year’s gathering was to launch the digitised archives website. This project has been running in the background for the last couple of years since the 2016 AGM kindly agreed to us using some capital to get the vision off the ground. I encourage you to log on to the site and explore not only your own years at school but to browse around the whole site and explore our unique history. Our membership levels remain fairly buoyant but it is increasingly difficult to engage with members and to get them to provide news. Annually we mail out around 250 paper copies of this newsletter and this postage cost is our largest expenditure across the year. It would be wonderful if more of you would give us permission to send you an e-copy. Do keep us informed of your contact details, especially email, and hopefully as a result of this we will be able to channel more funds towards expanding the material available on the archives website. It was wonderful to welcome Alison Ward (Group 17) as our new Secretary in the summer. Many of you know that I have been doing 3 jobs on the Committee for a number of years so I am very grateful to her for stepping up. The long-standing Committee remains stretched and we would welcome further help. I remain as the Treasurer and Editor and whilst I enjoy both roles it would be wonderful to have some extra support or indeed drop down to doing just one job. Equally Patricia has been a fantastic chairman for over a decade and is keen to step down. Please consider if you can help us out, it would be such a shame if people felt that the Association is no longer viable and we have to fold. Best wishes to you all Emma Johnson (nee WALKER), Group 90 Honorary Editor, Royal School Association
Note from the Editor
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Welcome once again to our annual RSA Newsletter. I do hope this finds you all well and having had a good 2018 – not too hot and dry (are we ever satisfied?). In East Scotland it was just right for me, although I did have to water my plants for several weeks. That all seems a while ago, now that the winter gales are on us! The RSA has had a good year too. First of all, I’m sure that all Old Girls and readers of this newsletter will be delighted and relieved, as I am, to know that we have found a new Hon Secretary! The serious warning in last year’s newsletter about the RSA not being able to continue any longer without a Secretary was followed by some discussion on social media, and eventually some applications arrived. We are very pleased indeed to welcome Alison Ward (nee Neill, Group 17) to the RSA Committee – her position was ratified at the AGM in June. We also had a successful AGM / Reunion / Archive Day meeting in June, with 25 attendees, where, amongst other necessary business, we were able to show off the new RSA Digitised Archives website for the first time. A lot of work was achieved on the Archive Digitisation project in 2018 and further details can be found in the minutes of the AGM. Enormous thanks are due not only to Sue Carden (Hon. Archivist), but also to Gwenda Manners, the RHS Senior Librarian, who worked closely with Sue on the project and in liaising with SDS, the digitisation company, and to Brenda Floyd (Miss Funston, ex-staff, Group 85) who has given generously of her time and help. At the AGM in June, Gwenda was also a great help to me by presenting Sue’s Archive update (Sue was unable to attend on the day, having had major ‘new shoulder’ surgery 3 days earlier) as well as setting up a number of laptops and other information so that attendees could try out the new website for themselves. Many of the attendees took the opportunity to look at the selection of photos, school magazines, articles, etc which are now available online. Since the AGM, we have had over 100 people logging on to the new website, which is very satisfying. WE WOULD LIKE MEMBERS NOW TO CONSIDER WHAT THE NEXT STAGE OF DIGITISATION WORK SHOULD BE AND WHAT THEY WOULD NEXT LIKE TO SEE ON THE WEBSITE.
Chairman’s Report
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And to all those who have not yet had a look at the new RSA Digitised Archives website, do grab some time to do so – it is well worth a visit, at:
theroyalschoolbatharchives.org.uk If you have any questions about the Archive Digitisation Project, do please contact Sue Carden at [email protected]. Another major topic for discussion at the AGM was the Sylvia Packard Tile Mural in the Freer Passage. For a fuller description of the history behind these tiles, please see the AGM minutes further on in this newsletter. The tiles were designed and made by Sylvia Packard, who was Head of Art at the RS, and were put up in the Freer Passage in 1931 as a mural, named “Occupations of the Virtuous Woman” (taken from Proverbs chapter 31). The mural comprises 1000-2000 tiles, measuring in total 70ft long by 6ft high. There are examples of similar tiles designed by Sylvia’s company, Packard & Ord, in museums such as the V&A, and they may be considered to be quite valuable. Sadly, our Freer Passage tiles have fallen into disrepair and are now in a sorry state. The passage is closed off at both ends because of historical damp problems and is only used for storage. Some of the tiles have fallen off the wall and others have suffered damage by storage shelves being fixed to the wall. The RSA would like to try to conserve the tiles, and there was much discussion at the AGM as to how to go about this, in particular how to raise funds for it. Suggestions from RSA members included: sponsoring a tile; approaching present parents of the school to find out if anyone has expertise in this field; and entering into discussions with the GDST (who own the fabric of the building). There was much enthusiastic discussion (at the AGM) about the next stages of development for the Archives website, and about what could be done to preserve the Freer Passage tiles. The key point is that for both of these activities to proceed, we need funds, and we would heartily welcome both donations, and ideas for fund-raising. Any of you who have previously been involved in fund-raising, do please write and tell us some of your successful ways of going about this. I have purposely talked at some length here about the archive digitisation project and the Freer tiles, at the risk of repeating details which you can also read in the AGM minutes, because the mood of the members at the meeting, and fully endorsed by the committee, is that both these things are very important parts of our RS heritage which we are keen to preserve and maintain. WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT, IDEAS AND DONATIONS TO ACHIEVE THIS.
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At the AGM we also had an excellent talk from Unity Marriott (Brine, Group 13, and ex-RS Governor), describing how she had originally set up the Archives in 2002. We presented her with a floral bouquet in recognition of her enormous (and continuing) contribution to the whole Archiving process. The rest of the biennial meeting went as planned, starting with a very good RHS buffet lunch in the dining room annexe (much noise and chatter!) and ending with tours of the school for those who wished (including viewing a few of the Freer Tiles which are visible in the Art Department), conducted by 5 RHS girls who had given up their Saturday afternoon to help us. Many thanks to them and to Anna Robertson, RHS Development & Alumnae Co-ordinator, who put many of the arrangements in place for us before departing, 3 weeks later, on well-deserved maternity leave. The full minutes of the AGM can be found on page 14 of this newsletter. The not-so-good news is that we have had to move out of the Archive Room in Gatehouse where, courtesy of the RHS, we have had a happy home for about 12 years, to make way for the new RHS Music School which is to be developed on that site. The contents of the RSA Archives are currently boxed up (more thanks due to Gwenda, Brenda and Sue for undertaking this mammoth task) and stored in a very small room in the School, awaiting a decision as to where we might be able to relocate. In the meantime, regrettably, the Archive contents are not available to be viewed, so it is doubly fortunate that a good selection of the information can now be looked at online, on the new Archives website. To move on to other things, I have been in email discussion with an RS Old Girl about her possible application for the Peggy Scott travel award (see page 22 for details of how to apply for this award) and hope to be able to announce a successful application soon. We have had no applications for the Book Award for several years, and I am tempted to apply for it myself (!) for some Russian books which I would like to buy to help me with my Russian studies. I’ll wait to see what reaction I get to that statement, before deciding whether to apply! I reported in last year’s newsletter about Anne Corrie (Woodyer, Group 14), who was very poorly following a stroke in May 2017. Anne sadly passed away in December 2018, and will be very much missed not only by her family but by the RSA. She was a tremendous supporter of the RSA and wrote many articles and obituaries for the newsletters, and was a regular attendee at the RSA Reunions. Anne was the long-standing Group Editor for over 28 years for Group 14, one of our largest groups, and sad to say, we have not yet been able to find a replacement Group Editor, so once again unfortunately there is no
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news or information available from Group 14. It would be wonderful if a member would step forward to do this role – it doesn’t have to be someone from Group 14 itself. Please remember to send me anything you would like posted on the RSA (non-Archives) website notice-board (such as local or Group reunions, etc), or if you think of any other changes or enhancements to that website, or indeed any other ideas for the Association. All comments are welcome. You’ll find that website at www.royalschool.org.uk. I want especially to thank the committee, Emma, Carys and Sue, and including ‘new girl’ Alison, for all their help and support during the year with various admin tasks and queries from Old Girls, which come in from all over the world. I mentioned at the AGM that, having been Hon. Chairman for ten years, I do feel that it is time for me to stand down. I would welcome interest and applications from anyone who might be interested in taking on this role. I hope you enjoy this RSA Newsletter, and send best wishes for 2019. Patricia Vanreenen, Group 17 Hon. Chairman, Royal School Association
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Now that the first stage of the Archives being digitised is in full swing, our accounts are looking rather depleted. As Patricia mentions in her report and was stated in the June 2018 AGM, we are looking at ways that we can fund-raise. If you have any ideas or suggestions please let us know. Similarly if you would like to make a donation or consider leaving the organisation something in your will we would be most grateful. The one thing that I would request is that if you are considering leaving us money, it is imperative that it is made clear that it is for the Royal School Association. If money is left to the Royal School then sadly it will most likely go to the current Royal High School or the Girls’ Day School Trust. Whilst we would not want to take away from any fund-raising that
Best wishes to you all from Mallorca! RSA Membership remains stable at around 280 with many of you contactable by email. As always please remember to keep us informed of any changes to these details as some items do bounce back! Throughout the year it is lovely to hear of group reunions taking place and various visits to the school. Should you arrange any yourselves, please try to encourage lapsed members to re-join our Association. With so many of us in contact via Social Media it can be assumed that we are no longer relevant. However, it is thanks to your continued support that the RSA can continue to ensure the protection and development of our Archives for the future. I was very sorry to not attend the June reunion, but it is not an easy time of year to leave the family with school holidays beginning at the end of that month. Keeping my fingers crossed that I will be there in 2020 and see many of you! Please continue to send your up-to-date contact details as well as any Births, Marriages and Deaths, which I can then collate for Emma. Wishing you all a happy and healthy 2019 and until next time! Carys Giles (nee SMITH) Group 93 Hon. Registrar, Royal School Association
Registrar’s Report
Treasurer’s Report - year ending 31st Aug 2018
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they conduct, it would be a shame if your wishes were not carried out. If you would like any further information please do not hesitate to contact myself or Patricia.
Financial Summary: As at 31
st August 2018, our combined assets are £7119.21
This is made up of £3939.28 in a Nationwide savings account and £3179.93 in a Lloyds current account. As usual payments were higher than receipts in the current account, but this is due to the fact that we have a decreasing number of ‘paying’ memberships. There are approximately 100 members who have paid a life subscription, which means that we still have outgoings to cover the newsletter and other items but receive no money (from those members) to cover the costs.
During the year we have received some generous donations for which we are
always very grateful.
Membership fees: The majority of our members pay £5 annually by Standing Order; however, the
option of being a Life Member is available for a one-off payment. The rates are
listed below, do contact me if you would like to switch to being a life member.
Additionally please share these membership details with any friends and family
who are not currently members but might consider joining the association. A
membership form is at the back of the newsletter or available online!
Age: Fee: 20-29 £300 30-39 £250 40-49 £200 50-59 £150 60-69 £100 70-79 £50 80+ £10 Emma Johnson (nee WALKER) Group 90 Hon. Treasurer, Royal School Association
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The RSA needs YOU! Could you spare some time to help the Association to continue? We are extremely grateful to Alison Ward for stepping up to be the Honorary Secretary but we remain stretched as both a long-serving and relatively small Committee. Patricia has been a wonderful and fully committed Chairman for over a decade but feels that the time is right to step down. If you feel able to step in to take over and keep the association running please let us know. Similarly, Emma is still doing two roles on the Committee (Treasurer and Editor). If you are able to help out at all please get in touch. For more information on the roles that we are looking to fill, please contact any of the Committee.
Social media The Royal School Association now has a presence on social media, where updates will be posted. Please ‘Like’ us if you have a Facebook account and share with your friends!
www.facebook.com/RoyalSchoolAssociation The Association website will still be maintained and will remain as the primary source of information.
www.royalschool.org.uk
RSA Committee notices
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Updating members’ details
Carys (Hon. Registrar) is always trying to keep members’ contact details and groups up to date. We have some members who we do not know which group they belong to; when you send updates, do please include your years at the RS (approximate is fine!). Remember, Groups 12 to 21 are classified by year of entry to the Royal School, and Groups 83 onwards refer to the year you left. If you know we are missing any of your contact information or would like to clarify which group you belong to, do get in touch. Please contact Carys at [email protected] (address at the front of the newsletter) for any amendments including change of address, missing year group, misspelt names etc.
Group Editors needed Groups 14 (entry 1941-1945), 21 (entry 1976-1977) and Leavers of 84, 85 and 86 currently do not have Group Editors. This is a role which is not too time consuming, and simply involves contacting members of that year group to send their news for the Newsletter, collating it and passing it on to the Editor once a year. It would be great to have news from those groups currently under-represented in the Newsletter, particularly the 1980s leavers. If you feel you can volunteer to represent your (or any of the other) years, please contact Emma, [email protected]
Email Addresses
We would like to try and collect current email addresses for as many members as possible. This is incredibly useful to the RSA in contacting members, as well as saving time and costs when mailing invitations and notices. Could we ask everybody who uses email and has not yet done so, to please let Carys know their current address by emailing her at [email protected]. We will of course continue to use standard post for those not on email, or when an email is reported as undelivered.
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Welcome from the Principal. It was wonderful to be back at school after the summer break and to hear the girls’ voices in the corridors again. During the summer holiday period much work was done to the school site; the mammoth roof replacement project is almost complete and the work will ensure that the roof sees us through the next 150 years. We have redecorated the Entrance Hall and staircase and I am sure Royal School alumnae will be delighted to know that we have returned to a red carpet. We are now starting work on the new Music School and the coming year will see the transformation of Gatehouse into a dedicated music teaching space, recital room and professional-standard recording studio. The plan is that a new-build fitness suite and dance studio will then follow. So, lots has been done but there is still plenty to do! This year’s examination results were excellent, with 53% of A Levels achieving A*/A grades and 69% achieving these top grades at GCSE. It has been a year of change in the examination system particularly with the reformed GCSEs and 9-1 grading and our girls have, as always, risen to the challenge and performed extremely well. In addition to A Levels, we offer the International Baccalaureate in the Sixth Form. This stretching qualification is marked out of 45 points and our average this year was 39 with one pupil scoring 45/45, an achievement managed by fewer than 1% of the global IB cohort. Of course, school is about much more than examination results and we are proud of our holistic education, which aims to ensure that girls are seen as individuals who have a whole range of talents and abilities. Mr Briggs, Deputy Head Academic, has been working with staff on our new RHS Learner Habits, the word ‘habits’ being deliberately chosen based on the Aristotelian quote; ‘We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.’ These are being referred to as the 6Cs and include six characteristics which we are seeking to help our girls to develop. We want RHS girls to become: Creative, Courageous, Committed, Compassionate, Communicative and Critical-Thinkers in all that they undertake. As we enter the 20th anniversary year of RHS, I am keen to work with a specialist company to produce a coffee-table book on the history of the school. This would draw together the strands of The Royal School and Bath High School and celebrate the school that we have become in the Royal High School Bath. My own daughter joined the senior school this term, having been a pupil at the Junior School since Year 3 when we arrived in Bath. It is an interesting
Royal High School Report from the Headmistress
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experience seeing one’s own child at work every day but we are both enjoying it and I am delighted that she is being educated here. Finally, it is always a pleasure to see Royal School alumnae back at school and I hope that you will visit us if you are ever in Bath. Do contact Mrs Francesca Orr (Alumnae and Development Coordinator), who is covering Anna Robertson’s maternity cover and who will be able to organise this for you. With all good wishes, Jo Duncan Principal, Royal High School, Bath
Over the summer of 2018 the front stairs have been re-carpeted; they can now officially be known as the ‘Red Stairs’ again!
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2018 Royal School Association AGM Report
Minutes of the Annual General Meeting of the Royal School Association (RSA) held on Saturday 9th June 2018 at The Royal High School, Bath The meeting started at 13:30. PRESENT: (Group Numbers in brackets) Ann Arkell (14), Caroline Austin (93), Maddalena Blower (18), Marilyn Cass (19), June Fisher (14), Brenda Floyd (85), Anna Francis (14), Rosemary Grazebrook (15), Emma Johnson (Hon. Treasurer and Hon. Editor) (90), Susan Johnson (14), Sheila and John Knight (15), Pauline and Rev. Paul Lipscomb (15), Unity Marriott (13), Rosemary Polley (14), Anne Rowley (16), Angela Smith (18), Mandy Starr (20), Scilla Treasure (18), Mary Truell (13), Patricia Vanreenen (Hon. Chairman) (17), Jo Vening (19), Alison Ward (Hon. Secretary) (17). 1. Welcome The AGM was opened by the Hon. Chairman, Patricia Vanreenen, who welcomed everyone and thanked the Royal High School for hosting the day. 2. Proposal of new Hon. Secretary Patricia reminded members that, after three years without an Hon. Secretary, the future of the RSA had been in grave doubt. The Committee then received several applications for this post and selected Alison Ward as the most suitable candidate, subject to members’ approval. Patricia asked if there were any other nominations from the floor and, when none were forthcoming, she then proposed Alison Ward, seconded by Caroline Austin; the vote of the meeting was unanimous. Patricia thanked Alison for accepting the post. 3. Apologies for Absence Apologies for absence were received from: Celia Adams, Jackie Allan, Judyth Allday, Gillian Belton, Anna Bray, Elizabeth Buckingham, Gillian Buhr, Joanna Burnett, Fiona Burtenshaw, Gill Capps, Sue Carden (Hon. Archivist), Daphne Carre, Janet Chadwick, Lindsay Corrie, Meriol Cottrell, Gill Cross, Jo Dawson, Olivia Eliot, Sheila Evered, Carys Giles (Hon. Registrar), Kate Gillanders, Margaret Griffiths-Eyton, Fiona Haines, Joan Holmes, Tamsin Hudson, Jenny Jeapes, Elizabeth Jenks, Judith McClure, Fiona McLuckie, Mary Montagu, Isobel Morse, Hazel Ricketts, Alice Rugheimer, Emma Saunders, Alison
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Stephens, Verity Stiff, Ann Surtees, Jane Swearingen, Louisa Upton, Elizabeth Walker, Antonia Webb, Caroline Whitefoord, Norah Woodfin. 4. Approval of Minutes of the AGM held on 11
th June 2016 and update on
actions These had been circulated prior to the meeting (via the 2016 Newsletter). Approval of the Minutes was proposed by Caroline Austin and seconded by Scilla Treasure. All actions had been completed. 5. Hon. Chairman’s Report – Patricia Vanreenen
• Patricia started by reporting that it had been a busy and interesting two years since the last AGM, getting the Archives Digitisation project off the ground – and finding a new Hon. Secretary.
• Patricia said she wanted particularly to thank all the RSA Committee for their support. The Hon. Treasurer /Hon. Editor (Emma) and Hon. Chairman had been doing the Hon. Secretary role between them, and Patricia thanked Emma for all her extra work. The RSA now has a committee of five, which will be a great help. Carys Giles, Hon. Registrar, was unable to attend as she lives in Majorca, but she keeps all Members’ details in order – please send her any changes. Sue Carden, Hon. Archivist, had hoped to attend this meeting, but following a recent shoulder operation was unable to be present. On behalf of RSA members, Patricia wished Sue a speedy recovery and thanked her for all her hard work on the Archives and the Digitisation project.
• Patricia stated that she had been Hon. Chairman for ten years and felt it was time to stand down. However, she would not do so until a new chairman could be found, and she hoped someone would step forward.
• She was pleased to see a number of new faces today and asked that if they were not already members, they would join – forms available from Emma. The annual subscription was only £5 but the Association needed the money to continue to function. After the merger of the RS and Bath High in 1998, many people who had been life members of the RSA disappeared off the records, and it would be good to enrol them once more. If anyone had any RS contacts that they could encourage to join, please do so.
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• Patricia informed the members of the sad news that Anne Corrie, a very long-serving Group Editor for Group 14 and very regular AGM attendee and supporter of the RSA, had a serious stroke a year ago and was unlikely to recover. There were several Group 14 members here at the meeting, and it would be good if any of them were able to take over Anne’s Group Editor role – do please consider volunteering.
• Book Award: we have had no applicants for a few years – details of the eligibility criteria are in the Newsletter.
• Peggy Scott Travel Award: one possible applicant has arisen; more information will be in the Newsletter.
• The existing RSA website: please send Patricia any information you would like posted on the Noticeboard (such as local reunions); the website, at www.royalschool.org.uk , also gives links to our social media sites.
6. Hon. Treasurer’s Report – Emma Johnson
• The Hon. Treasurer thanked Patricia for all her hard work.
• Annual accounts will, as usual, be available after our financial year-end, 31st August, and details will appear in the Newsletter.
• In summary, the RSA’s present financial position is:
• Lloyds Bank current account: £3,000. This receives a regular boost of money each April when subscriptions are collected, and a regular reduction in the autumn when the Newsletter is prepared, printed and posted.
• Subscriptions amount to £900 p.a., with life member numbers dwindling. The Newsletter costs £700 p.a.; however, savings are now made with some Newsletters being emailed, particularly for those sent abroad.
• Nationwide Savings account: £4,000, yielding £30 p.a. interest. 7. Hon. Editor’s Report – Emma Johnson Although creating the Newsletter was a lot of work, it was most enjoyable reading the news and stories that people sent in. However, several groups have no Group Editor and / or send in no information at all. All members to please encourage anyone they know to send in their news.
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8. (Re-)Appointment of RSA Committee The Committee was re-elected en bloc:
Honorary Chairman: Patricia Vanreenen Honorary Treasurer: Emma Johnson Honorary Registrar: Carys Giles Honorary Editor: Emma Johnson Honorary Archivist Sue Carden (plus new Hon. Secretary Alison Ward – see point 1)
Proposed by Anne Rowley, seconded by Brenda Floyd. 9. RSA Archives Patricia introduced a three-part presentation on the Archives. Before Unity started her talk, Patricia presented her with a bouquet of flowers in recognition of the long-term help, advice and support that she has given since 2002 – without Unity’s passion and drive, there would not be any Archives. a) Unity Marriott then gave a very interesting and comprehensive report on the history of the Archives which she had started in 2002. This resulted from a governors’ meeting where it came to light that, in common with many schools, the RS had no knowledge of the whereabouts of its past historical documents or artefacts. Some were found in the cellar in a damp condition and beyond repair. With a lot of hard work, many more were found and rescued – e.g. a large silver cup, which the school donated to the National Army Museum (it had been presented to the Royal Irish Fusiliers on their return to Madras). The ongoing problem would then be what to do with everything and how to care for it all – Cheltenham Boys College gave a good example of how to do this. James Graham-Brown, Headmaster of the then new joint Royal High School, was a great help too – e.g. a wooden lectern which had been presented to the RS in memory of “Ma’mselle” who had taught French at the school, was discovered in the Walcott Reclamation. He also returned a silver and red-white-and-blue enamelled powder compact, originally to be passed on from headmistress to headmistress. There was also a great deal of valuable and fascinating correspondence. b) Gwenda Manners (RHS Senior Librarian) then described how the Archive Digitisation project had progressed and gave a demonstration of the new Archives Website. She thanked Sue Carden for her enthusiasm and input into the digitisation project and said how well they worked as a team. Gwenda and Sue would like members to consider now what the next stage of work should be
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and what they would next like to see on the website. There have already been many enquiries, from as far away as New Zealand. Sue plans to go on a training course to enable her to add sound-bites to the Archives website. The main areas then discussed with those present were:
• Website access – free to members, but should there be a charge for non-members?
• Currently much information has come from old School Magazines, School Registers and photographs; it is planned to have a facility for RSA members to add names to photographs which are presently unidentified.
• Useful information / stories / reminiscences are all welcome. c) Gwenda Manners then went on to talk about the Sylvia Packard Tile Mural in the Freer Passage. The story so far: 1881 Sylvia Packard was born, trained at the Slade, exhibited her paintings, and
moved to Bath in 1916 to teach at the RS, becoming Head of Art until her retirement in the 1930s.
1901 Rosalind Ord was born, trained at the Slade, worked as assistant to Sylvia, who was nearing retirement.
1929 Sylvia began to design a mural of ceramic tiles for the school, themed “Occupations of the Virtuous Woman” (taken from Proverbs ch. 31).
1931 The tiles were put up in the Freer Passage, approx 2000 tiles measuring in total 70ft long by 6ft high.
1936 The mural’s success led to the setting up of Packard & Ord (which later became Marlborough Ceramic Tiles); there are examples of their work in museums such as the V&A, as well as in private collections.
Late ‘70s Some restoration work was carried out on the mural by Marlborough Ceramic Tiles.
Today The corridor is closed off at both ends because of damp problems and is used for storage; some of the tiles have fallen off the wall and suffered further damaged by storage shelves being fixed to the wall.
Possible ways ahead: The tiles could be worth c. £50 per tile. They are extremely difficult to remove without damaging them; however, some proposals have been obtained as follows:
• Take the tiles off the wall with a specialist chainsaw, minimum cost c. £35,000 but probably more;
• Survey the tiles for other options, approx £1000;
• The Tiles & Architectural Ceramics Society (TACS) could send a
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specialist surveyor to report and advise. Further challenges are: a) the school buildings belong to the GDST (Girls Day School Trust); and b) the RHS and GDST currently have rather more important projects to fund than investigating tiles in a damp corridor. Suggestions from RSA members: start fund raising; sponsor a tile; approach present parents of the school to find out if anyone has expertise in this field; enter discussions with GDST. Summary: following much discussion about both the Archives and the Tiles, two decisions were reached:
1. To continue with the Archives Digitisation - unanimous agreement (more funds will be needed for this);
2. To raise funds for the Sylvia Packard mural - committee tasked to discuss how best to set up fund-raising for this project. Action: RSA Committee
10. Date & Venue of next meeting The next AGM / Reunion / Archive Day will take place in June 2020 at the RHS, date to be confirmed. Action: Patricia 11. Any Other Business A member raised the subject of how her daughter, a life member from many years ago, had heard nothing from the RSA for years. Patricia expanded on what she had said in her Chairman’s Report, explaining that because the RSA had had to introduce an annual subscription in 2002 (regardless of whether someone had previously been a ‘life member’), members then needed to complete a Banker’s Order form, which many members had not understood and had failed to do. They therefore had ceased to be members and no longer received information. This could easily be rectified by completing a BO form from Emma. Mary Truell then thanked Patricia and Emma for all their very hard work. The meeting closed at 15.30. After the meeting, there were opportunities to examine the new Archives Website on laptops, and to have a guided tour of the School.
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Some of the attendees at the Reunion and AGM held at the Royal High School, June 2018. It’s always a lovely day and a great opportunity to catch up with friends and former staff. Do consider coming along to the next gathering in June 2020, details will be posted on the website and sent to all members nearer the time.
If you are not currently a member you are of course welcome to join us but we would encourage you to join the Association. All subscriptions go straight back to keeping the Association running and providing you with information and helping to preserve our precious school Archives. For further information contact any of the Committee and do spread the word to your former friends, contact details are at the front of the newsletter.
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The following two awards, for books related to study and for travel costs, are available every year and any Royal School old girl may apply.
The Book Award The Book Award is open to any former pupil of The Royal School who is currently studying or about to undertake any form of study, and is intended to assist with the cost of purchasing books. This could be either for professional study or for development of a personal interest in which they wish to further their knowledge. The amount awarded is dependent on the number of applicants and is decided at the discretion of the Royal School Association Committee. Applications should be submitted in writing and addressed to Patricia Vanreenen, Hon. Chairman, if possible via email using the contact details at the start of the Newsletter, or otherwise by post.
The Peggy Scott Travel Award
The Peggy Scott Award is intended to assist with travel costs for any former pupil of The Royal School, whether for academic or practical purposes. For example, it could cover travel for an Old Girl whose family lives abroad and who would otherwise be unable to visit her grandchildren, or for a student who could use it to help meet costs connected with study abroad during her time at university. Applicants should submit an outline of their proposals to Patricia Vanreenen, Hon. Chairman of the RSA, if possible via email, using the contact details at the start of the Newsletter, or otherwise by post. On completion of their projects, it is requested that beneficiaries provide a short written account of their travel to the committee, with a copy to be published in the Newsletter.
RSA Awards
RSA Member Notices
If any members would like to use space in the newsletter to place a notice, please email the Hon. Editor, at [email protected].
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Submissions to the RSA Newsletter for 2019
RSA Members: Any news (including details of births, marriages and deaths) for inclusion in the 2019 RSA Newsletter should be sent to your Group Editor (details under individual Group news) to arrive by 1st July 2019. If your Group does not currently have a Group Editor, please send your news directly to the Hon. Editor, as detailed below. RSA Group Editors: Group Editors should send their edited group news directly to the Hon. Editor. News should be submitted by 1st August 2019 to: [email protected] News should be submitted using the following format:
• Name in alphabetical order, by maiden name, with married name in brackets afterwards.
• An additional list giving any announcement details:
• Births, including month of birth and baby’s name and gender,
• Marriages, including month of wedding and husband’s name and surname,
• Deaths, including month of death. Please note that the Newsletter will be available to view on the RSA website, usually a few months after publication. An archive of previous years’ Newsletters can also be found there, dating back to 2002. There are still a few 2017 paper Newsletters left if anyone needs one.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION You will only receive a copy of the Newsletter if you have paid your Annual Subscription - a subscription form can be found at the back of this newsletter or by email to: [email protected] Groups 14, 21, 84, 85 and 86 all need a volunteer to collate their group news. The job is not onerous. All you need to do is email or write to the members of the group once a year asking for their news. You then edit the text and send to the editor. Please help to keep your group up-to-date by volunteering now – email [email protected]
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Birth, Marriage and Death Announcements
Apologies are given that a mistake was made in the 2017 newsletter: Isobel Morse (nee Steele) has not passed away, it was her sister Rachel Caldwell (nee Steele) Group 14 who sadly passed away in November 2016. Deaths: 2017 September VICTORIA STILEMAN (Mrs Ker) Group 16 2018 March JANE COOPER (Mrs Ireland) Group 16 December ANNE WOODYER (Mrs Corrie) Group 14 Marriages: 2018 Spring ANNA BROUNLIE to Peter Watts Group 17 Births: 2018 March LOUISE MURPHY a girl Amelia Group 98 TAMARA WILLIAMS a girl Maia Group 98
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Group 12 - dates of entry 1931–1935 Group 13 - dates of entry 1936–1940
Group 12 & 13 editor: Mrs Mary Truell (FOSBROKE-HOBBES)
A letter from your Group Editor! Dear All I am a dreadful sinner. As Group Editor for groups 12 and 13 I have failed miserably to gather news either last year or this year. I am so sorry. Please forgive me if therefore I am unaware of your present health and general wellbeing. Neither do I know what adventures you have been up to in the last few years, news I would love to pass on to others in our groups. Do let me know even at this late date. I have printed out the list as I was given it at the excellent RSA Reunion in June, although sadly, as we know, in our senior years we sometimes quietly slip away, either suddenly or after long illness. Please do kindly let me know if you have heard of anyone who is very ill or who has departed recently. Also, if any of you have been in touch with others in our groups and can pass on news of them to me, that would be very kind. _________________________ MEMBERS OF GROUPS 12 and 13 (and current known location) Group 12:
Gillian Harvey (Mrs Brown) was in Herefordshire, but 2017 Newsletter was returned
Dylys Edwards (Mrs Crabtree) Taunton *Elizabeth Mudd (Mrs Marks) South Africa Mary Jenkins (Mrs Montague) Warminster, Wilts Shirley Blunt (Mrs Poustie) Paignton, Devon
Group 13:
Eileen Thorn (Mrs Bailey) Hythe, Kent *Clementina Walkinshaw (Mrs Britton) Salisbury, Wilts Merle MacLeod (Mrs Christie) was in Kingscote, Sussex, but 2017
Newsletter was returned Elizabeth Edinger (Mrs Cookson) Chippenham, Wilts Joyce Cutbush East Molesey, Surrey Ann White (Mrs Deniston) near Garve, Ross-shire Eileen Whitfield (Mrs Goss) Welwyn Garden City, Herts *Elizabeth Fosbroke-Hobbes (Mrs Hall) near Andover, Hants Elizabeth Worthington (Mrs Keith) Fordingbridge, Hants Lettice Vint (Mrs Lachelin) Redhill, Surrey
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Elizabeth Rogers (Mrs Laughton) Wellington, Somerset Christian MacLeod (Mrs MacBain) Petersfield, Hants *Unity Brine (Mrs Marriott) Northleach, Glos Pamela Marston (Shakespear) was in Farnham, but 2017
Newsletter was returned Mary Moffatt (Mrs Mason-Jones) Leeds Diana Rogers (Mrs Maynard) Tunbridge Wells, Kent Letitia Ponsonby (Mrs Millington) Bath Pauline Thomson (Mrs Morgan) Eastbourne, Sussex Joan Moriarty Farnham, Surrey Fatijah Davies (Mrs Slater) Budleigh Salterton, Devon Heather Parrington (Mrs Stephens) Nether Stowey, Somerset Janet Edwards (Mrs Symons) Crediton, Devon *Mary Fosbroke-Hobbes (Mrs Truell) Lympstone, Devon Mary Ferguson (Mrs Walker) Cambridge Alexandra (Judy) Wemyss Southampton Mary Wylde (Mrs Wiggs) near Watford, Herts Audrey Wisdom Bath Rosemary Rennison (Mrs Wright) near Stroud, Glos
I'd be most grateful for any news about all these good people. I have a little information which I give below. Group 12 News: ELIZABETH MUDD (Mrs Marks): The mother of my S. African friend lives in the same village as Elizabeth. My friend saw Elizabeth a few months ago and said she was all right then but getting frail. She sent her kind wishes to old friends. [And Patricia can add to that: I exchanged emails with Elizabeth’s son David (who also lives in South Africa) in May, who described his mother as very fit and independent (and still driving!), and she was 95 in October 2018 – a lovely update]. Group 13 News: CLEMENTINA WALKINSHAW (Mrs Britton): spoke to me on the telephone. She and her husband were still doing quite well but old age was taking its toll! (Does it not?!). She keeps in touch with one old girl but I forget who. (See what I mean by old age!) ELIZABETH FOSBROKE-HOBBES (Mrs Hall): Fuzz keeps going and is still very interested in her amazing work with the Mentally Handicapped in Andover. She became a granny (at 92!) for the third time, when her son of 55 and his
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young wife produced a beautiful little daughter called India in June this year. Will India become a first-class cricketer like her Granny and her Dad? Liz gets a bit confused at times but this is mainly due to being extremely deaf – such bad luck. Her kind daughter tries to keep her on the straight and narrow – as if that has ever been possible! She still drives her buggy for miles. UNITY BRINE (Mrs Marriott) gave us a fascinating talk at the June Re-union in Bath this year, on the research she had done in the past for the Archives. These are now progressing faster than ever with new technology, under the auspices of Sue Carden (the Hon Archivist) and Gwenda Manners (RHS Senior Librarian, who is a most enthusiastic and helpful colleague). Unity, despite her very bad sight, spoke as clear as a bell, hardly needing her notes. She seemed altogether in great heart. Incidentally, she had written these notes for her talk in colossal writing on lots of pieces of paper so she could just about see them, about which she made a great joke. MARY FOSBROKE-HOBBES (Mrs Truell): Patricia Vanreenen, our venerable Chairman, told me I must tell you of a little adventure of which I partook in August. In the Alps, on a wonderful, sunny day with a clear blue sky and a light breeze I went paragliding! I do thoroughly recommend this birdlike experience. I could happily have spent all day gliding gracefully amongst the mountains and above the deep valleys. (You should hear what Patricia's been up to this summer! Far more adventurous than sailing through the sky. Some of her wild escapades were almost as big a challenge as keeping the RSA afloat! This latter is indeed a grand achievement for which we should all be extremely grateful. Thank you, Patricia and your worthy team). I bet lots of you have similar tales to tell, we would love to hear them. My only other bit of news is I'm hoping to become a Great Grandma at Christmas time, for the first time. Some of you have had this honour for years, I know! A Happy New Year full of Adventure and Good Health to you all. I'd love to hear from you although, as I'm such a poor correspondent myself, I hardly deserve it. Mary F-H
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Group 14 - dates of entry 1941 – 1945 Group 14 editor: previously Mrs Anne Corrie (WOODYER)
Group 15 - dates of entry 1946 - 1950 Group 15 editor: Mrs Judyth Allday (PATERSON)
ALISON COUTTS (Mrs Stephens) wrote in April of many trips away from Eynsham during the year. These included time with her daughters Wendy (Mrs Norton, Group 84) and Catriona (Group 86) and their families and son, whilst she was busy moving house. She also made two visits to London to meet with Sally Middleton (Mrs Adams) at the Tate Britain, which she has done for many years.
JOAN GOODWORTH (ex-Staff 1947): Judyth spoke to Joan recently, she lives in the Cotswolds and was pleased to hear that the Association will continue for the foreseeable future. She looks forward to receiving the Newsletter each year.
JUDYTH PATERSON (Mrs Allday): I am still in touch with Linda Harries (Mrs Sims-Williams) who is happy in her new home in Emsworth, Sarah Morgan (Mrs Flood) in Winchester, Ursula Dawes (Mrs Challen, Group 16) in Bath and Pauline Farrell Palliser (Mrs Lipscomb) who was able to attend the AGM in June. Pauline met with Sheila Sandiford (Mrs Knight) at the AGM. I was sad not to be at the AGM but was glad of the news that the Association
can continue. I have two young cousins at the school which has renewed my
interest in it and taken our family attendance to some 120 years. My family
gave me an hilarious river trip for my milestone birthday
– Congratulations to all those who are also celebrating this year. I would also like to congratulate Susie and Peter Worthington (nee Barrett) on the launch of their latest book “The Garden and the Grandfather”, an account of life in Greece in the 1960s, published by Pencross Books.
As mentioned in the Chairman’s report, Anne sadly passed away in December 2018. Anne had been the Group Editor for Group 14 for many years, and will be sorely missed. As a result of this there is sadly no news or information available from Group 14 again this year, for which we are very sorry. We are looking for a new Group 14 Editor. Do please consider whether you might be able to take on this role.
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Group 16 - dates of entry 1951-55 Group 16 (A – F) editor: Mrs Joan Holmes (PRATT)
Group 16 (G – K) editor: Mrs Sarah Lawley (PELLY)
Group 16 (L – R) editor: Mrs Joan Holmes (PRATT)
Group 16 (S – Z) editor: Mrs Margaret Griffiths-Eyton (VANREENEN)
PENNY PURCELL (Mrs Eliot): having downsized recently Penny is still able to enjoy bowls, swimming and dog walking as well as preparing for travel. She and a friend have been to Cuba, Krakow and taken in a few caves in France in advance of going to Australia next year. Her sister Sara (Mrs Ross, Group 16) lives in France and Penny’s son lives in Luxembourg. Her time has also been taken up this year with attending the graduation ceremonies of her Grandchildren.
The Group 16 address book is available from Joan Pratt (Mrs Holmes). E-mail requests preferred ([email protected]), otherwise a 9” x 6” sae. However, it is only accurate if members keep it updated – and that goes for email addresses as well! Anne Dening (Mrs Rowley) once again kindly arranged the annual visit to The Globe and was joined by Julia Andrew (Mrs Davies), Ingrid Davidson-Houston (Mrs Offer), Ruth Elton (Mrs Davies), Wendy Haddon (Mrs Duxfield), Jean Haines (Mrs Whittingham), Sarah Pelly (Mrs Lawley), Joan Pratt (Mrs Holmes) and Margaret Vanreenen (Mrs Griffiths-Eyton) on 4th October to see ‘Much Ado About Nothing’. As usual a very noisy lunch at Tas Restaurant beforehand!! Sadly, Jill Gibson (Mrs Stuart-Cohen) and Gill Simpson (Mrs Hinde) both had to pull out at the last minute from illness/injury. Deaths Jane COOPER (Mrs A Ireland) in April 2018 at Ibiza, following a fall in her garden.
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JULIA ANDREW (Mrs Davies): 2017 was the year of the Hip and Heart operations for Michael and me. Michael had 2 heart operations, neither of which worked and now he was due a repeat of the 2nd heart operation in 2018. I had a hip replacement (the other hip this time!) just before my 75th birthday and this was followed rapidly by 2 Big Tea and Cakes Parties in our garden over the weekend to raise money for “The Elizabeth-Ann Charity” in memory of our 16 year old daughter Elizabeth-Ann who died of asthma in 1990. The parties were a super success and I did not realize how popular cake is! Our son Peter and family are all well and happy living in Bugbrooke, Northamptonshire. Granddaughter Imogen is now 12 yrs and Grandson Tom is now 8 yrs. They have become quite a musical family with Imogen playing the clarinet and Tom the piano and cello, both love books and reading. We keep in close touch with our Foster Children, Ray, Simon, Kelly, Crystal, Jason and Lloyd and attended Lloyd and Cat’s beautiful wedding in September in Bristol as stand-in parents as Lloyd lost both his parents when very young before he came into care with us. I visited India as usual in February and met up with my cousins there and had a great visit to the village of Burlavaripalem, which is gradually being transformed and also saw Golden Bells School in Chittoor to which we also give some support. Michael could not come as it was too close to his heart op. In the summer we attended Piggyfest which was a huge party in Northamptonshire where we joined 5,000 other happy Utility Warehouse Distributors like ourselves for a day of celebration of 20 years of the Company. Our Utility Warehouse business is going very well and the Company has recently won a very prestigious award from WHICH, so we are now the best Utility Provider in the UK in 2018! Michael and I continue to help customers save and make money and all the money we make goes to our Elizabeth-Ann Charity which is making a huge difference to the poor people in our little village of Burlavaripalem, Andhra Pradesh, India. In the autumn I enjoyed a lovely visit to the Globe Theatre in London to see “Much Ado About Nothing” organized by Anne Dening (Mrs Rowley) meeting up with several old RS girls and staying with Anne overnight. We also fitted in a happy visit to Cambridge and Norfolk in June and visited Godchildren and other family and friends. My sister Jacky Andrew (Mrs Gilbreath, Group 14) is now 87 years old and lives in Kansas with her daughter Annette looking after her and has diabetes and Alzheimer’s sadly. I was so sorry to hear of the death of dear Jane Cooper (Mrs Ireland), a close friend of Carolyn Calvert (Mrs Potter). THREAVE COLTART (Mrs Mitchell): Writing this in June I am just back from a peaceful cruise along the River Douro in Portugal. Beautiful landscape with vines planted on every spare piece of land. Life at St George’s Park retirement village continues to be very easy and enjoyable.
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CAMILLA COULDEN (Mrs Davies): My husband sadly died in October 2002. I converted the stable barn on the farm into a home for me and moved in, in 2004. My youngest son Richard and family live in my old house, so are quite close to me. My eldest son died in 2004 climbing in the Cairngorms. I started working as a carer in the spring of 2003 in a nursing home and have been working there ever since. Although now 79, I am on the bank staff and help with day care and activities when required, which can be quite often. I lead a busy and active life, thank God, while I can, with family, gardening, dogs, walking, tennis, golf, etc. I enjoy social activities with my friends and am involved with the odd charity committee. I am in touch with Jill Keith-Jones (Mrs Merton), Scilla Moberley (Mrs Allaway) and Zoe Gardner called earlier this year. JANE DANSIE (Mrs Moxey): Our two adult sons are thriving in Los Angeles, both involved with careers in the entertainment industry. I find myself doing a lot of knitting and a bit of crochet. I enjoy the challenge of learning new techniques and tricks, many of which I’ve found online in either classes or on YouTube. Wool “collecting" is half the fun. I particularly enjoy Fair Isle knitting. My husband and I are still living in the Pacific Northwest of the US. Our house feels rather too big now that the sons have relocated! We need a plan B to be nearer to them I think. I still do the odd TV broadcast locally which I enjoy. I always toss a little thank you towards Miss Norah Ball when I have to read copy and breathe life into it! SARAH DAWSON (Mrs Illingworth): After a number of years totally renovating a lovely old listed Telford manse on Skye and creating a garden out of a jungle, I am finally opening for B & B summer 2018. It is somewhat later than I had originally hoped but better late than never. I hope the website will tempt you to come and stay and enjoy what Skye has to offer: www.theoldmanseskye.com It would be lovely to see some old faces as well as some newer and younger ones too. Although I bought the house in 2009, I have only been living here full time for five years since finishing my job near Oban where I was the factor for a large estate. I followed this with three years working with one of the local vets, based in Portree, and then felt I needed to work from home and finish off all the renovation work, of which there never seems to be an end! In between doing some proofreading to keep me out of mischief, I have been gardening furiously in between the inevitable rain – though this year we have actually had nearly 10 weeks of sunshine and NO rain – and finally have what will be a lovely and peaceful home in which to relax – I hope! I was down south in May and caught up with Rosslyn Skeen (Mrs O’Connor) who is also godmother to my daughter. Otherwise it seems to have been ages since I have seen many RS but living up here it is not so easy.. Hopefully the B & B may change all this. Please do feel free to pass the website details to anyone you think or know is coming to Scotland and looking for somewhere to stay.
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ANNE DENING (Mrs Rowley): A relatively uneventful year apart from a visit to friends in Yorkshire and to the Edinburgh Festival and the usual enjoyable RS Globe get-together to see Much Ado About Nothing with a chatty lunch beforehand. A day in Paris, via Eurostar, in beautiful spring sunshine, was a highlight, only topped by the wedding of my Austrian pen-friend’s younger son which involved a glorious lake crossing from church to reception. It was through Miss Wallworth (I think) when I was in Laggan that Sissy and I became friends and she even spent a few days at the school. Sadly, she died a few years ago but our families are firm friends still. My son Charles and family thrive but the fallout from the Oxfam scandal has led to numerous redundancies, including his; fortunately, he has found another job elsewhere in the NGO sphere. Infirmities of age are catching up, much to my annoyance and indignation, despite regular exercise and swimming. Ah well, it comes to us all in the end... Incidentally, I have found the digitised archives fascinating – many thanks to all involved for a great piece of work. FELICITY DEWAR (Mrs Lyall Grant): Not much news this time. We are still very involved in village life but trying to shed things. Unfortunately, most of the next generation down are not interested in running events, so it is left to us oldies! Judging by the numbers who come to various things in the village, they are still popular, so we will continue for a while at least. I met Jill Viney (Mrs Warren) at a local lunch party recently, she “mothered” me in Marlborough, we had fun reminiscing. I have also seen Felicity Dyke (Stanley-Smith) a few times, most recently for a pub lunch with our husbands, who served in the same Regiment. We introduced them both and it was one of our more successful pairings, as they celebrate their Golden Wedding next year! I hope to meet up with Sue Nicholson (Evans) next month. We have recently had a lovely relaxing holiday on a Croatian island, just what we needed after a spell in hospital. My daughters Kate (Group 84) and Lucy (Group 86) are in good form. Kate is a publisher in London and Lucy lives in Ardèche with three daughters. She used to have a goat farm, but now does translations for a living. I still do occasional proof-reading to keep my brain ticking over. WENDY HADDEN (Mrs Duxfield): Joan Pratt (Mrs Holmes) is always urging us to write news, which I have so far resisted! With thanks to Anne Dening (Mrs Rowley) for organising tickets to the Globe in October – I enjoy meeting old RS. Otherwise Joan, Sue Pearse (Mrs Elliott) and I meet up for a pub lunch in the summer. All our grandchildren are now fully-fledged adults and lead busy lives, so no need of help. This summer I am having chemotherapy every two weeks, luckily Christies Hospital is only ten miles away. John had his 80th birthday with a big family weekend party in the Yorkshire Dales. I have now stopped playing tennis – too slow (or younger members too quick).
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JOSEPHINE LAMBERT (Mrs Elleston): We have been in Dorchester for two years, after moving from Dartmoor and we love being here with all we need close by. Our apartment is part of the old County Hospital and the building (1839) has definite similarities to the RS. We continue to spend plenty of time in France while we can still move about, also seeing more of this country. JOSEPHINE MACKENZIE (Mrs Gawman): I haven't been in touch for ages. I have spent the last 3 years looking after my husband, Brian, who thankfully was able to stay at home until he died last year. Now I have sold our beautiful cottage in Somerset and come back to Dorset; living in a pleasant village, in a bungalow, near lots of old friends which is lovely. I have been busy getting the house sorted and now I can tackle the garden. It’s not too big, very private and I have a teeny view through the porthole in the hedge!! I will get used to it but at present feels very strange. I have to realise we are all well into our 70s! Was the RS that long ago? MERIOL MILLARD (Mrs Cottrell): In May 2017, I moved to a bungalow in Gillingham, Dorset. I am well settled and very happy here. I live close to, but not within flood reach of, the Stour River and walk the dog there most days. The soil in the garden is unbelievably heavy clay but I'm working on that and meanwhile the back yard is full of pots and things are growing well - it is becoming a courtyard more than a back yard! I have become involved with Read Easy, a group who help adults improve their reading skills, and that, the garden, the dog and the Church keep me busy. I would love to be in touch with anyone who lives close-ish. I have no car and buses are thin on the ground. DIANA MOLYNEUX-CARTER (Mrs Garside): The highlight of our year in 2017 was our 50th Wedding Anniversary, celebrated here in Cornwall with our immediate family. Our grandson, Cassius, is studying for a Fine Arts degree at Falmouth University so he and his girlfriend pop over to stay with us most weekends during term time; a joy for us. The summer was spent racing our 30’ Yacht Alice’s Mirror and we did get away twice to scuba dive in Egyptian waters. For those who might remember her, my mother, Iris, is now 98 and continues to enjoy life. SUE NICHOLSON (Mrs Evans): In July I saw Felicity Stanley Smith (Mrs Dyke) and Felicity Lyall Grant (Mrs Dewar) and we had lunch at the Stanley Smiths while I was staying there, which was good fun and they are all well. Then at a huge 50th Wedding party for retired Royal Marine friends I saw Maggie Curtis (Mrs Langdon) and her husband which was lovely. I am trying to sell my house but will hopefully stay in this village. It seems to take forever for the house to even be looked at!!
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ANNE ODLING (Mrs Hughes): Life is rushing on at its usual fast pace, I am desperately trying to get some help for our Scouts but I find sleeping in a tent rather uncomfortable. I am now organising the 100 years Commemoration for the Village – Beacons, Bells, and an exhibition - it’s quite surprising what people are finding in their attics. ELIZABETH PALMER (Mrs Buckingham): My news is again good. My mother reached 97 in May and is living a short distance away; she lives independently and is really well. She gets about on her royal blue scooter, has many family members and friends from way back visiting, and keeps her house with many vases of roses from the small garden she has. I live amongst sheep and potato paddocks and walk my six whippets there every day courtesy of the landowner. Since May I have hosted four Cameroonians in a little house in Moe. This has stretched my memory of French, but it is coming back. They are a great group of people seeking asylum here and all who have met them hope they will manage to stay; two All-African boxing champions and two weightlifters. The local community has welcomed them, found temporary work, dumb bells, recreation centre passes, food and clothing for them. The Government has done a political thing and cut funding except medical treatment. They have done jobs for me which I might not have embarked upon without them. In January there will be some free TAFE courses which might help them get started on different careers. My thought is that boxing might bring in money and the local club wants to arrange a fight, but the damage as they get older is to be avoided! SUE PEARSE (Mrs Elliott): We share our year between our home in Shrewsbury and our caravan on a campsite in southern Spain, so hopefully enjoying more than our share of sunshine! Spain is more relaxing and sociable, but England is more rewarding as we enjoy growing vegetables and fruit in the garden. We have 4 children and 8 grandchildren, 5 of whom are adult. We are very proud of grandson, Alfie, who is about to start his third year at Cambridge University. Our son, Joss, needs an operation on his brain which is causing us all a lot of worry. SARAH PELLY (Mrs Lawley): We are still dividing our time between Stowmarket and Aldeburgh not very successfully! However, the children love the new build by the sea. I have been busy with golf, bridge, bees and have written my mother's biography 'Woman of Empire' it has been great fun and absorbing. I have not seen any ex-RS this year but hope to next year. CAROLYN POTTER (Mrs Calvert): Other than two horrid major events in this year’s calendar, there is not much to report! The two major events was the devastating death of Jane Cooper (Mrs Ireland). She had just got over a huge
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hip operation and was doing brilliantly when she had her fall. Her funeral in Ibiza had over 80 people there and then the memorial service in London was attended by more than 100 to give her a rousing send-off. I will miss her so much as she has been a part of my life for 60 years!! The other horror in the family was my 22-year old grandson had an 11-hour op on his brain (not a tumour) and it was touch and go for a few hours. Thankfully, due to the brilliance of the surgeon, he pulled through and is now well recovered. No more horrors please! I am slowly melting here (Summer 2018) like everyone else and the garden looks like the Sahara. I never thought I would pray for rain! I hope all are well and I do miss the reunions. HEATHER POTTER (Mrs Hughes): We have just returned from an Atlantic Island expedition cruise to the Orkney, Faroe, Hebrides and Shetland Islands. As well as the scenery, we also enjoyed learning about the thousands of years’ history of the Islands. For our son (Richard) and daughter (Bethany), who have Downs Syndrome, the Zodiac rides and plentiful food were probably their highlights. Richard also enjoyed impressing the guests with his piano playing. My sisters Veronica (Mrs Fincher, Group 17) and Bryony (Mrs Sutton, Group 17), are still doing well and kept busy with their grandchildren. JOAN PRATT (Mrs Holmes): Last year I was pretty busy with NADFAS, now The Arts Society (TAS). As Secretary I felt duty bound to attend the presentation of the Records to Swynnerton Church by the Church Recorders and the handing over of a Mosaic done by local primary school children, under the auspices of the Young Arts Committee Member. Lectures have been good, and I attended two Study Days, the latter being particularly close to my heart (Turner v Constable) and one visit to Birmingham (the Museum and Art Gallery and then the Assay Office, very interesting). This year I went on visits to Croft Castle (July) and Salts Mill/Saltaire (August). The Hockney Exhibition at the Tate was amazing. London theatre visits included Much Ado at The Globe, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead (Daniel Radcliffe), Dick Whittington pantomime (Julian Clary – hilarious!), Chess (Michael Ball) and King Lear (Ian McKellan – amazing). Locally I went to an outdoor performance of The Magic Flute at Stafford Castle, which was brilliant, considering they had to use the set for The Tempest (annual Shakespeare). This year’s Shakespeare was Macbeth – GCE set book!! Shows at the Birmingham Hippodrome included the ballet Cinderella and play Art (Nigel Havers, Stephen Tompkinson and Denis Lawson (husband of the late Sheila Gash (Gish)) brilliant). I visited my cousins in Denmark last August, seeing Jutland for the first time, a return trip to Helsingor to Kronborg (Hamlet’s Castle) and a day visit to Malmo crossing The Bridge (for those hooked on Scandi-noir). Anyone coming to Stafford should include the Wedgwood Museum and Factory Tour which has been revived and is really interesting. I had my local RSA reunion lunch with Wendy Hadden (Mrs
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Duxfield) and Sue Pearse (Mrs Elliott) in July. My second step-great granddaughter was born in August last year. JOANNA RICHARDSON (Mrs Burnet): Things on the farm in Australia are much the same as usual - we had a lot of rain in the summer and masses of grass - now we have been in drought for 6 months and hardly a blade of grass anywhere. Last August all the blossom was blown off the olive trees in a gale - so no olive crop to pick but luckily we still have some lovely oil from the previous year. Two new bulls, one Droughtmaster called Fortune (he did cost a fortune but he came with that name!) and more recently Angus - who is an Angus - have joined our Droughtmaster cattle. We also got a new lamb ram and have had a great crop of cute lambs on the ground at the moment - they are mostly Dorper sheep, some Merino cross. We went to Canada, UK, Spain, Germany and USA for expos for ‘Visitoz’ during the year and we are just about to embark on another trip, this time to Edinburgh followed by Canada and Europe. Each school holidays I take the family to the theatre in Brisbane - 3 hours drive away - and we have seen Mamma Mia, South Pacific, Aladdin and the Merry Widow in the last 8 months. The next trip will be all the way to Melbourne in November to go to an Andre Rieu concert which will be held at the Rod Laver Arena. I am still working full time in the tourism business, Australian Working Adventures; I don't think I would know what to do if I retired so it is easier not to. Anyone coming down to Australia for a holiday is most welcome to come to see us. We are only 3 hours from Brisbane and two hours from the coast at Fraser Island. I have acquired another step grandchild - Misha - and she is just about to start her final A-level year at school in Salisbury. Granddaughter Lily is now also in her final year at school and plans to study Marine Biology. She and a friend came to spend a month with me last August and we spent the time touristing for them which involved lots of swimming and snorkelling and diving off the Queensland coast islands. We taught her to drive on the farm and she went home and took her test as soon as she was 17 and now has a bright yellow car in which to drive herself to school. Both Harriet and Hugo have moved up to High School this year and Eric the youngest has just had his 10th birthday, the eldest, Freddie, is now 25 and a Lt in the KRH. JO SHEPHEARD (Mrs Cumberlege): I am still here in East Knoyle - both my children and grandchildren are nearby so trying to be a good Granny. It is very lovely for me and I am getting quite knowledgeable about cricket! JUDITH STRONG (Mrs Lambkin): My health is fairly good and I have a healthy and happy family consisting of my three sons, Gareth, Berian and Trystan. Gareth is married to Adele and they have two daughters, Aimée (14) and Seren (12). They live in Leduc, Alberta, so not too far away from me. I live in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada and my email address is: [email protected]. I
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would be happy to see any old RS girls if you happen to be travelling this way. I play bridge on Monday afternoons at my local seniors' recreation centre and I play tenor saxophone in a seniors' band and we practise every Thursday morning at the same recreation centre. It's a good life and I am very lucky. My other two sons are not married. Berian lives in the same house as I do. He's upstairs and I'm downstairs in a basement suite. We can be happily separate from each other or connect for wonderful conversations whenever we want to! Trystan is living in northeast Edmonton with his girlfriend Trina and I see them from time to time. I am very lucky to be near my sons. Alan, my ex-husband, lives in Hinton, three hours east of Edmonton and I am pleased to say we are still friends and he sees our sons and families regularly. Canada has been, and continues to be, very good to us. RACHAEL SWORDER (Mrs Anderson): The past year has actually been fairly uneventful but no less busy. We have had very enjoyable holidays in Scotland, Norfolk and the Cotswolds, and spent time with old friends in Hampshire and Wiltshire. Less time than usual has been spent with our daughter in Surrey due to their very intrusive house extension work. This is now nearing completion having started last October. They remained living on site despite the cold winter, sometimes confined to two rooms with only residual heating. Our son-in-law and 10-year-old grandson often preferred to camp in the snow, though the two children took refuge with us for short stretches in school holidays. Our son, who returned to live with us eighteen months ago, is now in the process of buying a flat, so I shall have to get used to doing all the cooking again! GILLIAN TURNER (Mrs Tait): The only news is that we have moved to London, temporarily, until we can find somewhere easier to manage. Three of our four children and their families are here so it's wonderful being so close – the fourth is in Gloucestershire so we hope to find somewhere in between! The move was horrendous as we had accumulated so much 'rubbish' in 19 years! We still see Spot (Helen Hughes) & Johnny Landau from time to time and always enjoy their company. Sarah Murcott (Mrs Kenyon) was at their house for dinner and it was lovely seeing her too. MARGARET VANREENEN (Mrs Griffiths-Eyton): It has been another busy but very enjoyable year. One of the high points was the birth of my fourth grandchild, Matilda, in November 2017 to my son, David, and his wife, and she has proved to be a very easy-going and happy baby. I’m still playing lots of golf and bridge and have also been on several interesting holidays abroad. I see Anne Dening (Mrs Rowley) regularly at the Globe, which is always fun. My daughter, Caroline (Mrs Austin, Group 93), lives not far away, so I see her family fairly frequently, which is lovely. My two sisters, Elizabeth (Mrs Walker, Group 17) and Patricia (Group 17), and I are planning a trip to Baku in
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Azerbaijan in September 2018. It will be 100 years since our grandfather (Major BAJ Havelock) was killed there towards the end of WWI and we shall visit the memorial to him and others who were killed in the same battle. JANET WATKIN (Mrs Cooper): I do not have much news really since my husband died two years ago. Sadly, I have been fighting to save the sight in my left eye for a year, due to a detached retina. No luck though - I will just have to get used to only having one eye! I see Jane Mallinson (Mrs Moberly) and Anne Odling (Mrs Hughes) and keep promising Dinah Wood (Mrs Stocken) that we will meet soon! WENDY WILBERFORCE (Mrs Holland): I have absolutely nothing to relate except the usual family round, and the only RS contact I have had is with Rosslyn Skeen (Mrs O'Connor) – she is also very busy, and we managed a quick cup of coffee and catch up chat on Waterloo Station in between travels. Better than nothing, and maybe we will do better before the next newsletter. DINAH WOOD (Mrs Stocken): I haven’t much, I am afraid, that is newsworthy, although being alive as we move into the last quarter of a century of life is probably an achievement. Life continues on at a furious pace – mostly helping the children on their respective ARobson/Stockenbridge bridge holidays. I get to travel to lovely places and meet very interesting people, at least 2 recently with RS connections. During the Summer the garden and golf in France keep me from getting bored along with puzzles in Yorkshire during the Winter. I have just returned from a week's sailing down the Croatian coast, it was simply beautiful. JUDITH YEOMAN (Mrs Bullard): After one delay after another waiting for a total knee replacement under the NHS, I decided to use my ‘points’ with Benenden Health Care and go private – I had the op in early December 2017, a great success but now the other knee needs to be done!! I was allowed and able to visit Vietnam in March which was fascinating and I missed the worst of the snow we had in Devon. The family are well: Mike is just back from Kuwait and 'in one piece' thank goodness; he is now to be Military Secretary at Corps HQ, Andover – at least he and Fiona will be a bit nearer Devon. My brother and I have been invited to the 200th anniversary celebrations of our Dad's battalion the 3rd Rajputana Rifles in India in November which should be another event to remember! .
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The Royal School Association Online Archive To access the online archive visit:
theroyalschoolbatharchives.org.uk
The Royal School Online Archive contains numerous items including school photographs, the school registers, the school magazine, books and other informative articles from the archive.
Audio and video archives are playable from within the online archive.
Various documents and photographs will be added to the online archive on a regular basis.
The search facility within the archive provides the user with the option of entering a specific search query or using the built-in functions provided. Results are displayed as tabular format or thumbnails which can be selected to view the original document or photograph image.
The system uses a browse screen function to enable the user to navigate through the archive, once logged into the archive the main ‘Browse’ screen will appear. From this screen select the required section of the archive.
Easy to use navigation buttons allow you to quickly switch between the screens and clicking on the different thumbnails opens the next screen.
Photographs are available located within separate archives and are viewed as individual photographs in chronological order.
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A ‘Search All’ function is included, entering search criteria, will search across the whole archive and return all results in a tabular format which lists which part of the archive the file is located. The result can be opened direct from the search.
School Magazines are stored by Decades and Years to help locate specific issues. Each issue is bookmarked to help locate articles efficiently, and each article is extracted to enable search results to return specific articles and pages.
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Group 17 - dates of entry 1956-1960 Group 17 editor: Mrs Julia Clough (BARTHOLOMEW)
JULIA BARTHOLOMEW (Mrs Clough): January saw us travel to St Helena from Cape Town – for the third time – on the very last trip of the Royal Mail Ship. It was a very emotional 3 weeks. We had to stay on the island for ten days whilst the ship went off and did other things, before returning to Cape Town on board. There were celebrations, commiserations and general jollifications – parades, bands, speeches, banners, streamers, church services – you name it, it happened. St Helena now has a small airport so has no need of the RMS although it has a smaller ship to deliver food and mail to the island. Passengers can fly in if you're very brave – the approach is horrific – the rescue boats go out just in case! In Cape Town we saw LIZZIE ROUTLEDGE (Mrs O'Hanlon) for a brief lunch which was lovely. She is well. We went to France in May, in June when we stayed with SUSIE MCNEIL (Mrs Roberts) and again in August. I have news that ANNA BROUNLIE (Mrs Watts) married Peter Watts earlier in the year and is now living in Salcombe. We are in the process of clearing out 43 years’ worth of 'stuff' from our house as we hope to move, just ten minutes away, in September – it is amazing what one hangs on to! Our daughter will move in here with her family so it will be lovely to have them all so close. INGRID DAVIDSON-HOUSTON (Mrs Offer): Much of my news seems to be about engagements and weddings! Our eldest son James, aged 44, has got engaged to a lovely Dutch girl! We are thrilled, and the wedding will be in June 2019. At the end of July we took the ‘children’ and 4 grandchildren down to Cornwall as usual. At the end of August we went to a lovely wedding in Burgundy – the church service was in Nuits St. George and the reception in a chateau in the middle of vineyards. We have just returned from a wedding in Connecticut followed by a few days in New York, where we visited several museums and art galleries, walked the High Line and went to the opera. It was cold but the skies were blue and the sun shone. In the spring we bought a new flat in London, on the river by Hammersmith Bridge. We moved in just in time to be able to watch the Oxford and Cambridge boat race! I’ve seen CAROL REDWOOD-DAVIS (Mrs Jenssen) who always comes, bless her, to house-sit and look after Tabitha. And JANE OLNEY (Mrs Ridgway) has recently moved into our village! ALISON NEILL (Mrs Ward): I live in Wilton just outside Salisbury which has been “on the map” a great deal this year! I often see MONICA LEWIN (Mrs Mundy) and have an annual class get together. I will get my two daughters,
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CLARE WARD (Mrs Winters, Group 92) who was Head Girl and SARAH WARD (Group 95), to become RSA members! I have just joined the RSA committee as Hon. Secretary and it has been interesting to hear all the inside news. SHEILA PUSINELLI (Mrs Evered): I’m writing this from South Africa where we are celebrating a friend’s 70th with a week of festivities and having a very good time! We spent the summer moving house which we hope is for the last time! We now live in Mortimer in West Berkshire, only a few miles from MARGARET VANREENEN (Mrs Griffiths-Eyton, Group 16), whom I see occasionally. We frequently go up to London for theatres, singing, exhibitions, meals with friends, etc. I continue to produce the monthly village newsletter, as well as trying to keep the ageing process at bay by playing tennis, bridge and walking. ELIZABETH (Elle) VANREENEN (Mrs Walker): Ellie Vanreenen continues her enjoyable gardening and sailing life with husband, Martin. The garden had the same challenges with weather that we all had, but it put on a good show in July and August. Our sailing in the Spring and Autumn in the Med prolongs our enjoyment of the summer weather. I joined my sisters, MARGARET (Mrs Griffiths-Eyton, Group 16) and PATRICIA, to visit the Baku Memorial to our grandfather, a hundred years after his death. Major Beresford Havelock was killed in Baku, Azerbaijan, on 14th September 1918, aged 28. He was the grandson of General Sir Henry Havelock. Baku was an interesting and sophisticated city with its wealth coming from huge oil resources. PATRICIA VANREENEN: I went to Azerbaijan with my 2 sisters to pay our respects at the memorial to our grandfather, Major B A J Havelock (the grandson of General Sir Henry Havelock of Indian Mutiny [and RS Havelock House!] fame), who was killed in the Battle of Baku (see Wikipedia for info) on 14th Sept 1918 – 100 years to the day that we visited. The memorial stands within enormous memorial gardens, on a hillside looking over Baku city, beautifully laid out with rows and rows (thousands) of memorials/graves to Azerbaijani soldiers from the wars of 1914-18, 1941-45 and 1991-94 (when Azerbaijan gained independence from the USSR). The British memorial is well maintained and stands in a quiet side square. It was a wonderful visit, and the rest of our time in Azerbaijan was fascinating - a lovely cheerful friendly people and spectacular (and clean!) country. Then in November, I had the chance to go to the Falklands, and had a great trip (in spite of the 18-hour flights), seeing huge penguin colonies, lots of other birds – and a few of the 30,000 sheep (it was lambing season, so there may be more than that now!). Also, of course, many memorials to the 1982 Falklands War. Otherwise my life has been its usual hectic self and I keep wondering when it will slow down...
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Group 18 - dates of entry 1961-1965 Group 18 editor: Mrs Gillian Capps (PLANT)
A group of us met at the School on 28th July this year where we were given an excellent tour of all parts of the school. Much had changed of course; the general opinion was that the students have a much more comfortable time than we did! We then moved to the Hare and Hounds on Lansdown for a very noisy and enjoyable lunch. We had met there five years earlier to celebrate our 60th birthdays. This time it was lovely to have found some more Old Girls to join us; VERITY STIFF (back from living abroad for many years working with charities), SALLY HATTON (Mrs Kelly) and SUSAN BOULTER (Mrs Muir). The other Old Girls who were able to be there were: CELIA BIRRELL (Mrs Palmer), CATHERINE DE BRETT, ANN COCKS (Mrs Stanier), PENNY DAVEY (Mrs Dupre), JANE KALBRAIR (Mrs Woods), ELIZABETH KENWRICK-COX (Mrs Kenwrick-Piercy), JENNY LEASK, GABRIELLE MUIR (Mrs Preedy), GILLIAN PLANT (Mrs Capps), SUSAN RASMUSSEN, ALICE MACNAB (Mrs Rugheimer) and CAREY TURNER (Mrs Kenning). PENNY DAVEY (Mrs Dupre) who runs a catering company in London made us a wonderful celebration cake. GILLIAN PLANT (Mrs Capps) is still living on Exmoor. She had a major knee injury in February and has only just returned to cycling with the Minehead Cycling Club. Gill continues to enjoy making patchwork quilts and plans to return to teaching yoga in September.
Group 19 - dates of entry 1966-1970 Group 19 editor: Jo Vening (EUSTACE)
Group 21 - dates of entry 1976-1977 Group 21 editor: Vacant (any volunteers contact the Editor)
If you are a member of this group and you want to send in some news, please send it direct to [email protected]
Group 20 - dates of entry 1971-1975 Group 20 editor: Mrs Arabella Budgett (LETHBRIDGE)
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Group 83 Group 83 editor: Mrs Fiona McLuckie (MACPHERSON)
Group 84 Group 84 editor: Vacant (any volunteers contact the Editor)
If you are a member of this group and you want to send in some news, please send it direct to [email protected]
Group 85 Group 85 editor: Vacant (any volunteers contact the Editor)
If you are a member of this group and you want to send in some news, please send it direct to [email protected]
Group 86 Group 86 editor: Vacant (any volunteers contact the Editor)
If you are a member of this group and you want to send in some news, please send it direct to [email protected]
Group 87 Group 87 editor: Mrs Anne-Marie Lorenzo (RUSSELL)
Group 88 Group 88 editor: Miss Rohaise Des Voeux
Group 89 Group 89 editor: Mrs Clare Horne (FORESTIER-WALKER)
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JESSICA SMALLWOOD (Mrs Penney) is currently living in Berkshire. She is married and has two children: Alexander born in February 2006; and Isabella born in May 2009. Jessica reports that she was married in Bath in 2002 and has just celebrated her 16th wedding anniversary. She runs an event management company called Pharos Events, which is very rewarding.
Group 90 Group 90 editor: Mrs Emma Johnson (WALKER)
email: [email protected]
At the time of writing all the leavers of 1990 were busy and well. Our lives are filled with a combination of work, children (ranging from primary school to university leavers), various pets and generally keeping it all together. We live spread across the globe and are grateful for the internet which keeps us connected!
Group 91 Group 91 editor: Mrs Lucy Beale (CONNELL)
Group 92 Group 92 editor: Mrs Jessica Penney (SMALLWOOD)
Group 93 Group 93 editor: Mrs Carys Giles (SMITH)
JOANNA BATY (Mrs Cherry): My sister, Rebecca (Mrs Harris Group 90) recently caught up with some of the girls from her year and had a blast. I have been leading an impossibly glamorous life of yachting and champagne and enormous personal growth - nope, wait it’s been all housewifery and brain atrophy. I’m still living in Sussex: Fox is 8 and hilarious; our house extension is finally finished; the dog is fairly well behaved now; and the cat keeps me busy.
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JO COWIE (Mrs Dawson): I have spent the year mostly working on taming the garden, clearing brambles, digging veg plots, planting anything - hoping it will grow, and while it is still a work in progress, parts of it are at least habitable! A perfect summer to “staycation” interspersed with the odd treat: catching up with Polly, Claire, Cali, Struds, Carys, Ying, and Karen. SARAH CRUSE: I’m living in the New Forest with Jacob aged 5 and Oliver, 7; two super crazy boys! I adopted a rescue dog and cat last year and have just added another dog to the mix - also crazy! I started a new job a couple of months ago as a specialist nurse at Bournemouth hospital. Someone has pressed fast forward on my life but otherwise all is well. CAROLINE GRIFFITHS-EYTON (Mrs Austin): We are still living near Newbury and I work in the local primary school as a secretary. Tate is nearly 11 and Tom nearly 9 and I feel like their taxi driver/chef/washerwoman, but I wouldn’t change it for the world! Ed and I recently celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary, looking back at the wedding photos makes me realise how much I’ve aged! [this is rubbish, she looks just the same!! – from her aunt Patricia]. I went back to the RS this summer and saw Mrs Floyd; the school looked fab and they were so welcoming. Happy memories! HANNAH JONES (Mrs Freeth): I am still living in Slaughter Ford, my boys are 15 and 12 Henry is at King Edwards School and started GCSEs this September, and Max is loving Stonar! They take boys now, and he’s loving it. We are farming cattle and crops at Slaughter Ford and have a robotic dairy unit at Corrington. Still practising being a hapless farmer’s wife and am nearing perfection! I have a mini livery, a holiday let and a little part time job, so life is feeling quite busy! I am also quite involved with the boys’ activities: pony club and rugby! POLLY OSBORN (Mrs Baynham-Hughes): Nothing new to report here. I continue with NCT. The kids are happy in school with my middle child moving up to secondary. Recently, the dog had surgery which involved a lot of physio including using a wobble board and a Pilates ball – more than I do for myself! My husband Gareth has started making cheese! During the year I have had: a lovely Sunday lunch with Jo Cowie (Mrs Dawson); a tipsy night away with Claire Chippendale (Hoots) during which we attempted to sort our lives out; and bumped into Antonia Pearson (Mrs Beck) buying ice creams in Cornwall which was a real treat. ANTONIA PEARSON (Mrs Beck): I am still working as a farm secretary and on the ongoing project that is our house. I am now the proud owner of a teenager
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(how did I get this old?!?) and my youngest is about to turn 10. I had a lovely few days in Cornwall this summer with Hannah Jones (Mrs Freeth) and Celia Murray. MATHILDA SENIOR (Mrs Fraser): Sebastian has just turned 1, Molly is 3 and Hector the dog is 2. I am living in Gloucestershire, working from home, life is nonstop but great. Simon is spending more time here and it is great to see my husband more than twice a week, a change from previous years! CLAUDIA SERRANO: I would love to go back to the Royal School to show my children where I spent my first adventure of life, and it would be great to meet everyone again. I must make plans! CARYS SMITH (Mrs Giles): We are in now in our third year in Mallorca and it feels more like home. We still have a lot to do on the house, but it is a joy to be out of the city and to see the stars at night. Magnus will be 9 any day and Margot not long after will turn 7. I see them becoming increasingly independent and those baby years feel far behind me now. We continue to spend most school holidays with my parents in Corsham who have infinite patience with their 3 daughters’ invasions! Our annual camping trip with the usual RS girls was marked by some amazing weather and a surprise visit from Jo Cowie (Mrs Dawson) which was wonderful. Those girls’ lunches are truly special and never happen enough. This year Ellie Janovitz visited us over here which was a lot of fun and we managed to chat for 3 days nonstop! Best wishes and love to all. REBECCA WEALE: I have just bought a new business with my soon-to-be fiancé ... a healthy meal prep service in the heart of Bath, so I’m really enjoying a new project! It feels odd being a boss! My daughter Olivia is in her final year at school hoping to study fashion in London and my son James is loving life at college doing an international business diploma. YING YING WONG: We have just survived the strongest storm of the year here in Hong Kong, it was truly scary. We live on the 21st floor in an area half-way up Victoria Peak and I felt my building move! We visited England this summer with my sister Wing and her family. My 78-year-old Mum also joined us and we took her to Bath to see the RS for the first time! She has always wanted to see the place and was so glad to finally make it. I enjoyed catching up with Emi, Jo C, Karen and Sam.
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DANNY AUBREE (Mrs Mercer) is still happily enjoying living in Bath with her husband Edward, son Nico (7) and daughter Tiggy (4). With Tiggy starting school in September, Danny is looking forward to going back to work as a freelance copywriter and proof-reader. Although after nearly eight years as a full-time mum this is a nerve-racking step! LIZ AUTY (Mrs Wale) is living with her husband, Paul, and Dylan (aged 6), near Ipswich. Liz is busy with work which involves lots of travel all over the world. They are also sneaking in as many holidays as possible! CAROL BEAUMONT is doing much of the same; children’s physiotherapy, skydiving and travelling. She had a fabulous New Year back in Namibia seeing friends and jumping over the sand dunes and Atlantic Coast. In mid-March she
Group 94 Group 94 editor: Miss Louise French
Group 97 Group 97 editor: Miss Anna Bray
Group 96 Group 96 editor: Miss Antonia Maybury
Group 95 Group 95 editor: Miss Suzanne Ensom
Group 98 Group 98 editor: Mrs Jane Clarke (YEWDALL)
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backpacked around Colombia for a month, including trekking to The Lost City and up to the glacier on the Volcano Santa Isabel. 4-way team training is now in full swing along with wing suiting after a week’s break in Berlin with her family. EMILY DARKE (Mrs Mackenzie) is excitedly awaiting the arrival of baby number 5! A brother for Jack would be the icing on the cake! Amelie, Jack and Polly are loving school in Bath and Libby loves seeing her brother and sisters in the playground when she is at the nursery of the same school. Ed and Emily are very much enjoying their growing family, never a dull moment and in fact by day the house is becoming far too quiet, hence the new addition! Although this baby is the 5th, it will be the final and then Emily will have to find something else she loves doing just as much in the future. ALEXA ENSOM says that September 2018 will forever be a memorable one for her and the girls in their family with the youngest starting at school and their eldest moving up to secondary (how did that happen?!). Large supplies of tissues and gin are needed! Alexa is still running her own therapy practice and loves the huge variety of people she gets to meet and work with. ANNA GRUNDY (Mrs Lloyd) is still living in a little village called Crondall in Hampshire with husband, Jake, daughter, Rosie (aged 4), and a crazy Irish Terrier called Hattie. Balancing work at Waitrose (where Anna has just started a new job as Head of Commercial Management) and being half decent parents is about to get a whole lot harder with Rosie starting school in September! 2018 has been a tough year for Anna and her family as sadly her Step-Father died very suddenly at the end of April so they are spending a lot of time with her Mum down at her place near West Wittering - luckily the sea is certainly good for the soul. REBECCA HORTON is living in London and working on a busy oncology unit. She is still loving what she does, even with the long hours. LOUISE MURPHY is living in Bath with her partner, Martyn. They welcomed their little girl, Amelia, into the world in March and Louise is loving being a mum. She will return to working for her family’s property development business sometime next year. LUCY POTTER (Mrs Boon) is living in Woodstock, Oxfordshire. She is about to enter the world of packing boxes, removal vans, builders and DIY as they move home in a few days with her husband and two children Martha (aged 5) and Barnaby (aged 4). They are loving the excitement (ie stress)! HANNAH SHARP recently moved to Frome with Josh and Indy and has been
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enjoying the change of scene. They are also expecting a second baby in January so are looking forward to making the most of maternity leave getting to know their new neighbourhood. BEVERLEY SLOMAN (Mrs Wilson) is still living in London with her husband, Matt. They are hoping to move to a bigger place somewhere around London but have struggled to sell their flat since Brexit negotiations started! Bev is still enjoying working for Endemol Shine and studying nutrition on the side. Bev and Matt dream of getting a dog one day when they finally move out of London. CATHERINE STREATFEILD (Mrs Bugler) is as busy as always living on the family dairy farm in West Dorset, chasing after Sam (6), Edith (4) and Jude (2). Cat manages the farm’s holiday cottages and helps with the farm’s admin. HANNAH WATERHOUSE is living in West London with her husband, Antoine, and their daughter, Charlotte, who has just finished her first year at Primary School. Hannah is still working for a travel company, managing to travel out to Latin America with work about once a year, Mexico is up next! TAMARA WILLIAMS has welcomed two new family members this year: Connie the collie and Maia, her baby daughter. Juggling the needs of a frisbee-loving dog and an eight-week-old is keeping her fit! Tamara is still living in NW6 with Alec although, with Brexit and learning about local childcare shortages, New Zealand sounds appealing! JANE YEWDALL (Mrs Clarke) is delighted that Group 1998 will be having a reunion in Bath in November to celebrate 20 years since leaving the Royal School! I don’t think any of us can believe that all of that time has passed but I am sure that we will all love getting back together and sharing our news over the last two decades. Life with Jane remains very similar to previous updates, 3 lovely (yet noisy!) boys, one husband, a dog, two hamsters and soon to be getting a cat. It’s certainly busy!
Group 99 Group 99 editor: Mrs Emma Saunders (CARSTAIRS)
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Date: _____________________________________________________ Bank Name & Branch: ___________________________________________ Bank Address & Postcode: ______________________________________ Your Account Number: ___________________________________________ Your Sort Code: ________________________________________________
Please pay £5.00 to the Royal School Association:
Bank: Lloyds Bank, 75 Castle St, Farnham, Surrey GU9 7LT Account: 01135280 Sort Code: 30-93-20 On the first day of April each year until further notice, in payment of my annual subscription to the Royal School Association. Signature: _____________________________________________________ Full Name (Please print): ______________________________________ Group Number and Maiden Name: _________________________________ Email address: ________________________________________________ Address: ____________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ____________________________ Post Code: _____________________
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Surname: _____________________________ nee: ______________________ Forenames: ______________________________________ Group No: ______ Change of Permanent Address (and UK address for Overseas Members) New Address: ____________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________ Postcode: ____________________ e-mail: __________________________________________________________ Announcements
• MARRIAGE Husband’s Full Name: ___________________________________________ Date of Wedding: _______________________________________________
• BIRTH Date: _______________________________________________________
To: _________________________________ nee: ____________________ and: _____________________________ a son/daughter
Child’s name: _________________________________________________
• DEATH Name of RSA member: ____________________________ Group No: _____ Date of death: _________________________________________________
Return completed form to: Carys Giles: email [email protected]
Change of Details/Announcements Form
I CONSENT TO RECEIVING INFORMATION, INVITATIONS AND NEWSLETTERS VIA EMAIL
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Description Page
RSA contact details 1
Editor’s Report 3
Chairman’s Report 4
Registrar’s Report 8
Treasurer’s Report 8
RSA Notices 10
Royal High School Report 12
AGM 2018 Minutes 14
RSA Awards 22
Submissions for Newsletter 2019 23
Births, Marriages and Deaths 24
Member Contributions 25
RSA Archive Website 39
Forms:
RSA subscription form Change of details/announcements
50 51
Group Editor Page
12 13 14 15 16(A-F) 16(G-K) 16(L-R) 16(S-Z) 17 18 19 20 21 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99
Mrs M Truell Mrs M Truell - VACANT Mrs J Allday Mrs J Holmes Mrs S Lawley Mrs J Holmes Mrs M Griffiths-Eyton Mrs J Clough Mrs G Capps Mrs J Vening Mrs A Budgett - VACANT Mrs F McLuckie - VACANT - VACANT - VACANT Mrs A Lorenzo Miss R Des Voeux Mrs C Horne Mrs E Johnson Mrs L Beale Mrs J Penney Mrs C Giles Miss L French Miss S Ensom Miss A Maybury Miss A Bray Mrs J Clarke Mrs E Saunders
25 25 28 28 30 32 33 36 40 42 42 42 42 43 43 43 43 43 43 43 44 44 44 44 47 47 47 47 47 49
Index