Old Herefordian...

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O l D H e R e F O R D i a n s ’ C l u b n e w s l e t t e R 2 0 1 5O l D H e R e F O R D i a n s ’ C l u b n e w s l e t t e R 2 0 1 5

Look forward, Look back, Remember andDream. Never has an aspiration seemed moreappropriate to the work we do supporting the OHClub and the School than in this last year.We have looked forward with excitement and

celebrated outstanding successes, especiallymusically, with wins at national level for our JuniorSchool Choir and Cantabile Girls’ Choir. The Schoolhas also received a commendation in the EducationBusiness Awards for its music provision for our pupilsand across Herefordshire.We have looked back and remembered former

pupils’ contributions to the Military through thededication of a memorial plaque in Ypres, a tree infront of No.1 and the OH Club has purchased 70poppies from the Tower of London (one for each ofour fallen in WW1) as a permanent commemoration.We have continued our history project based onthose who served in WW1 and have shared elementsof it with the county. Pupils have been enlightenedwith visits from OH relating their memories of theSchool, and with stories and treasured personalpossessions shared with us by relatives of OH whoserved in WW1.In reunions, OH have remembered their time at

school or, as in the case of the Nepal Trekkers’Reunion, journeys made. Young OH are building theirmemories and experiences with financial help fromthe Evolva Award and the OH Travel Award.Our archives have always been a rich source of

information and memories and for many years theOH Club has been keen to make them availableonline. This has now been achieved and they will beavailable from September via the OH website.As we move into the next academic year, we

can look forward to a variety of events starting withthe OH Regatta, drinks after Evensong at St Paul’sCathedral, carol services; OHiL events at lunches,drinks and dinners; Remembrance and OH reunionsfor leavers of many generations throughout the year.In school events, conferences and workshops, OHand their families continue to support us and sharethe benefit of their achievements, insights, journeys,careers advice and much more.More than anything we Dream and continue to

work to find resources to fund the opportunities andfacilities we would like to provide for our pupils andthe bursary provision we would like to build.Claire Morgan-JonesDevelopment Director

President’s Report 2015

As in previous years 2015 has been another busyyear for the Club with a number of OH reunions,Marches 7s, the Old Herefordians in LondonAnnual Dinner, this year held at the East IndiaClub, as well as their regular spring and autumnlunches, and the OH Regatta in September.During 2015 the OH Club has invested funds to

purchase the services of a professional archivespecialist to copy and digitalise much of our historicarchive material. By the time you receive this edition ofthe Old Herefordians’ Newsletter, it is hoped that thematerial will be available via the OH website. As youwill read in the report from the Development Office,the OH Club has also purchased 70 poppies from the2014 display at the Tower of London (one for each ofour fallen in WW1), with the aim to create a permanentmemorial to our fallen from the First World War. OH Day this year will be held on Saturday 5

December 2015 – the AGM will be held in the morningand you are invited to join us for lunch in the schooldining hall following the AGM, or the informal mealheld at the Castle House hotel in the evening. Fulldetails of how to book your place are included in theNewsletter. Once again, I would like to pass on my sincere thanks

to the team in the Development Office for theircontinued hard work, OH Editor Clare Adamson for awonderful OH magazine and my fellow members ofthe OH Committee for their continued commitment tothe OH Club.Gill RiversPresident, Old Herefordians’ Club

From the Development Office:

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O H n e w s

OH MP

Youngest Mayor

Michael Tomlinson (OH 1991-96) was elected asConservative MP for Mid-Dorset and North Poole in the2015 General Election. The seat was previously held bythe Liberal Democrats with a 269 majority; Michael wasreturned with a majority of 10,530.

Michael’s father, Howard (retired HCS Headmaster),reports on the event:

‘Knocking-Up’ in Mid-Dorset and North PooleWe were warned that parents make the worst

canvassers. That wasn’t quite our experience whencanvassing for Michael in the days before the MayGeneral Election. Sure, doors were slammed in ourfaces and we received our fair measure of verbal non-compliance, as might be expected from a constituencythat had returned a Lib-Dem candidate in the previousthree Elections. Comments such as: “I wouldn’t voteTory if it was my last dying breath”; “It’s meant to be asecret ballot isn’t it?”; and ‘I’m fed up with beingcanvassed’ were only to be expected. And even: “Don’tgive me one of those!” [a ‘Vote for Michael’ leaflet]; “Idon’t believe in it” [the system presumably, not theparty] was not such a surprise from a tattooed, ear-ringed, black-clad potential voter smoking a roll-up;although “Do you think that I am going to vote for theSodomite party?” certainly was.But there were positive comments as well. Such

observations from a shire-Tory in Bere Regis: “If mygrand-daughter votes Lib-Dem, she will be the firstmember of my family not to have voted Conservative in200 years”; and another from a (presumed) well-wisher:“Whenever my husband and I see Michael’s posters,we think he should still be in short trousers – blesshim!”, might both be interpreted as signs of approval.We could also draw some comfort from the manyundecided voters we encountered in the Lib-Demwards where we were largely based.And then there were the moments which made our

days: the unexpected canvassing of my former Latinteacher and scoutmaster, whom I had not seen foralmost fifty years, and who said that after being at one

On 21 May 2015,Sebastian Field (OH1 9 9 3 - 2 0 0 0 ) w a selected the 535thMayor of Gloucester.In attendance at hisMayor-making weref o r m e r H C S s t a f fHoward and HeatherTomlinson and EgeParker. Sebastian said:“It’s a huge honour tobecome Mayor ofGloucester in such awonderful year for ourcity. We have the Tall

Ships Festival, the Gloucester History Festival, andthe small matter of the Rugby World Cup, wheresome matches are being hosted at KingsholmStadium in Gloucester”.Sebastian is the youngest Mayor of Gloucester in at

least 300 years, and is already making an impressionas a friendly and energetic Mayor. With his wife Vicki,he is attending lots of different events acrossGloucester. He has chosen The SuperheroFoundation as his charity, which is run by local heroJamie McDonald and his cousin Kev Brady. Both mencompleted superhuman physical challenges to raise

of the hustings, he was going to vote for Michaelbecause he thought that he would make the betterimpression in the Commons; meeting up again withJames and Peter Rowat OHs, who both assured methat they had voted the right way; and trying - alasunsuccessfully - to catch the lady’s (possibly Tory butcertainly Christian) rabbit which had escaped from itshutch.Not that it appeared to us that the result was in the

bag. Indeed, with typical caution, Michael kept hisparents ‘knocking-up’ (bringing out your core vote) untilhalf-an-hour before the polls closed on election day, inthe expectation that there might be only a handful ofvotes in it either way. I was more confident, not leastwhen a UKIP teller in the polling station opposite toldme that he was voting tactically for Michael to keep outthe Lib-Dem candidate. But even then I was notprepared - at least not until I saw the votes piling up atthe Count in the early hours of 8 May - for the land-slidewhich followed: victory for Michael by a majority of10,530; a total vote of 23,639, which translated as over50% of the votes cast; and the election of the first OldHerefordian MP (it is believed) since Sir William Gregorywas returned for Hereford in the Convention Parliamentof 1689.Howard Tomlinson

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tens of thousands for charity. Sebastian hopes to doa sponsored run between all the churches andplaces of worship in Gloucester during his year. Hewill also be undertaking other physical challengesand placing an emphasis on healthy living. He willalso keep singing countertenor in GloucesterCathedral Choir as he has done for ten years, andwill be continuing his career as a singer and singingteacher, being referred to locally as ‘the singingMayor’!Sebastian paid tribute to his friend Ed Tomlinson

during his acceptance speech, and made referenceto how Ed was and is an example to us all and a spurto action. He was delighted that Howard andHeather, Ed’s parents, were able to be with him tosee him become Mayor.Sebastian has been a city councillor for Kingsholm

and Wotton in Gloucester for eight years, and will beMayor until May 2016. During this time he will attendmany hundreds of events and meet thousands ofpeople. He said “my education at Hereford CathedralSchool has I’m sure helped me not only during myelection campaigns and work as a councillor but willstand me in good stead during this busy year asMayor”. Sebastian returned to Hereford ‘in state’ forthe opening service of the Hereford Three ChoirsFestival 2015; he was led in the procession by hisSword Bearer and Mace Bearers, and accompaniedby his Lady Mayoress Vicki and the Sheriff andDeputy Mayor of Gloucester Jim Beeley.

Any OH who would like to make a donation toSebastian’s charity should send a cheque payable toGloucester City Council Civic Charities to The Mayor’sParlour, Herbert Warehouse, Gloucester Docks, GL12EQ. Any queries can be emailed [email protected].

Three Choirs procession in Hereford

Yachts at Cowes by Phillip Wilson Steer

auctioned at Christie’s

the Flame Returned

A Victorian oil painting by an Old Herefordian wasauctioned to an anonymous buyer for £314,500 atChristie’s in June, making it the second mostvaluable painting by the artist.Yachts at Cowes was painted by Philip Wilson Steer

OM RA (OH 1875-77), in 1892. Queen Victoria movedher summer court to the Isle of Wight and yachtracing at Cowes became one of the principal eventsin the 19th Century social calendar. Steer enjoyedobserving holiday-makers watching the off-shoreexcitement of the annual yacht racing. It is thoughtthis costal scene was a personal favourite of theartist, which he kept in his own collection for fortyyears.Steer, whose childhood home was in Whitchurch,

Herefordshire, was a leading painter of theImpressionism movement in Britain. In 1931, Steerreceived the Order of Merit, a special honour limitedto twenty-four living individuals and awarded forexceptional achievement in the fields of the arts,learning, literature and science. Steer died in 1942.

A former schoolboy may have had his consciencepricked after ‘a dare’ as long ago as 1955. He hasrecently returned a small oak carving, which mayhave been used as a staircase decoration, to theCathedral School. Nicknamed ‘The Flame’ by school staff, the item

had long since been forgotten. It was returned alongwith an anonymous letter explaining that the itemhad been unearthed during a recent house move.Headteacher, Paul Smith, said all he knew of the

mystery prankster, who was now likely to be in theirmid-70s, was their gender: “It must have been a boy

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as it was a boys-only school then,”he said. “It was quite a surprise toreceive it.” The parcel, addressedto the ‘Headmaster’, had aHereford postmark but no otherclues. The accompanying noteincluded an apology: “Dear Sir or Madam. I return

this to Hereford CathedralSchool. It was taken as a ‘dare’about 55 to 60 years ago when

the darer was a pupil.“It is thought that it came from

either the top of an uprightsupporting the main staircase inthe Cathedral Junior School(Cathedral Preparatory School

then) or from somewhere near the honours boards inthe senior school.“It has been carefully looked after.“It has come to light recently as the result of a

house move. The darer apologises and hopes it canbe re-instated.”But Mr Smith said he thinks it is likely the carving

and accompanying letter will be framed and put inthe Alumni Room at the school. “It may be thatsomeone will read the letter and remember thedare”, he added.The school would like to reassure the darer and the

perpetrator of the dare that their prank has beenforgiven and if they would like to come forward wewould be very pleased to print the story of their jollyjapes in the next edition of the Old Herefordians’Newsletter.

wnO appointmentT h e W e l s h

Nat ional Operahas appoin tedAlexander Martin(OH 1981-1987) asChorus Master. Inhis debut season,starting in August2014, he workedw i t h W N O ’ sc r i t i c a l l yacclaimed Choruso n R o s s i n i ’ sWilliam Tell andMoses in Egypta n d B i z e t ’ s

Carmen. In spring 2015 Alexander conducted WNO’snew production of Chorus!Alexander was the guest speaker at the Hereford

Cathedral School Speech Day in July - see page 15.

back in the uKTimothy Noon (OH

1984-1991) has beenappointed Directorof Music at ExeterCathedral fromJanuary 2016. Exeterhas a choir of thirty-six girl and boychoristers and itsorgan has recentlybeen refurbished ata cost of £1 million.

Tim, whose wife is a New Zealander, is currently thedirector of music at Auckland Cathedral of the HolyTrinity.Tim began his musical career as a chorister at

Hereford Cathedral, before being appointed at theage of seventeen as Organ Scholar of CanterburyCathedral, and the following year he became OrganScholar at Christ Church, Oxford where he also readfor a degree in music. He returned to Canterbury asAssistant Organist, then becoming Organist andMaster of the Choristers of St David’s Cathedral inWales, moving then to be Director of Music at theMetropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King inLiverpool. As an organist, he is a frequent solo performer, and

has performed concerts in many prestigious venuesacross Europe. He is also an active composer andarranger and his various works have been publishedby the RSCM.

singing successFormer Hereford chorister and

King’s College choral scholar PatDunachie (OH 2005-2012) is amember of The Gesualdo Six,which has been appointed as StJohn’s Smith Square Young Artists2015/16.The ensemble, formed in 2014

for a performance of Gesualdo’sTenebrae Responsories for Maundy Thursday, ismade up of current and former members ofCambridge choirs. The vocal sextet, who specialisein the performance of renaissance music, had asuccessful summer concert tour and are nowrecording a CD.Pat, who graduated from Cambridge this summer

with a double-first music degree, sings alto and hasgained much experience singing with other choralgroups such as Ex Cathedra, Armonico Consort,Rodolfus Choir, and deputising with the choirs ofChrist Church Oxford, Merton College Oxford,

Phyllida Wilson (OH), has co-written A Woman’s Guide ToDivorce with friend MaxinePillinger. The authors haveused their own experiences ofdivorce as a basis to write thebook, which aims to guideother women going through thesame process.Phyllida has a degree in

French and Law and has workedfor a number of law firms as a

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Gloucester Cathedral and the Royal Military Chapel(Wellington Barracks), amongst others. He also editsand typesets early music, and his editions have beenused by performers including Carolyn Sampson,King’s College Choir, His Majesty’s Sackbutts andCornetts and Ex Cathedra.

Palace invitation

Mr Randy Langford (OH1936-43) was invited toBuckingham Palace for agarden party for his charitywork for St Michael’sHospice. He has beenraising money for thecharity for more thantwenty years and hasraised over £200,000.Randy is in frequent

contact with his old school: he is a regular at the OHannual Christmas lunch and has also been invited toHereford Cathedral Junior School. The children wereso enthralled with his visit that they made Randy a90th birthday card!

Guide to Divorce

Stranger Visitor Foreigner Guest is an intricate debutnovel by Elizabeth Porter (OH 1975-82), set inTanzania in both the nineteenth and twenty-firstcenturies.Elizabeth spent many years

living and working inTanzania. She was awardedan Arts Council of Walestravel bursary which enabledher to do further research inTanzania. Elizabeth also writesshort stories and was runner-up in Cinnamon’s recent shortstory competition. Shecurrently works for CardiffLibrary Service.ISBN: 9781909077645, £9.99.

Debut novel

Mrs Mary Lawrence, who has worked at HerefordCathedral School for more than forty years caring forstaff and pupils, and in particular the choristers, hasbeen awarded the Order of St Ethelbert fromHereford Cathedral.The new award recognises the dedication of those

who have given long and distinguished service to thecathedral. At Evensong on Sunday 18 October, MrsLawrence received a certificate and her medal. Marysaid the award was a wonderful surprise: “I reallyhaven’t done anything out of the ordinary. Lookingafter all the choristers and the pupils is all in a day’swork for me. I especially like them to pop in and seeme when they have left the school. It’s lovely to seehow they are getting along.”

Dedication to service

manager in development, marketing and clientrelationships. Currently she is working as aconsultant at a Gloucestershire university. She nowlives in Cirencester with her two teenage children. ISBN-13: 978-1845286095, £9.98.Visit www.womansguideto.com.

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Ghachok ReunionIn July 2015, via the auspices of

Helen Pearson (OH AlumniOfficer), HCS held a ‘TrekkingReunion’ for all those who hadbeen to Nepal since the first visit.The initial trip was organised by

Mike Moffatt in 1998, with theassistance of Lt. Col. Edward Marvin(OH) and Major Ramprasad Gurung.In recent years, Mrs Alex Campbellhas been co-ordinating theseannual treks for the HCS Sixth Formpupils. After the first trek, a smallcommittee was established whichcalled itself the Ghachok LinkCommittee (GLC) to oversee aspecific project. Eventually, it wasdecided that perhaps the projectcould be Shree Sharada School;located in Ghachok village. Over theyears the GLC has overseen manyimprovements for the school.At the reunion, our most notable

guests were Major Ram’ and Gyanuhis wife. We were joined by formerpupils and some parents, all ofwhom had previously trekked in

Nepal. It was a great afternoon,enabling everyone to catch up andswap trekking experiences andstories. Mike Moffatt and Major Ram’gave a short update on the recentearthquake in Nepal and the effect ithas had on everyday life out there.Sadly it has destroyed somevillages, roads and crucial farm land.Added to this, tourism for 2015 hasbeen dealt a severe blow, as manyof the planned treks for the seasonhave been cancelled.

At a recent GLC meeting it wasdecided to set up a NepalEarthquake Fund, to help those whoover the years had been involvedwith the HCS treks. The GLC wasaware that a number of the Sherpasand other Himalayan Envpro staffhad been severely affected andneeded some assistance. AlexCampbell suggested that she wouldspeak to the HCS Bursar to see ifunder the wing of HCS a relief fundcould be established. Somegenerous donations flowed in fromfriends, HCS parents and pupils andthe fund has grown steadily overrecent weeks.

In October 2015 both AlexCampbell and Mike Moffatt will bevisiting Nepal at their own expenseto see how best the collected fundscould be used to assist HCS’ friendsin Nepal. Should anyone wish tomake a donation, please makecheques payable to ‘HCS NepalEarthquake Fund’. If you wish tomake an anonymous donation that’sfine, otherwise your name will belisted amongst the other kinddonations received so far. At themoment the plan is to keep this fundopen-ended due to the havoccaused in Nepal. Towards the end of the year an

update on how, when and wherethe proceeds of the HCS NepalEarthquake fund are being spent willbe produced, hopefully with a fewphotographs of some of thebeneficiaries included.Mike Moffatt

Leavers of ’85& ’86 Reunion

Saturday 23 April 2016No.1 Castle Street, Hereford

from 2.00pm

Afternoon tea & school tour Partners welcome

For more information pleasecontact Sam Holloman,Sam Laing, Liz Davies or

Gill Rivers throughHelen Pearson on

[email protected]

OH ReuniOns

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Old Herefordians in London - Spring Luncheon 2015Soggetts on the terrace of DoggettsOn a very soggy day in May, people arrived

throughout the morning at our usual lunchtime venue,Doggett’s Coat & Badge beside the Thames, withsome having become quite drenched by the time theyreached the pub!In the end there were a total of 37 OHs present plus 5

visitors, including Claire Morgan-Jones (HCSDevelopment Director) and Helen Pearson (OH ClubAlumni O�cer). A good cross-section of OldHerefordians attended, spanning at least four HCSdecades. The most senior member present joined theCathedral School in 1944, whereas the youngest left in1980. Among the gathered company were severalgentlemen who left HCS for the last time in 1955, thislunch therefore became a kind of 60th anniversary forthem. Because of persistent rain, unfortunately we wereunable to make use of the external balcony overlookingthe river this time. The result was that it seemed rathercrowded inside the Terrace Bar but it certainly did notdampen the collective spirit! Peter Fairman-Bourn

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OLD HEREFORDIANS’ CLUBLet us know about important events inyour life and career and make sure youcontact the school Development O�cewhen you change your address.

Development O�ce: 01432 363566Email: [email protected]

It’s a great way to keep intouch with your contemporaries!

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Now & ThenMeeting up at the OHiL Spring

Luncheon were two old schoolfriends, both from SchoolHouse, Dr David B Roberts (PhD)and Dr Brian C Jones (MD).David writes: “I can date [the

photo] to Michaelmas Term 1949,as that was the only term I woreshort trousers. Despite clothingbeing rationed I persuaded myparents to let me have longtrousers for my second andsubsequent terms.”

Where are they Now?

David and Brian outside the cathedral. David Roberts on the left, Brian Jones on the right, May 2015.

OHiL Events 2016OH Annual London Dinner*

Thursday 28 April6.30 for 7.00pm

East India Club, St James’s Square, SW1

Annual Spring LuncheonThursday 19 May

11.00am onwardsTerrace Bar

Doggets Coat & Badge, Blackfriars Bridge, SE1

Autumn LuncheonThursday 20 October

Thomas Doggett BarDoggets Coat & Badge, Blackfriars Bridge, SE1

All OHs from any era welcome to attend any event.To reserve a place, please contact

Peter Fairman-Bourn [email protected]

Visit our website to find out even more informationabout OHiL: www.ohil.org.uk.

*The Annual London Dinner is organised by the OH Club:[email protected] for details.

Peter Fairman-Bourn, OH inLondon, is hoping to makecontact with the following OHs:

Anthony J Parry 55-60Michael B Palfrey 53-60Peter W Gillespie 53-60Keith Floyd 50-56Barry D Pugh 52-60

Please contact Peter if you haveany information: Peter Fairman-Bourn [email protected].

S I X T Y Y E A R S A G O

To those of you who left HCSfor the final time in 1956,

why not celebrate the sixtieth anniversary of becoming an

Old Herefordian?

We shall be delighted to welcome you to one (or both) of

our OHiL lunchtime meetings beside the Thames in 2016.

For dates and details seethe OHiL Events

or contactPeter Fairman-Bourn -

[email protected]

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O H s P O R t

RugbyThe annual fixture between the school 1st XV and

the old boys was played on a crisp December dayat Wyeside.A large crowd assembled to watch a very competitive

game played in an excellent spirit. The first twentyminutes produced plenty of action but no points; justbefore half-time Ben Butler cut inside his oppositenumber to score a well-worked try, Tom Porter addedthe conversion to make the score 7-0 to the school athalf-time.

FootballThe annual Old Herefordians’ Day even saw the

return of football!The event provided an entertaining fixture for the

crowd as Hereford Cathedral School raced into a 3-0lead shortly before half-time. The Old Herefordians,however, forced their way back into the game due tosome inspired substitutions and the score was levelled

HockeyThe annual hockey fixture between the mixed

senior school team and the Old Herefordians wasplayed at Hereford Leisure Centre with a goodcrowd of spectators watching.

Molly Collins scored the first goal from a short cornerroutine to put the school ahead. Excellent midfield playby OH Adam Hewlett helped the Old Herefordians toscore two goals and OH goal keeper George Lossockkept the score line close. In the end two goals fromAlice Bunting lead to a well-deserved 3-2 victory to thesenior school team. Well done to all players.Pippa Blandford

The second half started with a try in the corner for theOH team −James Lewis diving over after a break fromRob Campbell. The school responded with some theOH defence from the half-way line, 12-5. The gameincreased in pace and the school missed one or twochances before Ben Butler picked up a stray OH passto score his second try of the game, 17-5. The OHresponded quickly and worked hard with someaggressive forward play; a quick ball to the backs andTom Price went over with five minutes to go, 17-12. TheOH continued to run the ball at every opportunity butthe school defence held out to register a well-deserved17-12 victory.Richard Skyrme

OH Rugby Team

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with 10 minutes remaining. The OH team, who sensedvictory, fought hard and with the first team fading away,scored two late goals which sealed the game for theOld Herefordians and the score finished 5-3. A bigthanks to Dan Nowosielski for managing the OldHerefordians and for the crowd who came andwatched.Roger Sweetman

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netballThe annual game of netball between school 1st

VII and the Old Herefordians took place in theschool sports hall on a cold December morning.The Old Herefordians unfortunately had a few

illnesses on the day and they were left two playersshort. Luckily for them Miss Major was on hand to stepin to GD and Alex Lovell (OH) had the opportunity toshow off his previous netball experience as he steppedin to play WD.

burghill Golf DayCasual readers of this report will not be surprised

to learn that the legendary indomitable spirit of theHCS pupil brought us through the adverse weatherconditions which prevailed on the 15 May 2015 atBurghill Valley Golf Club.The day before was so hot that the midges were a

problem, the day after the sun was too strong, but theday of the event experienced so much rain that thegreens filled up with water as we approached them.We, however, were undaunted and there were nocancellations that day which just goes to prove what anexcellent grounding we had at school. It will be nosurprise to any of you who were at school in the 60s toobserve that the members of the winning team were allin Deanery during their school days. The members ofthat house suffered untold deprivations whichdetermined their future character………say no more!Surprisingly we are going to do it all again next year. Put

the date in your diary: Thursday 12 May 2016 at BurghillValley Golf Club. It is a good day and Burghill look afterus very well. Any OH who enjoys golf is welcome to joinus. Send me an email and I’ll contact you in the New Yearto see if you still think it’s a good idea.Andrew [email protected]

A large crowd assembled to watch and the pressureof the occasion was evident as the score at quarter timewas a close 3–2 to school. The school team settled inthe second quarter and managed to pull away and lead10 goals to 4 at half-time. Although the OHs workedwell together in attack and good shooting from SarahConnop, Ellie Lewis and Flora Harvey and the manyinterceptions made by Alex Lovell, the experience andteam work of the school’s 1st VII proved too much forthe OH side and school sailed to a 30 goal to 10 victory.Sarah Hopkins

BurghillGolf DayThursday 12 May 2016

Co�ee & Bacon Rolls 10.30amRound of Golf

Supper 6pmCost £45

ContactAndrew Singer (OH 57-64)

Tel: 01656 [email protected]

The photograph was taken during a rare break in the weather.Back row l-r: Clive Mugridge, Howard Tomlinson, John Oldman andAndrew Williams.Third row l-r: Jeremy Clare, Andrew Singer, Jack Beach and Angus Craig.Second row l-r: Ray Harries, Richard Blott and Roger Morgan.Front row l-r: Stephen Williams, Peter Williams and John Eede − thewinners!

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Herefordians Cricket ClubHerefordians Cricket Club is a city-based, family-

friendly club which welcomes players fromthroughout the county.The club aims to promote amateur cricket in a

safe and friendly environment without restriction ongender, ethnicity or ability.Teams play both league and social fixtures at

weekends f rom May to September ; thepractice sessions are held on Wednesday evenings.Occasional players are welcome. The club was founded in 1948 as the ‘Old

Herefordians Cricket Club’ by a group of ‘old boys’from Hereford Cathedral School. In 1951the “Old” was dropped from the name to allow widermembership of the club.If you would like further information about the club,

please contact: F T Mason (General Secretary) -07765 617956.Skerret Family

Winning OH Crew

OH RegattaOn Sunday 13 September 2015, the Hereford

Cathedral School boat club once again took to theriver to showcase their rowing skills in our annualOH Regatta.For the second year in a row, the September

weather proved to be kinder to us than expectedwhich made for a very enjoyable afternoon ofcompetition for both competitors and spectatorsalike!The first win of the day came from Louise and

Romily in the Women’s Senior Doubles after a closelyfought race. The mixed J15 quad was up next won byTobias, Phoenix, Theo and Sarah and ably coxed bySeb Cargill who managed to inspire the team tovictory even in the midst of a chest infection. The J15Mixed Double sculls raced next and Eva and Samtook the prize in this race. The Senior Boys’ Quad race was a very close run

event and resulted in Patrick, Charles, Orlando andJosh coxed by Romily taking the lead, addinganother medal to Romily’s tally and starting Patrickoff on his incredibly busy racing day!Sarah and Eva won the J15 Girls’ Double race both

increasing their medal haul from the day and Samtook the J15 Boys’ Single Scull race which had beenhotly contested from a very enthusiastic year group.Josh and Patrick raced ahead in the Senior Boys’Double sculls to take victory from Will and Jacob. We also were able to host sibling races with some

of the younger members of the rowing fraternity andthis was won by the formidable pairing of Tori andWill Sykes – a future rowing partnership here! Romilyfinished her day with yet another medal in the SeniorSingle sculls race and was awarded the Milleniumplate for her efforts. The competitive part of the daythen finished with the award of the Symonds Cupwhich is the Senior Boys’ Sculling Prize. The final ofthis race ended in a dead heat and it was decided

that both Patrick and James should share thehonours.Not to be outdone by our new rowers, we had a

crew of incredibly enthusiastic Skerrett family rowerswho appeared in matching kit to compete in our OHrace. Unfortunately the OH crew they raced againstwas a boat filled with fairly recent school leavers andcurrent rowers and this proved to be too much forthe Skerrett crew but we hope to see them again infuture years.All this, and we still managed to run almost to time!

A fabulous afternoon was had by all in the lovelyweather, with thanks due to parents for manning andsupplying the cake tent and keeping everyone fed,coaches Jed and Giedre for marshalling and to ournew Director of Sports, Marcus Blackburn for hismasterful use of the megaphone to keep everyoneinformed of the races taking place. It was awonderful day and a fantastic way for myself (asoutgoing Mistress in charge of rowing) to sayfarewell to rowing at HCS. Isla Whitmore

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Sebastian and his wife Vicki

OH CaReeRs

Hereford Cathedral School’smotto is ‘An Education for Life’,and that’s been very pertinent formy career.Life has a habit of throwing

unexpected things at you, and it’show you deal with them thatdetermines the shape of your future.I like to think that some of thelessons I learnt at HCS have stoodme in good stead during my career.It’s odd to say this as both a

professional singer and the currentMayor of Gloucester, but in myearlier life I never imagined beingeither a singer or a politician. That’snot to say that I’ve fallen into eitheroccupation, as both have requiredhard work along the way, andbrought with them their fair share ofsetbacks and anxieties.I first started singing seriously as a

boy chorister at Hereford Cathedral,but it was not until my voicechanged and I found that I could stillsing well in the higher range, that Ireally began to ‘find my voice’. Sincethen I have performed as acountertenor soloist with manynotable choral societies around thecountry, and have sung solo live onBBC Radio 3, and in the Royal AlbertHall, amongst other venues.I work regularly as a professionalconsort singer, and I run my

sebastian Field(OH 1993-2000)

own group, Ensemble Sine Nomine,who specialise in historicalperformances and innovativeprogrammes.I got married last year to Vicki, and

we regularly perform together as asoprano and countertenorpartnership. This year we have beenperforming together as Mayor andLady Mayoress, and relating ourmusic to the history of Gloucester.I became Mayor of Gloucester in

May 2015, and this will be a year’sappointment. I was first elected as acity councillor in 2007, and havebeen re-elected twice, in 2011 and2015. I first got involved almostaccidentally, as a result of a casualconversation with a friend who wasalso a city councillor. I saidsomething along the lines of how Igot annoyed at people (usuallyGloucester residents) who knockedthe city. Clearly we have issues, butnothing is solved by those whostand on the sidelines moaning. Twodays later my friend told me of avacancy for the Kingsholm andWotton seat, and the rest as they sayis history!Life as a city councillor is

interesting and sometimesfrustrating. Some of the problemsfaced by our city still remain, whilstothers have been solved.Gloucester is a city going places,and as well as maintaining a highpace of regeneration, we have a richhistory, and we are now one of thepremier tourist destinations in thecountry. In September 2015 it will bemy honour to be Mayor ofGloucester during the Rugby WorldCup, four games of which will beplayed at Kingsholm stadium.I am proud to be the 535th Mayor

of Gloucester, and I am especiallyproud that I am the youngest Mayorof Gloucester in at least 300 years. Iam working really hard to keeptalking up our city, and to showpeople what a great place it is. Ofcourse, I will always have a soft spotfor Hereford as I was born andraised there, but Gloucester is myhome, and I greatly value the goodrelationship between the cities ofthe Three Choirs, Hereford,Gloucester and Worcester. What next for me? For now I am just

enjoying every day as Mayor. It is anexhilarating and exhausting role.

I hope that I can make a few marksand leave some sort of legacy.Some Mayors do it again after a fewyears have passed - I’ll never saynever but I suspect I will leave it allout on the field this year, if you’llpardon the pun. The interestingthing about this year has been that ithas brought my singing to theforefront, and I’m gaining followersand opportunities to further mysinging career. I hope I can keep thisbuzz going after my year has ended,as well as staying in touch with allthe fantastic charities and voluntarygroups I’ve met.Being Mayor of such a proud and

historic city as Gloucester could goto one’s head. I hope I am keepinghumble and not getting abovemyself. As Mayor you get to meet alot of VIPs and attend lots of fancyfunctions. These are good as far asthey go, but I’m far more interestedin meeting the unsung heroes ofGloucester, those who work hard forcharity and keep our city going.They are the real VIPs in my book.2016 will be ten years since we lost

our friend Edward Tomlinson, andwe still miss him. Vicki and I werelucky enough to have Ed’s parentsHoward and Heather at ourwedding, and they were also at theMayor-making. In my speech, and inseveral others since then, I havetalked about Ed and how he is aninspiration to me in my life. When Iget down, I think of him and howhe’s not around (at least physically)to share these experiences, so Imust get the most out of each day.He is a spur to me to go on andachieve more, in his honour, and I’msure many of us have a similar figurein our lives. I know that Eddie wouldbe proud of what I’ve achieved, anddelighted at the cricket, which as Iwrite is looking like an Englandvictory!I have no idea what the future will

bring. I imagine and hope that musicwill be involved, but also history andperhaps more politics, maybe at ahigher level. New things will comealong, such as writing, and otherinterests that I don’t know about yet.The point is to keep exploring andgrowing, to grasp opportunities withboth hands, and never to let littlesetbacks keep you from achievingyour dreams.

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Harry Lloyd had talked with hisdaughter Sally about contributingan article to the OH Newsletter.Unfortunately, he died in 2011, atthe age of 96, before writing hisarticle but he did talk to Sallyabout its possible content.‘Harry, my father, started at the

school as a boarder 90 years ago.When he came across a copy of thismagazine in recent years he thoughthe would like to write a contribution,but sadly, died before he got round toit. In 2005, Harry and I spent a fewdays in Hereford, and he sharedhappy memories of the place as heshowed me around.Life could not have been easy for a

boy of 10, leaving home and settlingin. Harry never complained about histime at the school, although it was socold one winter that the boys had tobreak the ice on the water in thebowls for washing. From that earlyage he developed a self-reliance thatstood him in good stead throughouthis life.He came from a large extended

family in Neath, the son of youngparents, but living in a house withgrandparents and a widowed uncle.His father was a butcher, and thefamily owned land on a hill at the edgeof Neath, where they reared livestock,as well as having their own horsesand dogs. The family worked hard,but there was also a lot of fun. Theyhad a car, and there were excitingtrips to mountains and coast, as wellas concerts in Cardiff and rugbymatches. He was a boy who enjoyedlistening to the stories of the oldermembers of the family, and reading.Educated at the Church Junior

School in Neath and singing in thechoir there, he seems to have takenthe move to boarding in his stride. Heloved the services and music at thecathedral, took an interest in allsubjects and played rugby and

HtC (Harry) lloyd(OH 1926-1934)

cricket. He did have one complaint −the suet puddings served up forlunch every Wednesday before thegames lesson.As a sixth former, he particularly

appreciated the Sunday eveningsessions, when a group of boys couldmeet at the home of the housemasterto listen to recordings of classicalmusic, and for play and poetryreadings. This nurtured his love ofmusic and literature which remainedwith him throughout his life.As a teenager, Harry decided that

he would like to have a career in law.He studied at Swansea Universityand was articled to the Town Clerk inNeath. It was there that he met mymother, who worked as a secretary.Having qualified as a solicitor, heworked briefly in a practice beforewar was declared when he joined upwith a regiment in South Wales. Hehoped to stay near home, but wasimmediately sent off to training basesever further away. As with manyyoung couples at that time, myparents decided to marry and had asmall, but romantic wedding at shortnotice.Due to the cadet training he had

undertaken at school, Harry wassoon made an officer. After extensivetraining and a variety of roles, hejoined Brigade headquarters and waspromoted to captain in the 11thArmoured Division. He went over toFrance as part of the D-Dayoperation. By the end of the war hewas a Major, and had been fortunateto come through unscathed aseverybody who followed him into ajob was killed.At the end of the war he returned

home, needing to find employmentas well as a home for himself and mymother. He intended to become aTown Clerk, but was fortunate inbeing offered the job of Deputy Clerkto the Magistrates in Cardiff. Thisturned out to be a good fit, becauseof his interest in people. He laterbecame the Clerk when hispredecessor retired. When Harry started, there were two

courts operating in Cardiff every day.By the time he finished there werenine, and he had to organise hearingsfor 800 cases a week. There werememorable cases, and somememorable events – such as whenWelsh Language Society activistslocked the doors of a court, andeveryone inside, including Harry, hadto wait a long time to be released.

A common thread running throughHarry’s war service and his work inCardiff, was his approachability andencouragement for the people whoworked for him, and those who cameup in court before him. I think too thathis education had given himconfidence to act in accordance withhis principles. Examples of this are hisdecision – at a time when the HomeOffice was dithering about what to doabout a case in Aberystwyth – to goahead and issue the first summons inWelsh. He thought it was commonsense. His sense of social justice, ledhim to work with Leo Abse – an MPwho took up causes that other MPsavoided – on the bills, changing thelaw on homosexuality and divorcereform.At home, Harry involved himself fully

in everything that was going on, andalways had time… he never hurried.He enjoyed gardening, walking thedog, and he shared a love of musicwith my mother. My parents hadsettled very happily in Penarth afterthe war; they became rooted in thecommunity, involved in the churchand had many friends. Harry’spassion was rugby – he would comehome from watching Cardiff play on aSaturday afternoon, absolutelyhoarse!Harry retired in 1981. The following

year, he arranged a family trip on aSwans’ Hellenic Cruise. This was notonly because of his continuinginterest in the Classics, but because,as a boy he had been very impressedby the accounts of this same cruiseundertaken by the Headmaster.My parents continued to be very

active in retirement. They liked to go

Harry at school (front right)

15


to concerts in Cardiff and were stilltravelling abroad for holidays in their80s – changing trains in the middle ofthe night.When my mother became ill with

heart disease, Harry took on a lot ofthe household tasks, especially thecooking, and took my mother outnearly every day in the car. After shedied at the end of 2001, he stayed inPenarth looking after himself verywell and coming on family holidayswith us. In 2006, he suffered a stroke,after which he was confined to awheelchair. At that point he willinglycame to London to live near us, in StDavid’s Nursing Home – originally setup to look after disabled servicemenafter the First World War. He settledwell there, telling his visitors that ifyou have been to boarding schooland in the army, you can get used toanything!While there, he managed to keep up

with all that was happening in theworld outside, enjoyed the concertsand the social activities in the Home,and enjoyed trips out – including toroyal events. He particularly enjoyedkeeping up with the Welsh RugbyTeam, as well as Cardiff Blues.Fortunately both teams were doingwell when he died at the end of 2011,after a short illness.Harry lived through some very

difficult times but he always foundsomething interesting in life,maintained a sense of wonder and animpish sense of humour. I think thatthe stimulating education he receivedat Hereford contributed to hisexpectation that there is alwayssomething new and exciting roundthe corner.

Sally Horattides

Guest of Honour at HCs speech Day 2015 alexander Martin, OH 1980-1987

guest at the operas of Lyon,Marseille, Avignon, le CapitoleToulouse, l’Opéra National duRhin Strasbourg (conductor forBritten’s Rape of Lucretia), LaMonnaie Brussels, Le GrandThéâtre Geneva, as well as fort h e A i x - e n - P r o v e n c e ,G l y n d e b o u r n e , a n dMontepu lc iano Fes t i va ls .Alexander also worked closelywith Philippe Jordan in Graz forBritten’s Peter Grimes and Turnof the Screw, and collaboratedwith René Jacobs in Rome forRossini’s Tancredi. Followingthree seasons as Chorus Masterin Berne, Switzerland (where healso conducted Massenet’sCendrillon, and Dave Maric’sGhosts), Alexander worked asChorus Master at the OpéraNational de Bordeaux between2010 and 2014. During this timehe also worked in Bayreuth withPhilippe Jordan (Parsifal)in 2012. Alexander became Welsh

National Opera’s (WNO) ChorusMaster at the start of the 2015season, working with the choruson repertoire as diverse asRossini’s William Tell and Mosesin Egypt, as well as Carmen, TheMagic Flute and world premièreof Peter Pan. He also conductedChorus! with the WNO company.He is married to the sopranoHélène Le Corre, and has twochildren.

Born in London, AlexanderMartin began his musical life asa chor is ter a t HerefordCathedral under Roy Massey.He studied Music at St John’s

College, Cambridge, where hewas also Organ Scholar underGeorge Guest’s direction. Thenhe studied the piano at theRoyal College of Music inLondon, before taking up theposition of repetiteur/coach atthe Opéra National de Lyonin 1992. Between 1995 and 1998

Alexander spent four seasons inGermany as repetiteur at theHamburg State Opera, andrepetiteur and conductor at theHesse State Opera inWiesbaden, before returning tolive in France to pursue afreelance career. As conductor,assistant and coach he was a

aCaDeMiC COnGRatulatiOnsXander Drury obtained a 2:1 degree in Classics from the University of Durham.Patrick Dunachie, (OH 2012) a choral scholar at King’s College, Cambridge, graduated with a double first inhis music degree.Antonia Lazenby (OH 2009) was awarded a first class honours degree from the Royal College of Music andis now going to Guildhall School of Music and Drama to do a postgraduate course in bassoon studies.Emma Leeman has been awarded a first class honours degree in medicine from Cambridge University.Iona Macleod (OH 2011) graduated from Bristol University in 2014 with a first class honours degree in Historyof Art.Emily Preece has graduated from the University of Warwick with a 2:1 degree in Biochemistry.Eleanor Smith has been awarded a first class honours degree in Natural Sciences from the University ofCambridge.Mary Wall (OH 2010) has qualified as a doctor at the University of Birmingham.Matthew Walne (OH 2011) has achieved a first class honours degree in Chemistry at Sheffield and will begoing on to study medicine.

Notable Old Herefordians

OH Somerset Scholars 8:Joseph Goldsmith (OH 1991-98)

Joseph Goldsmith is my ninth, and last, OldHerefordian Somerset award-winner. As a lawyer,his occupation does not set him apart from thehundreds of other OHs who have been elected tothe award at Brasenose College, Oxford, or StJohn’s, Cambridge, since the 1680s.

What distinguishes Joseph’s award, however, is that itwas won in open competition: ‘close’ scholarships werephased out at both universities in the late 1970s, CeliaLind-Jackson being the last OH – and only woman so far− to have won one (at BNC)under the old dispensation in1979.Nevertheless, the namedaward survives, and OHs arestill eligible to be given anamed Somerset title at thetwo colleges provided theydo exceptionally well inu n i v e r s i t y d e g r e eexaminations – as Joseph didin 1999 when his Somerset(Thornhill) exhibition bothenabled him to wear ascholars’ gown and markedhim out as a promisinguniversity student, hispromise being fulfilled in2001 with the award of hisfirst-class degree in the finalhonour school of ModernHistory at Oxford.Indeed, scholarship andhigh achievement have beenJoseph’s watch-words sincehe started at the cathedralschool. At HCS, he carried allbefore him, winning theacademic form prize mostyears; the Raphael Powell History prizes (the benefactorhimself being a distinguished academic lawyer whobecame professor of civil law at University CollegeLondon); as well as prizes for Biology, Chemistry,Theology, English and debating. His six and-a-half ‘A’levels reflected the breadth of his academic interests; MrPriday in one end-of-term report on Joseph’s progress inMathematics and Further Mathematics wrylycommenting that he was pleased to find a historian whowas also reasonably good at numbers.But it was not all academics for Joseph was involved in

several drama productions, played in brass bands andorchestras, gained his Chief Scout’s award and Duke ofEdinburgh Gold, represented the school in debating atthe finals of the Oxford and Cambridge Unioncompetitions, came an honourable second as the Torycandidate in the 1997 ‘mock’ General Election and rowedfor the school.Joseph continued at least two of these activities at ahigher level after leaving school. Rowing was his mainsport at university. As a member of the Brasenose 1st VIIIfor Torpids and Eights, the crew held off Dan Snow andhis Balliol VIII in ‘the Gut’ (the stretch of the ‘Isis’ half-waydown the Bumps course); and he later won his ‘blade’ in

2001, an achievement,Joseph claims, which ranksa very close second to hisfirst in finals. Secondly, hisexperience as a schooldebater stood him in verygood stead after universityduring his law conversionyear at City University,London, when he won thenational Blackstone’smooting competition, aswell as gaining a distinctionon the course. The BarVocational Course at theInns of Court School of Lawfollowed, as did continuedsuccess: the top mark of hisintake and being named‘student of the year’ byLincoln’s Inn in 2003.The rea fte r, pup i l l agebeckoned and a tenancy at5 Stone Buildings, where hecontinues to reside as aleading junior barrister.Joseph’s wide-rangingchancery practice includesadvice on issues as diverse

as pensions; trusts and wills; probate and administrationof estates; capital taxes and estate planning; somethingcalled ‘proprietary estoppel’; Inheritance Act claims;mental incapacity; and ecclesiastical law. Recommendedby Chambers UK as an ‘up and coming’ and then ‘leadingjunior’ every year since 2007, comments on hisprofessional expertise relate to his intellectual brilliance,excellent technical advice, thorough preparation andconvincing court-room manner. ‘He does not go in forhistrionics’, says one observer, ‘but when he sayssomething, you know it’s worth paying attention’.

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Joe Goldsmith standing before the school debating honoursboard on which his name is engraved several times.

17


It was ever thus. Joseph wasdestined for great things from anearly age. Of his school days, hepays tribute to a number ofinspiring teachers who guided himthrough his education. He namestwo, however, as exceptionalinfluences on his formation: the lateDave Mathias, his primary schoolhead-teacher at Hunderton Juniorand Egerton Parker. Mr Mathiasprovided him with the extracoaching for the school’s 11 plusexamination which helped him winhis first scholarship, and Mr Parkerbecame his mentor at HCS. Josephwrites: ‘I owe the most to EgeParker for introducing me to, andi nteg rat i ng me i nto , a ndencouraging me to flourish atschool at the outset; for treatingme and my fellow pupils – andhelping us to act – as young adultsrathe r t h an ch i l d ren ; fo rencou rag i ng ou r i nd i v i dua lthought; for developing andnurturing our love of history; and[for] encouraging me to aspire to goup to Oxford.�In short, and putsimply, for making me an historian’.Such sentiments would be echoedby many other of Ege’s pupils overthe decades.Joseph claims he will almostcertainly remain in professionalpractice as a lawyer and that he isunlikely to return to the groves ofacademe. If so, it will be a great lossto scholarship. Nevertheless, it isreassuring for this writer to hearthat he always turns to the historysection before the law section inany bookshop. And even more sofor me to learn that he recentlypurchased a copy of Guns andGovernment, the author’s long outof p r i nt s t udy of t he l ateseventeenth century OrdnanceOffice, despite its being bought atthe knock-down price of £3.50p.

Howard Tomlinson

[This series will conclude next year with aportrait of Sarah Seymour (1631-1692),the founder of the Somerset scholarships.]

DestinatiOns 2015Hannah Abraham: Manchester - Spanish, Portuguese & Latin American StudiesGeorge Bolt: Manchester - MathematicsMatthew Boulton: East Anglia - American HistoryCharlotte Burdett: Birmingham - MedicineSandhir Chahal: Kings College London - Liberal ArtsFelix Clive: Oxford - Classics IElla Cockerton: York - PsychologyMolly Collins: Oxford Brookes - PsychologyCameron Condon: Cardiff - Ancient HistoryRory Cook: Post A level applicationConor Cowden: Exeter - Energy EngineeringHelen Davies: Cardiff - Biochemistry (Biomedical) Luisa Eakins: Portsmouth - International Relations & LanguagesSophie Edwards: Exeter - Business and ManagementMegan Ellis: Queen Mary London - Film Studies and DramaEmily Fielder: Post A level applicationWilliam Ford: Loughborough - Sport & Exercise SciencePiper Fowler-Wright: Birmingham - PhysicsFrederick Glass: Post A level applicationMolly Gray: Harper Adams - Rural Enterprise & Land ManagementEvie Griffiths: Durham - AnthropologyFrederick Hamilton-Russell: Royal Agricultural - Farm ManagementMaurits Hasselbach: Post A level applicationJack Huffer: Warwick - MathematicsHenry Jones: Bath - Electrical & Electronic EngineeringLucie Kemp: Exeter - Ancient HistoryJake Kirby: Sheffield - Computer NetworksMarina Kovaleva: Cardiff - Mechanical EngineeringZak Kyriakou: Cardiff - EconomicsGemma Laing: Post A level applicationAugusta Lazenby: Bristol - GeographyBilly Lewis: Harper Adams - AgricultureHenry Locke: Stirling - Computing ScienceAlex Lovell: Bristol W/E - Business ManagementCian Lynch: Bangor - English LiteratureThomas Mackie: Southampton - Civil EngineeringAmy Magee: Exeter - PsychologyHenry Mason: Exeter - EconomicsMatthew McKay: Post A level applicationHelena Moore: Cambridge - MusicLaura Morris: Oxford Brookes - Sport & Exercise ScienceHenry Mower: Southampton - Philosophy, Politics & EconomicsDaniel Nowosielski: Chester - PsychologySophie Orr: Leeds - Nursing (Child)Charlotte Pawley: Oxford - English Language & LiteratureRichard Penney: Durham - Natural SciencesMolly Phillips: Loughborough - ErgonomicsChristopher Poolton: Loughborough - Materials EngineeringThomas Porter: Oxford Brookes - Business and ManagementSophie Preece: Bath - BiochemistryCharles Prosser: Exeter - Theology and ReligionAlexander Quan: Nottingham - Veterinary MedicineTomos Rees: Cardiff - Modern History & PoliticsArthur Reynolds: York - Philosophy, Politics & EconomicsBlythe Roberts: Exeter - PsychologyElizabeth Rogers: Cardiff - ArchaeologyWilliam Rogers: Harper Adams - Business Management & MarketingJessica Sayce: Cardiff - Media, Journalism & CultureThomas Scotcher: Post A level applicationEleanor Smith: Bristol - History of ArtLeah Smith: Birmingham - MathematicsTom Snell: Exeter - Management with MarketingAlice Spreckley: Swansea - OsteopathyBarnaby van Straaten: Cambridge - Natural SciencesLydia Stratford: Birmingham - MedicineJoshua Tam: Bangor - Business EconomicsJoanna Thomas: Birmingham - Chemical Engineering & Business ManagementKatie Thomas: Royal Agricultural - Rural Land ManagementHarry Trew: Loughborough - Electronic & Electrical EngineeringWilliam Vincent: Manchester - Drama & English LiteratureHenry Vowles: Queen Mary London - MedicineShelly Wang: Reading - Art & PsychologyHugh Watkinson: Durham - Chemistry (Industrial)Clare Watson: Bristol - Mathematics & PhilosophyJames Webb: Bristol - Computer ScienceMolly Williams: Royal Agricultural - Rural Land ManagementRachel Williamson: Bristol W/E - Business Management, Accounting & FinanceThomas Windows: Exeter - History & International RelationsHuajie Zeng: Hull - ChemistryAmy Zhu: Manchester - Finance

O H t R aV e l

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O H w e D D i n G s

Ben Ellis and Alice SheaBen Ellis (OH 1998-2005)married Alice Shea fromWimbledon, on 22 August2015, at St Mary the VirginChurch at Burghill, Hereford.The reception was held atBrinsop Court.Ben is the son of Mark (OH) and

Elaine Ellis. Other OHs includedushers, Ian Budge, JamesBurgoyne, Ben Owens, TomBarrow and James Turner; bestmen Josh Morgan and CharlieDavison; bridesmaids Amy andMegan Ellis; as well as manyother OH guests, with someflying in from South Africa andVietnam. The service wasofficiated by Rev Andrew Law,former Chaplain at HCS and thegroom’s uncle. The couple first met whilst on a

ski instructor course in Canadaduring their gap year, but metagain at the Twickenham 7s fouryears ago and never lookedback. They live in Islington; Benworks for Lloyds bank at theirHead office and Alice is aninterior design consultant.

Robert Erskine and DaniellePhillipsRobert Erskine (OH 1997-2007)has married Danielle Phillips,whom he met in Abergavennysome twenty years ago.It obviously seems like Robert

took a long time getting aroundto popping the question butmarriage was possibly notsomething he was consideringwhen he was five!

Rob's and Dani's weddingceremony took place on 2 May2015, at Lyde Court nearHereford. A Welsh male voicechoir entertained the guests priorto the ceremony. Brothers Jamesand Michael Erskine acted asbest men, and cousins Hugh andRob Campbell were ushers.Other Old Herefordians whowere present on the day wereWill Lambert, Luke Cross, JohnnyPudge, Freddie Anthony, TomAustwick, Amy Ellis, Ben Price,Edward Gwyther, James Shutt,Laura Healey, Lily Forward, LizzieWesley, Tiggy Bagley, RachelHewitt, Andy Aston. HarryGardner-Clarke was invited butcouldn't make it due to his work.Robert and Danielle live in

Monmouth. They spent theirhoneymoon on safari and on thebeach in Tanzania.

James Erskine and VictoriaHoldsworthJames (OH 1993-2000), wasmarried to Victoria Holdsworthon 19 June 2015 − just sevenweeks after his youngestbrother’s wedding.The ceremony was held at

Elmore Court near Gloucester.The couple, who have made theirhome in Cheltenham, spent theirhoneymoon in Norway.

Alison and Luke Fisher pictured with OHguests. Middle row: Liam Dunachie, HollyAston, Isabel Drury, Amy Gullis, EmmaCooper. Back row: Will Spencer, SebastianSmith, Angus Rawstorne.

Luke Fisher and Alison ZhuThe wedding took place on 1August 2015 of Luke Fisher(OH 2000-07) to Alison Zhu.The service was held at Trinity

College, Cambridge and thereception at Newnham College,Cambridge. Luke’s brother,Joseph Fisher (OH), was bestman and his sister, Amalie Fisher(OH), was the organist.

Andrew Davies was best manand brothers Michael and Robertwere ushers. There were severalother OHs in attendance:cousins Hugh and RobCampbell, friends EdwardGoldsmith, Huw Warren, SianWarren, Chris Brierly, LaurenceHobden, Jonathan Sheldrake,Jamie Walker, Oli Evans, SuzyClarke and Ben Andrews, allleavers in 2000.

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O H t R aV e lO H w e D D i n G s

David Lifely and FreyaWilemanOn 29 August 2015, OHsDavid Lifely and FreyaWileman were married in StMary the Virgin Church,Burghill, Hereford.The couple met at Hereford

Cathedral School Sixth Form(leaving in July 2008), and OHsturned out in abundance, withalmost 40 in attendance at thewedding. The couple currentlylive in West London; Davidworks as an Offshore StructuralEngineer and Freya as anAccount Manager in a ContentMarketing Agency.

Mark Lowden and SarahChapmanMark Anthony Lowden (OH1996-2003) married SarahKatherine Chapman Jones on11 April 2015 at the LadyChapel, Hereford Cathedral.Best Man was Dominic Lacey

and Master of Ceremonies wasJohn Crichton, both OH from thesame year. Among the guestswere Sue Connop (former HCSGames/Geography teacher),Andy Connop (HCS Games

Amy-Louise Moffat and FrankMcMurrayDuring October 2014 Amy-Louise Moffatt (OH 1997-2003)married Frank McMurray on theIsle of Skye in a Civil Wedding. Both Amy and Frank are

currently serving in the ArmedForces.

Mike Powell and StefaniJenkinsThe marriage of Michael Powell(OH) to Stefani Jenkins(Haberdashers’ MonmouthSchool for Girls) took place on14 August at Holy TrinityChurch in Combe Down, Bath. The wedding breakfast and

evening reception took place atPrior Park College, Bath.Following the weddingcelebrations, the couple set off ona two week honeymoon, stoppingin New York, LA and Hawaii - “thebest two weeks of our lives!”. Michael is a Housemaster and

Sports teacher at PadworthCollege, Berkshire.

teacher), Sarah Connop (OH2000-2007), Edward Painter,Simon Andrews, and CamillaHern (née Watkins) was thephotographer (all OH 1996-2003). Mark, a Chartered Financial

Adviser and Sarah, a BBCJournalist, live in Cookham,Berkshire.

Please let us know of yourupcoming wedding so we

can include you in thenext edition of theOld Herefordian.

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O H t R aV e l

the centre of the Palatine Hill part of the site hadbeautiful mosaics and marble sculptures that havebeen found and preserved from the various villas inthe Forum. The entire site has been extremely wellpreserved and I would encourage everyone to goand explore the area, which you can roam around inthe sun. There is no doubt that the trip has been an

extremely valuable resource for my upcoming examsas it was so useful to see and understand themonuments and art in person and I would like to saya very big thank you to the OH Travel Fund forhelping me to take this trip.Emily Burdett

Mosaic of gladiatorial scene (Colosseum)

Marble sculptures in the Capitoline Museum

Column of Marcus Aurelius

studying Roman artIn September of this year I travelled to Rome for

a short stay with the help of the OH Travel Fundto research Roman Art and Architecture for oneof my degree exam papers in Classics. I wentwith a planned itinerary but discovered so muchmore there that was useful for my universitypapers that I will be sitting at the end of myupcoming final year.Staying at the top of the Spanish Steps I was only a

short walk from the Pantheon where I went first. Thescale of the building was astounding, and althoughnot specifically a part of my art course, it was reallyinteresting to look at the style of columns used acrossthe front and the style of the domed ceiling. I was alsoclose to the Column of Marcus Aurelius (pictured) thatlooms in a small square off a busy street. The columnshows scenes of warfare and violence all the way tothe top and seeing it in person was incrediblyvaluable for understanding it as a monument. Most ofmy course is Roman artwork so the next day I headedto the Capitoline Museums, designed byMichelangelo, which house some of the bestsurviving artwork from the 300 years that I study.Whilst there for the day I attended a course whichtalked us through some of the marble busts andmosaics in more detail and I was able to look at somepieces in the process of being restored and notcurrently on show to the general public. Here I wasable to find some examples of art that were pertinentto my course but which I hadn’t come across beforeso I walked away with a very full camera!The following day was my last full day in Rome so I

packed in the Colosseum with the Arch ofConstantine and the Roman Forum in the bakingRoman heat. The Forum was not too busy andenough has survived to be able to appreciate theground plan of temples and civic buildings that wouldhave made up the heart of Roman life. It also includeda number of arches that I study for my course and itwas wonderful to be able to see these still standingat the edges of the Forum. The Palatine Museum in

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Richard P. Bower OH 1946-50

Dr Richard Bower, born in1933, died on Sunday 2August 2015, following a fallat his home in Rye, Sussex.At HCS Richard was a

School House monitor andL/Sgt in CCF; he was amember of several dramaand music societies and a leading member of the FieldNaturalist Society.Below is an appreciation of his life written by his sister

and published in the Rye News.

‘A quiet man for a coupSince his retirement in 1992 from Booker McConnell

PLC, when he travelled the world, initiating projects inover 16 countries as a soil surveyor and land plannerwith specialist sugar growing experience, Richard hadmade his home in Rye, where his younger sister’s familylived and worked. He took various voluntary jobs duringhis retirement including several years as Treasurer forRye Museum, where he then continued as anenthusiastic guide at the Ypres Tower until his death.A quiet, gentle and unassuming man, many of his local

friends will not have realised what an interesting andoften exciting working life he had lead. After Sandhurstand ten years army service with secondments to boththe Somali Scouts and the Aden Protectorate Levy, hetook a BSc at the University College of Wales in Bangorfollowed by a PhD.After a two year posting to Sabah with the Overseas

Development Agency, he joined Booker McConnell in1974 as one of their specialist soil experts and travelledfrom Paraguay to the Philippines and Papua NewGuinea to Africa. He spent several years in IndonesianKalimantan and was later in Iran, working on projects tohalt the encroaching desert until the Shah was ousted.A job in Equatorial Cameroon was curtailed by a bug

which involved two or three days walking and crawling,with the help of his workers, to get out of the forest andreach their motorbikes to get back to a doctor.He helped to make the desert bloom in Oman, made

a short trip to Jordan - where he discovered the SecretPolice headquarters, though claimed not to havegone inside.Work in Kenya and Tanzania seemed to go quite

smoothly, but a spell in Ethiopia ended when PresidentMenghistu’s regime fell, and his team came out on theex-president’s flight just in time. He returned later andwas then held up by bandits who thankfully decided hewas not of value to them just then.He also returned to Somalia and was saddened to find

all the work from an earlier project had been destroyedby rebels. He seemed to have a knack of survivingcoups and revolutions wherever he was posted, one ofthe smallest being in 1979 in Papua New Guinea.’Biddy Cole

Gareth Holliday OH

Gareth Holliday passed away on 31 August, aged 61,following a short unexpected illness. Gareth was achorister at Hereford Cathedral from 1964 to 1969.After a career with Midlands Electricity as Network

Customer Services Manager, Gareth took earlyretirement in 2005. He had taken up golf in 2002; afterretiring he started helping out at his local golf club,Gaudet Luce, Droitwich. With his extensive experienceof dealing with the public, Gareth was soon given thejob of Society Organiser for the club, where his warmand charming personality ensured that guest’s golfingevents ran smoothly. Gareth was Chairman ofDroitwich Dolphins Swimming Club from 1992 to 2001.He leaves his wife Jackie and two daughters.

John LlewellynHunkin FCA FTIIOH 1934-39

John Hunkin died onJanuary 2nd 2013 in his90th year. John was born inNeath, West Glamorgan andgained a scholarship toattend Hereford CathedralSchool as a boarder in 1934.On leaving school in 1939, he trained in accountancyand was articled at Jennings and Watkins in Neath. Thistraining was interrupted when John joined the army forNational Service. Gaining the rank of Captain, heserved both at home and abroad, and was stationed inNorway, Singapore and Japan where he was involvedin clearing up after the devastation created in Nagasaki.

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The Club has been notified of the following Old Herefordians who, sadly, have passed away.We offer our condolences to their families and their friends.

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After National Service, John returned to Neath tocomplete his articles, qualifying as an accountant in1950.In his career as an accountant, John became a

partner in Jennings and Watkins, and subsequently asenior partner in Watkins, Bradfield and Companywhere he remained until his retirement in 1988. He wasa well-respected member of the accountancyprofession and served as Secretary of the Swanseaand South Wales District Society of IncorporatedAccountants, President of the South Wales Society ofChartered Accountants (1982) and spent many yearson committees of the Institute of CharteredAccountants in England and Wales.John brought his financial expertise to his local

church, St David’s in Neath, where he was ParishTreasurer for 12 years. Following this period, hedemonstrated his commitment to the church serving asRector’s Warden and Church Treasurer for many years.Outside of his work, John had a keen interest in

swimming. He made a major contribution to swimmingin Wales, serving as President of Neath Swimming Clubfor more than 40 years and President of the West WalesSwimming Association for almost 40 years. He alsoserved as President of the Welsh SwimmingAssociation (1975) and Chairman of the BritishSwimming Federation (1979).John showed tremendous commitment to all activities

in which he was involved. He was also very proud of hisfamily. He leaves behind his widow, Joce, threechildren, ten grandchildren and an increasing numberof great-grandchildren. He will be sadly missed.

Donald Fraser James OH 1941-46

Donald Fraser James died at home on 9 June 2015after a long illness. In his final year at HCS, Donald was Captain of Boats.

Under his captaincy, the school was joint winner of thePublic Schools coxed fours at Marlow after a dead-heatwith Haileybury, − each school held the cup for sixmonths! The Herefordian of 1946 reports of D F James:‘As captain, he showed himself a good organiser andleader.’Donald joined the RAF for two years of National

Service and then studied to become a librarian. He wasassistant to the chief librarian at Kendal, Henry Marshall,who was also the friend and publisher of AlfredWainwright. Donald became Borough Librarian ofKendal and then Westmorland County Librarian until

that County ceased to exist. Books were his lifelongpassion.He leaves his wife, their two children, grandchildren

and great grandchildren.

Christopher JohnMorris OH 1933-37

Organist and publisherChristopher Morris died at theage of 92 on 23 November2014.Christopher was born on 13

May 1922 at Clevedon inNorth Somerset, the secondof three children, into a musical family; his father, Walter,had been a head chorister and Enid, his mother, was atalented pianist and church organist. Christopher wasauditioned for a chorister scholarship at HerefordCathedral by the musical director, Dr Percy Hull.Christopher had a meticulous nature which is perhapswhy, on his journey to Hereford, he timed the traintravelling through the Severn Tunnel; Dr Hull askedwhether he had travelled by train, whether he hadpassed through the Severn Tunnel and how long thishad taken. Fortunately, Christopher was able to give aprecise answer: “Four minutes and nine seconds, sir.”.He received the Sinclair scholarship.As a chorister he participated in the annual Three

Choirs Festival, and among other musical experiencessang under the baton of Sir Edward Elgar with theLondon Symphony Orchestra in 1933. He left HerefordCathedral School at the age of sixteen, after gaining hisOxford School Certificate in 1937, and became articledorgan pupil (and subsequently assistant organist) toPercy Hull in the cathedral. His musical education wasinterrupted by WW2 when he was called up andassigned to the 17th/21st Lancers. At the end of the war,with the rank of captain, he was appointed head ofmusic at a military college in Austria. It was here he meta talented young pianist from Witney in Oxfordshire,Ruth Early.After demobilisation, Christopher completed his organ

studies at the Royal Academy of Music. In 1947, at theage of twenty-five, he was appointed organist anddirector of music at St George’s, Hanover Square, − thechurch where Handel had worshipped and whereChristopher and Ruth were married in 1949 − and wasdescribed as ‘a brilliant choir-trainer and musicologist’;he retired after twenty-five years service.

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In addition to his position as church organist, in 1954Christopher was asked to become a full-time musicpublisher at the nearby Oxford University Press. Here heworked with eminent composers: Ralph VaughanWilliams, then in his eighties, and Sir William Walton (andthe formidable Lady Walton). He was also the first toencourage and publish the young John Rutter. TheWelsh composer William Mathias, who was a housecomposer at OUP, dedicated his 1986 organ Recessionalto ‘Christopher Morris, musician, publisher, friend’.Christopher had a reputation for being approachableand straightforward, but he was also meticulous,accurate and brilliant at spotting printing errors.

Christopher also arranged music for the organ andcomposed. His carol Born in a Manger was performedat the King’s College Cambridge Carol Service in 1962and was recorded for EMI in 1965 by the Bach Choir,conducted by Sir David Willcocks. His majorcommercial achievement was creating and publishing,in 1961, Carols for Choirs; a single volume bringingtogether the vocal scores of 50 Christmas carols. It soldmore than a million copies, and was followed by severalmore volumes edited by David Willcocks and JohnRutter. He retired from the OUP in 1986, and twentyyears later left London to live near his family inOxfordshire.Christopher was a talented man from a talented family.

His elder brother, Gareth, was the principal flautist withthe Philharmonia Orchestra for twenty-four years and adistinguished soloist. His younger sibling is Jan Morris,the author and travel writer who accompanied Edmund

Hilary on the 1953 Everest expedition.He had a daughter and son with his wife Ruth, who

died in 1997; and he was very proud that all his fivegrandsons carried on the family tradition and wonchorister scholarships.

An Appreciation by John RutterI first met Christopher Morris in 1967. He was Music

Editor at Oxford University Press, and I was a recentlygraduated student at Cambridge, brought to see him bySir David Willcocks, the legendary director of King’sCollege Choir who had taken an interest in my earlycarol compositions and believed I might be a usefuladdition to the Oxford catalogue.I had expected the Music Editor of such a long-

established and revered publisher to be a grand anddaunting figure, but Christopher was friendly, high-spirited and welcoming. I was promptly signed up tojoin the Oxford stable, and Christopher together withDavid became a father-figure to the young emergingcomposer who sometimes needed keeping on therails. In retrospect, I can see how fortunate I was to haveChristopher as my editor. He always had time to seeme, despite his onerous duties – for some years until anassistant was appointed, he was OUP’s sole musiceditor, responsible for looking after such distinguishedcomposers as Walton, Rawsthorne, Berkeley, Mathiasand Hoddinott, in addition to vetting floods ofunsolicited manuscripts and deciding what to publish.His music department was small but committed,productive, and successful. We, the composers, alwaysfelt we were part of a family, and often enjoyed thewarm hospitality of Christopher and his adored wifeRuth at their home in Kensington. Christopher had sound musical judgement, no doubt

rooted in his solid background as a Hereford chorister,and he retained a special love for choral and inparticular church music. He edited, more or lessanonymously, a number of choral anthologies whichremain standard to this day, including The Oxford Bookof Tudor Anthems which is on most cathedral andcollege choir shelves and the equally valuable Anthemsfor Choirs series. Undoubtedly the best-selling of thesewas the Carols for Choirs series, still used by choirs allover the English-speaking world. This series was hisidea. He had originally planned to issue a completelyrevised Oxford Book of Carols but was thwarted by theobjections of Martin Shaw’s widow, who insisted thatthe 1928 book should remain exactly as it stood.Christopher’s stroke of genius was to sidestep andcommission a fresh book (the title Carols for Choirswas

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Christopher (right) with Dame Janet Baker andSir William Walton at a reception to launch theEMI recording of Walton’s opera, Troilus andCressida in 1977.

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his), drafting in Reginald Jacques, conductor of theBach Choir, and David Willcocks from King’s to be itsco-editors. Issued in 1961, the book was a runawaysuccess and, following the death of Reginald Jacques, Iwas invited to be co-editor of the subsequent volumes. Christopher possessed all the necessary qualities of a

fine music editor. As far as the public was concerned,he was happy to remain modestly in the background,but as a former wartime tank commander (anexperience he never even mentioned to me) he lackednothing in nerve and courage, willing to take a risk butnever reckless, not shrinking from difficult decisionswhen these were needed. When he retired he handedon to his successors a music department which wascommercially successful and highly respected, and hedrew quiet satisfaction from watching its continuedprogress and recalling the happy relationships he hadenjoyed during his years there.John Rutter

Michael Morris OH 1933-40

Michael Morris, whowas born in 1924,passed away on 17June, aged 91. As aprobationer chorister,Michael had thedistinction of singingin the Three Choirs Festival in 1933 when Sir EdwardElgar conducted his Dream of Gerontius.He went on tosing in fifty-three Three Choirs festivals and was ChorusSuperintendent for the Hereford contingent for manyyears. In 1997 he retired after a sixty year associationwith the Hereford Choral Society and during this timeperformed under five different conductors; he wasquoted in the Old Herefordian magazine at the time:“It has been a wonderful experience... perhaps myabiding memory of those glorious decades is of thelovely people who have been my friends andcolleagues. It was a privilege to know them as it still isto know the present members.”

Below is the address given by the Dean of Hereford atthe funeral service for Michael Morris, 1 July 2015:

‘Softly and gently, dearly-ransomed soul,Farewell, but not for ever, brother dear,Swiftly shall pass thy night of trial hereAnd I will come and wake thee on the morrow.

Those words end The Dream of Gerontius, and it iswith the music of the Angel’s Farewell, that we shall bearMichael from the cathedral at the end of this service.I wonder - will it be like that - our death? A gentle falling

asleep in the hands of loving and merciful God? I like tothink so and I am sure that was how Michael saw it. Ican’t believe that one who had been part of so manyperformances of The Dream wouldn’t somehow beinfluenced by Newman and Elgar’s wonderful vision ofour end and our new beginning. I guess Michael willhave had his moments, like Gerontius himself, at theopening of The Dream, when he’s terrified of death. Butthat was not my experience of Michael – in all our recentconversations, I found him ready to depart – yes,patiently waiting, confident of all that would be, andcontent to look back – with a wonderful, sharp andaccurate memory for a man of 91 – to a life so well spentand with so many experiences and events to treasureand celebrate.So what will we all remember of Michael?He was a great Herefordian. Born and bred in the city

– his parents both musicians, music was in his bones –first in the choir at All Saints, then, at the age of nine, hewon a scholarship to Cathedral and Cathedral Schooland in that great year of 1933, he was pitched into musicand culture at the highest level, singing under Elgarhimself and even meeting the great George BernardShaw. So began an association with the Three ChoirsFestival of great distinction – singing in 53 festivals – 3as a boy and 50 as a man – marshalling the chorus ashe did so skilfully and tactfully over so many years. Andwhat a year in which to salute a great son of the ThreeChoirs Festival – this 300 anniversary year! I feel surethat when the history of the festival is revised, in duecourse, alongside all the luminaries, Michael will find avalued place. Michael loved all aspects of Hereford music – present

at the 175th anniversary of Hereford Choral Society, in2012, he was one of the few to remember the centenary,75 years before, performing as he did under Percy Hull,Meredith Davies, Melville Cooke, Richard Lloyd and RoyMassey. Only five years of army service interruptedMichael’s association with the Choral Society, and he re-joined in 1947. Michael supported Hereford in many other ways – a

season ticket holder at Hereford United for over 50years – a good actor, performing locally in his repertorydays; he was a valued member of St Ethelbert ProbusClub – joining in 1983; a strong Freemason at ConingsbyLodge; a loyal member of Hereford Conservative Club.

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Michael was a man who inspired great affection andloyalty. Friends tell me that a walk with Michael in HighTown was like a royal progress, and took for ever, as hestopped to talk to first this friend, then thatacquaintance. He inspired that affection, as he was sogood to talk to and always interested in what you hadto say – ‘what was the latest news’? – ‘what was goingon in the cathedral’? How marvellous that he was able to stay in his home

till the end. This was possible through the constant careof Bob, his neighbour and Bob’s daughter Vicky. We’dall want to salute you both for what you did for Michaeland the great love and care you showed him.Michael knew dark times, too. He fought in the

Second World War, being parachuted into Burma with aradio on his back – and indeed was one of the luckyfew to make it ashore when a massive air drop wentwrong and hundreds of our parachutists were droppedinto the sea instead of onto the coast. He then foughthis way up through Italy and Europe – so we proudlycommemorate a distinguished war record. There were sadnesses, too – his wife Megan died ten

years ago and his daughter, Carol, just over a year ago– and how good it is to have Jack, Michael’s son-in-law,with us today.Michael endured much these last years, with

operations and medical concerns, but he had anextraordinary way of making light of it all, and alwaysturning the conversation from himself to the person hewas speaking to. His faith was real and deep – this cathedral meant so

much to him and how right that his funeral serviceshould take place here today.We spoke about his funeral and we’ve included some

of his beloved Elgar but what he really wanted was forLucy to sing Handel’s Let the bright seraphim. This isanother image of our death, I guess. The Angel’sFarewell is one of gentle resignation and mercy, but thisaria from Samson is in the mould of The Trumpet ShallSound – the triumphant key of D major, likewiseproclaiming the resurrection of Jesus Christ. So, as wenow hear this wonderful music, we shall rememberMichael, and recall those words from Bunyan’s Pilgrim’sProgress, as another faithful Christian arrived at theCelestial City – So he passed over, and all the trumpetssounded for him on the other side.

May Michael rest in peace and rise in glory.’The Very Revd Michael Tavinor

Jennifer Higham Hereford Cathedral Junior

School was sad to learn of thedeath of former teacher MrsJennifer Higham; she workedat the school from 1959-1999.She originally acted asHeadmaster’s Assistant and following teachertraining in 1964 she was appointed Year 1 classteacher. After her retirement she continued tosupport the school with occasional appearances inthe office. The retired class teacher died fromParkinson’s disease after a four year fight, inHereford Hospital on 8 September 2015, aged 74.An extract from Teachers Educational Supplement

(TES) from 2006 read: ‘Some outstanding teachers are honoured with

knighthoods or have assembly halls named afterthem. Most just live on in their pupils’ memories. Butsurely only one can see a racehorse flash past,bearing her name and the colours of her school.Jennifer Higham worked at Hereford CathedralJunior School for more than 40 years, starting as anassistant then returning after teacher training. Onedevoted pupil when she was a student teacher in the60s was Peter Scudamore, one of the greatestjockeys of all time.So when the school’s racehorse-owning syndicate

(well, this is Herefordshire) was seeking a name for anew horse stabled at the Scudamore yard, “MrsHigham” was the obvious choice. She did well on herfirst outing, coming fifth in a 15-horse race atUttoxeter, on New Year’s Eve. And the cry, “MrsHigham is coming up on the outside,” gave pleasureall round.’Mrs Higham led an active retirement involving

volunteering for Hereford Riding for the Disabled(RDA), organising Royal British Legion Poppy Appealcollections, walking Offa’s Dyke with friends,Canadian Canoeing with Hereford Canoe Club,Long-distance Horse rides and foreign holidays toAustralia, New Zealand, South Africa and Canada.Being wife, mother and grandmother were the most

important part of her life, she valued them more thananything. She was always interested in andconcerned about others. Her funeral at Hereford Cathedral on 25 September

was attended by mourners including ex-pupils,parents and colleagues from HCJS with family andmany friends. Muffled Bells were rung by the band ofbell ringers she rang with from her local church inWoolhope.

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Alex Shave The school is sad to have learned of the death of

former HCS teacher Alex Shave who passed away onthe 14 August, aged 79, after a long illness. Alex taughtEconomics and German at the school and was fatherto OHs Ali (Alison) and Paddy (Patrick) Shave.

The following Eulogy was written by the Shavefamily:‘Alex was born in Croydon but his family soon moved

to Dulwich. During the war his parents were Air RaidWardens and Alex and his friends found it all ratherexciting, although it is clear he was often in danger. Hegained a scholarship to Dulwich College. After leavingschool he obtained a job in the Civil Service but hewas called up for National Service and was in the RAFfor two years.Afterwards he worked in a bank but all this time he

really wanted to go back to studying and gained aplace at Bristol University to read Economics andLanguages. He really enjoyed University and it washere he met Jeannie, and his love for appearing onstage and producing revues started from here.After university he obtained a job at the BBC as a

Stage Manager responsible for sound effects. Hisclaim to fame was rattling the bucket in Mrs Dale’sDiary! By this time Alex and Jeannie were married andthey both came to the conclusion that London was notfor them. Alex had done some supply teaching and heapplied for a temporary job in Gloucestershire. Afterthis he was approached to teach French at WhitecrossSchool. This however did not last long and he wasasked to teach at the Cathedral School. This began awhole new life for Jeannie and Alex. They had a daughter Alison and six years later a son

Patrick. While at the Cathedral School he coachedsquash and cricket, started a Bridge Club, producedrevues, did the lighting for plays and quite oftenhelped building the stage sets. He was also anapproachable and popular Housemaster. In his lateryears he did more admin jobs and couldn’t think whyhe was put in charge of Health and Safety! After retirement he continued playing bridge and

took up golf in a serious way. He was the secretary ofBrockington Golf Club and also Senior’s Captain.Alex was a people’s man. He enjoyed gatherings,

dinner parties and often performed at them. His partypiece was Susanna’s a Funniful Man, which hadeveryone in hysterics. He was a great father and much loved by his

grandchildren. He was always able to surprise them

with odd presents! And always considered wise andable to answer any question.For the last two years Alex’s health had not been

good but he was always cheerful and pleased to seepeople. Everyone who knew him was impressed withhis kindness and willingness to help anyone whoneeded it and many people have expressed this intheir cards to the family. He was not a Church goer (although having said that

he did go into the Cathedral every morning while hewas teaching and sometimes addressed theassembled pupils) but he was a spiritual man andloved Church music and he supported Jeannie in allher church activities.A few months ago Ali wrote her Dad a letter which

finished with the words “I have many happy memoriesand I feel fortunate and privileged to have you as myDad and I know Paddy feels the same. Love, joy andlaughter – can’t beat it”.This is a thanksgiving for Alex’s life and we shall miss

him!’

Bob Talbot It was with great sadness that

Hereford Cathedral Schoollearnt of the death of BobTalbot, a former teacher, inMay after a long illness. Bobhad been a key figure at theschool for thirty-four years.As Howard Tomlinson,

Headmaster, said of Bob on his retirement in 2002:‘Bob has made a huge contribution to the life of the

school − to its marketing, to its pastoral welfare, as awell-respected Tutor; to the life of the Common Roomas its social secretary and many times President; to itsadventure activities as a CCF officer; to its rugby, notleast as 1st XV coach for many years and co-founderof the Marches Sevens competition; and to itsaesthetic appreciations and general culture as head ofan outstanding Art Department.’Aside from the cultural school trips abroad for which

Bob was well known, rugby was clearly a love in Bob’slife. When Bob and teaching colleague DonTheakston started the Marches Sevens in 1976, theyprobably had no idea that it would still be runningmore than thirty years later and have grown to be amajor fixture in the schools’ rugby sevens calendarnationally. During his time at the School he nurtured the talent

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of many who would go on to regional, national andinternational success, including former WelshInternational Paul Thorburn who said of Bob onhearing of his passing: ‘There can be no question that Bob made a

phenomenal contribution to the lives of so manypeople whilst at Hereford Cathedral School,particularly those of us who were fortunate to have apassion for rugby. Bob was a huge motivation for us alland his commitment to the teams he coached wastireless, whether it was the junior teams or the first XV.One of his legacies will be the Marches 7’s, atournament which now rates as one of the largest andmost successful events on the schools 7’s circuit andit was only six weeks ago that a number of former HCSstudents and staff enjoyed another momentousoccasion. Sadly, Bob was unable to make it toWyeside that day and it is with great sadnesstherefore that we never had an opportunity to say ourthanks to him. On a personal note, Bob’s contributionto my career was enormous, giving me greatencouragement all the way through my school careerand when I managed to make the Neath squad, heand a number of other staff members made everyeffort to come along and watch and I am indebted tohim for the support he gave me, even if that meantoccasionally he had to cheer for Wales!’Bob was also involved in rugby in the wider county

and stepped down after 40 years’ service, whichincluded 20 years as treasurer, with the HerefordshireSchools’ Rugby Union in 2013.Bob was a kind and generous man, a mentor for

junior colleagues, who cared deeply about people.Colleagues describe him as ‘someone you could talkto’, ‘whose respect you wanted’, someone ‘whosupported and encouraged you’.Hereford Cathedral School’s current Headmaster

Paul Smith said: ‘We were all saddened to hear of Bob’s death. Bob,

the first ever Head of Art at the School, left us with anoutstanding Art Department and his legacy hascontinued to go from strength to strength with theDepartment now being recognised at a national level.” “His lasting legacy, with Don Theakston, of the

annual Marches Sevens Rugby Tournament alsostands as a true testament to his vision and passion,and to his belief that life and learning are so oftenaided by the provision of opportunities, not justfacilitated within the classroom.’Bob leaves a wife, Sue, a former teacher at Hereford

Cathedral Junior School and a daughter Louise.

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Let us know about importantevents in your life and career andmake sure you contact the school

Development Office when youchange your address.

Development Office:01432 363566

Email:[email protected]

It’s a great way to keep in touchwith your contemporaries!

OLDHEREFORDIANS’

CLUB

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The First World Warbrought with it

unprecedented challengesfor any head-teacher as theReverend John Henson,Headmaster of HerefordCathedral School duringthese war years, found tohis cost in 1914-15.

One of the major consequences forthe school of the outbreak of warwas a rapid decline in pupilnumbers which reached a low pointof seventy-one boys in April 1915.Over the weeks from late July tomid-September 1914, eighteennewly registered boarders werewithdrawn from Henson’s lists,thereby reducing the school’spotential income by nearly £1,000.At a time when the headmaster wasstill responsible for collecting theschool fees and paying his staff,such a loss was also likely to havecaused Henson financialembarrassment. In addition, manyof the older boys had left, soHenson was faced with theprospect of a tiny sixth form, whichwas down to eight pupils by early1915, and a young andinexperienced group of monitors.The exception was his Head ofSchool, T M Ragg, but in earlyOctober he also (in theHeadmaster’s phrase) ‘discarded thepen for the sword’ and joined themany Old Herefordians who hadflocked to the colours during thefirst weeks of the war.

Correspondingly, Henson’s staff hadbeen reduced to six assistantmasters by September 1914.Henson was more fortunate thansome of his HMC colleagues in thatno teacher had left voluntarily thatsummer to serve their King andcountry but Percy Hull, the musicmaster and Dr Sinclair’s assistant ascathedral organist, having leftEngland in early August toundertake a walking tour in theBlack Forest, had been caught bythe outbreak of war and interned inGermany. The autumn termactivities of the OTC, too, weredisrupted by the successive loss oftwo sergeant instructors, whom theWar Office recalled for seniortraining duties, and the resignationof the newly appointedcommanding officer.

In such circumstances, it is notsurprising that the school’sgovernors began to lose confidencein their headmaster. In the autumn

1914 meeting, it was reported thatthe deficiency in the fee account forthat term would be nearly £70,which would rise to over £112 if thestaff remained the same for thefollowing spring term. In the end,Henson reduced the deficit to £132s 8d. Nevertheless, during theseearly war months hisheadmastership was insecure.Indeed, in February 1915 thegovernors asked him to consider hisposition ‘given the falling off ofnumbers and the…[finances] of theschool’.

In addition to the financialconcerns, Henson had to face downparental complaints ‘with referenceto the discipline and administrationof the school’. Indeed, it seems asthough some influential members ofthe local community weredeliberately denigrating thecathedral school in an attempt tohave it closed down and so benefitthe new high school. As one of theHMIs had reported, following apost-inspection conference inHereford in March 1915:

The governors explained theirdifficulties with the utmostfrankness. They thought theschool was in a desperateposition. The school and theHeadmaster were constantlyattacked by parents, by thetowns-people and by theneighbourhood generally. Trivialincidents had been seized uponand magnified into scandals.The Headmaster gave me atypical case. A big boy with

The Cathedral School One 100 Years Ago:John Henson and the Inspection of 1915

In this annual series, Howard Tomlinson surveys the fortunes of HCS during the years ofthe First World War.

O l d H e r e f o r d i a n s ’ C l u b ~ N e w s l e t t e r 2 0 1 5

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conspicuously red hair [having]got a bad kick on the headduring a football match…walked unsteadily back toschool through the streets ofHereford. This became theorigin of a legend thatdrunkenness was one of theprevailing vices of the cathedralschool.

HCS was indeed in a ‘desperateposition’ in these early war monthsyet it survived thanks, in part, tothe favourable inspection reportwhich helped still the ‘injurioustittle-tattle’ and the unfair attacksthat the Headmaster had endured.

Although Henson may have fearedthe worst when four inspectorsdescended on HCS on 16th and17th March 1915, he waspersonally vindicated, beingdescribed as ‘a teacher ofexceptional ability…with unusualpowers of hard and continuouswork’. He may have taught anexcessive weekly timetable of thirty-one periods, but the best teachingin the school (in History andClassics) was conducted by theHeadmaster himself. Henson’sintroduction of a systematic Historyscheme would make it impossiblefor a sixth-former ever again ‘to beentirely ignorant of the history ofhis own country’; and in Classics,although only fifteen boys nowstudied Greek (in four sets), thesuccess of the Headmaster’sdecision to reduce the amount ofreading was shown by ‘theextremely promising work’ of thebest boys in Form IV no less thanby ‘the accuracy and taste’ of theSixth in their translations.

Attainment in other subjects wasmore variable. The work of thesenior boys in mathematics,although they were taught by a

master who had been listednineteenth wrangler in 1911, wasdisappointing; the effectiveness ofmodern languages teaching haddeclined; and there were difficultiesin English caused by the teachingbeing shared out among the wholestaff. Even so, the attainmentachieved in these three disciplineswas considered ‘fair’. The samecould not be said for other areas.Science still occupied a subordinateposition in the curriculum. Therewas no sixth form science teachingat all; the subject could be droppedentirely by boys opting for Germanor Greek at the end of Form III;less than five hours per week wasallocated to Science in the wholeschool; there was no master with aScience degree; and the laboratory,although well equipped, wasinsufficiently used, it being ‘coldand damp’ in winter. Criticismswere also made of the school’sprovision in Geography, which wasnot taught beyond Form IV andwhere the master had no specialqualification or aptitude for thesubject; in Art, taught in two juniorforms, where drawing instructionwas ‘not on good lines… [being]very largely from copies’ and theteaching in Form III was disruptedby the master havingsimultaneously to teachmathematics to a different group ofboys; and in Music, where the thirtyminutes weekly allocation for thetwo divisions, plus a Saturday ‘sing-song’ for the older boys, wasconsidered insufficient, and theboys were ‘thoroughly bored’ withhaving to sing hymn tunes whichthey well knew. Part of the problemwas that the choristers werewithdrawn from these and otherlessons. Indeed, to the inspectors,the choristers with their specialtimetable were ‘a nuisance to therest of the school’. It was hardly anew observation.

Other weaknesses, namely theindifferent pupil grading; the lowmasters’ salaries (which rangedfrom £170 to £130 annually); theproblems posed by the OxfordJunior examination; the lack of asystematic medical examination;and the need for more ‘modernsingle desks’ and pictures werealluded to, but it was by no meansa negative report. Theimprovements that had been madeto the accommodation, theclassrooms apart, since the 1908inspection and the school’s‘vigorous corporate life’, forexample, were commended. Butmost important of all, in terms ofthe school’s continuation, was thegeneral conclusion:

Since the date of the last fullinspection report, there has beenestablished in Hereford a well-equipped county secondaryschool for boys. In an importantprovincial centre like Herefordthere should be ample space forat least two efficient boys’schools differing not necessarilyin grade but in type. Thecathedral school, with itstraditions and endowment, canoffer a predominantly classicaleducation up to a high point.Under the present Headmaster,the classical tradition is inexcellent hands, and the schoolshould continue to fill a mostuseful place in the educationalscheme of the district.

The spring term of 1915 marked thenadir of the school’s fortunesduring Henson’s tenure. Theinspectors, however, had bothvindicated the headmaster andaffirmed the school’s place in thecounty’s educational provision.Henson and the school survivedbut it had been a close run thing.

Howard Tomlinson



30

WW1 Commemoration2014, 100 years on from theoutbreak of the First World War, sawthe commencement of four years ofcommemoration and remembranceto mark the centenary.

During World War One over 400former pupils of HCS and HCJSserved their country and seventy werekilled. In 1918/19 the OH Clubappealed to its members to raise fundsfor a memorial to be placed in theLady Chapel of Hereford Cathedral,which at that time was a place of dailyworship for the School. In due coursethe brass plaque we see today waserected, followed by a similar plaqueafter WW2.The OH Club has matched funding

from Mr Ege Parker, former HCSteacher, and together theycommissioned a brass memorialplaque which has been erected in StGeorge’s Memorial Chapel, Ypres, tomark the sacrifice of so many OldHerefordians on the Western Front.The HCS Chamber Choir sang at thededication of the plaque in StGeorge’s Chapel.Hereford Cathedral School’s Senior

Chamber Choir had been invited toBelgium to represent the UnitedKingdom to perform as part of the‘Thousand Voices for Peace’ concert.They joined with thirty-eight otherchoirs from 18 countries for theconcert in the International Basilicaof the Sacred Heart (KoekelbergBasilica) in Brussels.

Harry Brook, who was installed asBoy Bishop in 2014, rememberedthe Old Herefordians of the GreatWar in his speech:

‘I visited Belgium [November 2014]with the Senior Chamber Choir totake part in the 1000 Voices forPeace concert. We were one ofthirty-nine choirs from countriesinvolved in the First World War whotook part in this homage to peace.Whilst in Belgium, we also took partin a service at St George’s MemorialChapel, Ypres, to commemorate theseventy Old Herefordians who died

Boy Bishop’s Speech

in the Great War. When I returnedhome, I was interested to discoverthat one of the seventy, CharlesHoward Harris, was, like me, achorister at Hereford Cathedral. Charles Harris was born in 1897.

He was the son of Edward Charlesand Flora Caroline Harris and livedat 56, Broad Street. So, unlike me,he would have been able to go homeafter Matins on Sundays. Although Ido not know the exact dates whenCharles Harris was a chorister, Ithink this would have beensometime between 1904 and 1911when he was aged between sevenand fourteen years old.Being a chorister in the 1900s was

even more of a commitment than itis today. During my time as achorister, I took part in hundreds ofservices, which I find quite amazing.However, the choristers at thebeginning of the twentieth centurywould have taken part in even moreservices as the only time they had offwas a half holiday on Wednesdaysand three weeks summer holiday.Boys who lived at great distancesfrom Hereford were boarded out inprivate houses, which, living inKington, would have helped meafter many a late concert. I joined Hereford Cathedral as a

probationer in September 2009,

about one hundred years afterCharles Harris. For me, this meantmoving from Shobdon PrimarySchool to Hereford Cathedral JuniorSchool. Each morning, my fellowprobationers and I were whisked offby Mr Dyke for training leading upto the chorister test. This is a bigmoment for a probationer as the testdetermines whether or not youbecome a full chorister. I rememberthat my test took place at MrBowen’s house. Mrs Bowen kindlyoffered me lunch but I declined incase it was the other half of theavocado that Mr Bowen wasenjoying! Fortunately, the journeyfrom Kington gave me plenty of timeto revise and I passed the test firsttime. I was ‘ruffed’ on 15 July 2010along with my fellow probationers,Michael and William. This alsohappened to be the valedictionservice for three of my formermentors: Anthony, Rory andMatthew. When Charles Harris joined the

choir in the early 1900s, the organistwas Dr George Robinson Sinclair.Sinclair’s dog, Dan, as many of myformer colleagues behind me mayknow, is the subject of one of Elgar’sEnigma Variations. Dan attendedchoir practices with his master andapparently growled at choristerswho sang out of tune. Mr Bowenmay like to consider taking thisapproach.Sinclair was a dignified role model.

The choristers held him in greatesteem and affection and werehappy and worked as a well-disciplined team. This was also myexperience as a chorister under MrBowen’s direction. Dr Sinclairarranged for a room to be built inhis garden which was known as ‘TheArk’, and this was where practiceswere held until a song room wasbuilt. The modern day equivalent of‘The Ark’ is Choir House wherechoristers and probationers keep MrGacek on his toes in betweenpractices and services.Like me, Charles Harris would

have enjoyed chorister outings as


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these were started in the 1880s. Theannual chorister outing continues tobe a popular event today. It is quitepossible that the outings I enjoyedand those enjoyed by Charles Harrisand his fellow choristers had at leastone thing in common – a steam trainjourney.However, I do not think that

Charles Harris would have been ontour abroad as a chorister. A yearafter I joined, the choir went on tourto South Africa for the first time. Ihad just started Year 5 and so wasnine years old when we went butfortunately I didn’t have homesickness. It was a fantasticexperience, the only disappointmentbeing that we did not see anelephant in its natural environment.During my time in the choir, I also

had the honour of taking part in aChristmas CD recording and severalradio broadcasts. Participating in theThree Choirs Festival was one of thehighlights of my time as a choristerand something which I share incommon with Charles Harris. Heand I will have sung much of thesame choral music and perhaps evenstood in the same place in the choirstalls behind me. Charles Harris served in the 26th

battalion of the Royal Fusiliers. Thebattalion set off for France on 4 May1916 and took part in various battleson the Western Front, including theBattle of Flers-Courcelette and theBattle of the Transloy Ridges.Charles was only 19 years old whenhe died on the 10 October 1916 as aresult of wounds received in actiontwo days earlier. If Charles Harris, and millions

others like him, had not made theultimate sacrifice, then I may neverhave had the opportunity to be achorister at Hereford Cathedral. In1916, the year when Charles died,John Maxwell Edmunds wrote:“When you go Home, tell them of usand say, For your Tomorrow, wegave our Today”. Charles gave histoday for my tomorrow and for thisI will always be grateful.’

Between July and November 2014 adisplay of ceramic poppies filled themoat at the Tower of London:888,246 poppies − one for eachBritish soldier killed.The OH Club decided to purchase

seventy of the poppies from the Towerof London to represent each OH lifelost. A structure has beencommissioned to incorporate thepoppies so that they can be onpermanent display in school and alsoused in the cathedral for our Serviceof Remembrance each year; thepoppies will complement andaugment the glass plaque which isplaced on the central plinth, bearingthe names of all our 20th and 21stCentury war dead.

In 2014, Hereford CathedralSchool’s Cantabile Girls’ Choircommissioned Michael Neaum to setone of Digby Haseler’s poems tomusic. The Skylark was given itspremiere performance, on 18 October2014, in Hereford Cathedral at aconcert to raise money for localmilitary charities. On 17 May 2015Cantabile Girls’ Choir won the BBCSongs of Praise Senior Choir of theYear singing The Skylark.

Skylark One lark sings over no man’s land.The batteries roar on either hand,And very angry guns are theyNow the night turns into day.

One lark sings over no man’s land.The more they shell the more he sings!

Little bird, can you understandAll the meaning of all these thingsIt’s a far cry across the seaTo the folk who gave my life to me.Praise be to God who all good planned

One lark sings over no man’s land.

The CD is available from HerefordCathedral School Music Department(01432 363531), price £8.00 pluspostage.

Poppies at the Tower

Lieutenant Francis Oakeley (OH)was an England international rugbyplayer in 1913 when England wonthe first ever grand slam. He died inWW1 at the age of twenty-three; hissubmarine did not return fromoperations in the North Sea inDecember 1914.Liz Smith, his niece, came to talk to

Hereford Cathedral Junior School;one of the school houses is namedOakley. She also lent the schoolFrancis Oakley’s personal possessions,including his England ‘caps’, todisplay before they travelled to theRugby Museum at Twickenham.

England Caps Displayed

‘Skylark’Digby Haseler left Hereford

Cathedral School in 1917 to join theKing’s Shropshire Light Infantry. Hewrote poetry at school andcontinued to write verses whenposted to the trenches in France.


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WW1 1915Those OHs who were killed serving their country:

Charles RobertBlackettSecond Lieutenant 2ndBattalion King's ShropshireLight Infantry. He was killedin action at Ypres on 25 April1915, aged 20.

He is commemorated at theMenin Gate Memorial, Ypres,and also in the church atSmethcote, Shropshire, wherehis father, Reverend WilliamRobert Blackett, was Rector.

Wilfred TownshendCarlessBorn in 1875, Wilfred was theson of Joseph and FlorenceCarless and attended HCS1885-91; his book, A ShortHistory of Hereford School,was published in 1914.

A prominent local solicitor andFreeman of the City ofHereford, W T Carless wasRegistrar of the HerefordCounty Court and High Court ofJustice, and he was alsoDeputy City and CountyCoroner. In 1897 he joined theHerefordshire Volunteers.Major Carless served with 1st

Battalion HerefordshireRegiment, and took commandof the regiment a few hoursafter landing at Suvla Baywhen the Colonel waswounded. He was posted asmissing, presumed dead, on 12August 1915, aged 39. He iscommemorated at HerefordCathedral School, HerefordCathedral (a plaquecommissioned by his wife andchildren), and Helles Memorial.

Robert ShuttleworthClarkeCaptain in 5th BattalionKing’s Shropshire LightInfantry, was killed in actionnear Hooge 25 September,aged 25.

He was the son of Maria andthe Reverend WilliamShuttleworth Clarke, Vicar ofMarstow. A Baroque-stylememorial tablet in the churchcommemorates Robert’s life,and he is also commemoratedon the school and cathedralmemorials in Hereford as wellas the Menin Gate Memorial,Ypres.

Harold CutfieldPrivate, 16th The Queen’sLancers, was killed in actionon 21 February, aged 19. Heis commemorated at theMenin Gate Memorial, Ypres.

Harold was the son of ArthurCutfield, surgeon, and AgnesCutfield of Merton House,Ross-on-Wye. The December1916 edition of The Herefordianrecords his death: ‘He left theSchool while still in thePreparatory, but even so younghe had gained distinction, forhe was School cox in 1906.’The Poverty Bay Heraldnewspaper of New Zealand,dated 22 May 1915 records:‘Advice has been received thatMr Harold Cutfield, well knownin Gisbourne, has been killed inaction at Ypres. He came out tothe Dominion about threeyears ago, and was for sometime with Mr Guy Porter, ofWaingate. When war broke outhe returned home and joinedthe 16th Lancers. This corps,whilst storming the enemy’strenches, was terribly cut up,losing many officers and men.’

George HerbertDaviesLieutenant 3rd Battalionattached 1st King’sShropshire Light Infantry. Hewas killed in action on 9August at Hooge, aged 26.He is commemorated at theMenin Gate Memorial, Ypres,as well as at the school andGlasgow University.

George was the son of the Rev.John Bayley Davies, Rector ofWaters Upton, Wellington,Salop, and Mrs Susan Davies.

He attended the University ofGlasgow to study Engineering;he never graduated, however,and instead went to work forJohn Brown's, the shipbuildingcompany.George joined the ShropshireLight Infantry in August 1914and was promoted toLieutenant on the 21 March1915. He became a machine-gun officer attached to the 1stBn. Manchester Regiment.Invalided home in February1915, he returned to the Frontin April. He died in Hooge,Belgium. Major E. B. Luardwrote: “He was in charge ofthe machine guns, and wasmost gallantly getting one intoposition when he was shotdead. He is a very great loss tothe regiment. He was verypopular with both the officersand men. I had a greatadmiration of him, and feel theloss of a very courageous,hard-working and valuableyoung officer.”


33

Peter GedgeJoined the Suffolk Regimenthaving postponed his plans totrain for the priesthood. Helanded in France on 29 May1915 and was promoted toLieutenant in 7th BattalionSuffolk Regiment.

He was killed in the "Action ofthe Hohenzollern Redoubt[Loos]", 13 October 1915, he wasaged 24. He is commemoratedat both Denstone College andHereford Cathedral School aswell as the Swanley WarMemorial and the LoosMemorial.

Peter was the son of ReverendEdmund and Mary ElizabethGedge, of Swanley Junction,Kent. He had two brothers,Reverend Basil Johnson Gedge(military chaplain) and JosephGedge, who were also killed inthe war; neither attended HCS.Staff Paymaster Joseph Gedgewas killed on HMS Amphion on6 August 1914, the first RoyalNavy ship to be lost, just thirty-two hours after war wasdeclared. The Gedge Medal isstill awarded by the Royal Navy.

Elliot Blair GrasettLieutenant, 28th Punjabisattached 33rd Punjabis,Indian Army. He was born atAllensmore Vicarage, the sonof the Reverend James ElliotGrasett.

He took part in every aspect ofschool life: Singing, Debating,Hockey, Rowing, Football andCricket. His ‘Valete’ in theDecember, 1907 edition of TheHerefordian: ‘E. B. Grasett, Captain of Cricket1907, 1st XI. Cricket 1906-7, 2ndXI. Football 1905-6, Monitor.’Elliot was a choral scholar at

Jesus College, Cambridge; herepresented his college inHockey, Rowing, Football andCricket and added tennis to hissporting prowess. He graduatedin 1911 with a BA in ModernLanguages and wascommissioned into the IndianArmy. He also served in Egypt,taking part in the repulse of theTurkish attack at the Suez Canalin February 1915, before hisposting to France. LieutenantGrasett died in action, 25September 1915, aged 27,leading his men at the Battle ofLoos; he is remembered on theIndian Army memorial atNeuve-Chapelle. “Gallant andfearless to the last” − recalledhis Commanding Officer − “hedied as he would have wishedhimself, in front of his men.”

Christopher HattonSecond Lieutenant, SouthStaffordshire Regiment diedon 9 December 1915, aged 24.

The son of Charles and AnnHatton of The Red House,Barton Street, Hereford,Christopher had been employedas a bank clerk inWorcestershire. He iscommemorated on the St.Nicholas War Memorial,Hereford, and buried at St Johnthe Baptist churchyard,Londonthorpe, Lincolnshire.[Belton Park, Londonthorpe,was a WW1 military camp andhospital.]

William ErnestMauvanAn Assistant School Teacher inSurrey, he joined the 2nd/4thBattalion The Queen's (RoyalWest Surrey Regiment).

Corporal Mauvan died on 9August, aged 31.

He is commemorated on theHelles Memorial, Gallipoli.

James Lewis MillarPrivate, HerefordshireRegiment, was killed in action15 August, aged 18. He isburied at Suvla, Gallipoli. Hewas the son of Robert andIsabella Millar, of Bodenham,Hereford.

The December 1916 edition ofThe Herefordian included hisobituary:‘Private J. L. Millar,Herefordshire Regiment, joinedthe 2nd Battalion when it wasbeing raised in Hereford, andwas afterwards transferred tothe 1st. He then proceeded withit to the Dardanelles, and theremet his death. He wasinstantaneously killed, being hitby a shell. He was a member ofthe School 1st Xl, 1914.’

Llewllyn HaslopeOldhamSecond Lieutenant 2ndBattalion WorcestershireRegiment, was killed in action26 September, aged 18. He iscommemorated at HerefordCathedral School, HerefordCathedral and Loos Memorial.

He was the son of the ReverendEgerton Haslope Oldham. TheDecember, 1916 edition of TheHerefordian included hisobituary:‘Sec.-Lieut. L. Oldham.Worcestershire Regiment,joined very early in the War, andjoined the ranks. He waspromoted to Sergeant, and thenobtained a commission while at

the Front. While at School herepresented the 1st XI. inCricket in 1913, and gavepromise of an oarsman, rowingin the Yellow Boat. He was alsoin the Football Eleven.’

Rowland GeorgePrichardLieutenant 1st BattalionSuffolk Regiment, was killedin action on 24 April, aged 19.He is commemorated atHereford Cathedral School,Hereford Cathedral and theMenin Gate Memorial, Ypres.

Rowland was the youngest offour children of the ReverendCharles Collwyn Prichard,Rector of Alresford, Essex. Atschool, he won the VI FormClassics prize and the CanonCape’s Latin Verse Prize atSpeeches, 1914. The July 1915edition of The Herefordianincluded his obituary:‘The Editors regret to announcethe death of 2nd-Lieut. R. G.Prichard (O.H.), who was killedin action on April 28th. He wasat school from 1909-1914, andwas a Member of the SchoolCrew in 1914, and of theFootball XI In 1913. He wasamong the first to join andobtained a Commission verysoon in the 3rd Batt. SuffolkRegt.’

Henry FreemanRussellSecond Lieutenant 4thBattalion WorcestershireRegiment, was killed in actionon 6 August, aged 25. He iscommemorated at HerefordCathedral School, HerefordCathedral and HellesMemorial.

O l d H e r e f o r d i a n s ’ C ~ N e w s l e � e r 2 0 1 5

4

u bl u

3

Monday [7 July 1915]

My dear mother

I got here yesterday and almost as soon as I got to the billets

we went off to the trenches. I am now writing this in a dugout

in the first line of trenches. The Germans are only 50 yards in

front of us here.

We have now spent 24 hours in this trench. The whole relief

works on 4 days in and 4 days out. It has been fairly quiet but

for a few coal boxes and snipers. They liven up towards night

time.TuesdayStill in the same place this morning. They gave 2 or 3 Jack

Johnsons to liven us up at about 8 o clock.

Just in for a lively time.

Your loving son Tom

Just been through an artillery bombardment you can what

[sic] it is like when only 50 yards apart as you get the benefit

of your own as well as the enemies shells Jack Johnsons

usually.I’ll write you first chance I'm dog tired now. Tom

4 August 1915My dear motherVery many thanks for your P.C. the shirt and the fly stuff. I got 2parcels from Aunt Ina and Aunt Esther at the same time. The onefrom Aunt Ina had travelled a bit and turned up with just myname and a towel round it.That camp bed is mine. I lent it to Daubeny while at the Baseand then he sent it back. I'll send a paper to do with it.We came out the trenches two nights ago and we may go in againin two days time or go back for some rest as perhaps a boost willgive us something to do.

I spent my last two days up sniping. The Huns kindly signalledback results by means of flags. They stuck up two flags on BankHoliday, but we shot them down. They gave us a halt one nightand we gave them one back the next but I don't think it is goingon like this for long.I got a letter from Robert yesterday saying he had not been in thetrenches yet.Two new officers turned up yesterday from the Artists Rifles.Please thank Joyce very much for her letter and say I'll write firstopportunity I very often get a horse to go riding and hope to this afternoon. Iwas busy yesterday afternoon paying out the company and takingthem down for a bathe. We have to march 4 kilometres for thebaths.I met Williams yesterday in a car. They do get a good time theASC. Drive about in cars all day long and never go anywherenear the Firing Line -- but I wouldn't be in it for any thing. N.W.has been wounded he says.Your loving son Tom

Henry was the son of Mary M.Russell, of Southfield,Leominster, and the late HenryFreeman Russell JP. TheDecember 1916 edition of TheHerefordian included hisobituary:‘Lieut. H. F. Russell, 4thWorcesters, was killed in theDardanelles. He left Schoolwhen in the Fifth Form, havingreceived his 2nd Xl CricketColours, 1906, and 2nd XIFootball, 1906.’

Edward StockerSecond Lieutenant 6thBattalion King's Own ScottishBorderers, he was killed inaction on 25 September, aged31.

He was the son of William E. G.and Juanita Stocker, and bornin 1884 at Wimbledon, Surrey.In 1911 his employment isrecorded as Bank Clerk inWimbledon. However, his familyalso lived in Rustington, Sussex,and he is commemorated onthe town’s memorial as well asthe Loos Memorial, France.

David MarmadukeWilliamsKilled in action 25 September,aged 25. He iscommemorated at HerefordCathedral School, HerefordCathedral and Cabaret-RougeBritish Cemetery, Souchez.

The December, 1916 edition ofThe Herefordian included hisobituary:‘Lieut. David MarmadukeWilliams, O.H., StaffordshireRegiment who was killed onSept. 25th. 1915, at the battle ofLoos. Only 25 years of age.

Lieut. Williams was the eldestson of Mr. and Mrs. F. J.Williams, late of MarstonHouse, Hereford, and grandsonof the late Mr. A. T. Lefroy, ChiefConstable of Gloucestershire.Lieut. D. M. Williams received acommission in the 4th Batt.South Staffordshire Regiment inOctober, 1914, and joined theDepot in Jersey. On March 5th,1915, he went out to the Front,attached to the 2nd Battalion.In May he acted as officercarrying the code messagesbetween the General andColonel, through the fire-zoneat the battle of Festubert andwas highly complimented byGeneral Monro for the“extraordinarily good work hedid.” A short time after, hereceived a commission in theRegulars for “distinguishedservice in the field.” In Januaryhe was mentioned indespatches. At the battle ofLoos on Sept. 25th he wasmachine-gun officer underCapt. Kilby (who was awardedthe V.C. for this action) andmost gallantly rushed his gunup to within 20 metres of theGerman trenches, raking themwith fire until shot down with allhis men, who were either killedor wounded. Corpl. Waile wasshot dead as he wascourageously trying to bandagethe wound in Lieut. Williams’shead.

Colonel Morgan wrote to hisparents, saying, “Your son, forhis great gallantry, wasrecommended for the MilitaryCross and, had he lived, hewould most certainly havereceived it. The Battalioncovered themselves with glory,and your son had done sosplendidly when serving.” TheAdjutant said he had, on morethan one occasion, given proofof his great bravery, and theRegiment could ill afford to losehim.

An officer also paid this tribute:“He is a very great loss to us;he cheered everyone up, andwas the life and soul of themess. Nobody could have beena more gallant or truer friend.”’

O l d H e r e f o r d i a n s ’ C l u b ~ N e w s l e � e r 2 0 1 5

35

LettersHome Letters written fromthe Front byThomas Norbury Wilmot,1915.

[8 September 1915]

My dear mother

We came out the trenches yesterday evening and present are

billetted just behind. We are going 'in' again tomorrow in the

same trenches so we are not having long wait.

The trenches are in an awful state. A foot deep in either mud

or water so my T boots will come in very useful.

There is a tremendous lot of work to do up in trenches now for

the winter.I had a bathe in the canal today. Very dirty but better than

nothing.They shelled the canalside very heavily when I was going up to

the trenches on my way back from leave and knocked holes in

the tow path all the way up.

Will write tomorrow if I get a chance, but no time now.

How is Robert? And where?

Your loving son Tom

[14 September 1915]SundayMy dear motherVery many thanks for the H. Times. Why did you suddenly thinkI was at Devonport and put it on the address?We ought to have been going into the trenches again today but theorder was cancelled this morning and I believe we are going backto have a couple of days rest. I am going for a ride after tea with Barton. It is a great treat beingable to do these things instead of being in the trenches -- thetrenches we were going to near Gy.Just before we were relieved on Friday we brought down a Boschaeroplane. It came over our trenches so we fired out and turned itback. And on the way back the guns followed it up and one shellburst just underneath it. It went for a few yds and then came downhead over heels. We gave a great cheer and suitable remarks werepassed to the Huns who are only 50 yds away just there. They arealways shouting over to us. I saw about Robert [Robert wounded and hospitalised] in thepapers. I saw he will be in London soon. What rot they writeabout the Herefords in the H Times. They ought to be had up. Atany rate the letters the men write ought to be censored long beforethey reach England. I see privates writing to the papers. Why it isin Kings Regs about nobody in the services being allowed to writeto the papers. Its bound to be a pack of lies or it would have beencensored. Not much news.Your loving son Tom

Sunday 18th

My dear mother

Did that cablegrame come from you that I got yesterday

saying that I was reported dead? If so it's quite a mistake I'm

far from dead yet. I can't think how the report came about

and you could not have messed it up about JD Wilmot as I

told you about him. By the way a cablegram takes just as long

as a letter to come out, but I sent a reply to that one. We are

going back into the trenches on Wednesday. There were

rumours of tomorrow but I don't think it is true.

We are having a game of footer this afternoon. Officers v.

Sergeants.Your loving son Tom

[18 August 1915]My dear motherThis letter may reach you late for various reasons in the post.My home address was sent for leave last night so I hope to behome in a short time though I'm afraid I shall never be able to saywhen except by telegraphing from London when I get there.Anything may turn up between now and then so it's no use sayinganything for certain.

We have spent a week on end in these trenches and as far as I canmake out are liable to be in them for another week before we areout of them. They are not such very bad trenches but we get somelively hours now and then, the nights especially.I spend most of my time crawling in the grass and theircommunication trenches looking for souvenirs and will bring homewhat I can. I have been doing a lot of sniping too. This is a verygood place for it.The Herefordshire do not seem to have started very well. Very badluck on them as they would have hardly seen anything fightingbefore they got these casualties. I got both your letters & the paperfor which many thanks. We have got a gramophone in one of the companies which is agreat asset. The Huns are a very sporting lot here as they signal all the resultsof your shots when sniping by waving flags. Yesterday a fellow wasfiring at a white sandbag in those trenches and for every miss theyput up another white flag and for every hit they took one down. Iam going to try and bring my rifle back as I shall probably lose itif I take it about with me.

I hope to be starting on leave soon after this weeks tour.Your loving son TomPS Many thanks for sending off footers and mouthorgans.

36


s C H O O l n e w s

exam Results

Hereford Cathedral School produced its best ever Alevel A* - B results. With an increase in thepercentage of A* grades achieved, over a fifth of allgrades awarded were at the highest level.In Spanish, French, Latin, English Literature, Music, RS

Philosophy and Ethics, Drama and Art every candidatewas awarded a grade between A* and B. It also provedto be a record year in Chemistry and Economics with93% and 86% of grades achieved being awarded A* -B. The Art and Music Departments were particularlydelighted that for the sixth year running all theirstudents achieved at least a B grade or above.The AS results were also excellent with 77% of all

grades achieved being A - C grade and 58% of allexams taken were awarded either an A or B grade.The GCSE results were also outstanding with more

than half the candidates achieving A* - B grade.Nearly a quarter of all students secured all A* - A. Two

pupils achieved outstanding results, each securing 12A* grades’, four pupils gained 11 A*s, three achieved 10A*s and five pupils were awarded nine A*s. In general,a third of all grades achieved by pupils were A* and 61%were either an A*or A, up two per cent on last year.It was a record year for Chemistry with 97.9% of

grades achieved being an A* - A. For the ninth yearrunning, pupils have achieved all A* - C grades inBiology, Chemistry, Physics and Music. The Drama andLatin departments were also delighted that all theirstudents achieved A* - C grades this year.

Cantabile wins Songs of Praise

Hereford Cathedral School’s Cantabile Girls’ Choirwon the BBC Songs of Praise Senior School Choir ofthe Year Competition 2015, which was broadcast on17 May.The seventeen singers from Hereford Cathedral

School, accompanied by fellow pupil Laurence Johnand Cantabile Director Jo Williamson, took the

audience and judges at Nottingham’s Albert Hall bystorm in the final of the competition. Competing against choirs from Twyford Church of

England High School and Strathearn School ChamberChoir, the choir sang The Skylark to clinch the title. Thesong was commissioned especially for Cantabile incommemoration of the centenary of WW1; the musicwas composed by Michael Neaum and the lyrics werewritten as a poem during the Great War by a formerHCS pupil and the emotional connection brought anextra dimension to the performance.In July the choir again performed at the International

Eisteddfod, Llangollen, competing against choirs fromall over the world. The girls gave an enthrallingperformance and Cantabile was crowned winning choirof the Childrens’ Folk Song competition. The choir alsocame fourth in the Senior Children’s Choir competition,making them the highest placed UK choir. After such major successes, Cantabile is in great

demand and has a full performance schedule. Mostrecently the choir sang at the Royal Albert Hall, London,as part of the BBC Songs of Praise event, The Big Sing.Unexpectedly, one of the choir, Rachel, was asked tostep into the limelight and take the place of theprofessional soloist who was unwell.Rachel said: “It was very nerve-racking but it was a

great experience.”Jo Williamson, Choir Director added: “We’re really

honoured that the BBC asked us to provide a last-minute soloist. We are so proud of Rachel, she sangbeautifully.”

brilliant biologists

During Science Week, forty-six Year 10 pupils tookpart in the Biology Challenge organised by theSociety of Biology.This is an international competition aimed at

rewarding 14-15 year old students who have anoutstanding interest and knowledge of Biology. Over32,000 students took part in this competition. The top

Cantabile Girls’ Choir at the Albert Hall

37


H s C s P O R t

County Hockey Champions

In March, the U15 Girls Hockey Team (coached byIan Johnson) became County Champions, beatingLucton in the final 4-0.

County netball Champions

Hereford Cathedral School U18 Netball teamssailed to victory with the annual U18 CountyNetball Tournament. The 1st and 2nd VII netballteams defeated Hereford Sixth Form College 1stand 2nd teams in the semi-finals.This resulted in an all-Hereford Cathedral School final

where excellent netball was played and the final score:HCS 1st VII 12 – HCS 2nd VII 1.Hereford Cathedral School's U12 and U13 Netball

teams also won their respective County NetballTournaments to become County Champions.

5% scores in the competition are awarded a Goldmedal; one HCS pupil achieved a particularly high markand was awarded a Gold medal.Seven HCS pupils were awarded Silver medals and

another seven achieved the Bronze medal. Seventeenof our pupils were Highly Commended and seven wereCommended. The Biology Department is extremelyproud that 43 out of 46 of our pupils achieved an aboveaverage result in this Biology Challengecompetition. These are outstanding results and clearlydemonstrate great academic potential.

british biology Olympiads 2015The Biology Olympiad is a national competition

organised by the Society of Biology for A levelstudents who have demonstrated a very strongacademic ability in Biology − a fast-movingscience where new pieces of research arepublished every day.Over 6000 students took part nationwide. Ten pupils

were selected by the HCS Biology Department toparticipate in this competition; they met regularly afterschool to prepare for it, but also to find out more aboutthe wonders of biology outside the limited timeavailable in lessons. Only the top 6% achieve a GoldMedal and the top 11% a Silver Medal, with the top 16%achieving a Bronze Medal. Nine HCS sixth formbiologists achieved either a medal or a certificate( 3 s i l v e r m e d a l s , 2 b r o n z e m e d a l s a n d 4commendations!). An excellent result.

top teacher

Mrs Elena Segalini-Bower, Head ofBiology, was placed joint second inthe Biology Teacher of the Yearawards by the Society of Biology. Theaward recognises the very best andmost inspiring biology teachers in 11-18education in the UK.

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County Cricket Champions

Having beaten Wigmore and Earl Mortimer in theopening rounds, the U15 XI met Bishops atBurghill Cricket Club in the Jack Roberts Cup Final.The school bowled first, and, after a fast start, managed

to restrict Bishops to 142-8. Despite losing some keyearly wickets, the school won by 5 wickets with 5 oversto spare, making the U15 boys County Champions.

Remembrance at HCs

To mark the 100th anniversary of the First WorldWar and to commemorate more than 100 formerpupils of Hereford Cathedral School who diedfighting for this country, a tree was planted by ‘TheWall’. The school’s headmaster, Paul Smith, was joined by

three previous headmasters who were in charge from1968 onwards for the special event: David Richards,Barry Sutton and Howard Tomlinson. It was the first timethat all four had been together at the same time.

Historic win

Finally, Saturday 31 January 2015 saw thehistoric defeat of Llandovery at home, by HCS 1stXV! Previously, only two sides have put more than36 points against Llandovery at home since 1999.A Crawshay’s invitation XV in 2001 and FiltonCollege in 2008.

Doe Gold

Katie Subak-Sharpereceived her Gold Dukeof Edinburgh Award at

St James’s Palace,London.

From left to right: Howard Tomlinson, Barry Sutton, David Richardsand Paul Smith.

Joseph Goldsmith with the winners of the Senior Debate

Debating

Mr Jackson, teacher in charge of the schoolDebating Society, was delighted to welcome backsome OH debaters to the school this year. Mr Joseph Goldsmith OH returned to adjudicate in the

Senior House Debate; Joe’s illustrious debating careerincluded representing the school at the MaceCompetition and both the Oxford and CambridgeSchool Debating competitions. The debate was held inthe Gilbert Library and was won by Stuart House withtheir persuasive argument supporting nuclear energy.

39


Josh Wooderson and Emily Burdett with the junior debaters

staff news

Mr Phil Hyde (OH) was appointed to the GeographyDepartment in 2013. As a pupil at the school hecontributed to sport, CCF and other extra-curricularactivities; he was also a School Monitor. Mr Hyde hasproved to be an excellent teacher, both hardworkingand conscientious, and always willing to participate intrips, fieldwork, and Duke of Edinburgh expeditions. Hehas also been an excellent Tutor and worked wonderswith our U13 rugby team. We wish him well at ExeterSchool.

Miss Pippa Blandford (OH), a former student in ourSixth Form, joined the school’s PE and GamesDepartment in September 2013 to cover a maternityleave. Miss Blandford completed her NQT year with us,and has proved to be an excellent and extremelyprofessional, hard working teacher; she hasdemonstrated outstanding skills in her subjectdiscipline. She has been popular with staff and pupilsand will be missed; we wish her well at Kew HouseSchool in London.

Miss Sinead Duignan joined HCS in September 2011as a new teacher. She is a first-class teacher who hasundoubtedly contributed to the outstanding reputationof the Biology Department. Her pupils have achievedexcellent results at GCSE and A Level and she has alsorun an extremely popular lunch-time dissection club. InSeptember 2013, Miss Duignan was appointed Head ofGeneral Studies. She has had a good rapport withpupils, and they respect her intellect, dedication andpastoral care. She moves on to become Head ofBiology at The Red Maids’ School in Bristol.

Mr Christopher Townend joined Hereford CathedralSchool in 2010 to take up the newly-created post ofDirector of Marketing and Communications. In his timehere Mr Townend worked extremely hard to promoteand market the school, including branding our website,signage, minibuses and all publicity. We wish MrTownend good luck in his new role as Director ofMarketing and Admissions at Dover College.

Miss Anna Jasieniecka joined the Art Department in2010 as a newly-qualified teacher and quickly provedherself to be an excellent catch: conscientious,hardworking and well thought of by pupils, staff andparents. Miss Jasieniecka has taught Art and ArtTextiles throughout the school and has made a hugecontribution to the Art Department’s outstandingresults. Aside from her teaching responsibilities, MissJasieniecka was Head of the Royal Naval section of theCCF. We wish her well as she takes up a teaching postat the highly successful Headington Girls’ School inOxford.

OH Visit

Hereford Cathedral Junior School Class 5S werelucky enough to meet an OH who attended the PrepSchool in the 1930s. Mr Randy Langford talked to the class about how his

school education gave him values for life such as long-lasting friendships, being helpful and kind to others. Healso talked passionately about his school days andshared his photographs with the children. There wasone of him wearing an “uncomfortable” Eton collar aswell as others of his cricket team and friends. The classwere also amazed to learn that he had swimminglessons in the River Wye!

The Lower School House Debate was judged by OldHerefordians and experienced school debaters JoshWooderson and Emily Burdett. The winning team wasCornwall who carried the motion: ‘This House believesit is time to abolish the monarchy’!

40


Mr Matthew Gacek was employedby the cathedral as Chorister Tutorin 2009. In this role he has attendedhundreds of Evensongs and otherchorister events as well asaccompanying chorister tours.Having previously been a teacher,Mr Gacek was a godsend inunderstanding schools, pupils andthe conflicting demands placedupon choristers. We are alsograteful to Mr Gacek for all thecover teaching that he undertookwhilst part of our community. MrGacek has decided to ‘retire’ againand spend time looking after hisgrandchildren.

Lady Fiona Mynors joined theGoverning Body in 2008 havingpreviously been a Head Teacher(Margaret Allen Prep School) andChair of Governors (CheltenhamCollege). Lady Mynors was Chair ofthe Governing Body EducationCommittee; she is an expert oncompliance issues and was theGovernor responsible forsafeguarding. Her knowledge, wisecounsel and insight were extremelyvaluable to both Governors and theSenior Leadership Team. LadyMynors took a particular interest inthe Junior School and was asupporter of music and drama in theschool. We thank her for all support.

Mr Michael Jackson joined HCS in2007 from Weobley High Schoolwhere he was Head of ICT; he hasbeen a huge asset to our teachingof this subject. Not satisfied withteaching Economics and ICT, MrJackson put forward a proposal forAS and A2 Business Studies to beintroduced, and he has led theteaching of this subject. Outside ofthe classroom Mr Jackson has beenin charge of the School’s CCF Navalsection and subsequently he ranthe Bronze Duke of EdinburghScheme. He organised the School’sYoung Enterprise programme andwas involved in several Bank of

England competitions. Mr Jacksonleaves us to be Head of Economicsand Assistant Housemaster atScarborough College.

Mr James Petrie was appointed asHead of English in 2006, and left tobecome Deputy Head Academic atThe British School of Barcelona lastJanuary. Previously he had beenHead of English and Deputy Headof the senior school at King’sSchool, Madrid. Mr Petrie is anoutstanding teacher of English. Hisenthusiasm and interest in English isboundless: in the classroom or inthe assemblies that he presented,the trips that he organised or thedrama productions with which hewas involved. For pupils with aninterest in creative writing, Mr Petrieenriched their lives by encouragingthem to travel beyond theconstraints of the curriculum: poetrycompetitions, author visits,journalism and trips to the HayFestival Segovia all met with hugesuccess and celebration. Heintroduced IGCSE English and Alevel English Language andLiterature, and during his reignacademic results rose significantly.Mr Petrie stepped up to become anacting Deputy Head (coveringmaternity leave), and later joinedthe Senior Leadership Team. He is akeen footballer and wasinstrumental in introducing footballto the senior school gamescurriculum. It was clear to all that hislove of Spain, its language andculture (to say nothing of theweather and football) would presenta strong pull if he ever decided tolook for new opportunities. Whenhe did, he was quickly snapped up.

The Reverend Pamela Row wasappointed as HCS Head ofReligious Studies and SchoolChaplain in January 2002, joiningus from a state school in the Wirralwhere she had been Head ofDepartment. She relinquished her

role as Head of RS in 2003 toconcentrate on her Chaplaincy. AsSchool Chaplain she has overseenthe daily worship for the schoolcommunity, including major eventsthroughout the year; she has alsoorganised Chapels with a range ofinvited speakers to assist with thetask of challenging pupils and staffto think about others, and their ownbeliefs, and to consider who we arewithin the Christian context. RevRow has also run an inductionprogramme for those who wish tobe confirmed. In addition to herChaplaincy and her RS teachingteaching commitments, she wasLeader of the School’s Scout Troop,and in more recent years, she hasbeen involved with the School’sCombined Cadet Force. She iscaring and compassionate, inclusiveof all and has much to offer acommunity. As she retires from HCSRev Row has been thinking about a‘new chapter’ in her life, and wewish her well as she prepares totake on whatever new challengesmay arise.

Mr Martyn Lane joined HCS in 1997having taken early retirement asDirector of Music at RGS Newcastle.He was invited to join the MusicDepartment by the then Director ofMusic, Mr John Williams; he hasacted as both a teacher of pianoand theory as well as adistinguished accompanist. Mr Lanehas been involved in many of theschool's successful performances;he has worked closely with Mrs JoWilliamson and together with MrJohn Williams they formed theCathedral's outreach choir, theHerefordshire Singing Club, (which,in April 2015, became the newHerefordshire Junior Youth Choir);he has also worked closely with MrsWilliamson and 'Cantabile'. For theMusic School, Mr Lane has been asource of great knowledge andrepertoire; and someone to whom

41


the less experienced teacherscould go to ask for advice. We wishMr Lane well as he moves toOxfordshire with his family.

Mrs Molly Ball joined HCS in 1983to cover a one-term maternity leavein Art, Design, Needlework andPottery, and some 32 years latershe has retired from the school! MrsBall has taught Fine Art across allyear-groups, as well as Technology,and has been the driving forcebehind the teaching of Ceramics inthe Department. She has run clubsin pottery, jewellery, life drawing;she has organised holidayworkshops in printmaking, stainedglass and ceramics; she has beenon History of Art Trips to Paris,Rome, Florence, Venice andAmsterdam. There is no doubt thatMrs Ball’s skill and expertise inhelping the Art Department toconsistently achieve some of thebest results in the school have beenhelped by her role as a GCSEmoderator for OCR and an AS/Alevel moderator for AQA (the schoolreceived a letter from AQA singingher praises as ‘a moderator who isconsistently excellent’). Mrs Ball hasbeen an inspirational teacher who ispassionate about Art. She has highexpectations of her pupils, taking anavid interest in their work andprogress. She was also instrumentalin introducing ICT to the ArtDepartment at a time whenPhotoshop was hardly known. As acolleague she has been a greatmentor for a number of art teacherswho have moved on from HCS topastures new. Outside of theclassroom Mrs Ball has always beeninterested in the pastoral welfare ofher pupils and tutor group. She hasbeen a Tutor in both Cornwall, andmore latterly Langford House, andhas a reputation for knowing hertutees extremely well. All of MrsBall’s children are OHs, so she hasseen the school from various

perspectives. We wish Mrs Ball allthe best for her retirement andthank her loyalty to the school.

Mrs Katherine Soulsby joined theschool in 1972. Married to Jeremy(OH), unquestionably the greatestEnglish Bassoon maker of his time,Mrs Soulsby joined the school asone of (we think) two femaleteachers. Over the years she hasseen many successes, and hastutored a number of the country'sleading bassoonists. When onesays the name ‘Soulsby’ in musicalcircles, most people know of eitherKatherine or Jeremy. Mrs Soulsby

retired from the Music Serviceseveral years ago, but to Mr Evans’relief continued to teach at theCathedral School through until July2015. Mrs Soulsby can claim to havetaught hundreds of bassoonists,and it has been the school’s greatprivilege to have had the benefit ofher teaching in the Music School forso many years. Only recently MrsSoulsby watched Antonia Lazenby(OH) give her final recital at theRoyal College of Music, beforemoving on to The Guildhall Schoolof Music and Drama as the latestSoulsby prodigy. We wish MrsSoulsby all the best in retirement.

42


Aldred, V BAugust, D BAugust, J C WAylett, R NBaddeley, C JBarlow, David GeoffreyBarlow, Peter GeoffreyBarnsley, C I WBarrett, John VictorBassett, RogerBates, P A MBedding, David AshleyBintcliffe, G ABrookes, Richard William GeorgeBrown, A J CBrown, J BBryson, Nicholas KennedyBurton, SButterworth, L JButterworth, Michael JCameron, Keith StephenChallenger, Peter N, ReverendClinkett, Cedric GeorgeColdwell, Anthony MichaelColley, R MCowell, Philip Fred ClaudeCrossman, Frank ACrowley, J EDavidson, ColinDavies, C NDavies, G ODavies, John FrancisDavis, C J,Davison, Terrance RoyDevetta, MelvynDimmock, G HDinno, A D,Duckenfield, John Austin SamuelEckley, Neville RichardEvans, David GarethEvans, Warwick AnthonyFarr, A GFloyd, KFord, Paul TerranceGalsworthy, J G RGilg, Ian Edward CameronGodsall, John WGregg, M RGroom, G NHaines, John RichardHale, B BHales, Roger Phillip

Hammond, Stephen GHenley, Keith John, DrHillary, R JHocking, Fraser JohnHoward, D J PInns, Nicholas Ralph,Jackson, MJames, Peter TerranceJarman, DavidJenkins, B H WJenkins, C W, DrJenkinson, Peter AJessup, Michael AnthonyJohnson, M KJones, Brian Callum, DrJones, C VJones, Elwyn CaradocJones, G JJones, M H WJones, R E T, MrKent-Barber, N BKidd, Robert VictorKinchant, Douglas RichardKing, B DLambert, J D BLe Mesurier, P RLewin, Peter Edmund,Lewis, Anthony CobhamLewis, M PLister, Martin Richard NicholasLloyd, D GLomas, R A, MrMaCcalman, A DMalleson, H HMendus, M RMitchell, G G TMorgan, David BruceNeal, A WNewman, M JNicholas, J T GNorris, I AOrd, J LOrd, W MPaddle, A JParkinson, J GParsons, A S RPennington, J N BPerry, L TPettitt, RPickard, Roger HowardPowell, M JPrice, Anthony Richard

Price, T RPrichard, D L JPritchard, Anthony NurseProsser, C JProvan, I DQuest, J ARabbitts, G NRead, Anthony BeresfordRees, A BRippen, Keith AlastairRoberts, John MervinRogers, B PSanders, Peter EdwardSawbridge, M JSheldon, ASherwell, David BarnetSmith, C CSmith, D DSmith, E J RSparkes, D MSquire, Arthur Patrick MelbourneStevens, RStringer, S DTeague, Michael DanielTennyson, J G AThomas, Brian GregoryThomas, David RogerThomas, Owain DavidThompson, A RThorne, J CTick, J T PToplis, E GTownsend, T H ATozer, Peter FrederickVann, PVenables, K CWardale, W R GWaugh, M JWeston-Tozer, Patrick Frederick,(Captain Retd)Whitney, Brian JamesWigley, D KWilliams, Anthony OrielWilliams, B RWilliams, John Thomas,Williams, R LWilliamson, I CWilson, David RayWingfield, Robert MalcolmWoods, J CWoodyer, D J

The Development Office and OH Club would like to re-establish contact with as many OHs aspossible. Below is a list of former pupils who left HCS between 1950-1960 for whom we do not hold acontact address. Because we do not have their address they do not receive the OH Newsletter. If youare in contact with any of those listed (or have any other information) please ask them to contactHelen Pearson, Alumni Officer.

l O s t O H s

43


D i G i ta l F u t u R e F O R H i s t O R Y

Over the years the Old Herefordians’ Club has become the guardian of much treasured OH andschool history: historic records, photographs, artefacts and ephemera. Many of the items are displayed in the OH Room in No.1, formerly the Headmaster’s Study and latterly

the Monitors’ Common Room. What is on display, however, is only the tip of the iceberg. Digitaltechnology now enables us to provide school and OH magazines as well as a range of photographsthrough the website.

You may also search for somethingspecific across the whole archive −perhaps a name or date − by using the‘Search All’ tab. Type in your chosenword or phrase and click the magnifierglass symbol on the right. Your results willbe displayed and you can then read therelevant article or the whole journal inwhich it appears. To distinguish yourchosen text within an article, press Ctrl Ftogether as you type the search wordand your results will be displayedhighlighted.

The digital OH Room can be found onwww.oldherefordiansclub.co.uk byclicking on ‘Archive’. You will then beasked to log in (if you have forgotten yourlog-in details, please contact theDevelopment Office by email:[email protected]); youwill then be able to browse the archives.

44


boys Come Home

During October 2015 the school was visited byMr and Mrs Richard Cook of Truro, Cornwall whokindly donated four framed photographs depictingOld Herefordians dating circa 1910. These wonderful old photographs depicted named

old boys from various sporting school teams.Mr Cook came into possession of these items in the

early 1970s following the death of Capt. ThomasMillyard who resided at Forde Grange, Decoy, a smallvillage in Newton Abbot, Devon. Although Mr Cookunfortunately did not know Capt. Millyard, thephotographs were passed to him from thehousekeeper who was a friend of the family. Eversince, the photographs have remained in hispossession and have adorned the walls of his varioushomes.It is known that Thomas Millyard and his twin brother

George were born in Bromyard, Herefordshire in 1893.They both attended Hereford School where theyexcelled at all sports and later joined, like so many oftheir contemporaries, the Herefordshire Regiment atthe outbreak of the First World War in 1914.An extract from the regimental history in 1915

records: “One evening in the week, C company gaveD company a ‘good licking’ at cricket but when theBattalion cricket team played Wickford they got‘badly beaten’ and had been unlucky in losing someof their men before they had got into full swing. Thelast bats for the Herefords were Lts. G and T Millyard;T Millyard was run at 13, and G Millyard bowled out fora yorker for 2.”Mr Cook also kindly donated to the school Capt.

Millyard's British Army issue bible which he would havecarried in the trenches. Research also indicates thatCapt. Millyard was captured and held prisoner of war bythe Germans in 1918. He died in south Devon in 1970.

Let us know about importantevents in your life and career andmake sure you contact the school

Development Office when youchange your address.

Development Office:01432 363566

Email:[email protected]

It’s a great way to keep in touchwith your contemporaries!

OLDHEREFORDIANS’

CLUB

45


Welcome Back!Have you got a significant birthday coming up? Not sure of how to celebrate?

Why not have a reunion at School?

The Development Office will be happy to help you get in touch with your yeargroup and set up an event.

Contact Alumni Officer Helen Pearson for further information:[email protected] / 01432 363566

Welcome Back!Have you got a significant birthday coming up? Not sure of how to celebrate?

Why not have a reunion at School?

The Development Office will be happy to help you get in touch with your yeargroup and set up an event.

Contact Alumni Officer Helen Pearson for further information:[email protected] / 01432 363566

More than just a tie!As well as the Old Herefordians’ tie and scarf, the OH Club has a new range of verydesirable merchandise on offer!

For women there is a very attractive school shield design, hand-enameled charm suitable for anecklace or bracelet. For men there are school shield cuff links to complement the OH Club tie.Also on sale are tote bags featuring drawings of the school buildings, an OH pen and an umbrellain the school colours.

Cuff links £18.00Charm/bead £18.00Tie £10.00Umbrella £15.00Tote Bag £6.00Pen £5.00Lapel pin £5.00Tea Towel £5.00

To purchase or enquire about OH merchandise, please contact: The Development Office, OldDeanery, Cathedral Close, Hereford HR1 2NG. Tel: 01432 363590 / [email protected]

Old Herefordians’ Newsletter 2014Cover Photographs

Photo 2

Photo 3

Photo 4

Photo 6

Photo 12

Photo 15

Photo 16

Brigadier Henry Cecil John Hunt, Baron Hunt., KG, PC, CBE,DSO (who led the expedition in 1953 which conquered MountEverest) inspecting the CCF.Second rank (from R to L ): 2 - L/Cpl Ian Jones, 3 - Cpl. Geo!reyBurgess, 6 - Peter Robbins, 7 - Michael J Read.

Girl in grey with red gaiters - Victoria Harrison

Deanery 6th form (probably in 1970). Back row L to R: Edwards(known as “Hod”); Lewis (known as “Lew”); Richard Aston;Stuart Macoustra. Front Row L to R: Colin B Jennings; Percy orPerce; Steve C Rowlands (his father was Second Master andHousemaster of Deanery); Clive M Wrigley.

Girl on far right Sarah Hawnt (now MacGregor).

Top row L-R: ?, Helena Wynn, ?, Rachel Blackshaw, Amy Hill,Paul ....., Corinne Hart, ?, Francis Collins, James Wray, ?Middle Row L-R: ?, Laura Maxwell, Glen Martin,Simon Papworth, Ben ...., Chris Valentini, Chris Hallewell,Toby Preston, ?, Jake Lightowler, ?, A Wynn, ?Seated L-R: Mr Jackson, ?, Mr Wilks, ?, Mr and Mrs Priday,Lee Maxwell, Mr Wilson, Mr Croot.Bottom Row L-R: Giles Papworth, ?, ?, John Pring, ... Collins

Under 13 Sevens team, winners of the Lucton Sevenstournament. Back row: Andrew Thornewell, Richard? Cotterell,Richard George, Mark Richards, Mr Don Theakston.Front row: David Tidmarsh, Tim Hague (Captain), David Archer.

Gareth Lewis OH 91-98

Thanks to: Peter Fairman-Bourn (2); K Hawnt (3, 6); Jake Lightowler (12, 16); Stuart Williams (4).

46


OH enquiriesIf you require information aboutthe OH Club or wish to visit theOH History Room, please contactAlumni Officer Helen Pearson atthe address below.

Development OfficeHereford Cathedral schoolOld DeaneryCathedral CloseHerefordHR1 2nGtel: 01432 363566email: [email protected]

The OH Newsletter isprinted using vegetable-based inks on recycled

paper.RECYCLEDPAPER

President: Gill RiversVice President: Juliette Austen ChandlerVice President: Howard TomlinsonSecretary: Mark EllisOH Trust: Peter WilliamsAlumni Officer: Helen PearsonOH Editor: Clare Adamson

Print: LAVENHAM PRESST: 01787 247436www.lavenhampress.com

editorial2015 is the second year of commemorating the First World

War and the Old Herefordians’ Newsletter is continuing tofeature those OH who lost their lives during the Great War.The shorter the biography the more poignant it appears tome: the Development Department has worked hard toresearch their lives, but many of these young soldiers joinedup straight from school, or were possibly students, andthere is so little information to be discovered.

Anyone who has tried to trace their own ancestry willacknowledge that it is a time-consuming and tricky taskwhich requires a considerable amount of scanning throughdocuments and is often beset by many false starts. So, howfortunate future researchers will be when they discover thenew Old Herefordians’ digital archive: now, past issues ofthe school and club magazines can be searched instantlyonline by date or key word; already, there is a treasure troveof photographs and other historical documents. This,however, is only the beginning: as more funds are raisedthen gradually more of the school’s history can be liberatedfrom the depths of the Zimmerman basement by beingdigitised and made available online.

By profession I am a librarian and research is what I amtrained to do; from now on, I will be spending many happyhours delving into the depths of the digitised archive fromthe comfort of my office chair. Have a go − I think you willfind it addictive too.

Clare AdamsonEditore: [email protected] note that any personal opinions expressed in this publication are not theviews of the Editor, the OH Club and Committee, or Hereford Cathedral School.

Design: GRAPHICS SHACKT: 01594 840565www.graphics-shack.co.uk

47


Old Herefordians ClubAnnual London Dinner 2016

Thursday 28 April, 6.30pm£55.00

East India Club, 16 St James’s Square,London SW1Y 4LH

O H D a YSaturday 5th December 2015

10.00 am OH Netball (HCS Sports Hall)

10.30 am Coffee in Old Deanery

11.00 am AGM in Briscoe Room, Old Deanery

11.45 am Drinks in Old Deanery

12.00 OH Mixed Hockey -Hereford Leisure Centre

12.15 pm Lunch in Dining hall (£15.00 p.p.)

2.00 pm OH Football at Wyeside**

2.30 pm OH Rugby at Wyeside**

7.00 pm Castle House - Informal dinner at Castle House Hotel (£30.00 p.p., partners welcome.)

**Hot food available from 3.00pm in the Pavilion atWyeside for £5.00 and a pay bar.

If you would like to take part in any sporting event on OHDay please contact the relevant person below:

RUGBY - Richard Skyrme: 01432 363561 /[email protected]

HOCKEY - Lisa Foster: 01432 363561 /[email protected]

NETBALL - Charlotte Keegan: 01432 363561 /[email protected]

FOOTBALL - Bruce Blyth: 01432 363522 /[email protected]

For more information and to book lunch or dinner, pleasecontact: Helen Pearson 01432 [email protected] / Claire Morgan-Jones01432 363590 [email protected]

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