Old Wandsworthians Memorial Trust

News 2009

Apologies for the delay in sending out this edition of the Newsletter but as always I plead overwork, old age and age related fatigue. It is 52 years since I left Wandsworth School but the link (sic) feels as strong as ever! It is natural to cement the bond of friendship with your immediate contemporaries but I believe Wandsworthians share a greater vision handed down from a dedicated staff and several outstanding headmasters who were informed pioneers in the cause of education for all. Some of you will know that the Trustees are about to publish a book entitled 'From Grammar to Comprehensive - Wandsworth School 1947-1965' . The manuscript was passed into the care of the Trustees by Nigel Spearing who taught geography along with Doc Solomon, but who went on to greater things as the M.P for Acton (1970-1974) and for Newham South (1974-1997).

Nigel originally initiated the concept of a book that documented the tumultuous changes in education in the post-war era. Part 1, vividly written by the then headmaster H. Raymond King, sets out the perceived need for a comprehensive education for all and the opportunity for boys and girls of different academic and technical abilities to belong to the same youthful community. There is an obvious passion in each chapter and it is obvious to me at least that HRK would have been at least knighted if he had lived in modern times. He was a leader of men in the classic sense and young teachers from different disciplines wanted to teach at our School.

Part II of the book is slightly more formal in terms of its presentation as it deals with the organisation and management of two schools, a formidable range of subjects, and a complex timetable. Teaching at Wandsworth was both innovative and rewarding with the house, set and tutorial system giving boys a sense of belonging and reward. How often have you met someone from Wandsworth through work and leisure activities, and how long did it take for someone to say "I was in Pitt B" or "Morley A"?

Since we took on the task of getting the manuscript into shape Les Herbert and I, on behalf of the Trustees, have seen steady but sometimes frustrating progress from the foolscap, roneoed original to an A4 retyped Word document. Several typists came and went and the conversion of the Word document to a Quark book project was somewhat foolish considering the input of a professional editor who thought that the original manuscript was written in a style that had become rather dated since the early sixties. Hopefully we are now months perhaps weeks away from a final version and a printed text.

The next phase will include the launch of the book and a free cd. A limited number of free printed copies will be available to research institutions, libraries and educationalists but the cd will be sent out to all old dubs who have maintained contact. We will also be printing a booklet of memories of 25-30 Wandsworthians who were at the School from before the war until it was closed down (at different times rather than slow developers). This project has also been sponsored by the Trustees and undertaken by Halina Watts, a former beneficiary of our grant system. Halina is now a freelance reporter and when she interviewed Nigel Spearing recently at the House of Commons, I was very impressed at her skilled approach and search for interesting facts and memories.

On behalf of the Trustees I would like to thank Alan Bone for organising the Dubs lunch at Imber Court before Christmas, and Ray Pritchard for his report and efforts with regard to the last reunion of the Choir. At Imber Court I briefly spoke about the work of the Trustees and the amount awarded in small grants. I am proud to me be one of seven folks who are able to help you and yours to achieve their goals and aspirations - in hard times every little bit helps!

Dick

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In Memory Of:

This newsletter was never meant to carry the sad news of so many Old Dubs skipping over the goal line, but we have an ever ageing membership and one day someone will be on his on in a pub, preferably in Wandsworth, writing about his own demise. Ian Plummer has written with feeling about his first days at the rugby club and the fact that he played with so many great players! Never forget that we have had some startling good sides over the years and many of them owe to guys who are now pensioners plus or have passed on.

It is particularly poignant therefore that we commemorate the loss of Bill Forrester. Bill was not a big man physically but he had the speed of thought and the mind essential to a very good sportsman. He was quiet but very determined when he needed to be and I have fond memories of coming home from university in Swansea and playing in Bill's team.

Arrogance is a fault of the young and I learned from Bill that you prove yourself over the long term and that you should always respect guys who had played elsewhere at a higher standard. Bill and I did not agree on the sale of the ground in Claygate. I was then Chairman and or Club Captain and, faced with annual invasion by travellers and a ground that frequently resembled the Somme, went for the sale and the move to New Malden. Bill spoke from the heart and in memory of those had fallen in the two world wars. I am sure that the conversion of the old ground to a lush golf course rings well for him now, especially as golf became one of his favourite pastimes. Bill's history, as told by his wife Pat, can be read here.

Bill, Harry and Peter Shillingford were postwar heroes down the club. Both Harry and Peter are now dead with Peter being buried a few weeks ago. His wife Thelma was a rugby wife and Peter helped build the old clubhouse. His story can be read here in a piece written by Thelma. He willed be missed like all our mates.

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Where Are They Now?

Chris Langham

Having been medically discharged from the police in 1996, Wendy & I moved from Surrey to Sussex and then on to Somerset where for the past six years we have divided our time between here & France. From April to September we stay in our renovated barn, just south of Poitiers. The barn has been a never ending DIY project which is almost complete; meaning we have more time for swimming, cycling & walking and sharing the company with old friends & family who visit. The McClures & Wrens have enjoyed a few evenings sampling the food & wine and exaggerating our exploits of more energetic times.

It was so good to see all the old team mates at the 'Lags' do and put names to faces again as now being my 60th year it helped refresh the memory. If you are travelling south through France don't hesitate to stop over and grab a bed & a glass or two. You will be most welcome.

Rod Pooley

Rod Pooley, or 'Flash' as he was known for his dazzling speed as open-side wing forward, has been seriously ill on several occasions over the last decade but he is still willing to take on anyone in a discussion, mainly on politics or the evils of mankind on mankind. Rod and Beryl still live in Surbiton and I try to visit them whenever my erratic timetable allows. Over Christmas, Rod was subject to forty or fifty procedures to keep him ticking over. But as he was my best man I suspect his courage and determination will as always see him in good stead.

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Old Wandsworthians Website

As editor of the Newsletter I am often driven elsewhere to find text and images that will fill the extra page or provide a block of test. The Old Wandsworthians History Site, written and presented by John Joiner (1953 - 1960) is a source of many interesting facts and images. It logs the history of the school from 1895 to 1957 and details school life during John's time as a pupil. I particularly like the photograph of the 1960 prefects which is reproduced below. It provides images of Rod Pooley, Paul Gillingham and Dave Holditch, Norman Ratcliffe and John Cousins, five guys who followed me to Swansea University in 1961. It also shows David 'Jake' Stewardson who died aged 29 on the 9th of September 1971, attempting to defuse a bomb at Castlerobin Orange Hall, Drumankelly, near Lisburn, County Antrim.

Jake was a captain serving with the 321 Explosive Ordnance Disposal Company, Royal Army Ordnance Corps. A commemorative stone is in the Felix Memorial Garden, Thiepval Barracks, Lisburn, Co. Antrim.

Norman Ratcliffe graduated from Swansea in 1964 and obtained his PhD (1967) and DSc (1985) from the same institute. He is now Professor of Zoology there as well as a Senior Research Fellow at the Oswaldo Cruz Research Institute in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Dave Holditch is also a zoologist and a specialist in crayfish.

You can pay a visit to John's site by clicking here.

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Rugby Club Results

The Wandsworthians Rugby Club web site has been relocated to www.wandsworthians.com. The site is very professional and is packed with upto date match reports and excellent images. Well worth a visit.

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Trust Fund Applications

Application forms for grants from the Memorial Trust Fund can be downloaded as a pdf file by clicking here or by post from Les Herbert, Woodlands, St Georges Hill, Lyme Regis, Dorset DT7 3NT; email: lestina@sky.com. Further information on the Trust may be obtained from Bob Andrews (Chairman), Swiss Cottage, Nower Road, Dorking, Surrey. RH4 3BX.

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