OT Review - April 2008

Old Tauntonian ReviewAlumni Office details:Tel: (01823) 349235Fax: (01823) 323371Email: [email protected]

APRIL 2008

17 June 1959 - 5 September 2007

Julia Cleves was one of the most distinguished Old Tauntonians ofrecent years. By the time of her tragic death from ovarian cancer inSeptember 2007 she had become an eminent international civilservant, the chief policy advisor to the United Nations on HIV and Aids.

Those who had the pleasure and privilege of knowing Julia at TauntonSchool (1975-77) and at Weirfield from 1970 will remember withaffection her warmth and kindness, her keen intellect, and the friendlyenthusiasm with which she participated in all aspects of school life.Some of us still picture her as a radiant Perdita in ‘The Winter’s Tale’,and an exquisitely poised Gwendolen in ‘The Importance of BeingEarnest’. (She was the daughter of Ken and Pat Cleves - Ken was thena member of the school’s Geography Department, and of course wenton to become Deputy Head at Taunton Prep School.)

Julia was an outstanding scholar who wore her learning very lightly.From Taunton she won a place to read English at Lady Margaret Hall,Oxford, where she went on to gain First Class Honours. While atOxford she acted, wrote and directed - one of her plays was performedat the Edinburgh Fringe - and she was a leading light of the OxfordChristian Arts and Drama Society. Her Christianity was deeply felt andinfused everything that she did.

She was profoundly influenced by the year she then spent in an Indianvillage, working with all the problems of poverty, caste, and gender.Back in the UK she took an MLitt degree whose thesis had a feministtheme. This was followed by a further period in India with Oxfam.

Meanwhile she had married a fellow Oxford student, David Mosse,with whom she had two sons, Jacob and Oliver. Her subsequentcareer through the 80s and 90s was meteoric and extraordinary. AtCardiff University she took a master’s degree in population policyand planning. She joined the Centre for Development Studies atSwansea University where she taught and researched ininternational health, the field where she was later to be awardedher doctorate. She wrote four books on the international problemsof poverty, health and gender.

In 1994 she started work in New Delhi as a health advisor for the UKDepartment for International Development. She became theDepartment’s Chief Health and Population Advisor. Subsequently,having separated from her husband, she moved to Geneva to join theUN Aids Office, where she rapidly rose to become Chief of Policy. In

DR JULIA CLEVES

2001, she was massively influential in networking through the UnitedNations General Assembly to secure significant long-term changes ininternational aid and policy towards aids, tuberculosis and malaria.

Later that year she was suddenly afflicted by the cancer which was toclaim her life. After her diagnosis she nevertheless headed a workingparty that produced a major UN document (she wrote most of itherself) assessing the possible development of Aids in Africa over thenext 20 years. In the end she was too ill to present it to an AfricanHeads of State conference in Addis Abbaba. During the years thatwere left to her she was married to Dr Andrew Cassels, a director ofthe World Health Organisation, she wrote poetry and fiction, shesettled with her family in Cranleigh, and she created a second home inthe peace and beauty of Provence. She was a remarkable person who,in such a sadly abbreviated life, achieved great things.

CONGRATULATIONSPictured with Her Majesty The Queen is Sir JayTidmarsh KCVO MBE JP (School House 1949)who was Knighted in the 2008 New Year’sHonours List.

Jane Barrie OBE (Weirfield 1957 and Chairmanof Governors) has been appointed Deputy LordLieutenant for Somerset.

Congratulations also to John Hebditch (Marshall1970) who was awarded an MBE for services tothe local community in Taunton, particularlysport.

Orchestra which, of course, our very ownSophie Lang (Bevan 1998) is a part of.So, I thought it very fitting to go aheadand arrange this for our winter gathering.This met with much approval from manyof the club members but unfortunatelymany couldn’t make the date and somehad to cancel at the last minute due toillness. Accordingly there was just a smallnumber of us who met for dinner thatevening in Edinburgh before heading to the Festival Theatre to enjoy anabsolute extravaganza as the RSNOdelighted a near full house with the powerful Shostakovich’s 6 Symphonyconducted by the excellent Kristjan Jarvi.

Crona O’Shea

CORNISH CLUBOn Sunday 16 September the Cornish Clubconvened for its annual lunch at its regularvenue overlooking Crantock beach and themagnificent Cornish coastline beyond. Wewere honoured to welcome the newpresident Henry Keeling and his wife Janto the first function of his presidency andwere delighted that they could spare thetime to pop over for lunch from their homein Bermuda! They were supported by nofewer than six past presidents as well asthe ubiquitous David Bridges and Dennis

Webb. A total of forty OTs and their guestsenjoyed the informal buffet lunch whilsthearing from The Headmaster that theSchool is in good health and hearingHenry’s vision for his presidency. It wasencouraging to see a significant increase innumbers this year and particularlypleasing to welcome 2007 leaver JamesRoper (Wills West), who will no doubt bebringing some of his contemporaries nextyear! To all of you unfortunate enough tomiss out this year, make a note that wewill reconvene on Sunday 14 September2008, same time, same place. Why notmake a weekend of it – we do! (ask thisyear’s visitors from over the Tamar!). We hope to see even more of you next time.

Jeremy Miners

FRENCH CLUBIn November, we were delighted towelcome The British Ambassador toFrance, Sir Peter Westmacott (Foxcombe1968), to the OT French Club InauguralDinner at Chez Jenny in Paris. Many of the60 guests had taken the opportunity tospend a few days in Paris and we thankthe Chairman Edward Bryant (Wills West1958) for his hard work in organising sucha splendid social occasion. Edward says “Iam thrilled that Sir Peter has kindly

agreed to host the next OT French ClubDinner at the British Embassy in 2009.”

Ed Bryant

SPORTS CLUBThe Annual Sports Club Dinner in Decemberwas well supported by over 100 younger OTs.In the afternoon, the School XV convincinglybeat the recent leavers’ XV 46-3 with someattractive running Rugby. Unfortunately, theother OTs game was an abbreviated 10-a-sideand the Sports Club would encourage greaterparticipation next year, especially as thehighest-ranking female official of the RFUturned out to referee. In the evening, HughTodd proposed a toast to the Guest of Honour,Derek Baty, for all he had done for TauntonSchool sport over the years before his recentretirement.

David Bridges

Peter Raw (Fairwater 1960) was recently aGuest Speaker at the annual Ladies’ NightDinner of the Winchester Probus Club at TheRoyal Winchester Golf Club where he met upwith a former member of Staff from the1960s Geoff Hughes.

Old Tauntonian Review

SCOTTISH CLUBIt hardly seems that long ago, but back inJune 2007 the Scottish Club met inGlasgow’s beautiful Kelvingrove ArtGallery and Museum for our Grand DayOut for the year. A good number of us mettogether to enjoy an excellently guidedtour and the 1pm organ-playing in themagnificent main hall over a coffee. Thiswas followed by lunch in the Museum’scafe, during which we carried out theusual 200 Club draw and toast to ‘absentfriends’. In particular of course, weremembered our late Chairman JerryDawe who had recently passed away aftera tragic motorcycle accident here inScotland. Our thoughts went out to Jerry’sfamily and still do, particularly his twoyoung sons, one of whom, Nick, hadjoined us on a previous Grand Day Out. On a personal note, I continue to miss Jerry and remember him fondly for his fun-loving take on life. He was agreat support to me over the years and he has faithfully served the Schooland the Scottish Club with a great deal of heart for many more years thanthat.

One thing that I know Jerry was keen for,was to arrange an evening where we metto enjoy the Royal Scottish National

CLUB NEWS APRIL 2008

Peter Phillips, Reg Williams, Irene Williams, Margaret Roberts, Alan Cherrett, Margaret Hayes,Wendy Cherrett, Muriel Berkeley, Becky Osborn, Michael Hayes, John Berkeley, Crona O’Shea and Sophie Lang. A selection of diners enjoying the French Club Inaugural Dinner.

At the Sports Club Christmas Dinner.

Peter & Geoff

Cornish Club members at Crantock Bay.

Old Tauntonian Review UPDATES

We are very happy to recount theseremarkable success stories. All OTsare warmly and cordially invited tokeep David Bridges posted withtheir news.

Geoffrey Shickle (Quantocks 1960)[email protected]

Geoff has been running ShickleShoes in Burnham-on-Sea sincethe mid 60s and last year, at theencouragement and present of adomain name from his son Greg(School House 1994) and daughterEsther (Besley 1990) he set up anew website,www.footwear4you.co.uk and,since then, his feet have hardlytouched the ground! Geoff said:“It has been a huge learning curvefor me but, with lots of support frommy family, staff and suppliers I havenow turned my shop into a globalbusiness with parcels being shippeddaily all over the world to places likeJapan, New Zealand, Iceland andChina as well as throughoutEurope.”

Michael Goodchild (School House 1962)[email protected]

Professor Michael Goodchild hasbeen awarded the Prix VautrinLud, regarded by many as theequivalent of the Nobel Prize forGeography. The internationalaward is named after a C16thFrench map maker who iscredited as being the first toname the New World ‘America’.The prestigious annual award isgiven to a scientist who hassignificantly advanced the field ofgeography, and Michael becomes

the 19th scholar to have won it.He received a BA in Physics fromCambridge University and a PhDin Geography from McMasterUniversity and has chaired theExecutive Committee of theNational Centre for GeographicInformation and Analysis since1997. His research interestsinclude urban and economicgeography, geographicinformation systems, and spatialanalysis. Considered the father ofGIScience, Michael’s manyhonours include being elected asa member of the NationalAcademy of Sciences and ForeignFellow of the Royal Society ofCanada in 2002, being awardedthe Founder’s Medal of the RoyalGeographical Society in 2003 andbeing elected as a Fellow of theAmerican Academy of Arts andSciences in 2006.

Peter Nellist (Wills West 1967)

Peter, a partner at ClarkeWillmott Solicitors (Taunton) hasbeen named Financial Planner ofthe year at Money Management’sFinancial Planning Awards 2007at the Dorchester Hotel, London.The awards, in their 12th year,recognise professional excellenceamong Financial Advisors andhave been dubbed the ‘Oscars’ ofthe industry. Peter, who also wonthe award in 2003, received£5,000 and an engraved crystaltrophy from TV presenterQuentin Willson.

Richard Mearns (Fairwater 1968)[email protected]

Richard and his wife Barbarahave just issued their fourth booktogether: John Kirk Townsend -Collector of Audubon’s WesternBirds and Mammals. Written intheir spare time, it has taken 15years to complete as Richardworked as Senior Ranger forDumfries & Galloway Council.Research and the quest forphotographs needed one trip toPhiladelphia, two trips to theRocky Mountains and another tothe Hawaiian Islands – andprovided the excuse to gobirding. Richard said: “I wonder

what my zoology teacher, ErnestNeal, would have said about thebook!” www.mearnsbooks.com

Theo de Pencier (Foxcombe 1970)[email protected]

Theo has recently beenappointed Chief Executive of the14000+ member FreightTransport Association. FTArepresents the supply chaininterests of UK industry andmembers are responsible foroperating over 200,000 lorries -almost half the UK fleet - andover a million vans. They alsoconsign over 90 per cent of thefreight carried by rail and 70 percent of UK exports by sea andair. FTA provides a range ofbusiness and representationservices both nationally and

locally and is one of the largestUK trade associations, with anannual turnover of over £25million and a staff of 500. Theojoins FTA from BibbyDistribution, where he was ChiefExecutive, and a director of theBibby Line Group. His earlycareer was spent in sales andmarketing with brand leadingfood and drink manufacturersHeinz and Diageo.

Paul Mitchard (Marshall 1970)[email protected]

Paul, European Head ofInternational Arbitration &Litigation at Skadden, Arps,Slate, Meagher & Flom has beenappointed QC, becoming the onlysolicitor in the country to havebeen appointed as SolicitorAdvocate QC by Her Majesty’sGovernment out of 333

applications in January 2008.The appellation of QC isawarded to lawyers who areregarded as leaders in their fieldand has rarely before beenaccorded to English solicitors inthe field of internationalarbitration. Paul said: “I’mdelighted and honoured to havebeen appointed a QC. This issomething which few solicitorsappear to consider applying for,which is surprising given how muchadvocacy solicitors undertake thesedays. I would encourage anysolicitor who appears regularlybefore courts or tribunals to apply”.

Richard and Barbara Mearns.

Cheryl Mountford (Weirfield 1973)[email protected]

Based in Somerset, Cherylteaches T’ai Chi to all ages (pre-school to 92 is the currentrecord!). She left her job asFinance Manager at theUniversity of Bristol’s VeterinarySchool in 2004, foundingBubbling Springs T’ai Chi in thesame year. She has recentlybecome an accredited coach forChi-Power Sports, an approachutilizing simple yet highlyeffective techniques fromtraditional Eastern Energy Artsto enhance sports performanceand the “inner game”. Cherylsaid: “Whether you train as aprofessional, amateur or as part ofyour recreational and leisurepursuits, complementing yoursporting activity with training inpractices such as Chi Kung (energytraining), Meditation or T’ai Chi(internal boxing), has been shown toincrease both ability and enjoyment.Chi-Power™ Golf is the firstprogramme to be launched and isfully recognized and supported bythe PGA.”www.bubblingsprings.org.uk

Paul Cleves (Goodland 1975)[email protected]

Paul retired in summer 2007from being the Director of SaigonChilden’s Charity - a Charity hefounded in 1992 which has, sofar, funded construction of over180 classrooms, provided 8,600scholarships and 217,000 booksto underprivileged children, andhelped over 10,000 childrenattend schools and vocationalcentres. By an extraordinarycoincidence, the Trusteesappointed as his successor a boyfrom Wills West (who wishes toremain anonymous) withoutrealising that both were from the same school at the sametime! www.saigonchildren.com

Jenny Evanson neé Thomas (Gloucester 1983)[email protected]

From Taunton School, Jennyread Applied Economics atLondon University and chose acareer in media. She took herMBA in 2001 at Cranfield and is

currently working at IPC Mediaas a publisher. Recently married,she continues to enjoy sports,

especially sailing. Jenny said:“Looking back, if I were to changeone thing, I would have more clearlydefined personal and professionalgoals whilst I was at school. It wouldhave saved a lot of time.”

Nick Palmer (Wills West 1987)[email protected]

Nick has recently been selectedfor the Army Air Corps BlueEagle Display Team. A WarrantOfficer Two, Nick (who fliesGazelle and Lynx helicopters intheir spectacular displays) servedin Northern Ireland beforebecoming a Ground CrewInstructor at Middle Wallop in1993. In July 1996, oncompletion ofthe Army PilotsCourse, he wasposted to 654Squadron ArmyAir Corps inWattisham as aGazelle Pilot.During thistime, hecompletedoperational tours of NorthernIreland, Bosnia and Iraq. He hasalso flown on numerousexercises in Germany, Polandand Canada. In 2006, Nick wasposted to 673 Apache FieldingSquadron at Middle Wallop asthe Operations Warrant Officer.Nick, flying the Gazelle as Eagle3, said: “It was a dream chance forme to be selected. It’s reallyrewarding flying in a display. Youpush yourself to the limit. I’velearned manoeuvres for the displayI’d never done before.”www.deltaweb.co.uk/eagles

Peter Cossey (Evans 1993)[email protected]

Peter is Company Director of G &S-Cossey Ltd, the largest Fruitand Vegetable wholesalers in theSouth West. As Fruit andVegetable wholesalers, theysupply the retail and catering

trade throughout the South Westwith delivery areas stretching asfar as Bristol & Bath, Wiltshire,Portsmouth and into Cornwall.Peter plays an active role in thedevelopment of squash inSomerset, coaching to a level 2standard and playing in Somersetand in Avon’s top leagues. Hismost recent achievement wasfinishing 4th in the 2007Somerset County Closedcompetition. Peter said:“Mountain biking is another love ofmine and since cycling part way overthe Pyrenees in 2002 for Scope, Icontinue to train and cycle forpleasure. I am planning to enter the2008 Trans-Rockies race which is a 7day race of about 80/100 miles perday!”

Philip Smith (Goodland 1994)[email protected]

Philip is completing hispostgraduate studies in singingat the Royal Northern College ofMusic. He appears regularly inoratorios and on the recitalplatform throughout the UK andmainland Europe and hasworked with many eminentconductors. In addition he hasenjoyed master classes withRoger Vignoles and JuliusDrake. In 2006 he sang in theGlyndebourne Festival chorusand is due to appear at theMananan Opera Festival on theIsle of Man in September asDandini in Rossini’s LaCenerentola.

Nichola Norman (Murray 1996)[email protected]

Nichola is the training officer atBattersea Dogs & Cats Home,managing all aspects of trainingwithin the Home, and a Corporalin the TA with the Royal MilitaryPolice. In August last year shewas called up to serve in Iraq.This active tour of duty includedworking with the Iraqi Police

hierarchy to improve localsecurity and taking part inarrest operations targeted atpotential terrorists, advising onlegal technicalities and leadingthe search teams. She wasbased in Basrah City at theShaat al Arab Hotel and BasrahPalace for 6 and half months.Nichola said: “After having manyfriends involved in serious incidents,I am a firm supporter of BLESMA,a charity devoted to helping servicemen and women who have lostlimbs.” www.blesma.org

Jon Wright (Wills West 1996)[email protected]

Having left South Africa after 7years, Jon is currently living inZanzibar and working at theInternational School where, aswell as teaching, he is partlyinvolved with building a schoolon the mainland of Tanzania.Jon, who is on the Board of acharity that sponsors orphansthrough secondary education,said: “Although close to 30, I stillhave great memories of TauntonSchool, Wills West and my timethere - although my memories willbe slightly different to those of myteachers! I’m grateful to all theteaching staff for the encouragementthey gave me.”

UPDATES

Continued on back page


Ruth Clarke neé Woods (Bevan 1998) [email protected]

Having spent a fantastic 3.5years in the BusinessDevelopment team at WarnerBros International Television,Ruth has recently joined the‘House of the Mouse’ as Directorof Digital Media for Disney ABCInternational Television Divisionresponsible for developing thedistribution strategy and portfolioof new media content acrossEurope, Middle East and Africa.For example, it’s how ‘Lost’ findsit’s way onto Channel 4 ‘4OD’ inthe UK, ‘Cars’ drives video ondemand platforms acrossScandinavia and Goofy can getinside your mobile phone! Basedout of Hammersmith, London,Ruth said: “Digital media is a reallyfast-moving and exciting area to beinvolved in, and to be working onbehalf of a Hollywood Studiocertainly makes it all the more fun!”

Sophie Mosberger

(Bevan 1998)

Sophie, a Graduate of the RoyalWelsh College of Music andDrama, recently reached the finalof a major stage designcompetition - The LinburyBiennial Award for Stage Design.The event, staged at London’sNational Theatre, was visited byprominent figures from the worldof Theatre. She won a RoyalOpera House Bursary whichoffers her the opportunity tobecome familiar with the creativeprocess of staging opera or dancein a large scale house. Sophiesaid: “Under supervision from theProduction Department, I will assistthe designer of a forthcomingproduction, thereby gainingexperience of several departments.”

Lucy Pengilley (Murray 2000)[email protected]

Lucy graduated at the end ofJune 2007 in the Royal AlbertHall from the Royal College ofArt, London, where she receivedan MA (RCA) Honours in

Architecture. It brought to aconclusion a fifth and final yearof full time education aftergaining a First Class BSc at UCL’sBartlett School of Architecture in2004, which now gives her thestatus of a RIBA Part 2 Architect.Lucy said: “It has been a long andhard haul but proved worth while.During the RCA’s SummerExhibition I received a ConranAward from Sir Terrance Conranhimself for ‘the most outstandingstudent of 2007’; I was published inWallpaper magazine’s graduatedirectory ; I was nominated forBuilding Design magazinesnationwide Class of 2007, and wasput forward for the RIBA’sInternational Silver Medal award,where I got as far as the top sixfinalists...it was a crazy summer!”Lucy began work in September atRon Arad Associates, a renownedmultidisciplinary design andarchitecture practice in NorthLondon, and hopes to eventuallyrun her own practice.

Danielle Collins (Gloucester 2000)[email protected]

After 7 years living, working andstudying for a degree in Financial

Maths in Edinburgh, Daniellerecently moved down to London.She is now a Private Banker atCoutts & Co, working on theStrand, and looks after a smallportfolio of successfulEntrepreneurs, advising them oninvestments, lending and generalbanking.

Nick Taylor (Goodland 2000)[email protected]

In May 2007 Nick achieved his‘wings’ as a US Naval aviatorafter 2 years of flight training allacross the United States andfinally aboard the USS Enterprisewhere he became a ‘tailhooker’,making 14 successful arrestedlandings. Nick is currently inLemoore, CA and flying the F/A-18 Hornet.

Martin Collins (Wills West 2002)[email protected]

Having been awarded a FirstClass Honours degree in BankingManagement and Finance atLoughborough in 2006, Martin isnow working for Merrill Lynch inLondon as an Analyst. Herecently travelled to New Yorkfor 6 weeks training and ishoping he will eventually becomea trader. Martin said: “I am stillplaying sport, and currently playhockey for Wapping, and cricket forBraughing.”

Catherine Vincent (Besley 2002)[email protected]

Graduating from DurhamUniversity with a degree inGeography, Catherine is now partof a team called Ice Warrior whichhas been training for two yearsto spend 60 days skiing 600 miles

along the North West Passage inthe Canadian High Arctic thisspring. The main purpose of theexpedition is to gather crucialclimate change data but,primarily, they will be measuringthe ice depth for the NationalSnow and Ice Data Centre (aNASA-funded research institute)which will use the data tocalibrate its satellite providing asystem of ground-truthing.Secondly, snow samples will begathered for a University ofWashington project investigatingthe albido effect as the icecontinues to melt. Catherine said:“We will be monitoring the conditionof the polar bears in conjunctionwith the Born Free Foundation aswell as raising money for CancerResearch UK and Sparks. If anyonewould like to hear more about theexpedition and its aims or would liketo hear about potential sponsorshipoptions please contact me direct.”

Tom Smyth (Wills West 2003)[email protected]

Tom graduated from the RoyalMilitary College Duntroon in June2007 and was commissioned intothe Australian Army as aLieutenant. He is currentlyundergoing basic flying trainingin order to become a helicopterpilot within Australian ArmyAviation (AAAvn).

James Longstreet (Marshall 2006) [email protected]

James has been selected to playfor the Welsh Universitieshockey team, playing a four daytournament inEdinburghagainst theother HomeNation sides.He is currentlythe youngestplayer in theCardiffUniversityHockey 1st XIand will beplaying in thenational indoor hockey finals.

UPDATES

Nick is fourth from left.


BIRTHSCHU to Itsara (née Earphathanapanich) Murray ’99 and Andy (Fairwater ’00) Chloe - 06.11.07MacEWEN to Gabrielle (née Carrington) Bevan ’91 and Alastair Emma - 30.09.07MUNRO-MARCH to Lucy (née Munro-Chick) Bevan ’90 and Brandon Harriet - 30.03.07MEAD to Chris Goodland ‘88 and Elinor Alasdair - 29.08.07SELIG to Sallie Ann (née Irvin) Bevan '92 and Uli Annika - 05.03.08STEVENS to Tamsin (née Segar) Jenkin ’94 and Lee Emilia - 01.02.07

ASSOCIATION SECRETARY Due to the re-location of thepresent Association Secretary overseas a new incumbentis required as quickly as possible. Thanks to the valuabledata processing work undertaken by the Alumni Officeat Taunton School, directed by David Bridges, the workof the OTA Secretary now mainly revolves round theOTA Committee which meets in June and September eachyear. The essential qualification is an interest in the OTAand Taunton School and the development of theAssociation. If you would be interested in finding outmore please contact David Jenkins, Past Secretary:01278 783396 or [email protected]

ENGAGEMENTSEsther Shickle (Besley 1990) to Christian Campbell

MARRIAGESANDREWS Stephanie (née Eeles) Bevan ’96 to Simon married 23.04.07BEADELL Emma (née Watts) Besley ’00 to James married 07.07.07FALLON Katherine (née Courts) Jenkin ‘94 to Justin married 18.02.08FULLER Josh Wills West ’97 to Stephanie married 03.11.07HARRIS Lizzy (née Covey) Bevan ’93 to Paul married 29.03.08LINDEN Katie (née Hardiman) Besley ’01 to Scott married 18.08.07LINDEN Scott Marshall ’01 to Katie married 18.08.07MAJOR Joanne (née Brabner) Jenkin ’89 to Roy married 27.10.07MURPHY Vicki (née Sunderland) Besley ’96 to Luke married 31.03.07PARVIN Rachael (née Covey) Weirfield School ’86 to David married 31.08.07ROBERTSON Kate (née Jowett) Jenkin ‘81 to Gregor married 08.09.07SALTER Stacey (née Johnson) Bevan ’96 to David married 24.11.07STYLES Claire (née Baty) Bevan '00 to Neil married 15.03.08THOMPSON Abigail (née Harrison) Jenkin ’99 to Martin married 20.10.07WOODGATE Andrew Evans ’97 to Mary married 18.08.07WOODGATE Mary (née Grant) Besley ’97 to Andrew married 18.08.07

CIVIL PARTNERSHIPSJULIEN Clare Foxcombe ’91 to Zoe Hancock 19.06.06WHITEHEAD William Marshall ’88 to John Mark Ainsley 29.09.07

DEATHSBERE Elizabeth F Clare (née Philip) Weirfield ’73-’79 died 06.08.07BOTT Geoffrey William School House ’59-’63 died 27.09.07CATLEY Aubrey James Fairwater ’29-’33 died 04.09.07CLEVES Julia Caroline Weirfield ’75-’77 died 05.09.07COLLEY John Richard Wills West ’55-’63 died 03.09.07CRONHELM Claude Henry School House ’47-’51 died 01.12.07DAISLEY Charles Gordon Wills West ’34-’41 died 27.12.07GUNNELL David Eric Malcolm School House ’29-’37 died 24.07.07HANNATH John School House ’44-’52 died 23.07.07JONES Robin Lane Wills East ’52-’58 died 17.09.07LANGMAID Philip Arnold Wills West ’50-’52 died 20.08.07MARKE Roy Mark Senior Day Boys ’21-’28 died 09.12.07MAY Ralph George Wills East ’28-’36 died 24.07.07MEAD Ian Mackinnon Wills West ’39-’50 died 15.01.08MOLYNEUX Isabel Elsie (née Spiller) Weirfield School ’23-’35 died 15.08.07PIPE Arthur Percival Fairwater ’22-’29 died 02.03.08PITMAN Christopher Sidney Senior Day Boys ’20-’26 died 11.07.07PRICE Lewis Francis Fairwater ’40-’51 died 07.09.07PUGH Venn Tannahill Wills West ’29-’36 died 25.09.07ROBSON David George Wills West ’40-’48 died 20.12.07SABIN Nicholas Gordon David Wills West ’61-’67 died 23.09.07SHORMAN Henry John Wills East ’24-’33 died 19.09.07VENNER Wendy Joy (née Innalls) Weirfield School ’54-’60 died 19.01.08WILD Maurice Arthur Fairwater ’27-’33 died 01.08WILLCOCKS Dorothy Pru Former Staff ’72-’80 died 02.02.08WITHERS Roger Graham Somerset ’54-’65 died 24.08.06YATES Harold William School House ’30-’33 died 28.01.05YOUNG Paul Thomas Hammond Wills West ’30-’40, Staff ’50-’76 died 14.10.07

Looking for something?

Leavers from 1950-59 Leavers from 1990-99Saturday 20 September Saturday 11 October

To register an interest, please contact: David Bridges 01823 349235 [email protected]

Reunions 2008

Accommodation, Driving Lessons, Horse Feed or a Lawyer. Someone in The

Business Club can do it, or sell it!

Sniff out www.tauntonschool.co.uk/business club

OBITUARIES Old Tauntonian Review

Christopher ’Sid’ PitmanSenior Day Boys 1920-266 April 1910 - 11 July 2007 aged 97

Christopher Sidney Pitman, known as Sidor sometimes as Chris, won a Scholarshipto Taunton School for six formidableyears of his life. He often referred to hisyears in Taunton School as amongst thehappiest years of his life and to which heattributed much of his future success.

At the outbreak of World War Two in1939 Sid, like many other patrioticEnglishman, didn’t hesitate to volunteerhis services. He joined the army in 1940and proudly served his country in theRoyal Corp of Signals and was on activeduty in Italy and Austria bearing therank of Staff Sergeant. Sid was adevoted husband to his beloved wifeMolly, who passed away several yearsago, and a loving father to his lovelydaughter Jill, who too passed away just afew years ago, after a tragic accident. In1952 he accepted the position ofAssistant Head Postmaster in Penzance,later becoming the Head Postmaster inBridport, Barry and finally in Weston-super-Mare, where he eventually retiredfrom the Post Office.

Sid was a very active sportsmanthroughout his lifetime and loved cricketwith a passion. In later years he became

a very keen and accomplished LawnBowler. He will long be remembered byhis friends and fellow members of theVictoria Lawn Bowling Club, where hewas a member for well over 25 yearsplaying the game. He had a great lovefor ballroom dancing as well and was amember of the local ’Solo Club’ danceclub.

Sid will be long remembered by TauntonSchool students through his exceedinglygenerous Legacy: The Christopher ‘Sid’Pitman Sports Scholarship.

David Eric Malcolm GunnellFoxcombe 1929-35

24 January 1920 - 24 July 2007 aged 87

During the Second World War, Davidserved as a Captain in the GordonHighlanders Regiment. After the war hereturned to his first love of growing andworked on his own nursery and marketgarden, firstly in Esher Surrey, and thenfor many years in West Sussex. Heleaves behind his wife of sixty years,children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren: a great family manbeloved by all his family and sadlymissed. David died after a long illnessborne with dignity, as well as his usualstoicism and his keen sense of humour.

Ian MacKinnon Mead Thone, Foxcombe & Wills West 1939-50

4 July 1932 - 15 January 2008 aged 75

Following his grandfather and father atTaunton School, and proud that his timeat the school spanned three decades, Ianrevelled in sport, winning many cups andcertificates in athletics, swimming anddiving events. A skilled right wing infootball earlier, he became a very usefulscrum-half, playing in the 1950 1st XVwith his brother, Brian, at fly-half outsidehim. After National Service he wasarticled to an estate agent and in timequalified as a chartered surveyor,working in offices in Portsmouth andFareham until his retirement, being – as

his senior partner called him – hisdependable ‘anchor-man’; he was widelyrespected by professional colleaguesacross the area and in 1980 served asChairman of the Portsmouth and DistrictEstate Agents’ Association. Sport alwaysfigured prominently in his life. He playedscrum-half for Portsmouth RFC from1953 to 1962, captaining the side 1960-

61 and winning caps for Hampshire.Alongside rugby, sailing was his passionand he became an ace helmsman in hisVictory-class boat ‘Shearwater’,dominating the class results in CowesWeek and in local waters for almostthree decades and receiving over 700‘guns’. He captained the Class from 1980to 1987 and was also Sailing Secretary tothe Royal Albert Yacht Club for manyyears. In recent years he was a keensupporter of England and Bath rugby,rarely missing a match. A real foot-soldier of the OT’s, he was a regular andloyal supporter of dinners and reunionsover the years and twice served asChairman of the Southern Branch, in1968 and 2000, as well as beingSecretary of the Portsmouth Sub-Branchin its heyday. Modest and unassumingbut always generous and fun-loving, aconvivial host with his wife Janet at theirStubbington home, he had a wide circleof friends in the Portsmouth area andfurther afield – indeed, organising social

events was a speciality of his. Ironicallyhe passed on within a few weeks of hisclose friend at TS, David Robson.

David George Robson Wills West 1940-48

23 September 1932 - 20 December 2007 aged 75

Dave Robson, who suffered a strokewhilst playing golf, changed the face ofBath Rugby Football Club. Together withJack Rowell and Tom Hudson, heencouraged higher fitness levels formany and was successful in pushingmany players into the national squad.Although a formidable and tirelessbusinessman, he would help withcoaching local rugby club sides andschool teams when asked. He was anever-present member of the Dorset andWilts XV during his playing days and wasrenowned for being an uncompromisingfront row forward. He was a greatclubman and coach during the amateurdays of the ‘70s and ‘80s, including aspell as ‘scout’ where he successfully

located the likes of David Trick andRichard Hill. On the training field he wasalways trying different things in order toput variety and enjoyment into theroutines. He was always there for theplayers on the training field, whateverthe weather and, although he took aribbing from the players, there was anenormous amount of respect for him inwhat he tried to do.

Paul Wickham wishesto thank all those whohave visited him andcared for him during

his illness.

Olla Podrida IIA second Collection of Tony Wood’s Poems has been

published. £5.50 (incl. postage)

Cheques payable to Mrs E. A. Wood

All proceeds to CharityMrs E A Wood, c/o Alumni Office,

Taunton School, Taunton, Somerset TA2 6AD

OLD TAUNTONIAN ASSOCIATION

PRESIDENT Henry Keeling [email protected] Julian Pike [email protected] Presidents Michael Button [email protected]

Michael Willacy CBE [email protected] Jenkins [email protected] Headmaster [email protected](ex officio)

Trustees Michael Button [email protected] Jenkins [email protected] Pangbourne [email protected]

Hon Assoc Secretary John Edwards [email protected] Assoc Treasurer Simon Smart [email protected] David Bridges [email protected] - OT Review Paul Wickham [email protected] OT Representative Fiona Guest [email protected]

LONDON CLUB Chairman: Mary Grant [email protected] Sec.: Julian Pike [email protected]

WELSH CLUB Chairman: Dennis Webb [email protected] Sec.: Philip Griffiths [email protected]

WEST WALES CLUB Chairman: Philip Griffiths [email protected] Sec.: Michael Colley [email protected]

WESTERN CLUB Chairman: Chris Levan [email protected] Sec.: David Bridges [email protected]

SOUTHERN CLUB Lunch Secretary: Chris Davis [email protected]

SCOTTISH CLUB Chairman: Hon Sec.: Crona O’Shea [email protected]

MIDLANDS CLUB Chairman: Chris Ainley [email protected] Sec.: Keith Ingram [email protected]

CORNISH CLUB Chairman: Bruce Jeffares [email protected]

NORTHERN CLUB Chairman: Stephen Gullick [email protected]

EASTERN AUSTRALIA CLUB Chairman: Mark Slee [email protected]

OLD TAUNTONIAN ASSOCIATION Old Tauntonian Review

WESTERN AUSTRALIA CLUB Chairman: Greg Gregory [email protected]

CANADIAN CLUB Chairman: Chris Loat [email protected]

USA (WEST) CLUB Chairman: Dr Alan Morgan [email protected]

HONG KONG CLUB Chairman: Sabrina Leung [email protected]

FRENCH CLUB Chairman: Edward Bryant [email protected]

SPANISH CLUB Chairman: John Edwards [email protected]

PRESIDENTS’ CLUB

OLD TAUNTONIAN TRUST (Reg Charity No. 1060388)Charitable purposes connected with Taunton School

Trustees: John Pangbourne(Principal Trustee and Treasurer)Overmonnow House, St Thomas’s Square, Monmouth, NP25 5ES

Michael Button, David JenkinsSPORTS CLUB Chairman: Will Osmond [email protected]

Hon Sec.: Peter Dunn [email protected]

GOLFING SOCIETY President: Barry WhiteHon Sec.: Richard Jowett [email protected]

200 CLUB Chairman: David Brighton [email protected] Sec.: Dennis Webb [email protected]

OT FREEMASONARYOld Tauntonian Lodge No. 5735 Master: Paul Reed [email protected]

Secretary: John Ingram-Johnson [email protected]

Taunton School Lodge No. 8215 Master: John Ingram-Johnson [email protected]: Chris Harding [email protected]

Old Tauntonian Chapter No. 5735 Z: John Ingram-Johnson [email protected]: David Hughes [email protected]

ALUMNI / OT / FOUNDATION FORTHCOMING EVENTS2008May

Fri 9 Western Club Lunch Taunton SchoolSat 10 West Wales Dinner PembrokeSat 10 1847 Society Lunch Taunton SchoolSat 17 Foundation Charity Shoot Chipping Sodbury

JuneFri 13 Western Club Lunch Taunton SchoolFri 20 - Sun 22 Annual Reunion Weekend Taunton School

SeptFriday 12 Western Club Lunch Taunton School Sun 14 Cornish Club Lunch Crantock Bay, NewquaySat 20 1950-59 Reunion Taunton SchoolSat 27 Western Club Dinner Taunton School

OctFri 10 Western Club Lunch Taunton SchoolSat 11 1990-99 Reunion Taunton School

NovFri 14 Western Club Lunch Taunton SchoolSat 15 Welsh Club Dinner Cardiff Golf Club

DecTues 2 London Club Dinner RAF Club PiccadillyWed 3 Southern Club Christmas Lunch New ForestMon 8 Western Club Christmas Lunch Taunton SchoolSat 13 OT Sports Club Dinner Taunton School

THE OLD TAUNTONIAN GOLFING SOCIETYThe recent AGM of the OT Golfing Society approved the adoption of a Constitution which willclose a number of legal loopholes and more clearly define the membership.

The Society now has its own website www.oldtauntoniangs.org which is masterminded byGary Hector. Amongst many other things, it includes details of the Constitution and all thefixtures for 2008. In case you don’t use the internet these are as follows:

Events 2008Society Meetings (all welcome)TBC (Sun) Match vs School TBC Matthew PykeMarch 11 (Tues) Invitation Meeting Swinley Forest David MurrellApril 20 (Sun) Thone Cup Taunton & Pickeridge Gill JowettApril 27 (Sun)TBC Fairwater Cup St George’s Hill Richard Willacy May 31 (Sat) Reunion weekend Burnham & Berrow Olly Hyland June 1 (Sun) Match vs School Taunton & Pickeridge Olly HylandJuly 4 (Fri) Old Honitonians (Allhallows) Saunton Richard JowettAugust 31 (Sun) London OTs vs Western OTs Newbury & Crookham Andy HorneOctober 12 (Sun) Rose Bowl Oake Manor Gill Jowett TBC (Sun) Match vs School TBC Matthew Pyke

Scratch Competitions (Bona fide OTs with single figure H’caps!)Mar.29/30(Sat/Sun) Brent Knoll Bowl Burnham & Berrow Gary HectorApr. 10-13 (Wed-Sat) Halford Hewitt Deal G. Hector & R. WillacyMay 11 (Sun) Grafton Morrish (qualifier) Royal Ashdown Forest Gary HectorJune 26-28 (Thurs-Sat) Cyril Gray (over 50) Worplesdon Olly HylandSept. 25-28 (Thurs-Sun) Grafton Morrish (event) Old Hunstanton Gary Hector

All are very welcome to take part. Please get in touch with the Secretary, Richard Jowett, ifyou are not yet a member and are interested in playing.Steading Hay, Staplegrove, Taunton TA2 6EJ 01823 - 331666 [email protected]

OT Review - April 2008

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Transcript of OT Review - April 2008