TOM Edition 43

The Old M

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Keeping old boys in touch with MGS throughout the world

• 2015 – Save the Date

• Old Boys’ Dinner Speeches

• MGS and the Great War

• Forthcoming Events

– Save the Date

The School’s 500th anniversary year will run from January to December 2015. Tickets will be available for the events below via mgsglobal.org from September 2014.

Welcome to this issue of TOM!Preparations are now well under way for the different ways in which we will mark the 500th Anniversary of the School. There is a strong desire both on the part of the School and the OMA that as many as possible have the opportunity to share in these celebrations.

So we are looking for your help in locating as many Old Boys as possible and undertaking a major update of our database. A list of Lost Owls can be found at mgsglobal.org I hope you might take a little time to scour your own address books and contact lists and send the relevant details, with the person’s consent, to Laura Rooney at school.

[email protected]

David Walton 67-74 & Chairman of the OMA

Old Mancunians are welcome to attend

a series of academic lectures that will take

place throughout the year, as well as Open

Days at the School and to visit school camps.

There will be the opportunity for Old

Mancunians to join in legs of the 2015 treks.

It is also hoped that many OMs will join the

final leg of the Route March from the

Manchester Cathedral to Exeter Cathedral on

Sunday 12 July.

For book updates and to order, visit tmiltd.typepad.com/mgs

: a history at 500

Pre-order today to save £7.50 and have

your name listed in the book as a Subscriber.

• Hardback, 60,000 words

• 192 pages printed in full colour

• Up to 225 illustrations

• Published November 2014

Closing date to get your name in

the book 29 June 2014.

SPECIALSUBSCRIBER PRICE

£27.50*

*plus P&P RRP £35

Help us to celebrate 500 years of MGS with this beautifully illustrated new book

✁

Friday 17 April:

Annual Stuart Dale Football Matches

and Football Club Dinner

Thursday 16 April:

Premiere of Tariq O’Regan’s MGS 2015

commissioned piece ‘Celestial Map of the

Sky’, performed by the Hallé Orchestra and

conducted by Sir Mark Elder at the

Bridgewater Hall, Manchester

Friday 27 March:

Annual Phil Wade OM Rugby Match and

Rugby Club Dinner

Thursday 26 March: the Easter Concert

at the Royal Northern College of

Music, Manchester

Friday 13 March:

Biennial London Music Concert at the

Royal Overseas League, London

Thursday 17 September:

Annual London & South East Dinner

in the Great Hall at Lincoln’s Inn

Friday 16 October:

Founders’ Day Services at

Manchester Cathedral

Friday 20 November:

Old Mancunians teach at MGS day

Saturday 21 November:

Old Boys’ Dinner at ‘The Point’,

Lancashire County Cricket Ground

Thursday 10 December:

Carol Concert at Holy Trinity Platt,

Rusholme

Sunday 12 July:

Annual Hugh Oldham Commemorative

Service at Exeter Cathedral

Friday 22 May:

MGS v MCC followed by MGS

Cricket Dinner

2 3

From the Archive

MGS and the Great War

As we approach the centenary of the outbreak of the First World War, interest has been renewed in the MGS memorial boards, and in records stored in the school archives relating to the role of Old Mancunians in the Great War.

Statistical research was

recently undertaken in the

archive to ascertain the

number of Old Mancunians

serving in WWI and the

statistics are reproduced

below:

Number of Old Mancunians

who served in WWI – 3506

Number of Old Mancunians

killed serving in WWI – 534

Number of MGS staff

who served in WWI – 53

Number of MGS staff

killed serving in WWI – 9

Number of decorations

awarded to Old

Mancunians – 119

The statistics were gathered

using contemporary editions

of Ulula and the biographical

registers – both list service

records and names of the

fallen. We are almost certain

that these statistics are

incomplete. Ulula reported

details of service and deaths

as and when information

became available to the

editors at the time. The

biographical registers were

compiled by contacting

Old Mancunians individually

and were reliant on the

return of complete and

accurate forms. Many OMs

were not even contactable,

having changed address

since leaving school – no

Development Office back

then! Such individuals are

listed in the biographical

registers with no information

alongside and yet many of

these individuals were of an

age to be eligible for active

service. It would therefore

seem likely that many of

these “no return” individuals

would have engaged in

active service of some sort,

which would increase

the totals.

Further, names of the fallen

are listed in the editions of

Ulula from the 1914 – 1918

period and yet a small but

significant number of these

individuals are not listed in

the biographical register or

on the memorial boards.

These individuals have now

been added to the memorial

boards, and are included in

the statistics above. More

unusually, we discovered

recently that two of the

names on the boards were

included in error. The niece

of one individual contacted

the school to inform us that

her uncle survived the war

and went on to have two

sons and eight grandchildren

before his death in 1958.

Another point to note is that

the number of serving

individuals does not include

OMs who were involved in

non-combative war work,

such as Ambulance Units,

fire watching and air-raid

wardening.

Despite the incompleteness

of the records, the number of

serving Old Mancunians and

individuals who subsequently

fell seems fairly consistent

with numbers reported by

other schools, with a tragic

attrition rate of c. 15% - 20%

fairly standard across public

schools. The raw statistics

only give us a partial and

sometimes inaccurate

picture of the school’s

involvement in WWI.

However, they still shed

some light on the sacrifice

and service of a generation

– the picture repeated in

most schools and other

organisations across the

UK – and serve to place the

school into a wider national

and international context.

Rachel Kneale, School Archivist

Top: Extract from the MGS Memorial Board

Below top: The British War Medal, the 1914-15 Star and the Victory Medal

Bottom: The Memorial Plaque ‘Death Penny‘

Events

1980s and 90s Double Decade Reunion – Saturday 10 May

If you have never played football in the Sports Hall, if you helped to feed the world with Bob Geldof whilst playing with a Rubik’s cube or read Harry Potter before the film then you must be from the 1980s and 90s generation.

If you are and would like a trip down memory

lane then why not give the forthcoming

Reunion Dinner a try this year. The day

promises to be a nostalgic look back at your

time at MGS but with the opportunity to see

how the school continues to evolve. The new

High Master, Dr Martin Boulton, will be

pleased to welcome you to school as we

prepare for our quincentenary in 2015. Formal

invitations have been sent out and you should

have received yours by now but if not please

contact Jane Graham at school.

Dominic Hibberd Memorial EventOld Mancunians played a major part in the memorial event to Dominic Hibberd (former MGS teacher 65-70 and Vice President of the Wilfred Owen Association) held in Oxford at the Association’s autumn AGM.

Poems by Owen and Harold Monro were

read by Geoff Fox (OM and ex-staff),

Philip Bartle and Graham Holliday (OMs);

and an interview between Dominic and

critic Michael Benton (ex-staff) about the

writing of Owen’s biography was

re-enacted. Dominic’s partner, Tom

Coulthard (OM) thanked all of them for

arranging the event, in which Dominic’s

friend Anne Harvey also took part. Ian

Thorpe attended to represent MGS.

The North Manchester School 1905 – 40

The North Manchester Association which is one of the oldest groups of OMs who regularly meet will hold their Annual Reunion lunch on Tuesday 21 October at Cheetham Hill Cricket Club, Manchester.

For further details please contact Norman Davies on 0161 740 7654

Top: ‘The new technology‘ in 1982. Photo taken by A. E. McDonald

Bottom: Book cover, Wilfrid Owen, A New Biography by Dominic Hibberd

4 5

Senior Steward: Dr Martin Stephen

Junior Steward: Steven Whitehead

Recorder: Paul Rose

Dr Martin Stephen High Master 94-04(extract)

“And I tell you tonight with every

shred of sincerity I can muster I have

never in all that time seen anywhere

to match The Manchester Grammar

School. It is the best school in the world.

It is unique and extraordinarily special

and I have to say that I shall count this

as one of the greatest honours anybody

has done me to come back and speak

to you here tonight.”

Steven Whitehead 91-98(extract)

“MGS boys, what are we? We are

probably almost every man in the pub.

We can dip on a wealth of experience

and personas from the melting pot

of the catchment, every race, every

religion, genuine wealth, genuine

poverty. Probably borne out by the

fact that some of the boys in 1B,

Mr Burin’s class, some of them had a

real TAG watch, some of us bought one

for £20 from the ice cream van, a fake,

(laughter) and the rest of us could never

afford 20 quid.”

Dr Martin Boulton 84-86 & Current High Master(extract)

“It would be wrong to say that I want

to return the School to the way it was in

the 1980s. It would not be possible even

if it were desirable and flared trousers

were never very attractive. But what I do

want to do is ensure that the eighteen

year olds leaving MGS have hopefully

come across a teacher in their time here

who, probably unknowingly, will change

their life.”

SATURDAY 23 NOVEMBER 2013

Old Boys’ 209th Dinner

The full version of the speeches

can be read at mgsglobal.org

If you would like a printed copy

please contact Julie Wright in

the Development Office.

Bottom right: From L to R; The Recorder; Paul Rose, The Junior Steward; Steven Whitehead, The Senior Steward; Dr Martin Stephen, The High Master; Dr Martin Boulton

© Sefton Samuels 42-47

Mantras for Education

One of the mantras I have often used when writing about education is that good schools are not about the buildings, they are about their ethos and the people who have passed through their doors.

My view was put to the test in a very stark way last month as

hurricane force winds hit Manchester. I watched in despair

as the roof of the sports hall was blown away like a scene

from a disaster movie. The ease with which the wind tore

off the aluminium roofing and then the wooden frame

was frightening. The scene of devastation we arrived to the

following morning made my heart sink, but things could have

been so much worse, the storm hit during the hiatus between

our boys finishing in the sports hall and a local cricket club

arriving to start their nets. This was perhaps the only point in

the day where the building was completely deserted, and

whilst the damage to the structure was severe, miraculously

nobody was injured.

The following day when walking round the site with a

structural engineer it became clear that the building had

suffered more than just damage to the roof. The back wall of

the wooden structure had detached from the other walls and

its integrity had been severely compromised. The building has

been cordoned off and will need to be demolished. It is at

times like these that a community comes together and this

time was no exception. The School’s porters and grounds staff

immediately got to work clearing the site, messages of support

and offers of help flooded in.

And so I come back to my mantra. The building housed

our cricket nets, but it is Mark Chilton, David Moss and

the other cricket staff who make the difference to a boy’s

batting. When I think back to my own time at MGS what is it

I remember – the teachers who influenced me, Neil Sheldon

who introduced me to Ford Madox Ford, Adrian Dobson

who taught me folk songs, Ray Davies who took me on my

first climbing trip and the large group of staff who whisked

me away to the Alps each summer.

When I talk to Old Mancunians the stories they tell are

always about the staff that influenced them, the teacher

who, probably unknowingly, changed the course of their life.

In an age when independent schools have entered an arms

race to build ever more impressive facilities, when the key

selling point of a new academy is whether or not it has won

an architectural prize, we should ask one question – is it the

buildings or the people that matter? We will in the course of

the next twelve months rebuild the sports hall, but my main

priority will still be to ensure that we recruit the very best staff

and then equip and encourage them to inspire the next

generation of Old Mancunians.

OLD MANCUNIANS’ STORIES ARE ALWAYS ABOUT THE STAFF THAT INFLUENCED THEM, THE TEACHER WHO, PROBABLY UNKNOWINGLY, CHANGED THE COURSE OF THEIR LIFE

Below: The Mike Atherton Sports hall in the process of demolition

From the High Master

Dr Martin Boulton 84-86

High Master

Oxbridge SuccessMGS Sixth Formers have secured coveted Oxbridge places.

These include eight offers for Medicine

and Human Sciences, four places on

language courses as well as offers for

Philosophy, History, Chemistry,

Engineering and English.

Dean makes an historic discovery

Dean Whaley in the Lower School has unearthed a letter from King George V, which has been lurking in the School archives for more than 100 years.

Dean found the letter in an unassuming

historical volume on the MGS archive

bookshelves. The Royal Archives at Windsor

have confirmed that the ’thank you’ letter was

penned by George at the age of thirteen.

Google Glass: Fast Forward to the FutureYear 8 student Olly Sharp has begun work on a hands free app that will help students of the future; a web-based version of which he hopes to have completed in eighteen months’ time.

His skills mean that he’s also tailoring

his app for use on the forthcoming

Google Glass system, being one of a

select few in the UK to have access to

the wearable computer.

Ross raises £6K for The ChristieSixth Former Ross Hook has been recognised by The Christie at a charity dinner following a year-long effort that has seen him raise more than £6,000 for the charity.

Ross was so impressed with the facilities after

experiencing them for himself when his father

received treatment there for two years that he

decided to start raising money for the centre.

6 7

The School TodayFor more stories like these visit mgs.org

Top: Oxbridge-bound

Far left: James Smart

Middle: Joanna Badrock and Dean Whaley

Above: Olly Sharp Ross Hook

James selected for Greater Manchester TeamJunior School pupil James Smart has been selected to run for the U11 Greater Manchester Athletics team at the Sportshall FIA Regional finals.

His passion for running

started when he won the

600m title at a Northern

Schools Championship, and

selection for the U11s comes

after successfully competing

as part of his local team,

Oldham and Royton Harriers.

OM SectionsLondon & South EastThe High Master, Dr Martin

Boulton, made his debut

at the Annual Supper at

the Cheshire Cheese in

November and Ian Thorpe

joined old boys for a pub

evening at Leadenhall Market

later the same month. Both

events were well attended

and marked the beginning

of closer ties between the

Development Office and

the London and South

East Section.

The High Master will be

speaking more formally at

the Annual Dinner which

will be held at the Oxford and

Cambridge Club on Thursday

24 April. He will be joined by

Daniel Rosenfield, who was

the former Private Secretary

in the Treasury. Tickets for

the event are now on sale

at mgsglobal.org

The annual golf tournament

for the ‘Owl Trophy’ will

take place on Tuesday 24

June at Woking Golf Club.

Contact Mike Richardson

[email protected]

or 01483 76146 for more

information.

Chairman, Lee Gabbie

lee.gabbie@bracherrawlins.

co.uk , hands over the reins

to Jimmy Campbell from

September.

MidlandsAt the Annual Lunch we

were delighted to welcome

Dr Boulton, who as an OM

himself, communicated his

background and beliefs with

an invigorating empathy after

lunch. James Wills provided

us with an equally enjoyable

insight into the mind of the

modern student.

The AGM agreed on

fundamental changes to the

Section. The Committee has

been disbanded and replaced

by a ‘contact group’, currently

of three ‘willing members’

without formal status. They

will be responsible for the

regular reports to TOM and

Ulula, and for identifying

locations for the Section’s

annual events. Administration,

and communications with

OMs in the region, now rest

with the Development Office.

The willing three, who are

available for a chat, are

John Wilson 0121 475 3700,

Michael Kennedy 0121 605

4048 and Chris Diggines

01527 458730.

South WestOur autumn social event, on

Saturday 19 October 2013,

took us to Buckfastleigh,

where we enjoyed a steam-

hauled trip on the South

Devon Railway, along the

Dart valley to Totnes. Lunch

at Riverford Organics Field

Kitchen provided generous

portions of imaginatively

presented, locally sourced

food for our group of OMs

and their guests.

The South West Section is

now finalising plans for the

48th Commemoration

Service in Exeter Cathedral,

held annually in pious

memory of Hugh Oldham.

The service will be on Sunday

22 June, followed by lunch at

the Mercure Southgate Hotel.

All OMs and their partners

and guests are very welcome

to join us on these occasions.

Please contact Paul Gelling,

for more details tel. 01291

626951 or email p.gelling@

btinternet.com

Chess SectionThursday 3 April from 3:00 pm

at the School is now set as

the date for the 25th Old

Mancunians chess encounter

with the current School team.

The date is exactly 30 years

since the first in the current

series. The School won the

1984 match 4-2 and the 2013

match 4½-3½, but the OMs

have enjoyed a good measure

of success in between.

In the “noughties” the format

of the event varied to allow

OMs of different eras to

compete against each other

as well as against the School

team. That decade saw the

emergence of the “Older

Mancs” (1980-89 starters at

MGS) and “Oldest Mancs”

(pre-1980 starters) teams,

with the tag “Old Mancs”

reserved for post-1989

starters. This was in the spirit

of the original events in the

1980s, which pitted recent

leavers against their former

team-mates.

Now that there are a fair

number of OMs who joined

MGS in 2000 or later, we have

thought about starting

another series of team names,

perhaps Antique, Ancient, and

Antediluvian Mancs. Whatever

we decide to call the teams,

however, (and we have stuck

to OMs with a reference to

their decade at the School for

engraving on the base of the

Clements Cup) we would like

to keep one that has players

who have been team-mates

with the School players. So

we are particularly keen for

OMs who left MGS in the last

three or four years to join us

on 3 April.

Whatever time you were

at MGS, though, if you

would like to be part of this

event, please drop me a

line on [email protected]

Peter Webster.

OM 20/30 ClubIf you live in the north-west

of England, or visit the area,

please consider coming to

one (or more) of our lunch

meetings usually held on the

3rd Friday of the month at

the Freemasons Hall, Bridge

Street, Manchester at 12:30

for 1:00 pm.

Other dates:

Wednesday 23 April:

MGS Supper evening with

Guests, at 6:30 pm.

Friday 6 June:

Lunch at MGS.

Friday 17 October:

Ladies Luncheon at

Stanneylands, Wilmslow.

Contact me if you would

like more information.

Alex Wells, 01298 812886.

Top: The Chess Section celebrate victory

8 9

Pub Evening in ManchesterThough we are not yet in the realms of creating a Northern Old Mancunian Section, during October we hosted a second successful event at The Albert Square Chop House, bringing together over 100 former pupils of MGS and MHSG, for drinks and the chance to catch up.

This time we were able to welcome the new High Master Dr Martin Boulton to the evening, a great opportunity for both him and Old Mancunians to get to know each other.

Former school band, Barnabus Rex, offered a backdrop to the evening, performing hot on the heels to their recent American tour. For those who enjoyed them, look no further than SoundCloud.

Those of you signed up to MGS Global should have been made aware by email that, amongst other events, a further Manchester Pub Evening is planned for Wednesday 18 June at the same venue. It is a casual event so please feel free to just drop in from 6:00 pm onwards. For those of you not signed up to MGS Global, this is where you can find us – mgsglobal.org

John Whitfield 76 – 83 [email protected]

Owl drop ins

Once more, the biscuit barrel has been in for some serious action as the Development Office has entertained a host of Old Mancunians over the last few months, some coming just to catch up on old times and others to share their wisdom.

David Hibbitt 55-62, one of our pre-eminent

Old Mancunian engineers, delivered a series of

lectures to the boys about his career in the US.

Harry Stopes and Jack Levy 97-04 came in

during November. Harry delivered a talk to the

Senior History Society summarising his PHD

research during his visit. Jack is now a

documentary filmmaker who is hoping to

produce a short film about Basil Clarke, OM

44-50. Clarke was a reporter for the Daily Mail

who made for Europe in 1914, disobeying a

law insisting that all reports came through the

Press Bureau where they could be edited and

censored, before being distributed to the

public. He lived as an outlaw on the front

lines, hopping from trench to trench avoiding

the military police and sending his reports

back to London via soldiers returning home.

Likewise Adrian Bull 73-80 returned

“talking, not listening, this time round”

about the Nuclear Energy Industry.

Barry Hobson and Andrew Brown

48-54 came in together and joined us for

a tour both commenting on what great

memories it brought back and how well

they were looked after.

Simon Jacobs 65-72 found his memories

“good and otherwise”!

Stewart Peet 46-51 remarked on the warm

welcome he received from Simon Jones and

Mark Chilton and also the fact that it was over

sixty years since he had attended MGS. Luckily

he didn’t comment that we might have got

round to repainting in the intervening years.

As ever we welcome you to come and

join us, whether for a tour or to contribute to

daily life and learning in school. Please contact

Jane Graham to make arrangements, though

perhaps you shouldn’t all leave it as long

as John Odell 58-64, “First time back in

49 years”.

We really do appreciate Old Mancunians

offering time to share either academic or

work life knowledge with the boys, either in

school or through any exposure to work

experience or job shadowing. Please contact

Simon Jones at [email protected] if you

could assist us with this further.

Pupil James Moran commented“Dr Hibbitt challenged us to consider the most difficult mathematical problems and we left the Lecture Theatre determined to do so.”

© Paul Wolfgang Webster

Left: Barnabus Rex from L to R: Ethan James, Andrew Goddard and Joe Ward 03-10, Billy Ward 06-13, Dan Mizrahi 06-11

OM Letters

When August Suns are Shining

Paul Thompson – Staff since 1989

It has been very interesting to read

letters and emails about MGS’s school

songs. When I was invited to write an

updated version of ‘the School song’,

I was apprehensive for two reasons.

Firstly, school songs command affection

and loyalty: would I be committing

hubris? Secondly, MGS has at least two

school songs: ‘Hugh of the Owl’ and

‘When August Suns are Shining’. Which

should I choose? The fact that both

songs are now, sadly, relatively unfamiliar

reduced somewhat my anxiety.

I chose ‘When August Suns are Shining’

and realised that its alternate title (‘The

Holiday Song’) is very apt: it depicts the

lonely MGS owl pining in August, whilst

boys are on holiday in such exotic spots

as Blackpool, Snowdon and the Isle of

Man. How times have changed! Rather

than update the holiday destinations I

chose to change the focus to celebrate

MGS life today. Some of the references

will be familiar to OMs (e.g. Sivori’s),

others will not (e.g. Proctors).

I wrote a new melody, which our

Director of Music, Robert Carey, gave

some professional polish: new and old

meet in his arrangement, as references

to the old melody are incorporated into

the accompaniment.

The new ‘When August Suns are

Shining’ was sung twice last July: at

Speech Day, and at an evening where

Year 7 boys sang to Year 6 boys joining

MGS (very apt, given the new words).

The reception was positive, but it

remains to be seen whether this song

has life beyond these two events.

I cannot claim to have written ‘the

School song’ (hubris indeed!), but I have

enjoyed the task, and have learned a

little about school songs in the process.

When August suns are shining Or August raindrops fall, The owl is standing, lonely, Upon the old school wall. No laughter and no voices Are there to warm his heart. He’s longing for September And for the year to start.

Chorus (After each verse) Hurrah! Hurrah! Hurrah! Hurrah for the wise old owl! Hurrah! Hurrah! Hurrah! Hurrah for the wise old owl! Hurrah for the wise old owl!

The corridors are filling, The classrooms buzz once more, The energy and chatter Pour out of ev’ry door. The butty bar is bulging With pizza that’s divine; And for Sivori’s ice-cream We queue, come rain or shine.

The Proctors always help us, And share their wise advice: They have us tuck our shirts in And tidy up our ties. With all the clubs on offer The lunchtimes fairly fly, And then comes Friday football: The time to do or die!

Whatever sports we play in The fields, the pool, the gym, We are Hugh Oldham’s boys, so We’ll do our best for him. In camping and in trekking The Paton dream lives on; Community in action: By serving all grow strong.

In all we do in lessons, Wherever we perform, We’ll prove what we can do when Our best becomes our norm. And so ‘sapere aude’, A challenge to us all: To dare to be as wise as The owl who watches all.

Bob Heys 40-46 writes:

The playing fields of MGS have been the

scene of many epic recorded conflicts;

this is one hitherto unreported encounter.

It concerns possibly the last clash with

swords to occur in England – I refer to

the confrontation between myself and

my great friend and class-mate Frank

Parrot for the hand of a young lady

attending a girl’s school in Prestwich,

now Frank’s home. The meeting in

1944 proved inconclusive due to the

intervention of the bell announcing

afternoon classes. It had attracted

considerable attention however and

news of the incident reached Mr Sutton,

then school porter, who to our great

concern (as they were genuine antiques

belonging to Frank’s father who was

unaware of them having been

‘borrowed’), confiscated the weapons.

It took much pleading to secure their

release and the young lady remained

in ignorance of our feelings for her!

You can watch the

recorded performance

of the song from

Speech Day at

mgsglobal.org

10 11

Dare to be Wise

Ian Thorpe 62-69

Development Adviser & current editor

of the OM Letters page

Martin Allinson’s suggestion that

it was time for MGS to abandon

Sapere Aude as its motto produced

an unprecedented number of

responses from readers of TOM.

Thank you all for taking the trouble

to respond. Particular thanks to John

Reddish and others who documented

the many and varied organisations and

individuals linked to this motto.

Martin has only one declared and

unconditional supporter: Neil Snowise.

Derek Murphy started from Martin’s

position but has moved on: ‘Like Martin,

as a lad I was never inspired by ‘sapere

aude’ but, having met many, many

people who take the easy way out –

let someone else do the thinking, don’t

make a wave, keep your head down or

you’ll find yourself carrying the can, and

so on – I have come to realise the real

meaning of the motto and should not

like to see it changed. Yessir, dare to

be wise!

Most correspondents supported the

sense of continuity created by the motto

as well as liking its sense. Perhaps this

was best expressed by Holly Eckhart, our

current Head of Classics: ‘Aside from the

obliteration of the audible pun in aude

and the owls of Hugh Oldham’s crest

and the pronunciation of his family

name, my main objection reaches far

beyond getting lost in translation. When

a boy steps through the doors of this

school, he becomes an MGS boy

regardless of his background, and I

would like to hope that this tradition

dating back almost five hundred years

will continue into the next. What better

way is there to join all these generations

together than a common motto in a

language which has endured the

passing of time?’

Colin Jevons 68-75:

I enjoyed Adrian Dobson’s discussion of

the apostrophe in ‘Owl’s Nest’ (Ed. 42).

Since alumni are known as “sons of the

Owl”, and no group of individuals ever

nest for long at the Disley site, the nest is

surely that of the generic Owl of whom

all alumni are sons. Therefore, the nest is

of a singular, legendary, representative

Owl and so should be referred to as the

Owl’s Nest, not the Owls’ Nest.

In memoriamSince the last TOM we have been advised of the recent deaths of the following OMs: We would welcome offers to supply brief obituaries or memories for Ulula.

Norman Bailey 63-71Michael J Barber 49-56 & 63-67*Keith P Bentley 52-58John R Billington 41-47James R Broadhurst 42-47Eric B Brogan 32-37Roger H Buckley 49-55James M Buie 39-46Michael S Burgoyne 54-61Edward Cattan 26-28John B Chadwick 32-37Paul H Clark 61-68John G Clarke 38-43G Angus Coutie 40-47Frank A Crompton 57-64Neville B Cryer 35-42

John K Darbyshire 40-45Kenneth J Davison 41-48Fred Dearnaly 40-44Eric H Dodson 34-38Frederick R Estcourt 32-37David Evans 48-55Julian Flacks 40-44Albert E Fletcher 31-34Michael Hall 37-44Philip Hellawell 55-62Arthur M Hinsley 46-53J Douglas Hudson 30-32Kenneth A Hunt 55-62David A Jackson 51-57Robert A Jones 67-74John Kemp 31-34Peter R Langford 38-44Michael F Lees 57-64Charles D Lloyd 33-37John S Marr 89-96Geoffrey D Marshall 50-57Christopher B Marsland 53-60

Phillip G Mason 72-79Keith G Mather 33-41John McCulloch 32-39James W McDonald 38-44Robert B Mycock 39-45Colin W Murray 37-44Kamran Pattoo 93-00David K Powell 42-49David Riley 66-73Sidney S Rose 29-35Geoffrey H Sansome 40-48Derek Sowter 43-50Roy Statham 45-51Eric V Stevens 30-34John D Turner 39-45 John E Twinn 38-39Barry H Watson 44-46Daniel L Williams 82-89Donald A Wilson 44-51John C Wilson 53-60

StaffMichael J Barber 63-67*

Events30th Anniversary Chess Match. Thursday 3 April please contact Peter Webster at [email protected]

Philip Wade Memorial Rugby Match & Dinner. Friday 4 April, kick off time 2:30 pm. Please contact Giles Heagerty at [email protected]

Annual London & South East Dinner. Thursday 24 April at the Oxford and Cambridge Club. For further details and to book your place go to mgsglobal.org

Stuart Dale Memorial Football Match. Friday 2 May if you are interested in playing or supporting contact Mike Strother at [email protected]

1980s and 90s Double Decade Reunion. Saturday 10 May for further details contact Jane Graham at [email protected]

Manchester Pub Evening. Wednesday 18 June at The Albert Square Chop House from 6:00 pm for further details contact Simon Jones at [email protected]

Hugh Oldham Commemoration Service in Exeter Cathedral and lunch. Sunday 22 June for further details contact Paul Gelling at [email protected]

Golf Day at Woking Golf Club. Tuesday 24 June tee off time 1:00 pm for further details please contact Michael Richardson at [email protected]

Annual Old Boys’ Dinner. Saturday 22 November at MGS please contact Paul Rose at [email protected]

Details of all OM events can be found at mgsglobal.org

Music events2 April Easter Concert, Memorial Hall, 6:30 pm.

24 April Guitar Concert, The Theatre, 6:30 pm.

30 April Summer Concert, Memorial Hall, 6:30 pm.

Drama events27, 28 & 29 March The Last Laugh by Daniel Dockery. The Theatre, 7:00 pm.

1 May Star Crossed an evening of Shakespearean Magic. A Junior School production. Drama Studio 1. 6:00 pm.

9, 10, 11, 12 & 16,19 June Shakespeare festival. Drama Studio 1. 6:00 pm.

Dates and times of events are subject to change. For confirmation and ticket reservations please see mgs.org

NoteworthyOld Mancunian Ties

Old Mancunian silk ties are available at the cost of £20 in the UK or £22 overseas including p&p.

Please contact Julie Wright.

Amazon.co.ukMany of us are regular shoppers on the internet, and by accessing the Amazon.co.uk website through the icon link on the School’s own website (mgs.org ) up to 10% of the value of any purchase made is automatically given for the direct benefit of the Bursary Fund.

Gift AidWe are grateful to the significant number of Old Boys who donate regularly to the Bursary Fund. We are obliged to remind you that Gift Aid regulations require you to let us know if you no longer pay sufficient tax on income and/or capital gains. Please notify any changes to the Development Office.

OM publicationsSefton Samuels, 42-47, text & his own photography, Jazz Legends: Up Close, www.blurb.co.uk

John Withington, 58-65, Flood: Nature and Culture, published by Reaktion Books.

David Pearson, 60-67, The 20 Ps of Marketing, www.koganpage.com/20Ps

Where is Hugh going?Find out in our next edition.

Get in touch ...Correspondence to Julie

Wright at MGS, Old Hall

Lane, Manchester, M13

0XT or 0161 224 7201.

L to R: Jane Graham, ext 243, [email protected] Julie Wright, ext 241, [email protected] Laura Rooney, ext 571,

[email protected]

L to R: Simon Jones 88-95, Director of Development, ext 240, [email protected] Ian Thorpe 62-69 Development Adviser, ext 570, [email protected]

Rachel Kneale School Archivist, ext 361, [email protected]