THE OLD CATERHAMIANS’
newsletter
Volume 2, Issue 9
www.oldcaterhamians.com
Dates for your
diary...
Summer 2014
OC Summer Term Sports
Afternoon, 1970s
Leavers’ Reunion,
Sunday 29 June 2014
Remembrance Sunday,
OC Day Lunch and 1960s
Reunion Buffet Lunch,
Sunday 9 November
2014
For more information go to:
www.oldcaterhamians.com
INSIDE....
President’s Message . . . . . . . .2
Spring Term Lecture . . . . . . . .3
London Dinner and AGM
Friday 28 March 2014
This was a wonderful opportunity to say farewell to Jim Seymour
and we hope he enjoyed the event as much as we did.
A
Preview launch . . . . . . . . . . . .3
OC Day Sports &
Presentations . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
fter a very brief AGM upstairs in the
Hogarth Room at the East India Club, 80
guests – teaching staff, Old Cats, the Head Boy
and Girl, Bursarial staff and spouses – gathered
together in the Luncheon Room to enjoy a
delicious three-course dinner with much
networking and debate. After presentations
and speeches – Jim’s speech was most
entertaining – guests retired to the Clive Room
to conclude the evening.
Elizabeth Lowe, John Jones and Didi Yahya
As usual, the banqueting staff at the East
India Club served us very well. We wish Jim
every happiness in his retirement and he will
be much missed at the School.
There was a last-minute rush for places at
this event which soon became oversubscribed
and we were very sorry to have to turn some
of you away. There will be another London
Dinner in 2016 and we are planning to hire a
much bigger room to accommodate us.
Gerald Killingworth
launches Hy Brazil . . . . . . . . .4
News from OCs . . . . . . . . . . .5
t
Jim Seymour with Head Girl and Head Boy
continued
There will be another chance to bid Jim
farewell, as the Summer Cricket
Afternoon on 29 June is running
alongside a 1970s Reunion and Summer
Buffet Lunch and Jim will be there to
catch up with some of his former
students from that decade. Please see the
website for details and an application
form. We are expecting a bumper crowd!
Bill Broadhead, Miles Maiklem and
Richard Heath
Sarah and Steve Richards
David and Jan Charlesworth with their
daughter Helen
David Charlesworth and Mr & Mrs Keen
Mrs Lesley Paine and
Mr Tom Murphy
Carole and Paul Tindley
Bill and Alison Broadhead, Sean Hayes, Andrey Taylor
and Julian Thomas
The President’s Message ...
Each year there are reunions of particular groups of OCs. Some take place
at the school, usually coinciding with an OC Day.
O
thers occur more informally, often in
London. And we’ve also had
occasional regional reunions (the last one
was in Cambridge).
Reunions are an excellent opportunity
for OCs to reconnect. We get very
positive feedback from these events.
This year there will be reunions for 1960s
and 1974 leavers. Ideally, we’d like to
encourage regular “class of” reunions
every 10 years. But we also realise that
we should not be overly prescriptive (for
2
Old Caterhamians’ Newsletter
example, some leavers from other years
in the 1970s have told us they’d like to
attend the 1974 leavers’ reunion this
year). So please look out for news about
pending reunions and also consider
whether you might help organise a
reunion for your year. We are hoping to
have reunions for 1975, 1985, 1995 and
2005 leavers next year (please contact
Alina if you are interested). We are also
always happy to hear from groups
wanting to hold a regional reunion or an
informal gathering.
We had a highly
successful OCs’
dinner in London in March at which Jim
Seymour’s pending retirement was
honoured. Regrettably, there were more
people wanting to attend the dinner
than seats available. We will try to
remedy that in the future.
If you haven’t already put the summer
OCA day on 29th June in your diary,
please do so now.
SPRING TERM CATERHAM LECTURE
Brigadier John King MBE, who is, of
course, Bursar at Caterham School
presented a most entertaining lecture
on Thursday 6 February to a packed
audience in the Wilberforce Hall. The
title of the lecture was ‘Peace and
Stability on the Korean Peninsula: a
vain hope or a real possibility?’
D
uring his most interesting and varied
military career, John was the Defence
Attaché at the British Embassy in Seoul
and in this role he was a member of the
Armistice Commission, which met
regularly with the North Korean military
personnel. John therefore has first-hand
insight into this complex and politically
sensitive area of the world. His thoughts
on the current situation are highly
topical, not least since a state of war
technically remains in place on the
Korean Peninsula and North Korea has
recently witnessed a change in leader.
John was born in 1949 in Hong Kong.
The son of an Army officer, he spent
most of his childhood in the Middle and
Far East before being educated at The
Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, The
Army Staff College and The United States
Army War College. He was prevented
from attendance at university by
unimpressive grades at ‘A’ Level,
occasioned by his discovery of the
opposite sex and The Rolling Stones!
John King, Lindsay Redding and the Caterham Lecture Team
He was commissioned into The Green
Howards in 1969; over the next 20 years
he served in Northern Ireland (8 tours of
duty), mainland UK, West Berlin and West
Germany in a variety of Regimental and
Staff appointments – the busiest of which
was as the staff officer responsible for
running the Army’s day-to-day operations
in Belfast at the time of the Provisional
IRA’s hunger strikes.
After battalion command, he was
promoted to Colonel and took part in the
first Gulf War (1991) as the officer
responsible for the presentation of the UK
ground forces to allied forces and the
Iraqi enemy. This involved control of all
accredited war correspondents in the
desert and the release of their output.
Surprisingly, he has maintained some
good media contacts since then and often
dines out on his experiences of sharing a
tent for many weeks with Kate Adie (and,
sadly, about another 12 journalists!).
The Gulf War was followed by a fouryear stint in the United States, initially as a
Fellow at The United States Army War
College in Pennsylvania and then as one
of the attachés in Washington DC. In
1997, he was promoted to Brigadier and
appointed to brigade command in the
UK.
In 2000, he attempted with mixed
results to learn Korean at the School of
Oriental and African Studies before being
appointed, in 2001, as the Defence
Attaché in the British Embassy in Seoul,
Republic of Korea. In the following three
years he was able to observe at first hand
the unfolding events on the fascinating
but volatile Korean peninsula. He retired
from the Army in 2004 after 36 years’
service, thankful never to have served
within the walls of the Ministry of
Defence. Since then he has had to work
for a living as the Bursar at Caterham
School, where his experiences of dealing
with the unreconstructed Stalinists of the
North Korean military have stood him in
good stead when handling the academic
staff.
PREVIEW Launch...
This year’s Sixth Form ‘Preview’ magazine
was launched at Sixty One Whitehall, the
home of the Royal United Services Institute
on Friday 7 March.
T
he guest speaker was Stanley Johnson and he delivered a
captivating speech. It was good to see some OCs in
attendance. After much preparation and coordination, the
Preview Team, Lower-Sixth form helpers and Mr Matthew
Godfrey are to be congratulated for the success of the event.
The 2014 Preview Team
Old Caterhamians’ Newsletter 3
OC Day Sports and
Presentations
Scores
Hockey: The School won 8 - 2
Football: The Old Cats won 2 - 1
Netball: The School won 38 - 9 against the Old Cats
The President’s VII won 23 - 22 against the SuperCats
It was great to see such a large group of
people from the School and Old Cats’
community who joined us in the brilliant
sunshine but chilly wind and cheered
their teams on. Thanks to all who took
part in organising this event and to the
catering staff who put on a lovely slapup tea in the Leathem Room afterwards.
The Vice President Stephen May presents the
Hockey cup to Jaclyn Leach
The School hockey team
defending the goal
The netball match
OC Alex Blair on the balcony
Old Cats Hockey and spectators
Shaking hands after the match
Honorary Member Gerald Killingworth
launches his latest book ...
Gerald Killingworth, Head of English at Caterham School for 21 years
and now retired, has a new adult fantasy novel ‘Hy Brazil’ to be
published by Matador in May.
T
he book is a tale of strange magics and one young
man’s struggle with an extraordinary destiny and will
appeal to readers of Tolkien and Pullman alike. Gerald is
holding two book launches:
At Treadwell’s Bookshop, 33 Store Street, Bloomsbury on
Tuesday July 1st at 7pm. Free entry and free snacks! All
welcome. Signed copies of the hardback will be available. It
would help if you could let Gerald know you are attending
via his website: www.geraldkillingworth.co.uk but this
is not essential. Signed copies of ‘Hy Brazil’ may also be
ordered via Gerald’s website.
4
Old Caterhamians’ Newsletter
A Caterham School launch
on Thursday June 19 at 7pm in the
Leathem Room. All welcome and signed copies
available.
Herbie Brennan, best-selling Irish author of ‘The Faerie
Wars’ series has called ‘Hy Brazil’ ‘a vivid, unusual and
intelligent fantasy in a style reminiscent of ‘Cloud Atlas’…
Gerald Killingworth writes about the fairyland of Hy Brazil as
if he’d actually been there. Congratulations Gerald and we
all hope the book does very well.
NEWS from Old Caterhamians
News from
CAZ BUCKLAND (2002-2009)
Old Caterhamian Caz Buckland has been
selected for the Indoor Netball Association
(INA) England Squad this year as an
Attacking Player (Shooter), and will be
playing in the World Championships in
South Africa in May 2014.
C
az left Caterham in 2009 and
played and captained the School
Netball team for a number of years.
She went on to captain Surrey, play
for London and the South East and be
part of the U18 England Screening
process, and now has a chance to live
out her dream and represent England
in the World Championships.
Indoor Netball is a variation of the
traditional 7s game with a few different rule twists. The game
is played entirely surrounded by nets, meaning the ball can
never go out of play. This makes it a very fast, tough and
physically demanding game, requiring a lot of skill and spatial
awareness. The game has been popular in the southern
hemisphere for many years and is now becoming a recognised
world-wide sport. On her selection for the INA England Squad,
Caz said, "I was completely speechless when I found out I'd
been named in the Squad. When I went to trials I just thought
it would be a fantastic learning experience, but now I'm
playing alongside some legends in the sport and people I've
grown up watching and admiring. As the youngest squad
ROSIE CLARKE
(2003-2010)
“O
Back Row from left to right: Michela Scarpa, Georgia Shrimpton,
Jayde Cook, Hannah Shaw, Lottie Gregory and Emily Buckett
Front Row from left to right: Abbey Martin, Caz Buckland (C)
and Loulou Rowlands
member in the Women's team, I'm really hoping that this can be
a start of a promising career representing England, and am
incredibly excited about playing in South Africa! It's all just a
dream come true."
Caz is currently training every week in either Bristol or London
with her team members, working on her intense preparation
programme in the lead-up to the World Championships. As the
sport is relatively new in England, however, it relies heavily on
funding from the team members themselves. For this reason,
Caz is asking for any donations to help her travel with England
to South Africa. If you want to donate, please visit her page
http://www.gofundme.com/CazForEngland.
Further information and player profiles can be found at
http://www.ina-england.co.uk.
“
I am a firm believer in
hard work, determination
and personal belief.
”
n February 9, 2014 I was
lucky enough to be
offers me in terms of both my academics
competing in the 3000m at the British
and
my running are phenomenal. In
Athletics Indoor Championships. The
conjunction with my training I will be
event was held at the English Institute
studying a Management MBA. It is a very
of Sport in Sheffield, a great sporting
location. The race was highly
Rosie wearing the bronze medal exciting prospect, and I am very much
looking forward to my time in the US!
competitive with a very talented field,
My involvement in athletics stems from my time spent at
and through a combination of some effective race tactics and
Caterham School. I didn’t fully commit to running until I left the
my natural pace from the 1500m I managed to secure third
school in 2010, but the sports staff were always very supportive
place and earn myself a bronze medal. 2013 was my most
and
believed in my capabilities as an athlete. I am a firm believer
successful year of racing to date, and hopefully 2014 will
in hard work, determination and personal belief. These
follow suit with many more medal-winning opportunities!
attributes work harmoniously to increase the likelihood of
In August this year I will be enrolling at Iona College, New
success in any walk of life.”
York, on a full sports scholarship. The opportunities that this
Old Caterhamians’ Newsletter 5
LAURENCE ‘LAURIE’ RODGERS (1969-1978)
Writes of his time at the School and updates us with his news:
“I
arrived at Caterham School in
September 1969 along with nine
others from Oakhurst Grange and
entered Beta class under Mr. Beldham's
expert guidance, wearing the redquartered cap of Emlyn house. It was to
be the start of nine enjoyable years at
Caterham. Two years later, in 1971, I
met Stewart Goddard and Robin Reid
with whom I am still in contact today. I
think my favourite masters in the prep
school were Nick Johnson and John
Robinson-Fuller (he was also my area
Chief Scout officer).
In 1973 I went up to the senior school
and the newly formed Underwood
house. Almost immediately, Mr. Leathem
retired as headmaster and was replaced
by Mr Smith. I had great respect for him
as a strict but fair headmaster, no easy
task when you are in charge of over 400
boys!!! My favourite masters were Mr.
Rogers, Mr. Bleach and Mr. RichmondPickering.
I sat my "O" levels in the sweltering
heat of the summer of 1976 to modest
success and my "A" levels in 1978.
On leaving Caterham, I worked in an
estate-agents’ office for a year before
spending eight years working as a
broker in the city. I got married to Sue in
1985 and in 1988 we set up our own
guest-house business which we ran very
successfully for 22 years until we semiretired in 2010. During this time we
produced two lovely daughters, Debbie
who is 19 and studying music at
Canterbury Christchurch University, and
Emma, who is 17 and doing work
experience on a farm.
During the 1980s I was chairman of
Croydon South Young Conservatives and
area chairman of the M.G. owners’ club
where I met up again with another Old
Cat - Richard Bennet-Jane (1971-1978).
During my daughters’ times at Combe
Bank School near Sevenoaks I spent 13
years on the P.A. and was their millennium
chairman. Since 2000 I have also served on
the school's Board of Trustees.
If any old boys wish to contact me I still
live in the Oxted area and my email address
is laurierodgers@rocketmail.com.
My telephone number is 01883 716413. I
would love to hear from anyone who
might remember me.”
JONATHAN WENSLEY
Former Textiles student at Caterham School
JESS PUNTAN (2005-2011) wins the
Damart Thermolactyl Design
(1976-1982)
Former Textiles student at Caterham Jess Puntan wins the Damart
Thermolactyl design project with the University of Leeds. Damart is
well known for its thermals, which use Thermolactyl.
Jon contacted us after his name
was published on the ‘Missing
List’ on the website. He sent us
this update:
J
“I
ess has a passion and talent for
designing sports and menswear
clothing. Jess states, “Thermolactyl
material was invented by Damart to keep
the wearer warm with specially
engineered wicking properties. I designed
a pair of menswear thermals which
included a pair of leggings and a top with
a funnel neck collar. I used a reversible
material which I incorporated into the
panels on my design. I used wide twinneedle stitch on the cover seam machine
for detail on both the top and the
leggings and put a drawstring in the
collar of the top. All the inside seams are
done on the overlocker because the
thermolactyl material is jersey and needs
finishing.’’
Jess is a third-year student studying for
BA in Fashion Design at the University of
Leeds. She has specialised in menswear
design and is currently on placement with
Paul Smith in the Menswear Department.
Jess has an interest in Performance
Sportswear Design equally in the design
and the technology behind the fabrics.
6
Old Caterhamians’ Newsletter
One of Jess’
designs
See website for information on Jess.
http://jessicapuntan.wix.com/jess-puntan
now work at
BP, working as
an IT manager
travelling globally
and generally
making it up as I
go along. Before
this I worked at (in
reverse order) WS Atkins and Wates
Construction in the same field.
Before that, and more interestingly, I
worked for London City Mission and
the Church of England as a Youth
Worker, and Youth Director for 12
years.’’
Welcome back to the OCA Jon!
CONGRATULATIONS TO
JACK FLAHERTY (1997-2004)
who becomes a proud dad, and a
warm welcome to little Kian
Kian Malcolm Flaherty was born on
Tuesday 25 February 2014 at 4.52am and
weighed in at 8lbs 9oz.
PROFESSOR EMERITUS GEORGE SAUNDERS (1946-1953)
Peter Evans 1945-1954 emailed us in December 2013 with
an update on George Saunders:
G
eorge A. Saunders, after National
Service, got a London external First
at Barking and did brilliant research at
Imperial College in solid state Physics. He
continued to work in universities –
California, Durham and finally as
Professor of Physics in Bath. He is now
Professor Emeritus. We last met in '59,
as I was winding up research in RSM,
and he was about to settle in. He had
just met Linda Butt, ex-Eothen and
Durham, and I met Linda a couple of
days later. Strangely, Linda and George
were next door neighbours in London
but never met in Caterham though they
went to school within spitting distance
of each other. All of a twitter and a
PETER EVANS
“My update is as follows:
mperial College in the 50's always had
a dozen OCs. During my research year,
in the use of
hydrocyclones in mineral
separation (think of a wet
Dyson), I fell in love with
theology and Holy
Church, and started at St.
Stephen's House, Oxford,
before I had properly
finished at RSM.
Various curacies and
chaplaincies landed me in
the Becontree Estate, in a wonderfully
run-down parish, loathed and feared by
the Archdeacon, but too happy and
naive for my own good. (Think Peter
Sellers in "Heaven's Above".) I did not
get blasted into outer space, but I did
burn out, quit, wised up, and had some
happy years teaching in a post set up for
me by our Blessed Lord.
That school took the view that, with
qualifications in Chemical Engineering
and Theology, I could teach anything.
But a Caterham education was the real
ace in the hand plus a gift of healing
and a tendency to sing while savage
beasts worked.’’
Finally, Peter has sent in his list of nicknames used in the 50s – maybe some
OCs out there can add to this list!
flutter they were, and soon married and
have settled in Bath. Also worthy of
note – as a demon fast bowler – George
opened the bowling for many cricket
teams, and later developed a passion for
mountains, climbing all the Scottish
Munros, among other doughty
adventures. Two of his eight
grandchildren are, coincidentally,
studying at King's College, London, one
reading medicine, the other Social
Geography and a member of the
Olympic squad fencing for Britain. After
some years in adult education, Linda
pursued a career as a fine-arts journalist
and editor, and more recently as a poet,
producing three published poetry
Peter Evans - now
I
... then
George Saunders
collections since her retirement.
George and Linda are two of the
people I am most fond of, and most
admire.
history, which had been taught to
syllabus or whatever, with no critique,
dialogue or analysis. Bloody Blenheim.
Visiting Chaldon Church was an RE
lesson that stuck however.’’
Congratulations to
JOSHUA TAPLEY
(1993-1999)
J
“As used by boys entering 1A
and 1B, in 1946”
Soderberg – Sod
Miss Stanbury – Stanny Boozer (or
Stambury/Stammy)
Jones – Spit
Walker – Grinder (up the Alps)
Wakefield – Oily
Beauvais – Yaller (as in ‘that grass is
yaller’)
Leathem – The Bear
Physics master – Moose (eyebrows)
oshua has just been awarded his
Master’s degree in Civil Engineering
Sciences and Structural Engineering
from Graz University of Technology.
He is now working at the University
for the Faculty of Architecture.
He is pictured with his wife Martina
and their third child, Tobias, after his
graduation ceremony in March.
Memory fails me for the rest. I was
always "Pa", even to younger boys, as I
later found out. Apparently I always gave
equal shares at table.
It was hard keeping up with such a
brilliant bunch. Some things I never
enjoyed, sports anyway, until I left. And
Old Caterhamians’ Newsletter 7
RACHEL WRIGHT (2006-2013)
HANNA WRIGHT (2003-2010)
and ANNA MURCH (2001-2008)
BETHANY SCOTT (2004-2006)
3 ‘LaxCats’ in Varsity
Lacrosse Fixture
ou'll be surprised to know that I actually have a daughter
now. Her name is Ava and she was 4 in February.
Workwise, quite soon after finishing my GCSE's I fell pregnant,
completed a full time IT course and gained my qualifications
right up until I gave birth to Ava. I took 6 months out to be a
mum and have been working full time in IT as an Analyst ever
since. I am now
working for Virgin
Active in London at
their head office and
have recently just
been promoted as a
team leader, so
things are good!’’
Rachel tells us:
played in the seconds’
match, winning 9-5.
Hannah and Anna played in
the blues’ match, with the
Oxford blues winning 11-9.
It really was a very
memorable day, and so nice
to play with some old school
friends (and my sister!).’’
Congrats to all three ladies!
Bethany tells us:
“Y
“I
FROM THE ARCHIVES
Rachel, Hanna and Anna
Bethany and Ava
t We are not quite sure what was going on here?
Photo kindly donated by Viv Parsons (EOGA).
Jonathan Joiner, Paul Cracknell
and Chris Beadle
APPEAL....
If you have any news and photographs
which you would like to be included in
future OC Newsletters, please contact Alina.
We are also always very grateful for
donations of memorabilia from both
Caterham and Eothen Schools for the School
Archives and displays around the School.
We are also appealing for personal
memories of your time here at the School.
Email alina.rennie@caterhamschool.co.uk
Phone: 01883 343028 Fax: 01883 347795
www.oldcaterhamians.com
If some of your friends
are Old Caterhamians
who have not joined up
yet, please tell them
about the website and
ask them to consider
membership.
t If you recognise yourself in this picture,
please get in touch and tell us your news!
Zaki Badri and friends
AMAZON SHOPPING TO BENEFIT
CATERHAM SCHOOL
If you wish to buy something from Amazon please use the link on the
School website: www.caterhamschool.co.uk/links.htm
The School will receive 5% commission for each purchase you make. This
income will be directed to school projects and/or trips. As there is no cost
to you, it is a very easy way of raising funds for your old school.
Email and Telephone Contacts
OCA President: Graeme Mew
C/o the Secretary
OCA Vice
President:
Stephen May
stephen.may6@btinternet.com
OCA Treasurer: Denis Tindley
dtindley@compuserve.com
Secretary:
0208 668 9832
01799 524436
Alina Rennie
01883 343028 ext 291
alina.rennie@caterhamschool.co.uk Direct: 01883 335091
www.oldcaterhamians.com
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