Number 22 Winter 2013
THE MAGAZINE FOR FORMER PUPILS AND FRIENDS OF GLASGOW ACADEMY AND WESTBOURNE SCHOOL
Making a splash: our new water-based hockey pitch
1
CONTENTS
3
ewOlympic-standardhockeypitch
N
opened
4
Anecdotage
10 Events
14 GeneralKnowledge1909
Inthestepsofourancestors
16 ScienceandTechnologyBuildingAppeal
17 WestbourneAppeal
18 TheWestbourneSection
21 AcademicalClub
24 ConqueringtheOldManofHoy
26 TheFinalWhistle
27 Announcements
EDITORIAL
Good old what’s-his-name!
I’ve never been to a class reunion at my school. The truth is I’ve never been asked.
I’m not even sure that my school does reunions – but if they do, no one’s ever
mentioned them to me.
I imagine that, if I was to go along to a reunion, I would approach it in much the
same way as do the majority of former pupils of Glasgow Academy and Westbourne
School for Girls. With mixed emotions.
Broadly, I suspect, there are three categories of reunion invitee. First, there are those
who are extremely enthusiastic about the very idea of a reunion from the outset.
This seems to be quite a small group, indeed in some cases it may consist solely of the
two or three former pupils whose idea it is to hold one in the first place. ‘Of course
we’re going to have a reunion!’ they say. ‘It will be wonderful to relive all the happy
times with good old so-and-so not to mention that chap what’s-his-name. Yes, we
must have a reunion! Now, how shall we go about it?’
It’s at this point in the process that they remember that The Academy has an External
Relations office which is only too happy to help. So they phone up the school and
are put through to our office. And then they meet our Emma and – having organised
more reunions than Liz Taylor did weddings – she quickly gets things moving and,
before long, the date is fixed and the invitations sent out.
34 PicturePost
Do we have your e-mail address?
It’s how we communicate best!
Keeping in touch
The External Relations office is situated
in Colebrooke Terrace. Former pupils are
always welcome to pop in for a chat and look
round the school. Just give us a call to arrange
a time. Our address is Colebrooke Terrace,
Glasgow G12 8HE and you can contact us on
0141 342 5494 or at exrel@tga.org.uk
The Glasgow Academical Club
21 Helensburgh Drive, Glasgow G13 1RR
President: Gavin Smith
E-mail: gavinsmith@talktalk.net
Secretary: Stuart Neilson
Tel: 07771 845104
E-mail: stuart.neilson1@btinternet.com
‘It is scary to think where the years have gone, but when talking
to everyone it was interesting and amazing to hear their stories.
I think the best part was how excited everyone was to be in one
another’s company again. Whether it was friends who see each
other regularly or friends we hadn’t seen since we left school,
great fun was had by all.’
Thoughts on a recent 10-year reunion
At this stage we meet the second, and biggest, group. This consists of people for
whom the idea of a school reunion is not unpleasant but the physical reality of
attending their own reunion brings with it much soul-searching. For many, ‘Will
they remember me?’ is a worry. For others, ‘Will I remember them?’ is at least as
concerning. It’s a time when a distorting mirror is held up to the past and minor
indiscretions become major stumbling blocks to their attendance.
A few even allow these thoughts to tip them over into the third group: those who
don’t come either because they can’t or because they don’t want to go there –
physically or emotionally.
The Academical Club pavilion
is available for functions.
Having attended numerous Glasgow Academy and Westbourne reunions over the
years, I am happy to report that the vast majority of those who arrive rather hesitant
or looking in need of a stiff drink leave a few hours later changed beings, delighted
that they made the effort to come all the way from Bearsden or Brunei, Canada
or Canniesburn because they’ve been reconnected with their school friends –
reconnected with their school.
Academical Club’s London Section
Secretary – David Hall, 20 Cadogan Place
London SW1X 9SA
Tel: 020 7235 9012
E-mail: ecj@aralon.co.uk
As someone said to me after a recent reunion, ‘This morning I was seriously
considering pulling out and not turning up at all. Now I’m absolutely delighted that
I came and met people I haven’t seen for almost half a century. My only regret is that
I was daft enough not to sign up for the meal in the evening – I don’t know what I
can have been thinking!’
Like us on Facebook; join us on LinkedIn
So, here’s to class reunions and those far-sighted folk who organise them! And here’s
to good old what’s his name!
With best wishes,
Cover photograph by Andy Buchanan
2
Etcetera
New Olympic-standard hockey pitch opened
Glasgow Academy has opened a brand new water-based, all-weather hockey pitch at Windyedge
sports fields.
The pitch was unveiled by Lord Smith
of Kelvin, Chairman of the 2014
Commonwealth Games Organising
Committee, who described the
Olympic-standard pitch as, ‘A terrific
investment by Glasgow Academy and
one which provides a truly world-class
playing surface for training and
competition.’
Our Director of Sport, Rhona Simpson,
who played for Team GB in two
Olympics and for Scotland in three
Commonwealth Games, is confident
the new pitch will encourage more
youngsters to take up hockey. In
addition, our old astro-turf pitch did
badly need to be replaced as it was no
longer draining well. We had already
pushed it a good number of years
beyond its normal life expectancy. The
new pitch will generate more income
in increased hire rates and we felt it
was prudent to complete this necessary
project over the summer before the
costs and payments of SciTech start to
dominate our capital budget.
Rhona Simpson commented: ‘Academy pupils absolutely love it. With 14 teams and
some 350 pupils using the pitch every week, the value of providing such a worldclass facility is clear already. It all adds up to a very exciting new chapter for hockey at
The Academy, in Glasgow and for Scotland.’
West District
winners 2013!
Congratulations to the ladies
of the 1st XI on winning the
West District Senior 1st XI
Tournament 2013/14.
In a nail-biting conclusion
to the competition held on
Wednesday 30 October, The
Glasgow Academy girls beat
Hutchesons’ Grammar in the
semi-final before dispatching
High School of Glasgow in
the final on running penalties.
Lucy McCall, the 1st XI
captain, commented: ‘We
were delighted to win
the tournament. It was an
extremely closely-fought
competition which we all had
to work extremely hard to
win.’
Rhona Simpson, their
coach, added: ‘It was a
great achievement and very
well-deserved.’
Etcetera
3
ANECDOTAGE
Miss Duff’s Prep
1 class of 1938
Etcetera 21 contained an article
about Miss Duff – one of
Douglas Alexander’s favourite
teachers. In response, Ian
Bruce (1950) has sent a
photograph of Miss Duff’s
Prep 1 class of 1938. These
are the names of those
pictured, to the best of Ian’s
recollections.
Back row: D Brydon, D White, Ian
and Keir Fisher, S Young, F McLeod
Second back row: I Bruce, M
Wharten, A Waddell, D Cunningham,
I Graham, R Young
Seated: M McComb, B Reid, N
Hodge, Miss Duff, A Hart, Lawrence
and Mitchell Biggart
Front row: W Martin, C MacGregor, ?
Dear Malcolm
I
n his article on Miss Duff on page
8 of Etcetera 21, Douglas Alexander
mentions a poem taught by her, but
says he cannot remember either its name
or that of its author.
The poem is The Whistle by Charles
Murray. I learnt it at the feet of Miss
Currie in about 1945 – see the photo
of the class in Etcetera 17 (page 8) with
names provided by Ronald MacLean
in the following edition. Indeed The
Whistle, which I think I could recite in
its entirety, was my party piece in those
days. I do not think I have ever had
another party piece. I cannot remember
it now, except in small snatches, but I do
know that the fifth word in the first line
is SUCKER and not ‘succour’.
Charles Murray was an engineer who
went to South Africa on graduation to
seek his fortune in diamonds towards
the end of the nineteenth century. I
understand that he did not prosper in this
venture. He ended up being involved
in the construction of the South African
parliament building in Cape Town
where he became a civil servant.
In about 1900, perhaps feeling homesick,
he began to write poems in Doric based
on his upbringing in Aberdeenshire. He
also translated Horace and Virgil into
4
Etcetera
Doric. As an example of the former,
‘Beatus ille, qui procul negotiis’ became
‘Happy is he, far frae the toon’s alairms’.
Murray sent his poems home to his
father in Alford as they were written.
Some were published in various
magazines over the years, but around
1910 they were collected together in
Hamewith – which means ‘homewards’.
I have a copy of the ninth impression of
Hamewith bought by my father’s father in
June 1913 for 5 shillings, quite expensive
for those days.
I am delighted to have an excuse to
write to you about Charles Murray
and his poems. It may be of interest
to some of your readers that the
information about Murray came from
his grandson, Kenneth Murray Walker
(known as ‘Kim’). Kim Walker is an
Edinburgh solicitor. His wife Rosemary
is the daughter of the late Wilf Hoare,
Headmaster of Strathallan. It’s a small
world!
Yours sincerely
William Carnegie (1943-46)
P.S. Charles Murray came home to
Aberdeenshire in retirement in 1924. He
died in 1941.
The WhisTle
(verse 1 of 6)
He cut a sappy sucker from the muckle
rodden-tree,
He trimmed it, an’ he wet it, an’ he
thumped it on his knee;
He never heard the teuchat when the
harrow broke her eggs,
He missed the craggit heron nabbin’
puddocks in the seggs,
He forgot to hound the collie at the
cattle when they strayed,
But you should have seen the whistle
that the wee herd made…
If you would like a copy of this
cautionary tale, please get in
touch with Malcolm McNaught
at the External Relations office
(0141 342 5494/exrel@tga.org.
uk).
The Newcastle connection
V
alerie Wilson’s recollections of
wartime (Etcetera 21) evoked
various memories of my own and
of an early link with GA. Late in 1939
my parents moved from Huddersfield to
Newcastle-upon-Tyne and, after only
ten days in my new home, I went off
to join the RGS in Penrith – to which
the school had been evacuated at the
outbreak of war. We remained there
until 1944, not that Newcastle was as
heavily bombed as Glasgow, but because
the school premises were taken over
by the Regional Commissioner (one
of our Governors), who would have
administered NE England if Hitler had
invaded.
As a new boy, I was glad to be one of
two dozen pupils sent to a new school
hostel, a large house on Beacon Edge
with a superb view south onto the hills
around Ullswater, thus relieving some
of the pressure for billets in a relatively
small market town. The master i/c
for the first term was Robert Wilson
Thom (later a Governor). Our first real
encounter was not auspicious. A week
after my arrival came my birthday, for
which my mother had baked a cake,
so in traditional fashion I waited to cut
into it for a midnight feast with the five
others in my dorm. Our muted voices
still attracted the attention of Mr Thom,
who entered and confiscated the cake,
to my dismay. ‘You can’t do that, sir!’
was an unwise gambit, to which came
the obvious retort: ‘Oh, can’t I?’ RWT
relented and returned the cake the next
morning but our relationship was less
than cordial, not helped by the result
of a soot fight after we had explored
outbuildings. I thought no better of Mrs
Thom, who had arrived late with her
firstborn – Robert (1958 ), I think, who
was to play a significant part in Accies
rugger with his brother Ian (1961). To a
room-mate she commented: ‘Frank, how
red your bottom is,’ to demonstrate, not
a particular interest in anatomy but her
awareness that Frank had been spotted
tree-climbing to retrieve underpants
after a prank. Why does one recall
such trivialities seventy years on, when
weightier matters such as gas masks and
logarithms fade into oblivion?
I’m happy to record that my opinion
of RWT rose high at the end of term,
when he took five of us in his open
sports car to climb nearby Crossfell,
highest summit in the Pennines, the
beginning of my ongoing love of the
hills. For him too it must have been a
memorable occasion, as he was called up
within weeks and served in RAF MTB’s,
I believe, for the rest of the war. Move
on 25 years. As I drove home from GA,
I often caught sight of a sprightly fellow
striding homeward from an office in
Westerton towards the Kirklee area. I
failed to recognise him but noticed him
again at a GA Sports Day some time
later and was happy to be introduced
to RWT as a Governor of his old
school. He subsequently wound up the
family business, retrained at Jordanhill
College in the same year as his son Ian
and chose to teach in a difficult school
in the East End of Glasgow before an
untimely death. Was I, perhaps, the only
representative of RGS at his funeral? A
mutual friend later reintroduced me to
Mrs Thom and I was able to pay her
several visits before her own death.
Another wartime memory, though
not part of the link with RGS, is of
soldiers breaking out of their barracks at
Langholm, where I was on holiday on
VJ night, and setting off thunderflashes
in celebration. Many years later the late
lamented Lachie Robertson told me
that he was also in Langholm that night,
wondering how to deal with the unruly
squaddies!
This sketch of some school connections
would be incomplete without
mentioning that other colleagues have
also attended RGS and later joined the
GA staff, notably in my time Donald
Buchanan and Alan Hutchinson. Peter
Mitchell (with wife Enid from the Prep
School) moved from GA staff to RGS
staff. At one time there were occasional
rugger matches between the two schools.
Graham Little (former staff)
The ‘Phantom Piper’ of Chester 1959
M
y first brush with
fame came when
I was 13, after I’d
won a place in the CCF
pipe band. To wear the
piper’s uniform was a great
thrill, as I’d only been
learning for a year. I now
practised with more zeal,
especially when home, on
holidays, in Chester. This
was in adjacent fields, at
night, so as not to annoy
neighbours – or cows on
daytime grazing.
One night, I was approached by an
intrepid newspaper reporter of the
Liverpool Echo, who’d tracked down the
sound of ‘wailing’ pipes. He asked if he
could write a story on me, so I invited
him home, for some light and to meet
my father. Two days later a short story
(with GA plugs) appeared, about the
‘Phantom Piper’ of Chester. News, in
UK, must have been slow, for within
24 hours, many national newspapers
wanted to meet and interview me. Calls
were made to the golf club, to get me
back home – to meet The Daily Express,
Mirror, or Evening Bugle etc. In typical
fashion, the Mirror took photos of me
piping up a tree, but published loads of
‘BS’ on Page 5 (not page
3!) with banner headlines –
‘Phantom Piper scares Lovers
from Woods’.
I even made the front page
of the Glasgow Evening
Citizen, which just shows
how short they must have
been for ‘exciting’ copy and
photos of a ‘wee Scottish
sodjur’! On return to school,
I didn’t half get a ribbing
from the other lads. They
don’t put you on a pedestal –
not in Glasgow. It’s ‘aye the
reverse and long may it continue. Keeps
folk in their place.
None of this ‘fame’ bothered me. Even
at that age, I thought it all rather mad.
Had it been today, I’d have needed a
manager for big ‘$’ endorsements – (50%
to GA Funds, of course!)
Thankfully, it quickly passed and I got
on with my real raison d’être for being
at school – playing rugby, golf and
bagpipes; winning the CCF prizes and
failing Latin exams!
In short – prime material for a future
officer in the 7th Gurkhas!
George Mackenzie (1959)
Etcetera
5
Nicknames 1950
I
t may have been a reference in a
recent Etcetera to masters’ nicknames,
but – for some reason – I recently
found myself remembering some of the
nicknames of my fellow pupils, almost
sixty five years ago.
Harmless ones come to mind: Digger,
Spanky, Beef, Boney, Dumbo and Piggy.
But then I remembered three which
today might be considered politically
incorrect. I hope we were not cruel. In
our entirely male world I’m not sure
we ever gave anyone’s feelings a second
thought. We used their nicknames
liberally. I’m not sure we knew their
proper Christian names. So, if they
are still around and reading this, I
offer my apologies to these victims of
injustice, the Colebrooke Three, for our
insensitivity.
‘Cheesy’ got his nickname because his
youthful classmates could not resist the
opportunity afforded by his surname,
McFeat. He was quiet, and clever, and
never offended anyone. He deserved
better.
‘Ugly’ – a kind, friendly soul – was never
really ugly. It was just that nature had
School life during wartime
J C W MacDonald (1948) has sent us a couple of contrasting photographs
from his schooldays.
Summer Corps Camp 1946-47
given him the stern, dark, forbidding
features of a much older Welsh prop
forward and an obvious physical maturity
at a time when the rest of us were still
worrying about pimples.
‘Stinker’ I suspect got his nickname from
his resemblance to a scruffy character
in one of the comic books, popular in
these days. He certainly cultivated the
disheveled look. And he was definitely a
bit on the wild side.
I wonder why I was never called
‘Ginger’? But, not to worry. It’s too late
now.
Jimmy Murray (1950)
T
he ‘military’ picture was taken at
one of the summer Corps Camps –
probably 1946/47. The enthralled
cadets are having the mysteries of the
PIAT anti-tank weapon explained.
Having actually fired one during my
military service, I can say with some
confidence that it was a particularly
useless weapon!
From memory those pictured are:
Back row: J. Boyd, ? ? A Urquhart, ? ? Macintosh,
J C W Macdonald, N Abraham, ? ? ? ?
Front row: R Duff ? I J Scott, J Crowe, R Johnson,
D A R Kay, ? Noble
The Harvest Camp picture was taken
either at Yetholm or Littlefield on the
Scottish border. Three camps were
held in the latter part of the last war to
help farmers bring in the harvest, or
to pick strawberries. I think this was a
‘strawberry’ camp. The teachers shown
seated in the second row included
Mr Wylie (Creeper), Ms Currie, Dr
Richards (Rector) Mr Scougall (Jimmy)
Mr Gilmore (Tom Thumb).
Harvest Camp
6
Etcetera
The Power of
Etcetera
Photographic memories…
T
happened to be in the Victoria
Infirmary recently for a
small exploratory operation
and was answering all the usual
questions that one has to answer
before signing oneself over to the
surgeon!
here cannot be many people – apart
from the odd teacher or perhaps
Governor – who had a continuing
relationship with the establishment
which kitted them out for life in their
formative years. Such was the fate – or
pleasure (depending on your viewpoint)
– that circumstances dealt in my
particular case.
In answer to question number 1,
I replied that, Yes, I had twice
previously had surgery. On my
right knee, once in the late 60s
to search for a chipped bone
suffered playing rugby in 1959
and again in the mid-70s looking
for the same piece of chipped
bone. (Again unsuccessfully.)
This happened before, during, and after
my sojourn in this hallowed place of
learning, at the periodic visits of one
John Reid Prophet. He would assemble
each individual class into a presentable
format, and record it photographically.
We pupils then had the opportunity, at
a later date, of purchasing a copy so that
this could be viewed in perpetuity.
The line of questioning changed
at this point.
Sadly, at this point in the proceedings,
I must record that – despite repeatedly
badgering my mother for the
wherewithal to purchase a photograph,
which she never refused – I no
longer have a single copy of any of
these milestones in my life, to pass
on to posterity, or to look back on
with nostalgia. There is a moral here,
somewhere.
I
‘Where had I played my rugby?’
‘At Anniesland and Cambuslang,’
I replied.
‘Oh, who did you play for at
Anniesland?’
‘Accies,’ I replied.
‘Did you know Lachlan
Robertson?’
‘Lachie! Of course I knew Lachie.
He and Basher Ainslie were the
main men on rugby days when
I was at school. He was also my
teacher over the years.’
‘He was my father,’ said Mairi.
There followed a long chat about
Lachie. Mairi told me of the
kindness that many Accies had
shown her, and of the service in
Elgol where many had turned up.
She told me that she had given
the eulogy at the service. She also
told me she had seen Etcetera and
was aware of the response from
his former pupils and friends.
However, to continue with the general
thread of this epistle… towards the final
years of my compulsory attendance at
the Academy, I got really involved with
the whole process of photography – to
the extent that, apart from composing
pictures and taking them, I also did the
darkroom bit of developing and printing
the results – fortunately appropriating an
odd corner in our attic which did not
inconvenience the rest of the family.
One instance of this preoccupation
with photography is the occasion
when, during the summer term of my
final year, after all exams were done
and dusted, on my way to school one
morning, I saw in a shop window
a notice requesting the services of a
darkroom worker. Instead of going on
to school that day, I went in and applied
for the post, and was invited to have a
day’s trial to see if I was suitable. At the
end of the day I was invited to return on
the morrow with the expectation that I
would be taken on. Unfortunately, this
foray into the realms of employment was
short-lived. What I thought was glad
news – the success of landing a paid job
– went down like a lead balloon with my
parents, and I was ordered back to school
the very next day.
However, on leaving school on the
official date, I did manage to pursue a
career in photography, with a two-year
break to partake of National Service. At
one point in this activity, I was employed
as a school photographer by an English
company, working in the Borders
during the week, moonlighting in the
above-mentioned JR Prophet’s darkroom
at the weekends, to accumulate capital, as
I had recently got engaged.
This was not an ideal situation with
a fiancée in the offing, and – as Mr
Prophet wanted to retire, and had let his
business run down somewhat – we came
to an agreement: I would continue the
business in his name, he would retire, I
would get married, and I would give up
the Borders job.
Perhaps Jim Cunningham took this photograph from around 1963 sent in by Robin Lang (1962). Robin
recognises his brother Ian Lang (1964) in the back row and is sure that many members of that team were
at the recent circa 1963 reunion lunch. But what are their names?
I think it was the lump in
her throat that brought the
questioning back to my
condition.
I may bump into her again later
this month when I return for
more of the same. It will be
lovely to see a friendly face.
George Porteous (1955)
Etcetera
7
Thus it was that I was able to take over
his mantle as photographer to Glasgow
Academy, among a few other schools
which he still had on his books. None
of this was foregone conclusion, as the
field of school photography is highly
competitive but being an ‘old boy’
probably had some sway as far as the
Academy was concerned and this was
a role which I undertook for about 30
years.
only contact I had with the then Rector
was when he was summoned by a prefect
to appear in one of the photographs I
was taking.
At this point it is worth mentioning that,
as far as educational establishments are
concerned, it is the head teacher who
makes the decisions when it comes to
photography, is in control of proceedings
during the operation, and who entertains
the photographer to a cup of coffee or
whatever, during the interval, and who is
also responsible for the administration of
and payment for the transaction.
There were other subtle differences
between a Glasgow Academy class
photograph and those of other schools.
The class teacher had pride of place,
sitting right in the middle of the group,
instead of standing at either side of
the assembled company. This raised
problems in the younger classes where
a boy standing behind a normal seated
adult could become invisible. Also it was
expected that the said teacher should
appear in a gown – something which
was as scarce as hen’s teeth in other
schools. This particular rule was relaxed
for sports groups where PE staff had to
look as if they could step on to the pitch
at a moment’s notice.
Not so with the Academy. The king-pin
to the whole procedure, from agreeing
dates, organising the flow of pupils
on the chosen date, collection and
distribution of orders, to settling the bill,
fell on Mr MacRae, the head janitor
operating from a shoe box office just
behind the stage in the old Well of the
main building. This arrangement worked
well for both of us, but it meant that the
The mention of sports group
photography is the one difference
which appears to have taken place in
the Academy’s approach to the subject
during my association with the school.
As a pupil, the emphasis on success for
the school was the number of Oxbridge
places achieved, with the results of the
First XV as of secondary importance.
During my 30-year stint as photographic
recorder, the sports photographs were
still considered as a sideline and those
involved had to wait behind after
3.50 pm to have their various teams
recorded on film. This was not a popular
arrangement for either the participants or
the photographer.
After setting up the group, the
photographer would notice the captain
of the 4th XV wearing the wrong
stockings (the captain cannot be
shunted into the back row to hide this
discrepancy) and all would fume while
captain managed to change, and the
queue of 5th XV and 6th XV waiting
in the sidelines would also fume at the
delay. During my stint as photographer,
I did manage to get this archaic
arrangement changed to having team
photographs taken at Anniesland during
normal school hours.
Currently, I understand from my
granddaughter that sports teams have the
same standing as class photographs and
are taken in the same surroundings and
during normal school times, but I suspect
that Oxbridge results still take pride of
place in the pecking order.
Jim Cunningham (1949)
Class of ’56
Dear Sir
I enjoy seeing your old
class photo items in Etcetera.
Attached is mine of the 6th
Form in 1956. [Note Donald
Dewar in the back row.]
Names are:
Back row: Tom Anderson, A D
Macdonald, xx, Donald Dewar, Sandy
MacPherson, xx, George Wilson
Middle row: xx, John Park, W B Doig,
xx, George Browning, xx
Front row: Jeff Lavalette, xx, David
Hamilton, ‘Baggy’ Aston, Scott
Nelson, Douglas Crawford, John
Calvert
The unidentified ‘xx’ (listed on the
back of the photo) are David Rodger,
John Marshall, J Campbell and Alan
Lamont.
Hope this is of interest.
David Hamilton (1956)
8
Etcetera
Miss Johnston’s class
I
was pleased to see in the
summer 2013 edition of
Etcetera a recent photo
of my old Prep 4 teacher
(1962-3) Miss Johnston,
clearly still very sprightly at
90, having just made the trip
from America to Scotland
to celebrate that landmark
birthday. At least I presume
that Doris Vaughan (nee
Johnston) is the same Miss
Johnston from the 60s, as of
course I had no idea of her
first name at that time!
The photo I have sent shows
Miss Johnston teaching
Mathematics to 4a, sometime
in 1962 or 1963. I vaguely
recall that the introduction of
Cuisenaire rods as a teaching
aid in her class generated a
fair bit of excitement. This
seems to have been something
of an innovation at the time
– the photo may have been
in connection with some
publicity.
I can identify quite a few of
the boys. At the table nearest
the camera, from bottom left,
are Graham Scott, Duncan
Gilmour, Andrew Iversen and
Robert Hunter. Behind them,
nearest to Miss Johnston, on
the right hand side of the
table, are Alan Fyffe and Alan
Jack. At the table nearest the
board, I can only identify
Douglas Tainsh (back right).
Facing the camera (although,
like everyone else, engrossed
in their work) at the next
table are Robert Sweet and
Scott Fleming. Finally, there
is Hamish Short (kilted) and
Sandy Sneddon in the grey
jumper. I am mostly obscured
by Sandy – I remember
feeling a bit miffed at the
time.
I can vividly recall the mood
of anticipation whenever
the Cuisenaire sets were
brought out. The desks had
to be re-arranged in groups
of four, with a large sheet of
hardboard placed on top to
create a work surface.
Cuisenaire rods have stood
the test of time – they are
still widely used in schools.
Miss Johnston’s 4a of 1962-63
was probably an excellent
advertisement for the rods’
success. To my knowledge the
class has produced a healthy
number of mathematicians,
physicists, accountants and
others working in numerate
disciplines.
Miss Johnston’s Cuisenaire
was certainly a formative
experience for me – I became
a Maths teacher!
Michael Warren (1971)
Bashed light stopped play…
A
t no time during my years at The
Academy did I enjoy Games. The
team-bonding of rugby and the
gamesmanship of cricket were not for
me.
Needless to say, most of my school
chums were of like mind, and
the morning before an afternoon
rugby session would find us praying
for rain more fervently than any
native-American witch doctor. Rain
meant cancellation and, instead, an
afternoon spent watching grainy
black-and-white films of old rugby
internationals, in the school Well.
This was definitely preferable to the
mud-wrestling and subsequent dreaded
communal bath which made up rugby
practice at Anniesland.
I recall one day, our prayers for rain
having gone unanswered, heading
off to board the fleet of ‘Alexanders’
double-decker buses which would
transport us to our fate. In desperation,
we hit upon a last-minute plan.
The steep camber of Colebrooke Street
caused the parked buses to lean in
over the gutter and pavement, quite
markedly. My pals and I reckoned that,
if we all climbed to the upper deck and
sat at the nearside, we could increase
this lean enough, we thought, to cause
the bus, on driving away, to lop the top
off the first street light it came to.
Remarkably, the plan could not have
worked better. The resultant damage
to both street light and bus meant the
immediate retreat from the scene by the
drivers with their buses, and the hasty
re-assembling of us would-be rugby
participants, in the school Well.
I have uncomfortable memories of us
all being lambasted by Morty Black and
Kenny Miles, in the hope that those
responsible for this act of sabotage
would own up. To our shame, we
didn’t, and – after an awkward half hour
waiting for someone to crack – we were
dismissed and sent home early. For some
of us, a ‘result’!
After all these years, I feel I must
apologise to those sporting types who,
by our selfish actions that day, were
denied the opportunity to display
their attributes on the rugby pitch, or
perhaps, in that communal bath!
Jim Shearer (1964)
Etcetera
9
Events
Classes of 1956-60
Reunion – ‘Forever
young’
O
n Friday 5 September an assemblage
of 70 year old + Academicals met
in the Well, most visiting that place for
the first time in over 50 years. The same
School Bell rang – Lunch was taken, and
a trip round Colebrooke Street began.
The Guides were two charming female
Prefects, one from Bosnia, the other
Albania. To say the least, they could not
believe their ears when hearing anecdotes
regarding the ‘playful’ activities of these
former pupils, especially the comments
made regarding the personalities that
inhabited each lettered room at the Old
School. This nostalgic journey took far
longer than had been prescribed by the
External Relations Department, and
culminated in an inspiring talk by the
Rector in his Study.
Enthused with the reminiscences, Dinner
at the Western Club ensued – no formal
Guests or speeches, each Academical
allowed two minutes to give a personal
memory of their school days. After many
a laugh, and great chat, a memorable day
was complete.
David Roser (1958)
Dear Mr McNaught,
I write to you and your colleagues to
thank you very much for the superb
day that you organised for us all. It was
great fun to meet up again with so many
friends from the past and most interesting
to all be together again. Above all, it was
fascinating to see all the improvements
that you have introduced to the old
school. I am sure that the Academy is
well ready to meet the demanding needs
of this new century.
I have always been happy to recommend
the school when asked and over the
years friends have been kind enough to
contact me from time to time just to tell
me that their child or grandchild was off
to the Academy.
Please convey my thanks to the Rector
and indeed to everyone who helped to
make it such a special day.
I wish the school all success in the future.
With kindest regards,
Graeme Paton (1959)
10
Etcetera
A good time was had by all who attended the 1956-60 Reunion Dinner at the Western Club.
Class of 1993 reunion – Friday 13
September
T
he reunion of the year of 1993 on Friday 13 September 2013. A fun day was
had by all who attended. The day kicked off with a tour of the school and a
chance to reminisce about days gone by. As we explored the new developments
in The Glasgow Academy, memories came flooding back of old friends and tales
of historic adventures! It was great to the see the effort that classmates had made
to come from around the world – America and Australia to name but two.
After drinks with the Rector, we moved on to a great social evening giving
everyone a chance to catch up and re-form old friendships.
The feedback from all concerned was that we shouldn’t leave such an event for
such a long period of time again, and plans are already afoot for the next class of
‘93 reunion.
Thanks must go to the team at The Academy for assisting in making this event
happen.
Cameron Wade (1993)
Academical awarded
prestigious lifetime
achievement award
for pioneering
genealogical work
A
Ten years on… Class of 2003 Reunion
I
t doesn’t feel like ten years since we
were last at school; however, walking
up the stairs to the main entrance
of The Academy felt like it was only
yesterday. There’s a certain ‘homely’
feeling when you revisit somewhere you
spent your childhood.
The guided tour by the sixth form
pupils was fantastic. It was great to
talk to them and hear their ambitions,
remembering what our own were at
that time and being happy in our own
accomplishments. We also met some of
our teachers: Mr Robertson and Mrs
McCallum in Geography, Mr Fraser
and Mr McNaught in Art and Mr
McAslan in PE. We thanked them for
their support and caught up on the past
decade. It surprised me that they still
remembered all of our names – I don’t
know if that was a good thing or not as
I wasn’t the most academic of pupils! It’s
good to go back and take stock.
A memorable point of the day was the
moment the boys found their names
written under the pool table in the sixth
form room. I remember the day they
did this and them saying at the time, ‘I
wonder if this will be here when we
come back for our ten-year reunion?’
They got the answer they wanted.
The girls were like big kids when we
scrambled up the monkey bars in the
old gym hall. A reminder that it was the
same hall that my dad had gym in was
when a screw fell off – it obviously isn’t
used to ten grown ladies on it at once!
It is scary to think where the years have
gone, but when talking to everyone
it was interesting and amazing to hear
their stories. I think the best part was
how excited everyone was to be in one
another’s company again. Whether it
was friends who see each other regularly
or friends we hadn’t seen since we left
school, great fun was had by all.
Mr Brodie also updated us all on the
development of the school which is
evident when walking round. He is
clearly proud of the achievements of
all the current pupils; it is great to hear
that they are still producing high-quality
pupils – as they did in 2003!
Valerie Smith (2003)
mb. Neville (Mandel) Lamdan
(1955) recently received a Lifetime
Achievement Award from the
International Association of Jewish
Genealogical Societies for his vision in
establishing the International Institute for
Jewish Genealogy at the National Library
of Israel in 2006 and for directing it until
2012.
Neville attended the Academy from
1949 to 1955. He took an MA in
Philosophy at Glasgow University
(1958); a second MA in Middle Eastern
Studies at Dropsie College, Philadelphia
(1961) and a DPhil in Modern History
at Oxford (1965), with a dissertation on
‘The Arabs and Zionism, 1882-1914’.
After serving in the Foreign and
Commonwealth Office (1965-71), he
entered academia briefly, teaching in
Oxford and at the Hebrew University
of Jerusalem (1971-73). He then joined
the Israel Ministry for Foreign Affairs
and, after a distinguished 30-year career,
he retired (2003) as Israel’s Ambassador
to the Holy See (Vatican). Other senior
posts abroad included Israel Ambassador
to the UN in Geneva (1994-99), the
Israel Embassy’s Liaison Officer to the
US Congress in Washington (1985-89),
Israeli diplomatic representative in
Beirut (1982), and Political Counselor
at the Israel Mission to the UN in
New York (1976-81). Home postings,
in Jerusalem, included Director of the
North American Division (1989-94),
and Head of the Egyptian Department
(1982-84). Today he is Chair of the
Board of the International Institute for
Jewish Genealogy in Jerusalem.
Meanwhile – from our foreign
correspondent…
L
eonard Tam (1993) was found wanting in his attempts to
fly over from Luxembourg to Glasgow Airport in order
to make the roll call and subsequent photo opportunity for
the Class of 1993 Reunion. This was mainly due to a muchbungled attempt by the responsible authorities to renew his
soon-to-expire passport on time, meaning that he was left
grounded on the day required for travel.
The closest Leonard Tam got to Glasgow Academy
on 13 September 2013!
Leonard hopes that the passport situation will be sorted out in
time for the next Reunion in 2023.
Etcetera
11
regularly attend each annual dinner, with
attendances of between 35 and 45 for the
special decade anniversaries of leaving
school.
The ‘Fiftieth’ anniversary saw a record
attendance of 60 old classmates and
several travelled substantial distances
to attend, notably Don Laird from
Langkawi, Malaysia and Alasdair Barclay
from Toronto, Canada. Education at the
Academy demonstrably brings things of
broader value, such as kinship that lasts
well beyond schooldays.
A large leather-trimmed book with gold
embossed detail records for posterity all
attendees and apologies for the gatherings
since 1970. The number of pages
available in this fine book ensures that
records can be continued for a further
150 years – perhaps a tad optimistic.
The first gathering was held in the
expensive and salubrious venue of The
Grosvenor, Gordon Street, now defunct,
but subsequent gatherings moved to
venues in Byres Road or the like that
were more suitable to student and trainee
outlooks and pockets.
The Circa 1963 reunion group greatly
enjoyed the fine lunch that school
provided to celebrate the ‘Fiftieth’ and
were appreciative of the opportunity
to meet together and to see the huge
improvements made since they left
school half a century ago. All were
hugely impressed by the physical
changes, the wide range of academic and
extra-curricular activities now available
and also the ambitious plans for the
future.
By 1970 bi-annual dinners were held
in the RNVR sailing vessel ‘Carrick’,
returning a degree of sophistication to
the reunions. In 1985 the dinners started
to be held annually on the first Friday in
October in The Western Club.
A great day was rounded off by another
nostalgic step by some, a return visit to
a Byres Road venue reminiscent of the
early days of the Circa 1963 Reunion
group meetings. Boys will always remain
boys, even at near three score and ten!
The contact list of former classmates is
around 100 strong and about 20 people
John Byers (1963)
Circa 1963 Reunion – Friday 4 October
O
n Friday 4 October, the Circa
1963 Reunion group were guests
of the Academy to celebrate the
‘Fiftieth’ anniversary of leaving school.
The Circa 1963 Reunion group started
to meet shortly after they left school.
The original organiser of the meetings
was Michael Hirst, with Neil Douglas as
his successor, followed by John Gilmour.
For nearly 40 years John expanded the
circulation records, arranged the dinners
and kept up the communications that
kept the Circa ‘63 community together.
Sadly, John died in 2009 and did not see
the result of his dedication in the recent
and well-attended ‘Fiftieth’ event.
On target
T
he Circa 1963 Reunion group
collected funds to buy two
shooting sighting scopes and
donate £1,000 to the Science and
Technology Building Appeal to
commemorate John Gilmour’s
stalwart work for the group over
almost 40 years. John represented
school at Bisley and was captain
of shooting. John’s wife Susan
(Westbourne, 1963) was present
when the scopes were presented to
the present-day captain of shooting.
12
Etcetera
Family matters
I
n a highly-personal, witty and
informative speech, Lord Robertson of
Port Ellen entertained a large audience of
Sixth Formers, parents and former pupils
in his Dallachy Lecture on Thursday 24
October. Looking back over a long and
enormously distinguished political career,
perhaps most revealing of all was his
assertion that the achievements of which
he is most proud are his three children
and four grandchildren.
On that subject, he recalled a particularly
special moment this year when his
grandson, Michael – a former pupil of
Glasgow Academy – was his banner
bearer at his installation as Chancellor
of the Most Distinguished Order of
St Michael and St George at St Paul’s
Cathedral.
Nice meeting
you!
The preacher at this year’s
Commemoration Service in
Glasgow Cathedral was Duncan
Macpherson (1984). There he
met with several of his ‘old’
teachers – including the very
youthful Margaret (McNeill)
Tindall. [Ed. Margaret has
recently celebrated a big birthday, but we are far too polite to
mention which!]
Academicals in Print
A
long with many of his
contemporaries, Ian F Brown visited
The Academy in September for the
1956-60 Reunion. At our invitation, Ian
visited the school a few weeks later when
he generously donated a copy of the 3rd
edition of his book, Born on the Bottom
Rung, to the Academical library. The first
edition of his book was published by the
Glasgow and West of Scotland Family
History Society in 2006.
Ian was enrolled at Glasgow Academy
in 1946. He has a number of vivid
memories of his time at Colebrooke
Street – including his entrance interview
with Miss Duff, being taught English
by ‘Bing’ Crosby and reading Medieval
People by Eileen Power (which kindled
an interest in history).
Ian’s interest in history and English,
coupled with competing stories from his
parents about his ancestors eventually
led to over twenty years of detailed and
painstaking research and the publication
of Born on the Bottom Rung.
The last GASBAGS lunch?
A
s is customary, those GASBAGS who were able made their way to the Accies Club on the last Friday of October
for their annual lunch. Although formed many years ago to protest against the perceived conservatism of the
Academy Governors, the group found very little to protest about on 25 October. It was quite the reverse, in fact, as
all those present were very happy with the report that the Rector, Peter Brodie, gave of recent events at the school.
Academical President, Gavin Smith, also updated the company on Accies’ affairs. Although there was some talk
beforehand of
this being the
last GASBAGS
lunch, we are
pleased to report
that the next
meeting will
be held on 31
October 2014 –
as long as there is
sufficient support
from members.
Etcetera
13
Glasgow
Academy
– General
Knowledge
1909
While recently sorting out
the family archives, James
Gilchrist (1967) uncovered
a copy of the 1909 General
Knowledge Paper. James
believes his father would
have sat the paper that
year. Questions range
from ‘What do you know
of Richard Cobden?’ to
‘What is meant by the
yellow peril?’. Thanks to
James, a copy of the paper
will now be preserved in
The Academy archives.
So that’s the Indian
Trophy…
The Honour List for School Session 1953-54
indicates that, as School Captain, Allan
Alstead (1954) was presented with the Indian
Trophy. The reality, however, is that no such
presentation happened – the Trophy being
‘lost’ at the time. That omission was put right
on a recent visit when Allan held the Indian
Trophy long enough for this photograph to
be taken. After almost 50 years of waiting, it
was a very welcome meeting!
Roger Trythall (1962) who lives in Camps
Bay, South Africa was unable to attend
the Circa 1963 ‘Gold Event’ so – whilst on
holiday in Cape Town – John Byers joined him
for their own celebratory lunch at the Rhodes
Memorial.
14
Etcetera
In the steps
of our
ancestors…
Sir Michael Hirst (1951-1963) became
Global President of the International
Diabetes Federation at the end of
December 2012, after serving as the
first non-medical Chairman of the
board of trustees of Diabetes UK and
then six years as a member of the
Global board. His interest in diabetes
started after his youngest child Kate
(1996-1998) developed type 1 diabetes
at the age of five. At that time, he was
Member of Parliament for Strathkelvin
and Bearsden and found himself
championing improvements in diabetes
care which, when ultimately successful,
resulted in him being co-opted to the
board of trustees of Diabetes UK.
His current responsibilities as Global
President of IDF – a voluntary job that
he describes as more time-consuming
than full-time work – involve a great
deal of travel to different parts of the
world where diabetes services are
inadequate, sometimes heartrendingly
so. In too many parts of sub-Saharan
Africa, children continue to die
because of lack of access to insulin.
Earlier this year, there was a very
serious crisis in Malawi when supplies
of insulin ran out. The various
stakeholders in that country appealed
to him to visit the country and host a
round table discussion so that an action
plan could be discussed and agreed
with the Ministry of Health to prevent
a repeat of the crisis later this year. Part
of the reason for the invitation was that
he appeared to be trusted by all the
stakeholders, possibly because his great,
great grandmother was the sister of Dr
David Livingstone, and Dr Livingstone
remains revered to this day in Malawi.
The visit led to a remarkable reunion,
as Michael takes up the story:
‘During a very busy visit to Malawi,
my hosts wanted me to visit
Nkhotakota, a town near the shore of
Lake Malawi. It was at Nkhotakota
that Dr Livingstone met the local tribal
chief, Chapulapula Phwanga, in 1861
under a huge fig tree which remains
to this day a national monument
in Malawi. I knew that David
Livingstone, as a medical missionary, had
worked to bring health and the gospel to
that part of Africa, but I was to learn that
he is remembered for something of equal
importance.
‘Chief Phwanga’s great, great
granddaughter, Annie Chisa, is the
current tribal chief – and in full
ceremonial dress she was there to meet
me as a descendant of the Livingstone
family. She told me in graphic detail
of the horror of slave trading where a
powerful, evil slave trader called Jumbe
seized the fittest young men in the area,
shackled and chained them and marched
them to the dhow on Lake Nyasa (as
it then was called) which sailed to the
opposite side of the lake in Mozambique,
from where the enslaved young men
were marched across Mozambique to
slave ships taking them to America.
‘Livingstone and Chief Phwanga became
friendly and resolved jointly to put an
end to the obscenity of the slave trading
that blighted this part of Africa. They
faced down Jumbe and succeeded in
ending slavery there. It was an emotional
moment for me when Annie Chisa
clasped my hands and said proudly to
the crowd which had gathered around
the tree: ‘Our ancestors did a great thing
when they met here one hundred and
fifty two years ago.’ She then presented
me with an engraved wooden plague in
memory of my visit and insisted that I
should return with more of Livingstone’s
descendants!
‘The next stops were the nearby St
Andrew’s Hospital and the church, St
Andrew’s Cathedral, both linked to
Livingstone who is better remembered
in this country as a medical missionary
and explorer. It’s the only cathedral that
I have visited which has a corrugated
iron roof and is really just a large and
utterly unadorned open space building.
The pastor seemed bemused at my visit,
but his congregation were not. On
discovering that I was an elder in the
Church of Scotland, they insisted that I
would sing a hymn to them. Bill (‘Jazzy
Bill’) Coulthard would not perhaps
have been impressed by my tone and
melody, but I did produce the volume
of sound required and the acoustics were
a lot better than I would have expected
from a corrugated iron roof. I chose To
God be the Glory not least because it
has a rousing chorus Praise the Lord,
Praise the Lord, let the people rejoice.
And rejoice they did! Happy, clappy it
certainly was. The chorus of the third
verse was sung several times over, if that
can be taken as an encore! Although
the people lack most of the luxuries in
life that we take for granted, theirs is
a simple faith, volubly and cheerfully
expressed.
‘Malawi is a very poor country according
to the World Bank ranking of GDP per
capita. It certainly struggles to provide
acceptable health to its people and
still has infant mortality statistics that
are a great cause for concern. Those
who work in the diabetes wards of the
The photograph shows the meeting with
local dignitaries, Officials of the Ministry and Government of Malawi. Michael Hirst is in the centre
of the photograph, with the current Phwanga
Chief, Mrs Annie Chisa to his right
hospitals face huge challenges and there
is a crying need for up-skilling and
training.
‘The visit, however, was far from in
vain. The Ministry of Health undertook
to investigate the reasons that insulin
supplied at heavily discounted prices
by Novo Nordisk the world’s leading
manufacturer, finds its way into private
pharmacies and it also agreed to find
out why the discounted price is being
marked up by the Ministry by over
100% when supplied to hospitals. The
Round Table will reconvene in six
months time to check that the promises
made and commitments given during
my visit are actually being honoured. I
am still haunted by the pleading eyes of
the parent of a four year old who could
not obtain insulin, by the whispered
plea for help of the distraught mother
whose son was suffering from severe
diabetic ketoacidosis – a condition that
can often prove fatal – and the young
insulin-dependent destitute man who
had had to walk for a week to the
hospital to seek insulin because he had
no money for a bus fare. It is my fervent
hope that the results of the Round
Table will indeed make such experiences
history. But, I am also a realist – and so
the work goes on!’
Etcetera
15
Science and Technology Building Appeal
T
he new building
will cover 37,000
square feet over four
floors. The ground floor
incorporates an auditorium
and hospitality facilities.
The three floors above will
provide 15 state-of-the-art
science laboratories.
The building will benefit all
pupils because the vacated
departments will provide
much-needed space for PE/
Sport, Drama and the Arts.
The total cost (including fees
etc) is £10 million.
We will be extremely grateful
for all gifts – large or small.
With your support we will
start building soon.
Support still required
Gifts and pledges to date
We need your help to make
SciTech a reality in 2015.
Name your seat!
The 175-seat auditorium
will be at the heart of the
new building.
You can name your own
seat in the auditorium.
You can make all the difference
16
Etcetera
Contact Mark on 0141 342 5494/
Mark.Taylor@tga.org.uk for more details on
naming options and gift aid benefits.
The Westbourne Appeal
T
he influence and
impact of Westbourne
abounds at Colebrooke
Street. Westbourne purple
is in the uniform of every
boy and girl and, since the
merger of the two schools,
Westbourne House has sat
at the heart of Colebrooke
Terrace. There, our honour
boards and memorabilia are
on display and Westbourne
reunions are held on a
regular basis.
The new building
incorporates an auditorium,
a food technology
department and 15 Science
laboratories. It will provide
the facilities to enable
innovative teaching and
this – combined with the
ethos of ‘nihil sine labore’
– will ensure generations of
pupils are fully prepared for
21st-Century careers.
You can make a difference
With your help we can ensure
Westbourne continues to be at the
very heart of The Academy. Our appeal
has already raised over £20,000. With
just a little more help we will name a
laboratory in honour of Westbourne in
the new SciTech building.
Every gift is greatly
appreciated.
Thank you.
Etcetera
17
Westbourne Section
A Royal Portrait
M
rs Henderson (Rebecca Rose Harris) was Headmistress
from 1936 to 1964. During her tenure, the school became
a limited company and Lord Fraser of Allander served as
the company’s first Chairman.
GAL’s Golf – 2013
Y
et another beautiful day for our GAL’s
Golf outing! This year we were at
Balmore Golf Club on 9 August.
What a lovely setting for such a fun day! We
started off with coffee, moved onto ‘The
Golf’ and then had some delicious soup and
sandwiches. We had a delightful day with
plenty of chat as well as some interesting golf.
Balmore has some very challenging holes!
Betty Henderson joined us for our lunch and
treated us all to a drink. Thank you, Betty.
The winner of the ‘Cousland Cup’ this year
was Carolyn Craig. Well done, Carolyn.
Sheena McDonald was second closely
followed by Susan McKenzie.
Judging by the number of e-mails Carole
received afterwards, it was very clearly a really
successful day.
Thank you, Carole, for organising our outing
once again.
Elaine M Horner (1970)
18
Etcetera
Mrs Henderson’s portrait now hangs in the External Relations suite
in Westbourne House, where reunions, staff interviews and senior
meetings are held. The painting is by Mary Eastman, who also
painted Her Majesty the Queen in 1953.
UPDATES
A career in Engineering…
W
hen I left school and ventured
off to Loughborough University
to study Geography and Sports
Science (otherwise known as a ‘maps
and games’ degree) I had no idea that I
would end up working in the world of
sports sponsorship. I feel very lucky to
work in an industry that I absolutely love
and am very passionate about. Sport has
been such a huge part of my life (thanks,
Mum) and has defined who I am today.
(Yes, I am still ridiculously competitive!)
So for me my biggest driver is to inspire
as many people as I can around the
benefits of sport or just being active;
whether cycling, running or walking.
Healthy body = healthy mind. There is
so much pressure on people these days
so for me being active is a no brainer.
Cheap, easy and free (if you are ok to
brave the rain!)
M
y days at
Westbourne
were very
happy, and I look
back fondly on my
years there (P5 to
S6), leading on to
my degree in Civil
Engineering at
Glasgow University.
My father has his
own Consulting
Engineering firm,
and he encouraged
me throughout. I
worked in various
locations with others
around the world
as a student (using
Higher German for
example!) then with
a Cambridge firm,
then back to Glasgow
to join Dad. Many
years all over the
north of Scotland and
the islands following
where I routinely
work for our clients.
I am based in our
Paisley office and live again in Killearn,
where I grew up. As a Chartered
Civil/Structural Engineer I love my
challenging and varied job, working on
design projects and on site.
Since 2006, I have served on the IESIS
Council – IESIS (The Institution of
Engineers and Shipbuilders in Scotland)
the only multi-disciplinary Engineering
Institution in Scotland (past service with
Engineering Bodies in Inverness and
Aberdeen has been a good grounding for
this).
We at IESIS are actively spreading the
message on the fruits of a rewarding
career in Engineering, and our
‘Professional Engineer’ website aims to
inspire and encourage young people into
this.
This month is our celebration of our
‘Scottish Engineering Hall of Fame’
– with four more inductees at our
recent Annual James Watt Dinner. Our
IESIS website contains the links and
Went to Westbourne
School, left a very
long time ago…
information on these initiatives and
much more. Do have a look.
We were absolutely delighted that STV
featured us on their Scotland Tonight
programme, to promote engineering
and the Hall of Fame, on 31 October
2013. This feature can be seen on You
Tube (ref ‘Scotland Tonight Celebrating
Scottish Engineers Hall of Fame’).
We are very pleased that they hosted
us on the show; it was a wonderful
experience and I’d love to do more such
promotional work.
Having worked in the sports industry
for many years I joined Sky in 2007 to
work on the brand’s Corporate Social
Responsibility programme which aims to
create positive social change across sports,
arts and the environment. Back in 2008,
we were looking for an opportunity
to transform a sport from grassroots
through to the elite level and capitalise
on the huge opportunity of the London
2012 Olympics. That’s where we came
across cycling and Dave Brailsford. We
immediately knew we could achieve
great things together and our ambition
was simple! …to make history with the
first British winner of the Tour de France
and create a new series of Sky Ride mass
participation events where we shut down
city centres to traffic to help and inspire a
million more people to get back on their
bikes across the UK.
Tricia Thompson, Director of Cycling at BskyB,
with Sir Chris Hoy
We wish to promote our Scottish
Institution and membership of our
Body and to encourage enthusiastic
young people to join the engineering
profession. It’s an excellent choice for a
fascinating and rewarding career, full of
opportunities all over the world – for
both girls and boys.
If you’d like to find our any more,
contact me at Dinardo Partnership Ltd
paisley@dinardo.co.uk
Karen Dinardo (Westbourne 1983)
Etcetera
19
If I’m completely honest it was a bonkers
ambition but 2012 seemed a long way
off! But last year the Olympics landed
and, oh boy, what a fabulous year it
was. On Sunday 22 July 2012 having
cycled 300 miles from London to
Paris with over 200 Sky staff (as part
of our staff cycling programme to get
people cycling), we all stood on the
Champs-Elysees and watched Bradley
Wiggins make history and win the
Tour. A week later I was at Hampton
Court watching Bradley win gold in
the Olympic Time Trial and then in the
velodrome watching Chris Hoy, Laura
Trott and all the amazing GB team win
gold. It was akin to my favourite sporting
moment at Murrayfield on March 17,
1990 with my Dad watching Scotland
rugby captain David Sole walk out of
the tunnel with defiant purpose and beat
the odds to claim the Grand Slam against
England. I felt honoured and lucky to
be at these historic once-in-a-lifetime
moments!
It also been amazing to watch the
growth in cycling and see so many more
people out and about on their bikes. It’s
such a great sport/activity as it connects
people of all ages and all abilities. We
all remember the first time we learnt to
cycle and loved the freedom of riding
around (away from the parents) – so
why did we stop? Well, that’s my next
mission… to get as many people back
on their bikes and I hope the creation of
Team Sky, a truly great British team, will
inspire everyone to do just that.
The Glasgow Academy
Art Calendar 2014
‘Christmas Cracker’
We are delighted to show off
our young artists’ talent in our
2014 Calendar, retailing at
a bargain price of
£5.00 each plus £1.00 P&P
Orders can also be placed by telephone on
0141 342 5494, or by
email: s.rae@tga.org.uk
Tricia Thomson (1992)
Proud parents and grandparents…
Dates for your Diary
Angus Stewart Fraser
Daniel Luke Alexander McKean
Claire Fraser (1956)
Simon Fraser (1991) and wife Charlotte
are delighted to announce the birth of
Angus Stewart Fraser at home in Alton,
Hampshire on 14 August 2013, a little
brother of Lily. The first grandson for
Claire Fraser (1956).
Jan Chisholm (1955)
On 27 June 2013 in Christchurch, New
Zealand, the birth of a son Daniel Luke
Alexander to Andrew and Caroline
McKean (daughter of Jan Chisholm) a
beautiful cousin for Oliver and Harry in
Suffolk.
Liz Finlayson (Westbourne staff
1980-1988)
On Sunday 13 October, George Balfour
the nine-year-old son of Alasdair and
Laura Balfour nee Finlayson (1990) was
20
Etcetera
admitted to the St John’s College Choir,
Cambridge. He will be singing with
the Choir at a concert they are giving
in the Festival Hall, London in early
December and later in the month, the
Choir is going on a tour of Germany
and the Low Countries which will end
with a concert in the Concertgebouw
in Amsterdam. This concert will be
broadcast live on Dutch Radio.
Deaths
Chloe (Bell) Norman (1958)
Chloe Bell (born 1941) who attended
Westbourne School for Girls from 1946
to 1958 died quietly in Cincinnati in the
loving care of her sister, Rosalind. Sister
also of Marylin and Peter.
Friday 28 February
London Section Dinner
Thursday 20 March
GA 100 Business Breakfast
Friday 7 March
The Iain Muir Spring Lunch
Friday 4 April
Westbourne Class of 1966 Reunion
April (Date TBC)
Westbourne Class of 1973 Reunion
Monday 23 June
Donor Thank You Reception
Thursday 4 September
TGA Dinner with Sir Steve Redgrave
Friday 19 September
Kelvin Foundation Lunch
Friday 26 September
GA Careers Event
Friday 3 October
Class of 1994 – 20-year Reunion
Friday 24 October
Class of 2004 – 10-year reunion
Gasbags Lunch
Friday 7 November
GAC Dinner
Academical Club
Lottery Winners
July
Alastair Rolland
£150
August
Ian Fotheringham
£150
September Neil McLean
£150
October
£150
John Mason
Robin McNaught (1982)
Academical Club
The Glasgow Academicals’ 1st XV 2013/14
Rugby
A
fter a fairly hectic off-season with
new coaching staff and a huge
turnover in players, we started out with a
few warm-up matches, which had some
very positive results – and an inkling that
we may have a picked up quite a few
good young players and that maybe…?
Our first two league games started to
feed far too much enthusiasm into the
watching ex-players and supporters
who saw some very skilful handling and
running. There were a lot of simple
mistakes made, but – with some superb
tries and resilient defence – we were
two victories up and we started thinking
that our three-year plan needed revising.
Unfortunately, in a thrilling match which
we deserved to win, our old neighbours
reminded us that a wee bit of age and
experience can count for a lot – and we
lost 29-21 to GHK.
We have had a couple of losses and a
couple of wins since then, very much
down to our very young team learning
to play 1st XV rugby as a group and
sometimes not quite playing to their
strengths and game plan. A recent past
captain pointed out to me that he knew
only five members of the team, and
the new players who have joined are
generally under 20.
We have watched some fantastic rugby
being played; Ken Waine advised me
that a recent try was one of the finest he
had seen at Anniesland. Praise indeed!
Due to another league restructuring, if
we manage to be in the top two in our
Finger-tip control in the line-out.
league then promotion is possible. At the
date of writing we are sitting near the
top of the league among a group of four
teams all of whom are within a point or
two of each other. We have the ability to
beat these teams – yet like all things it is
a question of how quickly our team can
play to their strengths. We will find out
over the next few months.
The 2nd XV have also been performing
very well, again with a new younger
version of last year’s team. We still
manage to play a collection of the Club’s
ex-captains in this team, though I doubt
we will match the six that played in the
team last season.
We are always keen for anybody still
of an age to come and play, especially
if they are of the ‘forward’ variety.
We have lots of ‘backs’ but – with a
few more props and locks – we could
possibly even think about a 3rd XV and
it is about 20 years since we managed
that.
There is a very good atmosphere at
Anniesland when we are playing and I
would like to invite you all to come and
watch your team play. Hopefully a few
more voices may encourage them to win
more games, and turn promotion into a
realistic possibility.
Peter Sandford (1983) Vice President
Etcetera
21
Ladies’ Hockey
We have had an extremely exciting start to the 2013/14
season with the opening of the new hockey pitch at
Windyedge, Anniesland. A £300,000 all-weather
Commonwealth Games-standard water-based hockey pitch
was officially opened at Windyedge in October 2013. We
are lucky to call this our new ‘home’ pitch as it has been
described as the world’s most modern pitch and an exact
replica of the surfaces used at the Olympic Games in London.
The ‘bounce’ has taken a little getting used to, but the girls
are feeling much better equipped to compete against teams
who have been playing on this type of surface for a while
now. The pitch is fast and a pleasure to play on and will
certainly improve our skills, tactics and fitness!
We are happy to announce that this
has been a record year for subscription
with over 50 girls on the books. 1st and
2nd XI teams have big squads, giving
captains both variety and depth for
team selection. We have had quite a
few Glasgow Academy school girls and
former pupils joining Accies this season
and we do hope this continues in the
future.
This season we welcome to Accies
Rhona Simpson, Director of Sport at
Glasgow Academy. She has represented
Great Britain at two Olympic Games
and Scotland at three Commonwealth
Games. Rhona brings with her a wealth
of experience and is a fantastic asset to
the 1st XI, having scored a few goals
for the team already at her centre striker
position.
Our long-standing coach Elaine Brierley,
having played with Rhona Simpson for
22
Etcetera
many years at Giffnock HC, has finally
put on the Glasgow Accies strip and
is now an official player/coach for the
club. Again, this is wonderful news for
Accies and specifically for the 1st XI
players. Spreading her knowledge and
experience of the game will benefit
every player around her.
We have once again secured sponsorship
from Mansion House – the perfect party
venue. Set over three floors, you’ll find
eight individual rooms each uniquely
designed and furnished to comfortably
accommodate events for up to 1800
people. From dining and drinking to late
night dancing, Mansion House is the
ultimate social night out!
It is with a heavy heart that we say
goodbye to Aileen Kealy, our 1st XI
captain, who leaves us for her home city
of Dublin due to work commitments.
Aileen joined us in 2012 and became
captain in September. Although her
captaincy was short, it was very sweet.
We will miss her dearly and wish her the
best of luck for the future. Helen Bell,
former 1st XI vice-captain, steps up to
replace Aileen as captain.
If you are interested in joining Glasgow
Accies Ladies’ Hockey and coming along
to our training sessions, please contact
our club captain, Stephanie Hermes, at
accies.hockey@live.com We are always
looking for new players – all ages, skills
and abilities welcome.
We train every Tuesday between 6.30
and 8.30 pm at Windyedge.
For up to date information on games,
results, events and general news please
visit our website
www.glasgow-hockey.com
Cricket: Glasgow Accies’ Under 18s win an
award at Lords
London
Academicals’
Section
T
he second half of the year has
been a quiet period for the
London Section following on
from our Centenary Dinner in
February, the London Scottish
Schools’ Golf Day in June and
the Bisley Dinner in July. We
are currently planning for the
2014 Annual Dinner which will
take place on Friday 28 February
2014 at The Caledonian Club in
London.
The London Section is
honoured that Karen
Greenshields, nee Smith, was
one of the speakers at the
Academical Dinner in Glasgow
on 8 November 2013 and we
are encouraged that there will
be a number of London-based
Accies in attendance to support
Karen.
The Scottish contingent at the Dinner at Lords
C
ongratulations to our U18 team on
its performance in defeating The
Forty Club Scotland in the final over of
our annual match in August with Ewan
Stewart leading the assault with 99 not
out. The on and off-field demeanour
of the team merited the XL Club’s
nomination for the Henry Grierson
Trophy which award was presented
to the winning team at the XL Club’s
Annual Dinner in The Long Room at
Lords on Friday 18 October.
In the final judgement of the panel,
the Accies’ team was awarded the
runner-up spot to Giggleswick School.
An invitation to Lords was just too
good to be missed – especially when
accompanied by an introduction to
HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh,
for the team captain, Dhruv Satpute,
and junior convener and XL Club
member, Colin Dawson, in the hallowed
Committee Room. Presentation of
winning teams’ shields was made by
Mike Gatting, MBE of the ‘Shane Warne
magic ball’ fame.
Also representing Accies at the dinner
were our chairman, Alex Dowers, and
1st XI skipper, Richard Andrew. Seated
at the top table, we were all treated
to a magnificent meal followed by
entertaining speeches from Mike Gatting
and Callum Lockett of Giggleswick
School who was presented with the
Henry Grierson Trophy by Prince
Philip as a member of the winning team.
Perhaps it is worth a mention that, in
Wedding bells have been very
much in the air with both
Cammy Wilson and Karen
Greenshields completing their
nuptials this summer and we, in
the London Section, offer them
both our hearty congratulations.
The London Section Committee
consists of:
Cammy Wilson, President
(1993-1999)
Gordon Low, Past-President
(1972-1984)
U18 captain Dhruv Satpute receives the runnersup trophy from Mike Gatting, MBE
2004, a certain Gautham Hariharan
received the same Trophy on behalf
of The Glasgow Academy and his
acceptance speech was still remembered
by several at this year’s event.
After recovering from certain excesses
of the previous evening, we all met
up again at Lords next day for the
‘Lords’ Tour’ – another memorable
experience, part of which was savouring
the experience of sitting in the England
dressing room where so many famous
players have made – or destroyed! – their
careers.
David Hall,
Secretary-Treasurer
(1951-1961)
Anthony Frieze (1982-1983)
Hazel McNaught (1996-2004)
Peter Marr (1974-1982)
Karen (Smith) Greenshields
(1991-2000)
Any one of our Committee
Members can be contacted by
any Accie heading south on a
permanent or temporary basis,
by emailing them via ecj@
aralon.co.uk
CAC Dawson (1967)
Etcetera
23
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Best reg art (1989)
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Scott S
Just over 25 years ago, four boys and two members
of staff who constituted the Glasgow Academy Climbing
Club set out on their most ambitious expedition yet:
to conquer the Old Man of Hoy. The leader of that
expedition was maths teacher Alex Tysen, the founder of
the climbing club, and he was accompanied by a young
PE teacher called Stewart McAslan. The boys – Scott
Stewart, Iain Carnduff, Andrew Norton and Frazer Wade
– relished the freedom that climbing, a novelty at The
Academy in those days, gave them.
In recognition of the 25th anniversary of the ascent, one
of them, Scott Stewart, recently sent us a copy of the
photograph above.
It shows the group at the top of The Old Man of Stoer
on their training expedition before they faced the real
thing. In return, Stewart McAslan sent Scott a photo
of the ascent itself (right).
That was the inspiration for the following piece written
by Scott:
24
Etcetera
Conquering The Old Man of Hoy
T
Tragically, Alex Tysen (below) was to
lose his life in a climbing accident
along with another Academy master,
Ian Jeffery, a few years later –
an accident that was to shake the
Academy community to the core.
he photograph of The Old Man of
Hoy… made me go on a further
dig to seek out my clutch of
pictures from that ascent and it brought
back a lot of memories from that trip to
Orkney. We were fortunate that Elsie
Tysen and Ann McAslan volunteered to
sit on the headland and take photos of
us with their paparazzi-style cameras so
we got some excellent photos beyond
the typical ‘bum shot’ that most climbing
trips only offer up. Alex had multiple
copies made for the four of us to choose
from and I swept up quite a bundle.
traverse around the base just above the
waterline to get to the true start. This
was probably technically harder than
any of the climbing that went up the
way! The ‘crux’ of the Old Man of
Stoer is the second pitch and the ‘so
called’ pineapple slab. I remember it not
being too much trouble and remember
re-visiting the stack in the early-90s
when I found it to be a lot more
awkward. The top of the stack is quite a
narrow point relative to the Old Man of
Hoy so the summit picture with six of us
was a bit of a squeeze.
It is strange to think that this is the 25th
anniversary of these climbs. This was our
second year in the Rock Climbing Club
so we were ‘experts’ now. I was climbing
with Frazer Wade and Iain Carnduff was
climbing with Andrew Norton. The Old
Man of Stoer is about 200ft high and was
regarded as a ‘training ascent’ for the Old
Man of Hoy which we did in July 1988.
Six of us drove up to the NW and stayed
at Achmelvich Youth Hostel a few miles
North of Lochinver. The day of the
climb was beautiful and the sun shone
and the wind stayed low. We were lucky
to find a rope already in place when we
arrived at the crossing point so no-one
had to get wet. I don’t recall who was
scheduled to be sent in swimming had
it not been. The rope had been fixed to
some old pitons on the wrong side of
the stack so our ‘pitch zero’ was a greasy
We got up in four pitches, but down in
two abseils down the side of the stack
which led straight back to the Tyrolean
traverse rope. The second abseil was in
free space which was a novel experience
at the time. We all crossed back to the
mainland and since it was so hot and
sunny we decided to dive in to the sea
anyway to cool off. I am sure we were
all quite pleased with ourselves.
Looking back, I don’t think we
appreciated at the time how much
effort Alex Tysen and Stewart McAslan
had to put into training and driving
a bunch of 16-17 year olds around
Scotland to various crags. Climbing and
mountaineering take up a lot of time
aside from having the responsibility
for a clutch of ‘minors’ and given that
climbing wasn’t a mainstream school
sport then, no-one would have noticed if
they had decided not to bother.
Iain and I carried on climbing for many
years after school and I know that
Iain was climbing at a relatively high
standard at one point. Climbing and
mountaineering is still an important part
of my life and yet these early ascents of
the Old Man of Stoer and Hoy remain
some of my best memories – despite all
that came after.
Scott Stewart (1989)
Etcetera
25
The Final Whistle
some Were decoraTed and died
heroically; oThers foughT and
fell quieTly.
the eleventh day of the eleventh month
in 1918, it made for tragic reading.
I can think of no better way than to
simply list the team who played West
as detailed in Iain MacLeod’s book The
Glasgow Academy 150 (right).
O
n 28 March 1914 Glasgow Accies
took the pitch at Hamilton Crescent,
Partick to play their old rivals, West of
Scotland. It was the last game of the
season and, sadly, it was the last game
that any of the participants played. Accies
beat their old city rivals 27-8 on that
far-off day.
Before the start of the following season,
the secretary of West had written to his
players urging them to sign up for His
Majesty’s Services. The war was about
to strike a savage blow to Anniesland
Rugby with casualty lists almost
incomprehensible nowadays. To a man,
the Accies XV enlisted in the forces at
the outbreak of war.
Eight were killed, six wounded and only
one returned unscathed. When the team
roll was called on the eleventh hour of
26
Etcetera
Scottish Rugby suffered a
disproportionate number of casualties
in WW1 with the death of 30 Scottish
Caps. At this time and from this distance,
it is hard to imagine the numbness as
War Office telegrams arrived breaking
the tragic news often followed by a
hand-written letter from the Unit
commander outlining the circumstances.
Later, when the Widow’s Penny was
presented to the bereaved in recognition
of a husband, brother or son who had
made the ultimate sacrifice, they were
presented with a certificate in the name
of The King reading: ‘He whom this
scroll commemorates was numbered
among those who, at the call of King and
Country, left all that was dear to them,
endured hardness, faced danger, and
finally passed out of the sight of men by
the path of duty and self-sacrifice, giving
up their own lives that others might live
in freedom.’
A peel of bells raised by public donation
still hangs at the top of Byres Road in
the steeple above Oran Mor (the old
Kelvinside Church) to remember them,
especially the twenty-seven Academicals
– both Glasgow and Kelvinside –
who fell on one day, 28 June 1915,
at Gallipoli as part of 52nd Lowland
Division of Kitchiner’s New Army.
The term ‘kindred club’ takes on a
Thomas BurTon (HLI)
- wounded (1916); awarded MC
arThur russell
- killed on the Somme (1916)
William Barras (Argyles)
- killed (1918); awarded MM
charles andreW (HLI)
- wounded on the Somme Ypres and
at Arras; awarded MC
arThur laird (HLI)
- killed (1916) on the Somme
John Warren (RE)
- wounded; awarded MC
eric young (Cameronians)
- killed in Gallipoli (1915)
John smiTh (HLI)
- wounded in Gallipoli (1915)
John sandeman (Argyles)
- wounded in Palestine
frank sandeman (HLI)
- wounded in Mesopotamia (1918)
roBerT arThur (Glasgow
Yeomanary)
- awarded MC and Belgian War Cross
george speirs (HLI)
- awarded French WC; killed (1918)
george maceWan (HLI)
- killed in Gallipoli (1915)
archiBald TempleTon (Cameronians)
– killed in Gallipoli (1915)
Thomas sTouT (Cameronians)
- killed in Gallipoli (1915)
george Warren (HLI)
- survived war
HLI – Highland Light Infantry
Cameronians Scottish Rifles
RE – Royal Engineers
Argyles – Argyle and Sutherland
Highlanders
deeper resonance when you share a War
Memorial.
Over the next four years, the nation will
remember the great landmark battles of
that terrible war fought 100 years ago.
2014 will focus on the Commonwealth
Games Legacy based much on volunteer
efforts. In 1915 at Gallipoli another
Commonwealth legacy was forged by
another generation of volunteers – but in
very different circumstances.
Hugh Barrow (1962)
Announcements
UPDATES
Gold Awards
Seven former
pupils of Glasgow
Academy were
presented with
their Duke of
Edinburgh’s Gold
Awards by Dawn
Steele, the actress,
in a ceremony at
Holyrood Palace
in July. They were:
Back (left to right):
Fraser Webster (2012),
Chris Millar (2006),
Claire Edmonds (2006)
Front: Rowan Johnstone
(2011), Jillian Hamilton
(2012), (Dawn Steele),
Claire Dalling (2011),
Gabbie Clark (2011)
Best Heritage Project 2013
The Calman Cancer Support Centre in
Glasgow beat off six other challengers in
a public vote to win the Best Heritage
Project 2013. Colin Graham (1988),
Chief Executive of Cancer Support
Scotland, said: ‘We are overwhelmed to
have won this award. This time last year,
we were operating out of small, cramped
and totally unsuitable accommodation.
By working in partnership with Glasgow
Building Preservation Trust who secured
National Lottery funding to help
with the renovations, we now have
this beautiful building which exceeds
our expectations, enabling us to help
and support more people through
their cancer treatment.’
Etcetera
27
On track for success
S
ir Dave Brailsford, the performance
director of British Cycling, has
described former Glasgow Academy
pupil Katie Archibald (2012) as a ‘really
exciting prospect’ after she won three
medals and broke a world record in
her first two weeks of top-level track
cycling.
Katie was part of the Great Britain
women’s team pursuit quartet that won
gold and set a new world-best time at
the European Track Championships in
the Netherlands in October. This was
followed by a ‘super’ performance at
the UCI Track Cycling World Cup in
Manchester in early November when
Katie won two more medals.
Katie’s success is remarkable for a rider
who took up cycling only three years
ago and we will follow and support her
progress with great interest in the years
ahead.
Peter Bannatyne (1960)
To celebrate my 71st birthday, I decided
to circumnavigate the Isle of Bute by
kayak from my home in Tighnabruaich.
Leaving at 5.45 am to catch the tide,
I completed the 42-mile journey in
thirteen-and-a-half hours. This included
a thirty-minute snooze on the Marquis
of Bute’s beach at Mount Stuart and a
landfall in Rothesay to purchase a large
cone from Zavaroni’s Cafe. My wife
claims that there is no fool like an old
fool – and I fear she may be correct.
In the evening we attended the
Tighnabruaich Boatyard BBQ where the
musical accompaniment was provided
by The George Penman Jazzmen, still
swinging after more than fifty years. A
real blast from the past!
Iain Breckenridge (1984)
I handed over command of HMS
ASTUTE (first of class nuclear
28
Etcetera
submarine) in Sep 12 then spent eight
great months as the Deputy Head of
Submarine Sea and Shore Training
based in Faslane. May to Sep 13 saw
me working in the UK Embassy as
part of a small team who work with
the Chairman of The Joint Chiefs of
Staff in The Pentagon. A fascinating
time with amazing insight into how
elements of US government and military
combine to develop policy. I also had
time for sightseeing with Gettysburg and
Antietam battlefields being particular
highlights – Ronnie Woods and Chuck
Farquhar would have been happy with
my historical investigations!
Off to Northwood HQ outside London
in the New Year and promoted to
Captain; not quite 5 gold rings but one
more than the current 3. I enjoy reading
Etcetera and noting that – however
clever, sporty or scheming my 78-84
peer group believed ourselves to be –
our illustrious predecessors could clearly
have taught us a thing or two!
Alastair P S Brown (1999)
Andrew P S Brown would like to
tell all those that played cricket with
him between 1993 and 1999 that he
finally hit his first ‘six’ this summer. Mr
Hariharan has been informed already.
Roy Burdon (1955)
At the beginning of November I gave a
special evening lecture to parents, pupils
and teachers at Kilgraston School in
Bridge of Earn as part of a programme to
mark the opening of their new Science
Block.
During the rest of the year I give talks to
14+ pupils at various schools throughout
Scotland under the auspices of The
Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE@
schools).
Paolo Capanni (1986)
Lieutenant Colonel Paolo Capanni
RAMC is the Commanding Officer
of 1 Medical Regiment, based in
Bergen-Hohne in northern Germany.
He is currently preparing his regiment
for deployment to Afghanistan in 2014.
Peter Edmond (1969)
Inspired to become a mathematics
teacher by Jimmy Cowper and Frankie
Parkes and introduced to the world of
Statistics in my sixth year, I took a degree
in Statistics at St Andrews University
followed by teacher training at Aberdeen
College of Education. My first job was
as a maths teacher at Dollar Academy for
nine years from where I was appointed
Head of Mathematics at Rannoch School
for the next two years after which I went
south to set up a Computing area within
the Maths Department at a small girls’
boarding school near Shrewsbury. I was
lured back to Glasgow by the relatively
new High School of Glasgow from
where I have just retired after 28 years
as Head of Mathematics and Statistics.
During this time, I had the pleasure of
the current GA Head of Mathematics in
my department – and taught two of the
current Maths teachers at TGA as well.
Thus it is that I have not been allowed
fully to retire yet and have had the
pleasure of returning to my old school
to teach mathematics for a total of nine
days as I write this piece. It is amazing
how little the old place has changed in
all that time and I do hope to continue
to be asked back on the odd occasion
when our overworked mathematics staff
are called away to such things as Raasay,
DofE and the SQA.
Tom Gentle (2006)
Tom Gentle is currently travelling
throughout Tanzania, shooting a
documentary about people with
disabilities in the Northern region of the
country. Tom, who directed The Odd
Couple in the Cargill Hall in his final year
at The Academy, went on to study Film
at the University of Kent in Canterbury.
The project, a partnership between
Gentle Giant Productions and the Lake
Victoria Disability Centre, centres on a
diverse mix of disabilities in the Mara
region of Tanzania, where the percentage
of people with disabilities has risen from
the national average of 4.5% to 13.2%.
Rather than looking into the causes of
the disabilities themselves, the film will
explore the stigma and stereotyping
that people with disabilities can face in
Mara, and in Tanzania as a whole. This
can range from the difficulties faced by
polio sufferers in finding work, to a blind
person’s inability to go to school, to
the violence constantly threatened and
frequently carried out upon people with
albinism.
The project is being crowdfunded, a
recent concept by which people submit
all kinds of ideas for members of the
public and companies to consider and
help fund in order to receive rewards.
Tom’s chosen portal for his project is
Sponsume, under the title In Their
Shoes. If you would like to hear more
about the project, or are interested in
contributing to a good cause, please go
to http://www.sponsume.com/project/
their-shoes
Fraser Lundie (1998)
In September, Fraser Lundie was named
in the 2013, Financial News ‘40 Under
40 Rising Stars of Asset Management.’
Richard Lyle (1993)
Richard has moved to Edinburgh from
London after 12 years in England.
Brian Massey 1986
Thought I’d send you this photograph
(opposite, top) of Ken (Iky) Thomson
(1989) – back row third from the left
– and Brian Massey (1986) – back row
fourth from the left – which was taken
recently at the Singapore Kyokushin
Karate Club, part of the Gurkha
Contingent, Singapore Police dojo
where I was a guest. I am now back in
ENGAGEMENTS
London, having lived in Singapore since 2011 – and I believe Ken is currently on
deployment outside of Singapore.
Kelly Sleight (2006)
After studying law at the University of Strathclyde, Kelly is now a Solicitor within
the Public Sector and Social Housing team at Harper Macleod LLP.
MARRIAGES
Claire Hamilton (2004) and
Andrew Murray (2004)
Claire and Andrew tied the knot on
20 July 2013 at Lenzie Union Parish
Church. The reception took place at
Loch Green House Hotel in Troon.
Several Accies were in attendance
including Claire’s brother, Mark (2001),
and Best Man, Stephen Talbot (2004). A
fantastic day was had by all!
Vicki Jackson (1998)
Vicki married Harry Boddice on 25
August 2013 at Pollokshields Burgh
Hall. The ceremony was conducted by
Jonathan Fleming (1999).
Vicki and Harry
Calum and Katie
Calum Graham 2001
I am delighted to announce that I got
engaged to my girlfriend of 5 years
Katie Marshall on 6 August while on
holiday in Gairloch, Wester Ross. (This
photo was taken just after I popped the
question.)
Claire and Andrew
Etcetera
29
Christopher Miller (2001)
Chris and Cara
Chris married Sonia Cheema at
Guru Nanak Gurdwara, Hitchin,
Hetrfordshire on 19 October, and the
happy couple celebrated their marriage
in Scotland on 24 October at Dundas
Castle, Edinburgh. Sonia and Chris
look forward to spending the next year
exploring Asia and South America and
enjoying their first year as a married
couple.
Chris and Sonia
Chris Leggat (1998)
On 26 October at Archerfield Links in
North Berwick, Chris Leggat (1998)
married Cara Laing. The Bridal party
was awash with Accies: Best Man and
Chris’s brother, Simon Leggat, Ushers,
Scott Chassels and Jamie Doig and a
reading by Fraser Lundie – much to the
delight of Cara’s Dad – a Kelvinsider!
Gordon and Emma
Pictured (alongside Ross and Natalie) Jamie Wright
(2000) left of centre, Jenna Strang (2002) furthest
right and Grant Strang (2002) furthest left.
Ross W Weir (2000)
Ross Weir married Natalie Scott in Kent
on 31 August this year. It was a magical
day made even more special with the
inclusion of many family members
and former pupils. Ross’s cousin Jamie
Wright (2000) was best man, his sister
Jenna Strang (2002) was bridesmaid and
her husband Grant Strang (2002) was
both usher and piper.
Cameron Wilson (1999)
Cameron married Jennifer Hay
on Saturday 7 September 2013, at
Inverkeilor Church, Angus. Thereafter,
a drinks and dinner reception was held at
the Hay’s family home, Raesmill Farm.
We are delighted to report that
there were five additional Glasgow
Academicals in the Wedding party:
Ushers, David Fulton (1999), Murray
Strang (1999), Jon McLeish (1999),
Richard Inglis (1999) and Best Man,
brother Ramsay Wilson (2001).
Cameron and Jennifer
Gordon Lundie (2002)
Gordon married Emma Black on
Saturday 5 October 2013 at The Roman
Camp Hotel in Callander in front of
family and a fair few old school friends.
Tom Menzies (1979)
Tom Menzies, Former Pupil and
member of staff, got married on 22
July 2013 to Jennifer Joyce at Bearsden
Registry Office.
30
Etcetera
Tom and Jennifer
Gordon Carruthers
(almost) has a
birthday celebration…
Gordon Carruthers
celebrates his 90th
birthday in the company of (left) Colin
Kidd (1982) and Bob
Crawford (1952)
T
he attractions of golf and the
University have over the years
drawn a large colony of emigrants
from Glasgow Academy to the town of
St Andrews. In some quarters, indeed, St
Andrews has been described as ‘Glasgow
Academy East’. Of the many settlers
in the east, none is known to more
Academicals – or with more affection –
than Gordon Carruthers, a member of
the Academy staff from 1948 to 1985.
Gordon was renowned for his versatility
– a teacher of chemistry and biology, the
organiser of the first post-War school
trips to the Continent, commander of
the cadet contingent, Deputy Rector,
the deviser of a fiendishly complicated
timetable and the master responsible for
university admissions, as well as Acting
Rector during the mid-1970s between
the illness of Basil Holden and the
arrival of Roy Chapman. However, as
Gordon still ruefully acknowledges, he
is probably best known to generations
of Academicals for his productions of
the Christmas entertainment in which
he had a long-running stint as the panto
dame. However, Gordon was not only
a pillar of the Academy; in the course
of a long semi-retirement, he became
in turn a pillar of his alma mater, the
University of St Andrews. Gordon was
a stalwart of the University Court at St
Andrews and a figure of considerable
influence, not least because he was the
chair of the committee that decided
the salaries of the professors. In more
recent years Gordon has properly retired,
though still stays in touch with many
Academicals. Moreover, phone calls
from Rachel Teggart keep him informed
of developments in the vicinity of
Kelvinbridge.
(at the Academy 1939-52, and one of
Gordon’s first pupils), Colin Kidd (at the
Academy 1976-82) and Frank Quinault
(former Hebdomadar of the University
of St Andrews) would visit Gordon
on the 5th of November with a cake
decorated in Academy colours and a
bottle of something festive. In the event,
it turned out that the conspirators were
only a few days out, Gordon’s ninetieth
birthday having fallen at the start of
November.
The train now standing…
30
years ago I left Scotland to
emigrate to Australia. On my
departure, I hired a train to go from
Glasgow to Oban – and about 120
people turned up!
Well I have just done it all again…
this time we took over Arisaig House,
hired the Jacobite Express, and had
a recovery party
at the Old Forge
in Knoydart. A
number of Accies
were in attendance
for both events.
my year are Colin McLundie and
Hamish Mclean; from two years back,
Iain Anderson and Alistair McIntyre,
and from two years ahead, Douglas
Anderson. Bill Hutchinson (1957) from
Toronto, Canada also travelled to be
there.
Hugh Sutherland (1974)
Names of Accies
in attendance
included from
A few months ago Gordon accidentally
let slip that he was about to turn ninety,
but declined to give away the date of his
birthday for fear that this might bring
unwanted fuss and attention. However,
it was felt among those who knew him
that the occasion – whenever it fell –
ought not to go unmarked. There was
only one clue – or possibly a red herring:
an anecdote Gordon had once retailed
about how his mother used to bake him
a cake on Guy Fawkes Day. So, whether
or not 5 November was indeed Gordon’s
birthday, a conspiracy was hatched that a
small group consisting of Bob Crawford
Etcetera
31
Meet Atholl’s first male teacher in 83 years!
A
ndrew
Jackson
(2000)
is known to
all at New
Anniesland
as Captain of
the Accies’
1st XV. Many
will know that
he’s a qualified
lawyer, but
perhaps it’s
a little less
well-known
that,
nowadays,
he’s a primary
teacher.
After 5 years
teaching
at Oxgang
Primary
School in
Kirkintilloch, Andrew recently accepted
a position at The Glasgow Academy
Milngavie, formerly known as Atholl
Preparatory School.
Andrew commented: ‘After leaving
The Glasgow Academy as a pupil 13
years ago, the opportunity to return as a
prep school teacher was one I couldn’t
miss. So far it has been a surreal – but
thoroughly enjoyable – experience.’
Andrew was brought up in Lenzie and
joined The Academy in Prep 4. On
leaving school he wanted to be a lawyer,
but – perhaps surprisingly – it was his
love of rugby that led him into teaching.
‘After a fantastic 10 years at The
Academy, I had the opportunity to
move to Pietersberg, South Africa to
teach a primary 1 class at PEPPS School
in Polokwane for 9 months. Although
my decision to travel to South Africa
was very much rugby-related, my
experiences of the country, people
and – most significantly – of the school
were truly remarkable and my interest in
teaching had begun. Although I returned
to study Law at University of the West
of England, Bristol my thoughts quickly
turned to a career in teaching and, after
finishing my degree, I moved back to
Glasgow to complete my PGDE course
at Strathclyde University.
‘I am a keen sportsman and continue
to be a passionate rugby player. Having
joined Glasgow Academicals RFC after
32
Etcetera
leaving school,
I moved to
Glasgow Hawks
for three seasons
on completing
my law degree
before returning
to play and now
captain Glasgow
Accies. I hope
to use some of
my experience
to help coach
the Sunday
mini-rugby and
prep school teams
to even greater
success!’
Andrew clearly
finds working
with younger
children
motivating and
energising and
he’s introduced some new – and usual
– sports-related activities. Oliver and
Luciana, children in the Kindergarten,
for example, were quick to say that they
liked dancing with the rugby ball in the
school hall!
At a time when only 8% of primary
teachers nationally are men, TGA
Milngavie has been fortunate this year
to appoint not one but two men – both
of them lawyers and both of them keen
sportsmen! The other is Ian Munro,
a sprinter who is a former Scottish
Under-23 Athlete of the Year.
Jean McMorran, Head of TGA
Milngavie, said of her new appointments:
‘I am always looking for staff who
inspire pupils, who provide an exciting
curriculum with breadth and depth,
and who give lots of nurture and
encouragement. It’s also very important
for children to experience a variety of
approaches – and I love having teachers
who bring different perspectives.’
Clearly, the presence of a couple of
excellent male role models at TGA
Milngavie has had an influence on the
children’s attitudes. Nathalie Jones, one
of the school’s parents, commented that,
before the arrival of Mr Jackson and
Mr Munro, her daughter hadn’t even
known that it was possible for men to be
teachers.
We wish Andrew and Ian every success
in their new posts.
OBITUARIES
Professor John C Dumbreck
(1941)
14 July 1923 – 15 August 2013
John Craig Dumbreck was a pupil at
Glasgow Academy for all of his Senior
School years, between 1935 and 1941.
He was a gifted student in French and
German and, inspired by Chris Varley,
went on to study languages at Glasgow
University. He spent most of his teaching
life in – and became a Professor while a
member of – the Russian Department at
Manchester University.
John became an Emeritus Professor of
Russian Studies when he retired and
retained an active interest in academic
matters. He visited Scotland often,
travelled extensively abroad and also
enjoyed being reconnected with The
Academy through Etcetera in recent years.
He always visited Colebrooke Street
when he was in Glasgow.
John died in August after a period of
illness and will be sorely missed by all
who knew him.
John Horrex – Academy Staff
John J Horrex, a former Head of
Physics at The Academy, who became
well-known as the founding member of
the vocal group The Master Singers in
the 1960s, died on 18 March.
After graduating with a Physics
degree from Cambridge – and while
a master at Abingdon School in the
late 1950s – John Horrex devised a
psalm-chant version of The Highway
Code. In 1963, to celebrate Abingdon’s
quarter-centenary, a record was made
by John and three other teachers, a copy
of which was passed to the BBC, who
used it on a programme introduced
by Winston Churchill (jnr). Calling
themselves ‘The Master Singers’, the
group were signed by Parlophone
Records and The Highway Code went
on to reach no 22 in the charts. The
singers were even on standby for Top of
the Pops on one occasion.
John joined the staff at Glasgow
Academy as Head of the Physics
Department in January 1965, just as
The Master Singers were becoming
well-known. Unsurprisingly, The
Madrigal Group at The Academy
enjoyed much success under his
leadership and he was involved in many
stage productions – as writer, producer,
actor or technical adviser, sometimes in
one capacity at a time and sometimes in
all at once.
The Master
Singers continued
to perform live
and on television,
as well as record
– amongst
others – Shipping
Forecast,
Anglican Chant and Weather Forecast.
They did the backing of Peter Sellers’
version of ‘A Hard Day’s Night’, Cliff
Richard invited them to back an album
of Christmas carols and they performed
‘The Highway Code’ on the Ken Dodd
Show live on BBC TV. However, a
combination of distances apart and
over-exposure are said to be the reason
for enthusiasm for The Master Singers
beginning to fade.
John left Glasgow Academy at the end
of the autumn term in 1980 to become
Head of Physics at St Edmund’s School,
Canterbury. He continued to live in
Canterbury on his retirement and,
until fairly recently, continued to sing
regularly in the choir of St Stephen’s
Church and in a Barber shop group. He
was reasonably well and out and about
walking up to a few weeks before his
death and, we are told, retained the wry
sense of humour which helped to create
‘The Highway Code’ and other Master
Singers classics.
Sonya McDiarmid (Academy staff)
Very peacefully at her home on Monday
11 November 2013. Dearly beloved wife
of the late Neil (Ham) McDiarmid and
mother of Susan and Steven, grandmother
to Rory, Cameron, Angus, Alex and
Euan, dedicated bowler, imaginative
bridge player, inspirational and singular
woman of great repute and immense
fortitude.
The Very Rev Dr W J Morris
22 August 1925 – 31 October 2013
We are very
sorry to note
the passing of
Dr William
Morris, who
gave many
years of service
to Glasgow
Academy. Dr
Morris was
Minister of
Glasgow Cathedral from 1967 to 2005
and became an Honorary Governor
of The Academy in 1995. The funeral
service was held at Glasgow Cathedral on
12 November. A full tribute to Dr Morris
will appear in the next edition.
R Russell Park (1936)
11 June 1918 – 11 September 2013
Russell was brought up in Pollokshields
and Cambuslang. He was enrolled at
Glasgow Academy in 1928 and noted as
an intelligent and industrious pupil. He
won the General Knowledge Prize in
Form IV and 1st XV Colours in Form
V. His 1st XV team were undefeated and
the team photograph still hangs in the
pavilion at Anniesland.
On leaving school Russell continued
to show his prowess on the pitch,
playing for 1st Accies through 1937 to
1939. Career-wise, his artistic flair was
directing him towards an occupation in
furniture design when war got in the
way. He enlisted as a 2nd Lieutenant
in 11th HLI and later transferred to
51st Highland Reconnaissance. He saw
action in North Africa and was wounded
at El Alamein. After hospital treatment
he was posted to Palestine as Instructor
for Middle East OTC before joining 1st
Batallion London Scottish. Wounded
twice in Italy, Russell was repatriated
on tri-wound, by which time he had
risen to the rank of Captain. Post war
he followed his father into a career in
the paint industry. Later Russell got the
opportunity to redirect his talents and
was able to make use of his design skills
as a company director with Douglas
Munro & Co.
A keen angler, Russell had his triumphs
on rivers Tay and Spey, bagging several
salmon. He also greatly enjoyed trout
fishing, joining the Brother Loch
Angling Club in 1972 and later serving
as Club Secretary. He fished with Accies
and kept in touch with former Angling
Section Secretary – the late J B Elder
(1936) – for many years. They were old
friends from school and successful 1st
XV days. Russell always talked positively
of his association with The Academy
and his involvement with Accies. His
other major hobby, golf, meant he
also supported the GAC in the Queen
Elizabeth Tournament. Russell joined
Pollok in 1936, became a life member
and served as Club Captain and Hon.
Vice President.
Latterly, he had to deal with limited
mobility and stays in hospital. Russell
did, however, get his wish, dying
peacefully at home surrounded by
his family. He was predeceased by
his much-loved wife Christine, and
is survived by his son and daughter,
Alastair and Ruth, grandsons Douglas
and Scott and great-granddaughters Evie
and Lyla.
Lt. Cdr. Michael B Tattersall
(1962)
31 August 1944 – 21 September 2013
Michael Brian Tattersall (Mike), (Lt.
Cdr, RN, rtd) was a pupil at Glasgow
Academy from 1953 until 1962. During
his time at school he played rugby, was a
member of the Chess Club, the Scientific
Society and the Humanists and won
prizes in geography, maths and science, as
well as the S5 General Knowledge prize.
His involvement with the RN section of
the CCF while at Colebrooke Street led
to Mike pursuing a career in the navy.
On leaving The Academy in 1962,
he went to the Royal Naval College
at Dartmouth as a cadet officer before
attending RN Manadon Engineering
College to qualify as an aeronautical
engineer. Mike served on many ships
including HMS Bulwark, HMS Eagle,
HMS Ark Royal, as well as on shore
bases including Lossiemouth, Yeovil, and
HMS Daedalus at Lee on the Solent and
earned a total of over thirty years’ service
in the Royal Navy.
Mike was an
avid sailor and
long-term
member of
the RNSA,
competitively
racing dinghies
and keelboats
all over the
world during
his time in
the Royal
Navy. Since
his retirement from the Service, he
established a considerable reputation
racing his 10 metre sloop Electra in the
Solent, winning essentially every major
trophy in its class over the past 20 years.
Mike died peacefully after a short illness
at Queen Alexandra Hospital, Cosham,
Hampshire. He is survived – and will
be greatly missed – by his brothers
Rob, Anthony and Peter and respective
families, and all his many friends.
Mr W Eric Wilson (1952)
20 November 1933 – 29 October 2013
William Eric Wilson CBE died
peacefully at home. A well-known
Academical, Eric was born in Greenock
and attended the Academy between 1944
and 1950. He became Chief Executive
of the Federation of Agricultural
Cooperatives, Master of the Woolmans
Company and Chairman of the Farmer’s
Club. A full tribute to Eric will feature in
a future edition.
Etcetera
33
Picture Post
Macbeth 1962
Macbeth, looking very youthful, is yours
truly, minus the false beard I stuck on for the
performances in the Cargill Hall! Lady M is Neil
MacGregor, now Director of the British Museum
and a very distinguished broadcaster of course. On
his right is Chris Ormerod, as Macduff, and then
David Webster. I’m ashamed to say that many of the
other names escape me, although on my left is Jeff
Bolam as Banquo, and on the extreme right of the
photograph is Peter Gannon, who directed many of
the productions, superbly.
Hugh Ross (1962)
Dear Sir
In response to the letter in the recent Etcetera magazine from
Alistair McLean, I attach a copy of the photograph to which he
refers. I also attach a copy of the back which has the names of
those involved.
These names are not in strict order, and I am sending a list in
what I believe to be the correct order.
I hope that this brings happy memories for Alistair.
Yours faithfully
Sandy Strang (1961)
Back Row - Left to right
J Little, I Stitt, J Cowie, T Dickie, M Hannah, H Bryson, P Izat, A Steel, R Bane,
C Hendry, T Howie, K Hatrick, K Leslie
Second Row
B Shaw, B Parkes, R MacInnes, A McLean, A Hogarth, B Archibald,
G Mackenzie, G Kerr, ? Pollock, S Strang, C MacNiven, R Hogarth
Seated
J Marshall, E MacNiven, R Lightbody, Mrs Parkes, K Dunn, F Parkes,
Miss Engels, M McIlwrick, C Macallian, H Lumsden, D McColl
Front Row
D Sinclair?, P Jarvis, E Niven, G McGee, J Hunter, A Izat
Missing from photograph – J Bustin, M Keith
34
Etcetera
Dear Etcetera editor,
I apologise for taking so long
to write concerning your
article on Roydon Richards
in Etcetera 8. I was expecting
one of the Classics scholars
to contribute, and then just
forgot. However, having
rediscovered that particular
issue, I feel I ought to
comment on the school song,
in case anyone uses that page
as an authoritative reference.
Hopefully, Warren has a true
copy of the original.
Tony Hatfield’s rugby photo…
…certainly is not the 2nd team, but is
probably an under 12 ½ or 13 ½ team. I
recognise myself (bottom right) as full-back
and as well as HG, I can see Ritchie, Minto,
Fyfe, Page, McPherson, McCrossan, and
possibly Sloan and McCulley. Other faces
are familiar but the names escape me. I look
forward to someone doing better than myself.
Douglas Walker (1955)
Dear Sir
Perhaps I can help with this photo of a rugby
team composed of my contemporaries. I
think that the given date of 1954 is wrong,
as the boys look less mature than the Class
photo from summer 1953 (class photos were
every second year). I therefore would suggest
that they are Second formers or early Third
formers in 1952 or 1953.
I can name just 12 of the 18 in Henry U`ren`s
team.
Back row – Derek Guthrie, Ramsay Sloan, Derek Brown,
George Ritchie, ?, Jock Fleming, W George Wilson, ?
Middle row – Stan Symington, Gordon Page, ?, Clark
Gibson, ?, ?, McKellar
at Glasgow Golf Club; Gordon Page
became a stalwart of Accies’ Rugby in
1960s; Tom Anderson graduated with me
in Medicine in 1962 and became Professor
of Pathology in Edinburgh; Kenneth
MacCrossan became an eye surgeon and
emigrated to Canada
Perhaps someone else will come up with
names for the six blanks here.
Kind regards,
Ian S Smith (1956)
I was a chorister from 1959
to 1965, and although my
memory is far from perfect,
I am sure that the second last
line of the first verse which
I sang was ‘Sic nos solutis
CORDIBUS’ not ‘coribus’.
My Collins dictionary
suggests that cordibus is
associated with sorrow, in line
with the Rector’s translation.
I have no doubt it was a
misprint, but for anyone who,
like myself, may wish to use
that page for reference, it
deserves correction.
Best wishes,
David Cockburn (1966)
CARMEN
Qui mos erat scholaribus
Dear Malcolm
Olim, nunc usurpamus;
Thank you for your continued production
of the excellent Etcetera.
Vetustis conditoribus
Tony Hatfield (1954) asked for any
information on the rugby photo on p27 of
the summer edition. My memory for faces
is slightly better than names, so I apologise
if I am not 100% correct on those that I
think I recognise.
Musas est salutare
Back row – D Guthrie, R Sloan, ? , G Ritchie, H
U’ren, ? , J Fleming, G Wilson, E Connal
Hic velut in cunabulis
Cantus grates agamus;
Scholae fidem iuvare:
Sic nos solutis cordibus
Libenter concinamus.
Vitae fides colenda;
Front row – Tom J Anderson, Kenneth I MacCrossan, ?
Middle row – second from left – G Page , otherwise
not known.
For information
Front row – T Anderson, K McCrossan, A Hill
Remissae persequenda;
Of those I have named, the one I am least
confident about is myself, in the front
row. My wife thinks it is me, so who am I
to argue with such authority!
Aetate post adulta
Arthur Hill (1956)
Semper fides prodenda.
George Ritchie ran Trerons until it closed
and then ran St Enoch Centre: W George
Wilson became Assistant Secretary at the
Royal & Ancient; Jock Fleming (now in
Canada) was Club Campion more than once
Mox pubi retinaculis
Fides erit reculta;
In factis, in vocabulis
Etcetera
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&
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b y
C L I V E
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