THE BIANNUAL NEWSLETTER OF THE ASTON EDWARDIAN ASSOCIATION
Edition No. 11 {3rd series} June 2014
Maurice Felton, President

Editorial ........................................................................................ 3
Notice of AGM ............................................................................ 4
Association accounts ................................................................... 5
From the Chairman ....................................................................... 7
From the Headmaster ................................................................... 8
Sweet Voices Silent Now ............................................................ 10
Presidential Pantheon ................................................................... 13
Our man in Brazil ........................................................................ 14
For Sale ........................................................................................ 15
An Astonian at Aberdeen ............................................................ 16
Congratulations ........................................................................... 17
Squash and Racketball .................................................................. 18
Dates for Your Diary .................................................................... 18
AOE Rugby Club 1889-2014 ....................................................... 19
Aston Anecdotes 2 ....................................................................... 21
Letter to the Editor ...................................................................... 21
Rugby ........................................................................................... 22
The Class of 2014 ......................................................................... 26
Membership Matters ..................................................................... 27
Editorial Matters ........................................................................... 27
AEA Directory ............................................................................. 28
Photo credits
Cover: by kind permission of Dave Chater
Page 22, 23 & 24: Nikki James, John Walker
All other photographs: Unattributed
2

This year sees three anniversaries of interest to our readers: the 125 th season of the Rugby Club; the centenary of the Great War; and the
Golden Jubilee of what eventually has become the Association.
In our previous edition, we were reminded by the Chairman of the business model to which the last named is asked to adhere by the
Memorial Ground Trustees. It is no surprise that what was good for
1927 is less so today. The oft-quoted phrase ‘fit for purpose’, so beloved of politicians for their own short-term self-serving ends, springs to mind. Though we can only be concerned with the
Association’s responsibilities, it should be pointed out that they derive from a Trust Deed that is even older. It might well be time to call ‘No side’ for both. The question then becomes ‘What next?’
Gradual change is often imperceptible and consequently difficult to manage. The academics tell us to look for it in four areas: social, technological, economic and political - what they call the
‘STEP’ or, depending on their disposition, the ‘PEST’ model. The
Association is hardly affected by technological or political change, but the economic consequences of social change are a different matter. It is no longer realistic to seek to maintain the Memorial
Ground from dwindling profits generated by the Club House.
On page 4 members will find the formal notice of the
Association’s Annual General Meeting. By including it here, for a fourth time, we seek to avoid the significant postage costs of a separate mailing. The accounts are included for the same reason.
This is supposed to be the last edition of ‘The Astonian’ produced by the current Editor. As we go to press no successor has come forward. In case that happens before the next edition, it is time to say ‘Farewell’ (which is a contraction of ‘Fare thee well’) and
‘Thank you’ to all those who have filed their copy on time: it has made what is an enjoyable job so much easier. Saying ‘Goodbye’ now means that, when the time comes, departure via the back door without further comment is possible - and always desirable!
3

Notice is given that the 4th Annual General Meeting of the Aston
Edwardian Association Ltd. will be held at the Clubhouse,
Sunnybank Avenue on Wednesday 25 th June 2014 at 8.00pm.
The business of the meeting shall be as follows:
1. Election of President.
2. To approve the minutes of the 3rd AGM held on 26th June
2013.
3. To receive from the Board a report of the activities and finances of the Club since its last AGM.
4. To receive and approve the accounts of the company for the year to 31 August 2013.
5. Election of Chairman, Treasurer, Secretary and other Elected
Directors in accordance with the company articles.
6. To approve rates of subscription for the forthcoming year
7. To transact such other business as may be brought before it in accordance with the articles of the company.
A Voting Member of the Company may appoint a proxy to attend and vote on his or her behalf at the meeting by means of a form of proxy notice in the required format delivered to the Company prior to the commencement of the meeting. Anyone wishing to appoint a proxy should please contact the Secretary by email at secretary@astonedwardians.co.uk
or by phone on 07771 710984.
The Secretary will assist in ensuring that the due formalities are observed. In accordance with article 42.1 a person remains entitled to attend, speak or vote at the meeting notwithstanding the delivery of a valid proxy. A person may also revoke a duly delivered proxy by notice in writing given to the Company.
Gary Smith, Honorary Secretary, 12 May 2014
4

Trading and Profit and Loss Account for the Year Ended 31 August 2013
Sales (Bar)
Cost of Sales
Purchases of Beers etc
Bar Gases Glasees &
Optics
GROSS PROFIT
Other income
Subscriptions
Sports Playing Fees
Hire of Ground/courts
Totes and Raffles -RFC
Social Functions Profit
(Loss)
Donations/Sponsorship
Squash Electric Meters etc
Bank Interest Received
RFC Youth Snack &
Refreshments
Establishment costs
Rates & Insurance
Heat, Light and Water
Repairs & Maintenance
Administrative expenses
Wages
Taxis & Fuel
31/08/2012
£
44827
209
12667
10603
19199
2101
2341
13798
2136
587
702
4426
9160
10718
30815
180
1580
509
668
Hire of equipment
Telephone
Post and stationery
Cleaning & Laundry
Sundry Expenses
Stocktaker fees
Accountancy
Licences
Membership Promotion
Under/(Over) bankings
Consultants fees
Carried forward
2536
205
720
2675
528
824
1
150
£
89848
45036
44812
-49.9%
64134
108946
24304
84642
41391
43251
31/08/2013
£
39487
322
13092
9516
15878
1149
-46
9714
1866
582
371
4450
9705
7767
30771
257
2729
695
350
1973
238
720
2795
1091
721
400
£
82872
39809
43063
-52.0%
52122
95185
21922
73263
42740
30523
5

Trading and Profit and Loss Account for the Year Ended 31 August 2013 (Cont.)
Brought forward
Sports expenses
31/08/2012
£ £
43251
31/08/2013
£ £
30523
Ground Upkeep
Sports Kit, Equipment, Ins, Fees
Changing Rooms & Refreshments
RFC Travelling costs
RFC Merchandise Loss (Profit)
RFC Development /Course
RFC Youth Tour Loss
RFC Youth Coaches T shirts
Finance costs
Bank charges
Depreciation
Buildings & Equipment
NET PROFIT/LOSS
7433
14230
3251
1248
1102
2535
29799
13452
915
12537
9631
2906
3006
11937
3503
296
-322
607
582
120
19729
10794
874
9920
8550
1370
Balance Sheet 31 st August 2013
1/08/2013
£ £
42717
FIXED ASSETS
Buildings & Equipment
CURRENT ASSETS
Stock Bar/Merchandise
Debtors & Prepayments
Bank Deposit Accounts
Bank Accounts
Cash in hand
CURRENT LIABILITIES
Creditors and Accruals
NET ASSETS
FINANCED BY
LONG TERM LIABILITIES
Repairs Equalisation Reserve
Development Reserve
FUNDS
Capital account
Current account
4387
3104
61964
36807
1447
107709
22125
22125
6000
5060
85584
128301
11060
37056
80185
31/08/2012
£ £
52768
3080
8894
58847
25925
1495
98241
21339
21339
6000
5060
76902
129670
11060
37056
81554
128301 129670
6

I mentioned in the last edition that the
Association is for all former pupils whether of a sporty persuasion or not!! To reinforce this, an invitation has been sent to all Leavers from the last three years to get together for an end of summer BBQ at The Memorial Ground on the evening of Friday 29 th August. That invitation is extended to you and your family. You might want to use the opportunity to arrange an informal Year Group Reunion - up to you! The Association will provide a welcome drink and an item from the BBQ to each Old Boy
- Free!
It would help with the catering were you to let us know if you’re planning to attend - please drop us an email to membership@astonedwardians.co.uk
The cost of maintaining the Memorial Ground continues to escalate, so please think of using your Club for family or work events. Other than on Saturday afternoon during the Rugby season, the Clubhouse is available daytime or evening every day of the week.
Catering can be provided or you’re free to organise this yourself. If you have an event in mind, call me (Brendan) on 07887 610152 to see if we can help make it a success.
Finally, I must make mention of the upcoming 125 th
Anniversary of our Rugby Club. The Club has had a tough couple of seasons but approaches its 125 th year with renewed vigour and a desire to get in touch with as many former players as possible. If you are part of the 125 year history make certain our records reflect the fact by sending an email to membership@astonedwardians.co.uk
, with a note of the years and teams you played in.
Brendan Mulligan
7

The ever changing educational landscape
We live in interesting educational times and, while we may be at best sceptical of many of the educational reforms promoted by the Coalition
Government, no one could accuse them of inactivity. Indeed the main charge against Michael Gove is that he is trying to push through too much change too quickly, fitting his reform agenda to the election cycle which does not always work for a school context.
As all schools are having to do, Aston is attempting to adapt these changes to our context and while some of them present no real issues others are more problematic. The proposed changes to the curriculum apply to all year groups, with GCSE and A-Level syllabuses being completely re-written together and the return to a two year linear assessment regime, much as we had in the past. In itself this should not pose too many issues for Aston students but the fact that not all of the changes will be introduced for all subjects at the same time is far from ideal and for GCSE this will mean that on their certificates students will have two different grading systems.
For some subjects the syllabus content is being completely revised.
This would be a challenge for staff if it just applied to A-Level, but for some subjects the same is also happening at GCSE. The removal of A/S Levels in their current form also means that providing predicted A-Level grades for university applications will be more difficult in the future.
How we inspect schools is also being called into question, with particular criticism made of the current Ofsted inspection framework.
As a publicly funded body all schools should be inspected but we seem unable to get the balance right between accountability and
8

support. A twenty-four hour notice period is unrealistic, and trying to devise an approach that can be used for all twenty-five thousand state schools is no easy task. As a nation with a long established education system it seems odd that we cannot reach a consensus on how to inspect and judge what is happening in our schools.
The third key issue surrounds funding. The government has regularly stated that the austerity felt by other departments has not been extended to schools. While this may be true for the total budget it does not mean how that budget has been spent has remained the same, and it is now increasingly apparent that the amount of funding to be spent on school sixth forms is to be significantly reduced. The challenge for Aston over the coming years will be to maintain a broad curriculum for its sixth form students: a curriculum which must encompass more than simply achieving A-Level qualifications.
Finally there is the issue of social mobility. As many of you will have read in the national press, the King Edward VI Foundation has taken significant strides in recent months to ensure that its schools are accessible to all children, irrespective of their background. Aston is playing a prominent role in this, and is in the process of developing a programme of support for students from disadvantaged backgrounds that extends beyond the government’s free meal criteria.
All the above indicate the school having a serious ‘to do’ list.
However, we should not lose our sense of perspective. The school is not facing the evacuation of its students or closure as it has done in the past and is still heavily over-subscribed. In recent years politicians have tended to think that they know best in all areas of education: the skill of the Foundation and the school’s governors has been in not allowing government aims to deflect the school from its main purpose and I have no doubt that this will continue to be the case in the coming months.
C. Parker, Headmaster ( c.parker@keaston.bham.sch.uk
)
9

D T E Weatherhogg from the ‘Class of 1949’, died 13 th September
2013, as reported by the ‘Sutton News’.
M P Jackson
I first met Mike, at the age of seven, at Sir Josiah
Mason’s Orphanage in Erdington where he was a boarder and I was a day boy. From there we both went to Aston from 1945 to 1952 and remained firm friends for more than 70 years.
Mike went on to complete his National
Service in the RAF where he was commissioned as a Pilot Officer and then took up a place at Jesus
College, Cambridge where he gained a BA in
Natural Sciences with Law. After leaving university he started work with a Patent Agent in London and continued to make his career in the world of patenting. He achieved his professional qualification and eventually joined the Burroughs Wellcome Foundation where he reached a senior position and spent a great deal of time travelling the world.
He and his first wife, Jenny, had a family of two children and his later marriage to Georgina in 1982 gave him a ready made second family which was a great joy to both of them during the 31 happy years they had together, sadly ended by his sudden death from a massive heart attack at home on the evening of 26 th September 2013.
He was a very sociable and loyal person who maintained lifelong friendships with old school friends and colleagues from his time in the RAF. He enjoyed sport, playing rugby and squash in his younger days. When he retired he took up some charitable and voluntary work, spending many hours translating, into Braille, books for the blind, editing the official periodical of the Chartered Institute
10

of Patent Agents and, since their move to Somerset, he and his wife served as voluntary house guides with the National Trust.
He was a gentleman in every sense of the word: modest, good company, generous and with never an ill word for anyone, he had a rich and successful life. His is a sad loss and whilst he will be greatly missed he leaves us with many happy memories.
Colin Hadley
R A Grantham
Roy Grantham died aged 86 on 25 th October
2013. He came to Aston in 1937 and went with the school to Ashby during World War
II.
Known as ‘Grannie’ to his contemporaries, he once fell from the first floor of the East Wing onto the marble slab below, fracturing his skull. Shortly thereafter, the higher railings appeared which are there to this day.
Roy later became ‘famous’, as a Trades
Union leader, for his role in the Grunwick dispute.
D L Herdman
Dennis Herdman came to Aston in 1950 from his home in Castle Bromwich.
He left after ‘O’ levels to become an apprentice with the Rootes group. On its completion he joined the Rover Company at
Solihull where he spent the rest of his career in the Land Rover Drawing Office.
Dennis died in the summer of 2013.
11

J R Bate
John Bate was born in Birmingham in 1932 and went to the local junior school where he passed his 11 plus and went to King Edward VI
Grammar School in Aston in September 1943.
He was a tall lad for his age and consequently made a name for himself in the field of rugby where he was a useful full back and was an extremely able kicker either out of hand or in converting tries.
After his national service at the ‘War
Office’ in London he continued to represent Aston Old Edwardians in the first team for several years and his highlight was beating
Loughborough College 5-3 at the Hawthorn Road ground.
During this time I was playing for Loughborough, but on this day I represented Aston, I did not go back on the coach!
After his National Service, he joined the Post and Mail as a reporter for a few years and then joined the ‘Brookes Saddles’ company as a buyer, and later ‘Tube Investments’, which was taken over by Raleigh Industries where he stayed until he officially retired, but later worked for ‘Tucker Eyelet’ on the Walsall Road.
His pastimes were most forms of sport, but mainly Rugby football and golf at ‘Handsworth Golf Club’, which he joined in
1962. John was captain of the 2 nd team in 1969 and a member of the committee from 1969 as Chairman and Secretary of the Handicap and Competitions committee and a member of both the Greens and
House committees. He was made Vice President in 1976.
John was an unforgettable strong character who will be remembered by all who knew him.
Trevor Degge
The Association offers its sincere condolences to the families of these, our departed friends.
12

1959 F Jones
1960 L G Brandon
1961 H W Richards
1962 W J Thompson
1964 H C Rowan
1967 L G Brandon
1971 W J Thompson
1972 W Booth
1974 J T Connor
1976 R W G Harpur
1979 C W Gilbert
13
1982 R E Rodaway
1985 R S Simpson
1989 E H Collis
1991 C A Hadley
1993 D A Coles
1996 J Brown
1999 D G Chater
2002 R R Stait
2005 B D Roberts
2008 S Pinhey
2013 M C Felton
The Editor

For the first 26 years of my life I never really did anything that was
(in my view) particularly ‘out of the ordinary’. Therefore, it was a surprise to many people when I told them I would be moving to
Brazil to teach mathematics at The British School of Rio de Janeiro.
Working abroad was, however, something I always had in the back of my mind. The experience of a new culture, language and lifestyle were the main pull factors as well as taking myself out of my comfort zone. A famous and glamorous city was an added bonus!
Since arriving in January 2012, there has rarely been a dull moment in this incredible city. As I write the World Cup is exactly one month away and excitement is already at fever pitch in this football-mad country. Despite England disappointing us on so many occasions, I decided to purchase tickets for all their games and I will be, some say stupidly, following them around Brazil this summer.
The build-up to the tournament hasn’t all been positive, however.
There are fears that the anti-government protests last year, many of which became violent, will re-surface this year.
The problems leading up to the World Cup with stadium and infrastructure delays have shown another side to Brazil. The working
14

environment here couldn’t be more different from that which I experienced whilst teaching at K.E. Handsworth, where there was a sense of pride and commitment towards giving students a high standard of education.
So far I have been very lucky to have plenty of visitors, many of whom have admitted the main appeal was to visit Rio, and not necessarily to see me. All of my closest friends from the Aston ‘Class of 2003’ have visited and these occasions helped to remind me what really matters in life.
Ben Coates (1996)
‘Big School’ (Jim Perkins) Reminiscences of life at Aston in the
1950s. £6.00. £1.00 per copy to Stephen Brown Memorial Trust.
‘Salvoes from Lapworth’ (Frank Jones) Forty letters written to
AOEs serving in the armed forces during World War II. £9.00.
‘An Aston Anthology’ (Eds. Brian Roberts and Caroline Wood)
Eighty years of poetry by boys, masters, AOEs and the present generation. £5.00.
‘A Centenary Celebration’ (2 nd Edition 1998) (Brian and David
Roberts). The only history of the school. £5.00.
‘Life at Aston’ (Ian McDonnell) CD of recordings, some of them surreptitious, of a typical day at school over forty years ago. £8.00.
15

“Aberdeen! Why? Don't you like
Birmingham?”
Every time I introduce myself at university a familiar scene plays out.
First, disbelief that I am in fact a
Brummie, since I lack the apparently necessary accent, then shock at the distance I travel each semester in order to return home. This is often accompanied by statements such as “I couldn't do that” or “You must be mad”, as if somehow I must possess an unnatural force of will that allowed me to make the pilgrimage at the end of each term.
Granted, the University of Aberdeen is around 430 miles from my home, and when I travel by megabus I feel every single one of them. I've had winters cold enough to freeze bed sheets and winds harsh enough to shave with, and all within ten minutes from the seaside. I'll never again complain about the rain in Birmingham.
University life was no shock in terms of work - Aston had prepared me well there - but to say there was a cultural divide at first would be an understatement in extremis. I have yet to be called ‘Laddie’ but there's always a set of bagpipes playing on the high street.
The university itself is a beautiful set of buildings, built in 1495 with architecture rivalling (in my opinion) any of England's oldest universities. Going into the second year of my Masters in English Literature, I spend a great deal of time staring into space, and I'm very thankful the spaces here are so attractive.
Jozef Doyle (2005)
16

To Peter Christopher on his appointment as
Bailiff of the King Edward Foundation. At least the fourth Astonian to hold this office.
To Past President Alan Haynes on his achievement, in January, of the OBE. (See ‘Letter to the Editor’, page 21, for explanation).
To Jimmy and Caroline Duff on their
Diamond Wedding anniversary on April 17
Jimmy is from the ‘Class of 1934’. th .
To Terry Finn on his appointment as Head of
Sixth Form at school.
17

We are still alive and kicking but more active members are required.
The year has been of mixed fortunes with the development management of the club proving an expensive but fruitless exercise.
With the juniors not able to juggle Rugby and Squash at the same time and the Big Hit enterprise from the SRA being an expensive white elephant, our aims for the year were thwarted.
However, the 3 junior coaches themselves have joined us and I have just issued the 50 th key to the courts. Takings are improving.
KE Aston have booked Wednesday and Thursday Squash and
Racketball slots and Table Tennis is also taking off.
Our aims for the current year are, to put out a team in league competition, to get more Rugby players to come and get fit, to encourage the ladies to join in and perhaps organise some fitness aerobics.
Mike Chant and I are both CRB checked for any youngsters’ who want coaching. All equipment is provided.
Contact: Derek Coles ( tcscoles@gmail.com
)
Leavers’ Barbecue: Friday 29 th August at the Memorial Ground for
AOEs who left school in 2012, 2103 and 2014.
Commemoration Concert: Friday 7 th or Thursday 6 th November
(dependent on Villa fixtures, published in July). An evening of music, poetry and drama at the school in honour of AOEs who fell in
World War I. Details from the Headmaster.
81 st Commemoration Dinner: Saturday 8 th or Friday 7 th November
(dependent on Villa fixtures, published in July). 6.30 for 7pm at the school. Details from Colin Hadley, Andy Hart or Jim Perkins.
18

The forthcoming 2014/15 season will see AOE RFC celebrating its 125th anniversary. In order to mark this significant milestone, a small group has been planning activities over the last 12 months or so, drawing heavily on the events of the hugely successful
Centenary Season in 1989/90.
A guiding principle adopted early on was that the celebrations should be as inclusive as possible. To encourage this, Phil Turley has started the process of collating as many contact details as possible of former players, to ensure that we can communicate the plans to them. If you have any details, however minimal, of former AOEs, please contact Phil on turley383@btinternet.com
to pass them on. Please don’t assume that we already have the details: we’d rather be told multiple times than not at all.
Unfortunately, until the fixture list for 2014/15 has been published, we are unable to confirm many dates for events, but as soon as they can be, they will be added to the club website
(www.astonoldeds.com) and published in the next edition of ‘The
Astonian’. However, plans are in place for:

A celebration game for every Club side, to be played under floodlights against selected opposition teams

Pre-match lunches for former players prior to League Games, with each lunch aimed at a specific playing era

Gifts for opposition teams and Referees
19


An AOE Rugby Club dinner, most likely in March/April 2015 at either Villa Park or Penns Hall

A new 125th Anniversary AOE Tie

The publication of an updated history of the Club

The production of an engraved AOE paperweight

New playing shirts and 125 th anniversary branded merchandise

A long lasting legacy - to be decided
The Centenary Celebrations provided the club with a muchneeded boost in terms of playing numbers, membership and bar revenue, whilst at the same time providing a huge amount of enjoyment for everyone involved. We very much hope that as many former players as possible are involved in, and enjoy, the 125 th
Anniversary celebrations, so please spread the word.
Orders can now be placed for the following:
Glass Engraved Paperweight
AOE RFC History 1889-2104 -
Price Quantity Total
£10
£10
125 Years of Rugby
AOE RFC 125 th Anniversary Tie £10
P&P (if required) - please add
£3 your address
Grand Total
Please either complete the order form and post it to Glyn Brazell, 3 Bagshawe
Croft, New Oscott, Birmingham B23
5YR along with a cheque made payable to AOE RFC for the appropriate amount, or email glyn_brazell@hotmail.com
.
Glyn Brazell
20

Nightmares
Told with grim relish by veteran Maths. master, Harry Tyson: a mother came into school and complained to the Headmaster that her son was having nightmares in which he dreamt he was a balloon floating along and being chased by Harry with a popgun.
Premature detention
Bert ‘Hairy’ Hothersall entered the classroom and, as he walked past
Alan Haynes, gave him a detention. “What was that for, Sir?” protested Alan. Hothersall: “I don’t know, but by the end of the lesson you’ll have done something to deserve it”.
Adjectives
Recounted by the late Bob Simpson with characteristic bonhomie:
During an English lesson Watcyn Thomas discovered he had a group of lads who didn’t know what an adjective is. His reaction: “Stand up, Simpson”. Bob complained, “Why should I stand up, Sir - I know what an adjective is.” Watcyn could forgive Bob his insubordination because of his prowess on the Rugby field. “Never mind, Simpson, stand up”. So Bob stood up. Watcyn, turning to his benighted ignorami: “This is Simpson. Simpson is tall, lazy and stupid.
Now do you understand what an adjective is?” Tall, definitely. Lazy - weren’t we all at that age? But stupid? Our Bob? Never!
On my son’s birthday recently, I reminded him that 2015 is when we celebrate his half-century and my OBE, (Aussie version, “Over
B____y Eighty”, not the other one!).
Roy Bethell, Baulkham Hills, New South Wales, Australia (1946)
21

Playing Record
Played Won Drew Lost For Against
1 st XV 26
2 nd XV* 11
3 rd XV 19
4 th XV 8
1
4
8
2
1 24
7
11
6
271
283
357
117
1516
337
612
318
Totals
* records for period 2 nd XV captained by Max Vlahakis.
It was the season of rain and resignations. It was the Season of three
1 st XV Captains. It was the season when one Club wanted us gone, but we thought we would stick around anyway. It was the season of character and commitment.
We have taken a hammering during the season, conceding a record number of points in the 1 st XV, whilst scoring very few. There have been some dark days but over the last couple of months all teams have shown signs of improvement and Tom McNamee returned to playing after what seemed like a career threatening injury.
There have been more players appearing for the 1 st XV than last season (59) and two players (Lea Ross and
Darren Gardner) reached the milestone of 100 games for the
1 st XV. We have had to call upon veteran players such as Mankit
22

Yau, Pat Tarpey, Tony Parry and Paul Bradley, as well as blooding youngsters such as Joe Knibbs and Joe Williams.
1 st XV ties were awarded to Lewis Cooksey, Zac Loffman, Matt
Turner and Steve Roberts.
The 2 nd XV started with Darren Hamilton and later in the season
Max Vlahakis took over. Darren put all his efforts into his performance after relinquishing the captaincy and was rewarded with the accolade of 2 nd XV
Player of the Season. The 2 nd XV was not exempt from having to call upon veterans, with the combined age of the team which faced Camp
Hill being 618 years !
The captaincy of the
3 rd XV was shared between Pete Carroll for the first part of the season and George
Beard taking over for the latter part. This became the lowest team as players were moved upwards to fill positions in the top two teams. It would be true to say we survived because we have so many players and managed to run a 4 th XV for the early months of the season.
We started back in August with Brian Davies as Coach, but he handed in his notice after two months and left a void. Paul Horrocks
23

stepped into the breach until we recruited Sam Johnson, who was probably younger than most of our players at times. He has integrated well into the Club and is well respected.
At the End of Season Dinner awards were made to:
1 st XV Player of the Season: Matt Turner
2 nd XV Player of the Season: Darren Hamilton
3 rd XV player of the Season: Kris Hindley
4 th XV Player of the Season: Callum
Stafford
Young Player of the Season: Joe Williams
Most Improved Player: Sam Massey
Top Try Scorer: Cheval Taylor
Captain’s Prize: Chris Cheney
Coach’s prize: Paul Bradley
Special Award: Paul Horrocks
Clubman of the Year: George Beard
The Junior Section has its own AGM. They continue to work tremendously hard for the future of the Club and are producing some very good players. Five Colts have represented Greater Birmingham u18: Chevel Taylor, Ethan Channer, Reiss Davis, Julius Hunt and
Jerome Jaddoo. The Colts have appeared in two semi-finals and had a strong position in their League. The u15s are improving with every game and credit must go to all the Junior coaches: Adam and Harry
Baldock, Andy Coveney, Adam Irvine and Craig Williams, with Sam
Middleton Snr. overseeing their work.
Mention must be made of the Minis, with Rob Green and Harry
Vlahakis taking the lead and making sure we cater for all ages from primary to secondary school age children. The Minis provided the curtain raiser game on the last day of the season and impressed our visitors from the south side of Birmingham and Northampton.
At the Past Players’ Lunch we had around 40 former players to watch an improving 1 st XV put in an excellent effort against
Wolverhampton, who in the earlier fixture had scored twice as many
24

points. During our 125 th year we are looking to hold more lunches for
Past Players and will show even more signs of improvement.
The Club wishes to thank all our sponsors: LMC, Heads and
Threads, Advance Printwear and FP Executive Search. Thank you to all those who have worked to secure the sponsorship particularly
Andy Loffman who has worked with our main sponsors LMC.
Our groundsmen - Derek Coles, Pat Tarpey, Sam Grundy, Andy
Hart, Mike Chant and Mike Dugmore - have done remarkably well during one of the wettest seasons ever, working to keep us playing.
The pitch improvements being carried out in the close season will mean that we should again have some of the best pitches around the circuit.
Next season will be the 125 th Anniversary of the Rugby Club and there will be numerous events to celebrate the occasion, including a Dinner, special matches and pre-match lunches.
I took over as Secretary on 1 st January after answering the call and it has been a roller-coaster of 4 months dealing with League regulations regarding Match cards and honouring of fixtures; working on a Plan for the Future; racist abuse of Colts; a Committee of 3 Non-players and Captains; Past Players’ Lunch; and trying to bring the rugby club together during a difficult season. We had around 70 attend the Awards Evening so we must be doing a few things right and members are enjoying themselves.
The RFU call the roles of Committee Officers the Golden Roles e.g. Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer and in the past we have allowed a few people to take on a number of these roles. We do not have
General Committee members, but instead have new roles such as
Volunteer Co-ordinator, Events Manager, Fund Raising Officer and
Team Managers so that the Committee is comprised of members each with a specific role. We need commitment for the next twelve months and thereafter and I am confident members will step up to the challenge of moving the Club forward to properly celebrate our 125 th
Year.
John Silverwood, Honorary Secretary
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Aston’s school leavers get free first year membership of the Association, the next two editions of ’The Astonian’, notification of the next Commemoration
Dinner and an AOE tie.
Samarth Aggarwal
Mohammed Ahmed
Mukarim Ahmed
Ridhwan Ahmed
Sayed Ahmed
Sohail Ahmed
Syed-Hamza Ahmed
David Akpara
Ahwab Alam
Akram Ali
Hassan Ali
Shahzaib Aqil
Jivan Badhan
Daniel Beasley
Cameron Beavan-King
Amardeep Bhogal
Martin Blatchford
George Brindley
Conor Byrne
Jamie Calvert
Connor Carr
Jawad Chiha
Imraj Chohan
Jawwad Choudhury
Reuben Davis-Watts
Vishaal Dhokiya
Adrian Dobron
Jack Drury
Alexander Edward-Brown
Joshua Ekhuemelo
Mohamed Fetta
Huseyin Gocerili
Tom Goddard
Vinay Gupta**
Jordan Hamilton
Jordan Harris
Edward Harrison
Ravinder Hayer
Calum Healey
Jacob Heath
Lyndon Heritage
Lawrence Hillyer
David Hinton
Ocean Ho Phuong
Kieran Horton
Abeel Hussain
Ibraheem Hussain
Mohammed Idris
Qasim Iqbal
Misthaul Islam
Zillul Islam
Louis Jeffries
William Jinks
Jaideep Kallu
Mark-Adam Kellerman
Musse Khalif
Nagarjun Konda
Sandeep Korotana
Ka-Yan Ly
Sunil Mahey
Ansar Mahmood
Mohammed Mahmood
Mohammed Malik
Imran Marashli
James Mathieson
Courage Mazengwa
George McDonald
Ajmal Mohammed
Ismail Mohammed
Daniel Moore
Charles Mugglestone
Samuel Muxlow
Trung Nguyen
Pritesh Parekh
Aaron Parmar
Amit Patel
John Perkins
John Phillips
James Plant
Sameur Rahman
Adam Ramzaan
Kyle Roberts
Gareth Rowen
Connor Sabin
Kieran Sandford
Aran Sandhu
Arondeep Sandhu
Ryan Sawyers-Rogers
Kulraj Sehmar
Junaid Shah
Dilan Sharma
Connar Shrive
John Sigbeku
Calum Simmons
Thomas Skidmore
Stewart Smith
Kisan Sockalingam**
Jordan Stewart
Bahez Talabani*
Huw Talliss
Jaleel Tapper-Grey
Badian Tchoumi
Varshan Thirumalesh
Zachary Turner-Davis
Christopher Upson
Jonny Varma
Alexander Yeomans
Moiz Zafar
Adam Zaman
Joseph Zolna
* School Captain
** School Vice-Captain
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A Membership Secretary is sought. Please contact the Chairman if interested: please try to be interested.
Subscriptions become due on 1 st September 2014. Please send them ASAP thereafter to the Membership Secretary, c/o AEA Ltd.,
Memorial Ground, Sunnybank Ave., BIRMINGHAM B44 0HP.
Minutes of Board meetings are published on the Association web site via the ‘Stop Press’ page.
Copy date for the next edition: 15 th October 2014
Members who have given the Association an email address are notified of the availability of electronic versions of ‘The Astonian’ via www.jimperkins.co.uk/page409.html
. Members who have not already done so are free to opt out of this system, receiving ‘hard’ copies instead.
Editorial Office: 23 Poundley Close, BIRMINGHAM B36 9SZ
Email: jimperkins@btinternet.com
Feature writers: Jozef Doyle, Ben Coates, Glyn Brazell.
Section correspondents: Derek Coles, John Silverwood
Proof reader: Roy William Shakespeare (Eagle-eyed Old Salt., cousin of the Editor, and fine upstanding chap.)
The help of all contributors is gratefully acknowledged, as is that of
John Kibble (1939) and Colin Payne (1949) on ‘obituary watch’.
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Unless otherwise stated, officials and sections can be contacted c/o
Aston Edwardian Association Ltd., Memorial Ground, Sunnybank
Avenue, BIRMINGHAM B44 0HP (Tel.: 373 5746).
Officer/Section/Club Contact
President Maurice Felton
Chairman chairman@… Brendan Mulligan
Secretary secretary@astonedwardians.co.uk
Gary Smith
Treasurer treasurer@… Trevor Bomber
Membership Secretary membership@…. TBA
Tim Baldock AOE RFC
SQUASH Derek Coles
AOE GOLF David Roberts & Nigel Gowing
A.O.E. MASONIC LODGE (No 3857) Peter Cox (745 1968)
Mine hostess Aileen Baldock
Web sites:
AEA
AOE RFC www.astonedwardians.co.uk
www.astonoldeds.com
Printed for AEA Ltd. by Print People, 598 Kingsbury Road, Erdington,
BIRMINGHAM B24 9PJ. Tel.: 0121 350 0136
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