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The Old Mancunian September 2013 EDITION 42 Keeping old boys in touch with MGS throughout the world A Welcome from Dr Martin Boulton Planning for 2015 Old Mancunian News and Letters Forthcoming Events

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Edition 42 - Published September 2013. The Old Mancunian.

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Page 1: Tom edition 42

The Old M

ancunianSep

temb

er 20

13 E

DIT

ION

42

Keeping old boys in touch with MGS throughout the world

• A Welcome from Dr Martin Boulton

• Planning for 2015

• Old Mancunian News and Letters

• Forthcoming Events

Page 2: Tom edition 42

Planning for 2015 Chairman’s reportOn behalf of the OMA I would like to welcome Dr Martin Boulton back to the School as he takes up the reins as its 43rd High Master.

We are very pleased to see an OM at the helm as we approach our 500th anniversary in 2015. Dr Boulton will of course be joining us at many of our national and regional events in the coming months and we look forward to getting to know him.

I am also delighted to welcome the 2013 leavers to the Old Mancunians’ Association. The OMA aims to support all OMs once they have left School. Please do come and join us at the regular pub events held in Manchester and London and log on to

www.mgsglobal.org to ensure that you keep up to date with the latest news from the School.

David Walton 67-74 & Chairman of the OMA

2015, the School’s 500th anniversary, is rapidly approaching. It has already been decided that the celebratory year will straddle two academic years, running from January to December and we are now able to share some of our initial plans with the Old Mancunian Community.

One of the main Old Mancunian events

will be the Old Boys’ Dinner which will

take place on the evening of Saturday 21

November at The Point, Lancashire County

Cricket Ground. It is hoped that this will be

the largest ever gathering of Old Mancunians

with the capacity for dinner being 1000

guests. There will also be the traditional

London dinner earlier in the year.

There are three main musical events during

the year. The biennial London concert will

be held once again at the Royal Overseas

League on Friday 13 March, with the Easter

Concert being held at a venue in Manchester.

A group of donors have commissioned

a piece of music to commemorate the

anniversary. The work, composed by Tarik

O’Regan, will be performed by the Hallé

Orchestra at the Bridgewater Hall during

November 2015, although the final date

has yet to be set.

The annual Hugh Oldham commemorative

service at Exeter Cathedral will take place on

Sunday 12 July. There are embryonic plans

to have a group of pupils trekking from the

School, via the Welsh borders, to join the

Exeter service.

The Founders’ Day service will take place as

usual at Manchester Cathedral on Friday 16

October. There will be more than one service

on this day so that we can accommodate all

of our pupils as well as Old Mancunians and

friends of the School.

A new history book, MGS: A History at 500 is

now available for pre-order. Please see the

form enclosed with this edition of TOM or

contact the Development Office for more

details. A small range of commemorative

souvenirs will also be available from early

2014, with more details being published

in the spring.

Finally, plans for

a Royal Visit are

at a very early

stage. Further

details about

this event will

follow via www.

mgsglobal.org

Page 3: Tom edition 42

2 3

Top bottom: From L to R John Schofield 57-64; John Leech 59-64; Robert Shields 56-64; Richard Hargreaves 57-64 and Mike Walker 57-64

Bottom left: Pre-dinner drinks in the Memorial Hall

1980s & 90s Double Decade ReunionFollowing on from the great success of recent reunions we have now begun to make plans for next year’s event which is for Old Mancunians who joined the school in the 1980s and 1990s. This will take place at school on Saturday 10 May 2014.

The committee will begin to get in touch with you early in 2014 so, should you be interested in joining us, please make sure your contact details are up to date with the Development Office and rally your old class mates to do the same.

To do this or for further information on the event please contact Jane Graham on 0161 224 7201 ext 243 or [email protected]

Saturday 18 May 2013

1950s Reunion Dinner

There was a splendid response to the call to boys who had entered the School during the 1950s to attend a reunion event in May 2013. The writer was particularly pleased to meet up with 4 long-lost colleagues from the 14 in his science-maths sixth-form of 1961-3. We were treated to fascinating tours of the old and new facilities, expertly guided by current pupils. Pre-dinner drinks in the Memorial Hall were accompanied by photos and videos that stimulated nostalgia, excitement and a great deal of animated conversation.

After a thoughtful ‘Prologue’ (which was not a

traditional Grace) from Roger Fletcher, we

were welcomed by Maurice Watkins, one

of our cohort and current Chairman of the

Governors. The main address, a toast to the

Staff, Past and Present, was given by Geoffrey

Tattersall and this was followed by a response

from the High Master, Dr Christopher Ray.

We all wished Dr Ray and his wife bon voyage

and good luck as they were about to leave

MGS to meet fresh challenges in Abu Dhabi.

Musical entertainment was provided by

a wonderful close-harmony quartet of

boys led by Rees Webster. The School’s

fine catering department produced a most

excellent meal – probably the item that

demonstrated the starkest contrast to its

equivalent of 50 years ago!

Robert Shields 56-64

OLD BOYS’ DINNERThe dinner this year will be held at school on Saturday 23 November.We welcome Dr Martin Stephen (HM 94 – 04) as the Senior Steward and Steven Whitehead (91 - 98) as Junior Steward. Steven is a former School Captain and is Commercial Director at The Hut Group.For further details contact Jane Graham.

Page 4: Tom edition 42

From the Director of DevelopmentHelen Jones has become the new Head of Careers Education at the School.

Having joined the School in 2007 to head up the introduction of Economics at MGS, Helen will now lead our careers programme in the coming years. If you would like to support the boys at the School as they consider their options in the world of work please do contact Helen at [email protected]

We are looking for OMs to speak, and take Q & A from our boys, about their field of work during lunchtimes at the School, as well as people to act as mentors and to offer work experience placements.

We have a growing number of boys looking for engineering type placements and help in this area would be much appreciated.

A recent highlight was a talk from Jim Howling 81-88, CFO UK Operations at Astra Zeneca. Jim gave an overview of the pharmaceutical industry, outlined the differing career paths at AstraZeneca and explained the rationale behind the industry changes taking place at Alderley Park.

Professor Alan Colman 60-67, Research Director in the A*STAR Institute of Medical Biology and also Executive Director of the Singapore Stem Cell Consortium, inspired the boys with his presentation about the legacy of Dolly the Sheep.

Top right: Postcard from Keir Hardie, 1906

Below: Original foundation deeds, 1515

School Captain Sam Calmonson‘Professor Colman packed out the theatre - the lecture sparked debate that continued in Biology and Philosophy lessons for weeks!’

Manchester Archives Material

November 2012 saw the return to the school of c. 50 boxes of archive material which had been held by Manchester Archives since the 1980s.

With the resources to care for these records in-house, we

decided to withdraw the records permanently and reunite

them with the archive already in situ at school. Most of the

early documentation is legal in nature with the many deeds

giving a sense of the extent of the land owned

by the school around Long Millgate. We now

hold the original foundation deeds from 1515.

The archive has also acquired a run of school

admissions registers from 1730 – 1837,

complementing the series we originally held

from 1862 onwards. One of the most interesting

additions is a card from Keir Hardie to George

Benson following a mock election held in 1906

where Benson stood as a Socialist candidate.

Hardie writes: ‘Bravo! 38 votes for Socialism is a

very good record. And each year the number

will increase.’ With the collections under one

roof, we will be able to help a greater number

of researchers and enquirers, and the ‘new’

records have already been used by Nigel

Watson in writing ‘MGS: A History at 500’.

Rachel Kneale

Please contact

Rachel Kneale for

further information.

0161 224 7201

ext 361 or

[email protected]

Page 5: Tom edition 42

4 5

Christian’s a World Winner

Christian Owen in the Lower School is celebrating after being crowned the UK winner in a global literacy event, arranged by UNICEF, Spellodrome and the World Education Games.

He battled through five rounds of spelling

and was ranked 18th in the world and the

only pupil in the UK to reach the top 20.

A Golden First for Femi and MGS

Sixth Former Femi Nylander has become the first ever Manchester Grammar School pupil to gain the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) Gold award for acting.

Femi not only passed the challenging

grade eight examination, but he also

gained a distinction – something no

other MGS student has ever achieved.

Kai Sails Home Victorious

Kai Wolgram from the Junior School is celebrating after winning his first ever sailing trophy, one of the youngest boys in his category to scoop the award.

He picked up the award at the Optimist

National Inland Championships held at

Grafham Water, battling it out against

250 other sailors and going on to win

the 9-11 year old category.

Accenture Appoint Gap Year Students

Sixth Formers John Pyrah and Ali Qasim have earned places on a prestigious gap year programme with global management consultancy Accenture.

John and Ali will defer their university

places for a year in order to relocate

to London in September, where they

will each take up a placement in

Accenture’s Consulting Group.

Record offers from World’s Leading Universities

Offers this year include 28 from Oxford and Cambridge, 13 from Imperial, 34 from UCL, 15 from King’s College, London and 10 from LSE.

The number of students applying to international universities increased hugely this year with seven boys receiving offers from American universities, including Princeton and Stanford, along with a further offer from McGill in Canada.

The School TodayFor more stories like these visit mgs.org

Page 6: Tom edition 42

From the High Master

Returning to MGS

It is nearly thirty years since I walked down the drive for my first day at MGS and whilst much has changed in the intervening years one thing that has not is MGS’s reputation as one of the leading schools in the United Kingdom. One has only to look at the catchment area of MGS, with boys travelling from as far away as Sheffield, to realise that in the minds of its pupils and their parents this is still somewhere very special.

What made MGS special for me as a pupil was the chance

to be educated with some of the brightest young men in

the North West by highly qualified teachers with an unbridled

passion for their

subject; this mix

allowed lessons

to progress into

areas generally

reserved only for

those studying for

degrees and even

then only at the

best universities.

I can clearly remember being told in my first Physics

lesson that we would not be following the syllabus; that

was something for us to do in our own time; the aim

of these lessons would be to educate us in the more

challenging aspects of the subject.

Unsurprisingly to me and I suspect to all of those who

received their education at MGS the results were remarkable.

A form of fourteen – fourteen A grades; of that form eleven

headed off to Cambridge at the end of their final year, a total

that most Schools would be boasting about today.

In the time that has passed since I left MGS there has been

much change in the education sector. A-level examinations

have moved away from terminal exams to modular courses,

with exams taken at four distinct points in the year, although

this is about to change again, yes you guessed it, back to

terminal exams. The introduction of League Tables has done

much to focus schools on their academic results although this

focus is often narrowly targeted on the measures that are used

to formulate the rankings. One would expect that all of this

would have been to the detriment of what happens outside of

the classroom, but this has not been the case at MGS, where

sport and the expeditions programme are stronger than ever.

My place at the School was made possible through the

Assisted Places Scheme; and whilst this was abolished soon

after I left MGS, the foresight of the Governors and the MGS

Trust has ensured that access to the School is still very much

based on merit and not ability to pay the fees. We are however

still some way from being needs-blind despite the fact that

we offer two hundred and forty bursaries. I hope that with

‘My PLACE AT THE SCHOOL WAS MADE POSSIBLE THROUGH THE ASSISTED PLACES SCHEME; AND WHILST THIS WAS ABOLISHED SOON AFTER I LEFT MGS, THE FORESIGHT OF THE GOVERNORS AND THE MGS TRUST HAS ENSURED THAT ACCESS TO THE SCHOOL IS STILL VERy MUCH BASED ON MERIT AND NOT ABILITy TO PAy THE FEES.’

Dr Martin Boulton 84-86

High Master

Page 7: Tom edition 42

6 7

Bottom: Dr Boulton as a Sixth Form student, shown sixth from the left

the generosity of our alumni we will reach a point in the not

too distant future where no boy who passes our entrance

examination is turned away; the 2015 campaign that I am

sure you are all aware of is working towards this very goal.

There will no doubt be challenging times ahead, the

difficulties of a troubled economy, the challenges of frequent

educational reform driven by politics rather than pedagogy

are nothing new to a school that has been around for half

a millennium. But there will be new challenges, some of

these will no doubt come from the international stage; in the

coming years MGS will not only be competing with schools

in the UK, but as the education market becomes ever more

international pupils will increasingly be compared with those

from the Asia Pacific and the United States, particularly when

seeking places at the world’s most prestigious universities.

What is certain though is that the School is well placed to meet

the challenges ahead; the Common Room is still populated

with outstanding academics who see their role as being more

than just delivering a syllabus in the classroom, and of course

the brightest pupils in the North West are still making their way

down the drive for a truly outstanding education.

Page 8: Tom edition 42

Top right: London & South East Section Golf Day

OM SectionsLondon & South EastFaisal Islam (87-94), the

economics editor for

Channel 4, was the guest

speaker at the 2013 London

Dinner held at the Oxford &

Cambridge Club in April.

He gave a fascinating insight

into the Eurozone crisis, the

‘Madchester’ scene of the

1990s and aimed a few jibes

at Manchester City along

the way.

The Old Mancunians’ Golf

Day took place at Woking Golf

Club on Tuesday 25 June. The

event brought about a 59 year

reunion between the opening

bowlers, Tony Gibbon and

Mike Richardson, of the 1954

Manchester Grammar School

cricket team, who between

them took 64 wickets during

that side’s unbeaten season.

The winner of the ‘Owl’

trophy was Alec Elmer.

Next year’s Golf Day will take

place at Woking Golf Club

on Tuesday 24 June, teeing

off at 1:00 pm.

The next event will be

the Annual Supper at

the Cheshire Cheese from

7:30 pm on Monday 4

November. The High Master,

Dr Martin Boulton, will be

in attendance on the night.

There will also be pre-

Christmas drinks at the New

Moon Public Bar, Leadenhall

Market, on Thursday 28

November from 6:00 pm.

For further details about OM

events please contact Jane

Graham [email protected]

or contact the Chairman,

Lee Gabbie at lee.gabbie@

bracherrawlins.co.uk

Midlands SectionThe summer event took place

on Saturday 20 July at the

Avoncroft Museum of Historic

Buildings in Worcestershire.

The Development Office

helped to publicise the event

to a wider audience with

responses from a decent

number of OM’s unknown

to the Section.

The AGM and lunch

in Dorridge, Solihull on

Saturday 16 November is

our next event, with the

new High Master, Dr Boulton,

due to attend. Any Midlands

based OM who is interested

in attending, should

contact Michael Kennedy

michaelkennedy@talk21.

com , telephone

0121 605 4048 or John

Wilson on 0121 475 3700.

South West

The 47th annual

Commemoration Service

in pious memory of Hugh

Oldham took place in Exeter

Cathedral on Sunday 23 June.

After the Cathedral’s

Sung Eucharist Service we

joined the congregation for

refreshments in the Chapter

House before gathering for

the short commemoration

service at the Oldham

Chantry Chapel, led by

the Dean of Exeter.

After lunch, Dr Ray and

Michael Li spoke about the

challenges facing the School

and its pupils, and looked

back over the changes that

had been implemented over

the High Master’s nine years

in office. Tributes were paid

to John Smith, who was

standing down from the

post of Section secretary

after seven years.

Our autumn event, on

Saturday 19 October, at

Buckfastleigh, features a trip

on the South Devon Railway

and lunch at Riverford

Organics Field Kitchen.

The next Commemoration

Service will provisionally be

on Sunday 22 June 2014.

Old Mancunians are always

very welcome to join us at

these events. Please contact

Secretary, Paul Gelling,

[email protected],

01291 62695, for details.

Football SectionThe OM Football Section

enjoyed one of their most

successful seasons in their

history last year with the first

team winning the Lancashire

Amateur League Cup for

the first time in over 100

years. Preparations are well

underway for the new season

and we welcome any new

players of any standard to

come down and join us.

Training is held at MGS

on Tuesdays from 6:30 pm

and on Wednesdays from

8:00 pm at Manchester

Academy (M14 4PX).

For further details contact

dave.p.richards@btinternet.

com or oldmancs@

hotmail.co.uk

Chess SectionThe wonders of modern

technology mean that all

of you reading this can

play through all 8 games

from the recent School

versus Old Boys match

on your computer: go to

mgsglobal.org and

select Events.

Chess players are traditionally

creative not just at the board,

but in their excuses when

they lose. There is no doubt

that, had the match been

played a day later so as to

enable Saul Richman to play

for the Old Mancunians on

board 3, and had Jonathan

Mestel not worn his hat, the

School team would have

been psyched out by four

shining heads on the top half

of the Old Mancunians’ team,

and would have crashed to

defeat. Grist to the mill for

those urging me to cut my

hair short again ...

Please get back in touch if

you have played chess for

the School!

Peter Webster

[email protected]

20/30 ClubWe usually meet on the

3rd Friday of the month for

lunch at the Freemasons Hall,

Bridge Street, off Deansgate

in Manchester. We would like

to meet you, so check the

date first with Alex Wells

[email protected]

0129 881 2886 or Jane

Graham. We will make you

most welcome, and you

might meet a long-lost friend!

Remaining 2013 meetings:

20 September Speaker – Michael Goodman

18 October

Ladies Luncheon at

Stanneylands, Wilmslow

15 November Annual General Meeting

6 December

Speakers – School Captain

& Vice-Captain

Page 9: Tom edition 42

8 9

Owl drop ins

Ginger nuts and bourbon biscuits, that is what we tempt Old Boys with. In this regard the Development Office view is endorsed by David Rowland 04-11 who revisited the school in March along with former class mate Joe Blackburn and said ‘Thanks for all. Loved the chat. Enjoyed the biscuits. Great to be back.’ His words, not just on the edibles front, are echoed by all who take that particular nostalgia trip down Old Hall Lane.

Surprisingly, there were no remarks from pupils to the

effect that the visit of Tariq Drabu 76-82 and Simon Taylor

77-83 was like pulling teeth when they came to talk to boys

about pursuing a career in Dentistry. ‘Fantastic visit to the

school. Great memories. Thank you to Jane & Julie for this

opportunity’ and perhaps more importantly ‘Great lunch.’

was Simon’s view on his day.

Peter Webster 79-85 also commented positively on his dining

experience, the high standard of the artwork by current pupils

and the upcoming challenge of the chess match against the

school later in the day. For Ken Gorman 45-52 this chess

match represented his first chance to play at school as he

first didn’t start playing until sometime after he left. Andy

Trevelyan 78-84 & Chris Izod 91-98 were also involved and

Chris made the most of his return, also enjoying a tour of the

junior school and a chance to play the school organ again.

Another returning former school organist, Ray Lester 53-60,

availed himself of the knowledge of archivist, Rachel Kneale,

when he came back at the turn of the year.

We continue to welcome many Old Mancunians back to

the school and some also bring their friends and family along

to allow them to see what they missed out on. Russell Jones

43-49 brought two guests with him, Gerald Clarke and Patrick

Pope, all three are pictured here. Gerald commented

‘An excellent visit to this one of the most prestigious schools

in the UK’. Russell himself commented on what an amazing

opportunity it had been to see how MGS had changed since

his time there.

Though not essential, advanced notice of visits would be

appreciated so we have the kettle boiling and help you

make the most of your visit. Please contact Jane Graham

on 0161 224 7201 ext 243 or [email protected]

Below: From L to R Brian Taylor 45-50; Russell Jones 43.49; Gerard Clarke and Patrick Pope

Manchester night

It wasn’t all comparing tattoos and seeing who could spit the furthest when former pupils of MHSG and Old Mancunians met up for an evening in the Albert Square Chop House in March.

Indeed, both schools were well represented by current staff and former pupils and all enjoyed a well attended and convivial atmosphere in a tastefully decorated area of the Chop House.

The night proved to be a great success with around seventy Old Mancunians

with a range of ages and a similar number from the High School in attendance. It was a great opportunity to meet new and old faces alike and enjoy the chance to share ideas and to network with others in different spheres of Manchester business.

There will be a ‘next time’ as a further event is planned for Thursday 3 October at the same venue. Please watch out for further news or contact Simon Jones [email protected] or myself John Whitfield 76-83 [email protected]

Page 10: Tom edition 42

OM Letters

Ian Thorpe writes:

Martin Allinson (44-46

in the Prep. Dept and

46-52 in the Main School)

emailed from his home

in Thailand to suggest

an initiative for our

Quincentenary in 2015.

‘On the school badge,

situated just beneath

the owl, it would

be better to have

something like Gain

the wisdom to dare

or Be wise: dare.

As a lad, Sapere Aude or Dare to be wise never inspired

me – in fact it seemed plain daft. It didn’t take courage to

get information, put it together in a world view, and be wise.

Also, what was the point of becoming wise, unless you

did something with the wisdom? And by the middle of the

20th century we had left Victorian pretensions well behind

– so why still a motto in Latin?’

Martin (and I) would welcome OMs’ views about the school

motto. Should we keep it, change it or abandon it?

Ian Thorpe 62-69

Development Adviser & current editor of the OM Letters page

The Question of the Apostrophe

Adrian Dobson 62-70 and Teacher of German since 1980

writes: Recently I received a memo encouraging us to

check our reports for mistakes in spelling and punctuation.

Whilst I generally value such helpful advice, one example of

supposedly exemplary punctuation simply looked wrong:

Owls’ Nest.

Having attended MGS as a pupil during the 1960s, I had

become accustomed to seeing the apostrophe placed slightly

earlier: Owl’s Nest, implying that the rather dingy hut I can

recall at Higher Disley, was the Nest of the Owl, that bird

which somehow symbolises the school.

But no, I was firmly told, the Owls are the pupils of MGS, and

the Owls’ Nest in its renovated state is a fine wooden chalet

providing them with comfortable accommodation on the

edge of the Peak District. Furthermore, I was assured, early

Ululas would indeed confirm that the apostrophe is in the

right place at the end of the word Owl.

On investigation, I established, somewhat to my surprise,

that the first mention of the camp at Disley in 1921 indeed

described the hut as The Owls’ Nest. Subsequent reports in

the 1920s and photos of the building taken in 1939 were

captioned in the same way.

The first instance of the Owl’s Nest with the earlier apostrophe

comes in 1941 with the sentence: ‘The Owl’s Nest at Disley

was completely demolished by a bomb’. I should add that the

hut was almost certainly not being targeted by the Luftwaffe,

and that in any case nobody was inside at the time.

The hut had apparently been a Sergeants’ Mess during the First

World War, and had been transported to the site after hostilities

had ceased. Early photos suggest that renovation was needed,

though it is unlikely that total demolition was required.

The first references in 1949 to the newly rebuilt hut call it

‘Owl’s Nest’, and this new label then stubbornly persists for

several decades, leading one to assume that we might be

talking about two wholly different buildings, as indeed we are.

The fact that the new Owl’s Nest looked remarkably like the

older Owls’ Nest from both inside and outside is completely

misleading. The legacy of the bomb was that the apostrophe

moved. Apart from a few craters in the field, the shifted

apostrophe is now all that remains of this catastrophic event.

That seemed to be the end of the story, until I recently spotted

a couple of pages of photos from a family album being

auctioned on eBay, and dated April 1922. The images looked

familiar: the rickety hut with Black Hill in the background, the

kitchen with dixies perched precariously on a cast-iron range,

the solitary boy leaning on a table-tennis table. The caption

perhaps predictably read: ‘Owl’s Nest’. The good news is that

these images have now been acquired for the school archive,

whilst the moral of the tale is that in 1922 there was probably

no more clarity about the use of the apostrophe in Owl’s Nest

than there is today. It may indeed have been far less important

to MGS staff and boys in those days than the art of making

‘stodge’, twenty mile tramps and the opportunity to escape

from the unclean air of the city.

Page 11: Tom edition 42

10 11

Geoff Colton 42-49 writes:

Barry Posner’s letter in Edition 40 reminded me of my time

in II Alpha almost ten years later, when I also got to know

Mr Simkins. The things I remember were that when we

entered the classroom in the morning the blackboard would

be covered with minute, elegant, Greek script, presumably

prepared for Classical VI. If Mr Simkins travelled to school at

the same time as the pupils, he must have stayed very late

to prepare it. My own brief encounter with Greek was with

Mr R T Moore, I think.

‘Simmie’ sometimes used to organise a Latin grammar quiz

with us queuing in a line round the room, and moving up the

line if we got the answer right, and down if we got it wrong.

A boy who offered the non-existent ‘censitum’ as a past

participle was subjected to a laboured school masterly joke

accusing him of culpable familiarity with ‘Kensitas’ cigarettes

(do we remember them?). He would also read to us on a Friday

afternoon from a collection of humorous American stories.

The Biographical Register does not give any information about

his family background. As I remember him he spoke with a

slight German accent, he always said ‘tausend’ rather than

‘thousand’, and once said that in World War I he had more

relatives on the other side than on ours.

I remember ‘Simmie’ with affection; he took some trouble

to make education enjoyable for all of us.

Do you remember the School Song?

The annual rendition of ‘When August Suns are Shining’ never

fails to amuse OMs gathered at the Old Boys’ Dinner each year.

It would appear that there are few in the room that know the

melody or words. Indeed many newcomers at the event are

totally unaware that they attended a school which had an

official song. The fact that my father can’t remember the old

tune makes me believe that only OMs in their 70s have

memories of singing ‘Hurrah for the Brave Old Owl’!

Dr Thompson, the Academic Deputy Head, has recently

adapted the lyrics and our Director of Music, Robert Carey,

has rearranged the music. The 2013 version was performed

for the first time at Speech Day at the Bridgewater Hall in early

July. The new lyrics will be published in the next edition for

you all to learn in preparation for 2015!

Simon Jones 88-95

Teacher of Geography from 2004, Director of Development

from 2010.

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

Derek N Andrew 44-51

Ara L Arschavir 29-34

Geoffrey S Bailey 40-42

Alan T Baker 45-51

Edmund W R Beckett 35-39

Ian E P Bethune 48-52

Ernest Bourne 53-58

Richard I Brotherton 32-36

George W Buckley 41-47

Martin C Butterworth 65-72

Neal H Butterworth 69-76

Denys W Chapman 30-37John D Cooper 49-54John M Dawson 44-52Peter Dawson 39-47Robert B Deacon 32-38Arthur L Egmore 44-50Robert D Faulkner 36-41Peter W Goldstone 37-42Harry P Guiton 23-29David A Henstock 53-60John C Hillmer 43-48Roy F Holland 34-41Richard Isherwood 54-61Ivor J B Jenkins 31-34Derek B Jepson 39-44Eric Kime 30-35Peter Kirman 45-50

Frederick A Leather 36-40Peter G Medcalf 33-37Peter A A Pepper 40-43Neville Platt 49-55Maurice B Priestley 44-51Albert S Ridge 37-41Michael H Sheard 40-45Peter S Sheard 63-70Geoffrey R Stone 29-36Christopher A Thompson 60-67Ian C Thornton 44-51Peter D Vincent 46-49Bernard L Williams 36-42John Wright 44-48

StaffGeorge Cooke 47-51Robert I Mackay 82-00

Page 12: Tom edition 42

Get in touch ...

Correspondence to

Julie Wright at MGS,

Old Hall Lane, Manchester,

M13 0XT or 0161 224 7201.

Top: Julie Wright,

[email protected]

Tel ext 241

Left: Jane Graham,

[email protected]

Tel ext 243

Right: Laura Rooney,

[email protected]

Tel ext 571

A full list of contact

details for the OMA and

Sections can be found at

mgsglobal.org

The Director of Development

Simon Jones 88-95 Teacher of Geography from 2004, Director of Development from 2010. 0161 224 7201 ext 240 or [email protected]

EventsFounders’ Day Service. Friday 14 February at Manchester Cathedral, 11:00 am.

Philip Wade Memorial: Old Mancunians Rugby Match and Dinner. Friday 4 April at MGS. For details contact [email protected]

Stuart Dale Memorial: Old Mancunian Football Match. Friday 2 May at MGS. For details contact [email protected]

Music events

14 November Senior Recital Class. Memorial Hall, 6:30 pm.

10 December Junior School Christmas Concert. Memorial Hall, 6:00 pm.

12 December School Carol Service. Holy Trinity, Platt Church, Platt Lane, Manchester, M14 5NF, 7:00 pm.

16 December Christmas Concert. Memorial Hall, 6:30 pm.

9 February Britten’s War Requiem Performance for CLIC Sargent. Memorial Hall, 7:30 pm.

18 March Junior School Concert. Memorial Hall, 6:00 pm.

2 April Easter Concert. Memorial Hall, 6:30 pm.

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

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

Drama events9, 10, 11 & 12 October Sweeney Todd. The Demon Barber of Fleet Street by Stephen Sondheim, 7:00 pm.

4 & 5 December Junior School production tbc.

12 & 13 December Beta. A magic show performed by Ryan Harris and James Pollard, 7:00 pm.

16, 17 & 18 January Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, by Tom Stoppard. Drama Studio, 7:00 pm.

5 & 6 February Junior School year 3 & 4 production tbc.

27, 28 & 29 March Senior School Show tbc.

9, 10, 11, 12 and 16, 19 June year 8 Shakespeare Festival. Drama Studio, 6:00 pm.

17 & 18 June Junior School leavers production, 6:00 pm.

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

NoteworthyOld Mancunian Ties

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

Please contact Julie Wright.

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

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

OM publicationEmeritus Professor Brian Palmer, 43-50, has produced an unexpected publication – not an article for a learned journal, but a book of funnies about football referees! Football Referees? you must be joking!

Stop PressOld Boys’ Dinner, Saturday 23 November

This will be the first Old Boys’ Dinner to be attended by the new High Master, Dr Martin Boulton.