LIST OF CONTENTS


PRESIDENT'S INTRODUCTION

NEWS OF THE ASSOCIATION
* Officers and Committee Members
* London Reunion
* Pharos Lodge
* Archivists' Corner
* Annual General Meeting
* Old Pharosians v School 1st Xl Cricket Match

NEWS OF THE SCHOOL
* Governors' Annual Meeting
* Service of Nine Lessons and Carols
* Rewards
* Music for a Summer Evening
* Prizegivings
* Pharos Enterprises
* James A. Johnson Scholarship
* Chairman of the Governors
* Latest News from the School

NEWS OF OLD BOYS
* Obituaries
* Members still Living and Learning
* News via the Internet
* David Elleray
* Archaeological Dig



PRESIDENT'S INTRODUCTION
It is an honour to be asked to provide a message for this Newsletter. Since I gave considerable thought to my speech at the Annual Dinner, I have decided to reproduce part of it here, in the hope that it proves of interest to a wider audience. I spoke as follows:-
I want to make three points this evening. First, there are a number of people who deserve our grateful thanks. I would like to thank Maurice Smith for his usual superb organisation of this event. I would like to thank John Booth for the quiet and knowledgeable efficiency with which he has presided over our affairs during the past year. He will be a hard act to follow. Very especially I would like to thank our secretary and our treasurer. Presidents are birds of passage but Philip Harding and Ian Pascall have, metaphorically at least, grown grey in the service of the Association. They are our linch pins and we are deeply grateful to them.
The second point I want to make is about continuity and change. Neil Slater must sometimes feel as if he has to conduct the affairs of this school while wading knee-deep in ex-headmasters. Two of them, no less, are on the committee of the Old Pharosians; and no occasion of this kind is complete without some reference to the inspirational driving power of Mr. Whitehouse and the Christian benignity of Mr. Booth. Yet Neil appears to remain cheerful; appears to bear the burden of his predecessors serenely. I hope he feels that there is actually a positive value in having reminders of the school's past constantly on tap; I hope he feels that Old Pharosians, headmasters or not, provide a reminder of the past which the school would be much poorer without.
Old boys and ex-staff can be a positive pain, especially when they suggest, directly or by implication, that things are worse nowadays than they used to be; when they suggest that the school is (dread phrase) 'going down'. Such suggestions are highly suspect; you probably know the saying that nothing is more responsible for the good old days than a bad memory. But old boys and ex-staff can be useful too when, as is the case with the Old Pharosians Association, their witness is to continuity and to change. The Association is a living reminder that the present school is organically connected to its past; and also a living reminder that the school has changed greatly and must be prepared to continue doing so.
The continuity is apparent and enriching, both personal and institutional. I remember from my headship a perky lad named Graham Tutthill, whose father was chairman of the parents' association. That lad is now active in the affairs of our Association and he was until recently chairman of governors. He has two sons in the school blazing, I understand, a joint trail of glory. Neil might well fear a total Tutthill takeover were it not for the fact that the continuity of which Graham is so conspicuous an example is by no means confined to him and his family. To avoid wearying you I give only one more example. Our new chairman of governors is another Old Pharosian, and another who laid the foundations for his adult life under my care. Mr. Terry, I wish you well in the great responsibility you have undertaken, and I am glad the school's care is in the hands of someone with your long association with it.
I give a single example of institutional continuity. It is the Newsletter, which both keeps us up to date with what is going on now and perpetually reminds us of things as they used to be. We are deeply indebted to Terry Sutton and Graham Tutthill - that name again! - for their readiness to take it over from Ken Ruffell.
But the Association is a reminder of change as well as of continuity. I used to love talking to Miss Rookwood, who would tell me about the days when the school was tiny and co-educational and situated in Ladywell and on Priory Hill. Since then the school has become single-sex; it has been located on two other distinct sites - three, if you count Ebbw Vale; it has grown and dwindled and grown again; it has been fee-paying and not; it has changed its name; it has been administered by a local authority and is now funded - or, to be precise, underfunded - by a central government agency. In my day it seemed as if at least half the boys were sons of miners or customs officers; now the mines are closed and the ranks of customs officers decimated. But even these changes pale into insignificance compared with changes of ethos and approach. We might say of one stage of our history that it was characterised by caps, caning and compulsory cricket; of the present that it is characterised by computers, customer relations and the national curriculum. My day was the day of gentlemanly amateurism; nowadays the stress is on hard-nosed professionalism. Both approaches have virtues, but the only thing they have in common is a concern for the well-being of children.
All these phases of the school's history are represented either directly or indirectly through the Old Pharosians Association. We are a pledge of continuity and we are a witness to change. The memories of members and the untiring work of our archivists keep the past alive and give the school's life a dimension which it might otherwise lose. Nor do we solely represent the past. It has been said that the only thing anyone ever learns from history is that no-one ever learns anything from history. I think that view too pessimistic. We can learn from the history which this Association represents that the school can change again without being unfaithful to its past or losing touch with it; and this can give us confidence for the future.
Now to my third point, which I will preface with an extract from a book by Tobias Smollett written in 1766 and entitled Travels through France and Italy:
"Dover is commonly termed a den of thieves; and I am afraid it is not altogether without reason, it has acquired the appellation. The people are said to live by piracy in time of war; and by smuggling and fleecing strangers in time of peace: but I will do them the justice to say, they make no distinction between foreigners and natives. Without all doubt a man cannot be much worse lodged and worse treated in any part of Europe; nor will he in any other place meet with more flagrant instances of fraud, imposition and brutality. One would imagine the people of Dover had formed a general conspiracy against all those who either go to, or return from the Continent."

I have often wondered why I am so fond of Dover. It is true that I hail from the equally depraved town of Bristol, the wealth of which rests upon the terrible trinity of rum, slaves and tobacco, but a congeniality of wickedness is not at the root of my affection. When I came here in 1959, for interview, I formed two contrasting impressions very quickly, and both have remained with me to this day. I was appointed without having seen the school - those were indeed the dark ages, and, once committed, was then and only then taken up to see it. As I was driven through the town my heart sank. It seemed gloomy, shabby and impoverished. Then I was ushered into Mr. Booth's study and saw through the window that wonderful view of the castle, the cliffs and the harbour which each headmaster enjoys; and my heart lifted. Here was a place with a great history and a present significance; I wanted to be part of it.
You will have guessed which of those two impressions predominated. To be honest with you, it was Jean who absolutely insisted that we should return here for the latter part of our lives, but I was very easy to convince. And when we got back here I quickly rediscovered something that made me very happy. Dover remains a poor town with many problems; but it is also a town with a living past and an exciting present. It is also, and this is the point I want to stress, a town with many people who keep that past alive and constantly relate it to the present.
I have a friend who is active in the equivalent of the Dover Society in a small town in East Anglia. The society struggles, with a membership of about 30. Here, the Dover Society has over 400 members and a multitude of activities. When the film society put on its festival of Dover films recently the town hall was sold out night after night. We have a thriving History Society and a steady stream of local history books. We have Terry Sutton, constantly contributing historical material to the local press. We have a heritage industry which is in part commercial and also in large part a very real love affair with the past.
I see the Old Pharosians' Association against the background of this love affair with the past. It is very unusual for a state school to have as active and effective an association as this one. We must be honest, of course, and admit that only the tiniest percentage of pupils ever join us; but the percentage is large enough to give us a formidable membership. It is not so much the general membership however which makes us effective, but the hard core of dedicated people who give their services devotedly and over the long term. I was told when I came to Dover in 1960 that one of the town's great problems was that it exported its talented individuals because there was nothing to keep them here. That may appear to be an unfavourable comment upon most of the present company; but, thank heaven, the remark was only partly true. Thank heaven that talented individuals bucked the trend by staying here, or by returning here in sufficient numbers, to ensure that our society remains alive and thriving, and continues to contribute to that sense of the past which is one of our town's great virtues.

The Rev. Dr. Michael Hinton
NEWS OF THE ASSOCIATION

OFFICERS AND COMMITTEE 1996-97

PRESIDENT: Rev.Dr. Michael Hinton
212 The Gateway, Dover CT16 1LL
01304 204198

PAST PRESIDENT: J.R. Booth
641C Loose Road, Maidstone ME15 9UT
01622 746271

SECRETARY: P.J. Harding
6 Chestnut Road, Elms Vale
Dover CT17 9PY
01304 205007

ASSISTANT C.J. Henry
SECRETARY: 40 Crabble Road, River, Dover CT17 OQE
01304 823764

TREASURER: I.D. Pascall
‘Karibu’ 45A Bewsbury Cross Lane
Whitfield, Dover CT16 3EZ
01304 821187

MEMBERSHIP R. Gabriel
SECRETARY: 229 St.Richards Road, Deal CT14 9LF
01304 366110

NEWSLETTER T. Sutton
EDITORS: 17 Bewsbury Cross Lane,
Whitfield, Dover CT16 3HB
01304 820122
and
G.L. Tutthill
21 Orchard Drive, River, Dover CT17 OND
01304 822121

ARCHIVIST: P.J. Burville
Seagate, Goodwin Road
St. Margarets Bay, Dover CT15 6ED
01304 853267
COMMITTEE: M.J. Palmer (to retire 1998)
B.D. Crush (to retire 1998)
M.H. Smith (to retire 1997)
G.L. Tutthill
K. Ruffell

AUDITOR: Neil Beverton

HEADMASTER: N.A. Slater

STAFF D. Murray
REPRESENTATIVES: M.R. Grant

HEAD PREFECT: Sebastian Gough

INTERNET http://www.demon.co.uk/dgsb
ADDRESS:

E-MAIL ADDRESS: Pharos@dgsb.demon.co.uk

LONDON REUNION

The first Old Pharosians' London Reunion for four years was held in a discreet corner of a City wine bar in June 1996.

A variety of generations, but especially the 1930s and 1940s, was represented by OPs who attended, as well as former staff by Reg Payne. The school's headmaster Neil Slater kindly travelled from Dover to say a few words and to listen to reminiscences of former times. Neil was still answering questions when the staff at the premises wished to close, and to send those attending home, as far afield as Bristol and Milton Keynes.



John Booth





PHAROS LODGE

Several teachers and a group of old boys formed the Pharos Masonic Lodge in 1950. The Lodge is open to any Old Boy of the school, or past or present members of the staff.

Its meetings are held five times a year at the Masonic Hall in Snargate Street, Dover. The Master is Donald Whall and his two Wardens are Geoff Terry and Alan Copp. The secretary, Peter Champion, may be contacted on Dover (01304) 825747.

ARCHIVISTS' CORNER

Your archive team of Mrs. June Golding (ex teacher), John Borrett and myself continue with the task of recording, on the computer database, information about the school and the OPA and its members. Others help us, of course, but we can always do with more hands for a task which seems to get bigger on our every visit to the school! If any of you would like to help by coming up to the school with us (usually Monday mornings) or by identifying people in photographs, please let me know and which years are your speciality. There are many gaps to be filled in on the listings we have for the year photographs.

You may recall the 1965 School on the Hill colour film. This is now available from the school on video cassette. I have produced a running sheet of the video with the intention of identifying as many people as possible who feature on the video. In the years to come it will be useful to be able to check and identify those on the video when memories have long faded. Once again if you can help with this project please let me know.

Ken Ruffell kindly loaned me a copy of the video produced from the Nativity film which was made by staff, boys and others in 1959, the year Mr. Booth left the school. As you may have guessed, there is also a running sheet for this video which I hope will help to identify all those who took part - any volunteers to help with this task?

In subsequent Archivists' Corner I hope to publish photographs which feature people who we have not been able to identify, in the hope that you will be able to help us.

As mentioned in an earlier Newsletter, a sixth-former Paul Morris, created the database system as an A Level project. There are several enhancements to the database that we would like and it is hoped these will provide suitable topics for other A Level students. In this way the boys have a real project for their topic and the OPA benefits from the exercise. Also, a copy of the database itself is available to the school for use as a computer study aid. Amongst the enhancements that we need is a more user-friendly access so that casual visitors to school can interrogate the system without skilled help; a method for putting all the Pharos magazines and Newsletters onto the database for easier searches to be made; and perhaps even providing dial-up access on the Internet so that those who cannot get to Dover will be able to see what we have on the database.

Finally, with all the material that people are kindly giving us we are running out of storage space. Do any of you know where cheap filing cabinets, four-drawer presses or the like can be obtained near Dover?





Peter Burville
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

The annual meeting took place at the school on Saturday 12 October at 11 a.m., with members enjoying coffee and biscuits as they gathered in the Library. President John Booth opened proceedings by reading the notice of the meeting and welcoming the 24 members present.

The Treasurer's report was in a new format because of the new requirements set down for charities. The accounts now have to include an annual report, which Ian Pascall had presented, indicating what the Association had done to fulfil its charitable objects. There was some discussion on how much the Association had to give to the school each year to comply with this status, but members were told there were no hard and fast rules. The committee was asked to consider giving more money to the school. At their last meeting the committee had set aside £500 to be donated this year, leaving it to the President and Head Teacher to decide on a particular project. Members said it was important to ensure that the Association provided money for items that would be made use of, and which were clearly a gift from the Association.

At the committee meeting in November, it was agreed to spend £500 on rugby equipment.

The retiring President thanked the regular officers of the Association for their support over the past year at various functions at the school, sporting occasions and the London re-union.

The Rev. Dr. Michael G. Hinton was proposed as President for the coming year. He was elected and expressed his thanks for the honour. He also thanked John Booth for all his work during the year.

The committee had put forward a recommendation that Ken Ruffell - soon to be celebrating 60 years connection with the school - should become Vice-President, but Mr Ruffell apologised and said he wished to be allowed to withdraw. For various reasons, including age and health, he did not feel able to take on the responsibility. His request was acceded to, with regret. It was agreed to ask the committee to discuss the situation and appoint a Vice-President.

Barry Crush proposed a vote of thanks to Ken Ruffell for his work as Newsletter Editor, and members stood to applaud.

Philip Harding was re-elected as Secretary, Colin Henry as Assistant Secretary, Ian Pascall as Treasurer, Roger Gabriel as Membership Secretary, Peter Burville as Archivist and Neil Beverton as Auditor. Thanks were expressed to Peter Burville and his team for their work with the archives. Terry Sutton and Graham Tutthill were elected as Editors of the Newsletter.

Committee members: Terry Sutton and Reg Colman retired. It was decided that Terry Sutton now had a place on the committee as Newsletter Editor. Reg Colman was re-elected and Tom Beer was elected to the committee. John Borrett said he would like to retire from the committee, but would continue to help with the archives. He was thanked for his work. He had one more year to serve, and as it was thought only one Newsletter Editor had a place on the committee as of right, Graham Tutthill was elected to take Mr. Borrett's place for the coming year.

Peter Burville thanked Dave Murray and Steve Callacher who had identified all the boys on the 1994 school photo for the archives. He appealed for help with identifying boys and staff in the School on a Hill video (forms are available), and a similar exercise would be needed with the film of the Nativity Play produced by Ken Ruffell.


OLD PHAROSIANS V SCHOOL 1ST XI CRICKET MATCH

The Old Pharosians v School 1st XI cricket match ended in a 47-run victory for the Old Boys.

Scorecard.

Old Pharosians School 1st XI

M Palmer lbw Matthews 12 C Searle c Gardiner 25
J Shearer ct Bowley b Matthews 0 W Flack b Robinson 5
I Pascall ct Flack b Matthews 41 D Bowley c Robinson 0
M Goodacre ct Bailey, b Matthews 5 D Holdsworth lbw Robinson 0
M Oiler ct North b Gibb 20 D Gibb c Gardiner 20
R Durrant ct Bailey b Gibb 18 I Matthews c Gardiner 4
M Robinson ct Matthews b Padfield 7 A Bailey run out 19
S Gardiner ct Searle, B Padfield 6 J Kelly c Durrant 0
C Hall not out 8 G North not out 10
J Kremer st Bowley b Kelly 12 D Padfield b Durrant 2
Extras 13 Extras 10
Total 142 Total 95
NEWS OF THE SCHOOL

GOVERNORS' ANNUAL MEETING

Many attempts have been made over the years to attract more parents to the Governors' annual meetings. It's a common problem for all schools, and, thankfully, our school has never been reduced to the attendance of just two or three people which has happened at some places.

The decision to link the meeting with a musical concert seems to be a successful one, and on Wednesday, 16 October, there was a good turnout for the meeting at 7pm, with even more people arriving in time for the cheese and wine - kindly provided by the Parents' and Friends' Association - and the concert which followed.
Taking part were the Brass Group, clarinetist Robert Hackett, trumpeter James Parker with organist and director of music Richard Davies, pianists Jonathan Robinson and Glyn Martin, and violinist head boy Sebastian Gough. The Jazz Group and the school's big band provided lively contributions.


SERVICE OF NINE LESSONS AND CAROLS

The year ended with the traditional service of Nine Lessons and Carols by Candlelight at Charlton Church on Wednesday 18 December.

As usual, the Director of Music, Mr. Richard Davies, had prepared the music to a high standard, and parents and friends filled the church to join in this celebration of Christmas. The choir - augmented by former pupils home from university - sang a variety of items, ranging from plainsong (Creator of the Stars of Night) to the traditional Sans Day Carol, and William Mathias' A Babe is Born.

The organist was Mr. David Harding and the school's brass ensemble also took part.
The lessons were read by various representatives from the school, including our President, the Rev. Dr. Michael Hinton, on behalf of the Old Pharosians.

After the service, we all enjoyed coffee and mince pies in the church hall, thanks to the Parents' and Friends' Association.

Two days later, the choir and brass group appeared on the Meridian Television programme, Meridian Tonight, singing and playing two carols at Dover Castle.


REWARDS

Do you remember how pupils used to visit the Head Master's office to sign the distinction book when a teacher had decided that a piece of work deserved special praise? Well, the distinction book still exists, but other rewards have been introduced in recent years to give the boys encouragement.

Staff can now award commendations for good work, or for an excellent contribution to school life. Ten such commendations in a year gain the recipient a bronze certificate, with a silver certificate for 25 and a gold for 40.
But some boys took the school by surprise, collecting commendations just as eagerly as we used to acquire marbles. During the last year, four boys exceeded the 40 ... and then some! So the school had to introduce a platinum certificate to mark their achevements.

These certficates were presented at the Junior Prize Giving to Samuel Cairns, Christopher Hadley, Glyn Martin and Mark Long of Year 8, who was top scorer with 108 commendations in the year.


MUSIC FOR A SUMMER EVENING

The sun was streaming through the windows of the Great Hall as parents and friends gathered for this event. It was a beautiful summer evening, and they were not disappointed by the music either.

The newly-formed DGSB Big Band opened and concluded the concert and it was good to see some young musicians taking part in this ensemble, gaining experience and being ready to take over as the older students leave.

Soloists were teacher Mr. Graham Lodder, Jonathan Robinson and Glyn Martin (piano), Robert Hackett (clarinet), head boy Sebastian Gough (violin), and Director of Music Mr. Richard Davies (organ).

The school has a long-standing link with the Dover Girls' Grammar School and it has been delightful to see some of the young ladies taking part in our concerts. So it was only right and fitting that flautist Charlotte Greenacre - leaving school at the end of this term - should have a solo spot.

James Parker (trumpet) joined with organist and deputy director of music Mr. David Harding for two pieces, and the Woodwind, Jazz and Brass groups also performed.

During the concert Music Department colours were presented by the head teacher to James Parker, organist Paul Tutthill and drummer Chris Brown.


PRIZEGIVINGS

A former parent and an old boy returned to the school during the autumn term to present prizes and certificates to the boys - and girls - who had gained them during the year.

Chris Burns, who made the presentations at the Junior Prizegiving in October, is Managing Director of Dover-based Avo International. He has had two sons go through the school.

He spoke of the "frightening" pace of change and recalled various events in history, including Watt's invention of the steam engine in 1769 which triggered the industrial revolution, the development of the transistor in the 1950s, the integrated circuit in 1960, and 15 years later the micro-processor, software and chips, resulting in the personal computer, and now the Internet.

He told the boys they should see the changes as an opportunity as they would be part of one of the most exciting periods of history we have ever seen. He encouraged boys to consider engineering as an "exciting and stimulating" career.

The prizes at the Guest Evening in November were presented by Chris McDonald (1953-59) who is now the London and South England Area Director of the Department of Social Security Benefits Agency.

He began his speech by admitting he was mortified to discover they would not be singing Forty Years On! He looked back on his school days, with special mentions for teachers Alec Coveney, Ernie Large and Arch Coulson.

The report by Headteacher Neil Slater was particularly interesting as he included details of the origins of some of the prizes that were being presented that evening, with information about the former pupils and staff members they were named after.

For the first time, two girls were among those who received prizes. Rebecca Steele was awarded the Pfizer prize for Biology, and Elizabeth Archbold, who studied ancient history at our school, was awarded the Classics prize.

One of our boys, Daniel Wilkinson received certificates at the presentation evening at the Girls' Grammar School where he took theatre studies, English and half his music lessons.


PHAROS ENTERPRISES

A group of sixth form students have formed a Young Enterprise company, Pharos Enterprises.

They are producing various items, including a cassette tape recording of the school's music. One side of the cassette will have music from the carol service, and the other side will include pieces by the school's various music groups and soloists.

Copies of the tape are to be sold at £5 each, and can be obtained from the school. Send a cheque made payable to Pharos Enterprises for £5.75 (including postage and packing) to Pharos Enterprises, Dover Grammar School for Boys, Dover, Kent CT17 ODQ. The tape is due to be ready for distribution in March.





JAMES A. JOHNSON SCHOLARSHIP

Matthew Ridley is this year's winner of the James A Johnson Scholarship to help him with his university studies.

The scholarship, which has a total value of £3,000, is awarded by the Trustees of the Dubris Trust, of which Mr Johnson - a former Town Clerk of Dover Borough Council - was a founding member.

Matthew has now gone on to Exeter University to study Mathematics.

The scholarship is open to any student living within the boundaries of the old Dover borough, who attends a local school and is proposing to pursue a university course.
One of the trustees is John Turnpenny whose mother Lily Turnpenny - now 103 - is our oldest surviving former pupil, having been at what was then the Dover County School when it was at Ladywell.


CHAIRMAN OF THE GOVERNORS

Robin Terry (1964-72) has been elected the new Chairman of the Governors of our school.

Robin, who is a director with the London Fancy Box Company, took over in September from another Old Pharosian, Graham Tutthill (1960-65) who had been chairman for three years.

After gaining A levels in economics, geography and sociology, Robin went to Loughborough University of Technology, achieving an Upper Second Class joint honours degree in economics and economic history.

In 1975 he joined London Fancy Box, one of the leading manufacturers of high volume quality, paper-covered boxes in Europe, situated in Dover. He was initially recruited to implement and manage production control within the company. Robin was appointed Director in January 1989. "Contrary to popular opinion, one's career does not end on appointment, but gets faster and more changeable as the company's needs develop," he said. From 1989 to 1992 he was the planning director responsible for administration and quality, and secured the British Standard 5250 for the company. For the next two years he was production director responsible for two factories and 250 staff until the company restructured at the end of 1993. From 1994 to the present day, he has been director and marketing manager responsible for the gift markets of confectionery, drinks and more recently games. By way of keeping up to date with best practice, he has recently completed the Diploma in Company Direction with the Institute of Directors.

Robin has also been much involved in the social side of the company, and was chairman of the company social club from 1976 to 1986 raising sufficient funds to refurbish an old store in Charlton Green, Dover, as a suitable place for permanent social club premises with a bar.
In his spare time, he was founder President of the Rotaract Club of Dover in 1978, District Chairman of the Rotaract District of Kent and East Sussex responsible for 28 clubs in 1980-81, served as a member of Dover and District Round Table 1981-92 and undertook most positions including chairman, and he is a long-time member of Dover Stamp Society.

He has been a member of the Old Pharosians since 1975 and was appointed onto the new Grant Maintained Governing Body in 1994 as a First Governor and Business Representative. He has served for two years as chairman of the Admissions and Community Committee, overseeing a welcome rise in the number of admissions to the school.

The only role Robin will not enjoy at the school is as a parent. He and his wife Sue have three daughters, Lisa, 13, Emily, 11 and eight-year-old Charlotte. They live in Lyminge.


LATEST NEWS FROM THE SCHOOL

We welcomed 118 boys into Year 7 in September, another increase on previous years, taking the total school roll to more than 570. It's difficult to imagine that just two years ago the total was 480. We are still, however, the smallest grammar school in Kent.

The school spent £100,000 on repairing the quad and making it watertight to stop the rain leaking down into the dining hall, drawing office and workshops. Another £40,000 has been used to renovate and equip the drawing office to bring it back into use as a second computer room.

Our full-time professional librarian, Linda George, has restored the school library and it has become a wonderful resource to the school again, complete with CD-ROM facility.

Latin has been re-introduced to the core curriculum.

The school observed two minutes' silence on 11th November, with the school trumpeters sounding the Last Post.

The school magazine is being revived. Poetry has taken off in the school again, and the magazine will include examples of this, together with other creative writing.

Pupils have taken part in an engineering scheme in Lille and a science competition at the University of Kent.

A Japanese assistant has arrived at the school this term, and is due to be with us for 3 months. He is organising a Japanese lunchtime club and is also talking about Japanese culture in certain lessons, particularly PSHE.

It has been decided to do away with the swimming pool. It needs substantial maintenance and it is cheaper to use the facilities at Dover Leisure Centre. The swimming gala was held at the Leisure Centre this year.

Chris Penn (1974-81) came to present the medals at the school's sports day. The programme was completed, despite the rain, but Mr Penn had to return to the school on a later date to finish presenting the awards. Throwing the cricket ball was re-introduced in his honour, but his Year 7 record for the event, which he set in 1975 still stands.

The Dover Girls' Grammar School has been given permission to run its own admissions procedure this year, following our success. Our Headteacher has worked closely with the Girls' School to help them arrange the test.

Peter Dale has retired after 8 years at the school, most recently as Head of IT. Clive Botting has also retired from the biology department. John Blakeley, who taught PE, and Paul Kenny, who taught art, have also moved on.

We have welcomed Paul Woolger as head of IT, and Beryl Maybank as a part-time IT teacher, Derek Ritson as Head of Biology, Jeremy Duke to teach PE and History, and Dolly Thompsett to teach Art.

The exam results were better than ever, with boys achieving a 98.4 per cent success rate with five GCSE A-C grades. 37 per cent of the passes were with A* or A grades. This was the smallest year group (65 boys), and so it was only the fact that one boy did not achieve the five passes at those grades who prevented us achieving the 100 per cent mark.

Our sixth formers achieved 94 per cent pass rate at A level, with 96 per cent of candidates qualifying for higher education by obtaining two A levels or more.

The Wine and Wisdom evenings organised by the Parents' and Friends' Association continue to be very popular. The Association raises about £7000 each year for the school, with the 200 Club bringing in £500 a year.








NEWS OF OLD BOYS

OBITUARIES


We record, with regret, the death of the following old boys of the school:-

ADRIAN COOK (1963-70)

Adrian Cook died in car accident in November, but his funeral service reflected his free spirit and artistic talent. Hymns were discarded in favour of a Monty Python song and a removal van replaced the hearse. Although devastated by his death, his friends and family were determined that he would be sent off in style. The 44-year-old teacher's coffin was spray painted in gold and green and on the back were the words, "That's all Folks!'' - he was a great Bugs Bunny fan.

The packed congregation at Barham Crematorium sang Always Look on the Bright Side of Life instead of hymns and after the service they adjourned to his local. One of Mr Cook's former school friends, Peter Kemp (1963-70) explained: "A lot of people might not understand, but it was just how he would have wanted it.''

Mr Kemp is PE master at the Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Faversham, where Mr Cook taught PE part-time from 1988 to 1995. Mr Cook, who had lived in Deal and Dover, was previously a pupil at the Methodist School in Deal. A talented and prolific artist, he studied A level art and then went to Medway Art College on leaving school. More recently he taught at St Mary's Convent School in Folkestone.
Ironically, just a week before his death, Mr Cook had been discussing funerals with Mr Kemp: "He said he didn't want a lot of money spent on his funeral and that he would rather go in a wheelbarrow."

His friends decided to follow his wishes: "We could not get a wheelbarrow but used a removal van and as Adrian was an artist we painted his coffin in the style of his paintings, abstract," said Mr Kemp, who was among those to pay tribute to his friend, as was Mr Cook's long-time partner, Anne Green. "If anyone at the funeral thought it was strange they were not one of his friends. Everyone said how like him it was - he had a great sense of humour," said Mr Kemp, who described him as a free spirit. Mr Cook's ashes were scattered in Adisham on Sunday December 1, on what would have been his 45th birthday.

An exhibition of some of Mr Cook's work was staged at Pfizer's, Sandwich, at Christmas.

PHILIP HAYDEN (1929-1937)
died on 31st December 1996 at his home at Goring-by-Sea, Worthing, West Sussex, aged 76. His brother Andrew, whose address is at Fairfield, The Street, Ludlow, Shropshire, says he was rarely ill and had been unwell only for a short time so his passing has come as a great shock. The funeral was on Thursday 9th January.

JAMES HAYWARD (1928-1931)
who died, aged 79. He attended the school during the twenties and early thirties. He left to join the Royal Navy as an artificer, served during the Second World War and was awarded the BEM for services in the Far East when he was on HMS Maidstone, a depot ship for submarines. After the war he taught at Dover Technical College in the Engineering Department and then went to the Middle East to work for oil companies. He retired to Knockholt with his wife Doris.

REGINALD ELWICK HICKMAN (1930-1934)
who died, aged 81, in August. Reg was at the school in 1930, played for the school cricket first XI in 1933 and for the school rugby XV in 1933-34 (when he was capped). Records show he was in Six Science and that in 1933 he won the Edward Ryeland Memorial Prize as a cadet and the same year obtained his London Inter-Science Certificate and his London Higher Schools Certificate.

MARK INGLIS (1984-1991)

Mark Inglis died from natural causes after a night out with friends in Deal in June, a victim of sudden adult death syndrome. He was 23. Described by his father as a handsome, smart and intelligent boy, he won an honours degree at university and became a senior computer programmer at Pfizer. Although a heart murmur had been diagnosed when he was 12, no abnormality was discovered during the post mortem examinations. Coroner Richard Sturt said less than one per cent of all deaths were inexplicable and he had only recorded sudden adult death syndrome twice in 25,000 cases.

GLEN LOUIS WATT (1928-1939)
Louis, who was born in October 1920, died peacefully after a short illness in Whittington Hospital, Highgate, London, of cancer, on 23rd October 1996. His family were with him at his end.

Louis was at our school from 1928-1939 - eleven years for he had spent three years in Miss Rookwood's preparatory forms. The upper school honours' boards show he was head prefect in his last year. He was also captain of cricket, a member of the rugby team, the school orchestra and the dramatic society. From school he went to Cambridge to read Natural Sciences with Biology as his main study.

But war service intervened for the next five years during which Louis gained the rank of captain in the Cameronians Scottish Rifles and then spent six months with service with the Kenya government.

Returning to complete his qualifications as a teacher he became senior science master at Holloway Comprehensive School. He also found time (1956-61) to be, at first, secretary and then chairman to the National Association Labour Teachers. In 1971 he became head teacher of Tollington Park School - a post he held until he retired - where he was liked and respected by both colleagues and students. In 1981 Louis became an advisory head and spent the next three years developing better relations between schools, school-leavers and local employers.

Louis demonstrated his affection for Dover and our school by the frequency with which he travelled to Old Boys' days, annual general meetings and dinners. He was the Association's President in 1978-79 and he will be missed by his many friends. To his widow and family we send our deepest sympathy.


MEMBERS STILL LIVING AND LEARNING

STEPHEN BAGGS (1980-1987)
Stephen, from Walmer, went to Portsmouth University where he obtained a degree in Economics and from there to Wye College for his M.Sc. degree. He is now working for Canterbury City Council in the Environmental Health Department.

TED BAKER (1922-1930)
Congratulations to Ted (Edward) Baker and his wife Gwendolen, both of whom are 85, who have just celebrated their Diamond Wedding. Ted and Gwendolen met in 1919 when they attended the same school in Dover. They were married at St. Anthony's Church, Alkham. During his working life Ted spent 33 years in the Treasurer's Department of Kent County Council after starting out in the Education Department, when he was closely associated with our school. He served in the last war in the Royal Army Ordnance Corps in India and Ireland.

Their Diamond Wedding day began with a telegram from the Queen and a peal of bells from their local church.

Ted was 11 when he joined the school in 1922 - and he's never lost his devotion to the place. When he left in 1930 he had gained Oxford and Cambridge Joint Board Certificates in three subjects and had played soccer and cricket for the school's 2nd XIs. But in truth he never did really leave because he became School Secretary to headmasters Mr. Whitehouse, and in 1937 to Mr. Booth. From 1934 to 1938 he was secretary, linesman and often a player in the Old Pharosians' football team.

It was in 1939 that Ted moved to Maidstone to work in the KEC offices there. He retired in 1971. He's been a member of the Old Pharosians' Association since 1930, a committee member 1935-38 and again in 1966-82, President in 1967 and Editor of this Newsletter 1968-79. He deeply regrets that distance from his home in Moretonhampstead, on the edge of Dartmoor, prevents his attending Association occasions. Never mind Ted, at such times we always remember you.

BILL BARNACLE (1938-1945)
Your joint Editors Graham Tutthill and Terry Sutton had the pleasure of listening to Bill - on cornet - when they were in Calais in July. Bill and his group of jazzmen were playing, at the request of the Swedish group Stena, on the company's Lynx III during the catamaran's inaugural trip between Dover and Calais.

Bill, a former lecturer at the Junior Leaders Regiment Royal Engineers when the unit was stationed at Old Park, Whitfield, certainly gets around music-making. Bill Barnacle's Jazzmen are often heard in East Kent and he's also played in the last few months at Boulogne, in Switzerland and in Germany.
Also on board the Sea Lynx III were STEPHEN DURRANT (1988-1995) and OLIVER JEVONS (1989-1994). Stephen is now studying European Studies at university at St. Andrews. He was working with Stena Line during the summer holidays and his name was picked out for a place on the inaugural trip. Oliver was also working on the craft during the holidays.

MATTHEW BARNETT (1986-1991)
Lt. Barnett RN, BEng is half way through a specialist weapons engineering course at HMS Collingwood at Gosport, the Royal Navy's weapons school. He went straight to Dartmouth from school with A Levels in Maths and Physics in September 1991 and passed out on his 19th birthday in April 1992. There then followed basic sea training which took him to the Caribbean in an ancient frigate, subsequently sold to the Chilean Navy. A further eight months at sea in HMS Coventry, a high tech frigate, exposed Matthew to operational training off the coast of Scotland, with the US Navy off Florida and again the Caribbean (a hard life but someone has to do it!) Three years followed studying for his Engineering degree at Plymouth, two at the Navy's own college and the final year at Plymouth University culminating with a graduation ceremony at Dartmouth in July 1996.

At the end of Matthew's current course in Spring 1997 he can expect a posting to one of the Navy's warships as a Deputy Weapons Engineer Officer for two years in charge of sophisticated weaponry and a section of 20 or so specialist technicians. Matthew has acquired a taste for climbing since joining the Navy and has attended courses in Scotland and Wales as well as climbing in Malta, Spain and the Alps. At school Matthew was an active member of the CCF Navy section, and was senior cadet while in the Lower Sixth.

STEPHEN CLEVERLEY (1985-1992)
Stephen has gained a First from Oxford University in Biochemistry and has been accepted to work for his PhD at the Imperial Cancer Research Foundation in London. His mother Janet of Whitfield has sent a cheque for £10 to keep Stephen's name on the Newsletter mailing list, partly because she enjoys reading it herself! A hint here for other parents to follow!

MIKE COURT (1966-1974)
Mike, who use to live at Shepherdswell, is making quite a name for himself in the advertising world. He was a creative director of Young and Rubicam and a founding partner of Still Price Court Twivy D'Souza and has now become creative director of Burkitt Edwards Martin, as a managing partner with his own stake in the company. The industry's publication 'Campaign' reported that Mike at one stage quit the industry and went on a seven month world cruise. Court, says Campaign, is best known for his work on Red Mountain coffee for which he wrote the commercial featuring people imitating coffee percolators to make their guests think they were being served real coffee rather than instant.




MICHAEL DAVIDSON (1956-1964)
Michael writes to let us know of a change of address. He's moved from noisy Piraeus in Greece to a spot, still in Greece, about 20 miles from the sun-drenched beaches of Psatha and Porte Germeno. He writes: "I have now bought a chunk of Greece and live in the country complete with cats and dog. There's excellent swimming near here and great little fish tavernas."

He's firmly settled in Greece and writes English text books, record cassettes for the teaching of the English language, plus anything to do with publishing. He enjoys the occasional rooftop parties, looking across at the Acropolis. He enjoyed his days in Piraeus with seagulls and ferry boats - many of which were 'ancient' Dover-based Cross Channel ships with their names painted over.

For those thinking of tracking down Michael his address is: Villa Attikis, Periohi Profitis Ilias, TK 190 12, Greece.

TUDOR DAVIES (1945-1949)
Tudor, who really joined the school in 1938 in the prep. classes with Miss Rookwood, writes from Stornoway, Abergwili Road, Carmarthen, Dyfed, Wales. He did his National Service with the Royal Navy and was based in the Outer Hebrides where he met Rosemary who became his wife. He studied Law at the University of Wales and was articled in local government but switched to private practice after qualifying as a solicitor. After a spell in London he moved to Carmarthen in 1960 and was in partnership there until he retired in 1991.

In a letter to Ken Ruffell he says he spends his time with DIY, sailing and golf. He recalls with admiration such masters at school as Ken, Billy Baxter, Mr. Willis, W.E. Pearce, Mr. Uncles, Mr. Kendall, Charlie Rowlands and others. "How fortunate we were to be taught by such experienced and dedicated men" he writes.

SIMON DAWS (1976-1981)
Simon is carving out a career as a landscape architect with the U.S. Forest Service in Grant County, Oregan, USA. He graduated from the University of Greenwich and worked in a communications post with the British Foreign Office before pursuing something he could see himself doing long term. In his job with the U.S. Forest Service Simon is creating new trails through the trees at Magone Lake that are accessible for those with special needs. He has been using computer software to design boardwalks and a 47 foot span bridge created out of pressure-treated Douglas firs. Simon has also written the prose that visitors will read on the interpretative signs along the trails. In his spare time Simon has been helping to fight forest fires.

RICHARD GRETTON (1965-1973)
Richard was Head Prefect and Captain of Cricket before going on to obtain a degree in geography at Oxford. He became a teacher and then moved into educational administration. He obtained an MA degree from London University and is now an educational consultant living with his family at Allington near Maidstone.

His letter to Ken Ruffell (in a beautiful script from which many of us could learn) is full of his interest in cricket - he was off that morning, for the first time, to Lords. He adds that in his library at home he has over 50 editions of Wisden. (Editor - He thanks Ken for his years of service to the school and to this Newsletter, adding that he's not surprised it now takes TWO editors to do the work! Quite right too).

BRIAN HALL (1948-1953)
Brian writes from 40 Leeds Road, Bramhope, Leeds to recall he left school to join the Ministry of Supply at a research station and soon realised he should have put more effort into his lessons. So he took up studying in the evenings and weekends. While studying part-time he worked for the UK Atomic Energy Authority as a scientific assistant in a trials team testing nuclear weapons during which time he spent an exciting spell, for an 18 year old, travelling round the world.

Eventually Brian gained a place at Durham University where he read Applied Physics, backed by a government bursary to "ease the financial pains". After graduating he returned to government service, working on various defence projects. At the age of 34 he became a scientific administrator attached to the Government Scientific Advisers Office in London but five years on left government service after 37 years of interesting work. He then became a UK consultant to a major US defence contractor before being invited to run a small electronics company in Yorkshire where he is now "coasting into final retirement" as MD of a growing company.

GORDON KILLIP (1945-1950)
Gordon has now retired and returned to live in Dover - at Crabble Lane, River. He served on Dover Town Council from 1966-1970 before moving to Crowborough with British Telecom and later ran a marketing company in Tunbridge Wells. Before leaving Crowborough, as a Labour candidate he fought what was considered a hopeless ward but won the seat from the Conservatives. But he resigned his seat on Crowborough Town Council on return to Dover. After completing work on his new home he hopes to be playing a little golf but doubts if he will return to active local politics.

RUDY MERCER (1935-1938)
Rudy, who left Dover County School to go on to Imperial College for a B.Sc(Eng) degree, writes recalling that he was one of Ken Ruffell's first pupils. He lived at Broxbourne in Hertfordshire for more than 33 years but has now moved to a small flat at Hove. If anyone wants to contact Rudy his new address is PO Box 2128, Hove, East Sussex, BN3 1LY. He attended the London reunion in 1996 with Will Watkins where he met Louis Watt.

BRIAN REES (1973-1980)
Brian is the Media Relations Manager for Stena UK, the Ashford-based Swedish-owned ferry company that has a fleet operating out of Dover. As such he makes regular visits to Dover as well as other ports around the UK. Brian, a former Dover Express reporter, last year married Bethan who worked as a secretary for Stena at Holyhead, a port he was visiting on official duties. His opposite number at competitors P&O European Ferries is Nick Stevens, also an old boy of our school.
RICHARD STANDEN (1932-1937)
Richard, a regular attender at Old Pharosians' Association meetings, has retired after giving 41 years unbroken service as a school governor. He served as a governor on the board of Fort Pitt Grammar School for Girls, Chatham for 34 years of which 26 years were as chairman. He also served 29 years as a governor of Temple Boys School of which 19 years were as chairman and 32 years as a governor of Chapter Girls High School (24 years as chairman). If that was not enough he also served 14 years as a Founder Member of the Court of Governors of the University of Kent at Canterbury. When he retired from his Fort Pitt post he was presented with a microwave oven and a pump for his fishpond. Gifts well deserved.

DAVID THOMAS (1970-1977)
David, Professor of Geography at Sheffield University, has been granted a year free from teaching and is busy editing the Encyclopaedia of Physical Geography. This was work previously carried out by Professor Goudie of Oxford University. David is also working on the Atlas of Desertification but this had to wait while he went to Cape Town from where he is due to return shortly before Christmas.

TIMOTHY THORP (1976-1981)
Timothy embarked on a career with H.M. Customs at Dover when he left school but in 1993 he started on a three-year course at St. Stephen's House at Oxford, graduating in 1996 with a B.Th. degree with Honours. He was ordained deacon in June 1996 by the Bishop of Durham in Durham Cathedral and he is now serving as a curate in the team ministry which embraces the churches of St.Peter's, St.Mark's, St.John the Baptist and St.Paul's (the latter being the place where the Venerable Bede lived and died) which together make up the parish of Jarrow.

NEWS VIA THE INTERNET

Since we announced in our last edition that we were going on Internet, membership secretary Roger Gabriel has been inundated with calls.

Among those who have contacted Roger on the e-mail address are:

JOHN CATT (1962-69)
from "lightning.co.uk" who sends no further information other than his contact
e-mail address.

PHIL CLAPHAM Ph.D (1967-74)
e-mailing from Washington DC, USA, tells that he works as a biologist at the National Museum of Natural History (Smithsonians Institution) and works mainly on whale biology.

CLIVE COTTINGHAM (1969-1976)
who is working for the advertising agency Young and Rubicam at their Frankfurt office where he's the IT manager. Clive adds: "Hopefully the Newsletter will be distributed electronically in the not-too-distant future!" (Editor's note - it's a thought).

MARTIN GILL (1971-78)
Senior clinical lecturer at the Department of Infection, University of Birmingham, City Hospital, Birmingham.

DAVID HANNENT (1957-64)
who is the Rotary organisation's liaison officer for Internet for East Kent.

BILL MARSHALL (1975-82)
who just sends his e-mail address from Butterworths.co.uk.

ROB NEIL (1980-87)
from Christ Church, Canterbury who says: "It's good to see the school is committed to the use of information technology". Rob, who left our school in 1987, says that after studying at the Universities of East Anglia and Essex he joined a company making stock trading systems. After two years he moved back to Kent to his present position as senior lecturer in Information Technology at Christ Church.

MARTIN RUCK (1979-86)
who wants to know if he can send information to us by e-mail about what he's been up to since leaving school. (Editor's note - Yes, please).







CARL WAITE (1979-86)
e-mailing from Paris, who conjured up memories from the school of boat trips on the canals and "canings from Arthur Elliott for being a lazy good-for-nothing". It all gave him a good start in life for when, in 1986, he joined the Royal Navy as a marine engineer artificer. He remained with the Royal Navy for three years until he decided the navy was not for him when he was transferred to Polaris submarines. With his BTEC qualifications from the navy he went to Portsmouth Polytechnic on an electronics degree, specialising in telecommunications. He departed Portsmouth with a 2.2 degree, securing a post with Ericsson Telecommunications at Burgess Hill where he worked for another three years, designing and testing software. He now works in Paris for Matra and Telia (Sweden) among others.

DICK WEST (1946-54)
whose message revealed he is interested in software (HTML, Visual Basic and Bridge), amateur radio (call sign G3VSQ) and that he's a member of the Society of Genealogists.

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This seems an excellent way of communicating with the Old Pharosians Association. Keep it up. We all want to know where you are now and what you are doing. Roger Gabriel's e-mail address is: RogGabriel@ao/.com, while the Association can also be contacted on: Pharos@dgsb.demon.co.uk.



DAVID ELLERAY

When BBC Television were looking for a top referee to explain the ins and outs of keeping control of football matches for their "How Do They Do That?" programme, there was only one person they could turn to.

David Elleray, (1966-73) who presented the prizes at the Guest Evening in 1995, is now a premiership referee and has taken charge of top national and international games.

David started running the line and then refereeing when he was a 13-year-old pupil at our school. He has refereed five FA Cup finals at Wembley and EUFA called on him when they wanted a British referee for Euro 96.

As he said on the programme, nobody would voluntarily choose to have 40,000 people singing "the referee is a whatnot," and as the programme presenter commented "It isn't whatnot they're saying, David"

So, when it comes to referring, how does he do that?

"You have to have rhinoceros-like skin. As a school master you soon pick out who the trouble makers are in a class, and you do the same with football. In the extreme, the secret is to destroy the first 10 minutes of the match to make sure the remaining 80 minutes are a good game of football. Look confident when making decisions. Refs are almost con-men, making people think we are confident when we may not be sure."

Referees can make 300 decisions and run up to eight miles in a single match. So why does he do it?

"It's a wonderful honour. You are there on the field with some of the best players. You get the best view in the stadium and you are adding to the entertainment of thousands and millions of people."


ARCHAEOLOGICAL DIG

Two of our old boys were much involved in excavating important evidence of Dover's medieval fishing industry last summer. The dig, at Townwall Street, exposed one of the most complex sets of medieval deposits ever investigated in Dover and according to one archaeologist is one of the most remarkable sites in the UK.

Paul Bennett, (1967-70) is Director of the Canterbury Archaeological Trust, and described Townwall Street as a "unique site" and exceptionally difficult to excavate. No other site had produced such evidence of fish processing covering 500 years, he said. More than 40,000 pieces of pottery were discovered, some from the continent. Clay tobacco pipes, parts of cooking pots, jugs and frying pans were unearthed along with buckles, pins, needles, a book clasp and iron bolts.
Archaeologist Keith Parfitt (1973-75) said only one coin - dating from 1595 - had been found, suggesting that the people who lived there were poor.

"In 1100 AD the land - which once formed part of the Roman harbour - was reclaimed by fisher folk who eked out a poor living from the hovels where they lived," said Mr Bennett.

The whole site was redeveloped for fish processing in the 13th century and warehouses were built. It was then used as a town rubbish dump, before more fishing development took place. The fishing industry was of enormous importance to Dover throughout the medieval period. The floors of all the buildings contained large quantities of fish remains - including fragments of whalebone - as well as fishing implements including hooks, weights and netting needles.

At the end of the Victorian period the Burlington Hotel was built on part of the site but, like other buildings, it was destroyed in the second world war.

The excavation, which began in February and took longer than expected because of the rich finds, is now complete. An ultra-modern BP service station has now been built on the site.


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And finally ..................
our apologies that this edition of the Newsletter is slightly later than usual. The next one will be published in late July / early August and will have full details - and a booking form - for the annual meeting and dinner on Saturday 27th September. Book the date in your diary NOW!!!