THE MAGAZINE FOR DULWICH COLLEGE ALUMNI
FEATURING
PROFESSOR KAROL SIKORA With reflections on the pandemic and its impact on cancer
PLUS KYLE KARIM AT LEGO AND THE ORIGINS OF SOCCER AT DC
WELCOME TO THE MAGAZINE FOR DULWICH COLLEGE ALUMNI
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Meet the Team
Trevor Llewelyn (72-79) Hon Secretary of the Alleyn Club
Matt Jarrett Director of Development
In the last edition of OA I hoped that our new format would allow us to look in greater depth at the lives and careers of OAs. That we have been able to do with interviews with sailor Mark Richmond, opera singer Rodney Clarke and Kyle Karim who as Director of Marketing for Lego may, by his own admission, just have the best job in the world. Like much of the country very little competitive sport took place during the summer and our reporting reflects this. On the plus side we have taken the opportunity to do some research into the history of the shooting and soccer clubs as well the early days of rowing and soccer at the College. There is much in the press at the moment that is not good news and I would, in conclusion, like to focus on the positive and to offer thanks; to all those OAs who work for the NHS and other key services upon which we all depend so heavily; to those who have done everything they can to keep businesses afloat; to parents struggling with home schooling when working from home feels more like living at work; to those who have baked, swum, danced or run for charity and to those who clapped for carers. My heart too goes out to those who have lost loved ones to this dreadful disease. Please stay safe and I look forward to the time when we might meet up again at an OA event and join you in the simple act of shaking your hand. Perhaps more than ever putting the magazine together has been a team effort, and the ‘new normal’ ways of working have forced us to be more imaginative and in many ways, more efficient. In particular I would like to thank Joanne Whaley, Carolyn Demeger and Graphic Designer Lucy Baragwanath for all their hard work and good humour throughout.
As I write this editorial the College is currently closed to all but the children of key workers. It is only the third time in the school’s long history that this has happened and two of those have been in response to Covid 19. The only other time our gates have been shut was during the Second World War when we temporarily moved out of the capital in order to share the facilities of Tonbridge School. It was not a success and the boys soon returned to London and in so doing Dulwich became one of the very few public schools not to be evacuated for the war’s duration. They say that every crisis brings with it an opportunity and it is certainly the case that the Alleyn Club has become quite adept at moving much of its activities into the digital domain. At the AGM which took place last November over forty were present to witness John Lovering hand over the presidential baton to Simon Dyson online. We were joined by OAs from across the world, including France, Singapore, Australia, the United States and Canada. Reunions have also taken place on Zoom allowing OAs on different continents to meet up in a way that they would have barely imagined before last March. The Annual Dinner became an opportunity to listen to eminent oncologist Professor Karol Sikora on how the pandemic has affected cancer care in the UK. He also spoke about taking his first tentative steps into the world of social media by opening a twitter account. It was he admits, at the very least, enlightening. With only a handful of participants allowed to gather at the war memorial, the Remembrance Day service was broadcast live for the first time ever. The College boys watched as the service was streamed into their classrooms and they were joined by nearly seven hundred OAs and parents who joined virtually from beyond the College.
Joanne Whaley Alumni & Parent Relations Manager
Kathi Palitz Database and Operations Manager
Sarah Coughtrie Alumni Relations and Events Officer
Carolyn Demeger Alumni Relations and Events Administrator
We would love to hear your thoughts and feedback, and welcome suggestions for future features. Should you like to get in touch then please write to us at:
ALLEYN CLUB AND DEVELOPMENT OFFICE Dulwich College Dulwich Common London SE21 7LD +44 (0)20 8299 5335 alleynclub @ dulwich.org.uk dulwich.org.uk/old-alleynians-home oldalleynianconnect.org
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@ Alleyn_Club
The Alleyn_Club
@ oadulwichalumni
Trevor Llewelyn (72-79) Hon Secretary of the Alleyn Club
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Contents
PAGE
44-45 46-47
Shooting Club
In Print
62-63 64-65 66-67 68-69
International Community
26-27 28-29 30-31 32-35 36-37 38-39 40-42
Black Lives Matter
02-03 06-07 08-09 10-11 12-15 16-18 19-21 22-25
Welcome, Meet the Team
48 49
The impact of your support
Kyle Karim: The best job in the world? A Tale of Two Pandemics The David Verdon Knight Pond at Bell House A conversation with Kieran West
Rodney Clarke
Meet the New President: Simon Dyson
A Snapshot
Professional networking and Mentoring programme
Dulwich Adapts January 2021 A Message from The Master
50-51 52-55 56-57
College Post-War Scouting Post War Dulwich College Serving the wider community
Karol Sikora
OA Stories OA News
70-73
Soccer at Dulwich
58 -59 VE Day 60
74 75
Tookey Plate In Memoriam
OAAFC The Origins Story
OA Sports News
Shackleton's Hut
Mark Richmond
OA Recent Leavers Reflect
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Meet the new Alleyn Club President
Simon Dyson
Simon Dyson was elected the 133rd President of the Alleyn Club 2020 - 21. He takes over from John Lovering CBE
with the single exception of swimming where lessons for beginners were simply terrifying ‐ I never did learn. I owe the College an enormous debt as it prepared me for later life and was truly “in loco parentis” for nine years. What are your favourite memories of your time at Dulwich College and why? The pinnacle of my academic career was definitely the O‐Level results: good passes in twelve subjects, and the prize for the best “all‐rounder” in my year. After that it was all sport, and what fun it was too. There was now far too little time left for serious study as witnessed by three modest passes at A‐level. But thankfully my physics master Michael (Sniff) Hart came to my rescue. In order to widen our horizons we “science A‐level” boys were also required to take an exam called “General Studies”. This course was universally disliked, as much by the teachers who were pressed into service to teach as by the boys, but with the spectacular exception of Sniff! His lecture about the future of computing, which predicted the arrival of the personal computer (“by the time you are my age”), was so inspirational that I left school and immediately joined IBM.
What do you hope to achieve with your new role as President of the Alleyn Club? Perhaps it is not well known that as President one is appointed to the Alleyn Club for three years. We spend one year as vice‐President, a second year in office as President, and then a further year supporting one’s successor. I mention this because earlier this year our current President, John Lovering, asked me to lead some work looking at our strategy. We are in the early stages of that work having interviewed 25 people closely associated with the Alleyn Club, specifically all of the current committee, some past committee members, and some past‐presidents. I hope that as a result of this review we will be able to focus more effectively on those things that we believe that the Alleyn Club does well. Above all we should aim to make the Club more accessible and relevant to all Old Alleynians, to students and staff at the College, to other closely related groups such as parents of Alleynians, and to students at associated schools. You attended Dulwich College between the years 1959 and 1967, what you brought here? Until recently I thought I had been extremely fortunate to have received a “Local Educational Authority Grant” which allowed me to attend the College. But on reading a chapter in Jan Piggott’s immensely impressive tome on the history of the College, I discovered that 90% of pupils in the late 1950s held full‐fee awards from local authorities! That was the apogee of the Gilkes’ post‐war experiment, and by the late 1960s local authorities were rapidly withdrawing their support. Suffice it to say that in 1959 a boy from Reedham School (an establishment for homeless children) with an 11+ pass in his pocket was admitted to arguably the best independent school in the country. How would you describe your experience as a pupil of the College? I was a boarder first at Bell House and later at Ivyholme. On my arrival I vividly remember having to cope with stiff (detachable) collars and collar‐studs; I was probably late for breakfast most mornings. Thank goodness I was keen and able enough to participate in most sports
What did you do when you left Dulwich College? I spent 37 wonderfully happy years at IBM.
Since you’ve retired, how have you been occupying your time? Thanks to an old‐fashioned pension scheme I was able to retire from IBM at 56 and devote my time to voluntary work both in the charitable sector (exclusively with cricket) and in support of those clubs and institutions from which I have derived so much benefit and pleasure. Marylebone Cricket Club, Club Cricket Conference, Chance To Shine, Surrey Cricket Foundation, Wimbledon Cricket Club, Royal Wimbledon Golf Club, Rosslyn Park Rugby Club, and of course Dulwich College.
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Dulwich Adapts January 2021
Sport continued and impressive indeed were the Saturday morning squad sessions which attracted hundreds and focussed on developing the skills of touch rugby. The turn out was indeed impressive given the complete lack of inter school fixtures during the Michaelmas term. Looking back it seems clear that it was almost certainly the more highly transmissible variant of the virus first identified in mid December that was responsible for a noticeable increase in numbers of Covid cases identified across all age groups and within the teaching staff from the beginning of the month. It would be difficult to offer another explanation in a school that can pride itself in keeping the number positive cases extremely low up to that point. It certainly felt that we were back to where we had been in March and it was not surprising when the College shut its doors and returned to teaching on line for the last three days before the Christmas break. On Monday 4 January 2021 the Government moved rapidly after listening to warnings from their scientific advisers that the new variant of Covid 19 virus was spreading so rapidly there was a genuine fear that the NHS would soon be overwhelmed. The country would return to something close to the first full lockdown; schools would be closed. This despite assurances only 24 hours previously that the Government would make good its plan to keep schools open and begin testing of all pupils and staff. Like so many other schools, Dulwich had to spin on a sixpence. On the Monday morning we had taken delivery of 5800 lateral flow testing kits and provided training for 41 colleagues to administer the tests. Twenty four teaching colleagues were in school to support the Admissions team with the administration of the first session of the 11+ exams. As I write, no promises have been made about when we will actually be back in the classroom. The Government who was at first optimistic about a return after half term are more cautious now. Public exams have been cancelled and decisions are being made about how best to avoid the use of the much criticised algorithm to award grades for GCSE and A Levels. There is talk of a combination of mini tests and teacher assessments. We shall wait and see. Whatever Ofqual comes up with I am sure it will be met with a determination to achieve the best possible outcome for the boys. They are living in extraordinary times and it is our duty to help them navigate their way through to the best of our ability.
teaching from home boys who were sitting in their usual classrooms in the College. As someone who had to act as a cover teacher during a biology lesson it was slightly disconcerting to be in front of twenty students all sat silently in front of their laptops listening through headphones randomly calling out answers to questions being posed by their teacher sitting in his kitchen in Streatham. The uniform rules were relaxed, ties did not have to be worn and anyone with a sporting commitment during the day came to school in the relevant kit thus avoiding the need for crowded changing rooms. A marquee was erected beside the Christison Hall to allow lunches to be staggered by year group and staff soon got used to picking up lunch in a takeaway box to eat back in their Department Offices. The senior boarding houses were reorganised with Blew becoming a home away from home for the Remove and Ivyholme taking the Sixth form. Adapting was more of a challenge for Orchard but the clever rejigging of space it was possible for dormitories to become year group bubbles. Much has been made of the importance of mental health during the pandemic and the College went to great lengths to provide support and activities beyond the classroom. Form Tutor periods allowed staff to meet their tutees on a daily basis and the pastoral teams made sure that the most vulnerable were not allowed to slip below the radar. The staff too were looked after and a weekly publication ‘Something For’ provided some much needed relief at the end of a week so often spent glued to a computer screen. The bulletin offered Something For the Mind - possibly a book suggestion, Something For the Heart – often an exercise routine, Something For the Soul, - a poem perhaps and Something For... the Stomach! Co-curricular activites quickly adapted to social distancing. We managed to complete several debating competitions on line and if anything societies found it easier than ever to attract guest speakers, particularly when it became obvious that they, like everyone else, could make use of Zoom and avoid a time consuming journey to South London. House meetings may have been cancelled but competitions continued and with the emphasis put firmly onto year groups it could be argued that more boys were involved in writing poetry, playing chess or taking photographs. Of course some activities suffered, music and drama in particular found it challenging to work with the restrictions and while much good work was done on line, live rehearsals and performances were considerably curtailed.
The College reopened in September after the summer break, during which time a huge amount of work had gone on behind the scenes to make the school and its operations as Covid proof as possible. At the heart of the many changes was a system of year group bubbles each of which were located in specific area of the school. The South Block became home to Year 10 and the Lower Sixth, while Year 9 and Year 11 were relocated to the North Block. The Sixth Form were housed in the Lord George Building while Years 7 and 8 remained in the Lower School. In order to accommodate practical science lessons the Laboratory had rooms allocated to specific year groups. The Wodehouse Library remained open with ‘years’ admitted in only on prescribed days with cleaning taking place over night. Separate entrances and exits to each block allowed the movement of boys to be carefully controlled and everyone was expected to wear a mask while in transit within a building. Masks were not mandatory in lessons although a significant number of boys and staff did wear them. We soon got used to the small team of cleaners in PPE who sanitised surfaces throughout the day. The most obvious impact of the reorganisation was that it was now the teachers who moved between lessons and with the requirement to keep classroom doors open in order to improve the flow of air it was not unusual, while sitting in the Geography Office, for me to hear a chemist teaching about valences to year 10 or a group of Remove Politics students discussing national constitutions. I looked forward in particular to a Tuesday afternoon Liberal Studies course on the Law.
Members of staff carried with them their Microsoft surfaces which were simply plugged into a docking station located on the teachers desk along with the now obligatory hand sanitiser and wet wipes. The desk was socially distanced from the class which itself was a spread out as much as space allowed. Important too was the requirement that the boys should sit in the same relative position to each other from lesson to lesson, even if the physical classroom changed. This quickly became a godsend to the senior management team who had to track and trace boys who had had contact with anyone who had tested positive for Covid. Parents evenings went on line and with everyone at home there were no longer queues snaking their way round the Great Hall, alive with parents catching up with friends or growing slightly irritated as five minute interview stretched out to six, seven or eight minutes. Technology cannot yet adapt to ‘just one more’ question and a scheduled five minutes means five minutes, not a second longer. Parents soon learned that eight seconds was not enough time to ask that ‘one last question’ about what their son would be studying for the rest of the year. Of course boys and staff were affected directly by Covid. In fact we had been back barely two weeks when a small number of boys in Year 13 tested positive and it quickly became obvious that the number of close contacts was significant enough for Public Health England to advise us to send the entire year group home and a return to on line learning. They were joined by a small number of staff who had been identified as needing to isolate and they found themselves in the strange position of
Trevor Llewelyn
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A message from The Master At a recent meeting of the Alleyn Club committee, the College’s Chair of Governors, the Rt Hon Peter Riddell OA, referred to the last twelve months of the coronavirus pandemic as the most challenging in the school’s history since the aftermath of the Second World War. Trevor Llewelyn refers in his editorial foreword to the fact that the recent closures of the campus account for two of the only three occasions this has happened in our 401-year history. “Challenging” has been perhaps the most-used word of 2020, along with “extraordinary”. Certainly, as we concluded the 400th anniversary celebrations in 2019, none of us could foresee what lay ahead. With the closure of the campus and the change, almost overnight, to remote learning, Dulwich was forced to adapt – just as it had in that post-war period. Many teachers who perhaps had never thought themselves capable of teaching all their classes remotely were introduced to the delights of Microsoft Teams. We were forced to develop new syllabuses for exam year groups that would not be examined – and subsequently to support those pupils as the subject of grading became national news. Our pupils adapted incredibly well to the “new normal”, and there was a tremendous sense of collegiate effort across the College. Beyond the classroom, we sought to contribute to the local community: opening the College grounds to the public; manufacturing PPE for care homes and local surgeries and pharmacies; providing learning material and inspirational online talks for partner schools in the Southwark Schools Learning Partnership, and more. The pandemic led us to look out to whom we could support rather than in on ourselves. I think that helped us keep everything in perspective. However, closer to home, our coronavirus fund, supported by a number of parents who felt they had escaped the worst of the pandemic, was established to help ensure that no family would have to take their children away from Dulwich owing to hardship brought about by COVID-19. And in the midst of all of this – opportunity. An opportunity to develop virtual and hybrid learning, and to think about how advances made can bear fruit beyond the pandemic – educationally and in terms of public benefit and commercial ventures. An opportunity for our pupils to be inspired by the community spirit of the first national lockdown and to make a difference. An opportunity to reassess what it means to say we are a diversity community and a school committed to the promotion of diversity and inclusion. That the College has been able to negotiate the challenges and exploit the opportunities is entirely owing to the hard work of so many of our staff, the guidance of our governing body, and the support of the extended Dulwich family – parents, OAs and others. I am deeply grateful to all OAs who have played a role in 2020. Thank you. The future may look different from what we had imagined in 2019 but our priorities remain the same: providing a holistic education that prepares boys for their future, whatever that might be, within a diverse community of talent. I wish all OAs and their families, first and foremost, good health in 2021. Our sympathy and condolences are with those who have suffered illness, distress or the loss of loved ones over the last twelve months. I hope that we will all be able to gather in person once again in the not too distant future – at SE21 and beyond. You will all be most welcome back to the College when we reopen the gates.
As ever Dr Joe Spence The Master
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Stories A collection of stories and interviews from OAs, the Dulwich College Alumni Community. To listen to or watch, visit the OA website.
Conrad Manning (09-11) Naval Architect, sailor, and passionate about inspiring future engineers through sailing
Pete Fison (93-04) is a BAFTA and EMMY award winning producer and director of natural history documentaries.
Chris Brown (06-11) talks about coordinating social media for the world's best football clubs.
CJ Obi (99-06) founder of The Urbanist Platform, which aims to attract more people into a career in the built environment.
Taran Matharu (04-09) New York Times Bestselling author.
On one of our very first podcasts, Professor Andrew Sherry(73-80) was due to join us for our first STEM professional networking event in May. We went online and talked to Andrew about his career since Dulwich and his role with the National Nuclear Laboratory.
Henry Fraser (08-11) is an inspirational public speaker, artist and author.
Alex Willats (83-91) has worked for some of the very best hotels in the world. Here he talks about the ups and downs of the industry. Fenton Whelan (90-00) works with governments around the world to drive rapid improvements in education and health care systems. Ben Fordham (88 – 97) Entrepreneur talks about Benito’s Hat and all things food.
John Murray (70-78) offers his predictions for the 'new normal' in the world of commercial property.
Nick Waters (03-08) is an open source journalist whose work has focused on human rights abuses in Syria and the use of drones by sub-state actors.
Brian Barnett (47-52) "Comet 4, ace of space, in the transatlantic race" talks about how he was one of the first to fly non-stop across the Atlantic.
Oscar Owen (12-17) is an illusionist who shares the secrets of the magic trade on his YouTube channel, teaching viewers how to master card tricks that defy belief.
Alastair Fairley (71-76) talks about his role as co-founder of the Hastings HEART Mutual Aid Group and their COVID response. Frank Chapman (70-77) talks about his career as a test pilot.
Roger Knight OBE (57-66) is a Past President of the Alleyn Club, former languages teacher, Governor of the College and of course an OA. He talked to us about his outstanding cricketing career and what happened next.
Andrew Kojima (87-97) BBC1 MasterChef finalist tells us his story.
Tom Lord (02-09) has seen first hand how COVID-19 has decimated the hospitality industry. He talks with us about his journey and what he is doing to help those affected.
Sir Peter Duffell KCB CBE MC
Dr. Faheem Ahmed (03-10) explains his work with COVID-19 focusing on how COVID-19 is exacerbating social inequality around the world, especially among those with low incomes and black and ethnic minority communities.
Jahan Anzar (91-97) gave us an insight into the world of an Actuary; a fascinating environment where the price of uncertainly is calculated and risk is managed.
(49-56) offers an insight into his military career and his new book,Gurkha Odessy
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Stories A collection of stories and interviews from OAs, the Dulwich College Alumni Community. To listen to or watch, visit the OA website.
International edit Andy Zhang (14-16) Trevor Llewelyn talks regularly with Andy who at the beginning of the series, was living in Japan. We chart Andy’s progress through learning Japanese, driving lessons and looking for a job, all with a global pandemic adding a few more hurdles.
David Horner (81-88) and Edward Oakeley (81-88) friends whilst at the College, both studied Biochemistry and continue to work in the field. In May they talked about their careers and gave us some early insights into Coronavirus.
Hear all episodes on shows.acast.com/oa-stories
Rob Masterson (00-07) and Oliver Hackett (02-07) left Dulwich and headed to Manchester to work in the events industry, one of the hardest hit sectors during the pandemic. They talked about Mustard Media and how the business is diversifying during the crisis. Nick Rusling (87-92) is a passionate believer in getting more people involved in sport and has 20 years’ experience of overseeing sporting events. He is CEO of mass participation events company Human Race. He talked about the 2.6 Challenge which raised over £11 million for charities hit by the cancellation of the London Marathon.
Harvest for Heroes was an initiative set up by Oliver Bailey OA (87-94) and William Townsend OA (89-94) to support those on the front line, delivering boxes of fresh food to NHS staff around the country.
Harry Bucknell OA (00-05) and Sean Richardson OA (02-07) about The Uganda School Project. The aim of the project, which was set up in 2016, was to support struggling schools in rural Uganda.
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NEWS
Alleyn Club Virtual Dinner 2020
The Alleyn Club Dinner on Friday 13 November was, for the first time, held virtually and allowed over 130 people to join from around the world, including the UK, US, France, Germany, Estonia, Netherlands, Switzerland, Kenya, Canada, China, Singapore, India and New Zealand. We were delighted to be joined by guest speaker Professor Karol Sikora (59-65), who spoke about his first steps into and experiences with social media as well as his personal reflections on the pandemic and its impact on healthcare, in particular cancer.
We are delighted that three OAs were awarded honours this year, Professor David Webb CBE and Professor Mark Wilson OBE awarded honours in the Queen’s Birthday Honours and Sir Stephen Deuchar CBE was Knighted in the 2021 New Year Honours. Professor David Webb CBE (64-71) has been awarded Commander of the British Empire (CBE) in the Queen’s Birthday Honours, for services to Clinical Pharmacology Research and Education. He is Christison Professor of Therapeutics and Clinical Pharmacology at the University of Edinburgh, and his work has included developing drugs for heart disease and blood pressure. As a leading international cardiovascular researcher, physician and pharmacologist, David works in the field of hypertension and kidney disease and runs Edinburgh’s Hypertension Excellence Centre. His research has contributed to new medicines for the treatment of heart disease. He has also made significant contributions to the development of safe and effective medicines, as a non-executive director and Deputy Chair of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and as Chair of the Scientific Advisory Committee for the National Institute of Biological Standards and Control (NIBSC), playing a leading national and international role in assuring the quality of biological medicines and diagnostics, including for COVID-19. has been awarded an OBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours for his work transforming the voluntary and emergency sectors with technology. With cofounder Ali Ghorbangholi, a software engineer, Mark founded the GoodSAM app (www.goodsamapp.org) a revolutionary platform that alerts doctors, nurses, paramedic and those trained in basic life support to emergencies around them and is now enabling video triage to optimise resource deployment to patients. He has worked extensively overseas including India, Nepal, South Africa, as a GP in Australia, Researcher for NASA and as an expedition doctor on Arctic and Everest expeditions. Professor Mark Wilson OBE (85-92) Mark is a Consultant Neurosurgeon and Professor of Brain Injury at Imperial College, Consultant Neurosurgeon and Pre-Hospital Care Specialist (Imperial College, KSS Air Ambulance) and Honorary Professor of Pre-Hospital Care (Faculty of Pre-Hospital Care, Royal College of Surgeons, Edinburgh). Mark established the Neurotrauma service at St Mary’s, Imperial’s Major Trauma Centre in 2010. His specialist areas are acute brain injury (mostly traumatic brain injury) and its very early management. He is co-director of the Imperial Neurotrauma Centre. Mark's research focus is the hyper-acute management of brain injury and the physiological effects of hypoxia on the brain.
Charles Fellows-Smith (66-75) has been made a Vice President of the Cricketer Cup competition for his 'long service to the Cricketer Cup and his valuable work on the records and statistics'. Simon Dyson, Alleyn Club President, has known Charles Fellows-Smith for over 40 years. ‘Charles has been an ever-present force for the OAs in the Cricketer Cup. His playing record over 20 years (35 appearances) speaks for itself,
but Charles’s contribution to the Cricketer Cup competition itself as its ‘one-man self-appointed archivist’ will I am sure leave a much more impressive legacy. Those with a statistical bent should log on to thecricketercup.com where you will find a veritable cornucopia of Cricketer Cup history with Charles’ fingerprints all over it!’ Our image shows Charles (right) at Lord's with his brother, James (68-77), and father, Jon, a South African Test cricketer in 1960.
Hammad Jeilani (09-16) and Christopher Law (11-16) are working in conjunction with a number of key stakeholders including the Mid and South Essex NHS Trust, the UK and European Space agencies, the NHS Clinical Entrepreneur Programme and drone operator partners Skylift UAV to trial a project designed to courier Covid-19 samples, blood tests and personal protective equipment between hospitals in England. The remote-controlled drone will initially fly between Essex’s Broomfield Hospital, Basildon Hospital and the Pathology First Laboratory in Basildon.
Richard Evans (87-95) was promoted to partner at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP in 2020. Richard helps clients buy, sell, lease and finance commercial aircraft and private jets. He is the co-author of the Chambers Guide to Aircraft Financing & Leasing and Pillsbury’s World Aircraft Repossession Index. Peter M. Smith, FRICS (63-71) retired as an Executive Director of EY in November 2018. He is still active with RICS, appointed as Chair, Americas World Regional Board in 2017. He continues to provide property tax consulting services to select clients and lives in Los Angeles, CA USA. Congratulations to Jack Ramsay(07-18) who has joined the Royal Marines.
Alex Nelson (73-80) has become Master of the Clothworkers' Company in the City of London. The Company was founded in 1528 and Alex is the 501st Master, serving until July 2021. Alex has also served as the Alleyn Club OA regional representative for a number of years and has been responsible for some memorable reunion dinners at Durham Castle. Sam Williams (10-20) Sam was part of a team going into the College during the pandemic helping to make visors and face masks in the school’s design and technology department, as part of this work Sam went on to help create a COVID-19 secure screen for ear nose and throat doctors to use during medical examinations – allowing thousands of on-hold procedures to safely go ahead.
Sir Stephen Deuchar CBE (70-75) was Knighted in the 2021 New Year Honors list for services to the arts. Sir Stephen was the first director of Tate Britain in London, from 1998 to 2010 and between 2010 and 2020 he was the director of the UK's Art Fund.
SPORTS NEWS
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RIP Chris Wall, Chris Trussell and Brian Jones Former teacher of Mathematics, Chris Wall passed away on Friday 14 August in St. Christopher's Hospice. Chris taught Mathematics at Dulwich College from 1968 until his retirement in 2006. Outside the classroom Chris coached the Junior Colts rugby and assisted with the Colts and 1st XV and coached several 'Sevens' teams. Chris also coached the 2nd XI cricket for 36 years.
OA RUGBY
Dave Stephenson (60-63) has been awarded the 2020 Chairman's Award by USA Rugby for his part in the 1976 USA Men’s Team vs Australia.
With a number of OAs having successful seasons with Premiership and national sides, here is a round up: Tommy O’Flaherty (05-12 ) has had a fantastic season winning the European Champions Cup Rugby with Exeter Chiefs. Beno Obano (11-13) has produced, directed and features in the rugby documentary 'Everybody's Game', which is available now on Amazon Prime Video. The documentary includes contributions from professional rugby players Maro Itoje, Anthony Watson, Ellis Genge and Biyi Alo and focuses on the backgrounds of BAME players within rugby union. 'Everybody's Game' sees the group discuss the perceptions of race and class within the sport, as well as how rugby union should be open to everyone. Congratulations to Oli Kebble (09-11) who was part of the Scotland side who celebrated a Six Nations win in Wales for the first time in 18 years with victory in Llanelli in November. Oli has played 50 times for Glasgow Warriors since joining from Super Rugby side Stormers in 2017. He was also part of the 2012 South Africa squad who won the Junior World Championship on home soil. Oli made his Scotland debut against Georgia in October, coming off the bench in the 48-7 win.
Chris Trussell, former History teacher at Dulwich College between 1987 and 2012, passed away on 5 October 2020 following an illness.
Brian Jones , former Head of Biology between 1952- 1986 died, peacefully at home after a short illness on 25 May 2020, aged 94. From 1961 to 1971 Brian was the housemaster of Blew House, one of the school’s boarding houses.
The USA RFU was founded in 1975 with the purpose of acting as the governing body responsible for the promotion and development of Rugby in the United States and in 1976, they introduced the Eagles to the rugby world. In 1976, the USA Eagles played against Australia in their first test match of the modern era. Australia won the hard- fought game 24-12 with Dave playing outside centre in this landmark team.
ART & CULTURE
In October Stephen Finer (61-66) presented a virtual exhibition, Paintings That Capture . The show was comprised of paintings spanning the last four decades, exhibiting 21 artworks created between 1981-2014. Stephen's works are held in notable international public collections including the National Portrait Gallery London, Arts Council England and Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Among his numerous sitters are included David Bowie, Marlene Dietrich and Merlyn Driver.
Images: ©Stephen Finer, Bridgeman images.
SAM FANNING – RISING STAR
Sam Fanning (08-14) is currently building a big reputation for himself as a top order, left-handed batsman. Sam was born in New Zealand in October 2000 and came to Dulwich in 2008. The Sporting Alleynian of 2008/9 records his outstanding performances in the College under 8’s: “The pick of the players was Sam Fanning who has great technical ability already as well as plenty of potential.” Sam left Dulwich in 2014 when his family moved to Australia. Last year, Sam made 108 against Sri Lanka u/19 in Colombo which was followed by a move to Perth to join the full Western Australia squad containing six Test players and a further half dozen One Day Internationals. He was the leading Australian batsman in the recent u/19 World Cup in South Africa, making 75 against India and 62 v Afghanistan. One to watch in 2021.
Congratulations Ned Bennett (95-02) for receiving the Best Director Award at the Off-West End Awards in March 2020. His bold production of Equus picked up three awards including Best Production and Best Director.
Ekow Quartey (01-08) was nominated for this year's Ian Charleson Awards for his portrayal of Lysander in the Shakespeare's Globe production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The awards recognise actors under 30 performing classical roles.
SPORTS NEWS
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ALLEYNIAN SAILING SOCIETY
In the late summer of 2020 when there was a relaxing of the restrictions, the Alleynian Sailing Society were able to organise a week-long outing. Two 37’ yachts were chartered from the Hamble. One was skippered by the Commodore, Richard Sainsbury (63-72), and the other by the Hon Secretary, Anthony Frankford (62-69). Helping Richard were Al Capon (73-80) and his partner Michelle along with Tommaso Quaglia (15-20) and William Holmes (12-19).
OLD ALLEYNIAN ASSOCIATION FOOTBALL CLUB
This trip did show that there was room in the Society’s calendar to have a separate trip and take recent College leavers out, hopefully going further afield if the weather allows. This would allow time for training for Competent Crew and Day Skipper examinations and allow the next generation of sailors to prosper. My personal thanks to Richard Sainsbury for his navigational expertise (and dinner on the last night), Al, Michelle and Harry for all their help and bonhomie, but more especially to the younger crew members who showed us that the future of the Society is in safe hands. Special mention should be made of Matt’s photographic prowess and the introduction of drone flying off his boat to capture spectacular images.
relegations being awarded, from which I am pleased to say we were beneficiaries. The 2nd XI were champions elect of Division 4 under the masterful direction of midfield dynamo John Harvey (04-11) and defensive lionheart Anu Ogunbiyi (02-09) and were consequently rewarded with promotion to Division 3. With both 2nd and 3rd XIs leading their respective divisions in the 20/21 season the much-anticipated Dulwich derby does not look like happening any time soon. For the 1st XI it was a first season without any silverware, though it can still definitely be considered a success after a strong showing in the highly competitive Premier Division. When the season was drawn to a close, the 1st XI were comfortably inside the ‘Champions League’ spots holding onto fourth place, and so it looks like the new regime of James Barrie (01-11) and Andy Moss (04-11) will have the backing of the ‘Board’ and lead the side into a second season. While we made it through to the quarter finals of the Arthur Dunn Cup, we were edged out in extra time by Arthurian League behemoth Charterhouse.
I think it is fair to say that across Europe the 2019 -2020 football season was a strange one. This was no different in the Arthurian League who went against the precedent set by the Premier League, Serie A and La Liga and instead followed Ligue 1’s example in deciding that, as the world was increasingly gripped by the pandemic, there was not a viable commercial case to continue playing. The OAs had enjoyed another stellar season up until the point at which the government called a halt to organised sport, and I am delighted to report promotions for both the 2nd and 3rd XI. Indeed, such was the 3rd XI’s dominance of Division 5 in their inaugural year that they had already been crowned Champions by the time we went into lockdown. A huge congratulations to co-captains Ife Runsewe (04-11) and Jake Warren (98-07) in overseeing such a successful first season and proving that, unlike at Liverpool in the late 1990’s, the Roy Evans and Gerard Houllier model of joint management can be made to work. Ife’s withdrawal from the Committee for the 20/21 season is purely a coincidence! Despite, or maybe because of, the uncertain end to the season, the League’s authorities decided to restructure the divisions for the 20/21 season, resulting in several unofficial promotions and It seems strange to watch England play Rugby and realise that our most dangerous sport of Golf is banned. Our golfing in 2020 has been severely curtailed by Coronavirus. After titanic struggles against Old Cranleighans and Royal Cinque Ports, acting as Halford Hewitt trials, the last society outing before the first lockdown was held at New Zealand on 19 March. We then had to endure a six month wait for our next outing during which time all the big alumni school events were cancelled, including the Halford Hewitt, Cyril Gray and Grafton Morrish. There was however a silver lining; golf’s popularity increased after lockdown with WFH (working-from-home) becoming the new normal and we saw an upsurge in interest and availability from the U30’s, an age group we had focused our efforts on attracting before the pandemic. Our youth policy was reflected in the first fixture post lockdown, a match against Old Johnians in September, again at New Zealand, where I am very pleased to say that 5 of our 10 players were under 30, but sadly we lost. In 2020, we launched our website at oags.co.uk where you can join, see and book all our forthcoming fixtures and contact other OA golfers. We are optimistic for 2021, although we do not know how they may be able to play the Halford Hewitt with
The other yacht carried Harry Willetts, Master i/c Sailing at DC, Matt Gorvett (06- 13) and Alex Waring (13-18), also recent leavers. A great week, despite not having the College boys with us. We hope next year it will have all calmed down and we will safely be able to take boys out sailing again.
Anthony Frankford (62-69) Secretary anthonytfrankford@gmail.com
OA CROSS COUNTRY
Adrian Low (83-90) and Dan Wade (92-99) raced each other across the Bristol Downs, cheered on by their families. Youth prevailed, with Dan finishing in 36:54, less than one minute ahead of Adrian. It may not have been the classic alumni course across Wimbledon Common, but it further goes to show how modern technology, in this case Garmin and Strava, can bring us together in the COVID era.
With Cross Country events unable to go ahead this year, the ‘Old Boys’ race, like so many things, went digital. On 12 December, Old Alleynians joined
alumni from schools across the country in a virtual race. The idea was that everyone should run 5 miles ‘across country’; the organisers requested that ‘some mud and hills should be included!’ Seven OAs took up the challenge with courses mapped out and ran at locations across Europe including Ireland, Berlin, Epsom Downs, Leeds and Kent.
Ben Precious (02-07) Secretary preciousb1@hotmail.co.uk
OA GOLFING SOCIETY
so many competitors and spectators. We have some excellent fixtures, including two new ones against Old Harovians at The Berkshire and against Old Sennockians at Littlestone. All players are welcome to join us. Please contact me. You can find the fixture list on the website. The Society has presented two trophies of 400th anniversary Dartington rose bowls to be played for at Royal Cinque Ports and Royal Ashdown. Sadly, we lost Tony Brewer (60-67), who captained our team to the final of the Halford Hewitt in 1982 and was part of the Grafton Morrish winning team in 1971. The match against Royal Cinque Ports will be known as the Brewmaster Trophy in his memory. The match against Royal Ashdown will be played for the Deakin Bowl to be presented by Bob Deakin (42- 45) our most successful Halford Hewitt golfer. The
Jerry Watson (71-78) Secretary thewatsonsroundhay@gmail.com
OLD ALLEYNIAN LODGE
planning a grand Centenary event at the College in December, but this has had to be postponed: we have rearranged our Centenary meeting, thanks to the good offices of the Master and the Events team, for October 2021. Apart from the masonic stories and moral principles imparted in our ceremonies, and the good-fellowship provided by membership of the Lodge, charitable giving is also an essential part of Freemasonry, and the Old Alleynian Lodge has supported the COVID-19 related charitable activities of the Metropolitan Grand Lodge of London and Dulwich College. One day we shall return to form - though, as a sociable organisation, we know we shall have to wait. Nevertheless, if you are interested in learning more about Freemasonry, or might like to join the Lodge, do get in touch - we would be delighted to hear from you.
The first meeting of the Old Alleynian Lodge - known in Freemasonry as the Consecration meeting - was held on 14 December 1920 at the Hotel Cecil in the Strand. The hotel was demolished many years ago, but the Lodge has just been able to mark the occasion of its Centenary - if only via Zoom. The Lodge has not been inactive. During the first lockdown, we held Zoom sessions every two weeks, to raise a glass to the Lodge and to each other. Experiments with singing "Pueri Alleynienses" via Zoom, however, were not a success! During the "Rule of Six" period, we were able to hold a COVID-secure, masked and socially- distanced meeting in the Old Library. This enabled us to appoint new Lodge officers for the year - an important aspect of the life of every Lodge. We were pleased to be able to hold a special Zoom session on 14 December 2020, the precise date of the Lodge's Centenary. The Lodge had been
accompanying image is of Old Alleynians at Deal Golf Club with Tony Brewer in the middle standing and Bob Deakin kneeling just left of centre.
Happy days let’s hope they return soon.
Duncan Anderson (64-71) Secretary oags2013sec@gmail.com
Sergei Subotsky (78-86) Secretary oalodge4165@gmail.com
Here we meet a few of our recent leavers to find out what they have been doing in the short time since they left school and what they hope to achieve in the future.
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Alex Cahill(09-20)
The experience of leaving the College was, as for every other student our age, anti-climactic. Hearing from boys in years above me talk about the whole ‘leavers experience’, I couldn’t help but feel a little cheated out of what must be a landmark occasion in any student’s life. However, this was quickly put to the back of my mind, and instead replaced by severe stress over what grades I would receive and how this would be graded and moderated.
Recent Leavers Reflect Leavers destinations: by subject and destination
Results day was again an anti-climactic experience, and I was certainly involved in the complete shambles created by Ofqual and their less than intelligent algorithm! Thankfully a matter of weeks later the exams debacle was resolved and I managed to receive the grades I needed to apply to university. Whilst I always intended to take a gap year, where I find myself now, I’m certainly glad I didn’t choose to go to university this year. Hearing from friends who have chosen to go, it seems to me that COVID has resulted in an experience unlike any other. It took me a very long time to find work, having applied for fifty or so different job vacancies without so much as an acknowledgment of my application. I know for many people my age this was common, and I felt lucky to find a job eventually. I’m hoping that the new vaccine may allow international travel to resume. If so, I’ll be heading to Toronto with three friends from Dulwich to play rugby. However, if there is one lesson that I have certainly learned not only from this year but from my time at the College, it is to always have a Plan B, or even C!
Most popular university choices: (figures include OAs on deferred entry):
ENGINEERING SCIENCES ECONOMICS HISTORY COMPUTING LAW LANGUAGES ARTS AND DESIGN BUSINESS AND FINANCE ENGLISH MATHEMATICS POLITICS PHILOSOPHY MEDICINE PPE
20 14 14 13 11 11 11 10 10
UCL
Each year, a number of our leavers choose to study abroad at universities across the globe. This year includes:
Manchester
Oxford Durham
Adam Kinirons (15-20)
Newcastle Edinburgh Nottingham Cambridge
7
USA (including Duke and UCLA)
Bath
In March, the extraordinary news came that schools were to shut. When Boris announced cancellation of exams, I had mixed feelings. A great weight had been lifted, but I also felt disappointment that I wasn’t going to showcase all the hard work I had put into my studies. I was confident in my teachers’ and Ofqual’s ability to correctly represent me in my results, however there was a constant fear that this would not be the case, and come 13 August 2020, my fear became reality. I had been awarded grades below my mock exam results and what my teachers had submitted, which in turn meant no university I was interested in would even glance at my application. A huge stress was piled on me and those around me. I lost my offers and frantically called universities daily to find a course. Once the government announced their U-turn, the revised grades met my top university choice - a massive relief. I now have a deferred place at Newcastle University and I’m currently on a gap year. I am very much in touch with my friends from Dulwich College and although we didn’t have a Leavers’ Day or the usual celebrations, we’ve had a shared experience of being ‘the year that didn’t finish school’.
3 2 1
Netherlands
Canada
Hong Kong
Marcus Marchant (13-20)
GEOGRAPHY PSYCHOLOGY MUSIC CLASSICS SPORT
I experienced a whole range of emotions when I heard my final year was to be cut short with no final A-level exams; shocked not to end my 7 years at Dulwich with traditional school send offs; disappointed that I couldn’t give that last surge of motivation to secure the grades I wanted; and a surge of delight because exams were cancelled. I guess many friends will agree with that sentiment. Fortunately, I got into Newcastle University to study Psychology, after a scramble and a few disappointed grades at the time. I was also able to take one important exam in September: LAMDA gold medal and was awarded Distinction. Looking to the new year, I’m thrilled to return to Dulwich College as a Sport Gappy in the Spring term. A good way to round off my Dulwich time.
Luke Cunningham (13-20)
We were gearing up to prepare ourselves for the most influential and hard-working 4 months of our lives when normal life came to an end. I was working in the DT Department, with the deadline of my coursework on the horizon, when I heard the news that exams would be cancelled.
Panic, confusion and a touch of frustration.
As lockdown began, I turned to what I’m familiar with: exercise and fitness. As time wore on, the aim was to be productive. Running a marathon, a 26-hour Table Tennis
challenge for Macmillan Cancer Support (raising £4,500), as well as decorating my room, coaching cricket, and occasionally ditching Zoom calls to meet family and friends in real life. As a school, we were able to finish our cricketing careers, with four matches, of which two were rained off; however, the other two were both victories - an undefeated season. When results day arrived, I was excited but anxious, as I had no idea what to expect. In order to gain my place at Bath to study Architecture, I would need to sit Maths again in October. Several days later, whilst sailing in the Ionian Sea, my grades changed - a moment of relief yet disbelief as I was gifted a set of results I probably should not have received.
Now I could continue my gap year as planned. Argentina is no longer an option for the near future, nor are many other countries, so I have decided to extend my job (that I am lucky enough to have) at the school I am working at.
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