Author: dean
In August Alfie had the privilege of bearing the King’s Colours. At a ceremony in the grounds of Balmoral Castle, King Charles, accompanied by Queen Camilla, presented a new ceremonial colour to the Royal Guard. The Ballater Colour is used by the soldiers from the Royal Guard, who guard Balmoral Castle while the King is in residence during the summer months. The first Ballater Colour was presented in 1880 by Queen Victoria. On this occasion, and to mark the reign of King Charles III, The King presented the new Ballater Colour to 51 Infantry Brigade & Headquarters Scotland. The new Ballater Colour displays the Tudor Crown of His Majesty’s cypher rather than the St Edward’s Crown used by Queen Elizabeth II.
England batter Harry Brook has been named the Professional Cricketers’ Association men’s player of the year. Brook, 24, scored 363 runs in the Ashes, before hitting the fastest century in the men’s Hundred.
Read more HERE.
I am sure many of you will never have heard of Ian Charles Gray and it isn’t often I put out an appeal to honour someone.
However, in my many years of service to the Club I have never been so struck by an individual, in particular one I never knew.
Ian suffered life-long disabilities following a car accident soon after he left Sedbergh. For the last ten years he has been in care. He was supported by a fellow Sedberghian, Alistair Pirie, a life-long friend from Hart House days, who made sure his affairs were looked after when Ian found it difficult to manage without assistance. Such are the Sedbergh bonds of friendship.
Ian passed away a few weeks ago and left his estate to the School so that future generations might have opportunities in life that he unfortunately could not have. This gift will have life changing consequences for others.
I will be there at his funeral to honour a man I never knew, whose final act was to help others when he himself had suffered so much. The funeral of this tremendous, very decent, and a most honourable Old Sedberghian, will be held on Friday 6 October at 2.00 pm in the chapel at Whitgift House, 76 Brighton Road, South Croydon CR0 6AB (the care home where he resided).
If you knew him, please join us. If you didn’t know him, please come anyway. He deserves our respect and a last farewell from his fellow Siblings of Sedbergh. If you are coming, please let me know (jcv@sedberghschool.org, 07714 677007).
Jan van der Velde
(Ian Gray is pictured above in his final year at Hart House, left of centre with glasses on the back row).
For many Sedberghians the reassurance of having financial affairs in order can be a great comfort. To mark Free Wills Month in October the Foundation is delighted to launch a new partnership with dedicated will writing service Squiggle. Jan van der Velde, Director of Alumni Development has worked with Squiggle Estate Planning Consultant, Maria Greenwood, for 25 years and highly recommends her work.
Through the partnership with Sedbergh School Foundation, Squiggle will offer both a free dedicated will writing service, and access to their wider paid-for estate planning services. There is no obligation to take up additional services or leave a legacy to Sedbergh School. The will writing service can be delivered over the telephone and via video calls. Alternatively, face-to-face appointments can be arranged for members of the Sedbergh community in the south-east of England. Squiggle will guide clients through the process of writing a will, cutting through the legal jargon and making it a straightforward process. Squiggle are also happy to review existing wills for free to ensure that they are up to date with the needs of each client. All wills created through this scheme are logged with the ‘National Wills Register’ meaning that the wills are transparent and accessible when the time comes. Sedberghians using this service will receive a copy of the will for their own records.
Some Sedberghians chose to remember Sedbergh School in their will and may choose to join the 1525 Society which recognises commitments to leave a legacy to the school. The main priority of fundraising at present is to create opportunities for Roger Lupton Scholarships. Children of exceptional talent who do not have access to the financial resources to make a Sedbergh education accessible are offered 100% scholarships to attend the school. These life changing opportunities are only possible due to the generosity of donors in the Sedbergh community. One of our recent Roger Lupton Scholars reflected this month on his time at school:
If I had not had the opportunity to come to Sedbergh I may be in a completely different place. Sedbergh has given me an advantage of high-level training environments for my sporting endeavour. Despite being a keen academic my concentration in this area wasn’t always consistent, and so the structured, fast paced school terms created an environment where I thrived. The school’s culture is embedded into Sedberghians and people respect this.
Recent decades have seen the benefit of these legacies compounded as past scholars have chosen to ‘give back’ in later life, creating opportunities for young people to benefit as they themselves did. This perpetual giving generates valuable continuity in our efforts to provide life changing opportunities to more young people and means that your legacy will continue to give benefit to the young for generations to come.
If you’d like to learn more about the free will writing service, please contact Maria Greenwood of Squiggle, maria.greenwood@squiggleconsult.co.uk, 01732 92740.
If you’d like to discuss becoming a member of the 1525 Society, or to learn more about it, please contact Jan van der Velde jcv@sedberghschool.org, 07714 677007.
Sedbergh publishes a new book charting the history of the school
‘A History of Sedbergh School 1525 – 2025: ‘Tis the Hills that have stood around us’ is the definitive book charting the history of Sedbergh School, published to mark the 500th anniversary. Sedbergh School was founded by Roger Lupton to provide an academic education and a moral grounding to young people in the parish of Sedbergh. 500 years later the school is world famous and internationally recognised for providing excellence in the classroom, boarding houses, on sports pitches and in the extensive range of extra-curricular activities on offer to our pupils. This book charts the history of Sedbergh School from a one room chantry school to a global brand. The author, Michael Raw, was keen that this book be an accurate account of Sedbergh’s history, not a sanitised version of events. As such, it faithfully records the varying fortunes of the school from its early years during the challenges of the reformation through to the achievements and drama of the later centuries. The rapid Victorian expansion of the school, arrival of the first female teacher, the departure from single sex education, and the loss of not one but two generations in World Wars are recorded in the author’s words, through exerts from contemporary school documents, and in memoirs and letters of characters who lived through these events.
The book will be available from September 2024 and will cost £50 including packing and postage. However, it is available now on pre-sale at a cost of £40.
To order copies of the book click here.
It has been five years since Sedbergh sent its emissaries to Hong Kong, and to repair this oversight, a delegation was dispatched in June to convey our good tidings to our friends in the Far East.
Ben Collins and myself together with the Marketing Director, David Milner, were joined by the Headmaster, Dan Harrison, for a major event hosting parents (past, present, and prospective) and Old Sedberghians, at a grand ‘get together’ in Kowloon. It was wonderful to see so many old friends, many of whom had been taught by Dan over the years.
One person who couldn’t make the evening was Tyson Yoshi, a former Powellian, and now a Rapper of some renown in Hong Kong. He has a busy schedule and therefore David Milner, Ben Collins, and I sought him out at his new album launch where he was signing autographs.
The queue to see him was hours long and while I will do much for dear old Sedbergh, standing in a queue with a thousand excited teenagers is not my thing. Therefore, words were spoken with the management, and on announcing we were from Sedbergh, the queue was pushed aside and we were able to meet Tyson. The thousand excited teenagers were in awe and started taking photos of us. Tyson was most welcoming. ‘Call me Ben’ (his real name) he said and was the model of manners and politeness. Despite his evidential fame he had not forgotten his roots and we came away thinking what a genuinely wonderful person.
Well done Tyson, it was a great pleasure to meet you.
This aside, and if it were not enough for one trip, we were invited to dinner by Duncan and Sandy Pescod at the Hong Kong Club. We had also received an invitation for the following evening by Chris Page at the Hong Kong Football Club.
One can be forgiven thinking that these places are one and the same. Therefore, with Ben Collins and my boss, The Headmaster, in tow, we went to the Hong Kong Football Club to meet the Pescods. I announced ourselves on arrival to the receptionist who apparently had never heard of the restaurant at which we were dining. Neither did they have a third floor in which the restaurant resided. She must be new I thought, and asked her, politely, to check her records. She suggested I check mine.
That is when the horror of the situation dawned on me; we were in the wrong Club. To make amends the three of us dashed across the island, like Hugh Grant and Charlotte Coleman at the beginning of ‘Four Weddings and a Funeral’. We turned up half an hour late, and out of breath. However, Duncan and Sandy were most understanding and said I wasn’t the only person (I’m sure they meant idiot) to have made that mistake.
The Hong Kong Club is a splendid place and we soon relaxed and had a most enjoyable and entertaining evening. Thank you Duncan and Sandy, for your warm hospitality and your support. We still talk about the Hong Kong Club. In fact it came up in my staff review with The Head!
On the last night Chris Page entertained us at the Hong Kong Football Club. This time we knew where we were going. It was a night of merriment, of old school tales, and hugs at the end. Thank you Chris, and thank you Leslie Page, for allowing Chris to stay out later than advertised!
And thank you Hong Kong. A great visit which has done much good. We hope to return soon, or at least in less than five years.
Jan van der Velde
On the weekend of 24th and 25th of June, Casterton Sedbergh Prep opened its doors in celebration of the founding of Casterton School by the Revd William Carus-Wilson in 1823.
Over the course of the weekend, over 400 Old Girls, parents, and friends were in attendance at the lunches, the Gala Dinner, and the Church Service held in the Holy Trinity Church.
The Gala Dinner, held in a marquee, was a sell out success with 250 people enjoying a glorious summer evening while being entertained by the prep school musicians before dinner. Thereafter we heard speeches from the Headmaster, Will Newman, and Castertonian Old Girl, Holly Story.
During the evening we were entertained through song by Olivia Patchett, a former pupil at the prep school and now a music scholar at Sedbergh. Olivia received a standing ovation after her faultless performance.
After the formal part of the evening concluded, the live band ‘The Dead Beats’ soon filled the dance floor. It was a tremendous evening all round and many kind comments have since been received.
In the morning, with some bleary eyed, the traditional Casterton Founder’s Day ceremony was re-enacted with the carrying of the banner ahead of the assembled crowd of 200, who together paraded from the School to The Holy Trinity Church. It was a spectacular occasion not seen for ten years.
The Church service itself was conceived by the Sedbergh School Chaplain, Paul Sweeting, and led by Casterton Old Girl, The Revd Olivia Haines, supported by another Casterton Old Girl, The Revd Sarah Simpson.
During the service the Casterton school song was sung with such vigour, and with such passion, that it echoed around the walls of the Church and down the Lune valley. Tears welled in the eyes as fond memories came flooding back.
It was a wonderful weekend. Thank you to all those who made it happen, and in particular to Will and Liz Newman who were so hospitable and accommodating.
It should come as no surprise that following the weekend 150 Old Girls have signed up to attend more events and we hope this will be the platform for many happy reunions in years to come. If you would like to know more about future Casterton events, please see the link here: https://forms.office.com/e/ajvTVCe83Uhttps://forms.office.com/e/ajvTVCe83U
The Old Sedberghians had a record turn out of shooters for the Public Schools’ Veterans Competition on 13th July which was held immediately after the Ashburton Shield Competition. For the first time in many years there were enough firers for 3 full teams which also reflected the talents of the younger OS shooters several of whom are now competing at international level. The competition was shot at 500 yards in conditions which were more challenging than usual with strong winds and threatening rain showers. In view of the quality among the younger shooters the teams were selected as follows (scores included):
OS A Team:
Harriet Bramwell – 48.4
Sarah Rorison – 48.5
Angus Strudwick – 47.4
Harry Welch – 47.3
Katherine Fleck – 48.5
Team Total – 238.21 (the .21 refers to the number of central bulls)
OS B Team
Lauren Robinson (Nee Crowson) – 49.7
Will Squires – 49.5
Oli Christy – 48.4
Peter Bromley – 49.6
Mark Wrigley – 49.6
Team Total – 244.28
OS C Team
Charles Anyan – 43.3
Ben Jones – 49.3
Megan Kenyon – 43.0
Abi Gibbs – 47.3
Toby Lehmann – 47.5
Team Total – 229.14
The B team comprising some of the more experienced shots won the day and were placed second in the “B” tea competition one point behind the Old Greshams team. We were placed 5th in the aggregate competition based on the combined scores of all 3 teams. Lauren Robinson was the top OS score of the day winning the McMullen Trophy with 49.7 which showed an impressive return to form after several years away from the sport. It was great to have this trophy back with us, it having briefly disappeared during the disruptions caused by Covid!
As a belated mention that in addition to those OS who have shot at international level before either for Great Britain or at National level, Harriet Bramwell has been selected to Captain the GB Under 25 Team to the World Championships in South Africa in 2024 and we have just had the news that Sarah Rorison and Daisy Armstrong have been selected for the GB Under 21 Team in the same competition.
Importantly it is not just the shooting that counts and after enjoying catching up on the range, we adjourned to the RAF Small Arms Association Club for an excellent BBQ hosted by the Ian Christy IC Sedbergh Shooting who has done so much to encourage younger shooters to remain in the sport. Several who could not make the competition because of work commitments arrived in time for the main Imperial Meeting competitions.
An innovative and unique new marketing App from OS James M. O. Robertson (E88-93) available right now on Apple and Android.
Do you own an offline business anywhere in the world?
Think hospitality, retail, personal service etc
Would you like to:
Increase sales?
Expand marketing reach?
Real time report on how your offers are being used?
Securely link discounts to your EPOS system?
Generate a new database you can push notifications directly to?
We have the answer.
No hardware required and staff trained in 60 seconds.
It takes 1 minute to download, 5 minutes to setup, 10 minutes to see results & costs the same as 3 pints at the Dalesman (which is obviously also money well spent)!
Please check out the website with links to download the App today.
If any O.S. would like a personal walkthrough then James would be delighted to assist, just drop an email to james@flycket.com
FLYCKET – the trackable FLYer and shareable ticket.
OS Ewan (W 97-99) and Mike (SH 93-00), both former professional rugby players, now work for St James’s Place who are a wealth management company that run an industry-leading financial adviser training programme.
Ewan and Mike discuss their transition from professional sport to life at SJB here.