Homerton College 1

HomertonianThe Newsletter of Homerton College, Cambridge & The Homerton Roll Number 17 | May 2013

in this issue | Twenty Years of Change | Inner Core | Sports and Societies

Homertonian2

Homertonian

College News

Keeper’s Letter 2

Principal’s Letter 3

College News 4

Student News 13

Retired Senior Members 26

Obituaries of former colleagues 26

Charter Campaign and Donor List

Bursar’s Report 30

A Crisis in Funding for 30

Graduate Students

Charter Campaign 31

Creating a Legacy for

Homerton College 32

Donor list 33

Homerton Roll

Roll Committee and Branch Details 34

Events Diary 35

Back Page

Annual Roll Reunion 2013 36

Issue 17 | May 2013

The Homertonian is published once a year to keep members informed with College and alumni news.

Do contact us in the Development and Roll Office: Tel: 01223 747270 / 747280 Email: roll@homerton.cam.ac.uk

All our publications are available to read online on the Homerton College website: http://www.homerton.cam.ac.uk/alumni/publications.

Join us on Facebook. Details of events and College news are posted on our Facebook alumni page, ‘Homerton College Cambridge Alumni’.

Thank you to all of our contributors and to those who supplied images. The views expressed in this newsletter do not necessarily represent the views of Homerton College, Cambridge.

Cover photograph: Fran May

Design and print management: H2 Associates, Cambridge

Dear Member

The Homertonian is the College’s main link

with its former members, telling the story of

the whole College community. In this year

of change you will read of the Principal’s

retirement, and of Dr Peter Warner’s as

Senior Tutor. The Vice Principal, Professor

John Gray, has written a pen portrait of the

new Principal, Professor Geoffrey Ward, who

comes into post on 1st October.

We have now published four of our termly

e-Newsletters, each including the dates

of events such as Formal Hall and Charter

Choir concerts, and snippets of news.

We have had many positive responses,

members commenting on particular

news items and telling us their own

stories which we tuck safely away in our

archives. The e-Newsletter complements

the Homertonian and the Roll News. We

now place articles from the Branches in

the Roll News published in November, but

highlight one or two Branch events in each

e-Newsletter. Both the Homertonian and

the Roll News can be read online.

Many will realise that this Homertonian has

arrived much earlier than in previous years.

The normal June date has not allowed us

to publicise the Family Day. This year Family

Day is being held on Sunday 23rd June, and

there is a Booking Form inside. If you have

children or grand-children, do come and

enjoy the range of activities provided.

We have had splendid feedback in the last

two years.

The Reunion 2013 will be special with Kate

and Peter bidding farewell. To encourage

as many of you as possible to come, prices

for meals and B&B are much reduced. The

Friday evening reception and Dinner will

follow the normal pattern. However, the

Saturday lunch time arrangements are

a little different. After the morning talks,

we will proceed straight to lunch. We feel

this will make lunch and the afternoon

programme less rushed. Don’t worry, wine

and soft drinks will be served with lunch.

The afternoon programme includes tours,

a talk, and the Charter Choir will entertain

us. Later in this Homertonian you will see

a special note about the Reunion Saturday

Dinner. We are encouraging all who

have been students during Kate’s time as

Principal and Peter’s as a lecturer and Senior

Tutor to come.

Finally, this is my last letter to Roll members.

I am standing down in the summer after

nearly nine years as Keeper, although I do

hope to attend the Reunion. It is good

that Dr Peter Warner is taking over. He has

been on the Roll Committee for many

years and has been a major contributor

to the Reunion and other Roll events. I

want to thank you all for your support

and encouragement over these years. I

have enjoyed meeting you at Reunions,

Formal Halls and visiting you at your Branch

lunches, though I am not sure that I will

make it to the first meeting of our new

Branch in China!

This is my last Homertonian; I want to thank

all who have helped with its production

and especially Peter Raby for his skill in

proof reading. On your behalf, I must also

thank Alison Holroyd and all who have

worked in the Roll and Development Office

for all that they have done in supporting

the Roll, for their good ideas, for seeing

them through and keeping me moving

in the right direction.

With best wishes

Dr ian h Morrison Keeper of the Roll

keeper’s letter Contents

Homerton College 3

O, if I start looking behind me,and begin re-tracing my track,I’ll remind you to remind me,we said we’d never look back. Julian Slade, ‘We said we wouldn’t look back’ from Salad Days, 1954

Leaving Cambridge after 48 years and

Homerton after 22, is a long slow process

but as the academic year unfolds relentlessly,

it also seems to move faster and faster even

in the dreariest grey deserts of February,

which is when this is being written. We

are past Halfway Hall, the midpoint of the

second years’ university life, Christmas

(celebrated in November) is long past and

in three weeks I shall have given my final

lecture at Cambridge and can begin getting

rid of my textbooks, hoarded booklists and

cuttings that might have come in useful

and didn’t. It’s wonderfully cathartic.

Last week, I spoke to the students of the

University’s Archaeological Field Club at

their 65th Annual Feast. I’d presided at

the 20th Feast myself but found it hard to

find any points of contact to connect the

two: the great and the good of my time

were unknown to my audience, or dead.

Anecdotes seemed quaint rather than

amusing and it seemed to me that we

lacked a common physical background to

unite us physically if not chronologically –

there was no shared sense of place.

Every day someone asks me, ‘Won’t you miss

all this’, whether it is a Monday morning

encounter with the Porters; sharing the

news of floods in the Archive; damage after

a student bop; sickness among staff and

students or a difficult University meeting

to chair. I think I shall not miss having to

cope with such things: retirement will bring

much the same demands on a domestic

scale, with leaking taps, collapsing fences

and sick cats to replace the College crises

and a long-sought release from having to

persuade other people to do things they

don’t want to do at innumerable meetings.

But I shall miss the places.

Cambridge, of course, belongs to all and

none of us. I am so accustomed to dodging

the traffic and tourists that I rarely see the

river and the willows or the great chestnut

tree by King’s College Chapel. The University

is more or less impervious to individual

effort – at best our task is to preserve and

improve it for the future, in our temporary

role as caretakers. In 48 years, I’ve presided

over many building projects, exhibitions and

appointments boards but anonymously, like

any other civil servant. The College, however,

is different – here an individual, again

working on a domestic scale, can make a

difference and here the place itself acts as

a link between the generations. What shall I

miss of Homerton and my 22 years here?

• Thegardens; the great copper beech

at the curve of the path by the corner of

Queen’s Wing; stachyurus praecox, raining

green gold by the Hall in spring, and my

bristlecone pine, planted in 1994 and

flourishing little navy flowers and its first

small cones.

• Thebirds; crows and jays, all three sorts

of woodpecker and the grey wagtails

on the lawns, drunken blackbirds on the

pyracantha.

• Thestaff; academic and support staff

alike, taking on every challenge I’ve

thrown at them in more than twenty

years, and creating an academic institution

of which we can all be proud.

• Thestudents from their shy corridor

smiles in the first week of term, when

they know me and I don’t know them,

to the matchless occasion of their

graduation when as they kneel before me

and as our hands join we fleetingly share

a pleasure.

• AndHomertonitself, full of energy and

movement, music, sport, endeavour,

achievement and the promise of a future

flowering.

I’ll miss that.

Kate PrettyFebruary 2013

kate prettY

prinCipal’s letter

Young Leavers’ Dinner, April 2013. Kate (centre right) at drinks reception.

Homertonian4

College news

When a college undergoes the kind of transformation Homerton has experienced in the last 25 years, we have to look with some wonder at those who made this possible. Change on the scale we are talking about clearly cannot be entirely down to a few individuals but in this case it is impossible to imagine Homerton’s metamorphosis without the astonishing work of those who will be leaving us this year. We speak, of course, of our Principal, Kate Pretty, our recently retired Bursar, Gale Bryan, and our Senior Tutor,PeterWarner.

In 1991 when Kate became Homerton’s

new Principal, the college’s future was

doubtful. Known as the best teacher

training college in the country, but at a

time when such institutions were severely

under threat, Homerton had to change to

survive. One way, fraught with difficulty, to

accomplish this was to become a college

of the University. This required a serious

endowment, rather than debt; buildings

fit for purpose that could house and

teach students; an understanding of how

the university and its faculties worked;

beginning to diversify into subjects other

than Education, establishing teaching and

research excellence across all of these. Not

much to do there then! The team of Kate

and Gale (not always harmonious!), with

the powerful help of Tim Everton as Deputy

Principal, later joined by Peter Warner as

Senior Tutor, and backed up stoutly by

Dhiru Karia as Finance Officer, made these

impossible things possible.

In those first 10 years of Kate’s being

Principal Homerton began to look different.

New buildings gave a shape and a focus

to the college, as well as providing superb

accommodation for students. The black and

white buildings, alongside Trumpington

House, had been the main teaching,

library, office, catering and porters’ lodge

areas since the 60s. They had outlived

their twenty year lifespan (buckets were

an essential part of teaching under the

leaking roof ) and the first development

was the Mary Allan Building. A year later

new accommodation blocks (West and

East houses) went up and the college

had modern en suite accommodation

and new teaching rooms. Major

refurbishment of the roof and then the

internal layout of the Victorian buildings

followed. Kate, and others, remained

in their offices throughout – much of

the time with no heating – but the end

result was emerging. This was a time

when the building was shrouded in

scaffolding, a temptation for the climbers

– one lovelorn soul was caught! With

the demolition of the black and white

buildings and the construction of Harrison

Drive, the face of the college turned

south to the gardens and orchard. South

Court brought accommodation to three

years of undergraduates. At this time,

twentY Years of CHange and growtH

Homerton managed an extremely effective

School of Nursing and Midwifery, which,

when it moved elsewhere, helped build

an endowment – an endowment further

aided by the new buildings attracting a

regular and significant conference business.

Lecturers were encouraged to build on

their research activity with the result

that Homerton became the only Teacher

Training College in the UK to receive

funds based on research excellence. The

old regime of critical friendship with HMI

changed to an Ofsted inspection regime

that seemed, and was, ever present;

we learnt how to play their game. And

throughout this period we turned out

extremely able, committed, degree-

bearing students most of whom went on

to become the superb teachers Homerton

had a name for producing.

1993 2000

present daY present daY

left Kate Pretty in 1993

above 2000 staff photo, Peter Warner, Kate Pretty and Gale Bryan

Peter Warner and Keith Waters Gale Bryan, Kate Pretty and John Gray

Homerton College 5

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Homerton had been an Approved Society

of the University of Cambridge since 1977;

the direction was clear, to become a full

college of the University. The vision of

this had been with the Trustees and Kate

from her appointment, although it took

years of careful development and nurture

both within the college and the university.

2001 saw convergence with the Faculty

of Education and the diversification of

undergraduate courses. New traditions

became embedded – the ritual of the

Homerton Horn has been shared with

generations of students, with Kate and Peter

explaining the Anglo-Saxon needed; swine

flu prevented it one year but that cohort

had their chance at their half-way hall.

No resting on laurels for the Homerton

team, however. It would take another

decade to get the Royal Charter,

empowering the fellows to run their own

college; to accept students for the whole

range of academic subjects offered in

Cambridge; to enhance and diversify the

fellowship to teach these new subjects; and

to see through an ambitious and continuing

programme of fostering young academic

brilliance by offering Junior Research

Fellowships. Yet more new building enabled

Homerton to house, very comfortably,

the graduate community that was being

established in the new college. By the

time the Royal Charter was awarded no-

one could be in any doubt that the bold

experiment had worked. A new college for

the 21st century had come of age.

We would of course have found the going

much more difficult had we not had a

fine and expert set of Trustees, deeply

committed to Homerton’s progress; and

crucially a Principal whose knowledge

of the workings of the university was so

detailed and extensive. Kate had been

Senior Tutor at New Hall, and served on

the University’s Financial Board, as well

as having departmental experience. This

knowledge deepened all the time Kate was

Principal, with her taking on one of the new

Pro-Vice Chancellor roles for the University,

binding Homerton yet more closely to

the centre.

The University of Cambridge is a strange

beast. In some ways, it is no more than

the sum of fiercely independent colleges

whose students, undergraduate and

postgraduate, are the vibrant heart of

the institution. But it is also made up

of the subjects which it teaches and

researches into. Most of us have a dual

identity, collegiate and departmental, and

the connections between these poles

are rich and complex. Kate knew about

these connections. She understood the

sometimes tangled and difficult ways

in which colleges and faculties were

related. The establishment of an ambitious

programme of Junior Research Fellowships

was a sign of Homerton’s willingness to

engage in the other core activity of the

university (as well as teaching), not just in

a toe-dabbling way but wholeheartedly.

That we could afford such a programme

was down to Gale’s enormous success

in creating the sound financial basis of

an endowment suitable for a Cambridge

college (and larger than that of many older,

more established colleges).

Many contributed to the position we are

now in. Nothing can be done without

the support of a team. But now much of

this team is being disbanded. Gale retired

last year; Peter, Dhiru and Kate will retire

this September. It is enormously to their

credit that Homerton looks to the future

with justified confidence. We have already

welcomed a new Bursar, we will welcome a

new Finance Officer, a new Senior Tutor, and

most momentously of all a new Principal.

These will be building on the soundest of

foundations. The challenges Homerton

now faces are serious. The world of higher

education has been constantly subjected to

changes in recent years, some exhilarating

and some very worrying. Through these

changes Homerton’s history of being at the

forefront of education has been maintained,

its commitment to fairness deepened, its

support for academic excellence enhanced.

We have much to thank the team for,

and special thanks must go to Kate who

has captained us with such skill and

determination.

steve WattsFellow and Admissions Tutor

Anne thwaitesFellow

and todaYHomerton 1979

Homertonian6

ProfessorGeoffreyWard,currentlyVicePrincipal of Royal Holloway College, University of London, will become Homerton’s next Principal on 1st October, succeeding Dr Kate Pretty who is retiring after more than two decades at the College.

Professor Ward is currently Vice Principal

for Students and Staff at Royal Holloway

where he previously served as Dean of

Arts, and Vice Principal for Planning and

Resources. Prior to that he was Professor

of English and Head of Department at the

University of Dundee before taking on the

role of Deputy Principal.

He started his university career at

Cambridge as a Scholar studying English

at Clare where he obtained a first, and

later taught for several Cambridge

colleges. His subsequent career led him to

teach in a number of universities, both in

the UK and further afield.

An expert on American literature, he

terms himself a ‘critic and literary historian’.

His research ranges from the Puritans to

Stephen King. He has written a number

of books as well as a novel, published

poems and given talks on Radio 3 about

his interests.

Professor Ward said: “I am delighted

and honoured to be taking up the role

of Principal of Homerton. The College

has long been known as a welcoming

and supportive environment for study.

Working with Fellows, staff and students

I aim to build on its traditions as well as

the great achievements of recent years

to ensure that it is recognised ever more

widely as a first-class place for study,

teaching and research.”

homerton’s Vice Principal, Professor John Gray, who led the Fellows’ nation-

wide search for Dr Pretty’s successor,

said: “Some extremely distinguished

and talented people expressed interest

in leading Homerton. In Geoff Ward

we believe we have found someone

who combines a deep understanding

of research and academic life with

significant practical experience

of teaching and the challenges of

institutional development.”

Professor Paul Layzell, the Principal of

Royal Holloway, told Varsity, the student

newspaper, that he is “wonderful

company”, offering “intelligent

conversation with a dry sense of humour”.

Professor Ward is married to Professor

Marion Wynne-Davies and has two sons.

Commenting on Dr Pretty’s leadership

over the past two decades Professor Gray

added: “When I arrived at Homerton back

in the early 1990s it was on the brink,

unclear about its future in the rapidly

changing world of higher education.

Twenty years on it is now one of

Cambridge University’s largest colleges

with a sizeable Fellowship and a great

deal of purpose-built accommodation

offering some one thousand students

a top-notch environment for their

studies. As Cambridge’s newest college

there is always more to be done but

Kate’s successor can be assured of solid

foundations. The last two decades have

been a remarkable journey led by a truly

remarkable woman.”

new prinCipal for Homerton College

Theemploymentmarketfacingourdeparting students this coming year is complexandlikelytobeverydifferentfrom the one you may have encountered leaving Homerton College, even a few years ago. Levels of student debt, a global recession and changing demands of employers are not making the transition from study to work an easy oneformanyofourstudents.Theyare

tHe Careers serviCe and todaY’s emploYment market: How You Can Help

having to invest more time making well-researched applications, are expectedtoofferpotentialemployersaraft of desirable transferable skills and to have secured relevant internships, and yet still manage their time to acquire the all-important 2.1.

The University Careers Service helps our

students succeed in this transition by

offering advice and guidance at all stages

from first year through to recent graduates.

Over 40% of first year students now use the

Service, compared to a tenth of that ten

years ago. And, by the time they graduate,

90% of all students will have attended

a Careers Service event, met a Careers

Adviser, visited Stuart House and used the

website. Although complex, demanding

and at times stressful, our students do well

Homerton College 7

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in the employment market. Cambridge’s

unemployment rates are some of the lowest

in the UK and Homerton College students

boast personal successes across a great

range of careers after Cambridge.

However, the Careers Service requires your

help to maintain this success in supporting

next and later years’ graduating students.

You can help in a number of ways, and none

require you to open your cheque book.

GradLinkReliable advice and information straight

from those actually doing the job is

invaluable for current students exploring

early ideas and confirming choices. The

Careers Service runs its GradLink contact

system to put current students in touch

with alumni. This password-protected web-

based service gives a brief career summary

of over 1,200 former Cambridge students

and their email addresses. We already have

a number of Homertonians who have

willingly signed-up to the system: a graphic

designer, lawyers, a fashion consultant in

China, IT consultants, a marketing manager

for a London theatre, a researcher in

the pharmaceutical industry, chartered

accountants, a supply-chain manager

and, yes, teachers too. All are willing to be

contacted a few times a year by current

students asking one or two questions

about a GradLink’s career trajectory, their

current or previous employers, the skills

and nature of their current role and so on.

It is not intended as a way to recruit current

students, although we regularly hear of

jobs being secured as a result of an initial

GradLink conversation. Furthermore, the

Careers Service uses our pool of willing

alumni to come and join us for informal

careers-networking events hosted in

Cambridge. Events such as ‘a career in

the performing arts’ will attract 80 current

students for an hour or more to hear from

recent alumni on their successes (and

failures) building a career in this precarious

sector. The Service runs over 40 events like

this throughout the year.

If you would like to share your career story

and offer advice by joining GradLink please

visit http://www.careers.cam.ac.uk/gradlink/

Graduate opportunities and internshipsFor Homertonians working for or running

an organisation with graduate-level

vacancies to fill, or internship positions

to offer, especially those based abroad,

please let the Careers Service know. We

will advertise these vacancies for you,

free of charge, on our website, accessible

only to Cambridge students and recent

alumni. 18,000 current students and

researchers use this website. Through our

vacancy listings recent graduates and

researchers have been offered, for example,

opportunities as Computational Chemists

in New York, Medical Researchers in the

Cameroons, academic research positions

in Hong Kong, and Environmental and

Food production researchers in Shanghai.

Many of these roles came to us through

our Alumni network and, had we not been

told, our students would have missed

them. Similarly, in addition to permanent

graduate-level roles, we also welcome

short-term internships offered through

the summer vacation. Many employers

now insist on seeing some evidence of

relevant work experience on an applicant’s

CV – with your help, even by offering only a

week’s unpaid shadowing to one student,

we can remove this barrier.

AdvertiseyourvacanciesfreeofchargeSend us details of your vacancy using the

brief form found here: http://www.careers.

cam.ac.uk/recruiting/recvacancies1.asp

Gordon ChestermanDirector, Careers Service

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Homertonian8

Junior researCH fellowsEAcHyEArHomErTonrEcruiTsTHrEEnEWJrFs,WiTHninErEsEArcHinGinAnyGiVEn

yEAr.TWonoWTEllusoFTHEirrEsEArcH:

Dumberry, M., 2011, nature Geoscience, 4, 216–217 J. Aubert, et al., nature. 2008. 454: 758–761

Lauren on Fox Glacier in new Zealand

Thedeepinteriorofourplanetisanextremely dynamic and active section ofourplanet.Theinnercoreislocatedat the Earth’s centre, just over 5000 km beneath our feet. It is a solid sphere of mostly iron, slightly smaller than the moon but with a temperature hotter thanthesurfaceofthesun.Theinnercore is suspended in the liquid outer core.Thisiscomposedofamixtureof turbulent molten metals and other materials, which are so hot that they swirl around with the same viscosity as water.

We can see the effects of the core’s

presence at the surface of the Earth. Over

time, the Earth is cooling gradually as it

loses heat to space. As the core loses heat,

material from the outer core solidifies on

the surface of the inner core, similar to

ice freezing from water. This means that

the inner core is growing very slowly

over time, at a rate of about 1mm per

year. During this process, the heavier

metals preferentially freeze out of the

mixture, releasing lighter elements back

to the outer core, as well as latent heat of

solidification. The heat and the buoyant

light elements drive convection in the

outer core, creating the Earth’s magnetic

field. Some of the latent heat travels further

outwards to the mantle, where it helps

to drive plate tectonics, and therefore

earthquakes.

Despite the importance of understanding

the processes occurring in the core, it

remains relatively unexplored. The inner

core was not discovered until two years

after Pluto, which is smaller in size and

billions of miles away. This is primarily

due to the difficulty in studying the deep

Earth. In seismology, we study the Earth

using energy released from an earthquake.

Body waves are analogous to sound waves

travelling through the Earth. They reveal

localised fine-scale structure along their

travel paths, such as the velocity (the

speed the waves travel) and attenuation

(energy loss of the waves). Larger

struCture of tHe inner Core volumetric averages are investigated using

whole Earth oscillations, or “normal modes”,

similar to the ringing of a bell.

In my work, I use body waves to study the

uppermost regions of the inner core, in

an effort to expand our knowledge of the

solidification processes and the evolution

of the core. The growth of the inner core

occurs at its surface, where the properties

of the outer core are frozen into the inner

core structure as it grows. This creates

an age-depth relationship for the inner

core, whereby deeper structure is older.

It also leaves a record of the changing

environments at the inner core boundary.

By “peeling back” the layers of the inner

core, we can look further into its history.

Although the inner core is a sphere, its

growth is not uniform, and this creates

some interesting and unexpected

properties. In particular, we find a distinct

hemispherical structure in the velocity and

attenuation, separated into approximately

east and west. This means that waves

which pass through the east hemisphere

of the inner core travel faster, and lose

more energy, than waves which travel

through the west hemisphere. These

differences are frozen in as the inner core

grows. Separately to these hemispheres,

previous studies have suggested that the

inner core “super-rotates” at –1° per year

faster than the mantle. However, given

the slow growth rate of the inner core,

rotation rates of this magnitude would

copy

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Mantle

Slow inner-core super-rotation

EastWest

Liquid outer core

Older

Homerton College 9

thin lines indicate ray paths through the inner core, and the locations of the circles correspond to the turning points of the rays. A clear hemispherical difference can be observed, with predominantly positive differential travel time residuals (red circles) in the east due to faster velocity structure here, and negative residuals (blue circles) in the west indicating slower velocity. hemisphere boundaries as a function of ray turning depth are indicated: solid line 15 – 30 km, dashed line 30 – 57.5 km, and dotted line 57.5 – 106 km below the inner core boundary.

Differential travel time residuals (s)-1.0 -0.5 0.0 0.5 1.0

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erase the hemispheres before they could

freeze into the structure, and any regional

variation would be smeared out.

In order to reconcile these two properties,

I compiled a large global dataset of body

waves which travel through the upper

inner core. I constrained the locations of

the hemisphere boundaries, and found

that they displayed a small, constant

eastward shift with depth, corresponding

to a westward shift as the inner core

grows. From this, we can infer a super-

rotation of the inner core, at a rate of just

0.1 – 1° every million years. This is the

first seismic observation of such a slow

super-rotation rate, and has important

implications for geodynamo modelling.

Lauren WaszekJunior Research Fellow in Earth Sciences

Thebasicpointofdeparture for my work as a Junior researchFellowisthis:inordertounderstand the world, it is necessary to come to grips with the role that

religionplayswithinit.Themajorityofthe world’s population is affiliated with some religious tradition, and religion’s role in societies around the world is hard to deny. It is not difficult to think of examples, both close to home and farther afield. Here in Britain, the Church of England continues to make headlines because of its on-going deliberations about whether women might serve as bishops. In addition, celebrity atheist Richard Dawkins – hardly the first person that one would expect to underline the importance of religion – noted on the 400th anniversary of the King

religious readingJames Bible that it is hardly possible to understand English literature, or even the English language itself, without a knowledgeofscripture.Thisisbecausemany of its turns of phrase have entered commonparlance.TomovebeyondBritain, relations between the West and the Muslim world, which involve both interdependence and conflict, have an undeniable religious dimension.

Religions are certainly diverse, and

they can have a huge variety of roles

in different societies around the world.

Yet one helpful way to explore religions

themselves is by examining the place

that scriptural interpretation plays within

religious communities. This is true for the

Jewish tradition and its sacred Scripture,

the Tanakh, for the Muslim tradition and

the Koran, and for the tradition on which

my work focuses, Christianity with its Old

and New Testaments. In fact, the Church

of England’s discussions about the role

of women in the ecclesial hierarchy can

be illuminated by noticing that questions

about how to read passages of the New

Testament in the modern world are

right at the heart of the community’s

debates. For the Church of England and

every Christian denomination, arriving at

doctrinal conclusions requires some form

of engagement with Scripture. In addition,

reading the Bible during worship forms a

standard part of services for every major

Christian denomination.

In order to understand the influence

that scriptural interpretation has within

Christian communities, it is important

to see how what might be called

“religious reading” is a distinctive mode

of approaching Scripture. A religious

reader, one who interprets Scripture in the

context of a religious community, does not

read Scripture mainly to find out how the

text might have been understood by its

original readers, who lived millennia ago in

Homertonian10

the monument at the site of the 1777 Paoli Massacre, near Philadelphia Pennsylvania. the inscription reads: ‘the Atrocious Massacre which this stone commemorates was perpetrated by British troops under the immediate command of Major General Grey’.

What family values commanded the BritishEmpire?Andhowdidthesevalues change as the Empire changed?

For historians to explore these questions,

one clear approach is to reconstruct the

history of a single family who may have

embodied these imperial cultures. But

which family to choose? The very few most

influential – notably the Churchills or even

the royal families themselves – tended

to overpower their surroundings to the

degree that it is sometimes difficult to see

how the nation and empire might have

influenced them. Conversely, middle-class

families whose fortunes rose and fell with

business and imperial service can show us

how families were shaped by empire – but

they were not in the position to shape that

empire in return.

We believe that the imperial family that

is the subject of our research strikes that

crucial balance between influencing

and being influenced. We did not have

to look far – the family history of one of

tHe familY values of empire (or: How to make unfasHionable HistorY verY fasHionable indeed...)

circumstances that are markedly different

from those of the modern world. Such

readers may take notice of these concerns,

but they are not primary. Instead, religious

readers seek out what sense the text might

have for them today. The book that I have

recently published, Scriptural Interpretation:

A Theological Exploration (Oxford: Wiley-

Blackwell, 2013) makes a contribution to

understanding religious reading.

To do so, the book draws upon the

writings of Basil of Caesarea, who was a

leading theologian in the fourth century

CE, and uses his thought as a lens through

which to view religious reading. Basil was

a Greek-speaker who authored a number

of significant theological texts and whose

main contribution to Christian thought lies

in helping to formulate the distinctively

Christian understanding of God, that

is, the doctrine of the Trinity. The book

centres on Basil because he was active at

a time when the Christian tradition was

beginning to take a determinate shape;

he thus shows us what is crucial to this

framework of thought. The conclusion

of the book is that Basil’s theology sheds

light on religious reading by showing it

to be an approach generated by having

a theological view of who the reader

of Scripture is, what the text is, and

what is occurring during the practice of

reading. The work also draws Basil into

dialogue with a couple of theologians

from the present day, all in an effort to

bring attention to the inner logic of an

important Christian practice.

Dr Darren sariskyJunior Research Fellow in Theology and

Religious Studies

religious reading continued

Mad

elei

ne F

oste

r, 20

10

the co-authors, the Earls Grey of Howick

and Fallodon, Northumberland – grants

fundamental new insight into imperial

values that underlay how the empire was

run. These Greys in question were an old

Norman family whose various members

directly served a number of monarchs

including William the Conqueror, King John,

and Edward I before the line settled in for

several centuries guarding the Scottish

Homerton College 11

borders (one such guardian, Sir Thomas

Grey, authored in the 1350s one of the first

English histories written by an Englishman

– the Scalachronica, while another branch

would eventually produce the Tudor queen

Jane Grey). In the branch with which we

are concerned, family history and British

imperial history began to merge in the mid

18th-century with the military career of

Northumberland’s General Sir Charles ‘No

Flint’ Grey, 1st Earl Grey, a genius tactician

to his superiors, colleagues and soldiers,

whose effectiveness made him the most

notorious British general of the American

Revolutionary War in the eyes of the rebels.

The General’s son, Charles Grey, the Prime

Minister who brought about the 1832

Reform Act, was a cautious aristocratic

abolitionist who, nevertheless, freely spent

money made by his father in the slave

trade. Next, Henry, 3rd Earl, made a more

controversial mark as a tetchy Colonial

Secretary who was a principal architect of

convict transportation to Australia. After

that, Albert, 4th Earl Grey, started out as an

adventurer and associate of Cecil Rhodes

in southern Africa before serving as an

influential Governor-General of Canada and

stalwart of the Imperial Federation League,

exploring ways that Great Britain might

emulate the United States as a would-be

super nation-state. At the same time, one of

the three American presidents Albert Grey

befriended, Theodore Roosevelt, sought to

learn from Grey about the British Empire in

order to clarify the president’s vision for his

own expanding nation. And, finally, there is

Albert’s cousin, Sir Edward Grey of Fallodon,

still the longest-serving British Foreign

Secretary and also friend to several US

presidents – the man who observed in

1914 that the lamps were going out all over

Europe. (And, yes, this is also the famed

tea family, but, no, they do not receive

royalties every time black tea is infused

with bergamot.)

In one sense, histories of statesmen,

military leaders and aristocratic families

represent an old-fashioned (some might say

unfashionable) approach to the history of

the British Empire. Indeed, imperial history

over the last three decades has become an

incredibly diverse and rich mix of cultural,

social, economic and political approaches

and methods. Yet we believe there is

still fundamental work to be done in the

critical evaluation – not merely description

– of the cultures of command and the

political decisions they supported.

At the heart of the project are a series

of generational paradoxes. Charles Grey,

the reform Prime Minister (portrayed

by Dominic Cooper in the 2008 Keira

Knightley film The Duchess – Grey having

being a lover of the notorious Georgiana,

Duchess of Devonshire) has been referred

to by biographers as the ‘aristocratic

reformer’ – the strong identification with

the Whig party previewing the mark

Grey’s descendants would make as ‘Liberal

Imperialists’. Even the Prime Minister’s

father Charles, the embodiment of British

‘tyranny’ to Americans, epitomized to his

fellow Britons the creativity that could be

exercised within a defined and expected

structure of command seeking to, as

one document we found in the Grey

Family Papers in Durham has it, ‘terrify

[the Americans] into obedience’. The

ultimate goal, an 18th-century version

of psychological warfare, would be to

re-secure the colonists’ greater liberty

inside the empire – in spite of themselves.

Turning to the very end of our story, even

the enigmatic Sir Edward Grey, perceived

paradoxically as both the selfless strategic

statesman and the detached bird-watcher

(Oxford’s Edward Grey Institute of Field

Ornithology is named for him, and being

sent down from Bailliol at one point

for idleness did not prevent him from

eventually becoming Chancellor of the

University of Oxford), worked with his cousin

Albert to try the ideological convergence

and alliance of peoples, American and

British, that General Grey had failed to effect

in the Revolution. The methods changed,

but the core values remained.

Note: At press time it was announced that the

book project based on this research, entitled

‘Empire in the Blood’, has just been awarded a

substantial combined grant from the British

Academy and Leverhulme Trust that will

greatly assist in its timely completion. The

authors wish to thank the Newton Trust and

Homerton College for their support of this

Homerton-based research.

William Foster Fellow and Director of Studies for History

Rosemary Grey Homerton BA 2009 and Supervisor for History

top William Foster and Rosemary Grey, the authors of empire in the Blood, in front of howick hall, northumberland, the traditional family seat of the earls Grey.

bottom howick hall, northumberland.

Co

llege n

ews

Homertonian12

Asacambridgecollegeit’snotunusualfor Homerton to actively market its event and conference services. Out of 31 Colleges, 30 of them have space to sell to external clients to a greater or lesser extent and Homerton takes this part of its business very seriously. We are so lucky that not only do we benefit from accommodation and teaching rooms in vacation time when students have gone down but we also have a year-round day conference venue as wellas3diningroomstosell.Thesespaces not only absorb a proportion of the costs of running the estate but generate surplus funds to support College Educational activity. It is an important revenue stream for the College but we’re often asked, by the public and alumni alike, what we actually do and who uses our facilities:theansweriseverything and everyone!

The type of events held here varies

depending on the time of year; summer is

busy with summer schools and corporate

conferences taking up the bulk of the

space. We are now officially Bell Language

Homerton College ConferenCe CentreSchool’s Teacher Campus, and trainee

teachers from all over the world join us for

intensive language study each summer

along with the Prince’s Teaching Institute

(part of the Prince’s Trust) who run a three

day residential course. Christmas vacation

takes on a completely different slant with

organisations such as Addenbrooke’s

Hospital, Deloitte and Biofocus holding their

staff Christmas dinners in the Great Hall,

alongside smaller residential conferences.

Term-time events are largely corporate,

educational and associations’ conferences,

anything from a small meeting for 10 to a

large symposium for 300 delegates. We also

host up to six weddings a year, mainly for

alumni and generally during the summer

vacation, as well as corporate summer

garden parties, team-building events and

anything else you can imagine; we try to be

as flexible as possible and if we can host it

we will!

So next time you or your company wish

to hold an event in Cambridge, contact the

sales team on 01223 747218 or email us

at conferences@homerton.cam.ac.uk and

tell us what you want. Alumni discounts

are available.

Alexandra Cox

above Business exhibition in the Marquee

left Dinner in the Great hall

If you would like to book accommodation during the vacation periods, please contact the Conference Office at conferences@homerton.cam.ac.uk.

Homerton College 13

AswellasnowregularlysingingEvensongonTuesdaysatstJohntheEvangelist, Hills Road, there have been other exciting additions to the life of the Charter Choir this year. It performed at Ely Cathedral in October and at Peterborough Cathedral at the beginning of May, and in addition has twice sung services at the University Church, Great St Mary’s, during the academic year.

In December, members of the Choir stayed

up for an extra night at the end of term to

record ‘Homerton’, a collaboration by Sir

Peter Maxwell Davies and Carol Ann Duffy,

written to commemorate the Royal Charter

of 2010. An abridged version was used as

the soundtrack for a Christmas e-card sent

to alumni, but the complete recording

is now available to download from the

Homerton website (http://www.homerton.

cam.ac.uk/lifeathomerton/societies/

charterchoir/recordings ) with all proceeds

going towards funding the Charter Choir.

In addition, the sixteenth-century anthem

‘If ye love me’, by Thomas Tallis, is available

as a free download from the same page.

Another exciting first this year is the

opportunity the Charter Choir had to

entertain eminent guests at the Charter

Dinner in March, performing to a crowd

including the Vice Chancellor of the

University, Professor Sir Leszek Borysiewicz,

and the new Principal-elect of Homerton

College, Professor Geoffrey Ward. As well as

hearing Grace sung at the beginning of the

meal as last year, this year guests were also

treated to a set of madrigals before dessert.

Following the success of the Alsace tour in

2012, our tour this year will be to the Istria

region of Croatia. The country is due to

enter the European Union at the beginning

of July, so the Charter Choir will be one

of the first groups to visit under the new

system. Details of our concerts and services

are outlined below.

Alumni visiting the College at the

reunion weekend in September will be

treated to music sung by the Charter

Choir on the afternoon of Saturday 28th

September. This will also be a chance

to hear the choir perform the newly-

recorded ‘Homerton’.

In Michaelmas Term 2013 the Choir’s

ranks will be augmented by the addition

of a Junior Organ Scholar and up to eight

first-year students. College has generously

agreed to fund a total of 18 choral

scholarships in the Choir, potentially

enabling all members of the Choir to

be granted scholarships for their valued

commitment, as well as a contribution

towards singing lessons.

The Charter Choir website has now

moved to the main Homerton site:

www.homerton.cam.ac.uk/

lifeathomerton/societies/charterchoir.

This contains full details of services.

Other forthcoming dates of interest are

listed here.

Alumni can also now follow the Charter

Choir on their Facebook page, at

www.facebook.com/homcharterchoir.

Dr Daniel trocmé-LatterDirector of Music

tHe CHarter CHoir

the Charter Choir singing evensong at Great st Mary’s Church, Cambridge

fortHComing datestuesday 11th June 2013 Choral Evensong for alumni (6.30pm–7pm) at St John the Evangelist, Hills Road, followed by Alumni Formal Hall.

saturday 15th June 2013 The Choir will be singing at the Garden Party for the retirement of the Principal and the Senior Tutor. Later that evening they will perform at Grantchester Parish Church in a fundraising concert for their forthcoming tour to Croatia.

tuesday 9th July 2013 Concert at St Peter’s, Sudbury.

thursday 11th July 2013 – Monday 15th July 2013 Croatia.

saturday 28th september 2013 The Choir will perform a short concert at Homerton as part of the Roll Reunion.

tuesday 15th October 2013 First Evensong of the new academic year.

student news

Homertonian14

We were asked recently to identify authors on our library website who had been Homerton students or who were associated with the College as lecturers. Other Cambridge colleges can boast Erasmus, Newton or Byron. We are not quite in that league; however, a search soon identified at least twenty authors distinguished in their separate ways.

We have recently celebrated the life of Dora

Saint (1931–33), author of the Miss Reed

books, who entertained three generations

worldwide with her stories of life in an idyllic

rural village school. Grace Dibble (1922–25),

a prolific travel writer and ‘lone wanderer’,

studied Geography under John Jones at

Homerton and wrote over thirteen books.

Maude Bodkin (1875–1967), a lecturer at

Homerton from 1902–14, influenced a

whole generation of student poets with her

Archetypal Patterns in Poetry published by

Oxford University Press in 1934; she is less

well-known as a poet in her own right, but her

work is now beginning to be rediscovered.

Joan Chandler, a Lecturer at Homerton

from 1958–1960, wrote her influential

The Settlement of the American West and

Television and National Sport: The United

States and Britain (Sport and Society) in 1988.

Kay Melzi (1938–1970) was appointed

Lecturer in art at Homerton in 1938. She ran

Saturday morning art classes for evacuees,

which continued after WWII, and became

associated with the rock band Pink Floyd.

Her book Art in the Primary School (1967)

is still regarded as a standard textbook.

She made a significant contribution to the

introduction of modern art into schools.

Beyond living memory there are some

great writers in Homerton’s early history

in London. William Smith (1813–1893), a

lexicographer, was appointed Classical

Tutor at Homerton in 1843. He edited

some of the most important Classical

dictionaries of antiquities in the mid-

nineteenth century for which he received

a knighthood. Thomas Raffles (1788–1863),

author, biographer and Homerton student

Homerton writers

(1805–09), founded the Raffles Library

at Manchester. His list of publications is

impressive, including collections of poems

and hymns. His biography of Thomas Spencer,

published in Liverpool in 1813, ran to seven

editions with several more in America. During

his lifetime Marischal College, Aberdeen,

and Union College, Connecticut bestowed

honorary doctorates on him. His Letters during

a Tour through France, Savoy etc, published in

Liverpool in 1820, also ran to five editions.

Charles Wellbeloved, a student at Homerton

Academy from 1785–7, is particularly important

to us: Unitarian Divine, archaeologist and

antiquarian author, he established Manchester

College, Oxford where his portrait now hangs.

Manchester College has recently become

twinned with Homerton College, Cambridge,

largely because of our shared heritage in

nonconformity and our distinguished

alumnus who became their founder.

Dr Peter WarnerSenior Tutor

ThisyearhasbeenanothersuccessforHomertoncollegemusicsociety.Thehighlights were of course the concerts at the end of both the Michaelmas and Lent terms, and these showcased a great number of students in a variety of ensembles.Thefirstoftheseconcertscontinued the now traditional Christmas theme despite it once again being held innovember!Thesecondpresentedanumber of solo performances from a few of the Music students at the college, who dazzled the audience with their virtuosity. It was also pleasing to see a continuation of the trend of increasing audience attendance year after year.

The concerts were in part dedicated to

the performance of choral music, and

the college is very proud to maintain two

choirs, the College Choir and the Charter

Homerton College musiC soCietYChoir, which ensures a wide level of student

participation. The Charter Choir, has, in its

second academic year under Daniel Trocmé-

Latter, the Director of Music, gone from

strength to strength, with the continuation

of regular Evensong performances in St John

the Evangelist’s Church across the road from

the college, as well as performances in

two cathedrals.

This year has also seen a busy and exciting

recital programme given by students from

within and without the college, both as

soloists and in ensembles. It continues next

term despite (or perhaps because of!) exams.

A particular highlight was the recital given

in February by the professional violin duo,

the Reid Sisters. We hope to invite further

professionals to give recitals at Homerton, as

we believe that they are a welcome addition

to the growing musical life of the college.

That we are able to attract such talented

performers is a tribute to the college.

Musicians at Homerton also continue to

contribute to the musical life of the wider

University, and we are proud that the college

takes such an active role. This year has seen

Homertonians participate in such varied

ensembles as the CUMS Symphony Orchestra

and the CUOS Main Opera, as well as giving

recitals at other colleges. There has also been

an increased student presence on the HCMS

committee, especially from first-year students,

so we are sure that next year will be another

triumph for music-making at the college. It

remains for me to thank the committee for all

their hard work, and also the senior members

drawn from the Fellowship of the college, for

their support.

elliot thompson HCMS President 2012–13

Once again, and for the umpteenth yearrunning,HomertonAmateurTheatricalsociety(HATs)hasbeenatthe forefront of exciting drama and theatre, as we continue to showcase the best talent within Homerton and the University and continue our outreach into the wider community.

Since re-launching the society last year, we wanted to give back to those who have loyally supported us over the last few years. As ever, our HATStands Christmas Special in Michaelmas was immensely well received, perhaps even more rapturously so than normal due to the relocation to the bar and the waiving of an entrance fee! Boasting musicians, comedy and even a psychological illusionist who was able to read the mind of our Principal, all made the night immensely special for all in attendance. At the time of writing, HATStands returns for the Lent term with a special tribute to Dr. Kate Pretty, featuring some very special guests from the past… and I am sure A Very Pretty HATStands will be a fantastic night too.

You can view many of our performances from HATStands over the past few years on YouTube at the following URL: http://www.youtube.com/user/HATSDrama

This year, HATS successfully funded a new work entitled Hollow, featuring two new pieces of writing: Medea by Rhianna Frost and Caitlin Derham and Visiting by Ciaran Chillingworth. The event was very well attended, and showcased HATS’ commitment to putting on the best new talent and writing for all to see.

Other projects, such as HATS Poetry Group and our education group ‘LittleHATS’, continue to go from strength to strength, as we look to encourage adults and children of all ages to enjoy the benefits of drama and performance.

Our Senior Treasurer, Dr Abigail Rokison, has moved to work at the Shakespeare Institute with all of our best wishes and profuse thanks for her work for the society. We welcome Dr. Georgie Horrell who has very kindly agreed to take this position over!

Furthermore, I would like to extend my gratitude to all of those unsung members of the HATS and HATStands committees who continue to support and drive the

HATS

performances that entertain hundreds of people each year. Without your help, the show would simply not go on. Thank you to everyone who has attended or supported a HATS show over the past few years, and should you wish to support HATS in any other way, we would be delighted to hear from you.

Chris husseyHATS President & HATStands Director

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HomerTon College 15

Homertonian16

HCBC’s 2012 May Bumps campaign was the most successful of all the clubs on the Cam, and we were awarded the Pegasus cup for our achievements. Despite being one Blue down due to an injured Mike Thorp,m1madeHomertonhistorybybumping up into Division 1 from 4th in Division 2, thanks to the invaluable coaching from Sergej Using, and many hours of hard work put in by the crew. M2 also moved up a division and attained blades, thanks to the coaching support ofsamFarmer(2002–2006).TotopitoffM3 achieved blades with an overbump on day 3, to give a total of 12 bumps for the men’s side. W1 were cruelly denied their blades in their last race and missed out on the overbump by a quarter of a length, a fabulous achievement in itself, but it has ignited their determination to get the much deserved blades next mays.Theresultwouldnothavebeenachievablewithoutthecoachingeffortsof Mike Edey. W2, despite being a scratch crew with numerous subs on various days, made an impressive achievement in reaching to be the sandwich boat atop of Division 4 before being bumped by sidneysussexW2onthelastday.Theyare currently now second in the Division and ready to reach Division 3. Without a doubt W2 owed its existence and success to the hard work and numerous hours

rowing

ofcoachingputinbyourthenlBcAlexcourage(2010–2013)andalsoourstolencoachfromAru,DaveHetherington.Thewomen’s side added a further four bumps to the grand total achieved by HCBC in their Mays Campaign.

Michaelmas term of 2012 saw our biggest

intake of novices on both the men’s and

women’s sides, initially with enough new

members to fill five men’s crews and three

women’s crews. After the preliminary surge

of rowing interest, two novice men’s crews

and two novice women’s crews were

selected to row at Clare Novice Regatta and

the Fairbairn Cup. The senior men put out

a consistent IV for Lent term, where they

produced a convincing win against LMBC

and a very close race with Caius in University

IVs, achieved third place in Student Novice

IVs at Cambridge Winter Head, and were

the fifth fastest college IV for the Fairbairn

Cup. We would like to thank Fred Lord for

all the time he invested in coaching the

IV. The senior women for the first time in

quite a while managed to put out a full VIII

into Fairbairns and a highly competitive IV

into University IVs. The IV managed to beat

Emmanuel comfortably but then met their

match with LMBC who went on to be the

overall winners. The biggest success though

for the senior women was the VIII going on to

win Fairbairns, making history in the process!

Again, a success which is owed to Mike

Edey’s coaching.

Our 2013 Lent Bumps campaign saw some

adrenaline-packed races. On the first day

M1 bumped Jesus II 20 metres from the

finish line, M2 came to within half a length

of catching Emmanuel III to produce a

strong row over, and both W1 and W2

overbumped. M2 had a particularly tough

draw from their fantastic result in the

getting-on race, starting off at station 5 out

of 18 in the M4 division. They were caught

in a thrilling chase overlapping with both

the boat in front and behind on the second

day, and were just bumped, although it

was a very close call. They completed their

bumps campaign with two convincing row

overs, which is good result after starting off

in such a challenging position. Following

from the first day, M1 continued to move

up the bumps chart, and ended in a grand

finale to bump First and Third II on the

last day to achieve blades, thanks to the

coaching support of Sergej Using and Fred

Lord. M1 will go on to race on the Tideway

at Hammersmith Head and the Head of the

River Race at the end of this term. W2 had a

hugely successful bumps campaign, moving

up 5 overall courtesy of a technical row-over

preventing them from attaining blades. All

thanks for W2 go to Shruti Chaudhri, the

M2 2012 May Bumps

M1 2012 May Bumps – Bumping into Division 1

Dav

id P

ontin

g

Homerton College 17

Attheendofmysecondyearidecidedto trial for Cambridge University Women’s Boat Club, with the ultimate aim of making the lightweight crew for the Henley Boat Races in 2013.

To prepare I spent the first month of the

summer holidays on a development

squad in Cambridge, improving my

technique and fitness and gaining

invaluable racing practice at various

regattas. When I returned in September

I began the trialing process, which

necessitated complete commitment

to a demanding training programme

involving weights and erg sessions as

well as six water sessions each week. This

level of work has placed a strain on all

aspects of my life over the past few terms,

including my finances as well as my

body and what used to be my social life!

Although CUWBC is extremely fortunate

to now be sponsored fully by Newton,

female trialists are still expected to pay

for their transport to and from weekly

CuwbC

sessions, racing and training camps, with

costs amounting to at least two hundred

pounds per term. Fortunately I was lucky

enough to receive a grant from a Homerton

alumnus specifically designed for University

sportswomen. This funding has removed

much of the financial strain involved in my

mission to beat Oxford on Sunday 24th

March, and enabled me to focus fully on

training and, just as importantly, eating!

The whole squad is currently in the final

stages of selection, after which we will

knuckle down to even more training with

the single-minded goal of coming out on

stu

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top in the clash of the blues at Henley. I

very much hope that I will be selected,

but even to have got this far has been

an amazing experience which would not

have been possible without Homerton’s

kind donation.

Alex CourageHistorical Tripos 2010–2013

Alex went on to be selected for the Lightweight Blue Women’s VIII for the Henley Races on 24 March. Cambridge were beaten by Oxford on this occasion.

Alex Courage - seat 4 in the boat

W2 2013 Lent Bumps W1 2012 who won the Fairbairn Cup

previous year’s W1 cox and rower in W2,

who in between her day job finds time to

coach W2 on the water and the ergs. W1,

despite the overbump on the first day, did

not have bumps luck in their favour. An

unfortunate crab on the second day when

on overlap with the crew in front resulted

in being bumped, and they were ¾ of a

length off the overbump the third day.

However, they still moved up three overall

and are in the highest position in Division

2 a Homerton W1 crew has been in years,

again with full credits going to Mike Edey.

W1 will go on to race on the Tideway as well

in Women’s Eights Head of the River Race

the week after bumps.

HCBC is currently in a fantastic position to

do well in the next Mays campaign; we are

hoping to put out three highly competitive

men’s and women’s boats. This really has

been an incredibly successful last year for

HCBC and Homerton is truly making a

name for itself on the Cam, recently even

being dubbed “danger Homerton” during

Lent bumps.

The fantastic May results are due in part

to last year’s HCBC Captains: thanks to Jon

Rackham and Sophie Bell.

stephPayne&FionastewartHCBC Captains 2012–2013

E.D

.Tin

dall

Homertonian18

Soon after arriving at Homerton last summer, I was asked by the new chairmanofcambridgerugbyFootballUnion, Nick Bennett, to get involved with the club and sit on its Executive Committee. Nick is seeking to move the club forward in terms of governance, finance, and of course to improve performances on the field. Specifically, Nick wanted me to help integrate women’s rugby in the University into the club.ForthelastfiveyearsihadchairedtherugbyFootballunionforWomen(rFuW)andinJuly2012webecamefullyintegratedintotherFu,sothiswassomething I felt I had some knowledge of.TherFu/rFuWintegrationprocesshad started in 2005 so I am hoping Cambridge will not take so long!

The governance within the University has

taken me some time to understand. Along

with many of the Counties, Cambridge

RFU is a Constituent body of the RFU

responsible for running rugby in its

constituency. The Colleges are member

clubs of Cambridge RFU as is Cambridge

University RFC, which is the club running

the men’s representative sides. The men’s

teams in the Colleges have their fixtures

organised, referees provided and support

for specialist training such as front row

play, provided by CRFU. Conversely, the

Cambridge Women’s Rugby Football

Club is run by the current players and

they also encourage women’s rugby in

the Colleges. The CUWRFC play in two

leagues, the British Universities and

Colleges Sport (BUCS) national league

as well as the RFU Women’s League. So

playing twice a week, organising the club

and studying does not leave much time

to help organise women’s rugby in

the Colleges!

tHe bursar’s Contribution to tHe integration of women’s rugbY into tHe Curfu

One of the first things we did was to ensure

that all women’s teams in the Colleges

including the female only colleges were

members of CRFU so that they would all

benefit from the insurance scheme of the

RFU. There have also been several meetings

with the RFU development team to provide

support during the Michaelmas term 2013.

Unlike the men, most women arriving at

Cambridge have not played rugby before

and need an introduction to the game

that enables them to play full contact

within weeks. It goes without saying that

these sessions have to be fun so that initial

enthusiasm shown at Fresher’s Fair is not

lost to other competing sports. The RFU

have been running introductory sessions

over several weeks at other universities

for a number of years. These have been

very successful. Bringing together those

interested in playing from all the Colleges

ensures everyone receives safe and correct

skills coaching from the outset.

It was a great pleasure to meet some of the

CUWRFC ex-players at the recent women’s

Varsity game and to find that many of them

are playing for clubs such as Hampstead

and Wimbledon. One of the Alumni even

has a daughter playing at Saracens in

the Under 18 age group. I also met Meg

Gardener. Meg graduated from Homerton

in 2008 and played rugby both for college

and the university and was President of

CUWRFC. As she is now a lawyer in London

I encouraged her to get involved in the RFU

disciplinary panels where they are seeking

more females.

CURFU is now including women’s rugby in

all its planning whether in the Colleges or

at University level. Supporting the women’s

game will expand the interest in rugby

throughout the University and provide for

the opportunity to recruit more referees,

officials, volunteers and coaches from the

women’s game.

Deborah Griffin OBeBursar

above the Cambridge university Womens team enjoy the company of Mike Gibson, Cambridge Blue, 69 caps for ireland and toured 5 times with British & irish Lions

left Action from the women’s rugby Varsity Game

below Fiona Gillanders, captain of CuWRFC and Mike Gibson

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It has been great this season to watch the progress of two Homertonians playing for the University and both achieving a starting place in the VarsitygamelastDecember.Bothareundergraduates;Andymurdochisstudying Chemical Engineering, plays in the centre and rather modestly in his article below fails to tell that he scored Cambridge’s only try in the varsity game.AndrewAbraham,ageographer,started at scrum-half.

Andrew writes about the lead up to the

big day.

“This was my first season playing for the Blues, and as such I was unaccustomed to each of the unique experiences leading up to the Varsity match at Twickenham on the 6th December. Following a rigorous pre-season training camp during the summer months, we began to play a number of university, academy and invitational teams under the leadership of captain Rob Malaney and new coach James Shanahan. Whilst the success of the team during the later stages of the term brought much confidence, selection remained a very real concern in the minds of each player; no-one was going to stroll into this team on past merits. Yet as a team we remained close, as we each continued to push ourselves further in both the gym and on the rugby pitch. In the lead up to the game we were given the very best chance in a final push of specialist coaching, video analysis sessions and the continued guidance from the coaching team and past Blues. Whilst we indulged in the frivolity that surrounds the varsity match, we also knew that we had given ourselves the best chance to get one up on the 6th.”

Whilst the result was ultimately

disappointing as a resurgent second-half

performance from Oxford overcame a

significant deficit to win the 2012 Varsity

Match, Cambridge led 16–6 at half-time,

after a late try by Andy Murdoch, but three

tries saw Oxford overhaul the Light Blues in

the second half.

Andy writes about the day itself.

“The culmination of 14 weeks hard work on and off the field was finally upon us. We arrived at the hotel in London the day before the Varsity Match where we all tried to relax by playing table tennis and having a bit of a swim. But the mood in the camp had now changed; the joking around and lightheartedness had been swapped for a more serious and focused attitude. Sleep that evening was pretty hard to come by and the morning of the game seemed to drag on forever, but eventually 11a.m. came round and we were on the bus to the ground.

Once we got to the ground we had a little time to soak up the atmosphere and watch

varsitY matCH 2012

the end of the Under 21s’ narrow loss to the other place. We were still quietly confident and were keen to make amends for their loss. The game started ideally for us, and we went in at half time 16–6 up. However, things from there slowly went downhill and Oxford scored three tries of their own to eventually run out 26–19 winners.

Although the result wasn’t what we had wanted (or expected) the whole experience was fantastic and I was incredibly proud to have represented Homerton and the University in such a prestigious event.”

Andrew AbrahamGeographical Tripos 2011–2014

Andy MurdochChemical Engineering 2009 – 2013

Compiled by Deborah Griffin OBeFellow and Bursar

Andrew Murdoch about to contest for the ball

above Andrew Murdoch scoring the try

left Andrew Abraham kicking

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Homertonian20

2012/13hasbeenyetanotherstellaryear for Homerton in terms of the extra-curricularsideofcollegelife.Forwhilewe spend our days writing essays and completing examples sheets, we take our mindsoffthesethingsbyrepresentingthe college in a wealth of sports, or indulging in our interests through the wide variety of societies which are on offernotonlyinourowncollege,buton a broader, university-wide scale as well. We’ve seen the introduction of newsocieties.Forinstance,onthehomefront Lucy Rosenstiel has successfully campaigned for a Photography society which she has started up herself and which is in the initial stages of its development. We have seen students take control of the tennis Club, with Ross lindsayandGaboQuiroshelpingitoffthe ground this year.

Homerton not only has a fledgling

Athletics Club, but among our number

we find a wealth of talent, most noticeably

in Matthew Houlden, our resident Athletics

(and Karate) Blue in both the long and triple

jump, and a half blue in a number of other

events. His Varsity campaign this year has

been stellar, and has involved personal best

times in all of his events, and he is now

going to captain the team going to the US

this Easter, so we are truly lucky to have a

man of such sporting status amongst our

ranks! The Homerton club has also been

successful in its short lifespan, making

Athletics one of the up and coming sports

in the college.

There has been great success in the

Homerton Allotment society, where the

scope has been increased from a mere

greenhouse to a full allotment, and great

credit must go to Heather Plumpton, the

society’s president, for overseeing such a

growth in the society! In fact, she is also the

co-president of the CUECS, the Cambridge

University Environmental Consulting

Society, which has also grown, doubling

its membership intake and receiving

corporate sponsorship from IBM to invest

in a thermal imaging camera to help

Hus sports and soCietiescolleges and departments increase their

environmental efficiency. So as we can see

there are significant strides being taken by

Homerton students in the University as a

whole, tackling important issues such

as these.

Homerton Sport in general has managed

to grow more and more despite the loss

of some key participants who have been

vital in the past. Homerton Rugby took to

the field in the First Division of the college

league this year, after astonishing back

to back promotions. Despite the small

squad and a horrific injury plight, the

team fought valiantly with our very own

Griffins President at the helm, but were just

unable to stave off relegation. However,

with two Blues players in Andrew Abraham

and Andrew Murdoch, a promising plate

campaign is predicted. On a positive note,

the first ever Old Boys fixture took place

this year in celebration of the ten year

anniversary of the club’s founding, and was

won by the Old Boys in poor conditions.

Most importantly this fixture looks to be

one which will be staged on a regular basis.

Homerton Basketball went into the

2012/13 season undefeated but has since

struggled for results, but in spite of this we

have turned out a Blue in Jorge Gomez

Magenti who scored 8 points against

Oxford in the Varsity match, and a half

Blue in fresher Ben Evans, so we can still

be proud of the college’s achievements

in the sport!

left nahum Clements taking a rest at the allotment

below left Matthew houlden

below right Jon Palmer, homerton Men’s hockey Captain, representing the university seconds in the annual Varsity Match

Homerton College 21

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In a similar vein, Homerton Men’s hockey

has struggled for numbers, rarely mustering

11 players including a goalkeeper, but we

still have quality in our numbers.

For instance Jon Palmer turned out for

the Men’s University seconds in the Varsity

match, which was won by Cambridge.

There are several Blues players in the

women’s team, such as Claire Jordan, the

current Homerton Women’s hockey

captain. The Homerton ultimate Frisbee

team must be commended for being

a strong force in the university college

leagues, always putting up a sterling fight

against all opposition. Unfortunately these

performances have not always led to

positive results, with a string of poor results

leading to relegation from the top league

at the end of this term. However, it must be

said that the team has been successful in

continuing its growth as a sport, developing

players from scratch to become consistent

top performers at college level, and instilling

an ethic where everyone is encouraged

to play regardless of experience or ability,

truly encompassing the friendly nature of

Homerton as a college.

The Homerton Football team has had

a much quieter season this year, but has

remained a force to be reckoned with, with

the top three teams claiming a place in

the highest league which it can occupy,

with the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd teams in the 1st,

2nd, and 3rd division respectively, marking

a period of dominance for Homertonian

football. They should be commended

not only for the success, but also for

managing to be one of only two colleges

in Cambridge to lay claim to four college

teams. Additionally, Homerton has bred two

Blues-level footballers, in Anthony Childs

and Sol Elliott, who will be competing in the

upcoming Varsity match.

We’ve seen a truly remarkable Homertonian

influence on Uni-wide sport and society life,

with Homertonians getting deeply involved

in all areas, from the well-documented

Blues Sports to the less-talked about tea

society, as well as the fledgling Cambridge

Cheerleading society. Its captain is

Megan Trimble, a Homertonian, and she

leads a massive Homertonian influence of

six members. This has been a big year for

the Cheerleading Society, with Homerton

having helped contribute towards the

kit necessary to compete, and the very

first Cambridge vs Oxford Varsity match

having taken place this year. In a hopefully

precedent-setting match, Cambridge came

out victorious in what will be the first of

many Varsity Cheerleading competitions.

In addition to this, the Cambridge Cougars

managed an impressive 2nd place in the

national competition ‘Saturday Night

Fever’, out of 24 teams, which is a remarkable

performance given the relative facilities.

One of the most successful societies in

Homerton must be the steel Pans society,

Absolute Pandemonium, which is an exciting

venture, going from strength to strength the

more it grows. The last two terms have been,

in the words of President Steve Pates, ‘stellar’,

and they have managed to purchase brand

new equipment all the way from Trinidad

to help them grow as a society and expand

their talents. A performance at the Caribbean

Poetry Festival at Homerton has paved the

way for many more successful performances,

as well as sponsorship from Zipcar, and the

culmination of the team’s fantastic work this

year will be their performance at the Jewish society Ball.

In short, sports and societies in Homerton

and Cambridge this year have gone from

strength to strength, and everyone seems

to be getting involved in one way or

another, which is absolutely fantastic, and

Homertonians should be commended for

all their efforts in the last year! It truly is a

shame that I haven’t been able to mention

everyone that has taken part, but to everyone

in Homerton and Cambridge for that matter,

well done and keep up the good work!

George JenkinsHUS Sports and Societies Officer 2012–3

right university Cheerleading society

middle Absolute Pandemonium steel Pans society

below tom Cozens ultimate Frisbee team Captain 2011–2012

Homertonian22

Aloraisanot-for-profitorganizationrun by students in Cambridge that sells high quality, handmade bespoke dresses, which are made to order by a tailorinVietnam.WiththehelpofthePilkingtontrust,iwentouttoVietnamalongsidethreeotherAloravolunteersfrom Homerton to learn more about the charity and how to make it even bigger and better. I wanted to see for myselfhowtheeffortsi’dputinlastyearworkingasanAlorafundraiserandvolunteer in Cambridge had impacted the lives of the women we were helping inVietnam.Afterthetrip,Alorabecamemore personal to me, so I decided to take on the demanding role of Project Leader to help raise as much money as possible for these women.

During our visit, we were given the

opportunity to meet the three women we

had funded through the programme. Ms

Luong has been physically disabled from

birth. Since graduating from the Alora

programme, Ms Luong earns her living by

sewing for people in her village and runs

her own small tailoring school. We spent

some time with Ms Luong and her father

at their small village home. They were the

most welcoming hosts and kept feeding us

dragon fruit and the sweetest, alarmingly

bright green, but delicious green tea. Her

father would not stop thanking us for how

we’ve helped his daughter.

Ms Hang who lost her leg to illness as a

child told us the programme gave her the

confidence to start up her own disabled

women’s support group in Hanoi. It is from

this support group that all future Alora

recruits will come. We visited the women in

the support group at one of their meetings,

and they told us how the friendships

they’d formed in the group had helped

them. One of the members of the group

is running classes teaching other disabled

people how to read and write. We went to

see her teaching and I was inspired by her

enthusiasm and dedication to her students,

tailoring in vietnam

PILKINGTON TRAVEL AWARDSAGAin10sTuDEnTsWErEAWArDEDPilkinGTonTrAVElGrAnTs.THEsTuDEnTsWorkEDin

sixDiFFErEnTcounTriEs.HErEArErEPorTsFromTWoTHEm.

and how she had not let her disability stop

her from helping others!

After seeing how much we’ve helped these

women, it made us all the more passionate

about Alora and its future. We brainstormed

with the tailors about the types of dresses

they can and can’t make, plans for expansion

and how the money we gathered would be

used. We decided in the short term that we

want to enroll two more women each year

in the tailoring programme. We hope to be

able to fully support these women using

the profits from dress sales in Cambridge.

The rest of the profits will go into a fund so

that in five years’ time we can open a shop in

central Hanoi.

So far this year, Alora has raised £1000

in sponsorship, raised £200 from an ethical

fashion show using girls who bought

dresses last year, and will have sold

50 dresses.

My visit to Vietnam was a rewarding,

enriching and unforgettable experience.

I am so grateful to the Pilkington Trust for

helping me to reach Hanoi and spend time

with these women, learn from them and

experience their hospitality and kindness.

Zakira MohamedNatural Science Tripos

2010–2013

above the Alora graduates

below Ms Luong, who now creates & sells her own clothes from home

above the Alora team & our partners in Vietnam (Zakira 3 from the right)

above right Alora fashion show at Revolution in Cambridge, nov 2012

Homerton College 23

Fijiisalandofextremecontrasts.Fiveminutes past the main island’s most expensive hotel lies a community of tin huts that often sleep families with up to eightchildreninoneroom.Thosethatmanage to come to school are frequently riddled with scarring skin diseases such as ringworm due to lack of access to basichygiene.Thetropicalparadiseofthe islands fails to reveal the devastated sugar trade and the political isolation thatisaresultofFiji’scoupsandunderwhichallofthepopulationsuffer. Further, the friendly ‘bulas’ (Fijian for hello)

are probably the only glimpse most tourists

get into the country’s culture. That in itself is

difficult to define – the welcoming attitude

of the locals masks the deeply-felt tensions

between the ‘indigenous’ Fijians and the

large Hindu community. Teachers in the

local schools actively refer to the children

by their ethnicity – or rather, the children

of Indian origin are primarily known to

be precisely that. From an early age, then,

the cultural divide that is felt by many

inhabitants of the islands is cemented

and reinforced.

The hope for changing cultural attitudes

and the opportunities for the next

generation then must lie in the education

system. Teaching Class 4 (40 nine to twelve

year olds) at Nadi Primary School was an

enormous privilege. I can only hope that I

managed to make a fraction of the impact

on the children that they made on me. The

young individuals I met were so talented

from such a young age. There were singers,

artists and linguists all in one classroom, yet

no one was there to further their talents or

spot their potential. Fruit day on Friday saw

every pupil bring in a fruit from their local

community, which they always shared with

me. Their generosity and warmth

was inspiring.

The children blossomed with individual

attention. I was often left alone with the

entire class of forty and these proved to be

the most frustrating and unproductive days.

I managed instead to establish a reading

group for the slow learners, who at the

age of nine or worse, twelve, were often

entirely illiterate and could not begin to tell

the time. It was evident that many suffered

from unrecognised or learned difficulties.

One girl, voluntarily mute, had clearly

suffered from spending years with children

whose literacy rates far exceeded hers.

Instead of helping her, the over-strained

teaching staff made her, and other children

in similar positions, the objects of abuse by

subjecting them to corporal punishment

(although officially illegal) or spurring the

taunts of other children.

For many, calling them by their names not

to punish them, but to ask for an answer, a

story, or their participation was an entirely

new experience. I spent most of my days

with a reading group of four or five, trying

to teach them how to read in ways that

were appropriate to their understanding.

Simultaneously, I felt it important to convey

a sense of the value of education. I had

brought hard-backed and elaborately

illustrated children’s books with me so

that what they were learning could seem

tangible and worth cherishing.

The guilt at having to leave Nadi Primary

School – particularly my reading group

of Avneel, Sairusi, Sanjana, Pria, Poate and

Isliesa – could only be allayed if I was sure

that this school was going to get a steady

flow of volunteers to help the over-worked,

under-paid and sometimes unqualified

teachers.

The bus groups of tourists who are

unloaded onto schools like Nadi Primary

to take photos and throw pencils into

a singing crowd of children are clearly

detrimental to any real progress that could

be made in these institutions. A university

like Cambridge, and a college such as

Homerton, has the students who could

provide for the needs of all members of

the school. I would hope that qualified

education students of the College could be

actively encouraged to partake in the task

of helping these schools and training their

teachers.

Mona ebertEnglish Tripos

2010–2013

trip to fiJi

top two students from Mona’s english Class

above left nadi Primary school

bottom left Mona (right) & nadi Primary’s headteacher (left) surrounded by the children of Class 4

Homertonian24

and Access Officer, planned and ran the

first ever Homerton specific ‘Shadowing

Scheme’. This March we had four students

from our target London boroughs of

Hounslow, Richmond and Kingston stay at

Homerton for three days, attend lectures

with current students and see Homerton

and Cambridge from a student perspective.

The HUS was able to completely fund

the students’ expenses and we hope that

the experience will have dispelled any

myths they have about Cambridge and

maybe encourage them to apply in the

future! Poppy Damon, our Environmental

and Ethical Affairs Officer, also deserves a

mention for planning and hosting two free

student comedy nights. The HUS paid for

professional comedians and recruited the

finest student talent from Cambridge to

put on a show for students to counteract

the so called ‘week 5 blues’ each term. Both

nights have been really well attended and I

hope they continue.

I have loved my time at Homerton and I

am sad that it is drawing to an end. I have

many happy memories of my four years

here which I will carry with me always and

Getting involved with the Homerton collegeunionofstudents(Hus)iseasily the best decision I have made duringmytimeincambridge.Thisis the third year that I have been on the HUS and I could not imagine life at Homerton without being part of it. I was honoured and delighted to be elected President this time last year and I have loved my year as the Sabbatical President. Before I say much else, I would like to thank all of the brilliant people that have been on my team this year and everyone else on the other teams I’ve been involved with.

This year the HUS has been as active as

ever. On being elected as President I set

my team some ambitious targets for the

year and I’ve been delighted at what

we’ve achieved.

One of my main focuses for the year has

been improving the college JCR common

room. However, having asked students

what they wanted from the room, we

found that a large number of the student

body were interested in having a college

gym. Following this the college have

agreed to let us turn the current common

room into a gym and move the common

room into the college bar (the Griffin).

The gym is scheduled to be built for

Michaelmas 2013 and I hope it will be a

great addition to the college.

My proudest achievement as President

has been running a successful Living

Wage campaign at the college. The Living

Wage is a base level of pay calculated

geographically which constitutes the

minimum wage necessary in order to

live. Homerton was previously one of the

worst colleges for paying this and so I

am delighted that we have managed to

achieve this transition so quickly.

I’ve also been really proud to see the

achievements of other members of the

HUS team this year. Helena Blair, our Target

jCrHomerton union of students

I have been fortunate to meet so many

brilliant people who I am sure I will be

in contact with long after we all leave

Cambridge. I am confident that the HUS

will continue to be a really positive force

for Homerton students and I wish my

successor the best of luck. I also wish the

new Principal well and add my thanks to

Kate Pretty for all of her support to me

during my time at Homerton.

Thank you Homerton, it’s been great.

Greg hillHUS President 2012–2013

hus JCR team 2012

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mCrThishasbeenanexcitingyearfortheHomerton College MCR. Now in just our fourth year of existence, we have endeavoured to do more for graduates than ever before.

We started on a high note, with the

College’s most successful PGCE Freshers’

Week yet. Together with the JCR we

hosted a full schedule of events for the

327 new PGCE students, which involved a

variety of events, ranging from a low-key

Film Night to a Pub Quiz to a Cambridge

Pub Crawl. Our MCR Freshers’ Week also

boasted record attendance numbers,

with students from all over the world

coming together to go Punting on the

Cam, experience the spookier side of

Cambridge with a Ghost Walk, and cook

their favourite dishes to present at a Film

Night and Pot-Luck Dinner.

Chiefly, this year the MCR has focused its

efforts on improving services for graduates

at Homerton. In particular, we launched

our new, redesigned website, which

includes more photos and resources than

ever before, including welfare information

and a new MCR Common Room Booking

System. We have also refurbished the

Common Room itself in order to provide

more seating and to make the space an

overall more welcoming environment.

In another move designed to improve our

ability to provide services and host events

for graduates, we have also increased

our interaction with Homerton’s JCR

this year. Together, our two committees

have hosted a number of Bops for both

undergraduate and graduate students,

as well as increased access to a variety of

welfare groups. We have also liaised with

College officials to develop a graduate-

undergraduate mentoring scheme which

is planned to launch in 2013–2014.

Perhaps most exciting for students in

College this year was the introduction

of Graduate Formal Halls on the first

Friday of every month during Term, as

well as Graduate-Fellow Formal Halls

during breaks. In addition, our students

have enjoyed opportunities to visit other

colleges and interact with visiting students

from elsewhere during our frequent

Formal Swaps. Together, these experiences

have ensured that this year’s graduates

have grown into a closely knit community.

However, Homerton graduate students

have not only grown into an exceptional,

dynamic community within College,

but have also become a visible part

of life across Cambridge. Our students

have proven themselves in athletics,

both on the sports pitch and on

the river. They have also excelled in

theatrical performances, ballroom dance

competitions, and academic conferences

all over the world.

With such an intelligent, interesting group

of students it is impossible to know where

they will go next. All we can tell for certain

is that, for them, success is surely right

around the corner. It has been a pleasure

living and working with each one of

them, and I look forward to seeing how

Homerton graduates continue to flourish

in the coming months and years.

Kate BoehmeMCR President 2012–2013

top A selection of incoming graduate students at a Fresher’s Week event at the Orchard tea Room in Granchester

bottom homerton Representatives at the Reception with Prince William & the Duchess of Cambridge. Lara-Leigh nicDhughaill, Kenichi udagawa, Kate Boehme, Robbie stevens, Penny Barton (left to right)

Homertonian26

retired senior members assoCiation

obituaries

Therewasatimewheniusedtobe asked to give ‘lead lectures’ at conferences concerned with ‘Change’. In the conviction that few of us want change, I always suggested the session should be titled “How to avoid change; 101 ways to kill a good idea stone dead”. It was at one such conference that I firstheardthequotationfromFlorencenightingale(whichiprobablynowmisquote):“Alloneneedstodoinorderto move backwards, is to stand still.”

Looking back, over the past five years I can

see that there have been changes. Each

year, inevitably, we have had the sadness

of losing and the pleasure of gaining

members. Since my last report, we have

suffered the loss of Dr Ian McMahon and Dr

Louise Pirouet. Among other things, both

will be remembered for their outstanding

contribution not only to Homerton, but

also to the wider community. We have

welcomed to our ranks retired members

of the administrative staff, namely Mr

Gale Bryan, Mrs Charlie Jenner, and Mr

John Chapman. In addition, our offer of

membership has been accepted by Dr

Bobbie Wells, Dr Jill Waterhouse and Dr Tim

Rowlands, all of whom have contributed

much to the academic life of college in the

past. So this ‘Senior Alumni’ association,

unique in its composition among

Cambridge Colleges, now has a record

membership of seventy-six.

We have established a Teacher Education

Bursary, the aim of which is partly at least to

remind the new Homerton of its past. We

have a series of talks, preceded by coffee and

followed by luncheon on High Table (with

wine from the illegal RSMA Wine Cellar). We

have an Almonry team, who are proactive in

their concern for the well-being of members.

Publications by members are displayed in

the College Research Cabinet. We have a

splendidly professionally produced annual

Newsletter; a Website (albeit in need of some

loving care); a Quiz Team (appropriately

entitled ‘The Wooden Spooners’); a Book

Club, and ‘Emeritus’, a group who meet to

enjoy what often resembles singing, but is

more an immensely enjoyable therapeutic

noise-making session. Nevertheless,

probably my favourite change has been

to see Alison Shrubsole, the past Principal,

who, along with Dr David Male, founded our

association, suitably commemorated by a

room appropriate to her significance

in the movement of Homerton to a

University College.

Of course, the greatest change faces us

at the end of the year and involves the

hierarchy of the new Homerton. We

lose a Principal, who, in Kate Pretty,

has been a staunch supporter of our

association and a Senior Tutor, Peter

Warner, who many years ago was

influential in our initial integration into

the life of the college.

And Finally….It only seems like yesterday that John

Hammond suggested I should stand

for election to chair the RSMA Executive

Committee. But it wasn’t. It was nearly five

years ago, and this is my final report. I have

enjoyed the experience a great deal more

than I had anticipated, and this has been

to a large extent due to my colleagues

on the committee, who have suffered my

chairmanship with such good humour

and tolerance. A special mention must go

to our Secretary, Trish Maude, who is also

retiring this year after many more years of

service on the committee than me, and

who, among many admirable qualities,

has perfected a superb technique of

writing substantial portions of the minutes

in advance of the meeting!

Professor John Murrell MBeEmeritus Fellow,

Sometime George Peabody Professor,

Chairman, Homerton College RSMA

rsma CHairman’s report – plus CHange…

Dr IAn mCmAHon1923–2012Head of History, 1965–1988

George Ian Robertson McMahon was

born on 5th February 1923 in Indianapolis,

Indiana. His father, John Robertson

McMahon, was a Scottish émigré and

Presbyterian minister, and his mother,

Henrietta Elizabeth Robinson McMahon,

came from a family of New England

academics and missionaries. Ian grew up

in a number of the states of the union

as his father‘s postings took him from

Michigan in the north to Alabama in the

south. It was possibly in order to introduce

some stability in their sons’ lives that their

parents sent Ian and his brother Jimmy to

Howe Military Academy, Indiana, for their

secondary education. It was here that

Ian’s academic potential began to flourish,

and where his lifelong love of history and June 1986

Homerton College 27

Landscape historians 1987

music in particular were fostered. It also

seems likely that it was the experience of

traditional liturgy in the Academy’s chapel

that prompted the change of allegiance

from the denomination of his birth to the

Episcopal Church of America.

In due course Ian was offered a place, but

not the necessary scholarship, at Harvard

University. Instead he attended the local

Presbyterian institution of Monmouth

College, a ‘school’ which is still flourishing

and regularly sends Ian its alumni

literature. The Second World War now

being underway, he was conscripted on

graduation and seconded to the University

of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for a

course in Spanish – a fruitful introduction

to that university. He saw active service

with the US Army signals corps in the

Pacific theatre, and was in Japan as part

of the occupying force when General

MacArthur signed the act of surrender in

Tokyo Bay. He remembered the country

as a traveller rather than a soldier, and

remained interested in it and its culture in

later life. Otherwise, he was always reluctant

to discuss his wartime experiences,

although they must have informed his

uncompromising aversion to autocracy in

all its forms, and his unswerving advocacy

of a robust military deterrent (which was in

time to prove a cause of friction with the

well-meaning Guardian-reading generation

which he fathered!).

After demobilisation, Ian resumed his

education at Chapel Hill, taking a master’s

degree in history (his thesis relating to the

Vatican and diplomacy), and where he

undertook some supervision. By now his

vocation to the Episcopalian ministry had

become explicit, and the next three years

were spent at the General Theological

Seminary in New York City. His first clerical

appointment was to St Mark’s, Roxboro,

North Carolina (and its satellite missions, for

one of which he oversaw the building of a

new little church). He served the parish for

five years and is still fondly remembered

there. It was the death of his father (whom

he had brought to Roxboro to nurse

through his final illness) which awoke in

Ian the desire both to pursue his academic

studies and see his ancestral country.

He travelled to Oxford in 1957, spending

an initial year at Ripon Hall, an Anglican

study centre on Boar’s Hill. In the autumn

of 1958 he took up a place to read for the

degree of Master of Letters at St Catherine’s

College, his thesis being on a seventeenth

century Scottish divine, John Forbes. Visits

for research enabled him to deepen his

relationship with his Father’s brother and

three sisters and his five cousins in Dundee,

Huntley, Aberdeen and Inverness.

Whilst serving as President of the Oxford

Graduate Society, Ian was introduced

at one of its meetings to a Cambridge

graduate, Jennifer Petty, then working

as an illustrations editor in the Schools

Department of the Clarendon Press.

They were married on May 19th 1961 at

St Peter’s-in-the-East, one of four Oxford

churches at which he had been serving

as assistant curate. Increasingly, however,

Ian found himself drawn to the challenges

of an academic career, and in the autumn

of 1964 he took up a temporary position

at the University of Edinburgh, his son

Geoffrey being born in the city the

following June. In September the family

moved to Cambridge, Ian having been

appointed Head of History at Homerton,

then an independent teacher-training

college. His daughter Jessica was born just

before Christmas of 1966.

In Cambridge, Ian had found the ideal

location for the pursuit of his interests and

responsibilities. He remained at Homerton

until his retirement in 1988, consolidating

history as a vigorous research-based

discipline within the college’s curriculum,

and overseeing his department’s co-

ordination with the teaching of the

Cambridge History Faculty when Homerton

became an approved society of the

University (a stage on its journey to full

university status in 2010). His tenure

was characterised by the concern and

interest he would take in the welfare of his

individual students, and he was especially

proud of his role as the senior member

of the college’s Rowing Club. Somehow

he also found time to continue his own

research work on The Scottish Episcopate

1600–1638, for which the University of

Birmingham awarded him a Ph.D in 1973.

Ian had also been developing a relationship

with the European Division of the University

of Maryland since Oxford days, when

teaching for its programme was an essential

means of support. (The university offered

modular degree courses to American

military personnel serving overseas.) Now,

ob

itu

ar

ies

Homertonian28

this would typically involve trekking across

the East Anglian flats to deliver a midweek

twilight lecture at a US Air Force base,

sometimes to discover that it had moved

to a higher state of readiness (the Cold

War then being at its height) and that non-

essential visitors were being turned back

at the gates. Ian clearly valued this link to

his transatlantic upbringing (as the cans of

root beer and packets of lifesavers in the

family car testified!), and was especially

touched when the University of Maryland

invited him with Jennifer to a ceremony

in Heidelberg at which his long service

was recognised, and when, in a later

rationalising of faculty roles, he was officially

designated ‘Professor’.

There was also ample opportunity in

Cambridge for Ian to express his love of the

traditional forms of Anglican worship, and

he was frequently to be found amongst

the congregations of St Mary’s Churches

(both Great and Less), and at the college

chapels of King’s and St John’s. He also

made appearances to take services at

King’s College Choir School and St John’s

College Choir School when Geoffrey and

Jessica were respectively pupils at these – a

logical outcome of Ian’s own schooling.

Licensed for occasional duty as a priest in

the Diocese of Ely, he became increasingly

active in the parish of St Giles during

the 1970s, particularly during its inter-

regnum years prior to 1982. There then

followed a similar pattern of involvement

at St Clement’s Church, culminating in his

being appointed priest-in-charge after his

retirement from Homerton. As a fervent

devotee of the 1662 Prayer Book, his was an

eminently suitable pair of hands on the tiller

for a small but committed congregation

during a time of liturgical and political

upheaval for the wider church.

Juggling these various activities meant

that Ian led an undeniably busy life,

especially in term time, but never to the

neglect or detriment of his family or

domestic duties (the Saturday morning

visit to the Co-Op was as faithfully

observed as the following day’s Eucharist).

An essential component of his lifestyle

was the succession of much-loved and

invariably British-made second-hand cars

which he tirelessly navigated through the

narrow city streets, and much further afield

on family holidays (sometimes testing

their engines’ endurance beyond breaking

point in the process!). Having learnt to

drive before the era of mass-motoring had

properly set in on either side of the pond,

he was endearingly intolerant both of

others’ discourteous driving and of modern

traffic-calming measures, resentful at the

introduction of compulsory seat-belts and,

unhappily but perhaps inevitably, an early

victim of the growing phenomenon of

road-rage on more than one occasion.

Although Ian’s loyalty to the ailing UK

motor industry (not to mention Cooper’s

Marmalade and Twining’s Tea) was

indicative of his sincere affection for British

institutions and customs, he remained a

US citizen throughout his life, participating

without fail in each Presidential election

by postal ballot, and regularly travelling to

the Embassy in Grosvenor Square to renew

his passport and submit his tax returns.

His subscription to the International Herald

Tribune newspaper enabled him to keep

a close eye on the fortunes of both the

Democratic Party and the Chicago Cubs

(rarely good in either case!), and we can

be sure that he would have welcomed

President Obama’s victory after the travesty

of the Bush years (as much as he might

have wished that The West Wing’s Jed

Bartlett had been a real person!). As air

travel became more affordable during

the course of his life, Ian was able to make

more frequent visits to his friends and

family in the States, and indeed to enjoy

their reciprocal visits to Britain. His brother

Jimmy died in 1994, survived by a daughter

Barbara and grandchildren Carmelyn and

Ricky; the family, all of whom live in and

around Sacramento, California, has since

grown to include four great-grandchildren,

and one great-great-grandson. Ian’s own

grandson, Augustine, was born in January

2002, and the two of them had many

opportunities to get to know one another

during the period when Ian was being

cared for in the family home.

When asked for their most abiding

memories of Ian, friends, family, former

students and parishioners alike will typically

speak of a kindly, sensitive, genuinely caring

and considerate man with, as one puts it,

a ‘delightfully wry sense of humour and

deep spirituality’. On making his diagnosis,

Ian’s GP predicted that it would be precisely

these personal qualities that would enable

him to defy the harshest consequences

of his developing condition, and so it has

proved. If the last few years have afforded

Ian a richly-deserved period of rest from a

life enthusiastically and energetically well-

lived, then for that small mercy we may

be thankful.

This was the Eulogy at Ian McMahon’s funeral

by Geoffrey McMahon, Ian’s son.

ian, family and John hammond

obituaries continued

Homerton College 29

dr margaret marY louise pirouet 1928 – 2012 Senior Lecturer in Religious Studies, 1978–1989

Louise came to Homerton from the

University of East Africa, at Makere in

Uganda, where she had been teaching

religious studies and undertaking radical

and innovative research. She subsequently

taught for many years in the Religious

Studies Department at Homerton alongside

Jean Holm and Grahame Miles: she kept in

touch with Jean after Jean’s retirement to

New Zealand.

In Uganda, she built on her doctoral

research which had involved the extensive

interviewing of African Christians about

their perceptions of the faith that they had

received from European missions. She was

supportive thereby of the earliest African

scholars’ own expressions of their adopted

and developing theology. Louise left

Uganda in the wake of Idi Amin’s ejections

of foreign personnel and persecution

of many of his own people. She had

developed a deep attachment to Uganda

and its people and retained many contacts

both in that country and with exiles in the

UK. There was a constant stream of visitors

to her home and many also passed through

Homerton.

Through their experiences and those of

many others seeking political asylum in

Britain she developed a deep concern not

only for their plight, but also for what she

regarded as the often inhumane treatment

they received from the authorities in the

UK. In later years much of her energy was

focused on the ‘obscene’ conditions in the

refugee and asylum-seeker local holding

centre in Oakington, Cambridgeshire,

which was eventually closed in 2010.

Louise was a tough and feisty campaigner

with a sustained commitment to social

justice on all fronts. Within Homerton she

contributed to the work on gender equality

and to the development of multi-cultural

perspectives in teaching. She did not

have a lot of time for ideological posing or

discussions: for her it was patently obvious

that some residual attitudes and practices

were nonsense and that we had better do

something to change things ... now!

She was a regular attender at Great

St Mary’s where she showed a similar

impatience with the Church’s slowness to

recognise what to her was patently obvious

– for example the place of women in the

ministry of the church.

She was an extremely intelligent woman,

knowledgeable in history, religious studies

and fine art, but wholly unpretentious, living

very modestly and focusing her energy not

on her own needs or ambitions but on the

service of others whom she saw to be more

sorely in need of support.

Among her books were Black Evangelists: the

Spread of Christianity in Uganda, 1891–1914

and her powerful plea for justice for asylum

seekers: Whatever Happened to Asylum in

Britain? A Tale of Two Walls.

David Bridges Emeritus Fellow

stephen tomkinsEmeritus Fellow

ob

itu

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ies

Bill

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982

Homertonian30

CHarter Campaign and donor listThisismyfirstopportunitytoaddresstheRoll members as I arrived at Homerton only last July. I have done many things in my career which I hope will allow me to carry on the excellent work undertaken by my predecessor, Gale Bryan, and Financeofficer,Dhirukaria,overthepast 20 years. Having graduated from University College London in Economics, I qualified as an accountant and then spent five years working in hotels, an environment not unlike that I find myself in at Homerton, just with longer term residents!

Whilst I count my blessings daily that I am

working for a college that has been soundly

managed and well-maintained, I am also

acutely aware that the current financial

pressures on students, both undergraduates

and graduates, will not lessen in the future.

We must continue to improve the facilities

and support we are able to offer them, to

provide a College experience that measures

up to the considerable investment they are

now making in their futures.

We must continue to make sure our assets

work hard for us. Our conference and events

business earns very necessary funds to

support the College which the Conference

Sales Manager describes elsewhere. At

a time of historically low investment

returns, the development of the adjacent

Homerton Business Centre, purchased in

2011, will provide superior returns that we

can invest in our endowment and estate

for future generations. We are currently

hoping to submit a planning application

later this academic year for a mixed-use

development which can start in 2013/14.

The College is now embarking on its

estate strategy for the next decade.

The 1992 and 2001 Estate Strategies

provided for major estates regeneration

programmes and for a changed

educational requirement in the light of

the moves towards and accomplishment

of the Royal Charter. In the short-term

we are improving facilities for students

and staff by moving the JCR and

installing a gym in the vacated area, as

well as increasing much needed office

accommodation and guest rooms for our

Fellows. We are also investing significantly

in 2013/14 in the rooms in West House to

update and improve functionality. In the

longer term we are looking to provide

new facilities for all students and enhance

accommodation for graduates. I will keep

you posted!

The College experience is not just about

buildings and facilities but also about

having sufficient financial support to enjoy

University life to the full and not having

money worries that interfere with academic

studies and activities. Last year, working

with University resources, we dispensed

£1.2M and increased our funding through

College grants and awards. The College

continues to look at innovative ways to

support our students such as helping them

with accommodation whilst on internships

in Cambridge. In today’s very competitive

employment market, the provision of

internships can be an important support

for our students’ futures and alumni are

encouraged to be supportive in this way.

To help students in their final year where

internships are unpaid or require the

students to fund their own accommodation,

we have introduced a new scholarship for

this summer vacation.

The College is undergoing many changes this

year, not least the retirement of the Principal,

Kate Pretty, and the Senior Tutor, Peter

Warner. I will soon be an old hand! I look

forward to working with the new Principal

to carry on the work of my predecessor in

managing the College’s endowment and

estate with diligence and resourcefulness

and to provide for an exceptional

educational experience for our students.

Deborah Griffin OBeBursar

tHe bursar’s report

Asourstudentsreachtheendoftheirundergraduate careers, many begin to consider going on to a Higher Degree – a Masters or a PhD. Many love their subject so much that they can’t bear toleaveitjustyet.Foranincreasingnumber, a first degree is simply not enough to get one noticed in the job market, where nowadays every competitive edge counts.

Over the past decade there has been an

astonishing increase in MPhil courses

available, and an MPhil is rapidly becoming

the pre-requisite for a PhD offer. As you

would expect, perhaps, the funding for

PhD studentships for UK students has

become tighter and tighter in the current

financial difficulties, with the Arts and

Social Sciences being particularly hard hit.

However, a major barrier is now in place

at the Masters level, for which almost no

funding is available. MPhil and MSc courses

are not eligible for grants and loans from

Student Finance, which now administers

all undergraduate fee loans and grants, and

the number funded by Research Councils

has dwindled away as they focus remaining

funds on PhD places. Most of our graduates

are looking around for loans from family

or banks to fund an MPhil, and these are

a Crisis in funding for graduate students

Homerton College 31

Whilst the fundraising priorities of the Charter Campaign continue to bestudents,researchandTeaching,newneedsappearallthetime.Thisyear we are launching the Kate Pretty Fund, which will provide a ring-fenced fundtohelpgraduatestudents.Therehas been a 64% increase in full-time graduates at Homerton since the collegeachieveditscharter.Thereareparticular concerns about the future fundingofourukgraduates.Thefirstgenerations of students to pay £9,000 in annual fees will graduate in a couple of years and they will need financial help if they wish to continue with their

studies, at PGCE, masters or doctoral level. We are also introducing an Intern Scheme. In the current economic climate work placements and internships are highly valued and the scheme will enable undergraduates to gain work-experience. If you are able to either supportorofferaninternshipwewouldlove to hear from you.

We have been delighted by the response

that we have had from Roll Members since

the Campaign was launched in 2011. The

support of our members has allowed the

College to increase financial assistance

to students through scholarships and

CHarter Campaign 2013

bursaries and to provide additional help

for our young researchers. If you would like

to know more about how the funds are

allocated, or about the homerton College Charter Campaign or the Kate Pretty Fund please contact the Development

Office at campaign@homerton.cam.ac.uk

or 01223 747270. Further details are also

available on the College website at http://

www.homerton.cam.ac.uk.

Alumni participation is important for

Homerton. Moderate amounts given

by a large number on a regular basis

can produce a significant Annual Fund.

This can be used to meet the College’s

immediate priorities.

Alison holroydSenior Development Officer, March 2013

All gifts, no matter their size, make a real difference. Added together they create an important resource to ensure Homerton’s continued success and excellence into the future.

not yet the generation emerging with

£30–60,000 debt under the new £9,000 fee

regime, which will make the situation even

more acute. In the meantime, universities

are noticing that in comparison with new

undergraduate fees these courses are a

snip, and the fees have been creeping up.

We have definitely seen a move to a more

bimodal distribution of students. On the

one hand we have the well-funded: those

lucky enough to have one of the scarce

‘1+3’ awards (funding both a Masters

and a PhD) from the Research councils

or big medical charities, those with a

commercial sponsor, or with comfortable

family backing. They are financially secure

although often at significant personal cost.

On the other hand we have increasing

numbers of graduate students whose

financial situation may be perilous in the

extreme but who are determined to follow

their dream come what may. In college

we put a lot of effort into trying to help

such students, but in the end our funds are

limited, and what we can offer is a drop in

the ocean compared with some students’

financial needs. When students come to me

as Graduate Tutor and ask for advice about

how to fund their graduate courses I find

there is less and less to suggest. We have an

excellent scheme of Charter Scholarships

at Homerton. These make awards of £1,500

per year for MPhil and PhD students based

on academic merit; however, whilst this

is a welcome boost to anyone’s funding,

it is less than 10% of the annual cost of

even the cheapest graduate course. Even

for those students whose families are in a

position to be able to step in and help pay

for these courses, it creates an unwelcome

dependence on older generations of the

family at a time when young people should

be striking out on their own; we have

students in their late twenties and early

thirties still dependent on the ‘Bank of

Mum and Dad’ to pursue an essential

Masters qualification.

This is why the new Kate Pretty Fund is

so important. The university has recognised

the graduate student funding gap and is

making great strides in putting together

a more coherent and joined-up process

for matching funding to students. It is

very important that Homerton students

have the same opportunities as available

elsewhere across the collegiate university.

Please support the Kate Pretty Fund in any

way that you can!

Dr Penny BartonCollege Fellow and Graduate Tutor

Homertonian32

Formorethantwohundredandseventyyears Homerton College has been fortunate to benefit from the generosity of alumni and friends who have made a gift to College in their Will. Legacies have supported the College’s commitment to its core values, teaching, education and research.Thehistoryofmakingabequest to Homerton dates back to the earliest days of the College and the future will depend on the generosity of its benefactors just as much.

As Homerton College is a charity (No.

1137497), leaving a legacy bequest to the

College could have tax benefits by reducing

the amount liable to Inheritance Tax (in

2012–2013 this is the excess over £325,000

and is fixed until 2015). Many estates, even

modest ones, will incur Inheritance Tax on

their net value – that is, on the amount

remaining after the payment of fees, debts,

the deduction of bequests to a spouse,

charity or other exempt organisation.

Legacies to charities are exempt from

Inheritance Tax and it is therefore possible to

lower your total Inheritance Tax liability (see

Example below).

Example1*:nobequesttocharities:Total Estate Value £500,000

Tax-Free Allowance £325,000

Taxable Estate £175,000

Tax at 40% £70,000

Totalduetolegatees £430,000

Example2*:ifalegacyof4%of taxableestateislefttoacharity:Total Estate Value £500,000

Tax-Free Allowance £325,000

Charitable Bequest (4%) £7,000

Taxable Estate £168,000

Tax at 40% £67,200

Totalduetolegatees £425,800

Cost of the legacy to the estate in this case

is £4,200 (£7,000 less the £2,800 saved in

Inheritance Tax)

A new provision passed into UK tax law in

April 2012 benefits charities further at a

modest cost to potential donors. The UK

Government is encouraging taxpayers to

leave at least 10% of their taxable estate to

charity; as an incentive the tax charged on

the remainder of their taxable estate will be

reduced from 40% to 36%.

Example3*:ifalegacyof10%of taxableestateislefttoacharity:Total Estate Value £500,000

Tax-Free Allowance £325,000

Charitable Bequest (10%) £17,500

Taxable Estate £157,500

Tax at 36% £56,700

Totalduetolegatees £425,800

*The examples above apply to an individual and

do not illustrate the case where a surviving spouse

will pick up their partner’s tax free allowance.

Creating a legaCY for Homerton CollegeCost of the legacy to the estate in this case

is £4,200 (£17,500 less the £13,300 saved in

Inheritance Tax)

The figures will vary from case to case but

the examples show that the testator who

intended to leave 4% of his or her taxable

estate to a charity can increase this to 10%

without altering the amount inherited

by the family and other beneficiaries. The

amount left to charities may be divided

between a number of different bodies but

the total left to charities must be at least

10% of the taxable estate. Gifts made to

charity in the seven years prior to death are

also exempt from Inheritance Tax.

Homerton College welcomes gifts of any

sum by bequest. It especially welcomes

money left for its general purposes, since

such generosity allows the College to invest

and to apply the income where the money

is most needed. If you would like further

information about leaving a gift in your will

do please contact the Development and

Alumni Office at campaign@homerton.

cam.ac.uk.

Further details are available at http://

www.hmrc.gov.uk/tools/iht-reduced-rate/

index.htm. A legacy calculator is available

at http://www.tax-effective-giving.org.

uk/?pageid=Calculators.xml.

Alison holroydSenior Development Officer, March 2013

mY deCision to leave a legaCY

My decision to leave a legacy to Homerton was an easy one. I owe a great debt of gratitude to the College, most particularly my tutors and to the lifelong friends I made there. Homerton gave me the opportunity and the support to grow from a shy, unconfident teenager into a confident and articulate woman with a thirst for knowledge which has stayed with me. Homerton took a chance on me; my school had written me off because I didn’t fit into their standard mould. Homerton saw a teenager who would benefit from and embrace a Cambridge education and I embraced

it with 100% commitment and passion. I was given the freedom to explore and question my beliefs and opinions, learn, argue and question; when I fell flat on my face, which I frequently did, I was picked up again by tutors and friends who encouraged and supported me all the way through. Homerton was my formative education and for many it is

somewhere we treasured then, do now and will in the future.

I was lucky enough to come up to Homerton under the system of grants – essentially getting a free education. Current and future students are not so lucky and will start their working lives with a level of debt amounting to at least £45,000 following 3 years of study. Legacies will help Homerton to continue building its endowment and help to create bursaries and Access Funds so that students, no matter their financial background, will be able to benefit from a Homerton education as I and my friends did.

Julie hogg Homerton 1991–1995

Homerton College 33Homerton College 33

The Principal and Fellows of Homerton

College wish to thank all those alumni

and friends who have generously made

donations to the Charter Campaign over

the last year. Every effort has been made

to ensure the list is accurate; do please

LIST OF DONORS – 1 MARCH 2012 – 28 FEBRUARY 2013

contact us if you believe we have made

an omission.

The College would in addition like to thank

those who have made gifts of art works and

books. We are also very grateful for those

Cavendish Book ClubGibbons Family Charitable TrustLynne Abell HorlockJ Gay Adam GoodmanDr Eileen Alexander OBE Dr Roger AliDella Allen GarrickAlison Allen GambleSusan Amyes FareChristine Andrews HarbottleEleanor AshworthMohammed AzeemEleanor BakerAlyson Baker HallHilary Ballantine JenkinsAnne Bambridge ScadeJacqueline Bardsley LockhartClaire Barnard BurgoyneAnn BarnesBernice Barton BantonGayatri Basu De SakkarClaire-Audrey Bayan Sarah Bayes Naomi Baynes HornElaine Beale HerbertMelanie Benson M Anne Benson Sheila Berry Marianne Billitt BaileJane Bishop ScottWendy Bishop WaterfieldMargaret Blott DaviesEdward Boydell Victoria Brahm-Schild Catherine Braine BraineRuth Briant De IoghKarin Brown Wendy Brown Dr Brenda Buchanan FSA WadeMatthew Buck Alison Buck Jill Burton GrantErin Butcher BondJacqueline Butler TaylorC Margaret Butler WoolleyDenise Butler LloydAndrea Caish BakerAngela Carmichael PyeTracey Chaffel WestKim Chaplin TarryAnna Chapple Raymond Cilia Frances Clare WilsonJean Clarke BonellieNatalie Cloud TraversNicole Cohen NerdenChristine Cole RobertsZoe Coombe RichardsE Patricia Coombes MurphyGreta Cooper MarkhamLorna Cordell-Smith BirdClaire Corkran Gill Corns BarkerDr Constance Counts Amie Cox ChoppingDr Olivia Craig HurstWendy Craston StraussHelen Crawford Sheila Crowther WardDr Patricia Cusack DesmondElizabeth Cutter WaltonMargaret Dale Beales

Clare Danielian CollardPatricia Darke JacksonEliza de Uphaugh Susan Dee MossAnthony Delany Jeanne DelColle Sylvia Dibble Phyllis Dickens UffBill Dod Margaret Dowding StewartKathleen Down HartMary Dowse BuxtonHelen Draper SchlegerLinda Drummond-Harris

DrummondSheila Duncan DrakeWendy Dunnett CarpenterJuliet Dyer CheadleAmanda Edwards SimmonsJane Edwards Patricia Elliott Dorothy Elven KempAmy Ely Dr F Dorothy Evans MBE Doreen Evans CaldwellJanet Farley PeytonWendy Farmer JonesKatie Farrand Janice Felton MasonAdrienne Ferguson Lidia Fesshazion David & Mandy Fletcher –

Elizabeth Fletcher Poetry Prize Miriam France BirrellLady Dorothy Franklin Jenifer Freeman HaberfieldNiven Frey Jo Frisby Margaret Funnell PhillipsEmma Gage WylieAlison Gall WalkerMargaret Georgiadis RocheChristopher Gerdes John Gersh Annette Gordon Sarah Gordon Professor John Gray FBA Roger Green – Roger Green

Organ Scholarship Margaret Hague FranceGaynor Hall JamesR Jane Hammond Mark Hanley-Browne Helen Hansgate TurnerAnn Hardie MillerFrances Hardy EssenJulia Harker TennantCoral Harrow HemsleyDr Daniel Harvitt Shirley Haslam JefferiesM Christine Hatt JonesKathleen Hayward GrabbitasThe Revd Claire Heald HarrisonGillian Hewin BulpinCatherine Hicks BarnardRuth Hill SandlerSusan Hill MorganDr Susan Hilliam Fiona Hobdell ReaGregoire Hodder Ian Hodgson Phillippa Hogg-Andrews Horsfall

Joan Hollinghurst AizlewoodSusan Hollow BuckettPauline & Donald Hood RobinsonRichard Hopkins Amy Howarth Elizabeth Howell BellAngela Huntley TaylorLeonie Hyde KilburnChristine Irving GaudinJoyce Ivell LeesBeryl Izzard ClarkAnn Jackman WaltonJean Jackman Amanda James Katharine James Jean Jeffery AshElizabeth Jestica CurtisDr Christopher Johnson Valerie Johnson SmithPaul Jones Alison Kellaway Christine Kershaw EdwardsMichaela Khatib BurbanksCaroline Kinchin Smith HarrisCatherine King Lisa Knight ChaddAudrey Knighton LandJoy Kohn ReadGwendoline Lancaster Teresa Lea BakerLynn Lemar TompkinsDr M Dawn Lewcock (d)*

de FraineRachel Lewington Pamela Lewis WalkerRachel Linfield SparksMary Lister SmithDr Alison Littlefair RatcliffeSally Mabon Andreas & Hannah MacFarlane Ann-Marie Mackay JoderChristine Macpherson HayDr David Male Sarah Mansfield Judy Manson MaddocksPamela Marshall JohnsonB Anne Martin SparroweSheila Martin RobbDr Maria-Esther Martinez-Cantu

SelzerJacqueline Matthews Jane Matthews GoldsmithElaine Maunder MillsJulie McCleery Mary McCosh WiltshireSusan McFarland CluleyElizabeth McLean DavsonDr Victoria McNeile CooperAnn Mead ProwsePatricia Mee BatesBrenda Meek Caroline Melrose PeoverLesley Mensah StaffordPaul & Margaret Meredith

SchofieldKerry Merriam ProffittMary Millan Carol Milton MiltonRobyn Mitchell McMillanHelen Mitchell ColesLiliane Mitchell GrunbergNaomi Moffatt Arkle

Abigail More HineRemi Moynihan Anastasia Munro RileyDilys Murch InchLouise Mursell HarrisClare Myers BradleySusan Newbold MullinsJillian Niblett KingDorothy Nicholls MillsRachel Nicol GilesCarole Nolan HuntJean Norton Katherine Nottage AlexanderPriscilla Nunnerley Wendy Oakley WatfordTara O’Kelly Dr Linda Orchard SmithJosephine Oxley DeerEvelyn Parker StovoldMerilyn Parker Armitage

ParkerChristine Parkyn Molly Payne BrownBridget Peachey EvettsJean Pearch PolsonDr Augustine Pereira Anne Perrin DawsonHefina Petrie DaviesChristina Pike WhyteRuth Pimentel YatesSusan Pinner AskerMarion Pogson ReesPatricia Porter LeaneyMargaret Powell PiffMary Powles UnderwoodDr Kate Pretty CBE Denise Prosser CawleyKrista Pullan Jane Purwar SlaterWilliam Quinn Dr Peter Raby Elizabeth Rainsbury Vera Ratcliffe Sarah Rawlins JeffriesRosemary Rees DawsonRuth Rees MaillardAlison Reevey Marilyn Reid WareSusan Rescorla RuffMatthew Reynolds Margaret Rishbeth Margaret Robbie Upcott GillDaniel Roberts Alison Roberts De CleynKatherine Rogers Anne Rogers TudorHayley Romain Dr Jeptepkeny Ronoh E Jane Rose Gillian Ross DenningVerity Rudd Phillipa Rushby SweeneyJill Russell BlasbyGillian Sallis ChapmanHelen Sandle-Baker Elizabeth Sartain MosleyClaire Saunders EscottRuth Saunders WilliamsPatricia Saxton HemmingsElizabeth Scott SawersMark Sendell Dr Rosslyn Sendorek Cromarty

Alice Severs HattJyoti Shah DoshiKatherine Shankland HaslamLauren Sheldon Helen Sheppard JohnsonBarbara Sherlock Susan Shippey VealeJoan Skelding MarsdenVera Sklaar DornerAnne Small MillsAnnette Smallbone WayPamela Smart BartonMary Smith WilliamsEmma Smith CravenAnne Sparrowhawk Althea Stevens McCordJudith Stiles EverardSusan Stirrup ClarkPatricia Stockdale ShipleyDeborah Stone HoranGiles Storch Barbara Studd ThomasFrances Surridge Box/InnesJennifer Svreck SvrcekAlison Syner BarkhamSarah Taylor MattersonElizabeth Thomas OwenRosemary Thomas Knight-RevelBrenda Thompson Marjorie Thorley BannisterPatricia Tidswell (d)* Lisa Tiplady Dr Margie Tolstoy SutherlandSheila Topping SampsonCheryl Trafford NorbrookVictoria True-Bhattacharyya

TrueMarilyn Tullys SteenFrances Turner WeddellEnid Turner SampleJosephine Turner CritchleyPeter Ventrella Tessa Vivian WalkerEmma Vyvyan WilkinsonMary-Louise Wadsworth ClarkDr Peter Warner Laura Warren WhitfordCharlotte Watson BaskinJanet Webb BowerLucy Webber SaulBridget Weir HillProfessor Stephen Weis Dilys West FrostHilary Westcott GreenCatherine Weston WillsMaralyn Westwood SteeleDeborah White BrettonDr David Whitebread Carolyn Whyte EvettPamela Wignall Heather Wilkinson HillKatherine Willis Madeleine Willmer Kate Wilson Angela Wimbush NaylerSally Woodcock RonaldsonEmma Wright Satoko Yamamoto FukadaRunlin Zhou

Plus 139 donors who wish to remain anonymous.

members who give up their valuable time

in support of the Roll Office, in particular

our Homerton Roll Committee Members

and our Homertonian Branch Secretaries.

Key (d)* deceased maiden name

Homertonian34

Homerton roll

HomerTon roll CommITTee

Chair: Dr Kate Pretty (Principal);

Keeper of the Roll: Dr Ian Morrison;

Teaching Staff Member: Dr PeterWarner (Senior Tutor);

College Finance Officer: Dhiru Karia;

RSM: Professor John Murrell;

Editor of the Roll News: Mr James Thomson (1987–1994);

President of HUS: Mr Greg Hill;

Vice President (External) of HUS: Miss Emma Bowell;

Alumni members: Mr Tobias Bown (2006–2010); Mrs Jean Carnall (née Barrie; 1966–1969); Mrs Isobelle Hasleham (1975-1976); Mr Dominic Norrish (1994–1998); Mrs Angela Payne (1960–1963) and Mrs Alison White (née Hogg; 1983–1987)

BrAnCH ConTACTS

During the year, there are groups of Homertonians meeting together around the country. So if you are unable to make it to the Cambridge Reunion, you may find that there is an active group near you. Each group has a local secretary/organiser.

Many Homertonians also attend Cambridge University local branches in the UK and throughout the world. If you do not have a branch of Homertonians in your area consult the University of Cambridge Alumni Worldwide Directory at www.alumni.cam.ac.uk/networks.

uniTEDkinGDomBrAncHEs

Cambridge Anthea Wicks wicks.hmc.eeur@lineone.net

London Stephanie Beardsworth stephanie.beardsworth@btinternet.com

Stephanie Rogers stephanie.rogers51@gmail.com

Manchester Margaret Blott mblott_8@yahoo.co.uk

Newcastle Elise Wylie elise.wylie@gmail.com

Oxford Lucy Barnett glebecottage@gmail.com

Wessex Coral Harrow coralharrow@waitrose.com

inTErnATionAlBrAncHEs

Southern California Branch Angela Das ad301@cantab.net

China Xianwen Meng mengxianwenhf@gmail.com

THe HomerTon roll neWS

The Roll News is a newsletter for members

of the Homerton Roll. It includes news

about the Branches and reports of the

Reunion as well as death notices and

obituaries, but the emphasis is on your

news. We are interested in anything that

you have to share, from simple updates of

what you are up to now to more detailed

accounts of your work, travel, achievements,

publications and awards. The Editor,

James Thomson (HUS President 1989–90),

welcomes any news that you have to share,

whether you’ve been happily tending to

the garden or have recently become an

astronaut. We are especially interested in

articles under the general heading of ‘After

Homerton’, and any memories of your

time at Homerton that you think might

be interesting, including photographs if

you have them. Any news or memories

from more recent alumni are particularly

welcome given the changes in college life

over the last decade.

By publishing in November, we are able

to include so many more of your updates,

and also accounts of the Reunion. The

closing date is 30 September which means

that you just have time to include Reunion

reminiscences and photographs. Do keep

us busy; it is YOUR news.

The Roll News is available to purchase and

we will send it out to you in November.

It is also available on-line at http://www.

homerton.cam.ac.uk/alumni/publications.

Homerton College 35Homerton College 35

WAyS of STAyIng In TouCH

www.homerton.cam.ac.uk/alumni Do visit our website for details of our

events, our regional branches, Roll member

entitlements, to read our publications

on-line, to update your details and to see

if you recognise any names on our ‘lost’

list. You can also find details of the Charter

Campaign and even make a donation.

Do you receive our termly e-newsletter? If not, send us an email at

roll@homerton.cam.ac.uk to make sure

you don’t miss out on College news, diary

reminders and upcoming events.

Homerton College

is now tweeting news

and updates.

Follow us @

HomertonCollege.

Join us on Facebook to

keep up to date with

what’s going on in College.

Visit www.facebook.

com/pages/Homerton-

College-Cambridge-

Alumni/38635419944

eVenTS DIAry

11 June 2013 Charter Choir evensong and Alumni Formal hall Join us for dinner at High Table. The Alumni Formal Hall will be preceded by the Charter Choir singing Evensong at St John the Evangelist, Hills Road.

23 June 2013 homerton Family Day An opportunity for Alumni and their families to enjoy a picnic in Homerton’s lovely gardens. Children and grandchildren are entertained in beautiful surroundings on a fun-filled Summer’s afternoon.

27 – 28 september 2013 Roll Reunion Weekend Homerton will host a variety of events for its alumni starting on Friday evening through to Saturday night. This event coincides with the Cambridge University Alumni Festival 2013.

Michaelmas term 2013 Alumni Formal hall in College

21 February 2014 2014 Leavers’ Dinner in College For our 2013 graduates

Lent term 2014 Alumni Formal hall and seminar Alumni can come back to college and dine at High Table after enjoying a seminar presented by a College researcher about their work.

April 2014 London/ wine bar event We hope to host our first evening drinks event in London for our alumni.

easter term 2014 Alumni Formal hall in College

SATurDAy DInner

AT THe roll reunIon

SePTemBer 2013

All are welcome to the Saturday evening dinner at the Reunion weekend. However, over the last few years, more of our younger members attend, especially those working until late in Friday evening.

You will know that the Reunion weekend will be the last weekend in post for Dr Kate Pretty, the Principal, and for Dr Peter Warner as Senior Tutor. So we particularly want to invite all those who were students in the 1990s and the 2000s, especially those who were in the last cohorts of the B Ed, the first years of the BA in Education, and, of course, those who have been at Homerton since the major change to the College from 2001 studying for a wider range of subjects.

Do come and join us for this very special evening, saying farewell to two special people in the history of Homerton.

Homertonian36 Homertonian36

ProgrAmme

Friday27thseptember19.30 for 20.00 Dinner in the Great Hall

saturday28thseptemberMembers of the Homerton Roll and their families are invited to visit

the College for the day. Special Anniversary groups – meetings

independently arranged.

9.30 Registration – Coffee available

11.15 Principal’s Address in the Auditorium

President of HUS (JCR)

AGM of Homerton Roll

12.30 Lunch in the Great Hall

14.00 to Trish Maude MBE and Dr Peter Warner will give a talk ‘Sport

15.00 and Physical Education at Homerton College over the last

130 years’

Tours of the College and Gardens

15.15 to Charter Choir performance

16.15 Tours of the College and Gardens

16.30 Tea – open to all attending

19.30 for Saturday Dinner in the Fellows’ Dining Room

20.00

Please make every effort to book early, this not only greatly assists the

organisation and planning, but also increases the possibility of our being

able to accommodate all who wish to attend. Thisyearthebookingswillbeopenfrommonday1stJuly2013untilFriday6thseptember2013. Please ensure we receive your booking and payment within this nine week period. Unfortunately, we cannot accept any bookings

received after Friday 6th September.

The University’s Alumni Festival will be held from 27th – 29th September

2013. A full programme of the University’s events can be obtained from:

Cambridge Alumni Relations Office (CARO)

1 Quayside

Bridge Street

Cambridge

CB5 8AB

Tel: +44 (0)1223 332288

Email: contact@alumni.cam.ac.uk

or visit: www.alumni.cam.ac.uk

Homerton roll AnnuAl reunIonfrIDAy 27 To SATurDAy 28 SePTemBer 2013

SPeCIAl AnnIVerSArIeS orgAnISeD for THIS reunIon

Please contact the people named below for more information on your

Special Reunion this year. If your year is not mentioned and you would

like to help organise a Special Reunion, please contact Nicola Burgess

on 01223 747280 or by email at roll@homerton.cam.ac.uk.

DiAmonDGirlsGOING 1951–1953

DiAmonDGirlsin 1953–1955

Special Request 55yEArsin 1958–1960

GOLDEN GIRLS GOING 1960–1963

GOLDEN GIRLS IN 1963–1966

40yEArson 1970–1973/74

40yEArsin 1973–1976/77

30yEArson 1979–1983

30yEArsin 1983–1987

25yEArsin 1988–1992

21yEArsin 1992–1996

Saturday Dinner AllWHoWErE ATHomErTon From1992

Contact: Alumni Communications Assistant Tel: 01223 747280 Email: roll@homerton.cam.ac.uk

Contact: Alison Littlefair (Ratcliffe) Email: alison@littlefair1497.fsnet.co.uk

Contact: Elise Wylie Email: elise.wylie@gmail.com

Contact: Angela Payne (Mortimer) Tel: 01359 244244 Email: angela@mulberry-farm.co.uk

Margot Jacob (Coverdale) Tel: 01564 775325 Email: margot@chadwick.demon.co.uk

Contact: Alumni Communications Assistant Tel: 01223 747280 Email: roll@homerton.cam.ac.uk

Contact: Denise Prosser (Cowley) Email: prosser.denise@sky.com

Contact: Brenda Thompson Tel: 01582 792102 Email: becjaytee68@aol.com

Contact: Alumni Communications Assistant Tel: 01223 747280 Email: roll@homerton.cam.ac.uk

Contact: Phil Coldicott Email: phil@philcoldicot.co.uk

Contact: Alumni Communications Assistant Tel: 01223 747280 Email: roll@homerton.cam ac.uk

Contact: Alumni Communications Assistant Tel: 01223 747280 Email: roll@homerton.cam.ac.uk