The Alumni Newsletter of Watford Grammar School for Boys www.watfordboys.org alumni@watfordboys.org

FULLER NEWS

WBGS has long prided itself on its outstanding

pedigree of drama productions. Over the years,

the James Theatre has hosted numerous

memorable performances and nurtured the

talent of many budding actors and directors.

However, Government budget cuts in recent

years have significantly reduced our ability to

produce school plays. We have not had the funds

to retain a drama teacher and our boys have

missed out on the opportunity to be involved in

school productions – opportunities so fondly

remembered by previous generations of WBGS

alumni.

So I am delighted to announce that drama is set

for a revival thanks to the generosity of a WBGS

Old Boy. It was happy memories of his

participation in plays during his school days that

spurred one former pupil to help to correct the

demise of drama at the school. On hearing about

the existing lack of drama provision, Richard

Shoylekov (1976 – 1983) was moved to offer to

establish a drama bursary to enable the school to

employ a drama coach to work with our students

to deliver two plays each academic year.

Drama to flourish again at WBGS thanks to donor

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

Introduction from the Headmaster 1

Old Boy updates 2

Sports Development Campaign 3

School news 4-5

From the archives 6-7

Diary dates 8

The fund will be known as The Alchemist Bursary

– its name inspired by the school’s highly-

successful 1980 production of Ben Johnson’s The

Alchemist, which helped to foster Richard’s

lifelong love of drama.

From September 2019, all pupils will have the

opportunity to participate in a production – either

a Junior play or a Senior play. The benefits of

working as a team to create and produce a top-

class production cannot be underestimated and

we are hugely grateful to Richard for providing

our pupils with this opportunity.

If you would like to find out how you can help to

support The Alchemist Bursary to secure future

investment for drama at WBGS – or if you would

like to discuss opportunities to create other

bursaries to benefit our pupils – please contact

Lucy Brogan at broganl@watfordboys.org

Ian Cooksey, Headmaster

Summer 2019

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Braving the Dragons’ Den This March, Year 10 pupils once again had a chance to pitch their business ideas to a panel of former-WBGS experts in what has become a popular annual event for students and Old Fullerians alike. This year’s Dragons’ Den, hosted by the OFA in the STEM Centre, received an excellent standard of entry from all the participants. The students were asked to develop a fully-costed business proposition which would benefit fellow pupils, within the parameters of a £2000 budget. Russell Deane, who co-ordinated the morning on behalf of the OFA, said, “The judges were hugely impressed with the calibre of entries this year. The detail in the boys’ thinking and the sophistication of their presentations was astonishing.” The winning team, which has developed an app to encourage boys to dispose of litter in bins, will receive guidance and £2000 funding from the OFA to bring their product to fruition. Thanks to Harvey Griffiths, Percy McCloskey, Nigel Williams and David Coombs for being such convincing Dragons, and to Jonny Moore for compering the event with great energy and enthusiasm.

The ‘Dragons’

Old Boy updates

Careers Day success On Friday 12th July, our 200 lower-6th formers enjoyed the chance to learn from a host of former WBGS pupils at the annual Careers Day. The event, which is orchestrated by the OFA, brought together over 35 old boys from all walks of life to give the benefit of their career expertise to today’s ‘A’ level students. This event has become a firm fixture in the 6th form calendar and provides boys with an invaluable opportunity to learn about a variety of careers. This year’s mentors were drawn from a broad spectrum of professions, including the armed forces, investment banking, accountancy, medicine, law, the civil service, engineering and sport. Once again, the pupils greatly enjoyed hearing from experts in their fields, while mentors relished the chance to connect with the employees of tomorrow. Our sincere thanks to the OFA and all our mentors for making this such a great day.

Sound advice Our rolling programme of careers talks has continued, with a number of old boys returning to the school to inform and inspire our current students about the world of work. Over the past two terms, we have enjoyed talks from Miles Nikolic, a senior associate in assurance at PwC LLP; Richard Shoylekov, former General Counsel for Wolseley; Mark Buttigieg, diplomat; John Taylor, journalist and broadcaster; Ranjit Manku, IP Manager at Airbus Defence & Space UK; and Imran Khan, Secretary for the Watford Muslim Youth Centre Trust. We are very grateful to old boys who have volunteered their time to speak to our pupils. If you are interested in giving a careers talk at the

school, please email alumni@watfordboys.org

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Sports Development Campaign concludes

In May, the WBGS Sports Development Campaign closed after a very successful six-month appeal. In total,

over £80,000 has been donated to the school as a result of the campaign – a fantastic sum!

We would like to extend a very warm thank you to everybody who contributed to the appeal. This was the

first time that WBGS had run a fundraising campaign primarily targeted at old boys and we were

overwhelmed by your generosity for your old school.

Now that the funds are in place, work on building the new astroturf will begin over the Summer. The

improved all-weather pitch will make a significant difference to all our pupils, providing excellent facilities

for competitive sports on the main school site and increasing the space for free play in the boys’ break

times.

The new sports facilities will be formally opened in the Autumn term and we’ll bring you all the news of the

opening in the next issue of Fuller News.

Leavers’ vs Old Boys Rugby match This year’s Leavers v Old Boys Game will be the first held in memory of Elias Taylor, an old boy of the school and prominent sportsman, who sadly passed away last August after a 6-year battle with leukaemia. A large part of Elias’ life revolved around sport. He was a core member of the invincible rugby team during the season of 2010-2011, one of the strongest age-grade teams that WBGS has produced in recent years. Elias’ family and close friends have gone to fantastic lengths to memorialise his name and legacy with several fundraising events in recent months and have already collected in excess of £120,000 to go towards UCLH Haematology Cancer Care, an astounding achievement. It would be fantastic to see any old boys of the school and their families come to support the school and the fund by playing or spectating at this great event. It will be held at the New Field site on Saturday 31st August where there will be drinks, BBQ and excellent rugby played from 5:00pm onwards. If you can’t attend the match but would like to make a donation in memory of Elias, please visit www. Justgiving.com/fundraising/Cameron-wells1

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News from around the school

Happy birthday Rée House This Summer, we celebrated the first anniversary of

Rée house with a ceremony to recognise the

achievements of students in 7R and L6R. Guest of

honour for the day was Jonathan Rée, son of our

former Headmaster Harry Rée, who delivered a

fascinating 6th form lecture about Harry Rée’s work

in the French Resistance.

Harry Rée viewing his portrait in the school hall

Sports headlines Rugby

The U12 rugby season ended with an impressive

set of results, with the A team winning 6 out of the

8 games it played. Congratulations to all the boys

who represented the school during the season,

their high level of commitment bodes well for

future successes as they progress through the

school.

A special mention is deserved for the U16 7s

squad which won the County Cup at St Albans, the

first time WBGS has won the tournament since

2015. The side, captained by James Foley (11N),

comfortably beat Berkhamsted School and

Richard Hale School on its way to a

comprehensive 30 point victory over The Bishop

Stortford High School in the final.

Hockey

The U16s team was awarded ‘Team of the Season’

for playing a high energy, non-compromising

brand of hockey under the stewardship of Mr

Beere.

Cricket

The U15s won the Berko 6s cricket tournament,

beating Merchant Taylor’s, Aylesbury Grammar,

RGS High Wycombe, Berkhamsted School and

then Aldenham School in the final.

The U13s won the County Cup in June, winning

the final by 35 runs against Richard Hale School.

Victorious U13 team

Music At the end of February, we were delighted to welcome the Patchwork Jazz Orchestra to the Muse to run a workshop in the afternoon with our Big Band. The day culminated in a joint concert in which the double Big Band performed a magnificent rendition of Louis Prima’s Sing Sing Sing. It was a brilliant day and our boys learnt a great deal from playing alongside 17 professional musicians. We were thrilled with the success of our ever-popular Spring and Summer concerts. The music making was outstanding and it was great to see all the hard work of rehearsals paying off in performance. It was fabulous to have over 650 people join the audience across these concerts. Keep up to date with news about our forthcoming concerts by following us on Twitter @wbgsexcellence

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As is customary at the end of the Summer Term, we

must say goodbye to a number of staff as they move

on to pastures new.

Most poignantly perhaps for Old Boys, this Summer

we will say farewell to three very long-standing

members of staff who between them have racked up

over 65 years’ of service to WBGS.

Assistant Head, Maureen Hill; Head of Year 7, Ross

Panter; and Classics teacher Richard Davies will all

officially retire from WBGS at the end of August. We

know that they will be fondly remembered by many

old boys who have walked these corridors during the

past three decades.

We will reflect on their years of service to the school

in the next issue of Fuller News. If you have any

memories of Ross, Maureen or Richard that you would

like to share, please email alumni@watfordboys.org

Thank you and Farewell

Tribute to WBGS war veterans Made more poignant by being its 75th anniversary year, 49 WBGS pupils enjoyed the opportunity to visit

Normandy and the D-Day landing beaches during May half term. All the students had a brilliant experience.

The boys had the chance to visit Merville Battery, where our old Boy Lieutenant Colonel Terence Otway led

the 9th Battalion to secure this important site in the early hours of 6th June 1944 ahead of the beach landings.

He did this against all the odds and with only 75 of the 600 troops he had set out with. The citation for his

DSO read that his “utter disregard for personal danger had been an inspiration to all his men.”

The students stayed in Commes near Port en Bessin and from where they were able to visit Bayeux,

Arromanches, Point Du Hoc and Pegasus Bridge, where another WBGS old boy had helped to liberate the

first bridge and building as part of the D-Day operations. Alf “Lucky Jim” Whitbread was part of the Horsa

Glider team that captured Pegasus Bridge in the early hours of 6th June 1944.

The perfect WBGS mememto

If you’re looking for a gift for a WBGS friend or

relative, the Watford Grammar School for Boys

Monopoly game makes a fun choice. The action on

the uniquely-branded game board is the same as the

traditional version, but you are buying WBGS

buildings and locations instead of the usual London

streets. Stations are now WBGS sports facilities,

Utilities are now the Orchard and Memorial Garden.

The game is just £10. To order, email

alumni@watfordboys.org or call 01923 208 900 ext

272. Boards can be collected from the school free of

charge or posted to a UK address for £4.99 per

game. Overseas postage charges will vary.

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Nicholson

From the archives

WBGS through the Wars

If you wonder who revived Founder’s Day, it was

Headmaster Harold Nicholson (1914-1922). This was

wartime, so our 80 uniformed Cadets led the march to

church. He encouraged boys to support the War Effort

with Relief Fund collections, Red Cross work and

making many useful things in the woodwork room.

Mr Nicholson also had the awful task of telling boys in

Assembly whenever Old Fullerians were Killed in

Action.

During his time as Headmaster, the numbers on the

school roll went from about 600 to double that

number – so WBGS became Herts’ largest Secondary

School. He introduced Sixth Form teaching, so many

boys went on to university studies.

Strengthening competitive spirits

Headmaster Percy Bolton (1938-1951) piloted our

school through the Second World War years. He was

very successful at recruiting able women to replace

the many male teachers going to war. Boys were

encouraged to grow food in gardens made on the front

terraces and on New Field. During the holidays, many

boys went to help with harvest time at Hitchin. Senior

boys joined with Masters to keep fire-watch all night,

in case incendiary bombs fell.

A lack of transport stopped all our traditional sports

matches, but we played rugby against Army and Air

Force teams – they had trucks! Our 1st XV played adult

teams, often with success; always with thanks that

games were arranged.

Look for Mr Nicholson’s and Mr Bolton’s portraits in the school Hall next time you visit.

Nicholson Bolton

Our school archivist is grateful still to receive

memories and contributions from old-Fullerians

who were here in Mr Bolton’s time as Headmaster.

One such contribution was recently received from

Catherine Williams, daughter of the late Edwin

Williams (1941-1948). Edwin (known at school and

university as Willy) was a scholarship pupil at

WBGS, cycling the six miles to school from Radlett

daily.

Catherine writes: “My father remained a life-long

supporter of the school, which he believed enabled

him to break away from the lack of education and

money in the home he came from. However, from

the few stories he told of his time at WBGS, he

seems to have been a rebel in a mild way. For

example, he hated wearing hats all his life and told

me once that he’d been very put out that a master

had reported him for being seen outside school

without a cap, in the 6th Form! He was not

considered obedient enough to be a prefect. He also

said that he successfully managed to avoid wearing

a cap throughout the war by dint of listening, when

queuing to be issued with one, to see which size had

run out and then claiming that to be his size!”

Another anecdote was of his headmaster who,

concerned about paper shortages, informed the

boys in assembly one morning that only four sheets

of toilet paper were necessary: ‘One up, one down,

one across and one to put a shine on!’

Edwin had hoped to join the Indian Army or go on

to Cambridge, but instead did his National Service

(being apparently a terrible practical soldier but

bright), ending up in Military Intelligence in the

Canal Zone, aged 19. He subsequently went to the

University of Birmingham to study Economics and

Social Sciences. He was deeply involved in

undergraduate Guild Affairs and neglected his

studies to lead a flood relief team to Lincs in the

Spring of 1953, for which he was awarded Life

Membership of the Guild. He was accepted into the

Colonial Service but was not offered the area in

Africa he preferred, so declined the job. He joined

the Prison Service in 1955 as an Assistant Governor

(one of only two in the service at that time with a

degree) and went on to manage numerous penal

institutions of increasing size and stresses until his

early retirement in 1981.

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WBGS Reunion Dinner Did you leave WBGS in 2010, 2000, 1990,

1980 or 1970? If so, we’d love you to join us

next Summer for our first WBGS Reunion

Dinner, bringing together leavers from 10, 20,

30, 40 and 50 years ago.

This event, which we hope will become an

annual fixture in the WBGS calendar, will be in

addition to the OFA Dinner, giving specific year

groups a chance to reunite. And we would love

old boys to bring their partners along too – it

may be the first chance many of them have had

to visit your alma mater.

If you are amongst this cohort and you would

like to receive more information about this

event, please email alumni@watfordboys.org

with your name and year of leaving. And please

do spread the word amongst your friends from

your year – we want to reunite as many old

boys as possible.

WBGS memories School treasures

Few old boys realise that we hold an extensive archive

at the school and always love to receive any items to

add to our collection. Old Fullerians from across the

decades regularly come back to visit us – with a tour

of the school exchanged for memories, photos or

relics of school days over tea with the Headmaster.

One such example is from 10 years ago:

Geoff Dix (WBGS 1932-1940) gave us some colourful

insights into what boys thought and did in his days

here. As he had been Deputy-Head Prefect, his

observations were both revealing and amusing. Geoff

was persuaded to write a full account of how he fared

when war came. He was a German scholar who went

on the 1938 school trip to Cologne. On his return, he

was surprised to be called to the Hm’s study to be

questioned about what he saw there, by a ‘Man from

the Ministry’.

Geoff was delighted that WBGS’ German lessons led to

him joining the intelligence service, who interviewed

German PoWs about German defences. He said he

quickly found out which ‘customers’ would speak

freely.

After years on the staff of the British Airborne Forces

(at Moor Park), planning operations like Arnhem,

Geoff was sent to Schlesswig-Holstein to help find out

which were the ‘nasty’ prisoners after war ended.

Then, at last, he could resume his time at Cambridge.

His full account is one treasure in our Archives.

Geoff Dix (centre) in The Little Plays of St Francis,

April 1940

Some of the treasures in Edwin’s collection

8 | F u l l e r N e w s

Why was a Roya

Why was a Royal Navy helicopter on the school field in 1972? Email your answer to alumni@watfordboys.org

Dates for your diary 31st August 2019: Leavers vs Old Boys Rugby match

11th November 2019: Remembrance Day Service

17th December 2019: Carol Service

18th January 2020: OFA Annual Dinner, WBGS

July 2020: NEW Reunion Dinner, WBGS

Keep in touch You can stay in regular contact with WBGS through our social media channels:

@wbgsexcellence

Watford Grammar School for Boys Alumni

Help us to reach more Old Boys We know that many of our Old Boys stay in close contact with their friends from school for the rest of their lives. If you enjoy receiving Fuller News, please pass it on and ask your friends to sign up to receive further issues too. Fuller News is distributed twice a year by Watford Grammar School for Boys and is designed to help forge greater links with our thousands of Old Boys across the country and around the world. The school is always interested in hearing from former students, and would particularly like to hear from anyone who would be willing to contribute their time or resources to help current pupils. To express interest, please contact our alumni team on alumni@watfordboys.org or 01923 208900 ext 272. To get in touch by post, please contact: Development Director, Watford Grammar School for Boys, Rickmansworth Road, Herts WD18 7JF.