Month: December 2023
How will you remember 2023?
If years were weighed in scales, if there was a fulcrum of such vast proportions that time itself could be judged, I wonder where we would find 2023.
I am not sure myself. As we start to take our leave of this year I am not sure that I will look back at global events with any fondness. Here, the scales fall to the bad in my view and we must find what we can to correct the balance.
Perhaps it is in the detail that we find compensating ballast, maybe it is what we find in the ordinary of the everyday that, grain by grain, the scales start to equalise. It will take a lot of grain, buckets and buckets, but here lies hope.
I have found in my first year in my new role an overwhelming sense of friendship, camaraderie, loyalty, and support. Perhaps this is where we should find our hope, in the microcosms of our spheres of existence. Perhaps we cannot change the world, but we can change the world that surrounds our every day. If we get on, then maybe we will find consensus, amongst nations, and about climate change, and all the things that seem to have plagued this year and threaten to roll forward to the next.
So that’s my Christmas hope. That as individuals we can find unity, and it might just become a trend on a larger scale in 2024.
Merry Christmas,
Jan van der Velde
It is some years since I have seen Bill Canning, and, having corresponded with him for much of the year I finally managed to meet up with him at his home in Somerset.
Bill was a Wilson Run winner and despite his advancing years he is very spritely and met me at the door as I walked up the drive. He had cooked a fine lunch and I was offered the chair by the window as we tucked in to homemade shepherds pie, followed by mince pie and cheese.
Bill, for those of you who don’t know, was Captain of HMS Broadsword during the Falklands conflict. I was Head of School during 1982, when the Navy was dispatched to the South Atlantic and I can remember sending a telegram to HMS Antelope, (to which Sedbergh School was aligned), when it found a bomb lodged in its bow. Bill remembers the bomb exploding and said it lit up the night sky, taking HMS Antelope with it.
Bill recounted his personal experience during the sinking of HMS Coventry. It was hit by three bombs and within twenty minutes had capsized, throwing over 200 men into the South Atlantic Sea. Bill describes the encounter as his ‘Cruel Sea’ moment (a reference to the film of the same name starring Jack Hawkins) where he had to decide whether to rescue the men or keep fighting. He continued the fight, made the area safe and then effected a rescue. ‘It was the right thing to do but a difficult decision at the time’ he said.
Bill is clearly a brave individual. He is very understated, he doesn’t glorify war, he simply had a job to do and did it to the best of his ability in challenging circumstances. It was a great honour to meet him, to ask him how one prepares for the enormity of such events, and how you lead under such duress.
If you want to know the answers to such questions Bill hopes to visit Sedbergh in the Summer when we will interview him on camera. We very much look forward to welcoming him. In fact it would be a great honour.
Jan van der Velde
Director of Alumni Development
Following the success of the Casterton School 200th anniversary celebrations a new society has been formed for the alumni, staff and friends of Casterton School. The anniversary weekend created many memories and was a time to rekindle old friendships and forge new ones. In that spirit of friendship, a new Castertonian Society has been formed to ensure that Casterton alumni, staff and friends are welcome to many of the special events that take place at Casterton Sedbergh Prep each year, and also to some private events hosted just for members of the former Casterton School Community.
The OS Club are conscious of the close historic links between Casterton and Sedbergh Schools. Many families had siblings attending each school, and many Sedberghians have had friendships, and in some cases marriages with women from Casterton. We call upon Sedberghians in our community to share news of the Castertonian Society with any friends, family and loved ones who attended Casterton School. We hope that news of the Society can ultimately reach all members of the Casterton School community who may wish to join.
The Castertonian Society will be formally launched on Friday 26th January 2024 at a Burns Supper event held at Casterton, Sedbergh Preparatory School. Tickets for the event are available to buy here: Buy tickets – Burns Night Fundraiser – Sports Hall – Sedbergh Preparatory School, Casterton, Fri 26 Jan 2024 7:00 PM – 10:30 PM (tickettailor.com)
To learn more about the Castertonian Society and join the mailing list to learn about future events please sign up here: The Castertonian Society (office.com).
Yes, this is the latest news, my eldest grandson might just come to Sedbergh, and it would be most excellent if it comes to pass.
Now, I am most fortunate that, being in Sedbergh, my daughter, who is the owner of this particular boy, was able to visit with her family to explore the place. This is what has persuaded them. Apparently, my words weren’t enough. Proof is personal, and it took a visit for them to see what a life changing opportunity Sedbergh might be for young Cupcake (not his real name).
So, this had Ben Collins and I thinking. We do a lot of this at the OS Club. After several cups of tea, we came to the conclusion that it would be good for others to have a more personal experience such that they can make an informed choice.
Therefore, on a first come first served basis, and with no obligation on your part, if you might be thinking of Sedbergh as a school for your child, we are offering to pay for OS and their families to come to Sedbergh, stay a night in the Black Bull, and experience Sedbergh first hand. Ben and I will take you out for dinner (or not, it’s up to you), and the Admissions Team will arrange a tour and taster of School life. You can even meet some of the pupils. This applies to OS parents and OS Grandparents.
By the way, did you know that as an OS parent or Grandparent, you are entitled to a 10% fee concession? There is also a further fee concession for siblings.
The School is nearly full but the Headmaster is keen to make space for children and grandchildren of OS and will do all he can to accommodate such requests. You are, after all, part of our history and our success.
So, please do let me know if this is of interest. There is no obligation to send your child to Sedbergh, we just want you to make an informed choice. It is too important a decision to do otherwise.
If this is of interest, please email me (Jan van der Velde: jcv@sedberghschool.org).
Have a great Christmas.
Jan van der Velde
Director of Alumni Development
The Guest Carol Service is always a special feature of Sedbergh’s Michaelmas calendar. As term reached its conclusion the Chapel Choir delighted visitors with their, now well-established, repertoire of Christmas music. Under the guidance of Choir master, John Seymour, the choir roused the audience with pieces such as ‘O magnum mysterium’ by Morten Lauridsen and ‘There is no rose of such vertu’ by Benjamin Britten.
Throughout the service, readings were given by pupils representing every year group, from a youthful Year 9 pupil to the distinguished deputy heads of School and finally the Headmaster.
What makes this event such a special occasion is that so many Old Sedberghians and former staff return to Sedbergh to hear the choir perform. For many, it is the first Christmas event of the year and marks the beginning of a season dedicated to joy and kinship. The event has grown year on year and this weekend the chapel swelled to near capacity with record numbers of guests joining the service to sing and worship together while having the rare opportunity to hear the chapel choir perform such a range of festive music.
After the contemplative service in chapel the congregation moved on to revel in Queens Hall, enjoying mulled wine and mince pies, and rekindling in some cases friendships of many decades standing.
If you weren’t able to join us this year, please add the event to your diary next year, 8th December 2024. It really is a very special evening to which all in our community are warmly invited.
Powell House 1937 – 39
Sedbergh School was saddened to hear of the death of Maurice Eggeling on December 5th aged 100. Maurice had been a loyal supporter of the School since his days in Powell House in the 1930’s. Maurice went on to have a career in forestry after leaving school.
It was a great pleasure to welcome Maurice to Sedbergh in March of this year when he visited with the help of Sedbergh staff and his loyal carer, Mel. Maurice attended the Wilson Run dinner and delighted staff and OS with his warm sense of humour. Maurice was visited by School staff during his stay at the Black Bull Hotel where he viewed memorabilia from his time at School. It was very special to be visited by one of our oldest alumni.
Ben Collins had the pleasure of visiting Maurice just a few weeks before he died. The Old Sedberghian Club is grateful for the friendship that Maurice has shown to the School over many decades.
Maurice’s family would like to share the message below about him and details of his funeral which will be held:
“On: 5 January 2024, at 11:30 hrs
At: Mortonhall Crematorium, Howdenhall Road, Edinburgh, EH16 6TX
Afterwards: We would like to invite you back to Church Hill so that we may, together, celebrate Maurice’s life in the beautiful house that so reflected his personality.
We respectfully request that Maurice’s oft-heard request for colourfulness is considered by those attending when it comes to a decision as to what you wear.
We look forward to seeing as many of you as are able to attend, in person, as possible.
Set out below are the details that will enable you, if you are not intending to come along to Mortonhall Crematorium on 5 January 2024, to have the facility to watch the service on line, either live or over the ensuing 28 days, at your leisure.
If you wish to do so:
Please use the link https://watch.obitus.com/gew5gP in your web browser.
Then enter the user name: pove7755
Then enter the password 566244
The live web streaming will be available from about 11:25 on 5 January 2024. All times are GMT so if you are watching from abroad you will need to adjust to your time zone.
We would request immediate family flowers only but if you would like to make a donation in-lieu of flowers that would be most kind.
Some may be unaware but Maurice lost his mother at an early age, and it was due to the great kindness of a relative that Maurice was able to attend Sedbergh School. So, Maurice was an avid supporter of the Roger Lupton Fund at Sedbergh School Foundation which provides places for other similarly disadvantaged children in the future.
If you would like to donate to this fund in memory of Maurice you can do so here:
For anyone who we have not yet managed to contact prior to this note: please accept our apology for this form of advice and we hope that you will understand that it has been a very busy time for everyone involved.
We hope to see as many of you as possible at the crematorium and then back at Church Hill.”
