Month: January 2024
In November 2023, we were fortunate to have a visit from a very distinguished Old Sedberghian, Nigel Rich (L 58-63), who came to talk to some of the pupils about his experiences in business and to reflect on how to get on in life in general. Nigel, has had an outstanding business career and was, at one point, Managing Director of Jardine Matheson Holdings, Hong Kong.
As we reported in November, Nigel was interviewed by the Head of School. We now reproduce that interview here: Nigel Rich Interview
Thank you Nigel for your help and advice. We much enjoyed your company.
Jan van der Velde
Development Director
The London Steakhouse, owned by James Robertson (Evans 87-93) provides an opportunity to hold small gatherings of old chums of the School for our year group reunions. We have used this venue a number of times and it never disappoints. It offers exquisite food with a relaxed dining experience just off the main restaurant. Here, feeling quite exalted, 12 of us gathered for a trip down memory lane.
It shouldn’t surprise me, as I have often experienced this myself, but it’s amazing how quickly the years roll back, and once again those bonds of friendship reassert themselves. Or indeed, where no bonds previously existed, they are soon formed; new friendships emerge, and all because of our shared heritage and that wonderful theatre of our childhood that we call Sedbergh.
I much enjoyed myself that day. A great bunch of fellows who had much to say and told it an amusing way. John Reeves, in a moment of inspiration, asked us all to state who we were, what we’d been up to, and how we found ourselves now. I am glad to report that people reflected how much Sedbergh had done for them, how much it still means to them, and that now, without exception, all were happy.
The lunch rolled into the evening and we took solace in the bar when we were reluctantly persuaded to give up our table. We didn’t tire, such was the fun, the dusting down of old stories retold, of youthful banter that had lain dormant in the attics of minds, and the reminder that, ultimately, who we are is who we were, friends, family, and Sedberghians.
Thank you to our sponsor, Bob Peters (L 84-89), Travel Counsellors, https://www.travelcounsellors.co.uk/bob.peters/ for making this lunch possible.
Jan van der Velde
Development Director
The 2024 Morgan Run proved popular again with over 450 runners taking part representing, house, School, staff, OS and town running teams. The course started again on the cross country course by Akay as is now customary, due to the new astro turf pitch on Newfield. The OS team had a good turnout of 15 runners. Sadly both Sam Fisher and Chris Barron could not make it. We were also pleased to include Andrew Fleck and Jim Fisher in the OS squad.
The weather fortunately was dry and mild compared to storms of recent weeks, but the ground was wet underfoot, especially across the fell.
The race was led home by a trio of runners in the 27 minute bracket. Harry Cooling won for the town team in 27:20 with Ben Van Dijk 2nd for the the OS in 27:50. Hugo Berry was 3rd place, leading the 1st VIII home in 27:42.
In the female race first and second were taken by Julia and Daisy Fielding for the girls 1st VIII in 34:19 and 35:10. Sally Bennett was close behind in 35:14 taking 3rd place for the OS.
Our other team counters in the male race were Tom Wright (25th), Michael Sturla (27th), David Lonsdale -Eccles (37th) and Duncan Berry (44th). Early speculation that the team race might be close was unfounded, the 1st VIII won with 71 points to the OS 139! The 1st VIII were very consistent packing all counters in the top 23 places.
Our other team members finished as following: Geoff Watson 56th, Andrew Fleck 65th, Adam Pimblett 87th, Oli Pease 132nd, Ben Collins 133rd, Henry Ackroyd 156th, Jim Fisher 174th and James Gordon 196th.
Thanks must be recorded also for the organisation of the race by Richard Wells and his team who put a great deal of work into this event every year. It is much appreciated by the OS.
The following morning David Lonsdale-Eccles and I were feeling especially keen to get an old favourite in and ran up Winder after breakfast.
Geoff Watson (E 89-94)
19 March 1935 to 19th October 2023
Patrick was a sporting polymath whose extensive RAF career included multiple international tours and commands.
Arriving at Sedbergh in January 1949 Patrick’s year group was well established, but another new boy, Graham Smith, started in Hart House on the same day. Their friendship blossomed and they remained life-long friends. One of Patrick’s first memories of Sedbergh was running up Winder on days the rugby pitches were too wet for normal games. Best of all, the quickest way down was a ‘bum slide’. Less fondly recalled were the cold baths on freezing mornings, the doorless ‘bogs’ and the shorts worn all year round.
‘Paddy Cliff’ was a boy of action, enjoying cricket, rugby, Winchester fives (playing as a pair with Patrick Bates with whom he was School champion in 1952), squash, cross country running and boxing. He also enjoyed training with the CCF. He continued to be active beyond Sedbergh and gained colours for cricket, squash and rugby while at RAF Cranwell.
His creative talent, which he confessed to be limited, found an outlet in woodworking, including making a little oak table still in use by his family today.
In later life Patrick recalled that on sunny Sedbergh days the Headmaster, Bruce-Lockhart, would cancel lessons and order the boys to run or walk ten miles. Paddy and his friends often reached the top of the 2,000ft Cautley Spout, where they admired the views before returning for high tea at the local B&B. The owners served plates heaped with rashers of ham, fried bread and eggs, a memorable treat. These runs were a prelude to “The Wilson Run” for which Paddy chose his own training method, running 12 to 15 miles instead of the recommended fast run 6 miles. He came 9th place out of 67 runners in 1952. He trailed behind three of his fellow Hart House friends, acknowledging they were better runners.
Paddy managed O-Levels in Maths and English, among a few others, but generally preferred his sport to books.
On their last night at school, Paddy and five fellow leavers decided to leave on a nostalgic high. In the dark, they headed to the top of Winder where they sang the School song in full voice. The sound clearly travelled well because on descent they were intercepted and told to report to their Housemaster in the morning. A complication was that one of them had an early train to catch, which the remaining five persuaded him to do, saying they would take the rap. Unfortunately, their Housemaster took issue with one of the culprits absconding and reported the lot of them to the Headmaster, who felt compelled to put an end to “silly behaviour” becoming a last day of School ritual. Only the year before the leavers had whitewashed all the shop windows in Sedbergh Main Street. As a result, Paddy and his friends were banned from returning to School for a year. In later years, Patrick very much enjoyed telling the story, with some pride, of how he had been expelled!
Patrick left Sedbergh in July 1952; a year short of taking A levels. The Headmaster, when asked for a reference for the RAF, wrote “He left early simply owing to lack of family finance”, adding that if Patrick had stayed on his career would have been capped by being made a prefect and “very likely with athletic distinction too”.
Patrick looked back at his time at Sedbergh with great fondness and much enjoyed tracking the evolution of the School from his days of cold baths, through to the arrival of girls and on to what the School is today.
During World War II Patrick’s father was a member of the Royal Observer Corps identifying the aeroplanes flying over their area of Yorkshire. Patrick would often join him and was inspired from an early age to become a pilot in the RAF.
Patrick’s RAF career was varied and prestigious. His obituary in The Telegraph records:
‘He received his wings in 1958 and trained as a fighter pilot before joining 56 Squadron at Waterbeach near Cambridge where he flew the Hunter. He completed the flying instructors’ course at the Central Flying School before taking up an appointment to train students in the Oxford University Air Squadron. After converting to helicopters he assumed command of 78 Squadron, flying Wessex helicopters from RAF Sharjah in the Persian Gulf. He later moved to RAF Gütersloh in northeast Germany.”
He commanded the helicopter force during the height of the Troubles in Northern Ireland and was appointed OBE at the end of his tour. The citation read: “By the strength of character, combined with tact and outstanding leadership, Wing Commander Cliff overcame the difficulties which confronted him and welded together his force into a dynamic operational unit.”
Always a devoted family man Patrick was happily married to Ruth for sixty-five years, with three very much loved daughters, nine grandchildren and one great grandchild.
After a successful career in the Royal Air Force, and running a Country house hotel for 7 years, Patrick settled down to playing golf and bridge, both to a high standard.
Rodney Dodds was born in Newcastle upon Tyne to a Canadian mother and English father. After a harsh experience at a prep school in the Borders he spent five happy years at Sedbergh from 1945 in Lupton House. A keen tennis player he enjoyed all the sport on offer and the freedom to roam the fells with his great friends (“The Magnificent Seven”) including Giles Shaw, David MacInnes, Spinney, Gardiner, Bird and A.N. Other
He earned an Exhibition to read Modern Languages at Cambridge (he was University Fives champion) after which he completed National Service in the RAF (in England and Canada). By this time he had fallen for Mary Hainsworth, sister of Old Sedbergians John and David Hainsworth and was rumoured to have performed an illegal loop the loop in his RAF plane, showing off to Mary as she holidayed on the Isle of Wight.
Following their marriage in 1955 Rod and Mary moved to Germany where he taught at Salem School which was founded by Kurt Hahn.
On their return to England and following the birth of their first child Penny, Rod and Mary moved to Somerset where he was employed by Clarks Shoes. He remained with Clarks for over 30 years and they went on to have three more children; David, Nic and Pip. During his 50 years in Somerset he immersed himself in countless community projects, the local church, sports ( mostly tennis) and water colour painting and enjoyed a wide friendship group whilst developing his many interests. Both Rod and Mary were devoted grandparents to their many grandchildren.
When he finished working at Clarks he returned to teaching and taught French in a local prep school which he enjoyed enormously. He and Mary travelled considerably after his retirement, often travelling with, or to visit friends. In 2005 they moved to St George’s Park, a retirement community in Ditchling to be nearer to their children. They spent ten very happy years there developing new interests and friendships. During this time he was a Director of the Museum of World Religions which is planned to be built in Birmingham. He qualified for veterans Wimbledon (over 80s). With the onset of covid and their health deteriorating they moved to a residential home in Manningtree to be close to Penny.
He died peacefully on 2nd August aged 91 with his wife of 68 years Mary by his side and Mary died 17 days later.
We live in an age where time is money, where price is more important than value, where the ‘tick in the box’ is a proxy for a job complete, and a job complete is considered a job well done.
Service, quality, satisfaction are all eroded as a result. We can, and do, put up with this to an extent. We now shrug our shoulders where once we might have taken issue. We don’t even bother to complain because that would take hours more on a hotline which happens to be ‘experiencing a high number of calls’. Or a ‘chatbot’, powered by artificial intelligence, tries to grapple with our nuanced human ire and indignation by asking us to say ‘in a few words’ what is troubling us and then attempts to resolve the matter with binary answers and artificial sympathy while we shout obscenities because we realise that individually we don’t matter, and actually no one is listening anyway.
But when it comes to our children, things are different. We no longer want to shrug our shoulders, we are no longer prepared to tolerate a paucity of service. Our threshold of acceptance of the status quo comes into question.
When we consider why this is, the natural response is that our children are very dear to us, of course they are. But, look deeper, and we start to understand that while we protect them while they’re young, there will come a time when we cannot be there for them, when they must continue their life’s journey on there own.
What we can do, in answer to this, is to give them a grounding such that they are as prepared as can be for their life ahead; that they can take advantage of the opportunities that present themselves in the good times, and to be resilient and strong in the bad.
That’s what Sedbergh does. It creates a framework, it embeds its values, and it provides a strong foundation upon which the Sedberghian can build their life. So, when, at the Leaver’s Service I say, ‘know this, Sedbergh made you strong, upon those granite foundations build your life, rise, grow tall, and take your place upon the skyline of success’, I mean it.
At Sedbergh, foundations are built with care and dedication. The fact that it has been doing so for nearly 500 years is testament enough that Sedbergh provides value, immeasurably so.
Jan van der Velde
Director of Development
The School has undoubtedly changed in recent years. It knows what it wants to do and does it well, providing an outstanding educational and sporting experience for pupils, shaped by its guiding values and the landscape in which it resides.
So even if you came to Sedbergh in your youth it is worth seeing how it has evolved if you are considering Sedbergh as an option for your child or grandchild. Unless you married an OS, your partner will certainly want to learn more about the School before making this important decision.
Therefore, the OS Club has secured funding to pay for couples, and their children/grandchildren, to come to Sedbergh for a weekend of their choosing, staying the night at our expense. You would be shown around the School and talk to pupils such that you can make an informed decision. Some have already taken us up on this offer and have found the experience invaluable.
We only have a limited number of places so please contact Ben Collins on bpc@sedberghschool.org or myself, Jan van der Velde on jcv@sedberghschool.org if this is of interest.
Jan van der Velde
Development Director
Many Sedberghians will be saddened to hear of the death of Mary Hamilton, who passed away peacefully at her home on 10th January aged 77 years. Mary taught singing at both Casterton and Sedbergh Schools as well as acting as a ‘guardian’ for pupils during weekends and half term holidays. Mary was very much loved by her pupils and colleagues alike who remember her warmth, joie de vivre and humour.
A former pupil of Mary’s recalled the impact that ‘Mrs H’ had on her life:
‘Mrs H taught me so much and was truly a most wonderful and inspiring teacher. With such a fabulous sense of humour. I absolutely loved my lessons and any time I was singing. It was such an escape. I can see her bouncy walk and feel her happy warm personality.’
A former music scholar commented, ‘Mary was woven through my life at school from my entrance exam right up to my final speech day. She really cared. And somehow managed to keep things real. I’ll always remember how she taught us to smile when singing, because you can hear it in the music – a life lesson indeed.’
Mary was a loving mother and mother-in-law to Jon and Dawn and Victoria and Paul, proud grandmother to Jack, Ellie, Daisy, Oscar, Alex and Sophie.
A private cremation will take place followed by a service to celebrate Mary’s life at St Andrew’s Church, Sedbergh on Wednesday 7th February at 1pm.
Family flowers only, but donations if desired will be gratefully received to The Freda Trott Musical Foundation and can be made via the following link:
mary-hamilton-1946-2024.muchloved.com
“It’s all down to Mary that I can call myself a singer, and that I still sing barbershop. I wonder if there will be enough former Chameleons at her funeral for a tribute rendition of Evaline?” Richard Hubbard P 82-87
“Mary taught me how to breathe, how to sing, how to understand the emotion of a song. Her love for the music we sang together rubbed off on me and has stayed with me for the rest of my life. If I didn’t live in the US I would absolutely be there. My love and thoughts to the whole family. She was a great woman.” JB Blanc P 84-87
Abbie Ward (R 09-11) has been included in England’s first training squad in their preparation for the Guinness Women’s Six Nations. She returns to the side less than a year after giving birth to her daughter as the side begin their preparations for the Guinness Women’s Six Nations which gets under way in late March.
Read more HERE.
OS Chay (P 09-16) is showing his first feature documentary film at Rheged in Penrith on 23rd February.
‘The Winter Wainwrights’ follows the story of James Gibson. A fairly unknown fell runner based in the Lake District, who takes on his greatest challenge yet: to become the first person to complete the Winter Wainwrights Round.
The Wainwright Round consists of summiting all 214 of Wainwrights’ peaks, totalling 325 miles with 36,000m of elevation gain in winter.
Faced with the typical Lake District winter climate, James went out with the very best from the fell running community.
However, storms and snow were not the only challenge James had to face. On the 1st of December another fell runner set off one hour before he did, attempting the same challenge.
This documentary follows James from planning, training and then attempting the round. Showing both James’ highs and lows and hearing the reflections from the support runners on the successful attempt and the challenges James had to face.
A truly inspiring film about an event that brought together the powerhouse of the Lake District Fell running community.
1h 30m film followed by Q&A with James Gibson and Chay Turner-Richards.
Read more and book tickets HERE.