Author: dean
I am increasingly challenging the great medical minds of our age to keep me young. The mind and body are no longer as one, the latter being in rebellious mood. So on my latest visit to the clinic my doctor thought she would give the once over. It was while I was having my knee bashed with a rubber mallet, more usually preserved for panel beating, that she noted my brown striped Old Sedberghian socks.
This got her talking, thankfully, because my kneecap was becoming quite sore and I thought I might have to book another appointment to address the damage done in this one.
It was an opportunity to tell her about our Club and what’s been happening. For instance the 1990-2000 Reunion Lunch at the the London Steakhouse earlier this month, where as always we were honoured and entertained by the owner of the restaurant, James Robertson (E 88-93), and who was able to attend for the first time himself as a guest, being of suitable vintage. This venue, with the year group reunions, is becoming a huge success.
Somehow the intimacy of the place encourages the years to roll away. Soon we’re talking about old times, embellishing stories of our youth, and singing badly to celebrate the two birthdays of the day. Thank you James for a fabulous lunch, and for the excellent hospitality of your staff. And thank you to John Guthrie (H 50-54) for his generous donation to the event. It was much appreciated by all.
Perhaps not directly associated with the Club was a the retirement dinner of Richard Witt who has held the post of Foundation Director since 2006. I, we, have worked with Richard for many years. He has worked diligently and tirelessly. He has been inventive and creative in finding ways to raise money for the Foundation and therefore the School. Most of all he has worked with integrity and which has served to underpin the trust that people have in him. All important in such a role.
The School, like all such institutions needs a Foundation. It provides funds where major projects cannot be supported by fee income alone. The success of the Foundation is largely down to Richard and as such he leaves a tremendous legacy. I know he is not quite leaving us yet but on behalf of the Club, well done, and thank you. We offer our full support to Isabella Bennett, the new Foundation Director, and to Andrew Fleck and the School as they continue to raise funds in anticipation of the 500th anniversary of Sedbergh School.
So, back to my doctor. I limped away with a clean bill of health, knowing that my reflex in my now stiff knee was in first rate order. I was therefore given the all clear to travel to Sedbergh this weekend to watch the County Cricket match. It’s a first for Sedbergh. Good luck to Dan Harrison and staff. I hope for warm weather, cold beer, and first-class cricket.
Cheers all,
Jan van der Velde
Chairman, OS Club
Lauren Crowson (L 05-10) recently became a world champion long-range rifle shooter with the rest of the GB U25 rifle team. She joined the Sedbergh School shooting team in 2005 and became Captain in her last year. Selected as an Atheling in 2010, Lauren was then selected to shoot in a GB U25 match while on the Athelings tour and achieved top score. Representing the GBU19s against South Africa in 2011, she travelled again to South Africa with the GB team in 2012. She now shoots for Yorkshire and won the Alexandra trophy at Bisley last year, competing against just under 1,000 other shooters. Lauren studied Business Management at Lancaster University and was awarded a BSc (hons) degree. She is now Operations Manager at Mackenzies Smokehouse, managing the shop, restaurant and factory, and 35 members of staff. “The lasting memory of my first week at Sedbergh was standing outside the sports centre being offered the chance to try shooting on the indoor range.
Before I knew it I was lying behind a small bore rifle, propped up on a sandbag, aiming at a target. I attribute my current success at Shooting to those early days. I firmly believe that establishing good foundations at any activity allows you to push yourself and achieve so much more in the long run. Sedbergh was that foundation. I had access to a great indoor range, the best equipment and the help of an experienced shooting coach. Had I been at any other school, balancing shooting with music and academic work would have been an impossibility but Sedbergh is no ordinary school. I was able to pursue all of the activities whilst not affecting my academic career. It’s only when I look back at how it all started, on the steps outside the sports hall, and where I have come from that moment, that I come to think of Sedbergh as the backbone to my success at Shooting.”
Alistair Gourlay Biggar, from Dalbeattie in Kirkcudbrightshire, though born in Edinburgh, entered Sedgwick House, Sedbergh in 1960 from St Mary’s Prep School, Melrose, and remained a lifelong Melrose supporter. His cousin, Mike Biggar (S63-68), arrived at Sedbergh also from St Mary’s in 1963 and went on to gain his Blue at Cambridge University, and play for and captain London Scottish and Scotland. Alastair came with strong rugby genes, his father Ken, also a Sedberghian, was in Sedgwick House (33-37), playing on the unbeaten 1936 XV as a strong running centre who later played in the Scottish Inter City matches. His uncle was the redoubtable W I D Douglas Elliot who captained Scotland in the post war era between 1947 and 1954.
Alastair was an outstanding sportsman whether on the fives court, on the cricket square, where he gained his 1st XI Cricket Colours, and on the athletics field, where he broke the 110 yard hurdles record. But it was on the football field that his natural athleticism found fullest expression, as an immensely talented rugby player, with a searing sidestep, wonderful hands and an ability to beat his opposite number with guile, acceleration, or a bewitching dummy. At Sedbergh he was coached by the mercurial Welsh fly half, Alan Barter (Cardiff and Cambridge University), and played two seasons on the Sedbergh XV. In the 1964 side he partnered A K Bruce-Lockhart (SH60-64) in the centre, with John Spencer at fly half, a future England centre and with whom he later toured New Zealand with the victorious 1971 Lions. Sedbergh narrowly suffered a single defeat in his final season, to an excellent Dulwich College side. He played for a strong London Scottish Schoolboys side with Colin Telfer at fly half, who beat Richmond schoolboys 57 – 0.
Leaving Sedbergh in 1965, he went to Shuttleworth Agricultural College, in Bedfordshire, and joined London Scottish, with whom he played for 10 years. He joined a celebrated back division boasting six Internationals. There he played as a 19 year old in a Club style which encouraged his naturally creative flair. He played in a final Scottish trial within a year of leaving Sedbergh, but had to wait until 1969 for his first cap, which was against South Africa at Murrayfield, a match which Scotland won 6-3. But for injuries he would undoubtedly have won many more international caps than his 12 International appearances between 1969 and 1972, which included a double triumph over England in 1971 at Twickenham and a week later in the Centenary match at Murrayfield. He was a member of the victorious 1971 British Lions touring party to New Zealand, which still remains the only Lions side to win a Test series in New Zealand. He played 10 times on the tour, and scored 9 tries on the wing, including a hat trick against Marlborough/Nelson’s Bay.
He later went into the City as a foreign exchange broker, and lived in Jersey with his wife Christine and three children. He died on 6th February 2016 after a long battle with cancer at the relatively young age of 69, and we extend sincere sympathy to his wife and family at their untimely loss.
The funeral on Wednesday 24th February in Cern Abbas Church, near Dorchester was a very fitting tribute to Alastair’s marvellous life and was extremely well attended. A large number of OSs were present at the service to pay their respect to a truly great Sedberghian.
There was also a small group of OSs, which included three of his fellow Sedbergh 1st XV team members, John Spencer, Richard Birtwistle and Neil McKerrow who weren’t able to make the funeral near Dorchester, but met and gathered in a huddle at 12.30 on Wednesday 24th February on the centre line on Buskholme to share a few memories of him. It was a gloriously crisp, sunny afternoon with Sedbergh looking at its very best, conditions would have been just right for Alastair! We felt he would have appreciated it, especially some of the stories that were shared.
Sedbergh School Leavers of 2020
There are many advantages of staying in touch with the School, the Old Sedberghian Club and the Sedbergh School Foundation as you move on to university and into careers. As well as the opportunity to keep in touch with your friends, there are events held throughout the world for Old Sedberghians to meet and opportunities to get work experience, advice, internships and jobs.
Over the next couple of weeks, you will receive an email (via your school email address) with information including a Data Protection Consent Form. Please complete and sign this form electronically at your earliest convenience in order to receive future communications from the OS Club and Sedbergh School Foundation.
Providing us with your contact information will enable us to contact you with relevant communications after you leave Sedbergh. It will also enable us to keep your data on the School database which is also used by Sedbergh School Developments Ltd, and Sedbergh School Foundation so that you do not miss out on any of the many opportunities that we can provide.
Your personal data will be held by the School and we will comply with the requirements of the Data Protection Act 1998. It is very important that you update us of any changes of contact details by emailing foundation@sedberghschool.org or osclub@sedberghschool.org.
Social Media Groups
There are two groups that you should consider joining both called “Sedbergh School, England” on Facebook and LinkedIn. These groups will link you to thousands of OS throughout the world.
Privacy Statement
Your privacy and the security of all information that you give to us are of vital importance to Sedbergh School.
Your personal information will be held on the Sedbergh School database in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998. Security measures to protect your personal information and privacy are in place and will be used for Alumni and Development purposes. The only people who will see your data are the School administrators, Old Sedberghian Club staff, The Foundation Office staff or Alumni Relations personnel and/or agents contracted by them.
Alumni data may be shared with academic, administrative and support departments at Sedbergh to promote close links between the School and its former students, staff and parents. Additionally contact details may be provided to Alumni Year Representatives (who are themselves Sedbergh alumni and/or Committee Members of the OS Club), who will have signed a data protection agreement.
Dear ‘Old’ Sedberghian,
Your formative years are over, you have escaped the confines of your youth, and now the world awaits. Unfortunately you have missed the annual ‘passing out’ parade of the Leavers’ Ball, the time when you take leave of your friends who have shared your journey with you while at Sedbergh.
But may I assure you that such leave is temporary. Sedbergh is a school for life and those friendships formed in class, in the Houses and on the sports pitches will endure, in many cases, for the rest of your life.
So I write to you as a fellow Old Sedberghian to welcome you to a community of some six thousand individuals who together form the OS Club. The Club facilitates the continuation of friendships made at Sedbergh and I, we, hope to see you at future OS events to hear about your adventures as you make your own way in the world.
There are of course times when you may need help. The general philosophy of the older generation of OS is to help those who are starting out in life. Such contacts can be invaluable when deciding on a career, finding work experience and generally networking. I encourage you to make use of this aspect of the Club.
In light of this, I would like to invite you to join the growing OS Club Online Platform – OS Connect. The site has over 1,200 active users, including a number of your fellow leavers of 2020, who have already signed up to benefit from the professional networking advantages offered by the site.
OS Connect has the following facilities:
1. Your profile: Make instant updates to your employment or education information and add additional career roles and experience. Share updates with the rest of the network about projects you’re currently involved in.
2. Directory: Find old friends, make new connections – professional or personal.
3. Knowledge sharing: Search for an OS who can help you with career advice and information within your desired industry, area of study or general life advice.
4. Jobs and opportunities: See the latest job vacancies and other opportunities, such as internship opportunities, academic/study opportunities, or other professional opportunities.
5. Events: Find out about OS events and book your place.
You have done your time, you have run up and down the hills and turned out in all weathers. You have earned your right to be a member of this most exclusive of clubs. Use it, be a part of it, help to nurture its future and be proud of it.
I hope to meet you at some future event and, in the meantime may I wish you every success and every happiness for whatever path in life you choose to take.
Best Wishes,
Jan van der Velde (L 77-82)
Chairman, OS Club