| | | | | EVENTS DIARY | | |
MONTHLY LUNCHEONS: Last Thursday of the month, 12:30 pm for 1pm at the Conservative Club, South Walks, Dorchester. It helps if you let Peter LEWENDON know if you intend to come; he can be contacted at Higher Folly Farm Cottage, Crewkeme. Somerset (Tel 01460 73927)
NB REMEMBER NEW VENUE, MEMBERSHIP CARDS SENT OUT WITH THE LAST NEWSLETTER HAD UNFORTUNATELY NOT BEEN UPDATED!! | | |
1999 LONDON DINNER: Organised once again by Prof. Hugh GRIFFITHS, this years London Dinner will be on Tuesday 2nd November. Please see the Booking Form at the end of this issue of the Newsletter.
| | | | | | CHANGES OF ADDRESS | | |
Alastair G. FRASER: advises he has moved from Primrose Hill, NW3, in March 1999, to 34, Grimwood Road, Twickenham, Middlesex, TW1 IBX (Tel: 0171-553-2533 daytime; 0181-892-3904 evenings).
| | | | | | RULES OF THE CLUB | | |
Please find included in this issue of the Newsletter, courtesy of The President, a copy of the revised Rules of the Hardyeans' Club, as amended in 1970,1992 and 1998, for the information of all members.
| | | | | | ANNUAL DINNER | | |
The Hardy Hall, at Weymouth Avenue, Dorchester, was the setting for the 1999 Hardyeans Club Dinner. The Dinner was preceded by the Annual General Meeting, the Minutes of which appear elsewhere in this issue. The convivial atmosphere of the Dinner was, in your Editors opinion, enhanced firstly by the attendance of The Ladies and secondly by the fact that seating was in groups at individual circular tables with the Top Table located at the side of the hall. Guest Speaker was Prof. Paul LIGHT, Vice-Chancellor of Bournemouth University. A copy of the menu and toast list together vvith the list of those attending appears in our feature on later in this edition. This year the speeches and toasts were recorded on audio tape by your Editor for the Club archives. Any member desiring a copy should send the Editor a blank tape. A most enjoyable evening was had by all.
| | | | | | CLUB v SCHOOL - Skittles v Ten Pin Bowling - Honours Even! | | |
Following the skittles match at which the Hardyeans' Club team were the victors, the return match at the Lakeside Club in Weymouth showed that Ten Pin Bowling is a young person's game with the Club side being soundly thrashed by the School's team. However it was an entertaining occasion.
| | | | | | YOU WRITE | | |
HAIR-RAISING TALES OF THE CLASS OF ’58 (1958 was a very good year.....) by Michel HOOPER-IMMINS, 33B Nevanthon Road, Western Park, Leicester LE3 6DR.
Some of the class of '58 met again in the County Town, over thirty-three years since we last walked out of Hardyes' School gates. Some of us had put on weight, some had lost hair, yet most were clearly recognisable. It was a marvelous occasion. Richard Cummins had put in a great deal of work from Buckinghamshire, to organise the Reunion at the Colliton Club - by good fortune (or outstanding planning) it coincided with the Beer Festival there - some twenty sorts of liquid protein on offer! It was a grand evening as we talked endlessly of the old days, sometimes into a microphone, as OHC Newsletter Editor Peter FOSTER roamed the room with a tape recorder. One of Peter’s popular programmes on Dorchester Hospital Radio will be featuring these interviews. How the years rolled back. I met Richard SONLEY for the first time since 1965; he and I had been at private school in Weymouth and traveled together on the train to Wollaston House on that fateful first day in September 1958. He too became an Accountant - indeed quite a few had joined the exalted ranks of numbercrunchers. Many of the personalities were unmistakable - 'Snuffy' HARGREAVES hadn’t got any taller in thirty years. Good to meet 'Bish' BISHOP after all these years and recovering well from his recent illness. Hope we can get together for another Reunion in Dorchester very soon. Over the twenty-six years Joan and I have lived in Leicester, we have returned often to the homeland and I always went round to the old School at least once a year to walk through those gates and stroll around the outside of the usually deserted buildings, Peering in through the windows, it seemed much more modern inside than in our day. I remembered how we sat in the Library and discussed the politics and news of the day. I looked through the windows of the hut where we began as 4C, forced to drink a half-pint of freezing milk - now condemned as unhealthy by modern nutritionists! On the Sunday after the Reunion, we stopped outside the School site for the last time, a sad wasteland where a few houses have been built and the heritage of many generations demolished. I felt I ought to have brought a wreath. What a tragedy for Dorchester and for us Old Hardyeans. How out of place those gates look outside the new School in Queens Avenue. [Michel adds that he hopes his first Reunion will not be the last - now that Richard Cummins has decided not to organise any more. Any volunteers?] | | | | | | 1999 HARDYEANS' CLUB ANNUAL DINNER | | | HARDYEANS' CLUB 
ANNUAL DINNER
at
THE THOMAS HARDY HALL
Weymouth Avenue
Dorchester Saturday 20th. March 1999 Preceded by the AGM at 6.30pm | MENU Salmon Terrine -------------- Thomas Hardy Steak and Mushroom Pie -------------- Dorset Apple Cake & Cream -------------- Coffee & Mints | TOASTMASTER
Colin Lucas TOASTS "THE QUEEN"
Proposed by the President
Maj/Gen J A Stephenson CB OBE "THE SCHOOL"
Proposed by the President Reply by the Headteacher "THE CLUB"
Proposed by the Headteacher REPLY
Professor Paul Light "ABSENT FRIENDS"
Proposed by Colin Lucas |
| | | | | |
The Toast Master, Colin Lucas, was kept busy during the Dinner as the President took wine with: The Hillites, Hamiltonites, Thomasites, Closites, Melvinians 1 (Barnes Way site), Melvinians 2 (Queens Ave site), Moore-ites, All Others (Govemors, etc), The Ladies, & finally a vote of thanks lo The Caterers. No Franciscans present this year.
| | | | | | LIST OF THOSE ATTENDING | | |
Maj.Gen John & Sheila STEPHENSON, Clinton & Aileen GRASSBY, Brian & Mary TAYLOR, Steve & Pat POLLARD, John PEARSON, Colin & Brenda LUCAS, Peter & Margaret POWELL, Bob & Helen RENCH, Tony & Elizabeth DAY, Prof. Paul & Vivienne LIGHT, Jack & Jean WESTLAKE, Allan STEVENS, Dennis & Marjorie STEVENS, Ken & Maureen PEARCE, Dr I E & Mrs T MELVIN (Headteacher), Mr & Mrs Richard CAIN (Deputy), Mrs J TAYLOR (Deputy Head), Barry & Judith LEYLAND, Peter & Jill LEWENDON, Bernard & Marjorie KIRBY, Peter & Heather FOSTER, John MAINWARING, Donald CULVER, Norman BAKER, Tony READ, Mrs Gwen ROBERTS, Alfred & Peggy BARRETT, lan JEFFREY, G L C BROWNE, F DIKE, A C BOWDEN, J PRESSLEY, A GILLETT, The Revd and Mrs Robin JOHNSON.
| | | | | | MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF THE HARDYEANS' CLUB HELD ON SATURDAY 20th. MARCH 1999 AT 6.30pm AT THE HARDY HALL, DORCHESTER. | | | | | | | There were approximately 24 members present. | | | | | | | 1. | Apologies for Absence were received from Gordon Crocker and other members. | | | | | | | 2. | Minutes of the Annual General Meeting held on 21 March 1998.
These were agreed by members present. | | | | | | | 3. | Matters Arising Club Rules. There were two proposed ammendments to the Club Rules, which were circulated. The first was to Para 3. Membership (amendments are in italics): 'Membership of the Club shall be open to all former Students of the School, members of the School Staff, Govemors and Trustees, subject to the approval of the Council of the Club.' The second was to Para 10, Quorum: 'At all Council meetings, five members, of which three shall be elected members, shall form a quorum.' The amendments to the Rules were proposed by Bernard Kirby, seconded by Jack Westlake, and agreed by members present. Thomas Hardye Monument. The Council has agreed lo give £100 towards restoration of the 1599 monurnent in St.Peter's Church. The School and the Diocese are also contributing to the overall cost of about £2,000. Council Membership. Pat Pollard is now a member of the Council. Millennium Appeal. John Stephenson was pleased lo report that the final figure carne to £2,504. At the Presentation Evening in July 1998 the Cup for "Best Junior CCF Cadet" from the Old Hardyeans' Club was presented. Also some more instruments had been bought for the CCF, plus a leopard skin, and a mace, which was engraved "Presented by the Old Hardyeans' Club". This was the last item to be purchased from the "Old" Hardyeans' Club. He thanked everyone for their efforts. | | | | | | | 4. | President's Report The President said that there had been a good response to the appeal to the membership for funds to help towards the cost of the newsletters. More than £2,000 had been received and money was still coming in. From the reply slips received from members, numbers had been reduced by 20%, from 800 lo 640, which should reduce costs. He thanked members for their help and support. | | | | | | | 5. | Chairman's Report The Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting and said he was disappointed by the lack of support for the Dinner this year. He reported on sporting fixtures: the School had won the cricket match but the hockey match had not taken place. In the recent skittles match, the Hardyeans had beaten the School by 21 pins, but the return match would be at tenpin bowling, to be held at Weymouth the following week. He thought these events were a good link with the School. Colin Lucas announced that after five years as Chairman he wanted to stand down this year. It was proposed that he would become the Secretary and Peter Powell would be the Membership Secretary. He thanked Peter for his work in updating all the Club records this year. He also thanked Ken Pearce for his work as Treasurer in a difficult year. The President then thanked Colin for everything he has done for the Club. | | | | | | | 6. | Treasurer's Report Ken Pearce went through the accounts and endorsed the President's thanks for the postage appeal. He said there is about £150 left in the appeal fund for the CCF. The Club had also purchased £1,000 of premium bonds. The President verified the bank statement showing a closing balance of £2,333.60. He then thanked Ken Pearce for the accounts. The adoption of the accounts was proposed by Tony Day, seconded by Alf Barrett and agreed by members present. Ken Pearce asked for a resolution that certificates can be sent to his home address. This was proposed by Bob Rench, seconded by Peter Powell and agreed by members present. | | | | | | | 7. | Election of Officers Chairman: Bob Rench
Secretary: Colin Lucas
Treasurer: Ken Pearce
Membership Secretary: Peter Powell
The above officers were proposed by Donald Culver, seconded by Tony Day and agreed by members present. | | | | | | | 8. | Proposed Charitable Trust The President said that a number of members have suggested setting up a Trust and the Council has considered what should be done. The Head and the.Charity Commissioners have been consulted. An advantage of setting up a Trust would be its tax-free status and bequests would be free of inheritance tax. The proposed outline of the Trust Document is as follows:- The title to be 'The Hardyeans' Club Charitable Trust' in memory of former staff and students of the School (it was thought that it would be difficult to name it after one individual as there were too many possible choices). - The Trustees should be members of the Hardyeans' Club, including at least one who is a Govenor of the school.
- Meetings should take place several times a year to:
Make awards based on the completed application form. They may consult the Head Teacher or member of staff before granting the award. Having sought outside professional advice, to review investments.
- Awards made by the Trustees should be limited to the income provided by the Trust.
The purpose of the Trust is that annual income from the Trust should be applied in promoting the EDUCATION of persons under the age of 25 years who have at anytime attended the Thomas Hardye School at Dorchester, as students, and are in need of financial assistance. The scope shall include:
initially awards to students who wish to travel overseas to improve their education. In due course, when funds permit, the award of Scholarships, Exhibitions, Bursaries, maintenance allowances or grants to students who leave the School to complete higher education at university or other educational institution approved by the Trustees.
A solicitor would need to be consulted to make sure it was worded properly. The President hoped to get agreement in principle this evening and any minor changes to the wording could be made later. He hoped to get it running by January 2000. It was felt that some members would like to put money back into the School and this would be a good way. There were no questions on the general understanding of the proposal. Donald Culver was concerned that the terms were too loose, which could lead to problems, especially if funds were tight. He felt the purpose should be more specific. John Stephenson thought it would be quite a while before purpose (b) could be started. Donald Culver also felt that it needs to be decided at an AGM whether the School or the Club controls the funds, and that parents of current pupils should not have a say, nor the governors. John Stephenson suggested that if the Trust needs to be changed in the future, the wording could be reviewed. In answer to a question, Colin Lucas replied that the constitution of the School does not include a Hardyean on the Governing Body, and although they always have had a representative, this is not necessary. It was agreed that the inclusion of a School Governor as a Trustee would be removed from the proposals. Donald Culver agreed to be involved in the detailed proposals and members present agreed in principle with the general proposals. It was also agreed that a solicitor should be consulted for the wording. Colin Lucas emphasised that Club members, through the Newsletter, were always kept informed of any proposals to be made at the AGM. It was then proposed by Ken Pearce that a detailed draft scheme is sorted out and put to the next AGM, and then shown to the Charity Commissioners when it has been agreed by members. This was seconded by Bernard Kirby and agreed by members present. It was further agreed that input could be from anyone who wished. The Council would prepare the final draft for ratification at the 2000 AGM | | | | | | | 9. | Any Other Business Colin Lucas asked everyone to give some thought to electing a new President next year, and also a speaker for the next Dinner. He had ten OH ties for sale at £10 each, if anyone was interested. The meeting closed at 7.30pm. | | | | | | THE HEADTEACHER DR. I E MELVIN WRITES | | | | | | Once again I am grateful to Peter Foster for the opportunity to make Hardyeans aware of progress of the school over recent months. Within the tornado of change that all schools confront, I am pleased to report that the aspirations and achievements of the school and its students continue to flourish. Space only allows the briefest glimpse at some of those achievements. In January The Thomas Hardye School was awarded a Charter Mark for the excellence of its service. One of five hundred organisations (twenty six schools) that achieved the accolade from an overall entry of thirty four thousand, the school had to satisfy stringent criteria concerning the service we offer to our clients parents and students alike. Mrs Julie Taylor (Deputy Head) and Mr Wheal (Assistant Deputy Head) journeyed to London to receive the award from Mr Jack Cunningham with The Prime Minister in attendance. This award is a great tribute to all those involved with the school and links well with our Investors in People status and other awards. Our students continue to do exceptionally well; we are now preparing for the GCSE and Advanced Level GCE examinations and hope to emulate our excellent results of last year.One hundred and thirty five students have applied lo University this year, seven students have good offers from Oxford or Cambridge and of course many other students have excellent offers from very prestigious institutions - this includes four of our female students studying Medicine. This is now a very common and welcome development - perhaps the future is indeed female. The school has also been successful in sport this year, we continue lo play competitive sport at all age groups and have many county representatives in all sports. The achievements of Rhys Davies and Simon Legg deserve particular mention. Both members of our First XV, Rhys is a rnember of the Welsh Schoolboy Squad and Simon has been in both the England and England A Group 18 squads. lndeed his side was the only one lo beat Wales at any level this year This has been a remarkable experience and achievement for both young men. Perhaps the next highlight of our sporting year is the visit of our girls hockey team to Canada in October. After the very successful First XI cricket tour to Barbados two years ago - the girls decided it was their turn. The school is now so popular that we were awarded significant funding for new buildings, these will be completed in September of this year. A new English and Business Education building, a new Performing Arts Centre, including a Dance Studio, extensions to our Dining Area, Technology and Science Departments. These facilities will be bolstered by new resources including a further extension to our already excellent lnformation Technology facilities. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those Hardyeans who both privately and publicly support the school - their contribution is greatly appreciated. Please keep in touch either through our website or those more traditional methods of communication. | | | | | | DURNOVARIAN DAYS | | |
In the Club's archives there is a most interesting book entitled "Old Hardyeans" Cornpiled from records and information collected by R J Wiley, it gives a fascinating insight into School lífe in the year of its publication, namely 1955. Your Editor was delighted lo receive a number of copies of this book along with varlous issues of The Durnovarian, all from the collection of the late JO Roberts. A few copies of "Old Hardyeans" were available for members at the recent Annual Dinner, via our Secretary, Colin Lucas. A photostat transcript of most of the book, together with a copy of the 1952 School Photograph formed our Durnovarian Days display at the Dinner. The display was prepared by your Editor in his Club Archivist's role. To reach more of the membership who may not have their own copy, your Editor thought that it might be of interest to reproduce extracts from "Old Hardyeans" in our regular School Memories feature.
Let's begin this new series by homing in on page 26 on which begins a History of the Old Hardyeans' Club........ | | | | | | HISTORY OF THE OLD HARDYEANS' CLUB | | |
THOUGH THE OLD HARDYEANS' CLUB WAS NOT FORMED UNTIL 1925, the first Old Boys' Dinner was held as far back as 1904. But the idea of doing something to keep up the association of old boys was thought of even sooner.
lt was in 1902 that a football club of old boys was started. They played on the school ground in black shirts with blue facings and white shorts. Their matches were against such local teams as Bridport, Swanage, and the Dorset Depot. The season began with a 1-1 draw, and from then on the team had rather mixed fortunes. Their biggest win was when they beat Weymouth College 10-0, and they finished the season with a record of 12 wins, three draws, and nine defeats. Two years later, in 1904, the first dinner was held in the King's Arms, and between 30 and 40 old boys attended. The chairman was Dr. Walter Lock, D.D. The success of this dinner established it as no annual event. These dinners were held each year up lo 1913 with the exception of 1908. In 1910 there were two dinners, one in February and another in November. Here is a list of the chairmen : 1905, Mr. H.N. Kingdon; 1906, Mr. B. Fossett Lock; 1907, Col. R. Williams; 1909, Sir Frederick Treves; 1910, February, Mr. Alfred Pope; 1910, November, Mr. H. A. Huxtable; 1911, Mr. E. W.Kerr; 1912, Mr. R. D. Thornton; 1913, the Rev. A. J. Maskew. Mr. W. F. Hodges was secretary of the committee that organised the 1913 dinner, the last before the war intervened. On the committee were Messrs. W.R. Bawler, R.G. Braybrooke, R. Channon, H.A. Francis, H.J. Greening, P. Hammond, W. H. Jameson, C.C. Lock, F.E. Lock, H.0. Lock, L.T. Lock, A.S. Miles, C.D. Sliellabear, W. Vine and A.D. Wright. After this dinner there were no more reunions of old boys until more than 10 years later. Then, on September 30, 1924, an old boys' meeting was called and this led to the formation of the Dorchester Old Grammarians' Club, as it was then known. | | | |
|
