Simon Broom

From 1969 – 1976 I was in the newly formed 6th form college at the school.

From there, I went to University of London, Goldsmiths College to study art, then to Kingston Polytechnic, as was, to study graphic design. I joined Thames TV and Channel Four as a graphic designer. I subsequently started my own design consultancy which failed but then produced and directed documentaries and corporate videos. In 1993 my business partner and I raised finance and started a clean energy company called Zevco Limited which became Zetek plc. I sold my shares in 1997 and have been a management consultant, travelling the world ever since. Happily married with a daughter and living in Twickenham. I still retain an interest in Art specialising in painting portraits www.simonbroom.com.

Recollections:

There were two forms East and West. I was in East. There were four houses. Hood (red, which was mine) Fife (yellow) Temple (green) and York (blue) all named after local streets.

Friends I had whose names I recall from my year:

Matthew Calvert; Now an architect, my best friend throughout the period.

Christopher Baldwin; Now in HR, also a close friend

Franco Marovich; He was Yugoslavian, and we fought all the time for which we got whacked by ‘plug’ Rawlings.

Andrew Pierce; He had an older brother and was both sporty and smart.

Hutchinson; I can't remember his first name but he also had an older brother at Shene called Mark, he was also very smart.

Tim Levy; Small chap, and I recall he was a good sportsman.

Andrew Lazenby; A joker with whom I shared several detentions for laughing in class.  

Stephen Dix; A troubled soul, not academic and fancied himself as a tough guy but wasn’t really.

Geoff Horrocks; Amicable soul. I broke the unbroken, for several years, discus record and Geoff went and broke it again a week after! 

Musastu Nabeshima; A substantial Japanese lad who was handy at rugby and also academic.

Biro; I can’t recall his surname, an Italian lad who lived in Gilpin Avenue. I frequently went to his house where we made our own lunches.

Johnny Mandel; Also a good friend of mine. An American lad whose father was the film composer Johhny Mandel. He would come to me with Hollywood gossip and once insisted that Rock Hudson was gay. We all laughed at him, at the time he was in Macmillan and wife, but, it seems he was right!  

I'm sure I will recall more with time. 

I wasn’t particularly happy at Shene and I coasted I’m afraid. However, I was in the first fifteen for rugby which won me some respect with class mates. I was always arty and Shene was not the place to declare one wished to become an artist. But, I’m sure the discipline of the place did me good! 

Once a year at the end of the year Mr Rawlings ‘plug’ used to recognise students who’d received places at University during assembly. He would start with effusive praise for Oxford, his own university and then Cambridge which he would point out was nearly as good as Oxford. As he worked his way down the list he would be less and less enthusiastic and those poor souls going to a technical college would get a grudging grunt. Even as a young teenager I thought this to be appalling.

Mr Friggens was the deputy, a squat square headed man who dealt the physical punishments out and who had an extremely loud nasal shout: “You boy” I recall his vile breath in my face, from pipe tobacco, and the whites of his eyes were yellow with lumps on them.

Mr Stickells the Maths teacher had brylcreamed hair, a dapper appearance and a small accumulation of white foam that gathered at the corner of his mouth as he spoke which he wiped away from time to time with a handkerchief, badly fitting dentures?. He liked to throw a chalk and was pretty accurate. 

Mr White ‘Snowy’, a large shambling and dishevelled man of whom I was very fond. He and Mr Stickells would jointly solve the Times crossword every morning and I think their record was five minutes! I was very sad to learn that after only a few months of retirement Mr White had died of lung cancer. He spoke fondly of his allotment and how he looked forward to tending his onions.

Mr Temple, the laboratory assistant, a rather creepy chap.

Mrs Grice, Molly, who I also liked and who taught Biology, she brought it to life.

‘Guts’ Chapman also taught Biology. He drove a Ford Anglia and defended his large belly by telling us that Captain Webb who first swam the Channel was well covered and this was an asset in long distance swimming!

Phil Grice who taught Art after Mr Fairhurst and suffered with a bad back. One day when Molly Grice came in with a black eye everyone knew he had done it during a domestic quarrel.

Even though I made a good career of art I have to say that Jack Fairhurst was awful, a dull dinosaur of a man who drained the entire colour from the subject. Luckily more inspiring teaching arrived with the 6th form college!

Miss Wride, the french teacher, she would deport her shapely legs to the 6th form boys in an obvious manner during class by sitting on the edge of the table, her short skirt revealing pretty much everything. One morning as she was walking through the playground to the school entrance Plug Rawlings arrived with his dog, a labrador as I recall, the dog picked up her scent, buried its nose somewhere intimate on Miss Wride’s anatomy and mounted her enthusiastically, to the playground’s amusement Plug made not the slightest effort to help the puce faced Miss Wride out. I think that was what one might call karma?

Doctor Thomas ‘Holy Joe’ took RE and would rant endlessly about Jews. He would often be heard to say that he would ‘fall like a ton of bricks’ on anyone speaking ill of the Jewish faith. I remember thinking: ‘Why would anyone speak badly of Jews, what’s he going on about?’ His wife, I can’t remember what we called her, was, as far as we could all tell, as mad as a box of frogs! I THINK she taught Geography? None of us ever listened so it was difficult to recall.

I had a great Physics teacher David Sumner, he was young and keen and realised my interest and like Mrs. Grice had the ability to bring the subject to life.

Mr Chaplin who taught Chemistry was another young guy with long brown hair and an impressive Viva Zapata moustache. He could have starred in an American cop show of the time! 

I would love to see a spreadsheet of the 1969 intake year. It may spark further memories although; as you can see they are personal, fleeting memories rather than more useful recollections!

 Peter Williams (1960 – 1964)

I attended Shene as Williams but have since reverted to my mothers’ name of Griffith hence Peter Griffith.

I have not seen any old boys names I remember but I can recall the ‘East’ morning register almost verbatim.

Aubrey, Bentley, Birtles, Buckerfield, Cameron, Casey, Cohen, Dendy, Elsley, Everett, Fairley, Fairweather, Gaster, Gavin, Hayes, Jenkins, Jones, Kedzierski, McDonald, Mulligan, Nimmo, Pearson, Pitfield, Rundle, Summers and Wood JER, plus one or two I’m having trouble remembering. Form master was Shmoo and I was in York House.

In ‘West’ one of my best friends ever was Denis Carroll.

Where are all my school friends hiding out? Anyone interested in communicating can reach me at hmsvictory@roadrunner.com. I would love to hear from any of you.

Steve Rooke (1964 – 1969) Oh Ron, what have you done? I was wrestling manfully with lock-down and an underfunded retirement when you tapped a tuning fork on the Park Avenue railings and thrust it into my chest. The least I can do is sing for you. Mr. Burrows’ ghost will be in some distress at that prospect. I still owe Mr. White an essay among other things, let’s call it that and I’ll make my apologies to Montaigne later.

In the beginning, Hood House, One East. Paul Abbett, Nigel Beveridge, Stephen Caine, William Coleman, Phillip Duke and Easterbrook. Nigel B was voted most promising new friendship in my first year. He travelled every day from Leatherhead I think but disappeared in the fifth with ambitions Ad Astra, I hope he made it. Will C played snooker with me at The Spring Grove Hotel and indulged my adoration of Jimi Hendrix.

Graham Ellwood, Paul Glynn, Raymond Hill, David Huckle, Alun Jones, Kevin Keown. I was in awe of Paul G already from my junior school, an outstanding musician and scholar. His mother Val wrote a letter challenging Mr. Rawling’s right to dictate our hair styles. I’ve a soft spot for Ray H too, one of the first to ride a motorbike to school. He could give chapter and verse on all things Zeppelin. A special thanks to Alun J for visiting The Paris Air Show with me, just the two of us at fifteen. He helped me recognise my yearning for faraway places.

Mark Lawes, Robert Lawson, David Liddle, Alan Lloyd. Did Bob L throw a punch at a member of staff one games afternoon? Surely not. Alan L lived in Richmond Park. “His mother’s an old deer” somebody called from the back of the room. Always a Jimmy Tarbuck on hand and various Pythons later on.

Keith Miller, Michael Mills, Christopher Nicklin. Keith M was the only friend to come to my house in Ham in the early years. He wrestled and beat my non-Shene best friend and thus taught me tact and diplomacy.

Martin Parvin, Peter Pease, Michael Pettitt, Rees, Steve Rooke. I’m so sorry to hear about Phil’s brother Tim. The Peaces were fellow Fulham supporters I believe. Humility was not officially timetabled at Shene but there are always lessons at The Cottage. Steve R was made a prefect in the sixth, how did that happen? Run your finger down the register and the first fifteen pick themselves. Now start crossing the bad boys off the bottom. Three left! Who the hell is Rooke? Never mind, he’s in.

David Seaton, Shackleton, David Whitmore-Smith, Paul Wymer. Paul W always impressed. He lent me his copy of Split and sparked a long musical affair, enjoyed mostly in the black coffin of The One Hundred Club. The great McPhee once brushed my shoulder on the way to the stage, happily my pint was in the other hand. I often raised a salute to Paul W, as a rambling guitar solo morphed once more into the opening bars of Cherry Red. Cheers Paul. Kevin O’Brien was a later arrival. I enjoyed some great nights with him and rock royalty at the Lyceum.

What of the West Boys? Were they such strangers for everyone until we merged in the lower sixth or was it just me? I took my seat with angst on day six-point-one and was quickly surrounded by Andrew Duff, Ben Turner and Clive Williamson. What joy, not scary monsters after all. I think I was growing up at last. I never suspected I had a “wavelength” until Clive demanded that I speak to him and proved to be on the same one. He is still with me. Andrew’s mother taught me in junior school. I find it intolerable that he and some others are already gone. Mike Bailey and I were the openers for the Shene Team in a charity pram-push. There were a dozen of us or more, with two support cars to position relay pairs. One of the cars broke down, stretching resources and eventually Alan Smith and I were stranded for the day in nether Surrey. Alan had a fearsome reputation but I could not have been in better company as it turned out. My learning curve was a double helix, just as steep extra-currircular. I believe I remember something of everyone but apologies to those from east or west unmentioned. Not you Barker, I’m not finished yet. Dear Gerry, legend, where are you now? Gerry was another motorcyclist and gave me a lift home on his pillion once or twice. By Rawlings-Royal decree motorcycles were parked...ohh yess…outside the girl’s school. The bikers got quite a bit of attention until Mr. Rawlings realised his mistake and re-decreed, accusing the Barkers and Hills in assembly of sexual exhibitionism. Yes, he really said that. I am resisting the P word, that nickname. Far too cosy and endearing for a man whose misbegotten dreams of a shining Eton reborn downstream required ever larger blinkers to sustain.

In the sixth a whole hour of the fortnightly schedule was set aside for the headmaster to grace us with his intellect. It was timetabled pompously as “knowledge”. He rarely attended. On one of the occasions that he did he warmed to the subject of us behaving as men now and no longer boys. At least he was not bothering the back row. At the bell he swept out of the room, pausing to poke a finger into the chest of the big lad at the front; “Those side whiskers are not appropriate for a schoolboy Shuttleworth”. On at least two occasions I recall Mr. Rawlings remarking Heathrow approach to be excessively noisy on the day. “Skyport 4321 isnt it?” he would say, leaving the class early to phone the tower. If it was a joke, his dead pan delivery was perfect. Hair must feature in more anecdotes, I was a persistent offender and I don’t know why it mattered now but it did. “These heterosexual hairstyles will not be tolerated” was a gem from another knowledge lesson. The word was his new discovery and he must have thought it to mean androgynous. Oh dear. A headmaster really should be a classicist not a mathematician.

Ron Friggens, of blessed memory, once shouted at me about my hair in a physics class. He had created a piece of theatre for the occasion and I fell into the trap. The class laughed and I cowered but I guessed that he had been bullied by the head to pull his weight in “The Struggle” and his heart was not in it. Arguably my happiest Shene memory vindicated that theory much later. Somebody, bless you, whoever you were, organised a “farewell to schooldays” do in the function room of The Sun Inn in Richmond. Ron not only attended but made a bee line for me and bought me a pint. I kid you not. I think none of us had anything but respect for Ron. Who can forget his chillingly wordless visit to smoker’s corner in the sixth form common room?

A couple more staff names must be mentioned in dispatch, from the ridiculous to the sublime: Doctor Thomas was charged with my religious instruction. “You say black swans do not exist because you have only known white ones? In Australia, however, we find…” Thus: There Is a God! Q.E.D. I’m still baffled. An amiable chap joined the staff late on and taught some Russian to half a dozen of my science sixth. Who was that? George White was my house tutor and English teacher. A gentleman of the Old School, I worshipped him. If he set us work in class and turned to marking papers he would count them up afterwards in a mysterious numerology. Christmas day in the Thar desert thirty-five years later and two tipsy Indian friends deemed it time for me to learn some Hindi. Ek Do Teen Char Paanch…. and George’s ghost voice exploded out of the gin haze. I believe there may have been tears. I have just read an article in The Observer about Joe Biden’s prospects and one of the paragraphs began with the word “But”….you did what you could George. I had a great rapport with Dick Bullard and thought him the best of the bunch but he taught woodwork and technical drawing and they both came to me like breathing. I find him standing behind me whenever the chisel in one hand is poised to bury itself in the other. The reprimand is always kindly.

I recall suffering only one detention in my Shene life. I copied out the school rules and was delighted to find a profound beauty to Rule One: “Any breach of common sense is a breach of the school rules”. How very “Shene” to spoil a brilliant start by adding more.

Those few short and distant years were coloured quite differently for each of us I suspect. I feel I owe an apology to posterity for failing to grasp the gift of them until it was too late. I left with three pretty good A level grades anyway, A mystery I will ponder to the end. Thanks to all of you that played a part in my Shene experience. I would not have had it any other way.

It was….. an education, from 1964 to 1971.

David Phillips (1967 - 1972)
I joined from St Andrew and St Richards Junior School in Ham.

I was in Hood House.
My class (East) comprised;
Alan Bartholomew, Philip Bennett, John Bennett, Paul Brewer, Manfred Brown, ? Butler, Clive Farmer, David Floyd, Alan Glockner, Terry Green, Malcolm Holly, Philip Leach, Ian Mess, Nick Milinczuk, David Phillips, Christopher Photi, Paul Reeves, Graham Reynolds, Ian Richens, Tony Sargeant, Ian Tasker, David Tennant, Robert Tolley and Bruce Williams.
In West there were a few people I’m still in contact with; in fact we had a reunion birthday party at the Cabbage Patch in Twickenham 5 years ago for our 60th; Julian Tarrant, Martin Smith, Andy Rutherford, Mark Strobel, Paul Summers and Nigel Duckett. Others who I’ve lost contact with who I remember are Chris Still and John Simpson and Jeremy Winship from the year below who lived near me in Ham.
From my time the staff consisted of (room numbers as best I can remember!)
1. Mr White – English: 2. Mr Burridge - ?: 3. Mr Terry - ?: 4. Mr McLaren – French: 5. Mr Stickles – Maths: 6. Mr Friggins – (Deputy Head) Physics: 7. Mr Ford – Physics and Football: 8. ?: 9. Mr Black (Chemistry in the Girls School): 10. Mr Grice – Languages: 11. Mr Stephens – Geography: 12. Mrs Grice ?: 13. Mr Ash (?) - French
14. Mr Weedon – English: 15. Mr Burton – History: 16. Mr Malcolm – French: 17. Mr Fairhurst – Art: 18. Mr Free – Physics: Mr Ballard – Woodwork Hut / TD Hut: Mr Chapman Biology Hut: Mr Dick Fash / David Nicholls / ?? Rees (Sports/PE): Dr Thomas Local Vicar RE: Mrs Thomas wife of above (Geography?): Mr Mick Grinter ?: Jeff Morrell (Later jailed for sexual offences at a Stockwell school in the 1970’s): Mr Rawlings Head Master (he always had his dog with him on Saturdays when he came to Barn Elms to watch sports – can’t remember his dog’s name!): Mrs Beryl Jones Secretary

I left school and took A Levels at Kingston College of Further Education then found myself in the music Industry, working for various Record Labels and wholesalers. I’m now semi-retired teaching Cycle Training for the Council to local children. I’m living in Twickenham, have a son and two granddaughters.
I stayed involved with the School by playing football and being a Committee Member for Shene Old Grammarians Football Club and latterly the Vets team. I organised our Vets tour of Switzerland and France for the past 15 years. The Clubhouse is still in Queen Elizabeth Walk so pop down if you can.

Alistair Mitchell (1969 - 1974?)

Sent me these details of his life, set out below, on the 5th March 2018.

Subsequently Foregate Chambers very sadly announced that ‘one of our own, Counsel Mr Alistair Mitchell, passed away on Sunday 10th February 2019. He had been battling with cancer for many years and continued his fight to the very end. All those who knew him personally and/or professionally will appreciate that he was an amazing person, a caring and brilliant advocate with a wonderful sense of humour. This is a great loss to so many people whose lives Alistair affected and he will always be remembered as a very unique man, ready to support and assist those in most need!’

This is a brief outline of my memories from Shene at the start of the 1970’s. It is short because I am preparing to ingest a new drug tomorrow at QEHB (Daratmumab) to continue a fight against Myeloma and I have no idea what, if any, side effects it may herald.

I went to Shene around 1969 from Westfields Primary and was relatively happy there for the first three years. I liked English with Mr Weedon, languages and art but was at a loss to understand most technical subjects.

I remember that the builders completed the gym with one end wall having breeze blocks with no interleaving! It had to be rebuilt.

Making a moderate contribution to the cricket team I was allowed to spin bowl occasionally and fail with the bat inevitably. Rugby brought more success. Securing a place as the hooker - ‘Mad Mitch’ - as I was known, scrummed down in many a game for Shene. Whenever we played our mortal rivals, Reigate GS, fighting would break out even before we left the changing rooms. I have a vague memory of being sent off for ‘foot up’ some 15 seconds after our scrum half kicked off in one game. Years later, I worked with Keir Starmer (now Sir K. Starmer QC ex-DPP) pro-bono on the McLibel case for two anarchists who’d offended McDonalds with a leaflet. He was also involved with the Trafalgar Square Defendants’ Campaign. He was brilliant and incredibly helpful, but there was always something that I disliked about him. I just could not put my finger on it though. Until I found out he went to…Reigate GS!

A supply teacher for Physics called Colonel Lowery arrived. This poor man was a pushover for anarchic Monty Python-sated elements (perhaps 50% of the class). One pupil would run out feigning a fit. Then another pelted after him saying: “It’s alright Sir, I’ll fetch him back!” and so on. Meanwhile the class artillery improvised ballistas with U taps and strong rubber bands, letting fly volleys of multi-coloured chalks at the unfortunate Colonel’s bald head. Eventually, these regular affrays were broken up once they came to the attention of Ronald Friggins, our feared Deputy Head.

Two factors combined to ensure my education spiraled downward.

Firstly, I’d been brought up in a single-parent family since I was four and craved my absent father’s attention, Everyone else seemed to have a dad who’d take them to football on a Saturday, whilst I made do with the occasional trip to Highbury with my grandfather. My dad was on stage a lot as a poet and I’d see him three or four times a year in that role. I suppose it was his ‘radical’ stance, which attracted me and encouraged emulation on my part, trying to get closer to him. Doing family cases and representing criminals at the Bar, I met so many young people with similar ‘attention-seeking’ issues; alienated from one parent or the other or damaged in the fostering and care system. When my dad was to be called as an expert witness in the Oz Obscenity Trial, I sneaked into the Old Bailey and saw Richard Neville representing himself superbly. Inspired, I joined the ‘Friendz of Oz’ – and got thoroughly corrupted! Interest in schoolwork fell away and I lived for rock gigs and free festivals at Windsor and Stonehenge.

Secondly, as an Arsenal fan, I was up against the form’s numerous Chelsea supporters and suffered a fair amount of bullying. Keeping an eye out for ambushes occupied a lot of the time I should have been studying.

By the fifth year, I was thoroughly disillusioned and performed abysmally in the ‘O’ Levels, going out the night before most of the exams, most notably to the last night of the ‘Barnes Commune’ – an event that left me, shall we say, light-headed during the Geography ‘O’ Level the next morning but not as adrift as one from Fife House -who OD’d on an, ordinarily-prescribed, medicine - and was smuggled out of the gym by a pack of us at the end.

The underground I thirsted after did not emerge at Shene and I headed off to squat in the wilds of Wales until 1977, when I returned to London just in time to ‘pogo’ up and down to The Clash, move to Brixton and see the emergence of another Shene classmate, Vic Napper, as the singer with the Subway Sect. Truly, it was bright new dawn for the alternative society.

It was only years later, I went back into education at Southbank University after driving trucks and forklifts for 9.5 years, that I developed a taste for learning again. I wish I’d done it earlier and been ‘further ahead’ at the Bar now. It was a real struggle trying to learn again but I’m glad I persevered. I’ve had an enjoyable 21 years at the Bar doing all sorts of common law work in all manner of courts and tribunals. On 23rd January 2018 I received very bad news from my consultant haematologist. I decided I did not have the mental and physical stamina or concentration to continue at the Bar and needed to ‘spend more time with my family’ – Alex and the Mitchell Bros (don’t mess!).

BBC News Sunday 13th March 2020. The poll tax riot of 1990 was one of the most violent UK protests in recent history. More than 500 people were arrested during the trouble in London, which broke out during protest against the unpopular Community Charge. Alistair Mitchell found himself trapped in Whitehall during the disturbances. He was convicted for assault and spent time in two prisons before having his conviction quashed by judicial review years later. He sued the police for wrongful arrest and imprisonment and used the money to study law and become a barrister, this is his story.

‘My wife the girlfriend, and her partner were making a video film about the poll tax movement, and my role was to take stills. I was to climb up a sturdy, steel bus-stop, and ended up about seven feet in the air, and I was able to have a much better view up there, and shot off a series of stills. A lot of what I saw I’d never seen before in my life. I was taken aback. It was difficult to know what to focus on. Eventually I was looking all around for my colleagues. I couldn’t see them at all, they were lost, so I made my way northwards to try and find them. I saw quite a number of people being arrested by the police, but then I saw a young man. I caught a glimpse of him through the legs of four or five policemen who were around him. It was clear that one of the officers around him - I couldn’t tell who - had his thumbs under his chin. I shouted out something like, ‘Don’t do that you could kill him’. Having shouted this I noticed a couple of the officers peel off from the group and make towards me. And one of them said – book this one in for obstruction and assault on me. To my surprise I was charged with actual bodily harm – alleged to be a bite on policeman’s hand. I had no recollection whatsoever the next morning of my teeth having been anywhere near a policemen’s, letting alone having bitten a policeman. I was eventually cleared in mid 1993 – it was a long time to wait for justice.’

Julian Tarrant (1967 - 1973) I attended Shene Grammar School and feel very fortunate to have done so. I am in regular contact with old chums David Phillips, Martin Smith, Andrew Rutherford and Nigel Duckett. My recollection of teachers is very similar to David's but, not nearly as good!

I attended Keele University after Shene and secured a 2:1 in International Relations. After several random jobs I joined television news agency Visnews as a trainee. Various promotions earned me more responsibility including long producer assignments in Rome, Budapest, Sarajevo, Tokyo and Iraq during the 1st Gulf war.

I became a Senior Editor at Reuters after their take -over of Visnews which also involved a lot of travel, but more usually in a suit than in a flak jacket!

In 2003 I moved to Switzerland to take up a News Editor role at Eurovision, better known for its iconic song contest. It was a great move too for my wife and children. My Shene mates all came to stay at one time or another and David Phillips and his partner were regular skiers with me in the Swiss Alps. David and I also arranged for an annual Shene Old Grammarians football tour which ran every year from 2005-2019, great fun!

Retirement at the end of 2017 allowed my wife Christine and I to move to South Devon where we enjoy the coastal life and happily my Shene friends have been to stay.

Don McIntyre (1961-65) "I was intrigued to discover your Old Boys site and reminisced at length over some of the names appearing at the 2002 Reunion.   I was the 1st XI goalkeeper and was frequently called into action by the Old Boys on the same day and usually in 'brass monkey' conditions since goalies were in short supply at the time.  I would attend the Red Lion meeting point with wet and muddy attire and face the might of someone else's 5th X1 at the tender age of 16.   My cat-like agility of those times must be credited to my mentor Rob Vaughan (Lev Yashin).    School contemporaries included Terry Gazzard, Roger Johnson and John Vaughan.   I am very interested in attending the 2004 Reunion"

F. Victor -Lee-Own (1962-69) After I left Shene I went to Manchester University and received a BSc in Biological Chemistry in 1972,and a PhD in Medical Biochemistry in 1975. I then spent a year in the US at the University of
Southern California, in Los Angeles, and the NIH, in Bethesda, before returning to London for a  British Heart Foundation award, working at St Bartholomew's Hospital in London.  In 1979, back at the dawn of the Thatcher era,  Johnson and Johnson offered me a position  with their Ortho Diagnostics subsidiary in New Jersey, and I accepted and moved back to the US. Over the past 27 years I have worked in Diagnostic, Biotech, and Pharmaceutical companies all over the US and also back in Europe, but since 1990 returned and remained resident in New Jersey.  I married Joan in 1983, and we have 2 boys: Geoffrey now 22 and in his final year of college studying business and economics; and Robert, now 17, and he will be entering college in September to study engineering.  I am starting a new job on May 1st. I will still be based in New Jersey but I will be working for an Austrian company representing them all over the US, expanding the sales base from its present concentrations in the NE and California. This is a bit of a change for me, after working in labs for over 30 years. But with more of my working life behind me rather than in front of me, I want to take the opportunity to do more of what I enjoy rather than what others want me to do. I'm hoping to retire in the next 4-6 years, when Robert has finished college, but haven't decided where to settle down. The US is attractive but has disadvantages, likewise the UK. I've kept in touch with Colin Sullivan and others from the 62-69 era since Colin started an e-mail group, and a few years ago I attended a memorable evening at the Sun Inn in Barnes. I don't visit London as often as I used to, but have every intention of keeping up ties with SOGs.

Paul Perton (1962-67) This weekend, I will have been in South Africa for 32 years - ironically, I arrived on St George's Day in 1974. I left the UK because the government of the day was fighting with the unions, we had electricity only occasionally and I was only allowed to work three days a week. On top of that, I had recently qualified (I am by profession a lighting engineer) and my employers were using the prices and incomes freeze of the time as an excuse to not increase my sales engineer's salary of £1200 a year (and a car which I was required to fund out of my own pocket).

I came to Johannesburg in response to a job offer of £3100 a year and a fully paid for company car. I was promised - and received - an additional 10% increase for just getting here and starting work. It wasn't a hard decision to make.

In 1982, I became self-employed and remain so to this day. I run an industrial marketing agency which can be viewed at www.peripheral.co.za and at 55 am fortunate enough to be able to work at my own pace and spend the rest of my time gazing out at False Bay which laps at my front door.

In short, life has probably been unrealistically kind to me. With the utmost good fortune, I undoubtedly made most of the correct decisions along the way and today enjoy the pleasures of a wife of almost 30 years and two extraordinarily creative children - adults actually.

Doubtless, some of my skills and abilities were garnered at Shene. I took a sombre, slow drive past the school last year while I was in London. I couldn't get out and look because there was nowhere to bloody well park, but it's best I don't go there...

Surprisingly, the core of the school looked much as it did when I walked out in 1967. There is a huge extension which I took to be a gymnasium, but at a casual glance, not much had changed. I could swear I heard Jack Fairhurst yelling at the choir and Reg Brigden still dispensing his rough-handed style of teaching.  I can clearly recall a number of incidents at his hands; most notably him hitting a boy because his handwriting sloped the wrong way. I kept as far away from him as the seating in class permitted.   In fairness, I do have to recall both French teacher McLaren (first name lost in the mists of time) and woodworking-supremo "Butch" Bullard. I still remember and speak French quite well - even to the extent of making myself understood in downtown Hanoi last year. My O level in Woodwork has brought me a clear skill in furniture making, which I pursue to this day. You can see some of the results at www.outofthewoods.co.za

The fact is that I've never regretted leaving. I am in reasonably regular contact with some of my school chums and they occasionally with me. I fear many of them are finding life more challenging than they would have chosen for themselves, yet have no other options. Which just about closes the circle - I'm back to my comment about sweeping aside history, knowledge and experience in a headlong rush for whatever is the next big thing.  Despite a reasonable scholastic achievement - it got me into tertiary education - and running/playing rugby/soccer for both house and school, I was only awarded my house colours the day I left at the end of the fifth form. I have no doubt that the school and it's teachers were just as pleased to see the back of me as I was them.

The Web site is a good step and you should try to enlist as many old boys as contributors as possible. The walk-through? A good idea too, but a huge amount of work and one which will demand considerable bandwidth in use. In the UK, bandwidth is not an issue, but in countries like this one where investment is prioritised elsewhere and broadband isn't freely available, downloading a 0.5Mb Web site over a dial-up connection is a definite no-no.

Trevor Day (1962-1969) Left Shene summer of 1969 to read Maths at Exeter ... lasted one year [was ill in the second term] .. so became postman on 13th July 1970 ... switching to Telecoms in October 1970 ... and been there ever since.... spent 6 1/2years working in Holland for BT [1996 - 2002] ... where I improved my Dutch to a great extent

Thus still working for BT [since 13th July 1970] ... only a few years to go ...

... married to Coby (Jacoba ... nee Plomp) on 2nd April 1977 and we have three children ... Thomas (28.10.80) finished a PhD at Warwick (Chemistry ... Carbon nano-tubes ... ) then became a chartered accountant [KPMG], Anneke (20.4.82) finished her Masters at Warwick (Film studies ...) and is a Qualified Teacher and now mother of Eden Rebekka Perling Day [our first grand-childe] ... and Anneke and Jon are married; so she is a Sissons and no longer a Day and then Edward (12.2.85) finished at Drama School [ALRA] in London ... has been Hamlet [in Italy] and several other things and more recently King Lear and Fool [which had to be a puppet] for Aug'12 after a recent successful 2-years at Le Coq theatre school in Paris [ended Jun'12]. His acting keeps him busy.

I played Rugby for London Welsh from 1969 - 1975 or so ... not the 1st's ... what with 15 internationals in the first team..?... or so it seemed ... ... a church chorister (from October 1957 until recently); studied for Lay Ministry [Reader] in the Church of England [licenced Oct'07] then trained for ordained ministry at STETS [2009-12] ... ordained Deacon 30 Jun 12 at Bristol Cathedral [SSM curate working in Highworth and Blunsdon] ... qualified as a netball umpire in the early 1990's [don't ask ...] ... and have completed the Nijmegen Marches [de vierdaagse] 21times ...(I'll let you know what that's all about if you ask nicely ... but it entails walking 160 or 200km in 4-days).
Updates Sep12 ...
30 Sep 07 ... took early retirement from BT
6 Oct 07 ... Licensed as Lay Minister in Church of England
Sep 09 ... started three year training course leading towards Ordained Ministry as a Non-Stipendary Minister [C of E]
30 Jun 12 ... Ordained Deacon
late Sep 09…… diagnosed with Larangeal Carcinoma ...
Operation in Early October [Biopsy] on my vocal cords ... then second op later in Oct. to remove 30% off both Vocal Cords ...
November 3rd op. to get into the muscle under the right vocal cord and then laser treatment. Now looking much better. Next visit not until 25th March 2010 ... after which another small op and then another tweak in 2011 ... now it's OK.
9th Jan'12... heart stopped ... they pumbled me and electrified me back and fitted a STENT ... all now seems OK.

John Young (1968-72) I stumbled across your website whilst reminiscing about the "good old days".

I started 1st year at Shene in 1968. A couple of teachers I remember were Ron Friggens (who I noticed with sadness had recently died), he terrified me into learning and Miss Wryde (correct spelling?) who was every adolescent schoolboy's fantasy. She used to sit on the window sill with her feet on the chair giving the whole class an eyeful of her legs.   French was never the same after that.

I was pretty sporty at school and was a member of various football rugby and cricket teams.   In 1972, I was wrenched away to a foreign land (Scotland) by my parents. My father was a Scot and wanted to return home. I left Shene and have never returned.

Upon leaving school I became an engineering officer in the Merchant Navy and spent 10 years doing and seeing things that most people can only dream of. I still love travelling. The shipping company I worked for folded and I decided to leave the sea.   I worked for a diving company and a meat packing factory.

Since 1987 I have been the Engineering Manager in a research establishment. I still live in Scotland and have married three lovely Scottish Lassies (not at the same time). I have two fantastic children from my second marriage and two stepsons.

I would be grateful if you could send me a copy of the 'old boys list' to see if I could identify some names from the past. Strangely enough I can still recite the register list from my final year at Shene.

John Tinker (1965-67) Thanks for your letter. I am indeed an old boy of Shene although I only entered the school for the last two years of my schooldays in the sixth form from 1965 -1967.

By all means include my email in the list of old boys. I have very clear memories of my time at Shene but have not kept in contact with anyone from that time. For some reason I kept my old school reports and the magazines for that time and have often wondered what happened to some of those I remember.

After leaving I acquired a Physics Degree from Surrey University where I developed an abiding interest in Cosmology which then studied at Kings College London. This naturally led me to join the civil service from where I took early retirement in 1994.
Lived in London until two years ago when we came down here to Exeter.

Although I never went back to the school my father, when he was in his 70's and 80's, used to teach Beekeeping there when it ceased to be a Grammar school.

Robin Bextor (1965 - 1972?) Born October 11, 1953. After education at Shene Grammar School and at the University of Reading, he worked at the Dimbleby owned Richmond and Twickenham Times before joining Thames Television and then the BBC, where he produced and directed documentaries, including the RTS award winning film on blind parents and entertainment programmes, including That's Life!. During this time he also made pop promotion videos for such bands as Bad Manners, Bow Wow Wow, Adam Ant and Bucks Fizz.

In the early 1990s, he became head of arts at TWI before joining the Man Alive group.

He directed Edward on Edward, a documentary in which Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex discussed King Edward VIII.

As director of programmes for Ardent, he steered the company to its first profit, but left to pursue other projects, including films with Eric Clapton, Mick Jagger, and Paul McCartney.

He has since made programmes with his daughter, the singer Sophie Ellis-Bextor; the French duo Air; The Damned; The Stranglers; and UB40. He directed the cult short film Norfolk Coast, featuring Susannah York and Jean Jacques Burnel. He is majority shareholder of the Soho post production business Vivid, responsible for programmes on the England Football team, Test cricket and Fulham FC as well as many arts subjects.

He has won the Columbus ("Chris") award for The British Schindler, shown on ITV in 2005, a BAFTA and the New York Film Festival best documentary award.

Robin also directed his daughter's DVD Watch My Lips. He has been director of the Chichester Festival for five years and a trustee of the Brighton theatre company Dream, Think, Speak.

He has also had a successful career as a writer, writing for newspapers and magazines and the book to accompany the TV series Crown and Country. The relationships built working with Paul McCartney and Eric Clapton over many years led to the publication of Paul McCartney Now & Then in 2004,[1] and Eric Clapton Now & Then in 2006. He is also a director of Glyndebourne Productions in East Sussex specialising in films about opera.

In 2013 he directed a six-part TV series on London with specials on the London Underground, Windsor Castle and Buckingham Palace. He also wrote The Story of the London Underground published that same year. (GU2) The following year he produced and directed Glyndebourne: the Untold History for BBC TV. He also wrote and directed a four-part music series The Sound of the 60's, and a book of the series published the same year. A second series The Sound of the 70's followed, as well as a series on Historic Hauntings. He has made films on 10cc (Clever Clogs), Squeeze,Cara Dillon French band AIR and The Feeling with Keifer Sutherland. He also was one of the founders alongside his daughter Sophie and son in law Richard Jones of the Meribel Music Festival in the French Alps called The Little World Festival.

In the 2019 European Parliament Election in, Bextor was selected as a party list member for Change UK – The Independent Group in the South East England constituency. The party did not win any seats.

Martin Overton (1965 – 1972) I attended Mortlake County Primary School, where I passed the 11 plus and went on to Shene Grammar. My twin sister Leslie (boy’s spelling, but is a girl!) was unsuccessful at the 11 plus and went to Hertford Avenue School for Girls which was adjacent. I usually walked to school with her and her friends, which I later discovered to much impress some of the teachers, who mistakenly thought they were my friends.

The school uniform included a cap, which we had to raise in thanks to drivers who stopped for us at the zebra crossings. After the third form we no longer had to wear the caps.

The annual intake was about 60, divided into two forms, East and West. I was in West, and I still keep in touch with some of my form mates. Ian Newton (Piglet), who was my best man when I got married to Lydia in 1982.  (Lydia, nee Huckin) went to Richmond County Grammar School for Girls 1963 - 1968 and still occasionally attends reunions). Roland Earland (Lugflap), Bob Lawson, David Van der Cruyssen (joined in the lower 6th), Martin and David Jalili also joined in the 6th form.

R C Bullard (Woodwork and T.D.) was my house tutor - I was in Hood House (red), the other houses being York (blue), Fife (yellow) and Temple (green). The Headmaster, Graham Rawlings (Plug) usually addressed assembly with his eyes firmly screwed shut - were we so awful? His Deputy Head was Ron Friggens (Physics). I met Graham and Ron in later life. Graham, when I was invited to join the local Barnes Rotary Club, and he as a past President attended my induction to wish me well.

I also met Ron some years after leaving school, when I dated his daughter Louise. I approached our reintroduction with some trepidation as he had a fearsome reputation and had been the primary source of discipline at school. Indeed, he had spotted me playing Billiards in the 6th form common room, banned me and caused me to write a letter of apology to the Headmaster. At this later meeting, he was certainly less fearsome but I was still very wary.

The other teachers I recall were Jack Fairhurst (Art). Jack had presented the school with an Art Trophy. Very modern and abstract carved/drilled from a block of metal. It stood alongside all the silver cups and shields on display in the hall. Unfortunately we were burgled and only the Fairhurst Trophy remained!

“Snowy” White taught English. He was getting on in years and had once presented the same lesson to us two classes running. Reg Brigden taught English and Latin. Dick Fash taught PE. He was the only teacher to slipper me for talking.

Mr. and Mrs. Grice taught French (Mr. Grice), German (Mr. Grice), and Biology (Mrs. Grice), Mr. Black taught Chemistry, the only lesson held in the girls school. Mr. Free (Jiffy) also taught Physics.
One afternoon a week we had games - usually held at Barnes Elms in Barnes. We had to make our own way there by bus or bike if we had cycled to school. It was Rugby or Cricket according to the season.

Shortly after joining, the outside toilets were closed and moved inside and a new Gymnasium was built. Here I enjoyed Badminton. With the fitting of braces on my teeth, I was excused from rugby and went sailing and canoeing at Ham Gravel Pits instead (run by A C Bullard). During Woodwork, some boys built canoes which they then used at Ham.

As I was about to leave there was talk of the school becoming either a Comprehensive or a 6th Form College. In fact, it became a mixed school with girls joining and education only up to Fifth Form., Tertiary education for A levels etc, being provided elsewhere.

Ally Shaw (1967-72) On leaving Shene, I joined my father’s cigarette vending business. In 1987 a friend introduced me to the London International Financial Futures Market in the City (lots of coloured jackets and shouting) and I was immediately hooked. The buzz was addictive and I started trading early in 1988. The markets are now all traded electronically, so I trade from home and enjoy it but miss the excitement of the trading pits.

I’m married to Frederique who is French but in many ways is more English than a native Londoner and we have two girls, Amandine 18 and Justine 15.

We live in Kingston and keep in close contact with Robin Bextor and Mark Rayner

Paul Cumner (1965-71) I left school to join the Met Police until 1985 when I left the UK to seek a new beginning in Perth, Western Australia, when my life REALLY began, and I've had so much fun since.

Now divorced (sign of the times) with 2 daughters, one  in Bournemouth and the other in Oslo !

I will be in London during April, 2007 visiting said offspring and my mum who still lives in Kew.

I work in the air-conditioning field, handy as it's currently 40 deg and approaching the end of our summer !

Phil Peace (1964-71) After Shene I attended University of Southampton from 1971 - 1974;  Chartered Civil Engineer 1979;   Construction Marketing and Business Development

After leaving Sheen Primary School in !964, I was admitted to York House and was greatly influenced on the Sports Pitch by Dick Fash. Dick suggested that aspiring rugby players should see how it was done when we were not playing for the school by popping down the road to Rosslyn Park........I have been going to the Park ever since.

At a recent players reunion, I was told by Dudley Wood (former Secretary of the RFU) that Dick had sadly died.   Dick had a brother called Mick/Mike and, if my memory serves me correctly Mike used to visit the school in an e-type jag. I believe Mike worked in the media,

I captained the Under 13s Rugby, Football and Cricket teams and there is some cine film of our rugby training taken on the pitch at the school in the Autumn of 1964 which I would dearly love to see and transfer to DVD !

Players such as Alan Rees, Paul Wymer, Alan Smith, Glen Carwithan, Mike Bailey appear in this film: the list is endless.

I can remember taking 8 off the head vs Llandovery College and we lost 0 - 63. Can't remember who my props were but the balls were heavy with dubbin and very difficult to kick.

Around that time I used to watch a member of the First XV, Colin Johnson, practicing his goal kicking. Colin was a  60's version of Jonny Wilkinson !

In 1966 I got the autographs of all the England Soccer World Cup Players the day before the Final when they trained at the Bank of England Ground. Sadly the autograph book is now lost.

My twin brother, who sadly died in 1997, joined me at Shene in that year from St Mary's. He had failed his 11 plus but my father persuaded Plug and the Education Authorities to let Tim join me.   He was a very competent Cricketer and I still have the original scorebooks of his games for the First XI in 1970 / 71.  We bumped into Robin Bextor at Surrey CCC several years ago.

Tim used to work with Bob Lawson on disco enterprises and we both kept in touch with Mike Bailey in our post Shene years.

I still see Andy Shuttleworth at Mortlake Station. We were 5 when we went to Sheen Primary.
I now live in East Sheen with Christine and we both work in the Construction Industry.

Paul Flewers (1966-72) I went to Shene in September 1966, obtained five O Levels, and left in January 1972 after making a mess of the first term exams in the Lower Sixth form. I worked in the civil service as a clerk until September 1991, when I went to the School of Slavonic and East European Studies (University of London) to do a History BA, which I passed with a first-class mark. I returned to the civil service until made redundant in May 1997, returned to SSEES to do a Social Science MA (1997-1998), which I passed, and then a PhD in history (1998-2001), which I successfully completed. I worked at King’s College London as a help-desk clerk until resigning this April on account of ill-health. I hope to have a book based on my PhD, The New Civilisation?: Assessing Stalin’s Soviet Union, 1929-1941, published this year.

Bruce Williams (1967-?) I worked for some years in the USA and also shorter spells in Singapore and France.  These were after graduating in Economics and French in 1978 and an MBA in 1980.  I am 51 and today work part time as a Business Consultant specialising in bulk commodities and bulk logistics.  I do still travel abroad quite a bit, but also take plenty of time off!

Looking back it it today, I think we were all lucky to get the quality of education provided by Shene, particularly as it was free of charge. Few modern fee-paying schools will provide as good an all round education.

Ian Cox (1967-74) To David Richardson on 22.3.08
You won't know me personally but I (Ian Alexander Cox) am an old boy of that great Grammar School for Boys.....Shene Grammar.  I always liked the way it was spelt differently to East Sheen...always seemed to make it that little bit different/special.

I got to hear about you and your web site from my elder cousin, John Staples.  He was there from 1952-58 and I was there from 1967-74 and I have a younger brother (William (Bill) John Cox) who was also there when it metamorphosed into a sixth form college.  Not for the better might I add.  I was moving into the Upper Sixth the year it became a sixth form college so it was less disruptive to my education....I came away with 8 O levels and 3 A levels...but they were never good enough grades to get me into University.

I have so many fond memories of my time at the school...being a keen sportsman it was my kind of place with so many of the staff being male, welsh and very much into their rugby/sport!!!!

I certainly recall our trip to Russia via East Germany, Poland and back via Finland and Denmark....I had prepared scrap books but unfortunately never saw them again once I lent (!) them to Mr Ormerod. I still have slides of the Berlin Wall and Checkpoint Charlie and also a cine film some where!!  What I remember most about that trip is being woken up on the Russian border by guards, pushing machine guns into our faces, whilst the bogies were changed (different gauges back then to stop the Russian people getting out rather than preventing foreigners getting in)...and two individuals who screwed the emblem off the side of the train that we were travelling on and carrying it in a suitcase throughout Russia..and some of the older pupils getting rather tipsy on vodka.....

I have been on the web site and noticed an entry from a John Young...I believe we were quite close friends at the time before he went back to Scotland.....if it the same John Young that lived in Elm Bank Mansions....a blast from the past when I read it.

Hope that's enough for now but I have plenty of stories....I certainly remember Miss Wrydes' legs...first lady teacher we had at Shene I believe ...... and the day we spread across the playing field trying to find Dave Nicholls' (one of the Sports Teachers) contact lens...and we found it!!!!!

Andrew Duff (1964-71) Rummaging through an old ‘phone book to check an address for my son today I came across details of a reunion that John Webster organised in 1985 and was prompted to ‘google’ the old school. Jolly good website; been lost in memories for an hour or so (getting ‘old and maudlin’ I expect). I left Shene in ’71 (probably to the despair of Ron, Plug et al) and drifted into advertising (where I used to bump into Nick and Andy Crisp, class of '63). Having always enjoyed history (thanks to Ted Burton) I started teaching at the National Army Museum, ending up qualified and now teach teachers for a living (Plug will be turning in his grave – poacher turned gamekeeper and all that). I was one of Mac’s scouts and have maintained a lifetime’s involvement with the movement to this day.

Anyway, enough of my waffle, keep up the good work.

Allan Lee (1965-73) Stumbled across your site by accident this evening -

I was at Shene Grammar from 1968-1973 and was part of the first entry into the short-lived Shene Sixth Form College. I noticed John Young who was in my class has written on your site - John and I were in the same class, and, slightly bizarrely, like him I can remember the registration list. Goodness knows why!

After leaving Shene I went on to study electronic engineering at University College London, and, after working as an audio/studio engineer, I drifted into production and eventually ended up as a producer and presenter in local radio (both commercial and BBC).  I bumped into my legendary old English teacher Brian Weedon one day when visiting my parents and told him I was working as a radio presenter, and he chuckled and told me he knew I'd come to no good end!  In 1990, I moved on to work as a producer and director with BBC TV.  I met and married my wife Annette when we were both doing the breakfast show in local radio, and in 1996 we decided to emigrate, with our baby son, to New Zealand. We've been here 15 years now, and I'm news editor
for an organisation which runs four national radio and TV networks. We
celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary next year.

I look back on my time at Shene with great affection, and often wonder what happened to some of my classmates. Funnily enough I know one of them, Paul Wheeler, ended up as a TV director. We were friends at school, but lost touch after university and I only found out that we had been doing similar jobs at the BBC after I had left the corporation. I look back now and realise what brilliant teachers were on the staff at Shene - I've already mentioned Brian Weedon (and not a day goes by when I don't thank my lucky stars I had such a passionate English teacher who managed to knock the rudiments of English grammar into my head!). I remember Mr Free and Mrs Agar
who inspired me enough to go into engineering which led to a broadcasting
career which has taken me around the world; and I'm sure Mr Black despaired
that any chemistry would stick in my head longer than half an hour.

I'd be interested in seeing the list of old boys - if you want to add me to it, then feel free. I entered the school in September 1968, and left the
fifth form in 1973, before entering the Sixth Form College in September
1973. I was in form 1 West to start with and stayed with the "west" side of
each year. I was in Temple, and my tutor was Mr Fash (who I suspect never
actually worked out who I was!).

I enjoyed looking through the site - well done for compiling it!

Paul Waterson (196? -196? ) In an e-mail to David Richardson - 12th September, 2011.
Many thanks for keeping me up to date with news of many old friends not forgotten. Sadly.I will not be able to attend the next reunion as I am still active professionally and also travel a lot with the excuse of visiting my partner's family in different parts of the world.

Have completed 40 years in Spain where I found my niche.   Would be delighted to offer info to any Shene OB's on travel, gastronomy etc. if required.

Please pass on my very best wishes to former classmates.

Keep up the good work.

David Mitchell (1969-75) I was in the intake of 1969, leaving in 1975 (lower sixth) for reasons unconnected with the school.  I stay in touch with a few guys from those years, and would be interested in seeing the excel spreadsheet.  I can update it with the whereabouts of quite a few characters from my time there.

In some ways a long time ago but in others just like yesterday.

I did not excel at Shene academically, which I regret.  I did excel at primary school and post Shene I achieved A-level success, a degree and became a Chartered Accountant, and now a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants.  I own a couple of moderately successful businesses, have a lovely wife and 3 great kids, living in a wonderful Cheshire village.  Not quite sure why I didn't click at Shene but the experience has stood me in great stead for 40 years and I am grateful for the that period in my life.

Stephen Bell (1965-72) Dear David, I know you have emailed me in previous years and I have not been able to attend. However, I would be very pleased if it were possible to attend both the lunch and the tour of the school on the 29th October. An old friend Richard Battey is planning to attend and it would be good to see some others from the past. If it is ok please let me know where to send the cheque for lunch at Twickenham rugby club. Best regards, Stephen

Derek Huff (dates unknown) Mr (Snowy) White was my tutor, Hood House. Jack Fairhurst for art (actually my dad now 90 also 'Derek' was a student teacher under Mr Fairhurst at Shene much earlier). Had the inspirational Mr David Nichols for music, I still play in bands probably thanks to him, Mr Free for Physics, I remember his lessons and the old physics lab with great fondness, hopefully I'll catch up with him in Oct. I remember Mr Ball (maths). I put a big dent in the side of Mr Bull's dinghy at Thames Young Mariners once, Brian Weedon (English). Mr Rawlings was head. Mr Friggins was deputy, how could he be forgotten? .

I went into Lower Sixth just as the school became a Sixth Form College, came out with Physics and Mathsx2 A's got a degree in Electronic Engineering at Chelsea College London Uni, worked for a while then started my company  'Integrated Design Ltd' in 1985 (www.idl.co.uk) based now in Feltham. I live in Esher, married with two great kids one now at Uni the other doing GCSEs.

Bruce Williams (1967-74) Thanks for the update on REUNION 2014.  Whilst (as you know) I was overseas at this time, it was good to read the information and see the photos.  I have looked at photos from the recent years and in particular note the presence of former masters at certain reunions, notably Brian Weeden (English teacher, form master for class 14 in my day) Alan Stephens, Geography and had class 11 until this was converted into a language laboratory and John Free, Physics (not sure if he had a class of his own).  All 3 of them were teachers during my time at Shene – 1967-74.  Alan Stephens was very keen on Rugby which he also taught and Mr Free was a cricket man who coached us at same for a year or two.

I also note the death of teachers from my era in recent years, notably Ted Burton (History) and Mr Winter – History and Economics.  You also reported on the death of Ron Friggens a few years ago, who was also Physics and deputy head from 1967 to Mr GP Rawlings.

    Whilst I cannot see any contemporaries of my own year at your reunions, I did recognise Ron Oliver and Robin Bextor from the class of 65, having played against them in House Matches and with ‘Ollie’ for the First XI.    Graham Reynolds turned up at one or two of the reunions and there was one such in my year but am not sure if this is the same guy.  I heard from Ian Cox of my year a while ago, who was in touch with you, but he evidently does not attend these reunions.

Incidentally, I did Latin ‘O’ level being brilliantly taught by Reg Brigden (I got A+) and can happily report that he never laid a finger on me, let alone a slipper.  Actually we got on so well that he even called me Bruce on occasions, instead of the normal Williams...   Perhaps the practices at Shene had changed slightly from your year to mine with corporal punishment being generally more frowned upon by the end of the 1960’s?....

Ray Hill (1964- ?) I can vaguely recall my time at Mortlake County Primary, where I must have worked quite hard and was usually near the top of the class but frequently beaten back by one or two smarter boys and about three smart girls. I remember the head’s name, Mrs Weait, and one class teacher a Mrs Coppins. Anyway in June 1964 we did 11 plus. I thought I had done reasonably well and the marks looked promising but got placed at Mortlake County Secondary. About two weeks later my parents told me I had to change school and I therefore ended up at Shene, reporting to One East and apparently also in something called Temple House. I guess another person had failed to arrive so I got their place. I remember my first morning in mid’ September. It was damp, cold and foggy and I was promptly on the rugger field without a clue what to do, having never seen that funny elliptoid “ball” before in my life. I think a chap called Paul Glynn mentored me through the first day or two, so I at least knew where to hang my coat, where the various classrooms where and how to get lunch.

English was run by “Snowy" White, the only thing I can remember was the Eagle of the Ninth being a set book. Maths was by “Bert” (Burrridge) who started to indoctrinate us in that well known  Arabic art (torture to some) of Al-Jabr. We had history run by a bloke who used to come in and tell us what chapter to read and then promptly disappear to the staff room to smoke his pipe.  Geography was by “Rocket” Stephenson, French was by “Phil” Grice, Art was by “Jack Hey Ho” Fairhurst and sport was “Dick” Fash of blue and silver Austin Healey 3000 fame. After settling in I ended up the year in the mid rankings, which I think exceeded my expectations and I probably felt quite smugly optimistic. In the second year a whole bunch of us got hooked on aviation and we took telescopes and binoculars to school to plane spot during breaks, I recall being excited when we found out that Kosygin was coming to a summit in an exotic Russian turbo-prop, which we anxiously waited to see. On that subject, trying to study and particularly do exam’s was constantly interrupted by the roar of Boeing 707s at 2,000 feet on final approach to Heathrow.  I do also remember a blind part time music teacher and his wife who most of us shamefully treated very shabbily with our primeaval herd instinct as we pressed the boundaries of youth. At third year I opted for the Science Track and had “Ron” Friggins for physics, “Molly” Grice for biology and I think it was Mr Black for Chemistry.  “Chas” Charles was teaching us math’s by then and we also finally got a decent history teacher called “Rump”, but I cannot remember his surname. By that time “Weedon” was doing English. My main friends for a few years were Alun Jones and Mick Petit, although used to meet up with other to fool around on Barnes Common. I did quite well in the main but in the 4th year the family moved to the far reaches of Twickenham due to distance, I lost out of school contact with my friends and started to lose interest in school. I was also very aware of Vietnam and particularly the whole Cold War thing so got quite demotivated about the future which wasn’t helped when “Plug” Rawlings told me that I would never fulfil my lifelong ambition of being an RAF pilot because of my eyes. It was a defining moment which in retrospect could have been handled differently, but he was right of course. My whole game plan from year one was to get enough O-levels to join the RAF at sixteen. That was probably naive, but in any case I wanted to leave school as soon possible in order to become what I thought would be independent. This was also coupled with counter-culture thinking which arose from the stupidity of MAD (mutually Assured Destruction). In 1969 my life at Shene unfolded and this was coupled with a motorcycle accident and a broken leg.  All that in the middle of O-levels, so few people ever saw me again. A few teachers invigilated a few exams in the hospital bed, all of which I failed and probably would have anyway, but I did at least leave with a worthwhile clutch of qualifications which easily opened doors in my early working years. Funnily enough I was so embarrassed about that final year that I didn’t even have the nerve to go in and collect my exam certificates.

On the whole Shene was a positive experience, but did not initially help me define a successful early career path. However it later helped me see the world with a far broader vision. This I was able to exploit at key points later in my life to close my working life moderately successfully. In my forties I managed to pick up some further education with the Open University and got reasonably well  through a few third level physics course, I can firmly say that without the experience at Shene my eyes would have been totally blind to that sort of activity. I also say that I learnt a lot of morality there, despite sleeping through RE.  Although not religious I do think that current education does not seem to teach community morality very well and is a major mistake in our multi-cultural society. Despite living through the cold war I am very thankful to have succeeded through life in a relatively prosperous period involving information technology from 1977-2011. My big wish is that we could cure property price inflation so the younger generations can aspire to and achieve that basic necessity. Lord of the Flies and Animal farm which were set books at Shene contributed a large part toward the way that I now feel the country and world in general has been deplorably run since 1946. Maybe too much education is sometimes dangerous.

Alan Howson (1962-69 + 70), (had to retake 5th year!) A few memories of my school days for your website.
I was in Fife house with Reg Brigand as my form tutor. In year 9, after getting in trouble with the said Reg, he offered to let me vent my anger on him by poking him hard in the stomach. Surprised at this offer I gave it all I had, only to find his plaster cast supporting his back. He laughed like a drain and my finger is still bent! I was 'Schmoo'd', in Tech drawing in the fifth year, nearly blown up by Dowsett in the same year, beaten by Friggens in all years for messing around, (I think I spent most of my time outside the classroom waiting for the Friggens patrol) and caned on a dozen occasions by 'Plug' for smoking. I also took a heavy beating one lunch time (whilst trying to have a quiet smoke at Sheen common) by the 'Lambert road mob' who sought me out for snogging their leaders' girlfriend. But as Stickles used to say 'it all came out in the wash'. Happy days!

I was initially rescued by Dick Fash (+Jan), Ted Burton ( God bless them) as well as Alan Stephens, with whom I had lunch (+ Ted) a few years ago. In the end it was Geoff Rees who pointed me in the right direction and I later worked with him in Devon for almost 20 years. I do also have fond memories of canoeing and sailing with 'RC' Bullard and scouting with Mac. I nearly had fond memories of Mollie Grice, but I won't go there!

A few years ago I almost took the Headship of Shene, which would have been weird, but as you know, it really isn't the same anymore. I took Chiswick instead and didn't regret it!

Married in '74 with a grown up daughter. Remarried 11 years ago with a 9 yr old son and now living in Austria trying to wreck what's left of my body in winter on the ski slopes and recovering again in summer by biking, hiking and swimming. What a fabulous country!

Recently was the delegation liaison person for the UK Special Olympics team here in Schladming, which was a very humbling, yet uplifting, experience.

Occasionally see some of the lads for a good laugh over all the trouble we caused and fun we had; fully deserving all the punishment received. Come on boys add some of your tales!!

Peter Elliott (1965 to ?)
I now live in Downham Market in Norfolk. I started Shene in 1965 and would trek into school via the buses through Richmond from Ham each day with PaulHarrison, Keith Mulberry, Bill Brown and several others that I can still picture but can't name. My nickname (generously donated by Dick Fash) was "Tank". I currently work as a Higher Level NVQ Assessor for the British Safety Council.

Simon Broom (1969-76)
I saw your site recently. I'm an Old Boy. Started in 1969 and left in 1976 after being in the newly formed sixth form college. From there, I went to University of London, college of Goldsmiths to study art, then to Kingston Polytechnic, as was, to study graphic design. After that, Thames TV and Channel Four as a Graphic Designer. Started my own design consultancy which failed then produced and directed documentaries and corporate videos, In 1993 my business partner and I raised finance and started a clean energy company called Zevco Limited which became Zetek plc. I sold out my shares in 1997 and have been a Management Consultant, travelling the world ever since. Happily married with a daughter and living in Twickenham. I still retain an interest in Art, in fact I paint portraits www.simonbroom.com.

Recollections:
There were two forms East and West. I was in East. There were 4 teams. Hood (red - which was mine) Fife (yellow) Temple (green) and York (blue) all named after local streets.

Friends I had whose names I recall from my year:
Matthew Calvert (now an Architect) my best friend throughout the period
Christopher Baldwin (now in HR) also a close friend
Franco Marovich (he was Yugoslavian, as was and we fought all the time for which we got whacked by Plug Rawlings).
Andrew Pierce.   He had an older brother and was both sporty and smart.
Hutchinson (can't remember his first name but he also had an older brother at Shene called Mark) he was very smart also.
Tim Levy (small chap, good sportsman I recall)
Andrew Lazenby - a joker with whom I shared several detentions for laughing in class. 
Stephen Dix a troubled soul not academic and fancied himself as a tough guy but wasn’t really.
Geoff Horrocks, amicable soul.   I broke the unbroken (for several years) discus record and Geoff went and broke it again a week after!
Musastu Nabeshima - a substantial Japanese lad who was handy at Rugby and also academic.
Biro (cant recall his surname), an Italian lad who lived in Gilpin Avenue. I frequently went to his house where we made our own lunches.
Johnny Mandel - also a good friend of mine. An American lad whose father was the film composer Johhny Mandel. He would come to me with Hollywood gossip and once insisted that Rock Hudson was gay. We all laughed at him (at the time he was in Macmillan and wife) but, it seems he was right! 

I'm sure I will recall more with time.

I wasn’t particularly happy at Shene and I coasted I’m afraid. However, I was in the first XV for rugby which won me some respect with class mates. I was always arty and Shene was not the place to declare one wished to become an artist. But, I’m sure the discipline of the place did me good!

Once a year, at the end of the year Mr Rawlings (Plug) used to recognise students who’d received places at University during assembly. He would start with effusive praise for Oxford (his own university and then Cambridge which he would point out was nearly as good as Oxford. As he worked his way down the list he would be less and less enthusiastic and those poor souls going to technical college would get a grudging grunt. Even as a young teenager I thought this to be appalling.   Mr Friggens was the deputy, a squat square headed man who dealt the physical punishments out and who had an extremely loud nasal shout: “You boy” I recall his breath in my face (from pipe tobacco) and the whites of his eyes were yellow with lumps on them. Mr Stickells the Maths teacher had brylcreemed hair, a dapper appearance and a small accumulation of white foam that gathered at the corner of his mouth as he spoke which he wiped away from time to time with a handkerchief (badly fitting dentures?) He liked to throw a chalk and was pretty accurate.

Mr White (Snowy) a large, loveable shambling and dishevelled man.   He and Mr Stickells would jointly solve the Times crossword every morning and I think their record was 5 minutes!    I was very sad to learn that after only a few months of retirement Mr White had died of lung cancer.  He spoke fondly of his allotment and how he looked forward to tending his onions. Mr Temple, the laboratory assistant, that I wasn’t quite sure about. Mrs Grice (Molly) who I also liked and who taught Biology.   She brought it to life.  ‘Guts’ Chapman also Biology. He drove a Ford Anglia and defended his large belly by telling us that Captain Webb who first swam the Channel was well covered and this was an asset in long distance swimming!    Phil Grice who did Art after Mr Fairhurst. He suffered with a bad back and one day when Molly Grice came in with a black eye we could only surmise as to where it came from.

Even though I made a good career of Art I have to say that Jack Fairhurst was awful, a dull dinosaur of a man who drained all the colour from the subject. Luckily more inspiring teaching arrived with the 6th form college! Miss Wride, the French teacher, she would deport her shapely legs to the sixth form boys during class by sitting on the edge of the table. One morning as she was walking through the playground to the school entrance Plug Rawlings arrived with his dog - a labrador as I recall, the dog picked up her scent, buried its nose somewhere intimate on Miss Wride’s anatomy and mounted her enthusiastically, to the playground’s amusement Plug made not the slightest effort to help the puce-faced Miss Wride.  I think that was what one might call karma???
Doctor Thomas (Holy Joe) he took RE and would rant endlessly about Jews. He would often be heard to say that he would “fall like a ton of bricks” on anyone speaking ill of the Jewish faith. I remember thinking: “Why would anyone speak badly of Jews, what’s he going on about???”    His wife (can’t remember what we called her) came over as a little strange, I think taught Geography?   None of us ever listened so it’s difficult to recall.
I had a great Physics teacher David Sumner, he was young and keen, realised my interest and like Mrs.Grice had the ability to bring the subject to life. Mr Chaplin, Chemistry, another young guy with long brown hair and an impressive Viva Zapata moustache could have starred in an American cop show of the time!
I would love to see a spreadsheet of the 1969 intake year. It may spark further memories although, as you can see, they are personal, fleeting memories rather than more useful recollections.

Graeme Rudd (1969 - 75) Stumbled across your excellent site during enforced "inactivity" of Covid 19. I was proud to have attended Shene from 1969 - 1975 after amazing myself and probably parents too by passing the 11+ exam to get into Grammar School. I had previously been at Orchard Junior School and Petersham Russell Primary school before that. I was in West and Fife Houe.

I wasn't particularly academically bright and left with a measly 4 O levels, thankfully including Maths (probably by a 1% pass margin) and English. My main achievement was to be a weekly regular in the 1st team at Rugby throughout the 6 years I was there. I have fond memories of home matches at Barn Elms but mainly enjoyed the away games where we used to arrive at the school gates to meet the coach taking us to various other schools elsewhere around the south London area. Away's were my favourite as they usually put on a better "spread" of sarnies/snacks/drinks afterwards. 

A few fellow players I recall were Peter Budney (prop), Jeremy Huxtable (fly half), Greg Stephens (captain I think), "Wobbley" Walters (centre forward, whose first name I can't remember but nickname was for his mesmerising swerves).

Russell Batten was my best mate at the time and near neighbour to me in Ham.

1975 saw my dad retire to York and I went up there beforehand to stay with an Aunt, to start my A levels at a York school, rather than move mid term.      

This proved a seismic change in my life which was for me jack in school altogether after a couple of months and walk into a full time job the following day at a York supermarket. I didn't settle at this new school and figured I'd be far better off just getting on with life as an employee, rather than the scholar that I never really was. 

I spent the next 6 months applying for a "proper" job and was successful in joining the Civil Service. Life was all about girls, motor bikes, beers and then punk. To me, life was great. 

Then in July 1977, still just 18  I had a near life threatening bike crash (by then my wheels were a Suzuki 750) in which I broke m back leaving me completely paralysed from T4 (upper chest) downwards. What a bummer! After 3 1/2 months in Pinderfields Hospital Spinal Injuries Unit) Wakefield, I was back home and luckily, was able to go straight back to work. I retired a couple of years ago after 42 years service with barely a few days off sickness that entire time. I changed departments a couple of times, moved to Northampton on promotion on one occasion (moving back to York after divorcing from my then 1st wife). I retired on a lowish to mid ranking Management grade, but I'm quite happy with my achievements. I never did really enjoy staff management! 

I remarried 26 years ago and am quite happy now, doing a range of voluntary roles - supporting a couple of charities, the CAB and York Central Library. My wife is ex British Airways long haul senior crew so I've enjoyed many, many travels to all corners of the world, surprising a lot of people seeing me in my wheelchair - pushing along the Great Wall of China, through a jungle in Borneo, in a sidecar in Vietnam, scuba diving in Grand Cayman, safari-ing in Sri Lanka a couple of weeks before UK Covid and many other fond memories. 

Oh dear......I'm aware this has been more about me than school/teacher memories . To be honest, I can concur with many others comments all of which have been done with better details and eloquence than I can manage.

That said one memory not replicated by anyone else I see, was my and others occasional lunchtime trips down into Shene, dressed in an older boys coat "borrowed" from the cloak room. We used to go to (and get get served with beer/cider or lager amazingly!!) at a pub called The Hare and Hounds (it's still there, I've just googled it). God knows how we got served, at 16 I reckon I looked nearer 14! We'd have a couple of halfs and play bar billiards before returning to school, probably bragging about where we'd been, and in an ideal world, would have had double French, scrapping over who got a front row seat in one of Miss Ryde's (spelling.......but who cares?) classes, she of the impossibly shapely legs fame, commented extensively elsewhere on this site!

On that note I'll end my lengthy reminiscing and wish all former pupils and teachers all the very best. 

Happy, happy days.