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Dick Strevens.

Dick Strevens............ 4th March, 2006.........The long history of the School is a splendid piece of work and I read it with a great deal of interest.   It reinforces my considered opinion that HH Shephard laid very firm foundations for his pupils.   What a great scholar and Christian gentleman he was.  We all owe him a very great deal

I can recall a prayer that he used regularly at assembly that included the wish that 'we should be kept free from pride, vanity, boasting and forwardness'.   This was followed by 'and give us the air that......' 

I'd be glad to hear from any Old Boy who can refresh my memory.

John Carey

Listen in to John Carey on Radio 4 tomorrow, Tuesday 30th November, 2004 at 3.45pm.   John was at Shene appx. 1944-50.

The Photo Gallery now includes a cutting from Saturday's Daily Telegraph Radio and Television guide and this explains all

Editor's Note:   A lot of people were interested in this and have written to me.    A few samples......

Derek Corless................................Thank you for details of the re-union and for the advice of John Carey's talk on language. I was in St Mary's Barnes church choir with him back in 1952-3, he had a way with words even then, I remember some puns that were worse than mine.

Ray Theodoulou.............................. I think John Carey was at Shene rather later than you mention. I recall that he took my year 1952-58 on our first cross country run in the Park. We were small boys...second year perhaps. I remember the occasion well because I came in first but only because he stopped the runners half way round to ensure that nobody had got lost. I suspect that I must have had an advantage when the race restarted because I never came anywhere near winning such a race again. When we were coming out of those dreadful showers Carey asked who had arrived at the winning post  first and I proudly raised my hand.   Our Latin teacher told me that John was the only pupil he had ever taught who never forgot anything he was told.   He also wrote poetry for the school magazine in the style of TS Elliot.   Clearly a most remarkable man.

Mike Collett...........................................................Unfortunately, we were out, and I missed it!   Carey (John) sat behind me in our last year at Shene and we were all asked to submit a poem or an essay for the school magazine by Mr. Bryant the English Master.   Mine and Carey's were selected! I can still remember mine but not his!

I remember him saying to me (obviously highly envious of my undoubted literary talent) that my poem did not 'scan'. I couldn't understand his, because it was blank verse. I like a poem that rhymes, don't you?'   It was called 'End of the Drought" and began with:-

"Splashes appear and widen in the pools caused by the pre-descended rain,
while ducks waddle joyfully across the yard"

... and so it went on in the same pulsating, gripping manner.   Makes yer weep, dunnit?   I only wrote a poem because it was quicker than writing an essay"

Hugh Riley

Hugh Riley..................................a letter written to David Richardson 7th September, 2005 by Mrs. Riley in response to the Reunion 2005 invitation

"I regret to say that Hugh is now in Sheltered Housing and unable to drive.   He is unable to take public transport after suffering a stroke following a heart operation in July 2003.   He is fairly mobile but has great difficulty with speech also writing sentences.   He did have a lot of speech therapy and has achieved a great deal in 2 years but opinion is that he will always have problems making himself understood and he also has problems with the written word." 

Vaughan Stone

Vaughan Stone "Life At Large" is my first book of poems - a mixture of South African
satire from way back, nature verse and gently Christian themes running
through; also some fun poems.  Available from independent booksellers, price
£4.99.  ISBN: 0-9551 431-0-1 .  Also available from me direct.

'Through The Apartheid Keyhole'.................................written by Vaughan Stone is an autobiographical account of his adventures during 6 years in South Africa.   Obtainable from independent bookshops (Vaughan says you will need to be persistent with them) by quoting the Publisher's details or, of course, directly from the Publisher:

Maoildearg, Editor, David Green, 47, Rue du Pont Lottin, 62100 Calais, France

Mark Stimpson

A note from David Richardson on 16th May, 2006.........Mark Stimpson (m.stimpson@btinternet.com) the Treasurer of Shene Old Grammarians Football Club was recently in touch.

He told me about their own website www.sogfc.org. which now has a link that takes it back to our own site www.sheneob.co.uk

The Football Club is apparently the only surviving component of the old Association and membership is open to all comers. less

John Hopkins......................They still appear to play in Old Gold shirts with quite a similar badge also. A much more practical badge than in our day when I seem to remember mine was attached by poppers so that it could be removed before washing.

I recall the change from white to Old Gold, I was on the committee and may have been Club Captain I am not sure. This relative new and young intake was trying to salvage the club playing fortunes, after relegation from what I think was the Senior Division to the Intermediate. Players used to turn up wearing any old shirt that could loosely be described as white. So we thought we should try to look like a team even if we found it difficult to play like one. We were heavily influenced by the team of the moment - Wolverhampton Wanderers hence the colour which seems to have stuck. We were reasonably successful thanks mainly to not so much the strip but a certain evergreen Sid Walpole who swapped his centre half role for centre forward for a while.

William Birtles of the 1960s.............Shene Grammar School pops up readily on a Web search and enabled the Editor to locate the following details on William which tells of his eminence in his profession.   Yet another example of Shene Old Boys 'enriching the time to come' 

His Hon Judge William Birtles

His Hon Judge William Birtles
Year of Call Nov 1970

Profile
Specialisation: Barrister specialising in environmental, planning and local government law. Has had considerable experience in both civil and criminal aspects of pollution claims including land contamination (arising from oil, toxic waste and industrial waste disposal), water (e.g. Barry Docks, Cardiff), air (particularly industrial smells) and noise.

Major inquiries include the Sizewell B Nuclear Power Station Inquiry (1984-86), the Westminster Council District Audit Inquiry (1994-5) and various inquiries for local authorities including the London Borough of Greenwich and Sailsbury District Council.
Also specialises in employment law, individual employment law (esp. discrimination and trade union law) and professional negligence.

Recent cases include:
Speciality Care plc v Pachela and another [1996] IRLR 248
Wallace v C.A. Roofing Services [1996] IRLR 435
R v Rochdale MBC ex parte Brown [1997] Env. R 100
R v Derbyshire CC ex parte Woods [1997] JPL 958
R v Somerset CC ex parte Dixon [1997] JPL 1030
Ind. v The Plant Hire Company (Stroud) Limited [1998] Env. L.R.D15
Housing Corporation v Bejard [1999] ICR 123
R v NorthYorkshireCounty Council ex parte Brown [1999] 1 All ER 969 (HL).

Qualifications
SheneCountyGrammar School; King's College, London (LLB 1967, LLM 1968); HarvardLawSchool (LLM 1971); New YorkUniversityLawSchool (Robert Marshall Fellow 1971-1972).