Presidents and Speakers

LtoR: Rev John Innes, Martin Collier, Bryan Bone, Michael Horner, Ian Sargeant,
Brian Daniels, Brian Williams, John Crotty, Dennis Philips & Cyril Trust

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The 82^nd Annual (Daytime) Dinner of the association took place at the Legacy Hogs Back Hotel on 29^th March 2014, attended by a healthy 86 old boys (it’s the number that came that is healthy – we cannot attest to the physical health of the individuals, though most of them looked in good shape).

This is turning out to be an agreeable venue for the event as the bar can cope with a rush of thirsty old chaps who want to get their drink in early so that the alcohol level can subside a bit over the 3 hours that follow. Bonhomie also flowed through the mingled population and the chattering and raucous laughter established to any onlooker that these people probably knew each other.

After the solemnity of remembering the recently deceased members, then grace said by Rev John Innes, the meal was efficiently served and went down well with most people.

The speeches began with the special guest, Mr Jonathon Stewart, the new Director of Farnham Sixth Form College. There was close attention paid to his remarks about the state of the college and the recent successful years of student A Level performance, with 100% pass rates. With two offers of places at Cambridge this year, the standard of tuition was clearly high and Mr Stewart’s role as an Ofsted Inspector was also received as a reassurance that high standards would continue to be targeted. The old school may no longer be FGS, but it is a college in good hands following the same tradition of high performance targets.

This year’s toastmaster was Wally Walsh who stood in very capably for Clive Beal, recovering from a recent period of illness. A toast to the School was proposed by Martin Collier (1971 – 78) who had some amusing recollections. A successful barrister based in Cambridge, he had started to take a strong interest in the association despite the distance. Cyril Trust (1948 – 53) proposed a toast to the Association and urged younger old boys to step forward and take up the reins so that older members (such as himself!) could relinquish some of the tasks that enabled the OFA to continue in such a successful way. His recollection of how he became involved with the OFA as he approached retirement included a retelling of the “sailors’ tattoo joke”. It had broken the mould of speech making when he delivered it on the occasion of his first OFA dinner speech!

Your webmaster, as the current President, thanked all the speakers and gave special thanks to OFA Secretary Roger Edgell whose pivotal and hard-working role ensured the smooth running of the association. Similar thanks were made to the other office holders and large committee who stepped in to do so many of the jobs that arose during a year.

The Roll Call was made by Brian Williams (1959 – 64) and the Loving Cup did its round. This was followed by singing the School Song to the recorded accompaniment by a pianist who decided he may need to re-record it at a faster tempo for next year – the tendency of the old boys to drag the song must have diminished in recent years.

Another excellent and enjoyable Annual Dinner!

Ian Sargeant
Posted 6 April 2014

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Attending

Andrews G, Andrews T, Batchelor H, Bateman J, Beal C, Bennett R, Bone B, Bowtell D, Bowtell R, Buckell D, Clarke J, Coakes D, Collier MM, Cooke J, Cranswick PI, Crotty J, Cutler D, Daniels BJ, Edgell DJ, Edgell RG, Elkins K, Elson BN, Ford P, Gatfield A, Glazier GR, Hall BA, Hall M, Hewes RH, Hibberd , Hirst J, Honey GH, Hooker GL, Horner MJ, Horner T, Hughes DP, Innes Rev J, Jeffreys M, Jones RJD, Kite JB, Kite RJ, Lampard DE, Le Vey GF, Linney S, Lord RA, Luckhurst R, Martin GW, Mayne EP, McManamon DG, Mehta M, Mentzel K, Moorcroft RC, Moore A, Mortimer K, Mullins C, Mylles P, Nash C, Neave JJ, Oelman B, Paget N, Parker RA, Peace J, Pesterfield JE, Phillips D, Philpott B, Polglaze D, Pritchard SG, Read PC, Remington R, Sargeant I, Seignot M, Seignot MD, Sherwood JH, Slyfield CCS, Stewart J, Sturt M, Timmins NT, Torode H, Travers J, Trust C, Upfold H, Walsh WP, Watts M, Walden J, Welland Jones R, Williams BR, Wingent MA.

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