THE 1954 REUNION
 

8/08/09 - BREAKING NEWS!!!!! Bob Harris says...

'55 years'  - Reunion of the 1954 intake

This has now been fixed for Tuesday 8^th September 2009.  

Likely numbers are in the range 25-30, so I have reserved the upstairs room at the Cheshire Cheese at 5 Little Essex Street, London WC2R 3LD.  This is located just off the Strand and near to the Law Courts, see: 

http://www.beerintheevening.com/pubs/s/72/726/Cheshire_Cheese/Temple

The plan is that we shall assemble at 12.30pm and people can select what they want from the pub menu when they arrive.   Many of us will stay around the whole afternoon, but others may want to leave earlier, or take a walk by the River Thames which is less than 5 minutes away.

Let me know if you have any queries, or if you haven't yet told me you are coming.

Bob Harris (bob@harris30.myzen.co.uk)

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On 27/5/09 Bob sent this...
To:  All those who started at Stationers School on 7^th September 1954

Many of you came to the 50^th anniversary meeting of our starting at Stationers School in 1954 - and met old school friends that you had not seen for more than 40 years. 

It was generally agreed then that we should repeat the gathering every 5 years, so this is an invitation to do just that.  A small planning group thought that the format adopted in 2004 should continue - i.e. we will start at lunchtime in a private room in a central London pub... and take it from there.  Hopefully we can hire a room at the Melton Mowbray again – a reasonable pub on High Holborn.

Our proposed date for the 55^th reunion is Tuesday 8^th September (unless a significant number would prefer Monday 7^th September).  Please can you:

· Let me know if you can make either or both of these dates

· Let me know if you have up-to-date email addresses or other contact details for any other of the 1954 intake

·  I will send round further details when we have a better idea of who will be coming.

I hope to see many of you there.

Bob Harris

 

Summary of 50^th Anniversary Reunion...

(for pictures see below)

On Tuesday 7 September 2004, a group of 31 old boys - including a few grandfathers - gathered at the Melton Mowbray pub in Holborn. This was 50 years to the day that they first gathered, with varying degrees of trepidation, on the playgrounds of the Stationers' Company's School.

Although some have kept in touch over the years, many had not seen each other for over 40 years. There was plenty to talk about and catch up on - both reminiscences of school and more recent events. A good time was had by all with a delicious buffet lunch and Fullers' London Pride up to its usual drinkable standard!

We had a few copies of the 1958 school photograph on display and managed between us to identify 88 of the 100 boys in our year. There were also a few other contemporary photographs which jogged a few memories. A reunion brochure listing all the First Formers who joined in 1954 by House, plus pictures of Mayfield Road then and now, was distributed as a memento of the event.

During the afternoon, Roger Engledow informed the group about the OSA's events and encouraged non members to join and support him in his forthcoming year as President. A toast was made to "Absent Friends" and a few moments silence observed to remember those who had died since leaving school and those too ill to attend.

A quiz comprising 50 questions relating to "1954" had been sent out by Roger to those attending. This generated £85 in donations to Plan International, a charity supporting children abroad. Franklin Quispe and his community in Cachuma, Bolivia will be much appreciative. Despite some harsh marking, the winner was also from Caxton House, who have therefore taken the lead in the sexagenarian Cock House Cup!

Having congregated at around 1 o'clock, those who had travelled the furthest had to leave earlier than others, with trips back to Northern Ireland, North Wales and Yorkshire. By 8.30pm, nine stalwarts proved that they could still walk by adjourning to the Smithfield area for dinner. The "party" finished at around 10.30pm.

The re-run in 2054 will be at a different venue as it will require access for wheel-chairs, large boxes and small urns!
Those who attended were: Dave Adams, Barrie Bennett, Martin Brown, Dave Butler, Derek Cottrill, John Croker, Geoff Dawes, Alan Drake, Roger Engledow, Bob Harris, Tony Hemmings, Mike Hiron, "Ginner" Johns, Ron Johnson, Graham Ling, Richard Mavro-Michaelis, Tony McKeer, Roger Melling, Paul Noton, Neil Oliver, John Page, Richard Phillippo, Geraint Pritchard, Ken Saunders, Brian Simpson, Ian Smith, Bob Townsend, Bob Tracey, Peter Weeks, Andy Wick, Richard Woods.

Photos of the event (click on the image to see a larger copy - afterwards use your browser's "Back" button to return to this screen)
Group photo - full details on the enlarged copy)
Barry Bennet, Ron Johnson & Geoff Dawes	Graham Ling, Ken Saunders & Tony Hemmings
Alan Drake, Ian Smith & Roger Melling	Andy Wick, Bob Tracey & Roger Engledow