Club Administrator.

Jenn is Development Manager at King’s College School, working under Development Director Antony Berry. The school provides administrative support for the club, and Jen is our first point of contact.

Micky King was re-elected as President, David Buckley as Hon. Secretary and Richard Criddle as Hon. Treasurer. All committee members whose 3-year terms had come to an end had agreed to stand and were re-elected. The Hon. Secretary gave a summary of the previous year’s activities and members looked forward to following up the success of the 2021 Annual Dinner with a return to regular live events.

Read MINUTES & 2020-21 ACCOUNTS

Xavier Wiggins is to receive the British Empire Medal in recognition of outstanding work as co-founder of Dons Local Action Group.The group is a local network of volunteers initially formed in response to the COVID-19 crisis and now permanent across Merton, Wandsworth and Kingston.

When he was at King’s, Xavier organised a 24 hour 5-a-side football match to raise funds for the Royal Marsden Hospital.

It was announced today that Andrew Halls will be retiring as Head Master of king’s College School during the summer term of 2022. During his nearly 14 years at the helm many exciting changes have taken place at the school, including the admission of girls into the Sixth Form, the completion of an ambitious building programme and the introduction of an International Baccalaureate stream. The school’s high standing does credit to the whole King’s community and we wish Mr. Halls every happiness in the next chapter of his life.

The Attorney General, Rt Hon Suella Braverman QC MP, has appointed Oliver Glasgow QC (OK 1990), as First Senior Treasury Counsel to the Crown at the Central Criminal Court with effect from 1 January 2021.

Mr Glasgow was appointed Junior Treasury Counsel in 2009, and Senior Treasury Counsel in 2015. He was made Queen’s Counsel in 2016. The title “Treasury Counsel” derives from the days when all Crown Counsel at the Central Criminal Court were instructed by the Treasury Solicitor. That procedure was changed in 1908, and since then the Director of Public Prosecutions has instructed the permanent counsel there.

Oliver competed in the 2007 Duathlon World Championships and in January 2020 he attracted national renown after he helped police take down a violent man who jumped from the public gallery into an Old Bailey courtroom after his friends were convicted of a gangland murder (Telegraph 27/01/2020).

As Old King’s Club Vice-President Tony Hein points out, it is a remarkable fact that Ollie and his father are the only father and son pairing to be workings as QCs contemporaneously.

The junior school has, for many years, taught boys aged 7 to 13. These boys would then join the senior school at 13. Today’s decision means that boys in the junior school will, from 2021, move across to the senior school at the start of year 7, not at the start of year 9 as has historically been the case. The new structure is one shared by almost all day schools in the UK. 

King’s already has a lower school that takes an entry of about 60 boys from local primary and prep schools at the age of eleven, and these will be joined, from September 2021, by their peers from the junior school, creating an expanded lower school of about 280 boys aged eleven to thirteen in years 7 and 8. King’s will continue to accept about thirty boys every year from prep schools at the age of 13, so the 13+ entry remains a key feature of the school’s admissions.

Head master, Andrew Halls, said: “I think we have one of the very best junior schools I have ever seen. Teaching is bright, imaginative and compassionate. The same is true for the teaching of boys in our parallel lower school. Now is the time to bring the two cohorts together.”

James Levelle’s (OK 1999) trek around South America with a Californian eco-evangelist is being shown on the Discovery Channel on Wednesdays at 8pm. The pair have given themselves 72 days to cross over 9,000 kilometres – but just how far will they get without any money to their names?

SEE DISCOVERY CHANNEL

Private William Pryor Jay’s (OK 1909) diaries, described as one of the most harrowing and graphic personal accounts held by the National Army Museum, go online for the first time this year. Private Jay was killed in action at Dahra Bend, Mesopotamia, on 15 February 1917. SEE ARTICLE

Issue 121 of the Old King’s Club newsletter is now available online, and will reach members in hard copy in during the month. Please note that Philip Horne (OK 1975) is very much alive and we apologise for mistakenly reporting his death in the printed version of the newsletter.

DOWNLOAD NEWSLETTER 121

• 100% Silk
• Hand finished
• Red and Gold Stripes on on navy background

Manufactured in England by Toye, Kenning & Spencer (est.1685), manufacturer of jewellery and clothing by appointment to HM The Queen. These bow ties are made of pure silk and are hand finished.

Place an order £30

• Brass electroplated gilt finish
• 8 Small and 2 Large Buttons
• High quality presentation box

The Old King’s Club Blazer Button displays the crown and lion crest from the 1829 King’s College London/ King’s College School coat of arms. Manufactured in England by Firmin & Sons (est.1655). The buttons are struck from the Club’s original die. Brass gilt and heavy weight, their high level of finish will enhance any blazer.

Place an order £75

• 100% Silk
• 9.5 cm widest point
• Hand made

Manufactured in England by Toye, Kenning & Spencer (est.1685), manufacturer of jewellery and clothing by appointment to HM The Queen. These ties are made of pure silk and are hand finished. The design has been adjusted to include the correct King’s “Royal” crown.

London tie
Place an order £35
Country tie (back in stock)
Place an order £35

• Gilt finish with swivel link fitting
• Supplied in Firmin cufflink box.
• Hallmarked Sterling silver

The Old King’s Club Cufflinks display the crown and lion crest from the 1829 King’s College London/ King’s College School coat of arms. Manufactured in England by Firmin & Sons (est.1655), the world’s premier button maker. The cufflinks are struck from the Club’s original die using traditional techniques. Hallmarked Sterling silver, Barrel Electro plating gilt finish with swivel link fitting, supplied in Firmin cufflink box.

now back in stock

Place an order £95

The new and improved Old King’s Club ties are now available for purchase online! There is a Country and a London version – the same design but better quality than before.

London Tie

Country Tie

An Act of Remembrance was held at the School on the morning of 7 November. Cadets from all three Forces were on parade and wreaths were laid outside the Cricket Pavilion. Robert Laurence Binyon’s “Ode of Remembrance” was read by Captain Philip Roberts DSO, RFA (RN, OK 1956) and Alexander Malmaeus (OK 1984) represented the Club.

Dan Davies (OK 1989) has just published a biography of Jimmy Savile which despite its subject matter has been widely positively reviewed as a serious and assiduous study of an extraordinary life.

“In Plain Sight: The Life and Lies of Jimmy Savile“

It is with horror that we learn of the brutal murder of Oliver Gobat (OK 1994) in his native St. Lucia on 25 April 2014. He was reportedly shot twice and left to burn in a locked car in what police said has “all the hallmarks of a professional killing”.

Ollie, as he was generally known, was Captain of the 1st XI Football team at King’s and went on to play cricket for Surrey. At the time of his death, he worked for his family’s luxury hotel business and sources in St. Lucia suggest that he may have fallen foul of a criminal syndicate unsuccessfully attempting to enter into a property deal with them.

Memorial services have been held in St. Lucia and in the UK, with over 500 attending each occasion.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Justice-for-Ollie-Gobat/324528827710967?fref=ts

Alexander Malmaeus (OK 1984) was elected as Chairman of the Old King’s Club, to succeed Micky King. Micky had occupied both the position as President and Chairman of the Club since the AGM in January.

Alexander will be working on a number of initiatives for the Club, building on the momentum which has been achieved in the past year.

The 1st XI look set to be crowned champions of Arthurian League division 1 for the second time in three years & are 14 points clear at the top. Saturday was the highlight of the season with a 6-0 thumping of 2nd place Tonbridge. The best performance this club captain can remember!

The 2nd team are also top of their League (division 3) but are in a five-way battle for one of two promotion spots. Lots of new players coming in & a very healthy state.

Michael Tilles

The outgoing President, Cavan Taylor, conducted an up-beat and constructive Annual General Meeting in Collyer Hall at the School. This was his last as President, as he did not stand for re-election and Micky King was duly elected in his place. Peter Grant did not stand for re-election as Hon. Treasurer, and his place was taken by Richard Criddle.

Some 50 Old King’s Club members gathered at the historic Winchester House Club overlooking the Thames in Putney for drinks and a chance to catch up with old friends. The next Club drinks evening will be held in the spring or early summer of 2014.

The Old King’s Club has undergone a rebranding exercise to bring it up to date whilst emphasising its links with the past. This website will function as the flagship means of communication with Club Members.

This excercise comes in the wake of the School’s rebranding, which saw the introduction of a new lion logo in place of the original crown and lion crest. The Club has decided to continue using the coat of arms, including the crown and lion, which derive from the foundation of King’s College London in 1829.

The re-launched website will form the backbone of the revitalised Club, with news and events being added by representatives of each accredited activity through the year.

Honorary Treasurer

Richard (OK 1986) is an IT Portfolio Manager at River Island. Prior to that he spent 17 years with Unilever, including 7 years in the Netherlands, after which he spent 6 years in the international division of M&S before moving on to the Theo Paphitis Retail Group and the Harvey Nichols Group. He is Secretary of the Commonwealth Lodges’ Association, a member of the Anglo-Netherlands Society, and has been a member of the OKC committee since 2013. He is also a member of the Management Board of the Old King’s Club Benevolent Fund.

Chairman

Alexander (OK 1984) undertook postgraduate studies in London and qualified as an architect in his native Sweden. He has been a member of the Old King’s Club Committee since 2004 and was elected Chairman in 2014. In addition, he is Secretary of King’s College School Lodge, Chairman of the Anglo-Swedish Society, Freeman of the City of London and a member of the Court of Assistants of the Worshipful Company of Paviors.

President

Micky (OK 1959) attended KCJS/KCS from 1951, where he became head of West House and Captain of Rugby and Athletics. He had three sons at King’s 1978-1989. Treasurer then Chairman Friends of KCS 1988-1996. Governor of the school 1991 to 2010. Treasurer of King’s Rugby 1996-2001. Treasurer KCS Lodge 1999-2014. Chairman Old King’s Club 2001-2014 & President since 2014. Employed Freeman Morrison Group 1959-1987 & Director from 1968.